The Killer Among Us

Chapter 9

3 hours after the abduction

Jacob

The streets were flooded, it had been raining heavily for hours. I could barely keep control of my car - maybe it was the weather, maybe it was my state of mind.

After I received a phone call from my frantic mother telling me to come to Aria's house as soon as possible, I knew that something was horribly wrong. Aria was in danger, I felt it. The worst part was that I could have prevented it.

In a state of trance, I finally arrived. Blue lights flashed through the night, illuminating everything in an alarmed glow. There were police cars everywhere, neighbors lined up on the street to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

I pushed my way through the crowd, eyes constantly scanning the crowd for Aria.

My mother stood on the porch, talking to a man in a suit. She was crying, weeping even. Gregg held his arms around her, concern written all over his tan face.

I felt like I was walking in slow motion, reality wasn't quite catching up with me.

"This is a nightmare. I have to wake up," I repeated in my head.

But deep inside, I knew I was awake and I would be for a long time.

When I reached my mother, she threw her arms around me. I searched the face of Gregg for any information on what was going on. Every awkwardness from the incident a few nights ago was forgotten.

The man in the dark suit, a detective I realised, was talking to a deputy but his gaze was focused on me - curious, steady, calculated.

"Mother, what is going on?" I tried to stay strong and not show just how worried I really was.

"Aria," she wailed. She was shaking her head, hands wrapped around her fragile figure.

The only other time I have seen my mother in such a state was when we found out that my Dad had passed away.

But she couldn't speak, couldn't find the words to describe the situation. I don't blame her. There was no right way to act.

Gregg put his heavy hand on my shoulder and I flinched away from his touch.

"Will someone tell me where Aria is, dammit?"

My fake composure was slowly crumbling away.

The detective took a step towards me, never breaking eye contact. He cleared his throat and said in a polished, sincere voice: "I'm Detective Isaac Burke of the Carlisle police department. I was assigned to your sister's case. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but your sister, Aria, was abducted last night."

He said more, explaining all the information they gathered so far but I couldn't listen. My mind was spinning out of control, I felt sick - literally sick.

This was all my fault. Guilt occupied my heart, always reminding me of what I should have done. But I would fix this, I had to.

Detective Burke led me through Aria's house, wanting me to point out anything that seemed unusual to me. It all felt so surreal to me, all the cops walking around, analyzing her belongings. However, everything looked pristine - everything was in its usual place.

Everything except her bedroom, it told a different story, a horrifying one. Blood stained her sheets, a knife layed on the floor, the window was wide open. There was no sign of my sister, however. "She would be waking up around this time," I mumbled.

It was her dream to have her own house and it quickly turned into a nightmare.

"Is there anything unusual here, Jacob?" Detective Burke asked me, ripping me out of my destructive thoughts.

"You mean except the massive blood stain?" sass laced my voice. At least I didn't lose my sarcasm, yet.

"Jacob, it is detrimental for you to help us now. Time is running out," he replied in his monotone voice.

He looked young for a detective, with lean muscles and a tall build. His hair was dirty blonde, his eyes green. I wondered what made him want to be a detective. Was he any good at his job? I couldn't rely on that.

"Nothing as far as I can tell," I avoided his eyes because I worried they might catch how lost I was in all of this.

He sat me down in the kitchen and told me everything they knew so far. I carefully listened to every piece of information, creating a precise construct of what might have happened here.

This serial killer was brutal. He left behind a pile of slashed and mutilated bodies, leaving only few clues to catch him. Some detectives argued they were purposeful, misleading the police on a false track.

Aria was his fourteenth victim and detectives weren't any closer to finding out who he was. All his victims were young, blonde women, who recently moved. They were all found, tortured and slain,in the woods and coroners determined they all died around two weeks into their captivity.

Whoever he was, he was a monster and I would do everything in my power to end his killing spree. Even if that would take me everything I had.

My information on the killer was limited, I could tell that Burke wasn't telling me all the sensitive information, only what he was obligated to reveal to me.

All that was for certain was that the killer was acting on some sick predatory satisfaction that comes from torturing warm bodies to bloody shreds and there was no way of knowing when he would finally be satiated. Maybe he never would be.

"He will regret that he took her," I repeated in my mind like a mantra.

After enduring what felt an awful lot like an interrogation, I left. My mother apparently left hours ago, since she wasn't in a state of mind to answer any questions.

But before I left, I made sure to retrieve the shreds of the photo that were still lying in Aria's trash can. Relieved that no one found it before me and filled with the adrenaline of not getting caught, I made my way to the main door.

"I will be in touch," Burke assured me as I was leaving.

He seemed like a capable professional but I couldn't trust him to find my baby sister. He didn't have the drive to put everything on line for this. Frankly, police officers are slaves to the system and can therefore not make use of certain tools, tools that are needed if you wanted to catch an animal like this.

"And Jacob," he called after me.

"Yes?" I didn't turn around.

"If you remember something that could be of use, reach out to me anytime."

Without knowing where to start on my hunt, I drove off. Suddenly, all the bad things I did in my past, all the hurt I carried around day to day seemed insignificant. There were bigger things at hand. Aria was counting on me.