“You thought you could get under my skin.”
“Evidently, I did.” I turned on the light and almost immediately, Alexia was awake. When her eyes opened wide, I placed my finger across my lips. “What’s wrong, Samuel? Oh, wait. Samuel is behind bars awaiting execution. Tsk. Tsk. You truly sank to a new low convincing your own brother to take the fall for you.”
Throwing back the covers, the last thing I wanted was to be lying in bed while talking to a fucking monster. I reached for my weapon by instinct. It felt as if the motherfucker was in the room beside me. The exact same sensations I’d had all those years ago.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The same hint of fissures in his armor as in his brother’s.
“I think I do. In fact, whatever you promised your brother didn’t include his death. He was shocked to learn of the upcomingexecution date. I would have thought with all those visits you had with him you would have been decent enough, man enough to tell him the truth.”
“And what’s that?”
“That you sacrificed him to kill again. What happens next time? Or are you planning on staying a model citizen?”
He sighed. “You have no understanding of my family. None. I suggest you spend the time you’re using to spin out of control to try to find the new missing girls.”
Girls. As in plural.
Alexia’s phone buzzed, which caught both our attention. She shifted across the bed to grab it.
“I think I understand completely. You believe you’re the superior brother and deserve to enjoy living your life. I am curious. What did your brother ever do to you?”
“Do you remember the woman you stalked, Agent Callahan? Come to think of it. Wasn’t she your partner? That’s right. She was. I take it she wasn’t very happy about using her as a scapegoat.”
My blood turned to ice. He was all chirpy laughter when I didn’t respond right away. “Fuck off.” Great. Now he knew he’d gotten to me. Yes, I’d used Carrie to try to follow in his footsteps. She’d been furious when she’d found out, accusing me of assorted terrible things. She’d even tried to have me kicked off the case.
“Yes, I knew exactly what you were doing. You were pretending to be me, playing a role to try and flush me out. But you failed. Didn’t you? And why? Because you hungered to carry it through. You longed to wrap the chloroform-soaked cloth around hermouth. You stood outside her door and considered it. Didn’t you?”
My skin began to crawl.
I’d talked to the son of a bitch twice before. It had turned the tide for a case that had haunted me for months. He’d shown signs of cracking by making the phone call. I’d almost kept him on the line long enough to secure his location. He’d tried his best to hide his lair, rerouting the signal from one country to another.
He was without a doubt the most intelligent, cunning criminal I’d ever encountered. The man had all but managed to sign his death warrant. Had it not been for his twisted hunger and dangerous proclivities, his brother’s execution would allow him to continue with his killing spree.
I’d all but had him in the crosshairs all those years ago. Then I’d lost my cool. And why? Because in a way he’d been right. I’d been fascinated by his methods and his abilities to go undetected. I’d been so in tune to the madman that I’d lost my sense of perspective.
I’d written down the steps that he’d taken, the lack of sleep and substance creating a perfect storm where my desire to get inside the mind of a madman had almost catapulted me into destroying both my career and my life. If Carrie had told my boss about the stalking, my actions would have been grounds for termination.
Now he was repaying the favor, trying to rattle me.
“I think you’re feeling guilty for dragging your brother into your nightmare.”
“He is none of your concern. He’s very happy to be protecting his family. But you were a naughty boy going to see him. I will give you credit. I did not expect that you’d do that.”
“He is very much my concern since you allowed him to become a sacrifice. You have me curious as to the number of other women you’ve tortured.”
His heavy breathing was an indication I was correct. “I do enjoy my work.”
Alexia slapped her hand across her mouth, her eyes wild with terror. With her entire body shaking, she moved around the end of the bed toward me.
“Yes, and I do as well. You know what I think? Now, I’m beginning to think you’re nothing like Samuel. Here’s the thing. You allowed him to take all the glory. I can’t believe you did that. You were so eager for me to hunt you down. You craved your fifteen minutes of fame and I was prepared to give it to you. What happened? Did you chicken out? Bwak. Bwak. Bwak.”
When I squawked like a chicken, I could tell I’d gotten under his skin. If there was one thing most serial killers craved, it was notoriety.
“You’re learning to play the game, Agent, but too little too late.” He’d regained complete control, his voice almost soothing in the cadence. “But you’ll see. If you haven’t already. Take care, Agent Callahan. I’m certain I’ll read about myself in the pages of one of your upcoming books. What a shame we won’t have an opportunity to meet.”
The line went dead and as soon as the echo of his voice faded from my mind, Alexia’s soft moan pulled at the ugliness of yetwhat I believed to be another failure. She held out her phone, the text she’d received including art.
