"I’m joking," Derek admitted."A bad thing to joke about.I’ll stay safe if you will."
"It’s a deal," Alison said."I should go.I don’t know if I’ll sleep tonight, but I should try."
"I’ll keep you updated on what your father and I find," Derek told him.
"I’ll keep you updated with the case here," Alison replied."I love you."
"Love you, too."
Alison smiled as she ended the call.She spent some more time looking out the window, unable to get the thought out of her head that she was being targeted for some reason.Finally, she drew herself away from the window and the city beyond, and got ready for bed.
She undressed, showered, brushed her teeth, and applied her moisturizing cream, all while trying to figure out where the evidence from both cases was pointing her.Why did the killer choose two victims so far apart?Was that to throw them off, or was it because the cases were important to them?
Alison was about to get into bed when her phone chimed.She expected it to be Derek saying goodnight.She hoped it would be Special Agent Hartley or Detective Wolfe with updates on the case.It was neither.The message came from an unknown sender.
I need to speak to you.
Alison sent a reply:Who is this?
The speech bubble appeared immediately as the other person typed.A few seconds later, the reply popped up.
Dr.Carver.You’re at the Brixton, right?Tomorrow morning?6 am?Coffee in the lobby?I need to talk.
Alison would have reached out soon anyway.She sent her reply:See you then.
CHAPTER SIX
There was the right way to do things and the wrong way.If there was one thing to hold true in life, it was that doing things the right way often meant putting in more work than was expected of you.That was why the killer sat in the car before the museum, looking over the files from the previous crime scenes, and preparing the artifacts to be placed with the body.
Most of the work was already done, and the only part left was the easy part.Two people had been killed, and the killer had known they would be able to do it from the moment they decided it needed to be done.There was no hesitation, no fear, no nervousness.The decision was made, and from that moment on, they knew they would be able to kill those in their path.
It was a correction.
The world was wrong.It must be corrected, and they were best placed to do that.In their professional career, they had put in the work but had been forced to watch the ineptitude of those around them.And that didn’t only affect those who made the mistakes.Time and time again, they had watched those around them make mistakes, only for it to affect everyone.
Not anymore, not anymore.
When they were done, there would be no more mistakes.They only had to show them where they were going wrong, and the wrongs of the past could be put right.That was the key.That was what they knew they had to accomplish, and—
The killer froze and looked toward the museum door.The last of the employees were leaving for the night, and that meant it was almost time.Of course, not everyone would be gone.Some remained all night.Death had visited the museum once before when people were killed because of their connection to the museum, but that was a long time ago now.
And while the killer felt some remorse at killing the young woman who worked late that night within the museum, they knew that it had to be done.There had been mistakes in the past that had put people in danger, and everyone knew that if history was not studied, they were doomed to repeat them.The woman in the museum would be a sacrifice, but it was a needed sacrifice to cleanse the world of the evil that had befallen it.
The killer took a deep breath.
Then another one.
They shouldn’t get too carried away.It wasn’t evil, but incompetence.It wasn’t a sacrifice, but a way to show them, to make them listen.There was no need for a cleanse, only some tweaks.And it wasn’t the world, but the law enforcement around the country.
If they only did their jobs well, we could avoid so much death.
The killer saw the irony in what they were doing.
They picked up the folder from the passenger seat beside them and opened it, pulling open the pocket in the left-hand inside cover.They took out the photographs that had been placed there earlier and checked through them to ensure they were all still there.Then they consulted the original case files, though they didn't need to go over them again to understand what they contained.They checked the autopsy reports, confirming the caliber of bullet that had been found lodged in each of their brains.
Then, with more excitement than when they had readied to kill the first two victims, the killer opened the box that had sat under the folder and pulled out the gun.
They hadn’t ever thought about holding a gun until the first visit to the shooting range in preparation for their mission.Not that they needed the target practice if they were to follow in the footsteps of the Collector.Still, it was better not to leave anything up to chance.
