UNMASKING

EPILOGUE

Mrs. Bilbane closes her store late and stays behind after all her employees have gone home. She does this to balance the account for the day’s sales and also make dough and candies for the next day’s sales. Her employees will have to come early to put the finishing touches on the candies, cookies, and dough. Outside the door, a dark figure lurks in the darkness. It kept a watchful eye on her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to carry out its intention. Mrs. Bilbane and her little ten-year-old daughter Kassy, who are at home, decide to stay behind to help her mom. Mrs. Bibane holds her daughter's hand as they walk home, rather than going through the busy Mississippi highway with lots of dark alleys. Kassy is always afraid of the dark alley after an experience that scared the snot out of her. All the while, the dark figure follows closely behind, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. On this rainy day, the Daldane River's path is sparsely deserted. One could walk for minutes before coming across anyone. The houses around this part of Aldershot town are mansions with ranches, and one cannot be heard if they scream. The croaking of frogs fills the air and sometimes the hooting of owls The lurking figure follows behind, and when Mrs. Behind gets to the Dildane River along the old forest road, the figure appears. Before she could say anything, the cold blade slashed her throat, severing the veins and the gullet. The second stab of the silver blade runs clean through her heart. Her experience of witnessing her mother murdered takes her to her heels, but she will not get too far. The assailant catches up with her and stabs her several times until her ten-year-old body cannot take the pain anymore. The assailant notices the look of recognition in the eyes of the ten-year-old and runs the silver blade into Kassy’s eye. Mission accomplished. The assailant then drags both bodies into the woods one after the other, dismembers both bodies, and leaves their guts spilled on the green grass and dried leaves. It would take a week’s search to find both bodies. That is, if, by then, wild animals have not made a meal out of the dismembered bodies. Walking down to the river bank, the figure washes off all blood stains from the dark-colored leather jacket and gloves, wipes the shoes clean of mud, and heads back to the car waiting at the end of the Dildane River path.

CHAPTER ONE

‘Luke! The Captain wants you to report to his office now, Brisbane called out. Luke Gay mumbles something before standing up from his seat in his cubicle to go hear why the Captain wanted to see him so urgently. Luke has always loved an adventurous life and would not give it up for anything. In his early years, he always wanted to be a cop. He would sneak around to play hide-and-seek with his friends Summer and Logan. His curiosity has landed him in more trouble than anyone could imagine.

At age sixteen, he and Logan investigated some theft cases and caught the culprit red-handed. A new boy had been admitted into Luke and Logan’s class. After his admission, they noticed that their stationery was getting lost every day. At first, they thought it was the school librarian and that she was trying to keep it safe for them. They approached her, but she told them she wasn’t the one. Still, the situation persisted. Stationery went missing every week. As this has not been the trend before now, the only suspect common to everyone was the new student. As a result of this new development, most of the students refused to relate to or communicate with the new kid. Some days, the newly admitted kid would get to school and try accessing his locker, only to find mean words written on it. Words like ‘thief’, ‘light fingers, and more.

This recurring incident has given a bad name to the student, who confided in Luke and Logan that he was the culprit. But there was no way to prove his innocence unless the culprit was caught in the act or confessed. Luke and Logan took it upon themselves to catch the thief and make sure the new student's name was cleared. After two months of the continuous disappearance of stationery, Luke and Logan decided to set up a hidden camera in the classroom without the knowledge of their colleagues. They left it in recording mode over the weekend so as to ascertain who the thief was. On Monday morning, they got up early and rushed to the school to see if their camera had caught the culprit in the act or caught a glimpse of what kept happening over and over again. They took out the camera eagerly and with a kind of gusto, having a knot tied around their stomachs because they wanted to reveal the unknown. But to their dismay and satisfaction, what was caught on the camera sent shivers down their spines, as they never expected the person seen on video to be the culprit. They just couldn’t imagine what would have caused the person to be seen in such a compromising position. They concealed the evidence, waiting for the right time to unveil it. But first, Logan wanted them to confront the culprit so as to explain why such an act was carried out. At lunch break, they both approached the culprit in an orderly manner so as to get answers to their questions. However, the culprit refused to give explanations and instead turned on them. At the end of the day, both Luke and Logan were called into the Head of School’s office to explain the allegation against them. On realizing that it was the culprit that was behind the allegation, the boys who had decided to cover up the culprit so as to avert the shame associated with theft in the community decided against such action and delivered the evidence to the Head of School. The Head of School told them not to disclose it to anyone. By Wednesday of the same week, the students got to school only to find out that Mr. Joe, the class teacher for tthe boys, had been replaced by a new teacher. According to the School Administrator, Mr. Joe has decided to move away from the community and therefore could no longer be part of the staff as he lives far away. It was rumored that Mr. Joe left to be with his ailing mother, while some were of the opinion that Mr. Joe might be the culprit. But the truth of the matter only resonated with Luke Gay and Logan Henderson. Succinctly, the new student became friends with Luke and Logan. His name is Collins Summer, the current mayor of Aldershot Town.

Luke Gay walks up to Captain Sherwood’s office and knocks on the door. Without letting the captain beckon him in, Luke lets himself in and sits on a vacant seat, waiting to hear from the Captain. ‘Hey Detective Lu! comes the baritone sound of the Captain’s voice. Captain Sherwood has always referred to “Luke” as “Lu”, ever since he was a recruit and was taken under the Captain’s wings.

Luke: ‘Perry said you wanted to see me ASAP; that is the reason I’m here to hear what you've got to tell me, Cap’.

‘How are you turning up with the homicide case at hand? The Captain replies.

Luke: ‘You mean the one committed alongside arson, where the victim was burned beyond recognition? Know what Cap, we are almost done with the case and we got a lead on the killer, though it isn’t easy to come by as the guy in custody won’t say a word to anyone’.

‘Wrap up the case, Lu; I've got a big one coming your way, and it is on the other side of town, the Captain says.

Luke: ‘Wait, Cap! You are going to transfer me without even informing me? Whether I really want to be transferred or not, How could you do this, and you know I am just trying to warm up by settling my differences with Laura and seeing if our marriage would work?

‘You can take her along if you really want to, Lu.’ Captain Sherwood cuts him off mid-sentence. ‘Go get your transfer paper from I.A. (Internal Affairs) and make sure you inform Laura about the holiday getaway. It is not much of a job; you are needed to investigate a few murder cases in Aldershot town, and once you are done, you will be back before you say Jack’.

Luke stands up from his seat. His head turned red, and his eyes were bloodshot because he was angry at the news of being transferred. At the same time, his adrenaline is pumping as he anticipates the intrigue of the events that are to come. He mumbles something indistinctly and walks out of Captain Sherwood’s office. Sherwood has been like a mentor to Luke, taking him in when he was just a rookie and teaching him everything he needed to know about the profession. At first, when they both met, Luke was a hot-headed rookie who wanted to do things on his own terms and conditions. But Sherwood quickly made sure he took Luke in and brushed him up. Moving him away from working as an undercover cop in a drug bust case that almost cost Luke his life, if not for the timely intervention of the watchdogs who have kept 24 hours’ surveillance on Luke at the order of Sherwood. This was while Luke acted out the role of a collector and supplier for the drug mafia.

That evening, Luke gets home and is warmly welcomed by Laura, his wife. They have been trying to work it out as husband and wife, but those efforts have met with a bit of resistance, which is caused by either Luke’s work ethics or Laura’s belief system of how couples should be. Luke met Laura during one of his undercover agent assignments, where he worked for one of the most wanted drug lords in the town. Laura, for her part, had accepted to work for the drug lord when the drug syndicate offered to pay for her mother’s cervical cancer surgery and chemotherapy treatment. She started out as a courier and blazed through the ranks and file really fast, though there were rumors that she was having a discreet affair with the boss, given that was the only way she could pay back for the help rendered when it was needed. After the success of the drug busting operation allowed her to walk free, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) asked Laura to testify in court against the mafia and its many crimes with the promise of a better life and witness protection. Though she had seen Luke a couple of times sealing deals for the mafia, she never knew he was working for the DEA until he was saddled with the responsibility of protecting her. They went through lots of assassination attempts, and it was during this time that they both fell in love. After Laura’s testimony in court against the mafia boss, she was nearly killed. She had ended her testimony and was being escorted out of the court yard when a bullet hit her straight in the chest. Luckily, the bullet missed her vital organs. The fear of losing her made Luke propose to her, and the following summer, they were married. Their marriage is not without its ups and downs. Over the years, they have both been separated quite a bit. But in the end, they always find a way back to each other’s arms.

On getting home, Laura drags Luke into the house with some sensual kisses but notices he is stone-cold and not responding to her touches. ‘Lu, baby, what is wrong with you? Did anything happen at work today? She asks, probing further.

Luke looks, holds her closer to himself, and replies, ‘I was asked to go investigate a serial murder case.”

I hope it isn’t one of those dangerous undercover cases. She cuts in.

No, not this time. I am being transferred and will be investigating some murder cases in Aldershot. But I am permitted to go with you. It would be like a getaway from all the stress of this bustling city. You would love it there, and also, my friend Mayor Summer would be glad to finally meet you.’ He assures her.

CHAPTER TWO

‘It looks like the killer is a maniac. Whoever it is might have done this to satisfy their blood-thirsty will. Mrs. Bilbane is a peace-loving woman, says Mrs. Ferguson, the chief coroner of the crime division in Aldershot town. Mrs. Ferguson is in her late forties and has risen through sheer hard work to become the coroner of the town. Also, she is the most loved in the town because of her tasty cookies, which she makes every day and distributes to everyone she comes across. She has come to Aldershot town so as to live a simple life after her divorce from her husband, as a result of their differences in ideology. She worked as a junior coroner in the bustling city and was regarded as one of the best until she got divorced and left the police division.

But in less than no time, she was recommended by the Chief of Police for the post of chief coroner in Aldershot town. ‘Kassy was stabbed between fifteen and twenty times, and her eyes looked like they were severed frotheirts sockets with a sharp object, says Mrs. Ferguson to Detective Ashley, who is in charge of Bilbane’s case. This is while she examines the dismembered bodies of her mother and daughter. ‘The bodies look like it was dismembered immediately after they were murdered.’ She continued. ‘It seems they were then dragged to the spot where they were found by the search team, and the decomposing process was fast as a result of the humid part of the place they were found in. She probes further as she pokes the dismembered bodies with her scalpel and other examination tools. Mrs. Ferguson is the most respected Coroner in the town. But, at first, after moving to the town of Aldershot, she struggled for a while until the breakthrough came when she was offered a job to work in the police murder examination team on a series of murders that had ravaged the town. The investigation went on for longer than necessary, and as a result, the Chief Coroner resigned, leaving the post vacant. With the recommendation of the Chief of Police. Mrs. Ferguson got the job, and in less than six months, the case was solved and the culprit was sentenced to life imprisonment. But all the while, the culprit kept claiming his innocence. The problem was that the evidence was glaringly clear that Mr. Kennedy was the culprit. With the case solved, came the soaring popularity of Mrs. Ferguson. The murder had stopped for some time until the recent killing of Mrs. Bilbane and her daughter Kassy. ‘I can’t place my hands on why anyone would want to hurt the Bilbanes, says Dec. Ashley. We will have to go to the crime scene to examine and see if we can get more clues or project how it all happened.’ Ashley progresses.

The night of the murder, Mr. Bobby Bilbane, who is always called BB, thereby abbreviating the name, had waited patiently for the arrival of his wife, who was to bring back some bread for dinner. But at half past 10, she was not home, and it was unusual of her to stay out that late without informing BB of her whereabouts. He called her friends to know if she had stopped by to see them, but the inquiries ended in futility. This prompted BB to call his friend Jeremy to accompany him to the bakery to check on her in case she had lost track of the time. By the time he got there, the door to the bakery was locked. BB and Jeremy decided to check out possible locations but came up with a fruitless effort. At that point, BB knew something was wrong, and they searched the river path but found nothing that night. Jeremy called off the search, made contacts with some of their friends, and it was reported to the police, where the case of a missing person was filed.

The next day, there was a large search for a possible murder scene, but nothing was found. It took a week and two days before one of the men from the search party discovered a torn cloth on the floor where he was about to ease himself. That clue was the breakthrough needed for the missing mother and daughter. BB could not hold back his agony when he saw the gruesome way his wife and daughter were murdered and dismembered. The bodies were practically scraped into a body bag for examination in the coroner’s office.

Dec. Ashley thought that with the arrest and incarceration of Kennedy, it was going to be the end or probably a great reduction in the number of murder cases. Though it lasted for some time, the reality was that it wouldn’t last. In less than two years, there have been cases of unsolved murder. The Bilbane family, one of the most influential families in Aldershot Town, was the victim. The evidence found in Kennedy’s house was substantial enough to reveal that he was the killer in that murder. Kennedy has been known as a hot-headed, tempered person who can’t control both his temper and mouth. Whenever he is offended, he always threathreatenseal with the person who has offended him. One of such cases was at a Jimmy Park Bar, where he was drinking. Kelly, a popular housing agent, met Kennedy in the bar and began teasing Kennedy about his family background. It is rumored that Kennedy’s father was a drunk who couldn’t oversee the affairs of his house.

Every day, he would go back home drunk. On different occasions, he had abused his wife in front of young Kennedy, and every time Kennedy tried to intervene, Kennedy himself was beaten to stupor, sometimes to a pulp, and tied to a tree in their front yard for all to see for several days. One day, Kennedy decided it was time to put an end to it all so as to protect his mother and sisters. He poisoned his father’s whiskey. But to date, no one has been able to prove that Kennedy poisoned his father.

Still, Kennedy is teased by his contemporaries, especially with the occasional beating to stupor and being tied to a tree in the front yard, as an example for stubborn kids. And most times, he is ridiculed and tries to defend himself by fighting. On this occasion, Kelly had come there to get drinks and found Kennedy. As a bully, Kelly started to tease and ridicule Kennedy. When Kennedy could not take it any longer, he challenged Kelly to a fight, but Kelly refused. Kennedy kept threatening Kelly, telling him he would make sure Kelly never lived to see the next day. At noo, the next day, Kelly was declared missing by his sister, Catherine. The Police were called, and search parties were formed, but to no avail. It took three weeks before the decomposing body was found in the forest by two lovebirds who wanted to have some alone time together.

The body was taken to the coroner’s office for examination, and it was deduced that the murder was done the same day he was threatened by Kennedy by stabbing him in the gullet and other vital parts of the body. The police sprang into action. Kennedy was arrested and investigated, but no clue was found until some evidence turned up on the victim’s body. The stab to the throat had a distinct look, and only a jack knife could leave an imprint. With this clue, police still couldn’t tie the murder down to Kennedy, and in the end, as a result of unsubstantial evidence, Kennedy was acquitted. It took three years before the Jack Knife surfaced, and it was found buried in Kennedy’s backyard. This time, it had the blood prints of a new murdered victim, whom Kennedy had threatened over a deal gone wrong. Kennedy couldn’t walk free this time, and when brought to trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Still, he kept speaking of his innocence.

After examining the bodies of both mother and child, Mrs. Ferguson offers everyone who has worked with her on the examination some cookies she had baked at home. After Kennedy’s case, Mrs. Ferguson retired from active service as a result of her health, but the Mayor and Police department convinced her to stay a bit longer, which she agreed to, but would do so on her own terms and conditions.

Mrs. Ferguson is the life of Aldershot Town. Her door is always open to visitors, especially children who have been enticed by the sweet aroma of her home-made cookies. More so, she is the best at what she does when it comes to the examination of an approximate murdered corpse. By examining the corpse, she can approximate when the person was killed and what kind of weapon was used in the murder. As a result of this, the town will always look up to it for answers when such a case arises. She has been an inspiration to most of the children in Aldershot town, and they will always aspire to be like her or even better than her. But in truth, she is also an icon to reckon with in the politics of Aldershot town. Getting endorsed by such an individual will give you a greater shot at that given position. She has been the one behind the emergence of John Summer as Mayor of Adlershot Town.

Brenda Joanna Vaughan. She was born into a family of four. She is the last among the girls but is strong-willed. Her father had been the town’s catechist but would always turn home drunk and molest his family. This led to the girls, most of the time, fending for themselves alongside their mother. The girls lost their mother to the cold hands of death. Their mother had been diagnosed with an enlarged heart, which was a result of her being brokenhearted due to the incessant brutal molestation at the hands of the man she had loved so dearly. From a tender age, Brenda has learned to cater for herself and will navigate the street with ease, even with the lurking danger of being kidnapped and taken away as a sex slave. On several occasions, she has nearly been kidnapped by sex slave perpetrators, but her skills on the street are unmatched. Her first taste of murder was when she was sexually molested by her own father some days after the demise of their mother. She waited for him to sleep off after he had a romp of sexual activities with her. At first, she doubted her ability to carry out such an act and thus prayed to God for strength and forgiveness, as she had a staunch Catholic background. She tied his hands and feet to the bedpost and also tied his body down to the bed so she could carry out her revenge without any form of obstruction or resistance from him. After doing that, she smothered him with a pillow, after which she untied him and rubbed his hands, feet, and handkerchief to hide the marks.

She burned the piece of evidence and went out without the knowledge of anyone. Her father’s body was discovered by her sisters. After a series of investigations, it was concluded that her father died of asphyxiation. To date, no one knows who killed Mr. Vaughan. As a teen, Brenda made sure she had the best of everything, as men were practically around her due to her sexy body and good cooking skills. In one of her numerous escapades, she fell in love with one of the men named Alan Borough and decided to get married to him. He made sure he sent her to school to study before she started childbearing. Over the years, as she could not bear children, he started having extramarital affairs with other women. She knew if she filed for divorce, she might never get anything as compensation. So, she decided to commit her second murder; this time, she studied his daily and weekly activities. In the end, she waited for him in one of the dark alleys and killed him using her silver blade. She inherited his property and estate. Also, she knew if she stayed for too long, the crime might be linked back to her, so she sold all of his property and moved to another town where she would never be associated with the crime.

Miss Carlton Mendoza had just moved to Langlot. She was a rich, young, and beautiful woman who would need nothing from any man except love and trust. The source of her wealth is unknown; it was rumored that her father was the owner of one of the leading real estate agencies wherever she was from, and she had inherited her wealth from him as she was his only child. She owned one of the biggest mansions in Lalot and threw an all-ladies party most of the time. In some cases, some young men were invited to such parties to keep company, after which they were paid. No one knew how much she was worth, but speculation had it that she was worth hundreds of millions. Her origin was unknown. All that was known about her was that she relocated to Langlot so as to stay away from the public eye. During one of such parties, she met a young man, and she was charmed. Though he refused to be paid for his services that night, he made her feel like a complete woman when they were alone and making love. He explored all of her contours, and her hidden sensual and sexual desires were aroused. He did the unimaginable to her, leaving her yearning for more of the escapade. That night, after all the sexual romps, she slept like a baby, a phenomenon that has not happened in a long while because her sleep and dreams were always filled with crazy nightmares that kept her awake all night long. The morning after, she pleaded with him to stay a bit longer than the rest of the young men she had employed as escorts for the event. Even after spending a week with her, she was insatiably attracted to his presence, and they both exchanged phone numbers. Officially, she asked him to be her one and only, which he agreed to. He would come to visit and stay for over two weeks, and whenever he was set to leave, she would beg him to stay some more. She was scared of asking him to marry her because she thought that he might be enticed by her wealth. And if such a thing were to happen, she might be at risk of losing her life. She didn’t want to deal with golddiggers anymore, just like those from her few past relationships.

After two years of being together, one day he drove her to a textile factory, showed her around, and took her on a tour of other facilities and different mansions. He only told her he was going to run some errands for a friend, and he wanted her to tag along. That night, after an unusual love-making session where they were both about to explode with passion, he revealed to her that he was the owner of all the facilities he had taken her to earlier in the day. Those facilities had been passed down from generation to generation, and in his lineage, he was the only one to oversee them. She was angry and shocked at the same time. Her face was red from shock and anger. He apologized for keeping it secret and promised never to hide anything more from her. That night, the atmosphere was filled with the fragrance and sound of both bodies romping in different sexual styles with satisfaction.

Two months later, he asked her to marry him, but she refused, stating the conditions for such a marriage to take place, which he agreed to since there was nothing more to hide from her. Six weeks later, they got married. Their marriage was only one year old when he got involved in a boat accident, and he never made it out alive. After the funeral, in his will, he bequeathed everything to her. She was agonized and traumatized by his death. As a result, she sold all of the property, and one cool morning she was nowhere to be found. She had disappeared just as she had appeared. Though the police had launched an inquiry into the cause of the accident and no lead was found, the case was closed, and it was concluded that it was just a silly mistake that had led to the accident. Before she left, she told the Chief of Police that she was relocating somewhere far away after the result of the inquiry.

CHAPTER THREE

‘Stop making it look like I have not been trying my best to keep this family going, says Brian Nick to his wife Maria. ‘This town isn’t meant for me. It’s hard to find a good- paying job here; with that, how do I provide for all your needs?’ He continues furiously, leaving the house and slamming the door with so much force that the foundation of the house shakes. Brian Nick had moved to Adlershot as a means of getting away from his family, who had insisted that he marry another woman other than Maria Lewis. He chose his love over his family ties and a few properties. At first, when he ran away from home with Maria, they settled in the town of Nedburn, not too far from Adlershot. However, it seemed everything was working against the lovers. They tried to manage whatever they had,but with the birth of their son Ledley, the situation became worse, and the tension between the lovers escalated. After much deliberation, they settled on moving to Adlershot town because they felt it was more advanced than moving to Burn. When they moved to Adlershot, it was as if it was the best option ever, as Brian got a job there almost immediately. He got a job to work at Uncle Perry’s bar as a bar tender. However, this was short-lived when, one morning, the town woke up to the news that Uncle Perry’s bar had gone up in flames. How it happened was still unexplainable, but finally, when the fire was put out, there was little to nothing left of one of the oldest bars in Aldershot. The worst being that the charred body of Uncle Perry Lhimselfiam himself was discovered and was only recognized by the coroner using his dental records.

After the fire incident at Uncle Perry’s bar, it became difficult to get another job to sustain the family. Maria had been quite the supportive kind of wife any man would pray to have, but Brian could not stand by and watch his wife provide for the family. He felt helpless and powerless. This was the crux of their banter that night as he strolled out to cool off. As he stepped out of the doorway to take the needed stroll, he could never notice the dark figure lurking behind him in the dark, itryingto make him afraid. His mind is so clouded with thoughts of how to make it right and support his family that, as a result of the darkness, his eyes cannot see or notice that the dark figure was right behind him.

Suddenly he blacks out, only to wake up and find himself in the interior part of the forest near the Dildane River. His adrenaline shoots up as he recalls that it was the area where Mrs. Bilbane and her daughter Kassy’s dismembered bodies were found. He has to do something really fast. He needs to live for Maria and his son, not only because he had to walk away rather than stay back to settle the issue with Maria, but also because he could not live up to his own expectations and has to fight in order to see Maria again. He keeps praying for just one miracle. As he tries to stand up, he finds out that his legs have been spread wide and tied down. Same with his hands. He is practically helpless, and all that is left to do is shout for help. He is hoping someone will stop by to hear his cry for help. The dark figure stands over him and is cutting up his skin from his leg. After that, the figure stabs him multiple times in the heart region with a knife as he pleads for a chance to see his son and wife once again. The figure disemboweled his internal organs and left them spurting on the grass. Brain closed his eyes as he leaned into the cold embrace of death.

At home, Maria had stayed up to make sure she had a heart-to-heart talk with Brian when he came home. She is his and not a stranger for him not to accept the little help she was offering him at this trying time. She drifts off on the couch and is awakened by the gust of wind that blows through the window. As a result of the recent murder of Mrs. Bilbane, everyone has to double-lock their doors as they feel no one is safe anymore. She glances at the time and is surprised that it is past midnight and Brian is still not home. He never stays out this late in their nine years of marriage. And if he was not coming home, he would always call her to let her know. She is worried and angry, rehearsing in her mind how to put up her anger on him, how to kiss passionately, and reassuring him of his position as the man of the house when he is back. After waiting for an hour more, she becomes very desperate. Anxious to see if he is well. She calls the few friends he has around, but no one had seen Brian that evening. He was either at the bar or had taken a long walk to cool off. The family was reassured that Brian would be home. She is restless and has the feeling that something is wrong. But she just has to wait till morning, with one too many thoughts in her head. ‘Is he safe, or does he have someone he has gone to spend the night with that she does not know of?’ she thinks to herself. Before she is carried into dreamland, in her dreams she sees herself searching endlessly for Brian and picking up pieces of his body like a puzzle. She is jolted back to reality when the shrill cries of Ledley, their son, ring in her ears. It is six oclock in the morning, and Brian is not back yet. She calls his friend again to ascertain if he is with them. But still, no one has found Brian. His best friend Liam advises her to go file a missing person's case.

‘Please, I can’t find my husband; he left home last night and has not been back since then.’ She cries. ‘Take this form and fill his information in; we will get back to you if there is any form of progress, one of the officers on duty replies. After that, a search party is formed, consisting of the local police and Brian's friends. His dismembered body is found a few days later by a pack of K-9 dogs, which had been employed to ease the stress of the search. The decomposing and dismembered body is found in a polythene bag left near the bank of the Dildane River and is brought in for examination at the coroner’s office. ‘He was murdered in almost the same fashion as Mrs. Bilbane and Kassy, says Mrs. Ferguson. She had been called upon to examine Brian’s corpse and ascertain the possible cause of death. It looks like he was tied up; you can see the marks on his wrist and feet. Those are marks of strings, Mrs. Ferguson says as she continues to examine the body. ‘We will need to act fast on this; we can’t sit still while we have a probable case of a serial killer on our hands, Detective Alan says. ‘More so, we are expecting a new detective to join us in handling this case, and he is one of the best hands. He will be strictly transferred here for this at the request of the Mayor, and it might take a few weeks to get prepared, Detective Alan continues. As he stretched his hands to lift something off the examination table, the liquid spilled on Brian’s lifeless, dismembered body, down to some papers.

‘You have ruined the whole examination process; can you please keep your hands off this table and do not touch anything again without my permission or without being asked to do so!’ Mrs. Ferguson queries She gets angry because her work is ruined and she can’t get what she wants in order to trace the killer or get a clue as to what transpired.

That evening, the death of Brain became the talk of Aldershot, as no one expected such an abrupt and sad event. Brain was an easy-going guy; he was law-abiding and had no issues with anyone to warrant such brutality. After his body was found, Mariquestionedns him so as to know where he was at the time of Brian’sdeath,. Maria, on her own, gives the detective a rundown of what transpired that night and how Brian got angry and walked out, never to return again. At the time of the interrogation, her imagination is running wild with different ththoughts,uch as how she’ll cope and sail through the hard times without Brain. Also, how to make sure their son Ledley gets the best out of life

‘Welcome to Adlershot Town, Detective Gay, says Detective Alan. ‘Just call me Luke, and it is a pleasure knowing you, replies Detective Luke. Detective Luke Gay has finally completed his transfer to Adlershot town and is having this gusto feeling as soon as he steps out of the car. He arrives alone so as to settle down before he is joined by Laura, his wife. Laura has insisted on going with Luke, but he refuses, stating to her that it is better to go see if the town is friendly and accommodating. He can’t risk losing his wife in a town with a serial killer on the loose. More so, anyone can be the killer, and he is not ready to take such a gamble. He chooses to go two weeks ahead of Laura in order to make sure that she feels better when she arrives. Luke reports immediately to the Captain’s office, where he is welcomed warmly. Captain Kelly Sanders and Luke Gay were friends back at the police academy and became partners as rookies under Captain Sherwood, who was their superior officer. They had been together and carried out some drug busting operations together until Kelly was transferred. He rose through the ranks more quickly than Luke because of his connection and obedience to the rule. On the other hand, Luke was hot-headed and, most times, was in a squabble with his superiors.

After they share pleasantries, Captain Kelly leads Luke to the coroner’s office to see the bodies. Also, to get acquainted and get up-to-date information on the case he is to handle, Detective Luke examines the dismembered bodies of the three victims who had been killed in similar style and asks, ‘Are there still other unsolved murder cases? Even if it is not related to this, we need to start from the beginning if we are to solvits’. ‘Hi! I am Coroner Ferguson, the chief corcoroner,d you are?’ a calm, sweet voice probes from behind Luke. ‘Sorry Ferguson, meet Detective Luke, and Luke meet Coroner Ferguson; she is the chief coroner and would be working with you on the case. She will fill you in on all you need to know, and lastly, she makes the best cookies in this town. Don’t solve the case without getting a taste of it.’ Kelly says. ‘Thanks Captain, I will keep that in mind and mind you, for now, I need rest and Coroner Ferguson, can we make it a date in the morning so you can keep me abreast of all that has happened?’ Luke says, referring to both Kelly and Mrs. Ferguson as he stands by the bodies.

Later that evening, Luke takes a stroll out with Kelly to get some drinks and catch up on old times. Kelly drives Luke around town in his Volvo car and shows him some interesting places in case he needs to get away from the stress of work. ‘So how’s Laura doing and what did she say of your recent transfer?’ Kelly asks. ‘Well, I think she is doing fine. At first she loathed the idea of being transferred while we are trying to make our marriage work, but with the clause of being able to have her around, I think she is fine with the whole idea, Luke replies as Kelly makes a turn.

That night, Luke lodges in a hotel nearby as preparations are made for his new apartment. He sits up all night looking through the case files containing analyses of the murders and photographs of the victims dismembered bodies. All he is looking for is a reoccurring sign or something to point him in the direction of where to start his investigation and make sure there is an end to it all. That night he is not able to sleep either, as he tosses and turns on the bed. NightsOn nightsthis, Laura’s companionship is often needed, as she will know the right things to do and what to say to help him fall asleep. But on this night, he is all on his own, with Laura’s sleeping miracle out of his reach. Even when he tries to fall asleep, his sleep is invaded by reoccurring nightmares where he finds himself on a cliff and is pushed down by a dark figure into a dark, bottomless pit. Each time, he is saved by Laura. But on this particular night, Laura is not there to save him from falling.

He resumes work the next morning, feeling tired as a result of the sleepless and restless night he had. ‘Where is Coroner Ferguson?’ he asks as he enters the premises, heading to the examination room. As he opens the door to the examination room, the aroma of some baked cookies hits him hard. He immediately feels his stomach dying to get a taste of the treat. Good morning, detective; come have some cookies and coffee," Coroner Ferguson says. He launches an attack immediately on the cookies, talking between mouthfuls of delicious cookies. ‘Can you fill me in more on what you have found out on your own after studying? she asks him. Well, I will say there's nothing, as everything looks to me just like it does to you, he replies. ‘I hope from now on we will have to keep each other filled in on what we find out and examine items thoroughly together. She says to Lu, ‘I don’t have a problem with that, and it works well for me. With that in mind, take me back to the journey of how these serial killings started, he replies. ‘We woke up one morning to find out that some of the good people were missing. We thought it was probably an accident or a murder until the series started to repeat itself over and over. To be sincere with you, these killings are not just these three victims, she said as Luke studied the evidence before him. ‘Some of the murder cases I examined before now show the same pattern of killing, and some are in a similar style, and the truth is that no clues or mistakes are being made by the killer. The killer is being careful so as to avoid us, and we need to do all we can to nab whoever it is, she continues. ‘Can I get all the case files for murder that look similar to this case?’ he asks. ‘Sure you can. You can get them at the archive, but make sure you inform Kelly, because he lets no one near those files at all. ' Can you send someone to get the files for me while we discuss this? As for Kelly, let me handle him, he says as she calls the store room on her intercom to help get the file boxes she needs.

At the end of work that day, she offers to give Luke a lift back to his hotel room, and they talk a lot. She offers him some cookies for dinner, which he gladly accepts. I would have to see the Mayor tomorrow; he is an old friend from way back. I hope he’d be excited to see me come help him kick out crime from his town and would be expecting my wife in town before the weekend, Luke says. He has never felt comfortable with a stranger or colleague the way he feels with Mrs. Ferguson. She has this motherly way of talking to you and bringing down one’s defenses. They talk a lot while on their way to Luke’s hotel. This includes his past, including how he lost both parents and was raised in a foster home by a foster parent and how he met Summer and Logan during their high school days. Also, the discussion continues with how he joined the police force just to get away from the life of crime, how he met Laura, his wife, and the difficulties they are having. Luke is surprised at how he has bhas suddenlyme an extrovert around this attractive but elderly woman whom he has met in less than one day. He getgoodbyeshe car and says his goodbye once they reach the hotel. She promises to come pick him up the next day. As he ascends the stairs to the empty lighter, bedroom, lighter as lighter,ight has been liftedeart and shoulder. He shoulders the duffel bag Mrs. Ferguson had given him and brings out the home-made cookies and juice she had bought for him on their way back from work. After his home-made cookies and juice dinner, he calls Laura on the phone and shares with her how his day at work had been. After that, he takes a shower, and this time, he sleeps like a baby without a care in the world. There are no crazy nightmares or restlessness, and he does not need Laura to savage him tonight in his dreamland.

CHAPTER FOUR

‘Sergeant Perkins, a letter for you, says the orderly as he brings in a letter for the Sergeant. Perkins Rae has been enlisted in the army as a result of her impeccable ability in school and her indication of interest in joining the army. She has no previous criminal records and no traceable family background, which means she is good to go when it comes to the dirty dealings in military affairs, especially for classified operations. As a result of her ability on the field, her composure off the field, and her astute lifestyle, she rises through the ranks and has been on one too many classified ops, making her one of the deadliest commandoes the military has. She hardly smiles and is always glad to do the men’s job, even though she is a woman. She is a master at disguising her appearance, especially for espionage purposes. She can quickly turn from a loving and sweet lady into a maniacal killing machine, leaving dead bodies in her wake.

‘Who would really be writing to you, Perkins? We all know you are a ghost, her fellow sergeant teases. All she does is walk by the officer’s desk to check out the content of the letter. When she opens the letter, it is blank. Immediately, she recognizes who it is. Why would Paco Altarez write to her? She had told him not to contact her and that he should remain invisible until it was the right time to do so.

On one of such ops, she had an encounter with Paco, who had hacked the military database and obtained classified information. She was sent to neutralize the target and retrieve the top military information. Her sources told her the last location of the fugitive was Trinidad, and she traveled with a few members of her team disguised as tourists while keeping surveillance on the target. Once he was spotted, he was to be neutralized and tortured to give up the information. But this target wasn’t your everyday con man. He was a very sneaky type. Thus, he found her first and, rather than neutralize her, took the risk of convincing her to join his team, as he had a lot of information on her. He told her that the military is investigating and digging up her past, which is something she refuses to give everyone access to, as she feels her past is too rough to allow anyone, not even her employer, the military, into it. She would rather die than let anyone in except the sneaky one, which was Paco. After her meeting with Paco, she decides to do his bidding so as to make sure her secret is safe. She and her team of two commandoes had traced Paco to a local bar, and they decided to have some local beer while waiting for Paco to emerge from the crowd. After drinking what they ordered, the commandoes passed out and were carried out into the street in a dark, lonely alley. They were all murdered. She alone survived the onslaught as she tried to drag herself along the street to get to the safe house and give them the ‘code red’ signal. She was debriefed, and all she could tell her superior officer was that the last thing she remembered was tracing Paco to a bar, and while waiting, they decided to get a drink. The drink had been laced with a strong dose of sleeping pills.

‘They know about me and are coming for you; do not trust anyone. Make sure you find your way out of there and become a ghost, just like you are called. Read the letter. Perkins has to place the letter in front of a candlestick before she sees the words written on it. She knows it is Paco because it is signed with a name called ‘The Phoenix’. ‘I have erased all data concerning you, so there will be no traces, but be assured that they will come for you. They know what went down at Trin.’ The letter continues.

Immediately, she starts packing up the little she can carry. While she is at it, she hears sneaky footsteps outside and becomes alert. Who is it that would want to use the back door? she thinks to herself. But she is wrong, as four men broke into her house using both the back and front doors. She swings into action in a stealthy mood as she disarms the first and cuts his throat in killer style. She follows the second into the restroom, stabs him in the heart multiple times, and takes out his eyes. She does the same to the third and fourth. Standing over their bodies, she takes out her silver-jack hunting knife and dismembers their bodies. Taking their genitals with her, she douses the room with gasoline, letting off the cooking gas in the air as she finally takes a step out of the house. She sets it ablaze and disappears into thin air, leaving no traces behind.

The 19th of June is exactly 30 years since Mrs. Ferguson lost her biological father. That evening, she is visited by John Summer Jr., the fifteen-year-old son of the Mayor. John is loved by all. He is a quiet and nice boy who will most often tell stories to others that his grandmother has told him. John finds himself walking to Mrs. Ferguson’s house. There is a foul smell emanating from the area as a result of the piggery near Ferguson’s home. He ignores the horrid smell as he slowly walks up the stairs on the front porch of the house. The stair creaks under his right foot and gets louder with every step he takes. He is about to knock when he notices that the door is open. He enters, calling, ‘Mrs. Ferguson, it’s John, John Summer.’ There is no answer, but the smell of freshly baked cookies lures him into the kitchen. There he finds Mrs. Ferguson, who welcomes him. ‘Come join me for some of my famous cookies, she invites him. He nods in affirmation and smiles. They talk about their day, and as it is getting late, Mrs. Ferguson tells John that he must start heading home as it is getting dark and that his father might be looking for him by now. To avoid getting grounded by his father, he must go home now. He hugs her before leaving her with a wave and a warm smile.

The path home is lonely and deserted. John Summer walks quickly. He has this uneasy feeling like something is lurking in the dark, watching him and waiting for the right time to reveal itself. He is scared and alone on the dark path, and suddenly, he has chills on his skin. His heart starts to beat faster, and his adrenaline is pumping for action. He sees the headlight of an oncoming vehicle some kilometers away. He is glad that at least he can ask for a lift home. His joy clouds his vision as he does not see the dark figure coming out of its hiding place right behind him, plunging the cold steel into his heart from behind several times. Turning over to face him, the dark figure stabs him right in the chest, blinks, and mumbles something indistinctively. As the headlights of the vehicle get closer, the dark figure has no chance to carry out other intended actions on its victim, like it has done to previous victims. This time, in the evening, the dark figure vanishes into the forest.

That evening, Mr. John Summer, Mayor of Aldershot Town, had given his son, John Summer Jr., permission to take a stroll, not too far away from the house, as the town is a bit dangerous for now. He is engrossed in his reading most of the time. When he asks the maid if his son is back from his stroll and she answers in the negative, he goes out to search for him but can’t find him around. He decides to search further. He drove around town and still couldn't find his son. His last hope of finding his son is at Mrs. Ferguson’s home So he is driving there when he sees the dark figure leap out of the nearby forest, stabbing a young boy. As he is far away, he can do nothing but try to drive faster to the scene. But alas, he is late, as the dark figure has done more than enough damage to the child. He is still trying to get a grip on himself when he realizes the boy is John Summer Jr. He tries running after the dark figure but can’t make it far as the figure disappears into thin air. He tries rushing his son to the nearest hospital, but that doesn’t do any good either, as the child is dead before he gets to the hospital.

The next morning, John Summer Sr. informs the police of his son's passing and what he has seen. Mrs. Ferguson is called over to examine the boy’s body, while Detective Luke takes note of the incident and promises to bring the culprit to book. Mrs. Ferguson arrives a little late and offers everyone some freshly baked cookies, but John Summer declines the offer whileofferwhile urging her to quickly go examine the body for possible clues. She hurries inside and is noticeably bewildered while examining the body. She states, ‘He was stabbed pretty bad, with lots of damage to the heart in particular; it looks like the same serial killer's knife, but the only difference is that this time there was no time to dismember the body’. She turns to John and says, ‘I heard you saw the incident happen; why did you not go after tI killer? ‘' went after the person, but he had disappeared into thin air just as he appeared’ he,replies. ‘That son of a bitch killed my only son’ he,continues. ‘Are you saying you know the gender of the killer’ Lu?e asks, ‘I.m not suresure, what I saw was a figure I could not make out if it was a man or woman. I was far away to even make out if it was a he or she’ h, says. Turning to Mrs. FerFerguson, sasays,I heard my son was around your side of town last niopen,,walkswalksSr.Town,chasesseemsJr.ght. Did he stop by?’ She looks at him and states, ‘You know my door is always open but I assure you that I had no visitors last night, and if he happened to stop by, I would never let him leave by that, not when I know how dangerous the town is now’ She says as he leaves her sugar cookies behind and walk out of the room. Detective Luke walk past John Summer Snr, the Mayor of Aldershot town giving him a pat on the back, as he chase after Mrs. Ferguson to console her as she seem distorted at the death of John Summer Jrn,there,was like a friend to her. Right there she vowed to bring the culprit to book and make sure whoever it was paid fully for all those crimes.

Luke left her and andher went back to the crime scene to comb for Thees, the killer must have left a clue behind unknowingly, so far the only clue they had was that the killer was using a hunting Jack knife, which could be anybody’s own as most people in that part of town had such knife for the hunting festive that comes up every year and would soon be celebrated. ‘Would that be the perfect time to know who the killer was? Is it worth the wait? Is delay dangerous to the case?’ all these question ran through Dec. Luke’s head as he reexamines the crime scene, walking and replaying the action the killer might have to take in his head.

CHAPTER FIVE

‘I need to be at the airport, so I can go pick up Laura’ Luke said to Mrs. Ferguson while they both went over the victim’s details. ‘Can I take you there and drop you and Laura off at your new apartment please? Plus I’m dying to meet her’ Mrs. Ferguson replied him. Luke over the last week had been caught up between getting a place of his own, furnishing it and the serial killer’s case, but in the end he decided to just go for getting a place and focusing on the case, he would leave the furnishing till Laura was around, so she could do her magic.

While he was examining the body of John Summer Jnr, Luke saw something underneath the child’s finger nail and ask Mrs. Ferguson to examine it also to see what it was?, He stepped out to attend to Laura’s call. ‘Hey Lu baby, how is work going? Laura’s voice echoes from the speaker of the cell phone, ‘I’m good honey, just trying to make sure everything works out in the end, so we can solve this case and I can take you on that vac I promised you.’ He replied, ‘Also I can’t wait to have you here, so you can make the house I got a befitting home for us’ He continued while going back to the examination room to see if Coroner. Ferguson was done with the object he saw under the boy’s finger. ‘It was only some piece of wood he had scratched while writhing in the agony of been stabbed’ she said as she showed him some fiber of wood. ‘We need to keep digging, the killer can’t be so perfect, he or she is gonna have to make mistakes and we would be there to nail whoever it is’ he replied.

Mrs. Ferguson dives Detective Luke to the airport, getting there Laura was already waiting. He kisses Laura, he turned to Mrs. Ferguson and said ‘Meet my sunshine and wife Laura Gay’ turning to his wife he said ‘meet the one and only Mrs. Ferguson of Adlershot.’ They exchange pleasantries, laugh and smile as they all worked to the car, She drives them to their house and offered them some cookies since she knows Luke was not going to cook anything. ‘This cookies was specially made for you Laura, since I know Luke is not a good cook, he has tried his hands in the kitchen and has failed woefully’ she said to Laura. ‘Well, the kitchen ain’t case files and examination room, he knows his place whenever I am around’ Laura said as they all laughed. ‘Thanks for your help what would I have really done without you’ Luke said in pure and humble appreciation. Mrs. Ferguson begged to take her leave as she hurried up to her car. She drove in silence as her mind filtered through to her past.

At half past two in the morning, Luke was jolted off his sleep by the shrilling ring of his phone, almost throwing Laura to the ground as she was sleeping in his arms. ‘Luke you would like to see this’ said the voice from the other end. ‘come over to the park at Adlerton behind the church’ the voice continued. He grabbed his clothes as he ran off, placing a kiss on Laura’s head ‘Will see you soon baby, please make sure the doors and windows are locked after I am gone. I love you’ he said while disappearing into the corridor. On getting to the back of the church he saw, the police department cars and those on duty. Exchanging pleasantries he scans the premises for clues that the forensic experts might have missed. It was the body of the assistant pastor of the church and his two sons. His wife had been out of town and was expected the next day as she had gone for a women’s convention. The bodies were laid out and the hearts and eyes were stabbed beyond recognition. Luke was disgusted at the sight and almost threw up as the internal organs of both father and son were exposed, they were both cut open in crude style and it looked like the killer used a blunt object but the stabbing of the eyes and heart were done by the same kind of knife that had carried out previous killing. Luke took note of what he had observed, he was still taking note when he noticed something unusual, that was out of sight, the boy on the scene had something in his hands, and some particles of hair around the back of this ear. Both evidences were taken and were brought to the examination room, awaiting Mrs. Ferguson’s examination. Luke who was eager, asked for a squad car to go bring Mrs. Ferguson to the examination room so as to examine the evidence. Finally they could nail the killer he thought to himself, those belong to the killer then he or she was not going to escape this time.

Mrs. Ferguson came in to the examination room with sleepy eyes, “Luke you sent for me by this time of the night, what was so important that could not wait till morning’ she queried. ‘I think whoever it is made a mistake this time could you examine this evidence in the bag’ he asked her, ‘I would be so delighted to do that or anything to nail this killer.’ He and other stepped out of the examination room so she could run the analysis of the specimen, which would be out in a few days.

After running the analysis, Mrs. Ferguson calls on Luke and the rest of the team so they could analyze the bodies together, they made a list of people who would be questioned, ranging from the pastor of the church, the deceased wife and the neighbors, someone must have seen something and is afraid of talking. At 5 am that morning they all went back home to get some rest and come back to continue with the investigation and interrogation sessions, it was going to be a long day for the team, and this time Luke was not going to leave any stone unturned, if he needed to use threat or torture he was willing to do so, he was not going to sit by and watch people getting murdered every other day. He felt this was his fate, to solve mysteries and bring an end to this evil that keeps lurking in the dark. At 8 am, the team had the first set of people on their list in the interrogation room, the team continues questioning the people one after the other but nothing was forth coming, as no one saw anything, the only one close to seeing the killer only saw a dark figure, disappearing out of the church premises, through the garden that led to a lonely road, after which he heard the sound of a car and the head light came on as the car zoomed off but, he could not see the type of car it was, and worst was other cars had driven through that path by the time he was brought in to be interrogated. Luke went berserk as his face was red with anger, bumping his fist into the one sided transparent bullet proof glass of the interrogation room, if he had gotten this information early they would have been able to track the killer he thought to himself. Now his only prayer was that the evidence he saw on the victim’s body turn out positive so the killer could be identified.

Four days later, the full result of the analysis of the specimen at the crime scene came up, everyone were anxious and held their breath as Mrs. Ferguson read the result and passed it round. ‘the hair particles found on the back of the boy’s ear came back as his father’s hair sample, who was first murdered and the other particle of blood stain came back as the boy’s own blood.’ She said, as everyone sighed because they had high hopes that finally they were getting a breakthrough but in the end it turned out to be a dead end. Luke was the most devastated by the news, he was disorganized and distorted in his thinking and reasoning, it took the help of Laura and Mrs. Ferguson to bring him back to the path he needed to be, with their words of encouragement. By the following week, Luke was vibrant again and he addressed the team this time saying ‘Whoever the killer is has started making mistake, we would need to pile more pressure and more work rate to nab this culprit and when we do we would not hesitate to make him or her pay for what he or she had done to this town. Adlershot is our town, we cannot keep living in fear of whose turn is next but what we know is that we would not give up either, We ride, rise and fight to regain this town once more’ He chants to the applause of the team and all of the department. Even the captain was impressed with his renewed spirit and vibes.

Over the weekend Mrs. Ferguson called Laura, ‘Hey Laura’ she said, after getting a positive reply she continued ‘I would love to hang out with you since Luke is hanging out with the boys this weekend and I do love to take you to cool spot and help with the house design, if you really do need my help.’ Laura agreed for Mrs. Ferguson to come over, she could use the company since Luke was not going to be around. Later in the day, Mrs. Ferguson comes by with lot of cookies she had made and both ladies hanged out together, talking about the past and what they expect of the future as they enjoyed the cookies and tea Laura had made. Laura narrated how she met Luke, and the challenges she had been facing with her marriage to Luke, while Mrs. Ferguson advises her to be patient with Luke, telling her that Luke is a wonderful man. In the Afternoon, Mrs. Ferguson drives Laura to a shop on the other part of town, where interior design materials are sold so Laura could acquire some, she further took Laura to the furniture store to buy some furniture for the house, and they both went back to Luke and Laura’s place to set up the house. When Luke got home he was impressed with the work both ladies had done, he commended Laura and Mrs. Ferguson for the work done, he heaped more encomium on Mrs. Ferguson for her hospitality sine he move to Aldershot. He told her she was welcomed in his house anytime, saw her off to her car and waved her goodbye. That night Luke made sweet love to his Laura his wife, igniting the passion they both had lost, he took her to cloud nine with his touches He started out by joining her in the bathroom, kissing her neck with his clothes on and the water pouring over both bodies, he took her breast in his hands and teased them till she begged him not to stop, while she moaned his name out, he continued giving her sweet pleasure, by taking her nipples in his mouth and rolling his tongue over them, sucking and biting them softly till she was wet down there. Taking of his clothes he went down on her right there in the bathroom, making her moan and scream in ecstasy, he carried her off to the bed, laid made her sit, while he dried up her body with a towel, spreading her naked body out on the bed, he worked her body with his fingers as she screamed his name out in excitement, he inserted himself right in her and rides her slowly at first, savoring all the scent of her that filled the air, the sound of their body meeting together drove him over the edge letting out the sexual beast in him, this was the part Laura loves most about him and he had not lost the enthusiasm of doing this to her every time they made love. This time he went faster and rough to the extent, she thought she was going to break in his arms as he took her to the brink of climaxing, he then turn his attention to her breast and this drove her over the edge as they both climaxed together in oneness of their spirit, soul and body, lying one each other’s body exhausted from the session of love making, which they both have missed over the past weeks. This time they both slept peacefully and his nightmares were gradually becoming a sweet dream as Laura was always in it to save him.

Somewhere in the dark that night, the dark figure manifested again this time was more like a ritual killing but in the same way each victim had been killed before. As Luke and Laura slept peacefully another person had fallen victim to the dark figure and this time it was the owner of the tavern that had taken the place of the arson Uncle Jimmy’s bar. Gabriel Mason and his family killed in style but this time the stabs formed a clue.

CHAPTER SIX

Gabriel Mason was a father to three beautiful daughters, Kilyan, Ashley and Vanessa. His wife was from the other side of town and she was sweet and homely. ‘Gab’ as he was popularly called was a friend to all in Adlershot and was always willing to help in the progress of the town, some months back he had join in search of his friend Brian, who was murdered and also in search of Mr. Bilbane’s missing wife and daughter. As the insecurity grew around the town od Adlershot, his wife had urged him for them to move to her family house since, she was the only daughter and child of her father but Gab had refused stating that he was a man and he would make sure his family were secured and safe. ‘Everyone knew Brian would not have been an easy kill’ she shot at him, weeks before their murder but he turned a deaf ears on her pleas and nagging. ‘These were trying times he would say and I would not turn my back on this city not when I am needed the most’ he would always tell her.

On this fateful night he had gotten home a bit late from work to meet his wife Shane, so worried about him, ‘I was about calling your place of work and maybe the police to tell them you were missing’ she said as he walked into the house, ‘you won’t dare that honey’ he replied after kissing her on the head. ‘I was only worried about your safety not your stubbornness because the streets ain’t safe anymore, if Brian could get killed then we don’t know who would be next’ She fired back as she placed his food on the table. The reason why everyone was shocked about Brian’s death was because he had the experience in different kind of combats as he had served as a member of the Marine Corps. ‘Okay, fine I am sorry I did not inform you iw as going out with the boys after work, I am fine honey and I am home now’ he said. After tsking a shower and having dinner, he spent some time in the girl’s room just looking at their faces, after which he closed the door behind him, it was a ritual he always carried out whenever the girls were not up late to see him come home from work.

That night after making love to his wife, they were both exhausted and were unaware of the dark figure that had been lurking in the basement waiting for the right time to plunge the family into the darkness forever. ‘Gab’ after hanging out with his friends was on his way home but never knew he was been stalked by the same dark figure that had laid waste to Brian, for every dark alley he walked by, the dark figure blends into the darkness to and where there was signs of life, the dark figure took the form of a normal everyday person. On getting to his house, while he was busy talking to his wife, the assailant had managed to sneak in through the garage into the basement waiting for the right time to strike, the dark assailant, was aware of when Gab and his wife were making love and waited patiently, till they were fast asleep.

While they slept the assailant sneaked out of its hiding place, walked into Gab’s room stood over him for a while before deciding how to kill him and what to do with the body. With one full thrust of the knife in his chest which came out through his back, the assailant punctured his heart, while he silenced Gab’s gasp with a handkerchief soaked in chloroform. The assailant then turns to Shane and did same after killing both husband and wife, the dark figure continued stabbing their heart one after the other as if he was pounding it. The figure walked into the children’s room slithing their throat one after the other, carried the bodies to the garden at the back of the house and spreading them out. Mr. Atkins was just stepping outside at that time trying to get some fresh air from the balcony, when he saw the dark figure bringing out the last of the family body. He immediately tried to raise an alarm but it was too late as the dark figure, leaps into the forest not far from the garden and disappeared. Mr. Atkins called the police department that niught to notify them of the event.

‘Luke there has been another murder’ said the voice of the Captain over the phone, ‘this time it is a whole family was killed Luke, Gab and his family were the victims this time’ he continued, ‘Will be there in a jiffy.’ Luke grab his clothes and dash out of the house. Laura checked the time and it was 4:00 on the digital bedside clock she had bought during her shopping with Mrs. Ferguson.

Luke had met Gab once, a fine young man of middle age, who was eking out a living for himself and his young family, he was easy going as far as Luke had known him. What would prompt the killer to go for Gab?, Was Gab having issues with anyone? Who would want Gab and his whole family dead? Why would one be so heartless as to kill even the innocent kids? These and many more were the thoughts running in Luke’s mind when he got to the crime scene. He examine the crime scene and nothing was out of sought, he saw the handkerchief the assailant had used and was looking forward for it to be analyzed, the bodies were laid in a kind of way that looks absurd, with a kind of insignia drawn on the body, that looks like a logo with a military back ground, but what he still does not understand is how the bodies were laid that way. He asked for an aerial photograph of the body but it still was not making sense to him. The premise was sealed off by the police and Mrs. Ferguson was called to check out the bodies at the crime scene before they would be taken to the morgue and examination room for further investigation. After analyzing the scene, the bodies were moved to the morgue, while Mr. Atkins was invited to the department for further questioning on what he had seen that night. He did well to give them a vivid account of what he witnessed and where the killer had gone through, he told them that one thing that was significant was that the killer, wore a dark overall suit which carried the same insignia as the one drawn on the victim’s body. At the end of the session with Mr. Atkins, Luke was more confused, he had more questions on his mind than answers. Was Gab a member of a secret society? Were all the killings serial ritual killing? What was the insignia for? Which military in the world would have such insignia? He called for Mrs. Ferguson to run analysis on all the evidences, while he would go over the crime scene. He was getting really frustrated and tired mentally. Was the killer trying to play a joke on the department?

The analysis he asked for would take time while he wait he was going to go over the crime photograph. While he was examining the aerial view of the photos he discovered that the bodies laid out the way it was formed something he could not make out. He turned the photograph in different direction but his mind was wild to make headway of what his eyes was seeing. He called Mrs. Ferguson to join him in checking out the photograph. She placed it on her transparent examination table to check it out and before she knew Luke while trying to look at what she saw tripped over a wire and spilled some liquid chemical on the photograph, which wasted no time in wipe of the images on the paper. Mrs. Ferguson was mad at him for his carelessness. ‘is there another way of getting those photographs again she asked him’ ‘not at all, that was our chance of knowing what the killer was trying to say and I messed up’ Luke scolds himself. Luke went up to the dark room where photographs are developed to ask for the negatives of the photographs taken at the crime scene. He took it to a private photograph studio owned by Sullivan Arden to be developed. ‘Can you help me get these negatives up’ Luke said to Sullivan, ‘You do have to come in a week time for it or better still if I can finish up before then I would mail them to you. You can leave your mail with me.’ Sullivan replied. Luke headed back to the department thinking to himself at least the analysis would be in soon and it would end soon he thought to himself. He got to the department, tells his team that the pictures would be up soon, but in the meantime everyone should keep themselves busy and in anticipation.

Sullivan was working in dark room trying to develop some negatives rolls, it was four days after Luke had given him the negatives of the photos at the crime scene, when he heard his back door creaking open, ‘James is that you?’ he called out seeking to know if it was his assistant, ‘You were suppose to be out of town, ain’t you visiting your mom anymore’ He said but there was no answer, ‘it could be the wind’ he thought to himself, since it was threatening to rain, he went backdoor to see what was making the stairs and door creak, but found the door ajar, he locked the door and tried returning to the dark room, when he felt something slam the back of his head and he passed out immediately. ‘Where are the negatives?’ the assailant asked, after he was conscious, ‘which negatives I have lots of it in my dark room’ he said while trying to unbind himself, ‘I mean the ones Luke brought to you for development’ the assailant queried, ‘it’s in the drawer in the dark room marked C.S’ he replied, ‘Please let me go now, I won’t say a word of this to anyone’ Sullivan continued. The assailant walked into the dark room to get the negative and was almost out of the dark room, when Sullivan decided to take on the assailant, his hands were unbounded but his legs were still tied to the chair, so it hindered his flow of movement, thereby giving the assailant time to evade Sullivan’s attack. Sullivan kept coming at his assailant with full force, he was not willing to die without a struggle, this fueled his adrenaline, while trying to go for the assailant mid region he missed his steps and could only grab the assailant dark overall suit, the assailant gaining space used a known weapon on Sullivan. Sullivan fought back the pain he felt in his back and kept fighting his assailant but would not last for too long as he gave up. The assailant stood over him and this time did what had been done to all other victims.

Luke was on a date with Laura, when his phone beeped, he took it out to check. ‘Don’t tell me you are needed at work Lu’ She queried him, ‘No! Just got a mail from Sullivan, he is done with the negatives I gave him’ He replied. Luke got home that night and could not check the mail as he and Laura were tired. They had taken a good day off to be together and was not going to let anything ruin that. The following morning when Luke reported for work, he was told by one of the members of his team that some part of the analysis was ready, especially the one meant for the insignia found on Gab’s and his family’s body. According to the report of the analysis the insignia is a symbol of an elite special ops squad, that were called off some years back, as one of the soldier had renegade on the rest of the team as a result of coming in emotional contact with the enemy, the report read. The report also gave a view of what had happened the night when one of their own elite commandos vanished into thin air without traces, the soldier was still wanted but because there was no account of them on the database no one could trace them when they decide to vanish just like their name implied ‘Recon ghost team’. Luke thought of what decision to make, should he let the military in to the case, he weigh his options, If the military gets involved he might be sidelined in the course of the operation, he owe a lot to the Mayor of the town and would want to be the one to bring in the murderer of the Mayor’s son. The analysis of the report was read out to the members of his team in a closed door meeting except Mrs. Ferguson who had called in sick the night before. As a result of how busy the day got, Luke forgot all about the mail Sullivan had sent to him. He visited Mrs. Ferguson later in the day to fill her in on the analysis of the report. They were dealing with professional killer, who had lot of experience and would utilize such if need be, so they need to be careful in their dealings.

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘So you are telling me that the insignia belongs to a military special ops team, how did a commando find his way into town?’ Luke asked. ‘We need to make sure our security detail is intact and up to date’ he said. He lifted the report of the classified ‘Ghost Recon Team’ to read, the report stated.

Operation Lightening Strike

Ghost Recon Squad(Perkins, Dave, Slyvester, Ashton, Brydy, Gavin and Liam)

This operation was to take place in Trinidad and the subject of extraction and possible erasing of one Paco Alcaterez, who had delicate information about top military secrets, classified ops and more. The subject is to be followed closely, with no contact made, and must be taken out ASAP as he poses a threat to national security. The OP would last for three weeks to allow for analysis and possible ways of carrying out what should be done.

The team leaves for Trinidad in a subtle hunt for Paco. Members of the team did not adhere to instructions given and contact has been established. The team were knocked unconscious by an unidentified drug laced on their beer mug when on surveillance and only Perkins Scot survived. Perkins was debriefed and some months later, disappeared after neutralizing a team of elite military squad. She have not been located till date.

The details of the report sent chills down Luke’s body, if the serial killer is a military personnel then the department need to be on high alert.

The next day, Luke was at work when he got a message ‘Sullivan is dead’, the message read, it was sent in by Sparky a member of the team. Apparently the day before, Sparky had asked for the negative Luke had taken from them in the dark developing room, but Luke told him to go get it from Sullivan, Sparky could not as he was busy that day but would check on Sullivan the next day. When he got there, he met Sullivan’s assistant standing over Sullivan’s body trying to call 911, he was shaken. Sparky had to text Luke so he could keep Luke abreast. ‘I am on my way’ Luke texted back. He took off as if he had seen a ghost. ‘what happened here’ Luke inquired when he got to Sullivan’s, The forensic experts had been called in and the place was buzzing with police officers. Sullivan’s assistant was brought in for questioning so as to know what had happened to Sullivan. ‘I had gone to visit my mother on the other side of town, I was supposed to spend two days there, I tried calling him to know how he was, since he did not call me like he would do, his phone was ringing but no answer, so I decided to cut my visit short and make sure I check on him, I only came in this morning to find his body on the floor’ the assistant said. The team were asked to go search Sullivan’s place for the negatives of the photograph at the crime scene. Luke was becoming suspicious of the team, the only set of people who knew he was at Sullivan’s place were members of the team, He feels there is a mole in the team, someone who knows the killer or was the killer himself was compromising the progress made. Information sharing is not safe anymore, Luke thought to himself, ‘I guess I would be sharing information with only Mrs. Ferguson and the Captain for now’.

Few hours later after the team had gone to search for the negatives at Sullivan’s place, they brought back all the negatives they could find, but it was not the one from the crime scene. ‘I think it was the killer that visited Sullivan’ said Rocky, who started analyzing the crime scene using pictures. ‘It looks like there was a struggle between Sullivan and his assailant, as seen in the picture, there are ffragment of broken glassware’ he said. While Rocky was talking, Luke recalled something, the evening of Sullivan’s murder, he had sent a mail to Luke, which Luke had not had time to check because he had been busy, was the mail the reason he was murdered, was there any connection between the now lost negatives and his murder, Luke thought to himself. He could not share this with anyone because he was still skeptical about it all. He opened his phone, to check the mails he had the before. He found Sullivan’s mail, clicked on it and the pictures he had seen which was a source of worry to him, because they could not decipher the meaning of the shape the family had formed when they were placed the way they were by their assailant was now making lot of sense to him, the family had been placed to form the letter B J V. Luke thought to himself what the letter meant, but could not place it. He knew it was not the name of a place, was it the letter for a classified mission, that he would learn from his contact in the military, he picked up his phone to call, ‘Hey Major Felix’ Luke said, ‘Lu what the fuck! It has been ages since we spoke.’ Felix was Luke bosom friend inn\ the University and they had always stood up for each other and over the years their friendship had waxed strong, they parted way when Luke refused to join the military and opted for the police academy, while Felix chose the military. ‘Can you run up something for me Major’ He asked with a pleading voice, ‘Shoot’ Major Felix answered. ‘Well something came up on my end Felix, but I need a bit of an inside help to know in which direction this is going, I am on a case and some letters came up, I want you to use your inner circle strings to call this shot for me. I wanna know the meaning of B J V, I would need that like in a few days please. Do me this favor, I would be owing you for this.’ Luke said, ‘ Consider it done’ said Felix after some minutes of perfect silence.

That evening Mrs. Ferguson had gotten home from work quite early, she was feeling a bit under the weather, She stepped into the kitchen to make her favorite cookies and some tea to go with it. Earlier in the day, Luke had confided in her that, he was suspecting that someone in the team is a mole and knows the killer, giving his reason as to how the negatives would had just disappeared from Sullivan’s place with no traces and more so leaving Sullivan himself dead in the same fashion as the other victims, just that this time the wound exited through the front with skilled precision. As she was baking, she started feeling dizzy, her heart was racing faster than she could imagine and she knew it was one of her normal asthmatic attack, she immediately went for her inhaler which she had handy. After inhaling she felt better. Her asthmatic attack had been from childhood but over the years she had been able to keep it in check and away from the public as she was always apt with what she does.

While Luke was still waiting for analysis of what B J V, he took the the photographs of Sullivan’s place crime scene to study so as to be able to analyse the senseless killing of a perfect gentle man as Sullivan, he noticed something, in the photograph that was not among the items brought in from the crime scene. He went into the Forensic room and searched frantically but found nothing. Whatever it was might be the answer to it all. In all his years of service, one thibg he has learnt was not to leave anything to chance, even the slightest of clue could blow a case wide open and get justice done. He had to get to the crime scene before someone makes a mess of the whole thing. Immediately he took one of the department’s car and drove like a he was racing in a super car race for the ultimate price, he made sure to take the short route. On getting to the scene, he took care not to obstruct or move anything frantically as he search for what he had seen in the photograph lying just by the table beside the legs of the deceased. His hope were high to find that one clue, but he was a bit disappointed when he found out that what he had seen on the photograph was not more than an inhaler. This propped up more questions like who owns the inhaler? Was Sullivan overpowered because he was asthmatic? Is the killer the owner of the inhaler? All these question were running through his mind, he was propped up to reality once again by the shrilling ringing sound of his phone. Out of the speaker of the phone bursts Laura’s voice, ‘Luke its late and you are not home yet, not even a call to let me know you are doing fine and you kept me up and worried’, before he could reply the phone went quiet ikn his hands, Laura had ended the call on him wiothout giving him the chance to edefend himself, he was angry also as he had expected her to understand that he was working. But first he must take the inhaler to the office to be analyzed for finger prints and DNA samples before going home to face Laura’s wrath.

Meanwhile somewhere else the dark figure was standing over another victim, this time a visitor to Aldershot town, who had been there for vacation his name was Seth. Seth was looking for the perfect get away from his family, he had had to deal with lot pf pressure from work of running his late father’s company as the first and only son and also trying to stabilize his father secret life of having a mistress which had been blown wide by the press and his sister’s wild life alongside the pressure from his mother to get married to one of her closet friend’s daughter. His mother’s decision was not pleasant to him as he felt he was old enough to know the kind of girl he wanted and what needs to be done. Seth had contacted a vacation agency and was given the option of travelling to the Bahamas but Seth would have none of that, though he wanted to be far from his family a bit he still also wanted to stay near just in case he was needed, his father would never approve him running far away from home. Seth had opted for A;dershot town because of the serenity pplus no one really knew who he was and no media house or paparazzi would be chasing after him. At least for a few week he would be a free man to do all he wished away from the watchful eyes of the paparazzis, little did he know he would not last more than a week before he met his end at the hands of the a blood thirsty murderer. After killing Seth, in the same way and manner as other victims, the assailant felt weak and had to drag on into the nearby forest. Apparently the assailant was having health issues and started searching frantically for something in his pocket but could not made head way of where it was misplaced, it should be at the last point of murder. The assailant had two options one was to go back to the last point of murder to get what was needed, two was to manage to get to the hideout and sustain the breathing parttern for sometime but this means that weakness would set in over time and would need enough rest for the next day. The assailant opted for the second as the first was against the rules of engagement. But coluld not restrain. The assailant decide to go back to the crime scene to see if he had dropped it there or not, on getting to Sullivan’s place the assailant, broke in only to find that whatn he sought was not there. Heaving a sigh of relief that the item was not there, little did the assailant knew that the item would be the object of getting a clue closer to him for the law enforcement agencies especially Luke’s eagled eye.

Luke had gotten to the office and had given the evidence to be analyzed for finger prints or DNA, he was hopeful that this would yield result soon. If the inhaler was the killer’s own then they were doing the right thing and forcing the killer to make mistake that were unprecedented. He still had to go deal with Laura and would also need to update Mrs. Ferguson on the new development, he thought to himself. He gotn home and found Laura fuming at him refusing to talk to him. “Laura I’m sorry I could not call I was quite busy at woirk with lots of new developments’ he said to her, ‘ then I guess the day of reckoning is here, you would have to chose between keeping me and your job. Luke was furious, how would Laura ask him to chose between her and his job, when she know how much she meant to him and his job also has its place. He tried controlling his anger but Laura kept insisting, he unleashed his anger and shouted at her for the first time in their marriage. He felt bad immediately but before he could utter a word, she left the room and locked herself up in the next room. He was supposed to make some calls that night and work but his fight with Laura had destabilized him, he picked up the photographs to analyse but he could not concentrate he dumped all the files on the bed and slept on the rug. Later that night Laura stepped out of the room and saw Luke sleeping at the door of the room she had gone in to sleep when she was angry at him, she could not bear to see her love suffer this way, she was caught in between waking him up and laying beside him all cuddled up. She took a blanlket placed it over him and kissed his head. She had always loved Luke and would fight to keep them together no matter what happens, she was willing to give her all to him and make him happy, but nhe must also realize that she needs him to sometimes make sacrifices for her also, sacrifices like putting her in front of what he does, telling her his where about so she would know he was safe and not worry all day long.

Luke woke up the next morning to discover that he had been covered up and there she was beside him all cuddled up, looking like the a blosooming flower. Her radiance alone would make any man want to give his all to her. He was going to do his best to make her happy and that would be all he would do, he thought to himself as he smiled and gave her some light kisses. Today was going to be a great day he thought to himself.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Luke got to work that morning looking radiant and happy, he was whistling a tune as he walked in. ‘Hey Luke,’ Sparky called out, ‘Mrs. Ferguson would not be able to make it to work today she called in sick.’ Sparky continued. ‘Remind me to check up on her ;later and meanwhile call the E.F.O (External Forensic Office) we need to run an analysis on something, it came up really late last night’ Luke replied, he was not going to trust anyone with this new piece of information except Mrs. Ferguson and the Captain and for now the Captain was not on seat and Dear Mrs. Ferguson is under the weather and he would not want to share this piece of information on the phone with either of them as he was not sure who was or would be listening, he was not ready to put Dear Mrs. Ferguson’s life on the line as he did Sullivan’s own, so he would have to handle it on his own, if the killer is looking for whom to kill then he would get me to face, Luke thought to himself.

Luke was still ythinking of the bvest possible ways to get thie needed clue for the case when his cell phone rang, the caller id was an unknown number. ‘Hey Luke’ the voice from the other end said, immediatedly Luke recognized Felix’s voice. ‘Major what’s up? You are calling a bit early, what do we have’ Luke replied him, ‘Well the result for what you asked for came in a bit early, guess you are in luck as the rookie who I placed in charge of the work was apt about it so you have your result sent to you on your mail but first I must ask do the name Brenda Joanna Vaughan ring a bell?’ He asked, ‘Not at all, but I would look more into it’ Luke replied. ‘Thanks for everything Major. I owe you one on this’ Luke continued. Who could Brenda Joanna Vaughan be?, what was her connection to the crime or the crime scene?, why did her name come up? Was the rookie right in his analysis or he just wanted to do a quick job and get it over with to fall into the good grace of his boss the Major, all this and many more thought ran through Luke’s mind. In a few minute, his phone beeped and he was alert to an incoming mail, he had to be alone to do tjis so as not to jeopardize his chances of solving the case. He found a nice spot and at a café, opened his mail on the computer at the café and what popped up was the picture of a young girl, in her early years and the picture of a young woman in her early twenties, he decide to go through the profile, but something struck him, she was born in Adlershot town and was a child offender as a child she had commited a crime by killing her abusive father but before the crime couild be linked to her she had disappeared into teen air and no one knows her where about till date, even her first husband had been killed mysteriously. Luke deduced that Brenda Joanna Vaughan is some how connected to the killer in one way or another. This mean he would have to find Brenda first before the killer, was the killer taking revenge on what had happened in the past, Luke thought to himself, he would never know except he finds out who was connected to Brenda or her family.

Luke had intended to pass by Mrs. Ferguson’s place in order to check up on her to know, how she was doing. He had driven in one of the department’s car downtown, but the car suddenly became faulty. He managed to push the car aside to make sure the road was free for other cars to pass by and would have ton call the department’s towing unit to come tow the car away, that would be after he had left Mrs. Fergusons place. He walked slowly and was at the stairs, he could smell the sweet aroma of her cookies, but wasn’t Mrs. Ferguson suppose to be sick hje asked himself. What was she doing up from bed baking, he was still wondering and was aboutr to knock on the door when he over heard her conversation on the phone, he could not restrain himself to eavesdrop on her conversation. ‘Can I get an inhaler sent in today, like in the next two hours, I think ik misplaced mine but I am not sure where I dropped it’ She said over the phone. He heard some more mumble from the other end of the phone. Was Mrs. Ferguson asthmatic and why would an asthmatic person, leave misplace his or her inhaler. He had to find out the truth but he must be patient. He waited for Mrs. Ferguson while she was ending the call he went back to the front porch near the gate and started shouting ‘anyone home. Mrs. Ferguson its Luke’, She replied him and ushered him in. If he is to get his findings right he must also act as if he heard nothing and that means been nice and trying to convince Mrs. Ferguson to believ he came for some reason. ‘I was told you were sick’ he asked her, ‘how are you doing now’ he inquired, ‘I am fine Luke what brought you out to this part of town’ ,she asked him ‘Just to see you and know you are doing ok, plus we missed tyour sugar cookies at work today’ He replied her, they both laughed talked some more before he bagged to take his leave.

After he left Mrs. Ferguson’s house he went to visit the Mayor to inquire of who Brenda Joanna Vaughan was. He met the Mayor, reading and asked to talk to him in private. The mayor took him into his study so they could talk. ‘Mayor, please who is Brenda Joanna Vaughan?’ Luke asked, ‘Don’t tell me this is about the Vaughan’ the Mayor replied, ‘It is’ Luke said. Well I was still a boy, when it all happened, Mr. Vaughan, the catechist, was a crazy man, most times I ask myself how his wife and daughter managed to live with him all those years and how he was the catechist without been checked. Well every day he went out to drink to stupor, his wife and daughters suffered the consequences of his misbehavior’ The Mayor said, ‘But how is that possible? Were they mocked in the town or what?’ Luke asked. “well they were not mocked, if they were mocked it would have been way better than having an abusive father around, that molested both his wife and daughters, physically, mentally and sexually, and it broke her heart every time the man she loved molested her daughters, well she died a broken hearted woman with an enlarge heart’. ‘What happened to the daughters?’ Luke cuts in, “Well one day he had forced sex with his daughter, Brenda and she killed him while he was sleeping, no one knew what happened and for years, the police could not solve that case till, She suddenly disappeared after many years of living in this town. She was even married to a young rich man from her but, we woke up oner day to find him dead and Brenda and disappeared, worst of all was that the property was sold off to a company and till date no one knows where Brenda is. The Vaughan’s family house is where Mrs. Ferguson lives now. They discuseed about other issues, as Luke was about to take his leave, the Mayor held his hands, look in his eyes and said to him “Please bring the murder of my son to justice and help me make this town safe again’, ‘I will try my best my friend, just like in our school days’ Luke replied and walked away.

Luke got to the department and asked to see the Captain. He had not forgotten the incident at Mrs. Ferguson’s place, for once he had never seen her display such illness around the department, why was she hiding her identity of been asthmatic. ‘Hey Captain something came up, I want to know is Mre. Ferguson asthmatic’ Luke asked, ‘No that not in her profile at all’ the Captain said, searching for Mrs. Ferguson’s profiling file and presented it to Luke. ‘I hope there is no problem because I was told she called in sick today’ the Captain continued, ‘There is no problem at all just second guessing’ Luke said. This piece of information was starting to raise doubts in Luke’s mind on Mrs. Ferguson’s personality, but he must play it all cool as not to llose her friendship just in case he is wrong abolut the whole instinct thingy, He thought to himself as he walked away from the Captain’s office. Now questions were beginning to rise in Luke’s head. Why would Mrs. Ferguson buy the Vaughan’s house? Was she in any way related or connected to Brenda and even if she was what was that connection.

He called his friend Major Felix to see if the DNA profiling of Brenda was ever gotten, ‘Hey Felix, I want to call in one more favor, can you help me check for the DNA profiling of Brenda Vaughan’ Luke said. ‘Well you are in luck bro. I am sending it to you right away’ Felix replied. ‘I keep owing you lot of debts’ Luke said as he ended the call. He would have to do the unthinkable, but must be careful when doing so, He thought to himself.

Two days later, he got a call from E.F.O telling him the analysis on the inhaler found was ready and would be sent to him via his mail. To him he had successfully hidden those pat of the investigation from everyone, as he found it hard to trust anyone after the Sullivan’s incident. He sought out a silent and peaceful place to be able to ingest the result of the analysis. He took out his computer to access the mail, it was indicated in the analysis, that fminger prints were found on the inhaler but it was not Mrs. Ferguson’s own as thought out, the finger print was Sullivan’s own finger print, he had deliberately taken on his killer and decided to keep a clue one way or another so as to make it eaiser for law enforcement to find his killer. While the killer was stabbing at Sullivan’s back he had managed to deep his hands in the killer’s pocket take out something nthat belong to the killer and hide it away before he finally gave up. Now it was Luke’s duty to find who it was as Sullivan had played a bigger role in helping them. Since the finger prints were Sullivan’s own, everything was looking like a dead end, he had given up to fate, on his way back to the office a second mail alert beeped, he parked the car on the road and opened his computer, the mail was from E.F.O also but this time the sender, had tender his apologies as the first test analysis result was not complete, they had founsd a second and foreign DNA on the inhaler and analysis had been ran on it to find, whose DNA it was, Luke was surprise to see the DNA sample found on the inhaler matched the one he had gotten earlier from Major Felix, he would have to confirm and that would only be done by a forensic expert, for now everyone was a suspect to him even Dear Mrs. Ferguson an external body would be needed. HE called E.F.O again and asked the forensic expert there to help him read both analysis to see if it was a match. A few hours later he got the shock of hnis life when, the E.F.O called to confirm that the two DNAs were from the same person. It was a match. The call and what bhe found out gave him chills, he was dealing with a very smart person he knows that now and he was not going to be caught up in a web of illusion, he was going to dig deeper to find the truth. It seems Brenda was the killer, but how would he prove this with out her presence in the area, no one had seen her or heard from her after the death of her husband and father. He nhad seen Brenda’s picture as ayoung lady, but what will she look like now, he called the E.F.O again this time sending bthem a photograph of Brenda as a young lady and asking for face aging analysis and a finally result. While he was waiting for the result, he got another call, this time from Felix. ‘Luke I think you should see this, I don’t know how possible it is but I think, the DNA sample of Brenda is also a match for a once wealthy lady her name is Carlton Mendoza of Langlot, it was said she murdered her husband, but one on could prove it not even the police department at Langlot. But what baffles me is she also disappeared into thin air just like Brenda Joanna Vaughan’ Felix said, Luke was speechless. It took the voice of Felix on the other end of the receiver to jolt Luke out of his reverie. ‘Luke are you alright?’ Felix asked. ‘There is also something else you must know Luke. That DNA is also a match for Perkins Scot a member of the Ghost Recon Team who went rogue, you need to be careful or better still let the military handle this if you cannot Luke. You life and that of Laura might be in danger’ Felix said. At the mention of Laura’s name Luke knew he would have to get to the killer before anyone does and that means staying ahead just like he was doing right now. The information must be with him alone and none other so as to get who the mole in the department was. He had a nice plan laid out to do so. That night he went home to seek solace in the arms of the only one whom he could trust Laura his wife. To him everyone in the town was a suspect till he can fish or find out the killer. While he tried to nsleep, the event of the day was running in his mind, one DNA three persons and it was a match, perfect match. The next morning, he called to check on Mrs. Ferguson to know how shje was doing. She was already at the office, She asked him to help her get coffee latte on his way to work that morning. His perfect plan was falling in place. Now all he needed to do was stay calm and collected as to know who is who.

He got the coffee latte and handed one over to Mrs. Ferguson, she in turn offered him her sugar cookies, which they both share from the bagel. While they were eat Mrs. Ferguson asked to be filled in on the happenings of the days she had missed work. Luke told her, they still ahd lot of works to do and that he had not found out anything about the negatives, which means the negative were gone and, there was no news at all. Luke was still. On this when he was called upon, there was another body and this oine was dismemebered in the same fashion as the other victim.

On getting to the crime scene, he asked that the body be identified using the thumbs or the dental records. Few hours later the body wa identified as the body of Seth King, the son of oil magnate. What was Seth doing in this part of town, if this news got out the whole scene was going to blow up in hios face, he had to act fast. He immediately asked for an analysis of the body and crime scene, while he and the captain called the Chief of Police to update him opf wehat had happened. They asjed for time to solve the case and also begged that the Chief of police only give the details of Luke’s death to only his family and no one else. Luke needed to act fast before there would be another vicitim, that is if there wasn’t already.

Once Mrs. Ferguson was done with drinking her coffee, and trying to analyse the body of Seth King, that had been brought in a few hours ago. Luke offered to help her dispose off the recyclable cup used, which sge agreed to without hesitating. Luke took the cup to the waste bin outside the office to dispose.

‘I am sending something to you now’ Luke said over the phone “Can you please give me an analysis of whose DNA it is and if it is a match to that found on the crime scene. I would be waiting for your response.’. Apparently, Luke was calling the E.F.O to help him run analysis on another evidence and this time he was leaving no stone unturn.