Scorned Read online

  I reached for the card. It was attached to one black rose that sat in the middle of the arrangement. My heart was beating faster with every second.

  Detective Ryan,

  I hope you enjoyed the flowers I left in your car and this arrangement as well. I loved getting to know you this last year, although I have admired you from afar for quite some time. But now I think it’s time I spend some more time getting to know your sister. We might’ve shared a few hours together several months ago before you sent the cavalry in to find her, but I rather enjoy playing with both of you. I can’t wait to see you again.

  P.S. You have a lovely home. I love what you’ve done with the place since leaving Highland.

  “Fuck, he’s going after Amanda,” the words escaped me before realizing I was still at work and that I had Matthew on the line.

  “Who’s going after Amanda,” Matthew shouted. “What the hell’s going on over there?”

  “I-I gotta go. I think Amanda’s in trouble.” I hung up on Matthew and frantically ripped my keys from my desk.

  Rodney reappeared from the holding cell joking around with James. He saw the panicked look on my face. “Whoa, what’s gotten you all twisted?”

  I showed him the card. “It’s him. It’s the bastard that took Amanda hostage. Maybe it’s the same guy that attacked me.”

  “Ali, we already got the guy responsible for that; remember? Nick DeFalco was the Campus Killer. He was the guy that attacked you and Amanda.”

  Rodney’s logic made sense, but not when some sadistic person continued to play mind games with me. “What if it wasn’t? What if DeFalco only killed those people in New Paltz?”

  “Ali, you’re talking crazy. We know it was him. He was staying in an apartment around the corner from his old house. The place had his prints there.”

  “What if it was staged to look like that, or maybe he wasn’t working alone?” I knew the words and conspiracy theories were spewing from my mouth were nothing more than deranged thoughts coming to life. “Rodney, DeFalco said he didn’t do it before I shot him.”

  “What?”

  “I thought it was him trying to plant the seeds for an insanity defense. Then Matthew got the jump on him and DeFalco stabbed him. I had no choice but to fire. He was dead before I could make sense of what he was saying.”

  Rodney and James pulled me into their arms with a loving embrace. James broke away first. “Where’s your sister now?”

  “I-I don’t know.” I grabbed my cell and dialed Amanda’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. “No answer.”

  “Okay, look let’s not get too worked up over this just yet.” He looked over the station and saw a few officers sitting at their desks. “Rodney, I’m going to call in a favor and get us some backup. Meet me at Ali’s house.”

  The boys ran out the door leaving me behind. I ran out after them and stopped James before he entered his car. “Wait for me,” I shouted.

  “Ali, you should stay here. We’ll call you if anything happens.”

  “Fuck that; I’m coming too. This is my sister we’re dealing with. The last time I trusted her with someone else, she ended up in the hands of a psychopath.” There was no way I was letting them go without me. I’d drive myself if need be.

  “Okay, fine,” James said with a sigh. He only known me for about a month, but Detective Thornton already understood, arguing with me was futile.

  I scanned the parking lot. “Where’d Rodney go?”

  “He left as you came barreling out here.”

  A thought rang through my head. Rodney was very hard on himself when Amanda went missing when I was in the hospital. He was supposed to watch her but was called away and left another officer to watch over her and her boyfriend Shawn.

  “We need to go now.” The urgency in my voice was more drastic than it was when I learned that a psychopath was going after Amanda. James looked at me like I was about to break into hysterics. “I’m driving.”

  “Like hell you are.”

  “You don’t understand. Rodney will go in without the backup.”

  “Fuck Ali, get in.” He tossed me the keys knowing I could drive faster than he would and knew the shortcuts to get there sooner. “Just don’t crash my baby.”

  **************************************************************

  The wheels came to a screeching halt in front of my house. There were a few cars parked across the street, one of which belonged to Rodney. My attention turned to the front door. It was already opened and the lights were off.

  James slammed the passenger side door. “Don’t tell me that dumbass was crazy enough to go in there.”

  I removed my gun from its holster and cautiously headed up the path to the house with James trailing behind me. “He blames himself for taking his eye off Amanda last year when there was a threat against her life.”

  “So he thinks saving her is his way of making up for it.”

  I nodded the confirmation as we breached the doorway. We moved slowly, darkness surrounded us. I felt the wall for a light switch. I flicked it on, but nothing happened. I tried it multiple times, but it seemed like the power was off.

  “This is the shit that happens in bad horror movies,” James whispered. “The cops barge in, thinking they’re going to save the day, and then the killer takes them out.”

  “That makes me feel so much better right now.” We both knew it was his way of breaking the tension, but laughing at his dumb jokes was not an option, not with so much on the line. There was no telling who was in the house and if they were a friend or foe. “Hey, you got that flashlight Mr. Happy Pants?”

  “I can’t help it if I’m always happy to see you.”

  “You got it or what?”

  “Yeah, one second.” He dug into his pockets and retrieved the small flashlight. The beam of light illuminated my living room. There was nothing out of sorts and no sign of struggle.

  I circled the living room, trying to turn on more lights and the TV, but nothing was on. Were we having a blackout? I peered out the blinds and saw the street lights were on. The house across the street still had their lights on outside their house.

  “James, I think someone cut the power on my house.”

  “What? How do you…” I motioned for him to meet me at the window. He knew the same thing I did. We were walking into a trap. “Ali, get the fuck outta here.”

  “Not until we find Amanda and Rodney.”

  James braced his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t know what we’re walking into. I’m not going to risk losing you.”

  I pushed him away and ripped the flashlight from his hands. “I’m not stopping until we find them.” I used the light to find my way through the living room. “Rodney; Amanda, are you here?”

  “James shushed me. “If this is a trap, do you really think it’s a good idea to announce you’re here?”

  I knew he was right, but there was a glimmer of hope that one or both would respond and be perfectly fine. There was no reply, but the sounds that erupted from Amanda’s bedroom told me everything I needed to hear. The first sound was a loud thud, as if something heavy fell to the floor, or someone tripped, stumbled, slammed into the wall, or any other number of reasons. The noise that followed was what chilled me to the bone. A single blast from a gun echoed the halls of my house.

  A high pitched scream escaped from the pit of my stomach. “Amanda!” My heart nearly burst through my chest. There was no sense of control left within me. I had forgotten all of my police training and moved towards the hall. James tried to restrain me, but it was too late. His hands grazed my skin as I ran down to Amanda’s room. The door was wide open. Nothing I faced or was trained on could prepare me for what I was about to stumble upon. A large lump lay at the entrance to Amanda’s room. I directed the flashlight onto it, noticing Rodney sprawled out face down on the carpet.

  Oh god, not Rodney. I ran to his side. My fingers traveled along his body checking for any sign of blood. Rodney groaned,
signaling he was okay. I saw his right hand was still clutching his glock. I pulled him in close. “Thank god you’re all right.”

  “What the hell happened,” he moaned.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing. We heard a gunshot and came running.” The flashlight’s beam stilled itself on his face.

  “I-I don’t know. The front door was open when I got here and started searching the house. When I got to Amanda’s room, someone attacked me. Next thing I knew, you were here waking me up.”

  “Then who fired the gun?”

  James stopped short of us and crouched down next to Rodney. “Is everyone okay?” He reached for my hand, but it still clung onto my glock for dear life. “It’s okay Ali, Rodney is fine.”

  I holstered my weapon and stood to help Rodney to his feet. My hand slid over the barrel of his gun and felt it was still hot. “Did you fire off a round?”

  “Um, I don’t know. Everything happened so fast.”

  A sharp stabbing pain erupted in my stomach. I twisted to look over my shoulder. The light hit the slick crimson pool that inched towards us. Someone was shot, someone was injured or dead. It was getting harder to breathe. I gulped down one more breath before raising the light to follow the path to Amanda’s bed. The blood was becoming thicker, some of it was smeared on the floor and on the comforter. Finally I saw who it belonged to.

  “OH MY GOD, MATTHEW!” I ran to his side and focused the light on his body locating a bullet wound in his chest. I ripped the bedding off, using a sheet to put pressure on the wound. “Someone call an ambulance!”

  James joined me in trying to revive Matthew. “No breathing and no pulse,” he shouted. James began mouth to mouth, hoping something might get through long enough to keep him alive so the paramedics could assist him.

  I heard Rodney on the phone calling dispatch. The three of us were frantically trying to keep Matthew alive. But it didn’t matter how hard we tried, he’d lost too much blood. There had been no pulse for over ten minutes. We needed a miracle to save him.

  Sirens blared in the distance. It was too soon for the ambulance. I heard voices shouting from the front door.

  “We’re back here,” Rodney shouted.

  The room became compact in size as half a dozen men in police uniforms entered the room. Hands grabbed my shoulders and pried me from Matthew’s lifeless body.

  “No! Leave me alone!” I scratched and clawed to stay with him. Rodney and another officer dragged me out into the hall as the officers continued working on Matthew. It wasn’t until I was out the front door that everything pieced together. Rodney was the shooter. His gun shot and killed Matthew. My foot connected with his shin. I broke free from his grasp. My hands balled up into fists and begun striking Rodney in the face and chest repeatedly. “You did this. You shot him. You killed him.”

  Rodney raised his hands defensively and backed away letting the other officer restrain me. “Ali, I swear, I didn’t pull the trigger.”

  “Liar, you were the only one in the room with him. You had the gun in your hand. You did it you son of a bitch.”

  Two more officers ran out from the house and did their best to keep distance between Rodney and me. I was foaming at the mouth, fighting off three cops trying to get at him. If they had let me go, I probably would’ve killed him.

  The ambulance pulled up along with another car. The medics rushed past me and through the front door. It was only a matter of time before they confirmed what I already knew. Matthew, the love of my life, was dead.

  “Someone mind telling me what the hell happened,” the Lieutenant said in his thick Columbian accent.

  Rodney’s expression went from complete confusion to “oh shit,” in a matter of seconds. “Uh Lieu, what are you doing here?”

  “I called the station to see how things were, and one of the boys told me they were on their way out to Detective Ryan’s house. Something about a killer coming after her sister. I got in the car to check on everyone and heard the call for an ambulance coming over the radio.” He surveyed the scene in my front yard and saw the officers keeping a barrier between Rodney and me. “Would someone mind telling me why she was trying to beat the hell outta you, or why she’s covered in blood?”

  There was pure hatred in my eyes. “Rodney shot my boyfriend.” The coldness and viciousness in my voice took the Lieutenant by surprise.

  “Is this true Detective Johnson?”

  “I-I don’t know. I don’t remember pulling the trigger. I don’t remember a gun going off. I don’t even remember anything after going into Amanda’s room.”

  “His gun was still warm and in his hand. He was the only one in the room with Matthew.” The officers turned their attention towards Rodney and took their eyes off of me. I broke through the barrier they formed and lunged at Rodney again.

  Once again I was pulled off of him, but this time I was dragged back to the street. Lieutenant Esposito blocked me from ripping my arms free and charging at Rodney again.

  “Stand down Detective, and that’s an order.”

  James emerged from the house. His good looks and sharp dressed style was masked in blood, Matthew’s blood. He glanced up at me, solemnly shook his head and continued down the path.

  Tears fell against my blazing hot cheeks. I bit my lip, afraid of what I might do if they released me again. I wanted to hurt Rodney for what shooting Matthew. It didn’t matter if he meant to do it or not.

  The Lieutenant watched James out of the corner of his eye and pulled him aside. Were they talking about Rodney? Were they talking about what happened? Or were they trying to figure out what to do with me? I didn’t care. The love of my life was dead and my sister was still missing.

  “I’m sorry ma’am; we’re closing this area off,” an officer said. He was standing in front of my neighbor’s house by the street talking to someone who tried driving up to the crime scene that was once my home.

  “Get the fuck outta my way,” the woman’s voice commanded. I recognized the sassiness in her tone. I craned my neck to confirm my suspicion. “This is my sister’s house. I live here with her.”

  I ripped my arms free and sprinted to the street, shoving the officer aside. Amanda was standing on the sidewalk. Her long black hair hung down to her shoulders. She was breathing, unharmed and alive. My body slammed into her. I wrapped her in my arms and held on tightly.

  “Thank god you’re all right.”

  “Of course I’m okay. What’s going on?” Amanda stared at the police cars and ambulances surrounding the place she called home. “Why are all the police here?”

  I hugged her tighter, afraid to break away, afraid that this would be just some hallucination brought on by shock. But she was real, she was here.

  “Where the hell were you?”

  “I went to therapy and a group session before getting a late dinner.”

  “A group session?”

  “Matthew recommended it.” Just hearing his name come out of her mouth sent tears streaming down my face. “Ali, what’s wrong?” I couldn’t tell her, but it was more like I didn’t want to admit it out loud. I had no choice. Amanda’s hand rapidly tapped my shoulder. “What the fuck happened?”

  I turned and saw the medics coming out of the house accompanied by the police while another group of officers escorted Rodney into the back of a squad car. “There’s-there’s been an accident.”

  “What kind of accident?”

  James interrupted before I could tell her. He was still covered in blood. “Ali, your Lieutenant needs us to go down to the station and give our statements.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without Amanda.”

  “That’s fine; she can come too, but we need to go now.”

  James put his arm around me and escorted me back to his car. He held the door open for Amanda, allowing her to get in the backseat. I climbed into the passenger seat and stared out the window. All I could think about was seeing Matthew’s lifeless body slumped against Amanda’s bed.

&nbs
p; Chapter 37-Ali

  James was the first to give his statement. He felt it was important for me to sit with Amanda for a while. In that time I told her everything I saw and what I was led to believe happened at the house. Her face registered nothing but horror and shock.

  “I just talked to him yesterday,” she admitted.

  “Wait, you two still talked?”

  Amanda’s eyes were filled with guilt. “I’ve been trying to convince him to give you guys another shot.” Part of me was annoyed that my sister went behind my back to meddle in my love life, but I knew how much she cared about him. Amanda looked at Matthew as the older brother she never had and wanted us to be happy together. Needless to say, I was a bit curious to hear if she had made any progress.

  “So, what did he say?”

  “I think he was considering it, but was still pretty hung up on the whole you being in danger from your job.” My heart sank deeper. Matthew wanted me to leave my job because it was too dangerous. He was so concerned for my safety, but he was the one who paid the ultimate price.

  “Ali, you’re up,” James said as he emerged from one of the rooms at the station. He had cleaned up and washed the blood off of his hands and face. Unfortunately I couldn’t say the same for his clothes. I was frozen to the spot. James walked towards me with his hand stretched out. “Come on; they’re waiting for you.”

  “What about Amanda?”

  “I’ll stay with her until you get back.”

  The idea of James watching over Amanda didn’t sit well with me. We still had no idea who delivered the flowers and the note. Whoever sent it was still out there. We knew he was dangerous, that was a given. In the course of a year, he nearly killed me, kidnapped my sister and sent us on a wild goose chase for Amanda again which led to Rodney shooting and killing Matthew.

  My eyes gazed at Amanda. “It’s okay sis,” she replied. “I’m not going anywhere. Besides, do you really think someone’ll try anything in a station full of cops?”

  “Amanda, some guy waltzed in here and put flowers on my desk without anyone noticing. I wouldn’t put it past him to try something else.”