Chapter 06: Anonymous

“Morning, neighbor,” Alexa sang as she exited her apartment door. “Sleep well?”

“Like a baby,” he answered back, stepping away from his front door and tossing a smile at her. Slowly he strolled over, trying to keep his eyes on hers but failing as he noticed her dress hugged every individual curve of her body. “So don’t forget, you and I have a lunch date today and dinner tomorrow night.”

“Dinner? When did I agree to dinner?”

“Just now, you don’t remember?” he fiddled with the mail in his hands, flipping the largest envelope with his fingers as he waited on her to respond.

“Hmm, refresh my memory.” 

Chapter 05: Can’t Hurt Them

*Author’s note: This chapter is dreadfully long...sorry! You ask “Did I really need to include the court case?” And I answer: “Yes. Yes I did.” You can skim or skip it really. You won’t miss anything pertinent to the main story. I just couldn’t stop writing so...yeah.*

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“Did you hear me, Hannah?” Travis asked, placing the folder face up on her desk.

She stared at the black file a moment trying to make sense of what was going on. The State’s Attorney had just walked into her office and personally handed her a case. Having just come off a win, she was already abuzz with excitement as to where she’d go next. But this was unprecedented and she was stumped trying to figure out the catch. “I’m sorry, sir,” she replied, suddenly zoning back into the conversation. “You want me to what?”

Chapter 04: What They Don’t Know

“23-year-old Monica Dalton was the only child of a devoutly religious family and had just started her own business. She was a cherished member of the Jamestown Charity Center, an organization that works off of charitable contributions from the community to support underprivileged families. Monica had her entire life ahead of her until her desecrated body was found in the alley behind her office late Monday afternoon across from where Mike Burns teaches history at Pinehurst Middle school. Your Honor, given the abhorrent nature of this crime we request that the defendant be remanded without bail,” Alexa argued as she stood before the court during arraignment.

Chapter 03: It Pays the Bills

“Good morning, I’m here to meet with Travis Stark,” Alexa smiled kindly at the receptionist after entering the large office building of the high-profile litigator. It had been a week since she interviewed for the Assistant State’s Attorney position and after the brief mention of her job hunt to Gavin, she’d forgotten about the opening. Instead, Alexa had resigned herself to finding another alternative into the life of her target. So, when she got home from last night’s surveillance and found a message on her machine from Stark’s office, needless to say she was more than pleasantly surprised.

“He will be right with you. Please have a seat in the lounge and wait.”

Chapter 02: Mousetrap

“Geez, do people eat lunch on their lunch breaks anymore?” Alexa whispered to herself as she tailed her newest target. Gavin Stark had a fairly busy schedule it would seem. He had taken her from his job at Jack Jones BWAN on Madison, to a small café on Lexington, to a tattoo parlor on Fairbanks, to a jewelry store on 18^th and Pine, and back to his auto shop all within the span of an hour. Unsure if he would stay put for longer than ten minutes, she hadn’t left the comforts of her rental car. “Come on baby. Let me see that pretty face.”

Chapter 01: Target Acquired

“Alexa…why don’t you come out and play? I promise I’ll make this quick.” She heard his cruel voice maliciously taunting her. The sounds of his footsteps grew closer to where she hid and she looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. Alexa was badly bleeding but couldn’t see how severe the injury was to her shoulder or side. Pressing her fingers tighter against her rib cage, she stifled her pained cries. “Alexa…come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Quietly, she made her way across the engine room to the maintenance door and hastily unhooked the hatch. The metal squealed, alerting him of her position. And she impulsively raced back toward the ladder to get herself top side. The door behind her sprang open and light from the upper deck poured into the tiny room, perfectly outlining his silhouette in the doorway, knife in hand and a sadistic grin on his face. “There you are!”

Prologue: Mercy is for the Weak

—Brooklyn Heights – Monday, April 8, 1996—

Shafts of morning light filtered through the thick canopy of trees as a molten sun burned above the horizon. Its tangerine rays cast shadows along the high rise apartments and office buildings of downtown, glass towers in the distance gleaming all around, igniting a new dawn in Brooklyn Heights.

It was spring, and the beaches would already be filling up as they always did, the blazing heat forcing the sun worshippers to cool off among the spring breakers by mid-afternoon. Further south, down the county road leading towards the lake, resident vendors prepared for the day, ready to hock their wares to the many tourists hoping to snag a few souvenirs.