Chapter 31
Dahlia
I pulled into Alex’s driveway at precisely the same time he did.
“Nice car. Where’s yours?”
“It broke down on the way to work. I had to have it towed to a shop. This is a rental.”
“That sucks.” He unlocked the door, and we stepped inside.
Being here with him made me uneasy. Not in a fearful way, but in a disgusted way.
“I’m going to take a quick shower. Is pizza good for dinner?”
“Sure. I’ll order it.” I smiled.
“Make sure to get ham on half.”
“I will,” I said.
Perfect. He was taking a shower, which would give me access to his laptop.
I walked over to the table in the foyer and pulled it from his leather bag.
I took it to the couch and unlocked it. Opening the messaging app, I read his and Daisy’s most current conversation from last night after I sent him home.
DaisyMae22
I’m home wearing nothing but a pair of lace panties. Are you there?
Alex
Yes. But I told you I was busy tonight.
DaisyMae22
But I want to talk to you.
Alex
You will soon. I promise.
DaisyMae22
Here’s a picture so you won’t forget.
I stared at the picture of her lying on her side, legs spread, and her entire body exposed.
Alex
You’re getting me hard.
DaisyMae22
That was the point of the photo.
My stomach twisted into knots as the anger rose up inside me.
It was more evident now than ever what I needed to do.
Nobody made a fool out of me. Glancing at his bag on the kitchen island, I noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the zipper part.
I walked over, removed it, and unfolded it.
It contained an address. I shoved it into my pocket.
Three Days Later
Whatever feelings I had for Alex before quickly disappeared.
He was no better than any other guy out in the world.
I needed to put together the perfect plan, because once the cops found Alex’s body, they’d come knock on my door, and I couldn’t have that.
Maybe I needed to make Alex disappear. Play the sobbing girlfriend part because he up and left.
That would work better than putting his body on display as if the other murderer in Key West did it.
Maybe I’d have Alex write a letter to the university saying he’s resigning.
He’d disappear, and no one would be the wiser.
It was after ten o’clock in the evening when I sat in my car, staring at the folded piece of paper with an address on it that I’d found at Alex’s house. I punched the address into the GPS and followed it to a large home with white siding and a white picket fence.
I picked the lock and slowly opened the door, stepping inside the home where the moonlight streamed through the windows.
Everything smelled expensive. Leather. Mahogany.
A hint of sandalwood lingering in the air.
I wandered through the kitchen, my fingertips grazing the cool marble countertop.
I made my way into the living room, which overlooked the ocean through towering glass walls.
The house was immaculate. Nothing was out of place.
Running my finger across the glass table, there wasn’t a speck of dust.
I entered what appeared to be a study. A computer sat on a large mahogany desk, with files neatly placed in one corner. I opened the drawers. Nothing. Something wasn’t adding up.
I climbed the staircase quietly and entered the master bedroom.
It was exactly what I’d expected. Neat. Organized.
Controlled. I noticed a man’s watch on the dresser beside a pair of silver cufflinks.
When I opened the closet doors, everything was arranged by color.
White shirts. Blue shirts. Gray suits. Black suits.
Raging OCD perhaps? I opened the nightstand drawer. Nothing. The second drawer. Nothing.
I started back downstairs, and something caught my eye. How hadn’t I seen it before? There was a tiny scratch on the hardwood floor. A few inches long. Barely noticeable. Directly in front of the built-in bookcase. I bent down and ran my finger across the mark. It was fresh.
Looking up at the bookcase, I noticed it didn’t sit flush against the wall. Most people would never have noticed. But I did. Predators always notice the little details. I stood back for a moment and examined it.
“What are you hiding?” I whispered.
I swore I smelled bleach. Leaning closer, I inhaled deeply through my nose, and I was right.
There was a bleach smell coming from behind the bookcase.
I started pulling the books one by one, and when I reached the tenth book on the shelf, I heard a click, and the entire bookcase shifted outward.
A hallway stood before me, and at the end was a steel door slightly ajar.
I slowly walked and pushed it open, immediately covering my mouth and nose with my hand to shield them from the smell of death and bleach.
Just like the rest of the house, the room was immaculate.
A stainless-steel table sat in the center.
Cabinets lined the walls. The counters held surgical instruments in perfect rows.
My eyes drifted to the shelves filled with neatly labeled plastic bins.
Watches. Necklaces. Cell phones. Locks of hair.
These were the trophies of a killer. It was then that I realized the cheater I was hunting was also a serial killer.
I heard a muffled sound. Almost as if someone else was here.
I looked around and noticed another door.
Walking over to it, I turned the handle and slowly pushed it open.
Horror swept over my face as I saw a young woman chained to the wall under the dim lights.
Her eyes widened when she saw me. My God. It was DaisyMae22.
I stood there and stared at her as every instinct I’d ignored came rushing back.
The monster the police and FBI had been chasing for years.
The haunting headlines that plagued Key West. The monster I believed I was always one step ahead of.
I saw everything with clarity. That monster had been sleeping beside me the entire time.
I hadn’t uncovered Alex’s secret. I walked straight into it.
Now I faced a problem. If I helped DaisyMae22, she’d run to the police, they’d arrest Alex, and I wouldn’t get my revenge.
I needed my revenge. I thought The Last Chapter Killer and I were just two people moving across the same chessboard without ever meeting.
I was wrong. And I’d been sitting across from my opponent every morning, sharing coffee with him.
My mind started replaying specific conversations we’d had. But now, they sounded different.
Every story deserves the perfect ending.
The best villains never think they’re villains.
People reveal who they truly are if you know what to look for.
I thought he was speaking about literature.
His one true passion in life. But all this time, he hadn’t been talking about his books.
He’d been telling me who he was in his own cryptic way.
I found it hard to believe. Nobody would ever look at him and think he was a murderer.
But then again, nobody would think that about me.
I’d spent weeks thinking Alex was cheating on me.
Technically, he was, but infidelity was only a papercut compared to what I’d just learned.
I slowly closed my eyes. Every move I made from this point on would matter.
Alex wasn’t simply hiding from the police.
He was hiding in plain sight. And now that I knew the truth, I could no longer pretend I was just another chapter in his story.
Was he planning on killing me at some point?
If he were, he’d chosen the wrong woman.
“I’m sorry. I won’t let him hurt you. If I let you go, you’ll run to the police and tell them he’s The Last Chapter Killer. I can’t have you doing that. I need to take care of Alex myself. He’ll pay for what he’s done to you and me. I promise.”
She tried to scream, but the duct tape prevented it. I walked out of the room, shut the door, and made sure the bookcase was intact.