Chapter 32
I was fascinated and needed to know why he did what he did. Every killer had a story. A reason as to why they became the monsters they did.
I sat on the couch and opened my laptop.
I searched for his parents. Nothing came up.
I sifted through the county public records.
I typed in the address to his house where he kept the secret room.
It was registered to a man named Anthony Ridley.
I fell down the rabbit hole searching that name.
Then I stumbled across an article from twenty years ago in Virginia.
The body of a local husband and father, Benjamin Ridley, was found in the woods, propped up against a tree and perfectly posed when a hiker found him. Investigators have yet to disclose Mr. Ridley’s cause of death.
Then another article popped up.
Investigators have told us that Benjamin Ridley was poisoned by his wife, Alana Ridley.
Police raided her home this morning after finding DNA evidence on Mr. Ridley’s body, leading them to obtain a search warrant for the home where they found the poison hidden in one of the cabinets.
Mrs. Ridley confessed to murdering her husband after believing he wasn’t the man she used to know.
“My husband had turned into someone I no longer knew. I had no choice but to give his story a perfect ending. He deserved as much so everyone would remember what a kind and loving man he once was, not the monster he’d become over the years.”
Alana Ridley was taken into police custody while CPS took her ten-year-old son, Anthony Ridley, and placed him in foster care. Stay tuned as this story develops.
Alex had become a killer because of his mother, just like I had.
He was good. Maybe too good. To go unnoticed all these years took careful and precise planning.
In a way, I admired him. But he was killing for the wrong reasons.
He preyed upon young women, got them to trust him, and then killed them for some reason.
A reason I hadn’t figured out yet. But I would soon, and this time, Alex would be the one to suffer his fate.
I couldn’t stop thinking about DaisyMae22 in that house. It had only been a day since I’d found her. She’d be fine. But he had to check on her, right?
After Alex’s literature group ended, he climbed into his car and led me to the house. He pulled into the driveway while I parked along the curb. I reached inside my bag and took out the syringe. He climbed out of his car, and I called his name.
“Dahlia?” His brows furrowed. “What is going on?”
“I know, Alex. Or should I say, Anthony?”
“What?” His brows furrowed.
I smiled. “I want to help you.”
“Help me with what?” He frowned.
“There are things about me you don’t know.”
“What are you talking about?”
I wrapped my arms around him and whispered, “Things you couldn’t imagine.” I jabbed the syringe into the side of his neck.
“What the—” He placed his hand on his neck.
“Nighty night.” I smiled.
I took his keys, unlocked the door, and dragged his body inside.
It wasn’t easy, but I managed. Walking over to the bookcase, I pulled the book that opened it and dragged his body into his torture room, stopping before the door where DaisyMae22 sat behind.
I slowly turned the knob. Her head lifted, and her eyes widened when she saw me.
She looked weak, dehydrated, frail. I almost felt sorry for her. I dragged Alex’s body inside the room.
“I told you I’d take care of him.” I smiled.
I found some rope and tied him to a chair, binding his entire body, along with his feet. He woke, lifted his head, and looked at me.
“Checkmate.” I grinned.
“Dahlia, I—” He struggled in the chair.
“Tell me, Anthony. Why did mommy kill daddy? What kind of monster was he?”
“Dahlia, please. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out my large chef’s knife, running my finger along the steel surface.
“You will tell me everything now.”
“What are you doing with that knife? Dahlia, please. What the hell is going on?”
“I suppose we were playing a game this whole time, Alex. You were running around Key West murdering young women, while I was murdering cheating husbands.”
His eyes widened. “That was you?”
“Yes. Cheaters need to be punished for their sins. See, mommy caught daddy cheating. Mommy became angry and decided to kill him by stabbing him for every month he cheated. In case you’re wondering, the number was twenty-two.
After Kevin, I’d realized I messed up by killing him the same way as I did the others back in New York.
Lucky for me, there was another serial killer in Key West. One I could pin the blame on to keep the cops and that nosy NYPD detective off my back.
So, I made it look like you did it. The Last Chapter Killer.
I have to hand it to you.” I waved the knife.
“It’s a clever name. You like it. In fact, you love it.
You know what I was called back in New York? ”
He shook his head.
“The Widowmaker. I suppose it was fitting since I made wives widows.” I paced around the room.
“Here’s the problem I have. You cheated on me.
You told me you loved me, but still cheated.
I saw the messages, Alex. Anthony. Whatever the hell your name is.
I kill cheaters. It’s how I’m wired. It’s how I came to exist. I needed to protect Katherine from the horrors of that night when our mother took our father’s life.
She needed me and begged for help. So, I took over. ”
“I don’t understand.” His brows furrowed. “You never told me you had a sister.”
“She’s tucked away in her happy place.”
“Dahlia, please, darling. Untie me and let’s work things out. I love you. I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“I can’t do that, Alex. You need to be punished for your sins. I’m afraid this is your last chapter.”
I walked toward him, holding the knife up.
“Dahlia, no!” he screamed.
I stood back and stared at him as his head hung down, blood spilling everywhere. I turned and looked at DaisyMae22, who stared back at me with horror. She was a loose end. If I’d let her live, she’d tell the police about me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I really am.”
Walking to my car, I grabbed the large gas can and returned inside the house.
I poured it all over the room. I pulled out the matches as I stood in the doorway, ignited the whole book, and dropped it to the ground.
Within seconds, the room was up in flames.
I stepped back into the main room of the house, leaving the bookcase open.
I grabbed a bottle of scotch from the mini bar and poured it over the furniture and floor.
I took the other matchbook from my pocket and ignited it, tossing it into the living room.
Out in the dark night, I walked to my car.
I didn’t hurry. I walked like a woman leaving her home to run errands.
Climbing into my car, I gripped the steering wheel as I sat and watched the house go up in flames.
All of it. By the time the fire department arrived, the house would be reduced to nothing but ashes, along with The Last Chapter Killer.