Tag: <span>novel</span>

Zealous (Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer)

This month I’m taking part in the A-Z Challenge! Which means I’ll be writing 26 posts (on set days through the month) each one corresponding to a letter of the alphabet. Today is day 26, which means letter Z – the end of the challenge!

My theme for the month is: Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer. Each post will be a new chapter in the story – I’m really excited to finally get this novel idea out of my head and into words. I hope you enjoy it! πŸ™‚

Previous Chapter: Yearning Start from A: Anna

Β 

Zealous

The next morning I pulled into the Sunrise Diner parking lot, yawning. It had been a long night. I saw Johnny through the window, sitting at his usual corner booth. I turned off the ignition but stayed in my car for a while, watching him.

After everything he’d done the past few days I had no doubt he knew I was there. I was starting to doubt my double life was even a secret from him.

I chewed on my lip. It had been a long night with lots of questions from everyone, and I’d only managed to slip away on the pretense of needing to get food – which wasn’t a complete lie.

The captain had been preparing to give a press conference when I left the station. There was no way I wanted to be around for that.

I yawned again then made my way to the diner.

Johnny smiled when he saw me, and nodded to a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie he’d ordered for me.

I grinned. β€œI might need a second slice after the night I’ve had,” I said, sitting across from him

He pushed his plate of pie towards me. β€œIt’s key lime.”

Not my favourite, but it would do. I started eating his slice first, saving the best apple pie for last.

I was half way through his pie, pausing to drink some coffee, when he said, β€œSo, are you going to keep me guessing? What happened?”

I finished the coffee and called to the waitress for some more. She gave me a pitiful smile before scowling at Johnny.

β€œIt went pretty much like we planned,” I said, eating another mouthful of pie.

β€œPretty much?” He said, raising an eyebrow.

β€œYeah. I had to improvise a little here and there,” I said between mouthfuls.

He frowned at me. β€œBut everything went ok? The police got statements from you both? The note arrived to the right place?”

β€œYeah, well, mostly,” I said. β€œThe note was great,” I added quickly. β€œThank your guy for me please. He did an amazing job.”

He smiled. β€œI’ll tell him.”

β€œAnd yeah, I gave my statement this morning,” I said, yawning. β€œIt was a long night.”

The TV near the kitchen caught my attention as I heard Captain Hood’s voice giving some details about the case.

Johnny looked up at the press conference.

β€œYou didn’t want to be there for that?” He said.

I shook my head. β€œNo way. I prefer to keep a low profile. It makes my job easier if my face isn’t plastered all over the news.”

Captain Hood started talking about a missing detective, asking people to call in if they have any information.

β€œSmart of him to call Capinski a ‘missing detective’ at this stage,” Johnny said.

I nodded, taking a bite of apple pie.

β€œA body was discovered this morning which we believe is from the same killer,” Captain Hood said.

Johnny stared at the screen.

β€œWe will release her identity after the family has been notified. But we have reason to believe he won’t be killing anyone else,” said Hood.

β€œDelaney,” Johnny said, his gaze moving slowly from the TV to me.

I chewed the last piece of apple pie.

β€œLike I said, it was a long night.” I grinned.

THE END

Thank you to everyone who has been reading along with me all month, and to everyone joining in later who has made it to the end of my crime/thriller! πŸ™‚ I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

I had originally planned for Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer to be a one-off, stand alone novel/novella, but I’ve fallen in love with the characters so much I may write more Delaney Myers books. What do you think? πŸ™‚

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the A to Z Challenge! And extra congratulations to everyone who made it through the whole alphabet with me – now we can sleep for a month lol!

 


Yearning (Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer)

This month I’m taking part in the A-Z Challenge! Which means I’ll be writing 26 posts (on set days through the month) each one corresponding to a letter of the alphabet. Today is day 25, which means letter Y.

My theme for the month is: Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer. Each post will be a new chapter in the story – I’m really excited to finally get this novel idea out of my head and into words. I hope you enjoy it! πŸ™‚

Previous Chapter: Xanthium Start from A: Anna

Β 

Yearning

We were almost back to the house when I started dreaming of killing Carly. It would have been so simple: kill Capinski – check – then kill Carly and stage her body like the others. Leave some crumbs that lead back to Capinski and I’d get away with it because I’d be in charge of the investigation.

I smiled to myself, but a part of me felt sad for missing out on such a thrill.

Still, being with Johnny was a good consolation prize. And if he hadn’t turned up I’m not sure I could have got the better of Capinski while I was so drugged up.

At least burying his body had given me time to detox – my vision seemed fine, and my limbs were fully under my control.

β€œHow long was I gone?” I said.

β€œFrom the time you drove out from the bus station with Capinski, to the time I found you on the floor of the cellar, was around 8 hours,” Johnny said, pulling up to the stone house.

He turned off the engine and faced me, waiting to see what I was thinking.

β€œHe took Carly somewhere in that time frame, probably at work,” I said. β€œIn fact, he probably spent some time at work to show his face and give him more time with us in the cellar.”

Johnny nodded. β€œYour car and phone didn’t move from here until 2 hours before I found you. He probably brought her here, checked on you, then went to dump the evidence while you were still out of it.”

β€œTake me to my place,” I said. β€œCarly should be asleep for a few more hours, and she’s tied up if she happens to wake up sooner.”

β€œRisky,” said Johnny, raising an eyebrow. But he didn’t argue, he started the car and pulled away from the house.

β€œI need to change out of these clothes, get some cleaning supplies for the blood, and we should deal with Capinski’s car too.”

β€œI can do that,” Johnny said. He glanced over at me when I was quiet for too long. β€œWhat are you thinking?”

β€œI was just trying to figure out how to get a confession written from Capinski,” I said, deep in thought. β€œMaybe I could send an email from his phone?”

β€œIf you have a sample of his handwriting, I know a guy,” said Johnny, pulling up behind my house.

I didn’t ask how he knew my address without me telling him.

β€œYou know a guy?” I said, and laughed.

He grinned. β€œGo get changed, I’ll call my guy while I wait.”

I stuffed all of my dirty clothes – covered in spiky seeds, soil, and blood – into a garbage bag. Then pulled on new jeans, a black top, and black running shoes. I tied my hair back in a pony tail, and only then did I notice the bruises on my wrists. Nothing some makeup wouldn’t cover, but that would have to wait.

I grabbed some baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt for Johnny to change into, a few cleaning supplies, then he drove us to the bus station so I could get my car.

He got in with me. β€œI’ll come and deal with Capinski’s car now,” he said, planning to drive it back from the stone house. β€œMy guy said if you can get him a handwriting sample, he can get you a note within the hour.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. It was brief but left us both smiling.

β€œThis ‘someday’ chat better happen soon, you’re killing me here!” I said, laughing, and setting off towards the stone house.

His smile faltered a little, but he didn’t comment.

Reaching back I took the case file from under the passenger seat, and handed one of the basic forms to Johnny.

β€œThat has his handwriting. And the address at the top is the station, maybe it could be sent there?”

β€œNo problem,” he said. He took a picture of the form with his phone and messaged it to ‘his guy’.

I pulled up to the stone house – it’s grandeur had become lost on me. Johnny had Capinski’s car keys and we planned to meet up at the diner the next day. He knew as well as I did that as soon as Carly woke up, she and I would have to ‘escape’, and the police would have questions for us victims all night.

I waved as he drove away, surprising myself at how eager I was to see him the next day.

Walking into the cellar I could hear the faint sound of Carly’s breathing. She looked so peaceful. I ran my hand along her body, mimicking Capinski’s movement from earlier. She shivered. It was slight, but there.

She was awake.

Next Chapter: Zealous


Xanthium (Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer)

This month I’m taking part in the A-Z Challenge! Which means I’ll be writing 26 posts (on set days through the month) each one corresponding to a letter of the alphabet. Today is day 24, which means letter X (which is a nightmare letter lol!).

My theme for the month is: Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer. Each post will be a new chapter in the story – I’m really excited to finally get this novel idea out of my head and into words. I hope you enjoy it! πŸ™‚

Previous Chapter: Wetwork Start from A: Anna

Β 

Xanthium

Neither of us spoke as we removed Capinski’s clothes and put them in a garbage bag. We carefully rolled him in the plastic sheeting, folding the ends inward to tightly pack him up. Johnny had duct tape in his car too – which gave me even more questions I wanted to ask – so we could seal the plastic pretty tightly. I picked up the rope that had been thrown at me earlier and we used it to get a better grip to carry the bundle closer to the door.

β€œSo how did you find me?” I said, breaking the silence.

β€œThe tracker I put in your phone,” Johnny said.

β€œCapinski left my phone here?” I looked around to see if I’d missed it.

β€œOh, no,” said Johnny. β€œYour phone is in the middle of a lake. I guess he left you here when he went to dump it?”

I nodded.

β€œWell, he took the small tracker from your pocket back to the bus station, then your phone went for a swim a few miles away. So I drove to the last place both trackers were in the same place: here,” he said, smiling.

β€œWith plastic sheeting and duct tape. And a baseball bat,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged.

β€œSomeday, you and I should talk about what you do,” I said.

He smiled. β€œSomeday.”

β€œCapinski said this was his place,” I said. β€œSome kind of inheritance. I’m not sure how much I believe him though.”

β€œI ran a search on the address on my way here. It’s someone’s inheritance, but right now it’s in probate. I can do more digging, I was a little preoccupied getting here quickly,” he said.

I laughed. β€œAnd thank you for that. Really.”

He nodded then motioned towards Carly. β€œWe should get rid of his body before she wakes up.”

We carried him to Johnny’s car. He opened the trunk and I saw it was already lined with plastic sheeting.

β€œSeriously?” I said.

β€œSomeday, remember?” He said, smiling, and lifted Capinski’s shoulders over the edge of the trunk.

I picked up his feet and we pushed him in. I saw a shovel in the cellar, so Johnny ran back to get it and we drove deeper into the woods.

The dirt track started to fade away to just pine needles, so we pulled into a darker patch of trees and got to work digging a hole for Capinski’s body. The area was covered with sharp prickly plants – the seeds sticking to our clothes. Neither of us minded, we’d be burning our clothes later anyway.

When the hole was deep enough we unwrapped Capinski and dumped his naked body in. stuffing the plastic into a trash bag, which we put into the trunk of the car for burning with the clothes.

Covering a body with dirt is much simpler than digging the hole, and in no time we had the area looking untouched, with pine needles and spiky seeds dispersed over the soil to cover the grave.

On the drive back to the house I tried to figure out what to tell Carly.

Next Chapter: Yearning


Wetwork (Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer)

This month I’m taking part in the A-Z Challenge! Which means I’ll be writing 26 posts (on set days through the month) each one corresponding to a letter of the alphabet. Today is day 23, which means letter W.

My theme for the month is: Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer. Each post will be a new chapter in the story – I’m really excited to finally get this novel idea out of my head and into words. I hope you enjoy it! πŸ™‚

Previous Chapter: Victim Start from A: Anna

Β 

Wetwork

Capinski hit my wrists against the floor, eventually causing me to let go of both weapons. He bunched my wrists together in one of his hands, then picked up the knife with his other.

β€œYou’re pathetic,” I said, and laughed at him.

β€œI’m pathetic?” He said. β€œI’m not the one fighting to stay alive right now.”

There was a dull cracking sound, and Capinski fell forward, blood running through his hair. I looked past his shoulder and saw Johnny, with a baseball bat.

β€œIt’s all I had in my car,” he said, shrugging.

He propped the bat against the work bench, then helped roll Capinski off me. I staggered to my feet, my head swimming.

β€œI could kiss you!” I said, smiling. But the dizziness got the better of me and I ran to the sink to throw up.

β€œI’ll pass,” said Johnny.

I rinsed my mouth from the tap that never stopped dripping, then turned and leaned against the sink for support.

β€œIs she dead?” Johnny said, gesturing towards Carly.

β€œI don’t think so.”

He moved to her wrist and felt for a pulse. β€œFaint, but it’s there,” he said.

β€œHe dosed her with some kind of drug, he got me with it too,” I said, looking down at Capinski.

His chest was rising and falling with his steady breathing. It was my lucky day. I crouched down and picked up the knife from near my feet. It dragged along the concrete floor, the sound making me excited.

β€œDelaney?” Johnny said, crouching down across from me.

I didn’t look at him. In one quick movement I stabbed the knife in Capinski’s neck, then withdrew it and stabbed him again. Not my best work. I would have preferred to take my time, but doubted Johnny would have let me.

Blood started pooling at my feet. I looked up – eye to eye with Johnny who was clearly going through something, judging by the clenching of his jaw.

I didn’t say anything. This was a make or break moment, whether he knew it or not. If I needed to take him out too, I would.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute, Johnny finally spoke.

β€œI’ve got plastic sheeting in my car.”

I raised both eyebrows at him, not sure what to say or ask.

He shrugged. β€œI’ll be right back.”

Next Chapter: Xanthium


Victim (Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer)

This month I’m taking part in the A-Z Challenge! Which means I’ll be writing 26 posts (on set days through the month) each one corresponding to a letter of the alphabet. Today is day 22, which means letter V.

My theme for the month is: Secret Diary Of A Serial Killer. Each post will be a new chapter in the story – I’m really excited to finally get this novel idea out of my head and into words. I hope you enjoy it! πŸ™‚

Previous Chapter: Under Start from A: Anna

Β 

Victim

Did I care if Carly died?

The question rolled around in my head. She had always been nice to me, and was good at her job – which I respected. But did I care about her enough to try and save her?

I decided in the end it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let Capinski leave here alive, and then Carly would be saved regardless of my thoughts on the matter.

I had to prevent myself from smiling at the thought of killing Capinski. Killing random people was fun, but taking on someone like Capinski who knew what they were doing, would be thrilling.

He had an advantage because of my drug addled body, but I had the advantage of surprise. At least for now.

Capinski had stopped whistling and was stroking Carly’s hair. He turned around to get something from the rolling tray table and I took my chance.

I stood up, pressing my back to the wall for support, then forced the zip tie off my wrists with a strong downward motion – like I was trained to do.

Capinski turned at the snapping sound from the zip tie. I lunged across the tableΒ at him, probably bruising Carly’s legs in the process but she should count herself lucky.

Capinski brought up his hands to fend me off, one was holding a pair of scissors. I grabbed his wrist as I fell over the other side of the table, pulling us both down to the floor.

He grunted, my knee hitting the side of his abdomen. But the drugs were already starting to affect me – my vision was floating around so much I wanted to throw up, and my grip was starting to loosen.

He flipped me over easily, knocking over the rolling tray table. Knives, rope, and other instruments scattered across the floor away from me.

I kicked my legs beneath him trying to get him off me. My hands around his, trying to stop him plunging the scissors in my chest. I moved one of my hands higher, to his face, and scratched at his eyes. It surprised him and gave me chance to flip him off me.

I scrambled across the floor towards the knives, grabbing the first one in reach as I felt him stab the scissors into my left leg.

I screamed, but turned over and slashed the knife at his arm, catching the fabric of his shirt but nothing juicy.

I screamed again, this time from frustration, and pulled the scissors from my leg.

Capinski looked shocked that I wasn’t giving in and letting him kill me on the spot.

I screamed at him again as I lunged forward, slashing at him with both weapons. He back peddled then raced around the table, picking the rope up from the floor.

I grinned. From his expression it wasn’t a pretty sight.

He threw the rope at me. I batted it away but the drugs made me too weak and I stumbled from the impact. Capinski hit my side like a train, knocking me over, and pinned me to the floor – his hands holding my wrists.

I kicked my legs and screamed, trying to ignore the growing nausea from my head-fog, but Capinski just smiled down at me.

β€œLike I said, you aren’t impressive,” he sneered.

Next Chapter: Wetwork