Fear in the Shadows Part 2

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A Story by Nathina Outright

picks up where part 1 left off...

Warning
This story is rated Mature and may contain material unsuitable for readers under 18.

Detective Reece was pacing in the empty room filled with medical supplies. “ I have to be more careful around that girl” he thought to himself. Thankfully, the blow to head he gave her prevented her from recognizing him. He was thankful when Nancy told him to wait outside. When he thought she remembered him, he was busy making plans to kill her. Just as he had a plan he knew would work, Ashley told him the Mary only thought he looked like her rapist. Still, he had to be more cautious. Taking a deep breath, Reece slipped quietly into the hall and walked quickly around the corner and down the stairs that lead to the third floor staff room, smiling at himself for his brilliant idea. Soon they would find her in an area similar to where he was right now. This was his destination. He was supposed to meet Ashley here soon. Ashley. It was all her fault! If she would just give up her silly idea on abstinence until marriage, he wouldn’t have to go after these women to fulfill his needs. So far, he had been lucky. None of his other victims escaped. He had his fun when he was called to investigate each of these murders. His fingerprints were everywhere and nobody suspected a thing.

Raking his fingers through his hair, Reece took another deep breath and stepped into the room labeled “Authorized Personnel Only.” Scanning the room quickly, He caught the eyes of his partner and walked swiftly towards her. “Hey, Ash. Anything new?” He asked as he pulled her into a hug. “Not really,” she said as she smiled up at him. “I was just about to come find you. Where were you anyways?” “It doesn’t matter,” He responded, almost too quickly. Ashley raised her eyebrows and was about to question him further when Julie and Nancy walked in. “Ashley, we got the lab results back on Mary. There is something you should know. Based on her and Mr. Montgomery’s health records, we figured she didn’t have this before her rape and Montgomery didn’t give it to her….” “Spit it out Julie! What did she get?” Ashley demanded. “ Well, you are sure impatient! I was about to tell you that the first rapist gave her AIDS.” Suddenly, Reece’s face went ghost white. Before he could compose himself, Nancy’s eyes locked his. Nervously, he looked away. “Thanks Jules. That will help us narrow our suspects” Ashley said, oblivious to what had happened. “Can you narrow it down any further?” Nancy asked curiously. “I mean, do you have that many suspects?” “Unfortunately, we don’t have any suspects yet. I haven’t had time to go talk to the witnesses yet.” Suddenly, the phone rang, making everyone in the group jump. Julie was the first to respond. She reached for the phone and answered “Dr. Julie speaking….uh huh…right…ok, I’ll be right up.” Julie hung up the phone and answered everyone’s questioning expression. “It’s Mary….she had an accident…” without another word, everyone rushed out of the room and up the stairs.

Bursting into Mary’s room, Nancy quickly scanned the room, searching for anything that might give them clues as to what happened. “Where is she?” Nancy exclaimed. Julie ran down the hall to the Nurse’s Station and quickly asked about Mary. Nancy could only stand there, shocked and worried. After what seemed like an eternity, Julie finally walked back towards the others. “Mary will be fine. Somehow, she managed to fall down three flights of stairs. She broke a few ribs and her left leg. They have her in surgery now trying to reset her leg. She’ll be out shortly.” Ashley looked around at all the people that surrounded her. Finally, she said “How can someone fall down three flights of stairs? I think that’s a bit suspicious. Where were the guards? Didn’t we tell them to stay outside this room?” Reece was the one who responded. “They were falling asleep on the job. I sent them home. I was about to take their place when you told me to meet you downstairs.” “Oh! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Ashley asked. Reece just shrugged and walked back into Mary’s room. “Ashley,” Julie asked, “Do you suspect foul play? I mean, how can anyone know where she was or that the guards left unless they were watching us.” “That is a bit suspicious. I’ll look into it. Right now, everyone in this building is a suspect. Reece, go find the nurse that was on duty. They recently had a shift change, so you’ll need to get her address. I want to know every person that was working from the time we brought her in.” Reece strolled quickly down the hall to find the head nurse. “Nancy, go upstairs and wait for Mary. She’ll want to talk to you. Plus you can serve as her bodyguard.” Nancy took off towards the elevators. “Julie, can you go find Stephanie? Mary needs to talk to someone. I’ll get more information on these people that work here. Someone has to know something!” Julie paused for a minute. “Ashley? Is something wrong? What’s going on with you?” Ashley looked down at her hands and replied “ It’s nothing. I’m just worried about Reece. This case seems to be really hard on him. He’s been distant since we’ve started this investigation.” “Does he always get this emotional on cases?” Julie asked. “ Only recently. The Chief has him working on a lot of rape cases lately. Three young women, all around Mary’s age. We think there might be a connection.” “Well, why don’t you talk to the other victims and try to I.D. this guy? Surely, you’ve already thought of that.” “Normally, we would but, it’s hard to get much out of corpses.” Ashley shivered. Julie was silent for a minute before she said “ How did they die? Did you find the murder weapon?” “They were hit on the head. Two with a rock, the other one had her head slammed against the pavement.” Again, silence. “And Reece investigated them all?” “Yep.”“Well, he’s probably just trying to find this person so the women in this city are safe again. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find this guy.” “Thanks, Julie. And you’re probably right. It’s probably just stress.” “Are you going to be ok?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I better get started with the staff. This is going to take forever!” Ashley grumbled. Laughing, Julie said, “Sounds like you need a break. How about we go get some coffee and then I’ll help you with the staff, Ok?” “Sounds great! But first, go call Stephanie. She needs to be with Mary right now.” “Ok. Meet me up front in five minutes.” “See you then.”
~

Chapter 4: Saved

“Where am I? Why is it so dark?” Mary thought to herself. Suddenly, she saw a bright light coming from a distant room. Mary got up and slipped silently into her robe. She started walking towards the light when it started to grow dimmer. In the midst of the light a man in a white tunic stood, watching Mary. When he caught her eye, he turned and disappeared around the corner. “Wait! Come Back!” she called out as she raced after him. As she rounded the corner, she heard a voice surrounding her and fell to her knees. “Mary…….Mary…..I love you, Mary……” the voice called. “W-who is it? Who’s there?” Mary stammered. Suddenly, the man she was following stood in front of her, holding out his hands. Mary simply stared at him, searching for a clue. Finally, her gaze fell on his outstretched hands. Studying them further, she saw that they were bleeding. She cried out and fell back, crying “Who are you? What do you want?” The man smiled and answered, “Who I am is not important. What you need to know is that I love you and want you to know what happened to you was not your fault!” Frightened, Mary asked “How do you know what happened? How can you love me if you don’t know me? Please tell me who you are.” “I Am Who I Am!* I know you well, Mary. I know your every thought, every deed. I know your heart’s desires, your fears, your dreams. I know you because I made you. I AM GOD! I want your heart, Mary. Will you give it?”