Chapter 6 - The Blood Message
Detective Vance and I sprinted down the concrete-lined corridor of Cell Block B, our footsteps echoing against the institutional walls. The emergency red lights cast long, distorted shadows that danced like grasping fingers along the floor.
When we reached Holding Cell 4, a knot of panic tightened in my chest so hard I could barely breathe.
The heavy steel door stood wide open, its electronic lock completely disabled. Inside, the room was empty except for the flickering fluorescent overhead bulb. But it was the back wall that made my blood run cold. Splattered across the white cinderblocks in thick, dripping crimson were words scrawled in messy, hurried strokes:
THE GAME ISN'T OVER, DAVID. CHECK THE USB IN YOUR POCKET.
I froze. Slowly, with trembling fingers, I reached into the front pocket of my jacket. My fingers brushed against a small, cold object—a black metal USB flash drive that definitely hadn't been there when I left my house this morning.
"Give me that," Vance ordered, his hand hovering over his holster as he stepped into the cell.
"Back off," I snapped, pulling my hand away. "This is personal. He left this for me."
"Mr. Miller, obstructing an ongoing murder investigation is a felony—"
"Your precinct just let a serial killer walk out the front door because your security is a joke!" I roared, my patience finally snapping. "If you want this drive, you'll have to take it off my dead body!"
Vance glared at me, weighing his options, then curtly nodded to an officer standing nearby. "Get the IT forensics team on high alert. If there's a digital trail, I want every satellite ping and IP address tracked within the hour."
I turned on my heel and stormed out of the precinct, ignoring Vance's shouts. I couldn't trust the police. I couldn't trust the system. Julian was playing a sick, personalized game of cat and mouse, and the finish line was somewhere terrifying.
As I drove toward the safe house where CPS was keeping Maya, my phone buzzed in the cup holder. It wasn't a call; it was an incoming video file transferred directly to my device via local Bluetooth proximity.
The sender ID read: Julian.
Without hesitating, I tapped the screen and hit play.
May you like
The video opened to a dimly lit room lined with rows of identical metal dog cages. In the center of the room sat Maya, sleeping deeply, her breathing heavy and unnatural. Standing over her with a syringe in his hand was Julian, looking directly into the camera lens with a sickeningly sweet grin.
"Tick-tock, David," Julian’s voice whispered softly from the speaker. "You have exactly two hours to find where I’m keeping your daughter. If you’re late... well, the pool has plenty of room for one more."
