A Deadly Sorority (Book #1 Sorority Horrors)

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The fireplace roared softly, flickering shadows against Patricia's silhouette. Its fiery glow emitted orange and red flames as their warmth wrapped us in a hug.

"We have to defy the detective's orders!" Patricia announced with stern confidence, swinging her braids behind her shoulders. "We can't depend on the Irvine Police. Hell, they've already let the Crimson Lake Killer murder three of our university students—all female. And now, look, even Steve is missing."

"Wait!" I interrupted, holding up my hand and signaling for Patricia to stop. "The Crimson Lake Killer has never kidnapped a male student. Or any male, for that matter. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely concerned for Steve, and I believe we should start searching for him and Karin. But we can't defy the authorities' orders. Remember what Detective Johnson said—we could all land our asses in jail."

"What other options do we have?" Morgan shifted her head, and I felt her eyes penetrating me.

"We need to devise our own plan, guys. A plan that doesn't disrupt their investigation. As of now, I wholeheartedly refuse to defy the orders of Detective Johnson." I admitted, folding my arms across my chest.

Patricia rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Look, I don't have much faith in the.."

Before Patricia could finish, my phone vibrated in my hand, tinging against my fingers. I looked at the screen, in bright green letters, Detective Johnson's name appeared.

"Hi, Detective!" I greeted in a rushed tone, awaiting to hear what updates he had for me.

"Hi, Kayla." His voice filled with sorrow and emotion, "While my team was searching for Karin near Donovan Lake, we discovered Steve's bike. It was submerged in the lake."

My heart jumped against my ribcage, "Oh my God! Could Steve have possibly drowned?" I asked, my words trembling like a shaky chihuahua.

"We haven't found a body...yet." He assured, "And I highly doubt he drowned. I believe this is a diversion tactic being used, possibly, by the Crimson Lake Killer."

I gasped, "But the Crimson Lake Killer doesn't kidnap or harm males, I thought."

Detective Johnson sighed. "We're not so sure about that anymore. This psychopath has been changing up his game lately, so we can't be one hundred percent positive. We're also trying to piece together the evidence we currently have. Karin's phone was last discovered at Donovan Lake, and we found Steve's bike there as well. It's possible that Steve was a witness, and the Crimson Lake Killer decided he had to take Steve, too. You know, to prevent him from talking."

He continued, "However, this isn't factual information—it's just assumptions I'm making. My team is working diligently around the clock. I'll let you know as soon as we have more updates."

"Thanks, Detective."

"Well, what's up?" Patricia asked as I ended the call, stuffing the phone into my pocket.

Glancing up, Patrica's eyes were peering at me, "What did the detective say?"

"The news is not good," I informed, "They found Steve's bike at Lake Donovan. Not too far away from where Karin's phone was found."

Morgan gasped, and her eyes grew large, "So, they think Steve took her?!" She asked in shock.

I shook my head, "No, not at all." I replied, "Detective Johnson believes that Steve may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Brianna's eyes lit, "Don't tell me he thinks Steve was murdered by the Crimson Lake Killer?"

I nodded. "Not necessarily murdered, but maybe kidnapped along with Karin. He thinks Steve might have seen something, so the Crimson Lake Killer decided it was too risky to leave him and had to take him too."

A look of confusion surfaced across Patrica's face, "That doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?!" I asked.

"First of all, Steve doesn't have a bike." She informed, "Mark does, though. Steve told me he doesn't know how to ride a bike and has never ridden one in his life."

I pondered on Patricia's words, and it had finally sunk in. She was right.

"Come to think of it, I hadn't ever seen Steve riding a bike."

"Neither have I." Brianna added, "And come to think of it, one day while we were walking around campus a guy on bike nearly rode into us and Steve got so mad and said he hated bikes."Brianna explained.

"Wow!" I gaze into Patricia's eyes, "We're onto something here."

"Mark is the only person I know who rides a bike," Patricia said.

"I have to notify Detective Johnson." I informed, "I'm going down to the station, anybody want to come along?"

Patricia shook her head, and so did the other girls. I guess I was on my own now.

I put on my beige coat, slipped my arms into the sleeves, grabbed my car keys, and stepped outside. The rain sprinkled like teardrops as gray clouds hovered above.

I need to get more involved in Detective Johnson's search.

I was determined to get Detective Johnson to divulge more information about Karin and Steve's disappearance. I had to. There was no other choice. It was crucial to our search and investigation, especially since neither the detective nor his team knew Steve the way I did. They could be overlooking critical details and leaving loose ends untied.

Hopping in my car, I pressed the start button, and the engine revved. I hit the gas and began the journey to Detective Johnson's office.