Deadly Secrets *Completed*

Chapter Twelve- The Aftermath

Chapter Twelve: The Aftermath

As the morning passed and the afternoon sun shone brilliantly through her bedroom window, Layla rolled over onto her back and stretched her sore muscles. It had been awhile since she had worked her muscles that much. All the dancing, the delicious rough sex...wait... Layla bolted up, last night's memory flashing through her mind. She rubbed her face angrily, "Fuck." She hadn't meant for things to go that far. Yes, she had gone out to have fun, but really, she was just angry that Ryder had left her without a word. She was upset and angry with herself for sleeping with another, regardless if Ryder was gone or not. He still had her heart.

With a frustrated sigh, she climbed out of bed and padded her bare feet to the living room and turned the television on then went to make her coffee. Ten minutes later she had her coffee in hand, the remote control in the other, and a fluffy cover wrapped around her like a coat. Maybe TV could do well for a distraction from her own resentment

Flipping through to the news channel, she sat rim-rod straight, her eyes glued to the screen. It had became  a morbid obsession of hers. Channel seven news had an update about the serial killer every week, and every week Layla had watched diligently; religiously. She couldn't help it. She was drawn to this case. For the past month they had tallied that a total of fifty women were missing from their homes. Only three of the women had been found so far. The Detective suspected hundreds were been missing. Some that could possibly be without family, but ninety-nine percent were from loving homes, loving families, and and a lot of those came from wealth. He couldn't put the pieces together. He was assuming the statistics. The young women were never to have been seen again. How can someone just vanish without a trace? Is that even possible? What with all the technology in today's time it should be fairly easy to find even just a microscopic piece of evidence that points in the direction of the women who were yet to be discovered.

She couldn't imagine what those women suffered through. She spoke her daily routine prayer under her breath while the media kept playing the "Breaking News" on a continuous loop. The poor families of those discovered, unearthed, or pulled free from the deadly current of the Hudson River. They have to relive this every day because of the media. She understood they were just trying to capture the killer, but they could at least go about it more delicately than they were. She knew if it were her and she was missing someone, she wouldn't want to keep tearing open the wound every time the television was turned on. They could be more sensitive towards the victims families.

The Ghost tortures his victims before discarding them into the river, or barrels, or burying them where he knew they'd be discovered. He violently forces himself on them, steals their dignity, and shreds what little soul they have left that he hasn't ripped apart yet. He was a sadistic Sexual Sadist. He got off on the pain of others. He needed them to scream before he could release. Though, there was no DNA on any of the three that were uncovered, she knew that all Sexual Sadists craved and needed the victims to feel the maximum of pain before reaching their peak. She had watched too many murder investigation  shows — cold cases and stalkers that kill to disregard that kind of information.

The three women recently discovered in multiple, black fifty-five gallon garbage bags (that just barely got snagged along the river bank) were raped and tortured, then violently and brutally .killed. The media coverage blew up around the case. Taking the facts of the case, they dubbed the killer a name, like all newspapers and media do.

"The Ghost."

This was really getting out of hand. Were the Detectives ever going to catch a lead on this guy? No, not a guy; a monster. The entire city was in a state of panic and it was only escalating out of hand the longer this serial killer was on the loose. The Ghost has been on the loose for over a few months now (that they know of) and he has upped the tally of victims this month alone by five. His kill count is vastly climbing and the higher the numbers rise, the more hysteria spreads like a deadly poison.