A Trail of Murders

Chapter XVIII

I sat in the SUV remembering the horrid experiences that had transpired the previous day. I never expected Myles to kill both himself and Elouise. Also, I never expected Elouise to be pregnant, as the autopsy revealed. The amount of torture she was forced to deal with is incomprehensible. It makes me want to vomit. How she survived, I do not know. He ruined that poor girl's life. In the end, she ended with Stockholm Syndrome, according to our psychiatrist after he finished analyzing her actions.

    Myles had left a letter on his body, confessing to everything and thanking us for playing along with the game. Many of the parents of the victims thanked me for killing that son-of-a-bitch, my bullet shot him in the chest, but I felt like it wasn't enough. He deserved to rot in hell for his crimes, but instead he got the easy way out. Bastard.

    The letter in my hand reminded me of the task at hand. I took a deep breath and opened the car door, walking up to Elouise's parents house. With a heavy heart, I knocked on the door, not looking forward to the news I was about to share. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a younger girl, similar looking to Elouise. This must be Azaria, her sister. I looked at her, clenching my fist around the letter.

    "Hello Miss. Are Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Meeks here?" I asked.

    Her face pulled into a frown before she turned and called out for her Mum and Stephen. The couple rounded the corner, coming into sight. I introduced myself as FBI and followed them into their living room. They immediately proceeded to bombard me with questions about Elouise. I took a deep breath and broke the news, watching the range of emotions fly across their face as the grief overwhelmed them.

    I feel horrible for putting this on them, they don't deserve this. After they had managed to calm down a bit, I brought out the letter.

    "Miss. Elouise Copeland asked me to give this to her family if something happened to her. I never thought I would have to. These are her final words. No one else has read this. I am so sorry for your loss." I spoke, handing the letter to the mother.

    As they began tearing up again, I excused myself and left the house, leaving my card behind. This is the worst part of my job. Shutting the door, I rubbed my face with my hand. I hate this. Pulling out my wallet, I looked at the picture of Tiffany, smiling at the childish joy on her face. I can finally see her today. Pulling out my phone, I dialed the number of the agent protecting them.

    "Hello Agent Valdez." Agent Cross answered.

    "Good afternoon Agent Cross. I'm calling to inform you that you are no longer required to keep my ex-wife and daughter in the safehouse. I'm heading to you now." I greeted.

    There was a brief, suspenseful pause on the line. "Agent, three days ago, I was told by your ex-wife's lawyer to let them leave the premises due to a loophole of some sorts... I am no longer with them." His nervous voice squeaked out, fearing my anger.

    I stayed quiet, processing the information. "FUCK!" I yelled, hanging up the phone.

    I turned the car around, changing the destination to Liliana's apartment. She better not have done anything stupid. The flashing lights of a police car pulled my attention back to the current moment. Cursing under my breath, I pulled off to the side and grabbing my badge. The officer slowly walked up to the window, startled when they saw my badge greeting their eyes.

    "I'm sorry Officer, but i'm in the middle of a life-or-death situation right now and my personal car does not have the siren." I explained, stretching the truth a little bit.

    The officer nodded at my explanation, proceeding to offer a police escort. Why not? I accepted the offer and gave him the address of Liliana's apartment building. We took off down the road, siren blaring. We arrived at the building and I ran up to the door, using the code to get in. I ran to the elevator, only to see it was out-of-order. Swearing under my breath, I ran down the end of the hall to the stair and started sprinting up the flights of stairs until I reached the fourth level. At the top, I paused for a moment, attempting to catch my breath before I rushed to her door, pounding on it and calling out her name.

    "LILIANA!" I yelled, anger lacing my words. "OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR LILIANA!"

    No response came to greet me, so I did what any worried parent would do. I kicked the door in, using all my strength to send it flying. I was greeted by silence and emptiness. I ran through the rooms, looking for any sign of life. Every room had been cleared out. Anger pulsed through my body and I lashed out, slamming my fist into the closet wall, letting it push through to leave a hole.

    "Piece of shit!" I shouted, seeing the blood drip from my fist.

    I sank to the floor, cursing her very existent. That bitch took my daughter. I might not ever see her again. The very thought brought tears to my eyes, pushing me over the edge. The last few months have been nothing but torture and grief. I couldn't save any of Myles's victims, I hadn't been able to make him pay other than death, which is what he evidently wanted, and now I've lost the light in my life, the one person that I would leave my job for.

    The police officer that had escorted me here walked into the room. His mouth formed words but none of them reached my ears. I feel like a part of me has died, like a part of my heart has been torn off, like my soul has died. The officer continued to try to get my attention by moving his arms in front of my face, shouting, and even hitting my shoulder, but he couldn't pull me out of my daze.

    Time passed but I didn't notice. Paramedics arrived to check me out, but I didn't respond. My team members arrived, but I didn't care. My angel is gone, and nothing will fill that void ever again. I shut my eyes in pain, trying to escape from the world. How could she have taken Tiffany? We're in the middle of a custody battle, this is abduction. Hope blossomed within me. I can get her back! No judge would allow a mother who kidnapped her child to obtain sole custody.

    Gradually, my senses returned to me. First came the shouting, then came the bright lights. I blinked and stood up, noticing the people in the room for the first time. Malia walked up to me.

    "Are you okay Wilson? Where are we?" She asked with concern.

    "I'm not okay, i'm furious. We are in Liliana's empty apartment. She took Tiffany and left." I responded.

    Understanding dawned on Malia, and sympathy made its way into her gaze. I turned away. I don't need sympathy, I need my child back. As I turned to leave the apartment, a piece of paper taped to a wall caught my attention. How had I missed this? I walked up to it, pulling it off the wall to read the words. My heart chilled as the words met my eyes. No! This can't be happening. This paper stated that the judge had ruled in favor of Liliana, and had given sole custody over to the bitch I used to call my wife. I dropped the paper, defeat filling my body.

    "I lost." I whispered, pain filling my body. "She's actually gone."

    Malia grabbed on to me as I fell down, losing my composure, not caring about tarnishing my fierce reputation. I stared at everything and nothing. I heard everything and nothing. I felt everything and nothing. I was everything, but now I am nothing. This is the end of my life.