A FRACTURE IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS ✓

TYLER

Kehlani Ashley Parrish. That was the lawyer's full name, and with that invaluable information in hand, Tyler knew everything about her.

With Dallon's help, of course.

Doctor Parrish was born into a wealthy family of doctors and lawyers, but was the bad apple in a fruit tree of sweet peaches. Kehlani parties her way through six years of college, dropping out right before graduation. She became addicted to every kind of drug under the sun and, after the fifth time in rehab, she finally got clean.

Her parents, not wanting anyone to know about her former drug addiction, paid for it all and even helped her get back into university. Eventually, she got her doctorate in psychology and moved onto law school, where she turned from party-wild to ruthless and cold-hearted.

But her doctorate and law degree wasn't what intrigued Tyler. No, it was the overlap of Kehlani's stays in rehab and Jeremy's job history. This whole time, Jeremy had only been doing half of the killings- the overdoses. She had done the strangulations, and he was covering for her. In return, she promised she was going to help him out of jail.

"How come we haven't investigated her?" Tyler inquired, writing down the overlaps on a sticky note attached to the front of his copy of The Shining he'd brought with him.

"There's no reason to," was Dallon's reply. "She might be Uber creepy with a dash of entitlement in the mix, but she has no criminal record, and with an offender like this, that's pretty common, right?"

"Right."

Brendon appeared in his peripheral. Tyler didn't need to look at him to know what he was about to say. "Kill her. You know if the cops catch up to her, it'll be too late. There will be more bodies and she'll pin them all on Jeremy. He might not be innocent, but he's also not the only killer."

Tyler's eye twitched. "Hey, Dal, I'm going to the hotel room. I'm feeling queasy and I don't think taking my meds without food was a good idea."

"Okey dokey."

Dallon didn't notice the connection between them, but Tyler did. He jotted down her address and kissed the back of Dallon's head before leaving, knowing full and well what he was about to do.

If the law couldn't get her, then karma would.

Kehlani lived in a cabin on a 3 acre property she owned just outside of city limits, giving Tyler ample opportunity. He walked the area, making sure there was no witnesses. When he came across the small cabin house, with no cars in sight, Brendon laughed.

"This is almost too easy," he said, clicking his tongue. "Shame. I wanted a challenge.

Tyler contemplated calling backup. If they did this the legal way, justice would be sweeter than if Tyler killed her on a hunch.

"You know you don't want that," Brendon cooed.

"You don't know what I want."

His gut was never wrong, because he heard the familiar sound of the safety of a gun clicking off from behind him. Tyler didn't move, trying to imagine how close she was and if he could grab the gun from her hands. Brendon raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise.

"If you move a muscle, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your head," Kehlani said.

Tyler raised his hands above his head, showing that he was unarmed. He left his gun in his rental and his cane had fallen to the ground. "I'm just a profiler, all I want to do is talk."

"Yeah, right." She patted Tyler's sides and down his back, looking for a weapon. "You're here to kill me."

The barrel of the gun pressed against the back of his head, and Tyler smiled to himself. Brendon leaned in  close, so close that Tyler felt his breath against his cheek. "She said it herself. Kill the bitch."

"Not yet," Tyler mumbled. "I have a plan."

"Who the hell are you talking to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Tyler spring around and grabbed the barrel, wrenching the gun from her hands. He kicked blindly, sending her to the ground, and pointed the gun at her. Kehlani cowered under him, crying out.

He slowly knelt to pick up his cane, phantom pains shooting ho his spine. "Ah, fuck."

"Wait, stop! Please, I'll do anything!"

Tyler checked how many bullets she had and fired one just beside her, making her scream, and put the gun's safety back on. "I want you to write down all of the murders you've committed on paper. I want you to confess, and then I'll let you go."

Kehlani looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes and nodded, on her knees. "O-okay."

He pulled her off the ground and put an arm around her next, holding the gun to her head as they walked through the house into her bedroom. She fell into her seat by a polished wood desk, fumbling for a pen and paper.

"W-What do you want me to write?" She asked shakily, now crying.

"Your confession."

Tyler sat on the bed, watching her as she wrote the letter. She kept sniffing, and with each subtle noise, Tyler's annoyance grew.

Brendon stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. "I think she's almost done, Doctor."

Kehlani looked up, setting the pen down. "Okay. I- I'm done."

"Good." Tyler clicked the safety off. "Stand up."

She did as she was told. Tyler wrapped an arm around the woman's neck, thrusting the gun into her hand and forcing the barrel into her mouth. He made sure to be out of the way of the bullet's path and put his finger over hers.

Kehlani gagged when he pressed the muzzle roof of her soft pallet. A small whimper escaped her, and Tyler tightened his grip. Brendon grinned and made a gun with his fingers, making a silent bang with his mouth. Tyler closed his eyes, and squeezed.

Bang! The shot left a ringing in his ears, making him stumble backwards. He blinked, looking around the room. The fresh gaping hole in the back of Kehlani's head dripped brains and blood. Her hand fell to her side, the gun thudding on the carpet floor.

Brendon was gone. Tyler smiled to himself and started to hum to himself, making sure there was no trace of him ever being there. He climbed back into his rental car, turned it on, and put it in reverse, driving away from his third- technically fourth- murder and feeling so much better.