Deadly Past (A serial killer novel) - FINISHED

Chapter 7

Peter's mouth falls open in shock when he sees the contents of the room. He now has no doubt in his mind that Carl is the killer. The room is filled with photos of all the victims and possible targets. He walks up to the desk and starts looking through the photos. He recognises some of the girls, but others he hasn't seen before. He freezes when he sees the photo of Sara. She is walking somewhere with Dan. The photo looks new and it is not the only one. There are different photos that were taken on different days. Carl was stalking her. Hugh joins Peter at the table and starts looking through the pictures as well. "I think you have your guy," Hugh says. Peter drops the photos and storms out of the room. Hugh knows that he is on his way to Carl and follows him. Hugh feels relieved, but at the same time he doesn't know where Sara is. A part of him is wondering if she is dead already. When Peter reaches Carl, he is fuming. All the anger that he held inside him for the last three years comes out of him. "You bastard! You are the killer. We found all the evidence," he says, trying to contain himself. "I am not a killer," Carl says calmly. Peter snaps when he hears those words. He grabs Carl by the collar and drags him onto his feet. "Where is Sara?" he asks. Carl can see the veins in Peter's neck threatening to explode. "I don't know," he says. He knows he isn't lying, but he can't tell them the whole truth. If he tells Hugh and Peter about the real killer, he will be killed for betraying him. Peter's grip on Carl tightens. "I am not going to ask you again. Where is Sara?" he says with a voice as cold as ice. "I don't know," Carl says. Hugh can see that Peter is ready to kill Carl and steps in. "Peter, let go of him! You are going to make things worse. Just cuff him and then we can interrogate him at the station," Hugh says. Peter doesn't let go. He pulls Carl closer to his face. "You will tell me where she is, or I will do the same to you as you've been doing to all those innocent girls!" Peter yells. "Peter! Let go of him. You are going to ruin your career if you don't back down. If he doesn't want to answer he won't answer. Let's just take him to the station and interrogate him there," Hugh begs. "If we don't get it out of him now, we won't find Sara in time. Is that what you want? You don't know how much it kills me every time we find a new victim. You saw one of them, but I had to look at all of them. I had to tell their parents that they lost their child. I am not going to tell Sara's mother those words. I refuse to. You can either be part of this or walk out, because there is no way that I am going to be one of the reasons another girl loses her life," Peter says to Hugh as he loosens his grip of Carl. "I get your point Peter, but there are better ways to get information out of people than beating it out of them. Just trust me," Hugh says. Peter looks at Carl's face. The fear is visible in his eyes. Carl knows what he has to do. "I don't have her. I swear. I only stalked her, but I never took her. He has her. He always takes them," he says. Peter lets go of Carl. "Who has her?" he asks. "I already said too much," Carl says. "You have to say more than that," Peter says. Carl just remains silent. Peter places cuffs around Carl's wrists. "You are under arrest for the stalking and abduction of 33 girls," Peter says and hands him over to Hugh. He knows that he can't arrest him for the murders until he has proof. "Take him to the car. I have to call forensics," he says, and hands the car keys to Hugh. He does as Peter told him. Peter walks back to the room and looks through the pictures until he sees the photo he was looking for. He puts it in his pants' pocket and calls Alice. "Hi Peter. Is everything okay?" she asks. "We might've found the killer. We need a forensics team to see if they can find anything of importance at his home," he says. "I will send a team over immediately. Just send me the address," she says with a sound of shock in her voice. "I will, thank you Alice," he says. "How are you holding up? I know it must be hard for you," she says. "I am coping, but I want to rip his guts out with my bare hands," he replies. He feels overwhelmed with emotions. "If you need someone to talk to, I have a willing ear," Alice says. "I will keep that in mind," Peter says and hangs up. Alice has been there since the beginning. She knows him well and he cares for her, but only as a friend. He knows that she wouldn't go for a man like him. He walks out and heads to the car where Hugh is waiting for him. "The end is in sight," Hugh says trying to be optimistic. "No, this is just the beginning. We still don't know where Sara is, and if he is talking the truth about another person being involved, we are going to have a ton of trouble trying to find him," Peter says. He fears the reality of losing another girl. Peter gets into the car and waits for Hugh to do the same. Carl is on the backseat behind Peter trying to get a way out of his mess. The drive towards the police station is quiet. Peter is trying to calm himself down, while Hugh is trying to find a way to get Carl to talk.