Guilty Deeds: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller (A Caine & Murphy Thriller Book 2) Read online

  Guilty Deeds

  A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller

  Dominika Waclawiak

  Contents

  Guilty Deeds

  Prologue

  1. Back to Work

  2. Nerves

  3. Transgressions

  4. Masks

  5. Fathers

  6. Darkness

  7. Charlie Anderson

  8. Hidden

  9. Luther

  10. Serial Killers

  11. Missing Women

  12. Allegiance

  13. Odors

  14. Questions

  15. Home Alone

  16. Another Disappearance

  17. Ghost

  18. Grunts

  19. Clues

  20. Connection

  21. Prison

  22. Hunches

  23. Porcelain

  24. Darby Gillis

  25. Doppelgänger

  26. A Name

  27. Research

  28. Copycat

  29. Allegations

  30. Lovers

  31. Help

  32. Trapped

  33. Abuse

  34. Visitor

  35. Identity

  36. Suspect

  37. News Cycle

  38. Determination

  39. Surprise

  40. Aftermath

  41. Confusion

  42. Fear

  43. Memorabilia

  44. Fallout

  45. Avoidance

  46. Grabbed

  47. Vivian Riley

  48. Hope

  49. Promotion

  50. Encouragement

  51. Determination

  52. Progress

  53. New Directions

  54. Pride

  55. Disobedience

  56. Time of Death

  57. Realization

  58. Possibilities

  59. Contempt

  60. New Leads

  61. Demons

  62. Happiness

  63. Abduction

  64. Prime Suspect

  65. Disasters

  66. Mother

  67. Snooping

  68. Stakeout

  69. Searching

  70. Door to Door

  71. First Mistake

  72. Alias

  73. Dead Ends

  74. Skill Set

  75. Conflict of Interest

  76. Identity

  77. Convincing Case

  78. Ghost Hunt

  79. Truth

  80. Brute Force

  81. Alibi

  82. Hole in the Wall

  83. Labyrinth

  84. Drunk

  85. The Connection

  86. Ambush

  87. Corpse Walking

  88. A Promise

  89. Back in Time

  90. The Name

  91. Decision

  92. Choices

  93. Faces

  94. Fused

  95. Endings

  Extras

  About the Author

  Guilty Deeds

  Prologue

  April 29, 1975

  It was another scorching hot day in Los Angeles. By noon, it was already ninety-five degrees, and the sweat dripped down Sylvia’s back as she washed the dishes. Darren needed absolute silence to de-stress from this kind of day, she thought. She scrubbed the dish in her hand harder.

  “Kids, come in here,” she called out and heard their running feet on the wood floor. At least, they were listening to her today. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and turned to see her son and daughter standing in the doorway. “You both need to be extra quiet when your father gets home. It’s hot today, and he’s been on his feet all day.”

  Her children nodded and scuttled out of the kitchen. “Don’t run,” she yelled after them and turned back to the dishes. She’d finish the dishes in the next ten minutes and then start on dinner. She checked the time. It was 3 pm and she had an hour left.

  Sylvia broke her routine and barely soaped up the remaining plates. Maybe she shouldn’t be making the roast tonight. It cooked for hours and she didn’t have that kind of time. Dinner was on the table 6:30 sharp, no exceptions, she mimicked her husband.

  Recipes ran through her mind and she remembered the meatloaf. That would cook in an hour. Unplugging the sink, she rinsed off the last dish, her heart thumping. Onion, garlic, breadcrumbs and what? What else did she need? She pulled everything out of the fridge and started on the onions. Why didn’t she start earlier, she thought, and wiped the sweat off of her face. Meatloaf was one of his favorites. He’d be happy with that.

  Once she had the meatloaf in the oven, she boiled the water for the potatoes and started on the salad. It was 5:45. She looked at the mess in her kitchen, her heart dropping. No way she’d get it clean in time. God, why did it have to be so damn hot?

  Sylvia peeked over at Darren as he finished his dinner. He hadn’t said a word since he’d come home and the vein on his forehead throbbed. She shot a glance at Lucas and was relieved that he had almost finished his entire dinner. Lucy, however, was playing around with her mashed potatoes. Lucy looked up at her and Sylvie frowned at her, hoping she would keep silent.

  She turned back to Darren with a big smile.

  “Have enough room for dessert, Darren?” she said and started clearing the dishes.

  “God, no. I can’t eat another thing in this damn heat,” he said and scowled. “Do you have all the fans on?”

  Sylvie heard the threat in his voice. “I have them all running. Should I point one at you?” She rushed into the kitchen, dropped the dishes and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

  “I can grab another fan,” she said. She ran towards the nearest fan and unplugged it.

  “Honey, I...”

  She stopped when she saw Darren’s face, an unnatural shade of bright scarlet. She whipped around to look at her children. Darren glared at Lucas and pushed away from the table.

  “You dirty, stupid boy. Clean up that spill,” he said in a voice so quiet that Sylvia had to strain to hear him. The hair stood up at the back of her neck as she watched her son do his best to mop up the water puddle in front of him. Being only six, Lucas smeared the water more.

  Sylvia watched as Darren’s hand snaked out and struck Lucas. His head snapped back, and the boy fell out of the chair. He got on his hands and knees and crawled down the hall towards his room. Why couldn’t he lie still, she thought.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Darren roared as he undid his belt and pulled it out of belt loop. Sylvia turned away, anger building inside of her.

  Why did Lucas have to be so clumsy? She had told him to be careful, hadn’t she?

  “Dad, no. Please stop. It hurts. DAD!” Lucas yelled as the belt strap hit his back. Lydia put the fan down and turned to her daughter, knowing she would start something.

  She shook her head at her daughter, her eyes narrow with anger. “Don’t,” she hissed at her. Her daughter just stared at her, eyes glittering with tears. Darren stalked back through the dining room and grabbed his keys and wallet.

  “Where are you going?” Sylvia asked.

  “Out.”

  “When will you be back?” She got a slammed door as a response. She stomped to Lucas’ room and found him huddled next to his bed, his head in his arms. “I told you to be a good boy. You can’t anger your father like that. Why did you spill that water? You saw your father’s mood. What were you thinking?” Lucas sobbed. She shook her head in disgust and
left him there. Darren would be out all night, she thought.

  Goddammit, why couldn’t Lucas do as he was told?

  1

  Back to Work

  May 2, 2005 - DAY 1

  The morning sun woke Eva Murphy several seconds before her alarm turned on and blared Heroes by David Bowie through its tinny speakers. Turning the sound down, she stared at the foreign view outside her window. This house is mine, she reminded herself and sat up in bed. Eva rubbed the sleep from her eyes, the tune getting her excited. She hadn’t heard this song in ages and forgot how much she loved it. Eva smiled, throwing the covers off. Today was the day.

  Butterflies somersaulted in her stomach at the thought, and her palms began to sweat. After a month of unpaid leave, today was her first day back at work and she dreaded seeing Larson. He hadn’t spoken to her since they got into it at the precinct. If she was honest with herself, she couldn’t really blame him. She would have been as upset as he was.

  She rummaged through several boxes of clothes until she found her uniform of black slacks and white shirt and threw them on the bed. She would make it up to him, she promised herself and stepped into the bathroom. Maybe after she finished unpacking, she’d invite him over for dinner. The thought settled her mind somewhat as she got ready.

  Eva gulped down her coffee and took another bite of toast as she watched the KTLA morning news. She rarely tuned into Los Angeles news shows, as the anchors were more interested in the goings on in Hollywood then anything resembling journalism. Today, though, was the beginning of the deliberations in the case of Ronnie Walker, the abused boy that died at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend. The case had been in the national headlines for the last couple of weeks because of the level of abuse and Eva had been as incensed by it as the rest of the country.

  The trial got a one minute segment, the mug shots flanking the male anchor as he spoke of the facts in the case, mainly focusing on the investigation into the Social Service worker that handled the boys case file. The foster care system in California was the largest in the States and the Social Service workers couldn’t keep up with their workloads. She knew Ronnie’s case officer was under review, but she doubted anything would happen to her. She hoped the parents got the maximum sentence and found it hard to believe that a mother could stand by and let someone hurt her child like that. For Eva, that was the most perplexing part of the case. They should rot in prison, she thought.

  The male anchor switched to the latest story involving George Clooney’s love life and Eva turned the TV off. She finished breakfast and took one last look at her new place. The moment she had seen it, she knew she had to get it. As if by magic, it came on the market two days later and she made an offer, pulling all the savings she had to lock down the deal. The realtor told her several buyers before her thought the place was haunted and she’d been lucky to get the small bungalow in Los Feliz for such a price. She pinched herself every day to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She never believed she could own a home in Los Angeles proper on a cop’s salary. The best part was she had never felt as much at home as she did here. She gave it one last look, a smile playing across her face. She almost wished she didn’t have to go in today. She steeled herself for her day and walked to the door.

  Eva sat at her desk and waited for the morning debriefing. Larson hadn’t said as much as a hello to her when she arrived. Instead, they sat across from each other pretending to be busy.

  “So anything new going on around here,” she tried. He shook his head keeping his eyes on his paperwork.

  “We’re partners, you’re going to have to talk to me eventually,” she prodded.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone off without your partner. How about that?” He snarled back at her. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten past that.

  She shuffled some papers on her desk. It’s not like there was an arrest made in the Jerry Killer case, she thought sourly. The FBI took over as soon as they heard what happened. For all the hoopla in the papers about finding the Jerry Killer, Eva’s name wasn’t anywhere to be found in any of the case files and she was fine with that. And Sara Caine was still in a coma.

  The only positive thing that happened out of that disastrous case was the Jerry Killer dying thereby ending the decades long killing spree. His suicide still stuck in her craw. He robbed the families of his victims from getting any sort of justice. She shook her head. Why Larson wanted any part of that mess, she would never understand.

  She tried again. “I was protecting you. You do realize I just got off of a one-month suspension without pay. Lieutenant Villabos almost fired me. Did you want that for yourself as well?”

  “You didn’t trust me. You didn’t tell me what was happening. How am I supposed to trust you now?” Larson asked and checked his watch. “It’s time.”

  They and the rest of the detectives in the bullpen got up and headed to the conference room for the Monday morning status meeting. There were only five detectives on duty in Hollywood division this morning and Eva figured she’d at least get some case to work on. She sat down next to Detective Gina Preston and watched as Larson took the furthest seat from her. They had chosen to stay partners for over eight years and this was the way it was going to end? Why couldn’t he give her the benefit of the doubt?

  No one welcomed her back. Even though she hadn’t expected them too, it still hurt. Unpaid leave was a stain on a detective’s record and she’d heard through the grapevine that most of the detectives sided with Larson. No one liked the way she handled the case and some thought she should have lost her badge. She shook the dark thoughts off as Lieutenant Lou Villabos walked in, a stack of cases in his arms. He dropped the files on the table and cleared his throat.

  “It was a quiet weekend. We had two burglaries, a shooting that I handed off to the Gang squad, a domestic dispute shooting, four noise complaints and a missing Los Feliz woman.”

  “A missing woman is a quiet weekend?” Eva asked.

  “Her husband said that she’d done this before, but she’d never been gone this long. It sounds more like a runaway wife case more than anything else,” Lieutenant Villabos explained.

  “Would anyone mind if we took that one?” Eva asked the room. No one answered.

  “Anyone have any objections?” Lieutenant Villabos prodded. When no one responded, he slid the files over to her.

  “It’s yours,” he said. She opened up the file and glanced over the details. The woman, Jennifer Ross, had been missing for over 48 hours. Her husband reported her missing 28 hours after she was last seen. She had a six-year-old son and didn’t sound like a woman who would just take off. Eva glanced up at the sounds of movement and saw that the meeting was over. She grabbed the file and waited until her and Larson were the only ones left in the room.

  “Can I take you out for a drink tonight?” Eva asked.

  Larson acquiesced. “Fine. Why’d you want this case anyway? She’ll turn up tomorrow claiming she went shopping or something.”

  “This feels hinky to me. She has a six-year-old. It’s hard to imagine a mother leaving her kid like that. Most women are the primary caregivers. Her husband sounds like a piece of work too,” she said.

  “Uh, huh,” he said clearly not interested and walked to his desk.

  Eva glared at his back and plopped into her seat. At least they had a case. “I’m going to get some background on the family first,” she said to no one in particular and pulled up DMV records on Richard Ross.

  2

  Nerves

  DAY 1 - EVENING

  Maggie Jensen grabbed her American Doll Samantha and squeezed her. Her parent’s yelling grew louder, and she knew tonight would be a scary night.

  “Samantha, you shouldn’t yell so loud. It scares everybody,” she whispered to the doll. The noise stopped and Maggie strained to hear what was happening now. The house stayed silent.

  She scooted over to her door and peeked out. Dad sat at the dining room table with his daddy drink in hand and she
saw her Mom in the kitchen.

  “Should I go out there, Sam? They look like they’re done.” Samantha smiled up at her. “I’ll go but I won’t say a word.” She gave her best friend one more nod and stepped into the hallway. She tiptoed behind Dad and as soon as she was past him she rushed into the kitchen. The crackle of the steaks frying in the pan was so loud that it sounded like that one time it rained really hard.

  “Can we have pizza tonight?”

  “No, Mags. Daddy wanted steak. You like steak, don’t you?” Her mom asked and wiped her red face with a wet cloth. Maggie wasn’t sure if it was red from crying or cutting the onions. When Mom had cut the onions before both her and Maggie cried and they laughed hard about that. But she hadn’t seen her mom laugh in a long time.

  “Can I help?” Maggie asked.

  “Will you set the table for us?”

  Maggie nodded and Mom handed her three dishes, forks, and knives. “One, two, three.” Maggie counted to herself, all of her focus on not dropping anything. Daddy would be so mad if she dropped something.

  Distributing plates at each seat first, Maggie then set each place. Daddy just watched her do it saying nothing. She finished up straightening a knife and gave him a smile.

  Daddy wasn’t in a good mood today and she needed to be super nice. She sat down next to him and kept quiet, glancing over to see if he was paying attention to her. He wasn’t.

  Her mom walked in with the steak and potatoes and placed them in the middle of the table and Maggie sighed in relief. They could eat.

  “Hope everyone is hungry,” she said in a singsong voice. Daddy still said nothing as he speared the big steak and pulled it on his plate. Daddy finished taking the potatoes and her mom nodded at her.

  It was her turn. She took the smallest piece and some potatoes and waited till Mom and Dad ate. Her tummy hurt again, and she didn’t want to eat but then Mom and Dad would be mad at her. She had to eat, she thought, as she stared at her plate and the throw up came rushing up into her throat.