Justice Unserved Page 5

  “Like I’m going to kill you!”

  “Delusional about your own amount of power right up until the very end I see; that’s fitting for you.” The man turns back to look at a couple more photos on the wall; when he speaks again, it’s almost as if he’s speaking to himself. “You know, each one of your victims had a family at some point in their lives. A real, loving and functional family. That doesn’t sit too well for a man who killed his mother, does it?” The man pulls a small zippered container from his pocket and pulls out another syringe and starts to prepare the needle and the clear liquid that is going to go into it. “My only regret is that I don’t have a way to make you feel each and every bit of pain that you’ve inflicted upon these poor, defenseless souls.”

  With all of the pieces put together for the police department, Nathan knows this will quickly become an open and shut case. He has laid all of the breadcrumbs out in the right place and the company has taken care of the rest.

  He doesn’t hurry as he crosses the room. He measures each step because he knows how carefully he is being watched. He keeps his smile in check as he injects the neuro agent into Crane’s arm, knowing that this is a fate worse than death for him and the least the bastard deserves.

  6

  N athan isn’t required to stop by the contact’s house on the way out of town, but she hasn’t taken well the news that her father is going to have to be transferred to a different in order for this to work. However, the company has arranged for all of his medical care to be paid for by a private foundation that Emma isn’t even aware that she applied for, so it’s something she’s chosen to accept. Because of her proactive concern for her father, a serial murderer has been taken off of the streets forever. Never mind that she has provided her small town with the largest bit of gossip it will have have, and might not even be able to prosperity recover from but Emma is a fighter.

  “Thank you.” Emma speaks softly. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that simply posting an ad online for a private detective would have brought her here. She honestly expected a reporter to show up. She hadn’t known any different until he was standing in her living room after having met her father and was giving her instructions on how this needed to be handled and that he would be stopping the killer that night.

  Of course, it was a lot to take on faith alone but she did it and now Emma knows that tomorrow the killer will be found, dead, in her father's room. Not that Hank, or whoever he is, is going to give up that information easily. He hands her an envelope that feels like it’s filled with cash and when she opens her mouth to protest, he lifts his hand to stop her. “Because I was never here.” Emma nods, knowing that she will never see this man again.

  He leaves just as suddenly as he came into their small town, boarding a bus with a ticket that is pre-arranged for him by the company and taking a seat on the sun-faded chair. Nathan watches out of the window as the town fades out of view.

  Finally, the phone in his pocket vibrates after being still all day. He knows what will be on it even before he picks it up. It will be another address, another location for him to head to. There won’t be a delay between orders and there won’t be a waiting period. Nathan Doe will be expected to make his next check-in in exactly thirteen hours, which is one hour more than it will take to arrive there but he doesn’t have the time to wait or to offer long goodbyes. In the sort of life he lives he cannot afford to make attachments to anybody. Not that he has minded working with Emma, and he is glad to have been able to be of some assistance, but the journey will be hers from here on out.

  What does surprise Nathan is the second text message that follows directly after. It’s something he’s not expecting in the slightest. It’s such a simple line of text that it shouldn’t be as heavy as it is. It’s more information about himself than he ever hoped to know again, and he reads the line over and over again.

  “Your birth name is Dylan Ramsey, and you were born in Muncie, Indiana.”

  The story continues . . .

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  About the Author

  Nadia Siddiqui has always been an author at heart—writing stories in her room since she was in high school. Now her stories have come to life. She spends time with her calico cat in Los Angeles, CA.

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  Also By Nadia Siddiqui

  In the Blood of Justice (Anonymous Series Book 1)

  Painted Corpses (Anonymous Series Book 2)

  The Loving Man-Eater (Anonymous Series Book 3)

  Red Tears (Anonymous Series Book 4)

  The Road to Remember (Anonymous Series Book 5)

  Preyed Upon (Dark Place collection)

  The Preyed Victim (Dark Place Collection)

  The Sleep Inn Hotel (Dark Place Collection)

  The Seven Walking Sins (Dark Place Collection)

  The Dead Trail (Dark Place Collection)

  The Badge (Tessa White Series Book 1)

  Hostage News (Tessa White Series Book 2)

  The Deadbeat Vinyl (Tessa White Series Book 3)

  The Rogue Partner (Tessa White Series Book 4)

  One Runaway Victim (Tessa White Series Book 5)

  Getting Holden (Tessa White Series Book 6)