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Fiction The Murder App

The Murder App | FINAL

A serial killer, technology, and a detective determined to find the truth. Come along on a murder mystery adventure, with the LAST INSTALMENT of “The Murder App” – Chapter 10!

Detective Steven Evans laughed aloud. A cruel, cold sounding laugh as Ella pushed against the restraints. Now that the blur from her head had cleared, she realised that she was tied to a metal chair, in the middle of a basement room. The Murder App killer that she and Steve had been chasing the last few weeks, the one that had killed several woman – including someone she had known in university – was standing in front of her. Her partner was a killer.

‘Steve, what are you doing? Let me go and let’s talk about taking you in.’

Steve laughed again, this time stopping suddenly and returning his face to a deadpan expression. ‘You know that’s not how this ends.’

‘Why then? Why do this Steve?’ She manoeuvred her hands and felt the restraints loosen a little. Obviously, Steve had tied them in a hurry.

‘Because, you found my blood at Jessica’s crime scene.’

Recognition must have crossed her face, because Steve nodded and leaned in closer. ‘There really was only two options for me. Run, or kill you – the only other person in that house who noticed, or mentioned the blood splatter.’

‘Someone else will find it, it’s still over Steve.’ She felt the restraints shift again, and she wriggled discretely until one of her hands was free.

‘Ah, but I’ve already taken care of it when you left. As you said, you could smell the bleach in the house, so one more touch didn’t do any difference.’

‘So now, you’re going to kill me?’ she asked, releasing her second hand and keeping them in place. She wanted to take Steve by surprise.

>>>Get a copy of my ebook KIDNAPPED Entanglement >>>here

Before he could reply, Ella lunged forward and the gun Steve had been holding slammed to the floor. They rolled and fought for control, but Steve was stronger. He pinned her down and she reached up towards him, landing an open handed hit to his cheek. As he recoiled and pulled back his hand for a response, Ella spotted the gun just within reach.

Without thinking, she reached for it just as the impact of his fist landed on her face. The pain sliced through her, but she ignored it as she raised the gun and fired into Steve’s side. Once, twice, three times. The man jolted and fell off of her, and she gritted her teeth as she raised up onto her knees. Blood trickled from his mouth as he tried to crawl away from her. She didn’t let up, shooting him again – this time in his chest twice.

The man who had been her partner fell to the ground – his eyes open just like Jessica’s. Rage and fear was his last expression. The one that her partner, who was supposed to be catching the killers, would have forever. She dropped the gun and looked around the sparse room. Steve had left her phone on a metal table at the other end of the room, and Ella crawled towards it. Still in pain, she dialled for backup and sat alone in the room while they traced the phone.

Steve lay across from her, dead. She’d killed her partner. She’d gotten justice for those women, but she’d had to kill a man to get it. If only he’d turned himself in when the blood had been found – or chosen to run. But he hadn’t. He’d forced her to take things into her own hands.

When backup finally arrived, she’d answered several questions, and had gotten the all clear from the paramedics. Ella let an officer driver her home. The blur of thanks, and walking to her front door melted away at the sight of Ted in the doorway. When he noticed her, the bag of rubbish in his hand dropped and he sprinted into her arms. Picking her up, Ella didn’t complain as he carried her into the house, and onto the couch. Making sure she was okay, he moved into the other room and left her alone.

She would tell him everything that had happened, of course. She would go over all the details, and release the pain in tears, but right now, she was silent. The events of the night washed over her as Samson cautiously approached, licking her hand that hung over the side. She smiled and patted his head as tears started to fall. Sounds of Ted making food in the other room started, with scents of her favourite soup filling the house.

It was over. She had found the Murder App killer, lost her partner, and experienced the trauma of abduction and killing all in one night. Now, it was time to be with her family. Her dog; her husband; her home. She would have time to process it all later. The Murder App case was closed, and she could finally put it to rest.

I hope you enjoyed the final instalment of the Murder App!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Fiction The Murder App

The Murder App | NINE

A serial killer, technology, and a detective determined to find the truth. Come along on a murder mystery adventure, with The Murder App – Chapter 9!

The coffee shop wasn’t too crowded, but not empty either. A few couples were hunched over and quietly talking with each other at a few tables around her. Ella could hear the communication of her team in the inner ear device, but didn’t dare respond. If anyone overheard her talking to herself, she might scare away the potential killer.

What were the odds that the first person she met up with was really the Murder App killer? It would probably be a false alarm, and she’d have to do this over and over again a few times before they really stumbled upon him. Hopefully before he killed another innocent woman. In any case, she waited with a cup of coffee already ordered, and half drunk. He was late.

This guy was either a flake – and not the guy they were after – or he was making her wait. Why would he do that? A test to see if she would react a certain way when he finally showed up? Did he take one look at her and decide she was too much of a challenge?

She needed this one to be the one. The sooner he was off the street – or internet as it were – the better. As she was contemplating calling it quits, a car slammed into another right outside. Both driver’s got out and started yelling to each other, but before she or her team could react, a sound behind her startled her. Before she could turn around, Ella felt a sharp pain slam into the back of her head. The edges of her vision started to darken and blur. The outline of a figure came into her view, but before she could focus on who it was, the world went black.

>>>Get a copy of my ebook KIDNAPPED Entanglement >>>here

Ella felt her head throb before she opened her eyes. Slowly the memory of the car accident, the coffee shop, and the hit on her head came back to her. She flew her eyes open and groaned at the pain. The room was dimly lit, but the blow to her had been hard, and she was feeling the pain.

‘Ah, you’re awake.’ The voice was somewhat familiar, but Ella was still too blurry to recognise it. The shadow of a man slipped into her view from the side, back lit by the strange lighting. The room she was in started to come into focus, and Ella took in what she could. A basement. She was pretty sure this was some kind of basement room, with a swinging light above her, and standing light in the corner. The one in the corner was the only light on in the room.

The man moved towards her slowly, twirling what looked like her gun in his hand. ‘You know, I didn’t want things to end up this way Detective.’ He knew who she was. The whole encounter had probably been a trap. Ella wished she could recall the voice, but things were still fuzzy. She wasn’t even sure words would form yet if she tried.

‘You know, the women in this town are far too picky,’ the man continued, moving closer. ‘They never seem to want the good guys. They never want the ones who will genuinely care about them. A Tom Hanks to their Meg Ryan. They’d rather have a Captain Sparrow.’ The man stopped walking and Ella felt the final fuzz in her head clear as he cautiously stepped into view. The twisted smile on his face was not what she’d grown accustomed to seeing on her partners face.

‘Steve?’

I hope you enjoyed this instalment of the Murder App.
Come back next time for the LAST chapter!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Fiction The Murder App

The Murder App | ONE

the murder app serial blogging series cgsp crime murder writer author

Chapter 1

Ella Strong stood from her crouch beside the victim’s body. The smell was getting stronger, but she stopped breathing with her nose and turned towards the medical examiner. “It looks like the others,” she said.

Sandra Ellis – The Medical Examiner – gave a short nod. Deep crease lines etched in her forehead. “Yes. Same as the other women. All strangled with a red tie, which was brought with the killer.”

Ella sighed, scanning the living room for the victim’s phone. She was hoping the same evidence that was on the other victims’ phone, wouldn’t be there. If it was the same as the others, she had failed another woman.
“Do we have an ID from her purse yet?” Ella asked aloud. Her partner, Steve Evans, was still searching through the victims’ handbag. He looked up from her wallet and nodded. “Yup. Her name is Lisa Renner, 27 years old.” Steve stood with the wallet in hand, joining Ella and Sandra. “Have we found the phone yet?”

Ella began to shake her head when her eyes glimpsed the floor beside the couch. A black phone casing lay just underneath it. She sighed, tucking her notepad into her pants pocket, and heading towards it. The gloves on her hands were necessary, but they made a squelching noise when she moved her hands and fingers.

She leaned down and picked up the phone, pushing the home button. The display lit up and as the screen sprung to life, a picture of a smiling Lisa at Disneyland appeared. The phone was locked, but her latest notifications weren’t hidden. Ella scrolled past the social media notices until she reached the one that she was hoping not to find.
“Mark up Lisa Renner as another victim of the Murder App,” Ella said softly. Steve appeared at her side and looked at the phone over her shoulder and sighed.
Lisa had a notification that her latest ‘love connection’ was on his way.

The ‘Murder App’ name wasn’t from the police. Somehow, the information about the app had been leaked, and the media had dreamed up that little classification; Murder App Killings. The victims had joined on the app and were all awaiting their ‘Prince Charming’ when they were killed. The accounts of the suitors were deleted without a trace within an hour of the deaths.
“Is it too macabre to say, ‘at least we have new leads’?” Steve asked. Ella frowned and shook her head, turning away from him and ignoring the comment. She knew he was right, but the death of another woman wasn’t a good thing – no matter what leads they now had. She was going to catch this guy and make sure he was put away where he belonged. “Let CSI know they can do their final sweep. We need to check out Lisa’s ‘Love Connection’ profile to see if her Prince Charming has deleted his account like the others.”

Ella drove back to the station in silence. She was grateful that the call to Lisa’s house had been late. It meant she could drive by herself, instead of sharing the ride with Steve. Her partner was a great guy, but this case was personal for her. She needed time to think.
The first victim had been her roommate from uni. They hadn’t seen each other in 17 years, and it was too late to reconnect now. Four victims in with this lunatic, and still no solid leads as to who he was.

As she pulled into a parking space out front of the station, she closed her eyes and pulled in a deep, lingering breath. A pounding on the hood of her car flicked them open again, and she frowned at Steve. He grinned at her like a 12-year-old. She shook her head and tried to hide a small smile as she opened the door and followed him inside.

Night shift meant the building wasn’t as lively, but the officers on night shift were still buzzing around with work. The atmosphere always seemed darker on the night shift, and Ella didn’t like to stick around too long. Her husband Ted was probably putting the leftovers in the fridge by now. He used to her late-night working, but she felt guilty when she had to rush away. Ted had been amazing when she’d announced her switch from paralegal to cop ten years ago. She’d gotten through training and reached detective, but the job was already taking its toll on her empathetic heart.

After briefing their boss, Ella and Steve returned to the large office that they shared, and went over the facts again.
“We need to get this guy,” Ella said once they were done recapping. She was already feeling the weight of the latest murder as she read over the preliminary information.
Steve exhaled and gave his classic impish grin. “I know we do.”

 

I hope you enjoyed the first Chapter of my newest ongoing CGSP series – The Murder App. I’m letting this story take me where it takes me each month – just like how HCC started.
Keep checking back every month for another part to the story!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace