Free The Lady Killer by Paizley Stone

wasn’t very happy with him. “Who was here last night and why wasn’t someone watching both the front door and the ally? How did someone get in here to deliver this rose without being seen?”
    “Sorry, Detective, they were told to set up in that building across the street and to watch the front of this building only. When I got here this morning, I was wondering about that myself.”
    “Who gave the directive for the set up?”
    It came down from our boss, Sergeant Bill O’Reilly. You would have to talk to him. The realtor who takes care of this building watches that one also and her assistant offered it to us.”
    “Peterson, CSU is here.”
    “Thanks, Murphy, have them re-dust that freezer, back door and the envelope. I’ll open it when they’re done.”
    He was trying to tread lightly. “Do you need surveillance any more?”
    “No, tell them they might as well pack up and go home. I don’t think psycho boy will give us a second chance to catch him. We blew it!”
    She called dispatch, told them to track down Sergeant O’Reilly and have him call her right away. While she waited for CSU to finish, she just paced. Murphy was watching her. He felt so helpless. Her hunch had paid off. She had been right all along, and another department had let her down. He approached her cautiously. “Can I get you anything?”
    She looked like she was ready to take someone’s head off. “Yes, a bomb, so I can blow up that surveillance team and their boss!”
    “I’m not taking you seriously. Hey, I can understand your frustration. You had him! You knew he would be back here. I’m sorry they didn’t catch him. He might have waited for a shift change, or something, when they weren’t paying as much attention.”
    “They weren’t watching in the right place, Murphy! Any idiot would know that this guy isn’t going to just walk in the front door! I can’t be everywhere at the same time. I have to depend upon other departments. And your remark about the shift change, do you think he knew about the surveillance?”
    “Yes, and I know you do also, or you wouldn’t be tracking down O’Reilly right now.”
    “We know the ex is a cop. Could he possibly have infiltrated our ranks this quickly? Could he actually be one of us?”
    “You must be reading my mind again, Peterson. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. Think about it. New people transfer in all the time from other cities. It isn’t as difficult as trying to get on the force for the first time, with no experience. Here comes the CSU guy with the letter.”
    “Hi, Detective Peterson, could you please open this with gloves on, and give it right back to me when you’re done. There were no prints on the envelope, but you never know, we might get lucky on the letter.”
    “That’s providing he got careless, which he never does. Thanks, Jim, you can wait right here. Got some gloves?”
    He gave her the gloves and waited. She realized her hands were shaking, as she tried to open the envelope. It was closed with sealing wax that had a rose stamped into it. The envelope and paper looked old like parchment. She unfolded the letter and read the one short paragraph.
    “You have taken away my love. From now on this will be our anniversary, and every new body will be dedicated to you. Be careful how you treat others. I will be watching.”
    She was in a state of shock. Murphy had been reading over her shoulder. He grabbed the letter out of her hands and gave it back to Jim, telling him that they would need copies, ASAP! Then he took Laura by the hand and walked her to the car. “Let’s get out of here. He may be watching, and you don’t want to show weakness.”
    Laura got in the car and let him drive. He took her to a quiet coffee shop and made her go inside and sit down. After their coffee had been delivered, he took her hand in his and spoke softly. “Are you going to be okay?”
    Her hands were shaking so hard that she didn’t dare pick up her mug. “He’s