Page 47 of Girl, Undone
Ella wedged open the woman’s purse, pulled out a driver’s license.It gleamed under her flashlight’s beam.
‘Rebecca Morgan, twenty-six years old,’ she said.The photo showed a smiling young woman, crystal eyes framed by straight golden hair.Ella’s gut tied into a knot as she turned over the license in her hands, trying to quell the fusion of reactions bubbling up inside.
Ella reconciled the scene with everything she knew about this killer so far.He knew these victims' crippling phobias and engineered the conditions to bring their fears to life.Prior to exposing them to their personal hells, he subdued them, restrained them, and removed all their belongings as a forensic countermeasure.
Yet Rebecca Morgan here had a cell phone, purse, and even a vehicle.
Ella glanced at the bloody knuckles again, then up Rebecca’s pale white face, mouth still open in an eternal scream.She shone her flashlight over her cracked lips and into her mouth, and there Ella saw a throat as red as the fires that had consumed this place.
The inner tissue was inflamed, swollen, as if her body had desperately gasped for air amid the smoke and toxins, but if Rebecca Morgan was deathly afraid of fire, she would likely have passed out from an adrenaline rush as the others had.
Piecing everything together, the answer became clear.
‘Dark, you got something?’Ripley asked as she finished her call.
‘Our killer made a mistake,’ Ella said.‘All of this, it’s wrong.’
Ripley pocketed her phone.‘This doesn’t look like a mistake to me.’
‘He left her possessions behind,’ Ella said as she displayed the purse and phone.‘Unlike the others, Rebecca made her own way here.He didn’t get the chance to drug her, which is why she was able to fight back.And look at her throat.It’s red raw.’
Ripley stepped closer and followed Ella’s flashlight.‘Jesus.You’re right.’
‘You know what that means.’
Ripley nodded.‘This poor woman screamed her lungs out.’
The killer had intended to silence Rebecca Morgan, to keep her subdued as he had his previous victims.But this time, the plan had unraveled.Rebecca had not succumbed to a drug-induced stupor.Instead, she had fought for her life, and her screams had filled the woods until her last breath.
'Our unsub lost his nerve.Until now, he's had full control over every scene, but Rebecca changed the script, and he couldn't handle it.He started this fire in a panic.'
‘So how did he drug her?’
'He didn't get a chance to drug her, and since this is his third murder, he'd be feeling really confident right about now.Like, he doesn't need to drug her anymore.He's the invincibility phase.'
‘Ugh.’
‘Yeah,’ Ella said.‘I’m just wondering how the fire didn’t reach her before the fire crew got here.’
‘Patrol guy got lucky.He was only a stone’s throw away.Plus this weather isn’t conducive to starting fires.’
‘Fair.Our guy had to improvise here, then, which means he might have left more evidence than he intended.How long before forensics get here?’
‘One hour.’
‘Good.We need this place scoured from pillar to post.Or what remains of them anyway.’Ella passed Ripley the victim’s purse.‘Bag this up, please.’
Ripley obliged.‘I’ll walk the grid until forensics arrive.’
‘Alright.Get them to look at the tire tracks leading out of here.I’ll see what guys we have available to patrol the roads.Our killer’s methodical, compulsive, so he’ll be livid that his plan was interrupted.He might be out there now, taking his anger out on the road.’
Ella scrutinized the body one last time.The air, thick with the pungent odor of charred wood and smoldering ashes, seemed to suffocate any semblance of hope of catching this killer, but Ella remained alert.If the killer was interrupted, he could still be close by.
‘Go home, Dark.Rest up and we’ll dive into this in the morning.’
Ella jumped to her feet and waved Rebecca’s phone at Ripley.‘There’s no time for rest.’
‘What, you’re going to break into her cell?’Ripley asked, ever the voice of protocol.
