They all ran to the top of the stairs and Mike hit every single buzzer until finally someone in the apartment unlocked the front door for them. It was a mad dash up three flights of stairs until they finally reached Kate’s floor and ran down the hall. Mike pounded on Kate’s door.
“Police! Open up!” He shouted, pounding a few more times. When there was no answer, he motioned for everyone to move to the side. He backed up a few steps and then ran at the door, raising one foot at the last minute. His foot hit it hard and the door lurched open with a deafening crack, falling off it’s hinges. McCraig didn’t even stop to admire his strength, even though the rest of the group was clearly impressed. He jumped over the fallen door and rushed into the apartment, looking around. He entered the living room and came to a dead stop.
Liz was the first one to catch up to him and she suddenly felt like all the wind had been knocked out of her. Mike just stared at the scene in front of him while Liz turned and rested her weight against her partner, holding onto him for support. She felt nauseous and was afraid that she was going to throw up. She was so consumed with what she was looking at that she forgot that Derrick and Annie were right behind them.
“No! No!” A blood curling scream came from Annie as she flew past both detectives straight into the graphic scene before them. Derrick tried to grab her but she shook him off and went right to the body laying on the ground covered in blood. Derrick couldn’t move. His feet were suddenly lead and everything around him was becoming hazy. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He had never seen a dead body before.
Mike walked over to Annie slowly and put his hand on her shoulder. Annie was crying hysterically, sobbing so loud that it echoed throughout the entire apartment. She had the bloody head in her lap, her hands cradling her loved one, as she sobbed.
“Annie. Annie. Come on. You can’t touch the body. Everything has to go into evidence. There is nothing left we can do, Annie.” He told her gently as he grabbed her shoulders and helped her stand up. She was still crying, almost screaming, as she turned and buried her face in Mike’s chest. She was covered in blood and now it was all over Mike, but he didn’t stop her. He knew that she needed somebody right now and this was part of the job.
Derrick watched them and then looked back at the body on the ground. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. Everything was foggy and numb. He felt nothing and everything. He couldn’t breathe but he was seeing red. Not just the dark red of the bloody scene before him, but anger red. The Photographer had been found. Frank’s mask had been removed but he was clearly not going down without a fight. Now they knew who he was, but this was far from over.
~~~~
THE END
For more about Kate & Derrick’s story, stay tuned for the release of the final book in The Photographer Trilogy.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There really is no way to write in a few paragraphs, or even a few pages, how many people have contributed to the release of this book. At this same time last year, I hadn’t even started writing my first book or even considered the possibility of becoming an author. It had always been a lifelong dream but so obscure and in the distance that it didn’t seem achievable. Now less than a year later I am publishing my third book and my first two books were Amazon Bestsellers. That alone completely boggles my mind!