Mind of a Killer Read online

  Reluctantly, Rivers yielded. He knew he was in a state from overworking but he needed to nail this guy. Never before had someone been able to reach back to him through his dreams, he needed to find out who it was and stop the intrusion, for his sanity at least.

  Concerned that Rivers was not in a condition to get himself home safely, Karl drove Rivers home and escorted him inside.

  Rivers was clearly affected by the dream and appeared tired and shaken. Without a word Karl laid Rivers on his bed and waited with him as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

  After ten minutes passed, and happy that Rivers was not being terrorized, Karl let himself out of the house and returned to the police station to review the video tape recovered from the crime scene. Hopefully there would be something on there to find out who The Hacker was, and to get him to leave Rivers alone.

  Chapter 2

  As Rivers’ head hit the pillow, sleep took full hold of him. As the conscious world gave way to the world of his mind, Rivers again found himself drifting.

  Surrounded by darkness he was floating free, left adrift in a sea of darkness.

  “Ian..,” a voice called distantly.

  “Ian!” the voice grew louder, almost screaming his first name.

  Rivers felt a force around his waist pulling him in the direction of the voice. As he approached the source of the sound he began to descend from the sea of darkness onto a dark street.

  Behind him the street blurred into the dark void as if it had not been drawn. Ahead lay a long road.

  As his feet touched the ground, Rivers found himself walking briskly along a dimly lit street. Rain lashed down heavily all around him as he walked at speed. Unsure why or where he was going he just knew he had to be fast.

  “Ian, don’t do it…” said the voice trailing off.

  As he moved closer the voice sounded more and more familiar, but Rivers was unable to place it. Clearly feminine in pitch and urgent in tone, Rivers knew he had to be quick.

  Beads of water poured down Rivers’ face as he struggled to see through the thick blanket of rain. Beneath him his legs picked up pace as he began to sprint along the sidewalk. Time was of the essence, he had to be there before it was too late. Although he had no idea why this would be, he just knew he had to.

  Thunder rang out loudly in the night sky as Rivers turned a street corner. In the distance, forks of lightning could be seen shooting out of the sky. Directly ahead stood the property he was rushing towards. The neighbourhood looked quiet; all that could be heard was the heavy downpour of the rain and the continued crackling of thunder.

  Reaching the property, Rivers quietly slid up to an open window. Movement could be heard inside along with muffled screams.

  Instinctively reaching for his sidearm, Rivers realised he was not even dressed let alone armed. All he wore was an old raincoat. Apart from that, he was naked.

  Keeping low and out of sight, Rivers moved along the side of the house to the rear of the property. There he found the back door stood open. Looking around for anything to use, he found nothing which he could improvise as a weapon. He would have to go in unarmed.

  Entering the house via the rear door, Rivers found it to be as dark as the night outside. He crept quietly toward the front of the house keeping low with his back to the wall.

  Someone could be heard struggling in the next room. The muffled screaming continued mixed in with whimpering and crying.

  Outside the thunder continued to rumble. As he neared the doorway lightning struck outside, presumably in the garden. The bright lightning lit the house for a moment casting a shadow from the front room into the hallway.

  The silhouette was of what appeared to be a man. In his hand held a large knife which was positioned across someone’s throat.

  Looking above the silhouette Rivers found he could see a reflection in a window. In the reflection he could finally see the face of The Hacker who looked directly back at him smiling. Although the distorted face was familiar Rivers found it hard to place.

  As the silhouette and reflection disappeared with the illumination from the lightning extinguished, the muffled screaming of the woman was replaced by a wet choking sound as the woman’s throat was cut deeply by the knife.

  Taking to his feet, Rivers flew around the doorway to confront the attacker.

  Before him stood a dark masculine figure. From his hand protruded a large knife which was stained red. Blood dripped from the blade’s lower edge onto the carpet.

  His other hand held onto the shoulder of the woman who struggled in front of him. She was held on her knees with her head pointed towards the ground. A wet trickling sound could be heard as a pool of warm blood spread across the carpet around her.

  Loud gasping could be heard as she struggled for breath. Her body jerked as she struggled against her attacker’s grip, but the movement quickly subsided into a random twitching.

  As the dark figure stood there smiling, lightning continued to flash outside. Every few moments they were both partially illuminated by the bright light.

  As the woman ceased to struggle against her attacker, he let go of her shoulder allowing her body to slump to the floor.

  Rivers lifted his gaze from the grizzly sight before him. He turned his attention to the dark figure that was already climbing out of an open window.

  Looking back at the body he knew there was nothing he could do for her now. Even if he woke up now it would take to long for the EMTs to arrive. As happened with all the others, he was helpless to prevent their death.

  Rivers ran towards the open window in pursuit of The Hacker. He had to find more out about him. He had to get something he could use to help towards the case.

  Reaching the window Rivers looked outside. The Hacker stood there looking back, Rivers was positive he could see him.

  “You can see me?” he asked aloud to the dark figure of The Hacker.

  “Of course I can see you Ian. Why would I have brought you along otherwise?”

  Rivers began to climb out of the open window but an unseen force pushed him back inside.

  “Close enough for today Ian,” said The Hacker as he stood on the front lawn. Rain hammered all around him as he stood there smiling.

  “I don’t want to give too much away just yet!”

  “How can you see me, who the hell are you?” shouted Rivers through the open window.

  “I suppose you could say I am your worst nightmare. Well, I am sure you will think so when you wake anyway!”

  Throwing the knife to the ground, The Hacker took off into the night. The blade sank deeply into the soil with the force it was thrown at.

  “Wait!” shouted Rivers after him.

  “How can you see me?” he continued, but there was no reply. The Hacker was already out of sight.

  Turning his back to the window, Rivers looked over the crime scene. The house looked so familiar but he could not place it. In the centre of the room lay the body, in the position she had been left by The Hacker. Blood pooled beneath the corpse as it drained from the now motionless body.

  Behind the corpse stood a large dress mirror. The body and room were reflected in it but Rivers reflection was not present. Stepping over the body Rivers walked towards the mirror. He felt almost drawn to the strange image before him, it seemed so surreal.

  Reaching towards the mirror he grasped the edge with both hands. As he pushed on it the mirror creaked as its position was adjusted. The reflected image changed to that of the ceiling before he was unable to see anything due to its position.

  “Why haven’t I left yet…?” Rivers said beneath his breath. After a dream like this he always immediately woke up. This was the first time he had been left behind afterwards.

  Deciding it was time to try and wake himself up, Rivers pulled back on the mirror to return it to its original position. Loudly the mirror creaked as it stood vertically again.

  Before him now Rivers found he had a reflection which starred back at him.

 
Leaning closer he examined the reflection which steadily looked more and more peculiar. All though it had looked like him initially, there was something very wrong about the man staring back.

  “Who the hell are you?” asked Rivers alarmed. The reflection began snarling back at him with red eyes. Rabid foam dropped from its mouth as arms shot out from the glass and grabbed Rivers by the shoulders.

  In shock Rivers let out a loud scream as the figure pulled him hard into the glass which shattered into a thousand pieces.

  “Argh!” shouted Rivers as he sat upright in bed. Cold sweat poured from his brow, his bed sheets felt soaking wet.

  In shock he checked himself over. It had seemed so real, he needed to put his mind at ease. Although it had seemed very real he had not actually been there, he had been safe at home in bed.

  Lying back down in his bed Rivers jumped as his phone rang loudly on the bedside cabinet.

  Cautiously, he reached over for the phone. Rivers felt so confused, he knew he should answer it but dreaded who it could be on the other end. Could The Hacker have obtained his personal number?

  Rivers answered the phone but remained silent. He could hear breathing on the other end but refused to say anything until somebody on the other end introduced themselves.

  “Rivers? It’s Karl.” Rivers let out a loud sigh of relief.

  “Thank god it's you Karl. He’s found me. He attacked me in my dreams…”

  “There’s something I need to say…” said Karl but was interrupted by Rivers.

  “Karl, he’s struck again. I’ve just seen it. I was following…” replied Rivers but was interrupted by Karl who was trying to get his attention.

  “You better get down here quick…” said Karl as he tried to speak, but Rivers continued to talk over him.

  “I recognised the house, I don’t know where but I recognised it. He’s murdered a woman..,” continued Rivers but again was interrupted by Karl who raised his voice to get Rivers attention.

  “It’s your sister Karl! The bastard got your sister…”

  Rivers fell silent. Of course he recognised the house; it was his sister’s house!

  “I’m sending a car to get you, he knows who you are!” shouted Karl but there was no reply. As Karl shouted for Rivers’ attention, the phone handset swung unattended by its cord, hanging from the bedside cabinet.

  Chapter 3

  Looking at his sister’s dead face, a solitary tear crept from Rivers’ right eye. He should have known it was his sister who was the victim. It was her house he ran to in his dream. He was in a rush to save her but he was too late. Not that he would have been able to do anything to save her. It was clear now The Hacker knew who he was. With his family in danger he had little option but to step down from the case. Rivers was now too emotionally involved and would likely be a hindrance to the case.

  Nodding to the coroner, a white sheet was pulled across her bloodied face as a stretcher, which now held her body was taken towards an awaiting ambulance.

  “I’m sorry Rivers,” said Karl softly as he rested his hand on Rivers shoulder.

  “Who found her?” Rivers asked back under his breath.

  “A neighbour was awoken as the suspect departed the property. In his haste he had tripped over her trash cans creating quite the racket. Thinking it unusual for her to have company at that late hour, he called it in.”

  “Tripped over trash cans? I never saw that…” Rivers trailed off then recomposed himself.

  “Did he give a description of the suspect?”

  “He could not see anything other than a dark silhouette according to the statement. Estimated six feet tall, average build and wearing a long raincoat or similar apparel. Not much to go on really. What gets me though is that he was running from the property, its very uncharacteristic behaviour of The Hacker.”

  Rivers remained quiet a moment as he thought it over. It did not make sense. When he had seen The Hacker he had been dressed in black, he was not wearing a rain coat when he had run off. The weather had been terrible; perhaps the witness had been mistaken.

  “I’m going to say something Karl, and it’s going to sound strange but try and stick with me…”

  Karl nodded as he waited for whatever Rivers was going to come out with.

  “It was me who scared him off, I wasn’t there but it was me. I mean, in my dream I followed him down here. I could hear muffled screaming from the living room so I sneaked through the back of the house. The back door stood open so he probably gained access that way. When I reached the front of the house he had just sliced her throat. I did not recognise her at the time, it was very dark. The only illumination came from the lightning outside.”

  “What are you getting at Rivers?”

  “He could see me! He saw me and fled. I tried to follow him but he said he did not want to give too much away yet, whatever that means.”

  “He could see you, how the hell could he see you if you were not here?”

  “I have no idea but things don’t seem quite right. When I was here I did not recognise the place, it seemed familiar but looked different.”

  Rivers looked over to the full length dress mirror.

  “I moved that mirror. I was not leaving the dream so I moved that mirror..!”

  Rivers began to panic. People were staring at him as he began to breathe deeply trying to regain his composure. It had been so real.

  “OK so he can interact with you in your dreams or perhaps you were actually here in your dream state. Either way there are inaccuracies. You said you never saw him trip over the trash cans?”

  “No that never happened. He ran off into the night after throwing the knife into the ground.”

  “The knife, the one that was used for the murder?”

  “Of course the one used for the murder. He threw it down into the front lawn.”

  “Can you show me where it is?”

  “What? Haven’t you found it yet?”

  “The murder weapon is still unaccounted for.”

  Rivers led Karl out of the front door to his sister’s house. Outside the sun shone brightly. Wincing in pain, Rivers shielded his eyes with a hand. At the end of the garden police tape marked the area as a crime scene. Uniformed officers held a crowd of reporters and journalists back from the scene.

  As Rivers and Karl headed towards the centre of the garden, reporters began to shout for their attention.

  “Detective Rivers! Is it true you have been psychically following the murders?”

  “Are you colluding with or aiding the murderer through your dreams?”

  “That’s slanderous!” shouted Karl at the top of his voice. “You want to watch what you’re saying otherwise you’re going to find yourself in a whole heap of shit.”

  Cameras flashed brightly as Karl turned Rivers’ back to the crowd.

  “Don’t worry about them Rivers, bunch of vulchers. Just show me where the knife was thrown.”

  Rivers tried to ignore the overpowering blanket of flashes from the assembled media cameras. Before him the lawn was a beautiful green. After a heavy rain storm and now a bright sunny morning it looked healthy as it basked in the bright sunshine.

  Karl gestured with his left hand for Rivers to show him where the knife had been thrown.

  “In your own time,” he said to Rivers as he tried to gain Rivers attention.

  “Sorry Karl, I'm not quite with it...”

  “It's OK Rivers, take your time,” replied Karl as he waited patiently.

  Rivers regained his focus and looked at the lawn in front of him. After a few moments of examining the area before him, he pointed to the spot where the knife had been discarded in his dream. Taking the lead, Karl knelt down to the spot indicated by Rivers and examined it.

  Reaching into his pocket, Karl withdrew a latex surgical glove which he pulled on to his right hand. With a loud snap, he let go of the tight fitting glove. Carefully, Karl reached down and spent a few moments examining the ground in front of him before
drawing a blank.

  “Are you sure this is where the knife was thrown?” asked Karl as he looked back to Rivers.

  “That’s the exact spot he discarded the knife in my dream. He threw it to the ground where it embedded deeply in the soil,” replied Rivers.

  “There is nothing here, not even a slit in the soil to indicate it the blade had penetrated it,” said Karl as he got back up onto his feet. He looked over to the waiting forensic team and waived them over to the spot he had just looked over.

  “I do not understand Karl. That is the exact spot where he threw it.”

  Karl looked at his friend; he could not help but feel concerned for Rivers. Although he wanted to believe him, there was clearly nothing there.

  “Don’t look at me like that Karl,” commented Rivers.

  “Like what?”

  “Somebody must have moved the knife!” exclaimed Rivers, upset that his gift was being called into question.

  Before Karl could respond, two forensic personnel set to work to examine the lawn in front of Rivers and Karl.

  “Why don't you show me the dressing mirror? Perhaps it will tell us something more,” suggested Karl as he indicated to Rivers to head back towards the house.

  Leaving the garden, Rivers and Karl returned to the front room of Rivers sister’s house.

  Rivers was pleased to leave the watchful eyes of the reporters outside. It was hard enough for him with the death of his sister let alone to be harassed by the media frenzy.

  Inside the house they found the body of Rivers’ sister had been removed. All that remained was a large blood stain on the carpet where her corpse had been.

  The room itself remained largely as Rivers remembered it from his dream. Forensics and crime scene investigators examined and catalogued items within the room.

  “Rivers, why don't you show me where the mirror is,” asked Karl as he let Rivers take the lead.

  Rivers looked around the spacious room. After a few moments he returned Karl a puzzled look.