Prologue: One Year Prior to Lightning Bay
Authors note: this is book two of The Murders of Lightning Bay: Darcy’s Perspective
© 2023 Rebecca L. Bales. All rights reserved.
It is recommended to read book one.
Prologue: One Year Prior To Lightning Bay
“Mr Sandman, bring me a dream…” My ringtone jingles, the happy tune brings a sense of joy to my otherwise dreary existence.
“Grey,” I answer with a sense of detached boredom.
“We got another letter. There’s going to be a fifth victim. Whitney, we’ve got to do something. Get your team ready to deliberate, we’re going to need as many brains as we can get.” Lieutenant Harold Reese lingered on the line.
“Yes sir,” I feel as though I’m on autopilot as I rush to gather the team.
My palms begin to sweat, I’m still new at this and Reese just kind of threw me into this case expecting me to solve it. I have a background in criminology and behavioral science. I started out profiling, now I’m here regretting every career decision I’ve ever made.
I fucking hate public speaking.
I clap my hands together to grab the room.
“Alright, quiet down everyone. You’re here because we need brains, The Midnight Monster is going to strike again in less than 72 hours. We’ve received another letter. We need to figure out where he’s going to take the next victim. If we don’t figure it out in time, his body count will be at five.”
The room smells of too much collagen and not enough deodorant. Gallons of black coffee is brewed under this dim, flickering overhead light. There’s a board behind me full of images of the victims displayed in their death poses.
Red string and tacks map out the clues. It reminds me of a spider web of a black widow.
Beautiful, yet deadly.
Lieutenant Reese marches into the room handing out copies of the letter.
“You will never find her. She preys in the valley of the pigeons.”
Cops begin to call out places that come to mind, “Edge Canyon, Mistletoe Ridge, 6th Avenue, etc.”
The overhead feels like a spotlight and my heart pounds in my ears, I grip the chair in front of me for support. My knees are noodles and I imagine myself melting away into nothing as sweat seeps my brow.
“Alright, let’s send out some guys to check out the hotspots. Talk to neighbors, and check their social media. If someone so much as looks weird, I want to know about it.” I demanded in my firmest tone. Confidence is contagious, they can’t know I’m a disaster on the inside.
The team concludes with big grins and “go-get-em” attitudes. I wish I could share their blissful positivity, I couldn’t help but shake this feeling that we may not be able to find the girl in time.
Days pass with no luck, and as we zero in on the last few leads, my gut feeling only gets worse. It had taken us days to research and find this rescue as there was not much information on it. No website, no business page, it felt pretty underground.
“The Midnight Monster is known for his hunger for human flesh. He sucks the marrow from their bones and bathes in the blood of the innocent...” I turn off the cruiser radio. It didn’t help that Halloween was right around the corner, and every media on the East Coast was talking about the new Ted Bundy.
The eerie plot of land is dark. A large building casts a menacing shadow that hovers over the gravel drive. It’s a pigeon sanctuary not far from the outskirts of the city. Cages of birds cooing line the insides of a dingy warehouse. If I hadn’t been investigating a murder I would have contacted animal control.
My partner, Edward Fry stood covering my back as I pointed my 9mm sidearm and a flashlight ahead of me.
“Police! Come out with your hands in the air!” Still, silence answers me back.
I gasp as I turn a corner and discover the 5th and the last victim of The Midnight Monster Murders.
The scene causes temporary alcoholism and a transfer to Lightning Bay.
when I saw you had started writing this book I literally jumped with joy! this is such an original idea for a series!