Derek

I was just about to leave my office when Humphrey came up behind me. "We've got another one."

"Now? We just finished the last one."

"I know but this is an emergency and its semi local. Fort Lauderdale called, they said that they had found three bodies, and a fourth male is missing. He has a lot of similarities to the men that they already found. In the past, the men have only been held for about a day before their bodies were found, and this guy was taken ten hours ago."

"And they waited for now to tell us?"

"They weren't sure if it was the same guy."

I sighed, rubbing my face. "At least let me grab a shower. I'll go to the locker room."

"I already have Amelia and Justin staring their preliminary findings, so hurry up."

I gave him a thumbs up before opening the door to my office again. "Oh and by the way, someone from Toronto called us." I froze as I heard that.

"A detective down there is asking if we would be able to look over a case he has, see if we can offer him any assistance. He's hit a wall with some serial stalking cause and offer some help. There been no serious crime yet, but he wants to find this guy before anything bad happens because there is a track record with this guy."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Just a heads up; I know that you're from there, and didn't leave with the best circumstances. If we have to go down there, I want you to be prepared."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine, as long as I get some sleep after this one before we start."

Humphrey chuckled, "Don't worry, princess, you will. We all know how cranky you get when you don't sleep."

I smiled at him before grabbing my toiletry bag from my suitcase, and making my way to the locker room.

Layna

When I awoke the next morning, the sun was filtering in through the cracks in my blinds, and I could hear the soft chirping of the birds as the enjoyed the sunny day.

I rolled onto my side, curling myself into a ball as I held the blankets tightly around me. I lay there for a while, my mind blissfully blank from any unwanted thoughts. I was happy that I had decided to take a year off after I finished high school, and therefore had no major responsibilities in the mornings.

I sat up after deciding that I had wasted enough time in bed, stretching my arms above my head as a yawn escaped my mouth. Standing up, I grabbed the blankets on my bed, folding them and putting them in my closet. As I lifted up the duvet to make my bed, something small and white landed on the floor beside my foot.

Bending down, I grabbed the small paper that had been folded in half, and opened it. The four words on the page sent a shiver down my spine:

I'm not finished yet.

A small gasp escaped my lips as I realized that he had been in my room. It must have been sometime last night before I came home, because when I had, I had just thrown the covers off my bed and gone straight to sleep.

So he had been planning to take me last night, but something must have stopped him.

A soft knock sounded at my closed door, and I jumped, broken out of my thoughts. "Layna? Babe, are you up?"

"Yeah, just give me a second!" I called as I shoved the note under my pillow.

"Take as long as you need; I'll wait for you downstairs. I brought you breakfast." I heard Brian's footsteps moving away from my door and I let out a soft breath.

I allowed myself a minute to gather my thoughts and shut them away, before putting on some clothes that weren't pajamas, and going downstairs to meet Brian.

He was in the kitchen, pulling pancakes out of a take out container, and putting them on plate for me. He looked up at me and smiled when I walked in. "Good morning."

"Hey," I said going over to him, and placing a kiss on his smooth cheek. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Steve let me in this morning; I wanted to surprise you."

"Thank you," I said. I was happy he was here; it was nice to know that he cared, and even better that I wouldn't have to be alone after I found that note.

"I have an exciting day planned for us, so eat up and we can go okay?" He smiled at me again, his eyes flickering briefly to look over my shoulder, before meeting mine. He handed me my plate, and I sat down at the table, ready to forget about the craziness for a little while.

***

I was curled up on the couch, reading a mystery novel when Steve came home that night. I looked up from the couch and towards the door as he unlocked it and came inside.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said as he put down his briefcase, and the package that he was holding I his hand. "How was your day?"

I got up to give him a kiss on his cheek, "It was good; Brian and I went to the fair to try and get my mind off of everything. What's in the box?"

"I was hoping you could answer that question; its addressed to you. It was on the porch when I came. The delivery truck must have come and you didn't hear them, so they left it."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I looked at the box. It was small, palm sized maybe, and it was wrapped with a bright red ribbon which contrasted with the blackness of the box. There was a small card with my name on it, with the same writing as all the other cards I had gotten.

There was a tightness in my chest as my dad gave it to me, "Open it up, maybe it's a gift from Brian."

But I knew it wasn't. No, this was something much more sinister.

With shaking hands, I carefully unwrapped the bow, and opened the box slowly. Nestled inside the white tissue paper was a finger, that I knew without a doubt belonged to the arm I had gotten a picture of.

I dropped the box, a scream leaving my lips as I collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

***

When I woke up later, I was in my bed again, a quilt from downstairs covering my body. I could hear the low voices of my parents downstairs, so I got up to go see what had happened.

The both looked up from the kitchen table from where they had been discussing something with Greene in hushed voices.

"Hey honey," Tom said, standing up and giving me a small smile, "We were just discussing ho wit might be best if you and your dad and I took a little vacation."

"A vacation?" I repeated, confused by the sudden turn of events.

Detective Greene stood up as well, "Yes, just for a little bit until everything settles down. Just to give us some time to figure out who's doing this, without you being victimized here. "

"I...uh don't know what to say. Do I really have a choice?"

Allan looked at me and shook his head, "Unfortunately no, he's escalating quickly, and now he is the suspect of a murder investigation. I want to keep you safe, Layna and this is the best option that I see. Your parents have agreed, and we were just discussing how to do it quietly, without anyone knowing where you are going, or where you are staying. You'll leave tonight and stay in a hotel, and then within the next couple of days you will fly out to your destination."

"What about Brian? I can't just leave; he'll realize something is up."

"Just tell him that you are going on a vacation with your parents, but don't go into specifics; the less people who know about this the better."

"We just want to keep you safe, honey," Steve said. "I don't want anything to happen to you and this maniac has already injured or—or killed some other girl." His voice broke over the last couple of words, and he looked down at his hands that were shaking slightly. Tom went over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"A vacation could be fun," I said, forcing a smile on my face. I couldn't show them that on the inside I was a mess; whoever this person was was trying to take me and now the police thought that he could. "It has to be somewhere tropical though; I need a tan."

Steve and Tom both smiled at me, a look of relief crossing their face as they realized that I wasn't going to fight them on this. They had probably expected me to argue, but I couldn't do that to them. It was safer for them as well, because he wouldn't be able to touch them either.

"Is it okay if I talk to Detective Greene? I just want to ask him some more questions."

"Sure, sweetheart. Me and your father are just going to go set everything up."

"I let Layna know the rest of that plan, and then I can drive you guys to the hotel where you can stay tonight."

They nodded, and left the room and I looked over at Greene, letting out a deep breath. "I need you to tell me right now, what are the chances of him hurting my parents because of me."

He looked at me for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. "Physically? Next to none. I've gone over some of the other cases that we managed to find and there is nothing in there about him using the parents to get to his victim."

I sighed in relief, heaviness in my heart lightening just a bit. I didn't want to worry about him hurting my parents.

"But that doesn't mean he can't hurt them emotionally if he takes you. That's why I'm trying to do everything in my power to protect all three of you before anything happens. I want you out of the country because the farther away you are, the less of a chance that he can find you. It gives us time to arrest him while not having to be as vigilant about your safety. It'll be more secure for you once you leave."

I sunk down in the chair, letting it all process for a bit. "Okay," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Has it been hard finding leads?"

"It has, but I haven't lost hope yet. I have a secret weapon up my sleeve, and with it I think we can stop this once and for all."

"And after this it will all go away? I don't have to deal with it anymore?"

"Layna, this guy will be in prison for the rest of his life when I'm through with him. I wont let him affect your life anymore then he already has okay?"

"Promises are hard to keep, Detective Greene. Anybody who's ever promised me something has always broken it."

"You don't believe me?"

"Experience has told me not to."

"Fine, I wont force you to trust me. But know this Layna; you will get out of this alive, and that's a promise, even if you don't believe it. I know that up until this point the police haven't been as helpful as they should have been but I am changing that now. We will find him, and he wont be allowed to hurt you, or anyone else ever again."

"I'll believe that when you prove it to me."

"I plan to Layna, I do."

I didn't reply, because I knew it would be futile. His words were exactly that, just words. He could say as many as he wanted, but nothing could change it. My stalker taking me was inevitable, and I knew it in my heart. As much as I didn't want it to be true, I knew that he had managed to do with everyone else, and I wouldn't be any different.

So I sat and waited, like I had been doing the whole time, waiting for my parents to finish what they were doing and come for me. Just like my stalker would come for me eventually and do what he had done with the other girls.