Kay
The Collector - Part 5/7 (*slash*)
Sorry it took so long to post this part. Thanks for all your support!
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~HUNTER'S POV~
I stare down at the photos in my hands. The Collector's victims. Looking at the before and after
pictures made me feel sick. Who could do something like this? What connection did they have?
Matt Hardy had been the first victim. He had worked in a local fitness gym and was openly gay.
He had been reported missing by his boyfriend, Shannon. I silently wonder why Jeff hadn't
reported him missing, after all, they did live together and they were brothers.
Billy Kidman had been the second. He was a bartender in a popular gay club. He had been
reported missing by his lover, Lance Storm.
Rob Van Damn was the third victim. He was the owner of a very upscale, successful line of sports
clothing and equipment in another state. In other words, he was a tourist. He had been reported
missing by his family after failing to return home from a business trip.
Billy Gunn was the fourth victim. A known prostitute, who apparently picked up the wrong trick.
He was never reported missing, and the only way we identified him was by his police record.
Andrew Martin was the fifth victim. Of all the victims, this one surprised me. The guy was huge.
He worked as a bouncer at two local clubs and was apparently very good at intimidating people.
How the killer got the upper hand on him is indeed questionable. He was reported missing by his
lover, Albert, also a bouncer.
Chris was the sixth victim. I still can't look at his picture without feeling guilty. He was so
beautiful and vibrant. I had tried to save him, but had failed miserably. Chris was an exotic
dancer at a gay strip club. His lover, Chris Benoit, had reported him missing.
Adam Copeland is the latest. God, I have to find him. Images of the headless corpses filter
through my mind. Where they alive as their heads were severed?
I jump as my cell phone rings.
"What?" I growl.
"Jason Reso is leaving his apartment," the voice at the other end replies.
"Follow him and don't let him out of your sight," I order, grabbing my jacket and heading out the
door.
Jeff was still at work and would be for another hour. It was already late and I wondered where
Jason could be going at this late hour.
~KILLER'S POV~
It's getting too risky. Cops are asking way too many questions.
I have to get rid of Adam and tonight.
A sense of regret fills me at what I must do. I've only had him for two days. Hell, I had only
started torturing him. Such a waste.
Oh well, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Tonight, Adam's head will be added to my collection and tomorrow, I'll be gone. Besides this town
is too boring. It's time to move on and find more interesting people to add to my collection.
~HUNTER'S POV~
I can't believe where Jason ended up. My men and I look at each other in awe as we stare ahead
at the huge gates of the cemetery.
"He's in there?" I ask in disbelief, shivering at the stillness of the night.
"Yeah," Steve Williams whispers, grinning at me.
Fucker. He knows that I hate cemeteries.
"Stay here," I growl. The last thing I want them to do is spook Jason.
"You're going in by yourself?" Steve asks with a smirk.
"I'm a big boy," I growl as I take my gun out of its holster.
"That you are," he replies with a smirk.
Asshole.
I silently creep through the entrance. The grip on my gun is so tight that my fingers start to ache.
I slip silently through the rolls of tombstones as I head toward the same direction Jason went.
I dash behind one of the stones when I see movement ahead. Peeking from around it, I curse as I
realize that it's merely a cat on top of one of the stones. The cat hisses as it sees me and runs
away.
Fuck.
As my heartbeat slowly returns to normal, a hand grasps my shoulder sending it racing once
again.
I barely manage to restrain from screaming as I whirl around and point the gun at the intruder.
Steve stands there with a smirk on his face. "Scared?" he asks with a wink.
"Fuck you," I growl, silently cursing myself for being so nervous.
"How about me fucking you?" He whispers as he comes to stand beside me.
I glare at him. Yeah, like that will ever happen.
"Want me to hold your hand?" He teases.
It's all I can do to ignore him and continue forward. I have to find Adam, and I'm not letting a jerk
like Steve distract me.
I'll never admit it to the bald jackass, but I'm glad he's here with me.
I spot Jason's car and stop, causing Steve to bump into me.
I glare at him and he smirks.
We both dive behind a tombstone as we hear Jason's voice.
He's talking to someone. Maybe it's Adam.
Slowly we descend upon Jason, who is lying on the ground next to a huge tombstone shaped like
an angel.
"Freeze," I growl, glancing to make sure Steve is backing me up. He winks at me. Asshole.
Jason looks at me horrified. "What are you doing here?" He asks, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Keep your hands up," Steve growls in warning.
As I get closer, I see that the grave is old. A rich, thick grass covers it. I grab my flashlight from
my back pocket as Steve rolls Jason onto his stomach and handcuffs him.
I gasp as I read the words on the tombstone.
"Here lies Joseph Allan Reso. Taken from us at the tender age of 8 to be an angel of Heaven.
Sadly missed by his parents and twin brother, Jason."
I look at Jason who is sobbing uncontrollably.
"It was my fault. I should have died not him," he whispers, tears streaming down his face. "I
wanted to go into the water."
A sudden realization hit me. Jason wasn't my killer, but he certainly had demons hidden in his
past.
"I tried to save him! He was my twin. When he died, part of me died. I tried to join him, but they
always bring me back," he whimpers.
Realizing what Jason means, we decide to leave the cuffs on. The boy needs help. It's clear to me
now. He's fascinated by death because he wants to embrace it. He wants to be dead.
As we helped Jason up to his feet, my cell phone rang.
"Yeah," I growled.
"Jeff's disappeared."
~MARK'S POV~
I run my fingers through my hair, frustrated. Benoit has been looking at employee the pictures
for hours.
"Here he is!" Benoit exclaims, holding the picture up to me.
I stare down at the picture and grab the file from his hands.
Fuck.
I look at the address and frown. If he has Adam, he doesn't have him at this address. Too open
and too many people. I flip through his file and smile at the old address that he listed. It states
that it was his brothers house. Good place as any to start looking.
~HUNTER'S POV~
Jeff. It had to be Jeff.
First he killed Matt. Maybe over a disagreement and then was terrified as he realized what he
had done. He didn't want to give Matt up, so he severed his head and kept it. Billy Kidman was a
bartender. Maybe Jeff had let something slip in a casual conversation and had to eliminate him.
Rob had probably been purely experimental. A stranger from out of town, no one would miss him
for days. Billy Gunn had been for fun. An easy target. Andrew was a challenge. Maybe the big guy
didn't let him enter one of his clubs or made the wrong comment. Chris was an exotic dancer.
Maybe pure lust. Adam was more personal. He knew Adam. Probably had lusted after him a long
time before dating him. Maybe Adam was going to break up with him.
I had to find Jeff before he killed Adam. Leaving Jason in Steve's care, I head toward Jeff's
apartment.
~TBC~
