Prologue

It was a sweltering summer's night in Trinity, particularly stuffy indoors, Gail thought.  Even with the air conditioning on and all the windows open, she couldn't get enough air on her body. Gail Emory was perched comfortably with her legs by her side, on her armchair in the living room, wearing nothing but a loose, thin-strapped, maroon tank top, and a tight, low-cut, pair of denim shorts.  She was reading a Stephen King novel when she heard a noise come from the hallway.

"Hello...who's there?" Gail asked curiously, but no answer came.

"Hello?" she asked again, reaching for her metal baseball bat.  She was walking quietly to the phone to call the Sheriff's Station when a smooth, calm, southern voice came from behind her...

"You're not gonna hit me with that thing are you, Miss Emory?   Assaulting an officer is a crime here in Trinity, ma'am.  Maybe I should take you into my own personal custody."

Gail lowered the bat and sighed.  "Will that include handcuffs sheriff?" she said in a sweetly sarcastic voice.

"Only if you want them, Gail," Lucas replied with a smirk on his face. He put his hands tenderly on her hips and pulled her towards him.

"I think I'll pass," Gail said as she pulled away from his grasp and went back to her comfy spot on the chair.

Lucas Buck wore a deep, dark blue, long sleeved shirt with a black vest and pants. Although the humidity was rising, Lucas remained untouched by it, while Gail's long, brown, sweat-soaked hair clung to her face, neck, and back. "How does he do that?" she thought, reaching for the clamp to keep her hair up out of her face.

"So what do you want?" Gail asked flatly, as she went back to the position she was in on the chair and picked up her book.

"I thought I'd come and see how you are," Lucas said, as his eyes stared her up and down, paying a considerable amount of attention to her long, lean, sweat-soaked legs. He smiled to himself and said, "I thought you might be a bit restless with the lack of work you've had lately."

"Oh, and you thought you'd come and see if I needed any help keeping myself entertained?" Gail asked seductively.  She got back up out of her chair and moved closer to him, until the front of her shorts were pressed snugly against the front of his jeans and her lips were an inch from his mouth.

Gail looked deep into Lucas' eyes and put her hands around his waist. Lucas gently caressed Gail's cheek with his hand and, staring into her eyes, let his fingers travel slowly down her neck, past her bra-less chest, down toward the zip of her shorts. As his fingers reached their desired location, Gail gave out a low moan.

Lucas began to slowly unzip Gail's shorts and let them drop to the floor. Following her eyes as much as he could, Lucas slowly walked round behind her, placed his hands on the side of her hips, brought his mouth to her ear, and whispered:

"What do you want, Gail?"

Pulling her closer, he repeated his words softly.

"What do you want?"

Gail could feel his excitement as he started caressing her body.

"No," Gail moaned softly.

"Yes!" Lucas whispered with a smile.

Gail leaned back into Lucas who held her tightly to him with one hand across her stomach and the other moving all over her body. He was sucking on her neck, making patterns with his tongue on her soft, delicate flesh, then he began to kiss it softly.

"More," Gail moaned.  "Please, just don't stop," she begged in a low, aroused voice.

Lucas' breathe came out in low gasps.  He leaned back on her armchair and pulled her tenderly to him, still kissing her.

Gail began to breathe louder.

"Yes!" she shouted, "Yes...yes!"

And with that, he sunk his teeth into her neck, and blood came gushing out of her as she screamed in agony.

"Lucas!" Gail yelled, as she awoke in a sweat.

"Just another dream..." Gail thought.

There were loud knocks on the door.

"Gail!" Caleb shouted in a worried voice.

More knocking.

"Gail! Are you ok?"

After more knocking, Gail grabbed her silk nightgown, rushed over to the bedroom door, and unlocked it.

"I'm fine, Caleb," Gail said.  Stroking his face, she told him to go back to bed.

"I heard you yelling. I got worried," Caleb said with concern on his face.

"It was just a bad dream.  I promise, I'm fine," Gail said and smiled reassuringly.

"Okay, `cuz, I'll see you in the morning," Caleb said with a yawn and hugged his cousin.

Gail kissed his cheek and watched as he departed to his room.

"Sweet dreams," Caleb called back to her with a smile and disappeared into his room.

Gail smiled to herself and went back into her room. Why can't I get Lucas out of my head? She thought to herself as she lay back down in her bed.

Gail lay awake for an hour or so, thinking about her dream, until she drifted off to sleep, unaware of the dark figure standing in the street, staring up at her window.

Crescent Park was always completely deserted until about 8am. when the children started to walk to school.  Macy hated bringing the dog out this early.

"Ok, Timmy. Go do your business," Macy said, as she let the dog off his lead. She was turning her head to see where the dog was headed when she saw a tall, dark figure in front of her.

Macy went to scream but was struck on the head before she had a chance. As Macy fell to the floor, the last thing she ever saw was the dark figure unbuckling his belt.

Chapter One

It was 9am when Gail arose from her room. Caleb was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, drumming his fingers to a tune on the radio when he saw Gail still in her PJ's.

"You're late!" Caleb said with a little grin.

"Late?" Gail asked with a yawn.

"I should've been in school 5 minutes ago."

"Oh my God, what time is it?" Gail said frantically, as she looked for the time. "I'm so sorry, I must've overslept."

Picking up her keys and slipping some sandals on, Gail said, "Come on, I'll shoot you to school quickly." Gail was halfway down the path before Caleb even got out of his chair.

"Ok, Gail, I'll just get my bag," Caleb shouted after her.

When Caleb came outside, Gail already had the mustang out of the driveway and ready, waiting for Caleb. Caleb quickly hopped in and Gail drove him to school.

Lucas Buck stood staring at the dead 16-year-old girl. "What a pretty thing," he thought to himself, "Pity she had to go like that...hit over the head with a blunt object and raped."

"Well, Sheriff," started Billy Peele, "It looks as though the girl had a brain hemorrhage, which was the primary cause of death. The blood on top of her inside thigh leads up to her vagina, indicating she was raped. We'll know for sure when the coroner has done an official autopsy."

"Okay, boys," Lucas commanded, "Let's get her to the hospit..." Lucas eyes slid away from his men to the blood red mustang parking up by the curb.

"Damn!" Lucas cursed. "Ben, handle this, will you?  I've got some business to attend to."

Ben nodded and turned to the men, "Come on, boys, let's get her covered and outta here."

Lucas strolled out of the park towards the approaching figure.  He noticed she was wearing a pair of satin blue pajama pants and a red, thin-strapped top and her hair was loosely draped over her shoulders and down her back.  He smiled and said, "Good morning Miss Emory.  How are you this fine morning?" Lucas could not help but stare at Gail's body.  She was so beautiful, innocent, not like Selena.  Selena had nothing on Gail. He let his smile widen as the flashbacks of Gail performing flowed through his head.

Gail flashed her reporter's badge; thank God Caleb had picked up her bag for her. "Cut the sweet talk, Lucas.  What's going on?" Gail said in a serious, professional voice. She hated it when he mixed business with pleasure.

"Pardon, ma'am?" Lucas said in an innocent but sarcastic tone, "I don't know what you're talking about...My men and I were just taking a stroll on this beautiful morning"

Gail glanced behind him just in time to see the ambulance leave. She looked back at Lucas and with a smile said "Oh, really? Well, if you'll excuse me I'm gonna take a nice 'stroll' over to that park".  She began to walk past him, but as she did, Lucas put his hand across her stomach to bring her to a halt.  As he did, a sudden flashback of her dream came to her.

"Okay, enough games," Lucas said seriously.  "This is a crime scene and you're not allowed here."

"Well ,what crime, murder?"

"Well, Miss Emory you're just gonna have to find out with the rest of the little reporters aren't you?" Lucas said in a mocking tone.  With that, Gail angrily walked away. She was not going to stand there and be mocked by that bastard.

Lucas couldn't help but stare at Gail's thighs and ass as she walked away.  He loved getting her riled up.   Lucas let his grin widen as he thought, he couldn't wait until she came by the station later.

"Ok, boys, we've done what we can here," Lucas turned to them, smiling to himself.  "Let's get back to the station.

"Yes, Curtis, so the girl had a brain hemorrhage after being hit over the head...yes...."

Gail quietly walked into Lucas' open office.

"...and tears on her vaginal wall indicate rape." Lucas turned in his chair and noticed Gail listening.  "Okay, Curtis, I got it," Lucas said in an exasperated tone.  "Well, Miss Emory, so this is how you get the inside scoop, by sneaking up on people...How much did you hear?"

"Nothing important.  So is it true?" Gail asked.

"What?"

Gail sighed and got her note book out, reading, "Macy Brown, 16-years-old, found murdered in Crescent Park at 8:30am this morning. That's why you wouldn't let me into the park."

"Is that supposed to be a question?" Lucas replied with a smirk, "Or is this just an excuse to discuss other business?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gail said, getting pissed off with his silly games.  "Enough with the games, Lucas! How did she die? Was it the same as the other girls? The public has a right to know!"

Lucas' eyes traveled from Gail's eyes, slowly, down to her legs, then back again.  "Like I told you earlier, Miss Emory, you're gonna have to find out at the press conference like everyone else.  Now in the meantime, how `bout you and I have a little slap and tickle," Lucas said as he walked over to Gail and started to unbutton her blouse.

"I've got better things to do with my time," Gail replied pulling away from his grasp and walking out the door, just in time to miss Ben with Lucas' coffee.

"Damn! That girl is a feisty one," Lucas said with a smile.

When Gail arrived at the hospital, Billy Peele was busying himself with some paperwork. When he looked up and saw Gail standing at his door, he walked over and kissed her on the forehead.

"I missed you this morning," Billy said.

"I slept in a little," she replied.

Gail liked Billy.  She had become very close to him in the last few months. Billy had asked Gail to accompany him on a date, thinking Gail was oblivious of how much he cared for Selena.

"I can't stay long," Gail said.

"Oh, so this isn't a social visit?" Billy said with a smile.

"Well, no. I wanted to know what happened to Macy Brown; she was murdered this morning"

"Gail, you know better than to come asking these questions; it's confidential," he said reprovingly.

"Oh, come on, Billy," Gail said impatiently, "I'm gonna find out in an hour anyway.  At least this means I don't have to see Lucas about it."

Billy really felt for Gail; they were both in the same boat.  They both had to deal with loss. Gail was just starting to get over Lucas.

"Okay, the girl was hit over the head and raped.  That's all I'm telling you, and you didn't hear it from me, okay?" Billy said with a sigh.  He couldn't help but give in.  "I'm so soft," he thought to himself.

"Thanks, Billy, I owe you one," Gail said with a smile.  She gave him a huge kiss on the lips and was gone.

Billy smiled to himself and returned to work.

Two nights passed and for Gail it was all the same: a dream about Lucas, waking up in a cold sweat, and calling his name.  The last night, Gail had thought she saw Lucas sitting in the chair in the corner of her bedroom watching her, but she quickly dismissed the thought and forced herself back to sleep.

That morning, Gail had a shadow of threat growing in her mind, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what was causing it. She took Caleb to school as usual, making sure she saw him enter his classroom, just in case, then headed for the sheriff's station.

"Is he in?" Gail asked Floyd sweetly.

"Er, um, I'm not sure; I'll check." Floyd replied nervously.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" a dark figure asked, leaning against the wall to the inner office.

Gail didn't look amused.

"Why, Miss Emory, how are you this morning? Looking well I can see," Lucas said.

"There have been three murders and each victim was raped--what are you doing about it?"

"Well, Gail, we're working on the case. What do you want me to tell you? I've put Ben in charge of this one, okay?" Lucas said.

"Oh, I see. You can't figure out who's killing these girls, so you put Ben on the case. Now if Ben can't solve it, then his name gets dragged through the mud, not yours," Gail said accusingly.

Lucas, taking offense at this, replied, "What's the matter, Gail? Run out of good stories for your newspaper, so you need to start making them up?"  Walking around the counter, Lucas continued,  "Just because you don't think about anyone but yourself, doesn't mean everyone else is the same. For your information, Benjy has been having problems with his son, so I gave him this case so Ben, Jr. can see his father doing something productive for a change. Have you got a problem with that, Miss Emory?"

"No!" Gail said, feeling pretty bad about what she said, "But what's in it for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on Lucas, we both know you don't help anyone unless they have something to offer," Gail said, flashing back in her mind to their deal.

Lucas stood looking at Gail for a minute. Gail looked back.

"What?" she said.

"You are so beautiful," Lucas said, grinning.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Gail said storming out.

Lucas smiled; it was too easy to get her riled up.

"Okay, `cuz," Caleb said, collecting his things. "I better go, Miss Holt won't be happy if I'm late again."

"Okay, do you want a lift?" Gail asked.

"No, it's okay; I can walk. Its only five minutes away"... and with that, Caleb got up, gave Gail a hug and a kiss, and was gone.

Gail saw Caleb out and watched until he was out of sight, completely unaware of the stranger lurking across the road.

By now, Gail had stripped down to a tight pair of denim shorts and a maroon, thin-strapped tank top. Gail decided it was too hot to work, so she got comfy on her big armchair and picked up her Stephen King novel...suddenly it hit her, this was her dream!

Gail dropped the book and stood up so fast it made her vision hazy.

Thud!!

"Shoot!...the window!" Gail thought as she reached for her metal baseball bat, which she always kept close to her under a loose floorboard, and then she picked up the phone receiver. As she started to dial for Ben in the sheriff's station, she realized no dial tone could be heard from the phone, "Damn!" she whispered to herself, "The line must have been cut."

"Shoot!" she whispered in an agitated tone, "the only thing I can do is face whoever this is," Gail thought. Thinking back to all the horror movies she had seen, she remembered how the bimbo would always go and investigate the noise in the basement...

Thud! came from upstairs.

..."and how wonderful the outcome always is in the movies," Gail said sarcastically to herself as she left the living room.  She moved, stalking, with her bat held high, and headed for the front door.  Turning the handle confirmed what she had known, that the door was locked.  To top everything off, she couldn't remember where she had left her keys.

Gail let out a forced chuckle. "Terrific," she murmured.  "Besides," she continued to herself, "if I let this person go, and it is in fact the guy whose been raping these girls, how many more will die before the high and mighty Lucas Buck decides to get off his ass and do something about it?"

Quietly, Gail moved up the stairs.  "He shows up everywhere when I don't want him to, but when I actually need him, where is he?...probably having Selena, that's where," she whispered angrily.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she stared down the dark corridor and realized what a stupid idea this had been.  "Forget this," she muttered and turned to head back down the stairs when she saw a shadow coming out of one of her rooms.

Gail quickly took refuge behind a door. Maybe it was Caleb, she thought as she looked through the crack in the door and raised her bat.

The shadow started to move toward the room she was in. Then it stopped. Then it opened the door Gail she was behind, took a look around and began to walk out again. Gail let out a low sigh. Suddenly Gail realized the figure was staring at her through a mirror on the bedroom wall.  Before Gail could move, the figure kicked the door so hard into Gail that she went flying to the floor and dropped her bat.

Lying on the floor, Gail looked up and saw an object in the figure's hand coming down on her.

Without thought, Gail's reflexes took over.  She rolled over, kicked the figure in the leg, watched it stagger, reached for her bat, got to her feet, and began sprinting for the stairs. Before she had a chance to reach them, a hand clutched her ankle.  She went stumbling down the stairs and lay still, unconscious.

When Gail came to, she looked up and saw a blurry man with what looked like a knife in his hand, standing over her.

As the knife came down on Gail, she swung out of the way, reached for her bat, and dashed into the living room.

The man came charging after her with his knife raised.  "Bitch!" he screamed in a husky voice.

As he came to the door, Gail closed it as hard as she could on his wrist and watched the knife fall out of his hand. Before he had a chance to reach for it, Gail brought her bat down in one swoop on the man's head.

Gail fell weakly to the floor on her knees and dropped the bat. She raised her head to see she was being offered a hand.

Gail looked up. Her hair draped over her face, but she saw Lucas Buck standing with her bat in one hand, her hand in his other. Turning her head, she saw Ben, with his gun pointed at the unconscious man on the floor.

"You okay, darlin'?" Lucas asked, concerned.

"...um..." Gail replied, shaking and confused.

"You had all of us worried, darlin'.  You've been sitting like that with your head drooped for about half an hour," Lucas said.

"...um...well...I...." Gail whispered.

"Come on, lets get you outta here," he said helping her up and pulling her to his chest.  "Can you handle this, Ben?" he asked.

"Sure, Lucas. Is Gail gonna be alright?" Ben asked, also concerned.

"She'll be fine. We've got a strong one here," Lucas said, looking at Gail with a smile.  He headed out the door with her in his arms.

When Gail woke up the next morning, Caleb was asleep on her chest. Gail didn't want to wake him, so she waited for him to wake up before going to the sheriff's station.

Gail arrived as Ben was in the middle of finishing the paperwork.

"Ben," she called.

Looking up, "oh, hi, Gail. How are you feeling?" Ben asked, worried.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile.

I knew you would be, just like Lucas said," Ben said, returning her smile.

Gail thought about this for a moment and then dismissed it.

"I just came by to say thank you.  Speaking of the devil, is he in?" she asked.

"No, he's still at home. You're welcome, by the way."

Gail smiled.  "Okay, I better go.  Bye, Ben, and thanks again.  You always seem to be around when I'm in trouble," Gail said, thinking of the unpleasant incident with the Boston Strangler copycat, and left.

Gail tried Lucas' house, and the Sheriff's station later on in the day, then decided to give up looking for Lucas, find Caleb, and go home.

Later that night, Caleb stood at Gail's bedroom door in the boarding house, while she was reading.

"Why does stuff always happen to us, Gail?" Caleb asked, genuinely curious.

Gail looked up from her book and thought for a second, then replied, "I don't know, Caleb...go on to bed and don't worry about that now, okay?"

"Okay, g'night," Caleb said and returned to his room.

Gail decided to call it a night herself and drifted off to sleep.  Meanwhile, Lucas Buck stood on the sidewalk outside her window.  "Soon..." he said to no one in particular and walked away.

The End