The Test

Chapter Three

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.