The Admirer: The Doll Collector Sequel

Chapter 6: Kristopher

I knew that Adrian was worried about Audrey, but honestly, if he was trying to keep Audrey's survival a secret, there shouldn't be 12 cops in a hospital hallway. It was pretty obvious that they were protecting someone of importance. The identity of The Admirer was obscure to us, duh, so we didn't know where he was or what he did. He could be walking the halls of this hospital for all we knew.

The officers gave me their attention as I approached. Many of them were rookies, and so they inspected the detective's bags hanging form my neck. I nodded to them then opened the door to Audrey's room. The lights were dimmed and the curtains around her bed were drawn. I could see her silhouette darkening the material.

I reached out and pulled it back. The rings holding it to the rod scratched along the metal, but the sound didn't disturb Audrey's sleep. Raw, angry red rings encircled her neck where The Admirer must have strangled her. Her fingers were individually bandaged, appearing shorter than regular fingers.

He had cut them off, it was evident, it was smart. She had likely scratched him, and he got rid of the DNA evidence. A hole had been cut into her gown to reveal taped gauze on her side. Prison shanking, most likely.

Machines were hooked up to her arms, monitoring her heart rate and oxygen level. I stood over her, watching her chest rise up and down. Audrey, though a slut in everywhere had never inspired any rage in me. It's true, I judged harlot behavior, but Audrey had been kind to me whenever Adrian brought her round.

He was as much to blame as her, but I delegated most of the blame to Adrian. Audrey was much younger than him, naive, silly. 

A doctor in a white coat opened the door behind me and smiled with a greeting.

"I'm Dr. Rebecca Shields." she introduced, reaching out to shake my hand.

"Detective Kristopher Marner." I replied, taking her hand. "Is she okay?" I asked.

"Yes, we sutured her gash and prevented further blood loss. It was a good move of you guys to bring her in the box. The pressure of her position kept her from bleeding out entirely. She's a rare blood type, so she's lucky she didn't lose any more, otherwise, we would have struggled to find her type, and she would have died." Dr. Shields explained.

"Is she in the clear?"

"Yes, she's quite the fighter. She most likely won't be much for talking tonight, but maybe in the morning. Her vocals chords are swollen and will likely remain so until tomorrow."

"Thank you, doctor. Since she is now a prime witness to a possible serial killer, we're going to have several officers stationed outside of her room and around the nearby exits. I'll be spending the night keeping watch as well. Should you need anything, please feel free to come to me or any of the officers here." I told her.

"Thank you, Detective Marner. If you need me, you're welcome to find me. My shift ends at 9 a.m." she handed me her card and smiled on her way out.

I watched her walk away and plopped down on the chair. She was just as lovely going as she was coming. Perhaps she was a target for carnal desired.

There was no time. I cooled off the heat building in my body by looking at my work phone. There were 17 text messages from Adrian, demanding to know if Audrey was okay. About half of those were angry because I hadn't answered yet. 

Oops.

Me: Get your panties out of a bunch. She's stabilized and she's asleep. I'll stay here tonight

Adrian: Oh blow me Kris, I'm genuinely worried here.

Me: She's fine, now go home to your WIFE