The Admirer: The Doll Collector Sequel

Chapter 21: Kristopher

Maria was asleep beside me. As a man, that's how you knew you'd done your job right. A killer in the streets and the sheets. I rolled off of the bed, sliding my clothes back on. My movements disturbed her slumber and she sat up running a hand through her messy hair. She put a hand to her ribs and grimaced as she too slid off the edge of the bed.

She struggled to put her clothes back on, but didn't accept any help from me.

As I watched her stand and bend over to grab her shoes, I mentally chastised myself. What the hell had I become? I didn't deserve to be having these moments. Maria sure as hell didn't deserve being with a serial killer.

Maria swept up her hair into a ponytail, when a guttural growl penetrated the bedroom door. It was obviously Eloise, but it was completely unlike her to behave that way when I locked the door. Something had to be wrong. I twisted the knob, asking Maria to stay put while I went to investigate. Eloise was standing in front of the doll room with her fur and tail raised.

She hissed, dropping into another guttural growl. The door to the doll room was ajar, and that was enough to send a chill down my spine. It was always locked and I wore the key every single day. I burst through the door, feeling the air whoosh out of my lungs. My legs almost buckled under my weight as my muscles numbed out.

My dolls. Where were my dolls?

Their usual place holders were empty, but everything else was perfectly neat as it always was. Whoever had done this, had done it cleanly and quietly. Not that I would've heard them, there was no blood going to my ears while this was happening. I dashed toward the front door, yanking it open. Maria suddenly appeared behind me and sucked in a loud gasp.

A blood curdling scream was let out from outside of the house. I bolted to the front door and yanked it open. The Johnsons were standing on the edge of my property with their hands over their mouths.

My girls were neatly arranged on the front porch, with the sun beating down them. My breath hitched as I spotted a note attached to the back of one of the dolls.

"Someone call the police!" a woman cried.

It was then I realized, that more of my neighbors had gathered around my front lawn. My face blazed with heat. How long before they pieced it together?

"I am the police." I reminded them, asking Maria to grab my cell phone.

Mrs. Johnson was already on the phone, which meant she was calling her demon spawn. I internally cringed, but took advantage of everyone being distracted to reach for the note.

You've made your choice, you don't need your dolls anymore :)

That son-of-a-bitch.

Maria popped back up, and handed me my phone. It took every ounce of me, not to run over to his home, drag his ass onto the lawn, and execute him like I should have done long ago.

I was seeing red, he'd touched my girls and re-exposed them to the world.

"Kris." Maria said, lightly touching my arm.

I shoved the note into her hand, dialing Adrian's number. My anger was burning through me so furiously, that I didn't remember actually having a conversation with him.

Everything seemed to be happening so quickly. So many people were snapping photos of my girls and taking videos. I wanted to scream at them to make them go away. How dare they do that to them? They were not there to be gawked at, they were supposed to be on the pedestals to be loved and cared for. Maria pulled me back inside the house and slammed the door shut.