Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

“Dexter, that guy… he’s freaking me out: he’s staring at me.

Melody’s voice trembled as she hid behind Dexter.

I glanced back and breathed a sigh of relief; the creep wasn’t leering at me, but at Melody.

He was glaring at Melody with a rage that simmered in silence.

“His name’s Colin, from the local orphanage,” a cop spoke up for him. “Caught him once snatching someone’s sandwich. Probably not a bad egg.”

I shook my head vehemently, “No, he’s bad news, a murderer!”

The police let go of Colin.

Colin scrambled to his feet, his lanky legs making his pants ride up above his ankles.

I saw the ghastly scars on his shins. They were reminiscent of burn marks from electrocution. Despite my fear that he’d keep killing, I followed him. He stopped beside Melody, his voice gravelly. “It’s you…”

Melody looked at the man in shock, her whole body quaking.

I was equally stunned. Did Colin know Melody had deliberately lured me to him?

“Mr. Fitzgerald, please contact us as soon as you have any information related to Phoebe. Sorry to disturb you so late,” the leading cop, Robin Lancaster, apologized and handed Dexter his card.

Dexter huffed, took the card, and left with Melody.

Watching them walk away, Robin spoke up. “Check out Dexter. His connection to Phoebe is not as simple as it seems. And also check out Melody.”

“How did you figure it out, Robin?” another officer asked.

“Do you know if your sister has a mole on her chest or a birthmark on her pelvis?”

“That’s… creepy,” the younger cop gulped, shocked. “He looks so… normal.”

“So, let’s dig deeper!”

I didn’t go back with Dexter because I couldn’t bear to see him and Melody again.

I followed Colin instead, watching him limp away and hoping to find my own body.

He dragged his injured leg to an abandoned orphanage and deftly climbed inside.

I followed, my breath quickening as I scanned the surroundings.

Chapter B

This was the place where I’d met my end! He was the one who had brought me here and then killed me. This orphanage was the initial crime scene of the series of murders.

I stuck close to Colin, hoping to find where my body was hidden.

But he didn’t head to the scene of the murder. Instead, he entered a decrepit dormitory and curled up in a corner of a cluttered room.

It was clear he lived here, in this run–down orphanage.

I wandered the orphanage for a long time without finding the basement where the murders and my death took place.

No wonder the police had been searching for so long without any success.

“Bang!”

The orphanage’s metal gate was suddenly rammed open by a car.

Colin cautiously stepped out to eye those uninvited guests.

To my surprise, Dexter emerged from the car, with Melody shivering beside him.

“He’s the one. I don’t know if he’s the murderer, but he’s been following me these past few days.”

Melody hadn’t confessed to the cops about Colin but had told Dexter instead.

Dexter didn’t call the cops; he chose to confront Colin himself.

Colin tried to flee, but Dexter’s posse blocked him, wielding bats that they brought down on Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Colin.

“A beggar like you dares to covet Melody, huh?”

“Hey, isn’t this the one who looked down on Phoebe? A beggar with high standards, huh?”

Colin curled up on the ground, shielding his head, clearly used to being beaten.

Dexter squatted down in front of Colin, showing him a photo of me. “Ever seen this woman?”

For a fleeting moment, I wondered if Dexter too suspected that I was already dead.