Page 240 of Shhh…It’s A Killer Story

"I don't think stories like mine ever really end."

The tyres hummed beneath the car. The rain grew heavier. Somewhere ahead, Blackridge waited. Somewhere behind me… Hollow Springs disappeared into the mist. I rested one hand loosely on the steering wheel. Then smiled. The same smile. The one that never quite reached my eyes.

So...

I suppose...

I'll talk to you again.

My smile widened ever so slightly.

Until then...

I tapped the steering wheel twice.

...shhh.

Elias

The drive back to the cottage was quieter than it should have been.

Collins and Walker had been found just after noon. Two bodies. One abandoned house. One familiar signature. Pinned neatly to Collins’ chest with a heavy hunting knife was a handwritten note.

You're welcome.

Beneath it, written in the same meticulous, careful handwriting:

And goodbye.

The scene had been completely scrubbed. No fingerprints, no DNA, nothing left behind except enough blood to paint the concrete floor. The killer had finished what I had started, executing the final two monsters Blackridge had ever produced and somehow, I couldn't shake the chilling feeling that they wanted me to know it.

Every detective instinct told me this wasn't over, but every piece of physical evidence suggested otherwise. Whoever had done it had erased the rot from this town. Maybe... maybe that really was goodbye. Maybe the killer was finally gone.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, dusk had settled heavily over the pines. The cottage lights glowed warmly through the trees, cutting through the dark. Before I could even shut the truck door, the front door burst open.

"There you are!"

Seraphina practically flew across the porch. She laughed a real, vibrant laugh and launched herself straight into my arms. I barely had time to brace myself and catch her before her lips found mine, kissing me hard enough to steal the breath right from my lungs.

Then, just as suddenly, she pulled away, her feet hitting the porch. "I have to show you something."

"What?"

"No questions," she insisted, grabbing my hand tightly.

"Come."

I let her drag me across the yard toward her cottage.

"How was Hollow City?" I asked.

She smiled to herself, a small, private expression. "...Interesting."

"Interesting?"

"I like my new friend."

Something about the way she said it made me glance sideways at her. She wasn't lying, but she wasn't telling me everything either. Halfway to her porch, she slowed down, her fingers tightening around mine.