Dark Illusion: A Psychological Thriller Novel Read Online Free Page A

time a new body was discovered,
Sharon felt the depth of her failure.
    But she was never a quitter.
    “Listen, I know it’s a lot of
drudge, but we need to go back in order to get to the bottom of this. There is
no doubt that we are dealing with a professional; therefore, if there are any
mistakes, they will be found in the first murder. We need to go back to square
one. That’s the only way to track this nutjob . We
already know the guy’s methods and his motives. All we need is one little
mistake, and I am going to find it. I’ll do whatever it takes. And that’s a
promise, Captain.”
    Sharon felt entranced by her
brave speech. She had won Rob over and had managed to calm him yet again. She
already saw the beginning of a smile forming on his lips and was waiting to
hear his usual, “ Okay, Davis, counting on you, God knows why. Get moving .”
    But she did not hear those words.
Rob’s cell phone rang. He answered but did not say a single word throughout the
duration of the call. Sharon noticed that the vein next to his forehead was
beginning to stick out – a very bad sign. When he hung up, he said only one
thing.
    “We have another body.”

CHAPTER 4
     
    T he sun had set and it was safe to
leave. Kelly drove downtown with the remains of Julie safely stashed in the
trunk of her Mercedes, concealed inside a black trash bag. While her eyes were
searching for the perfect location to dump the body, her mind wandered almost
three years back to Mandy Sheldon, her first victim.
    They met when Mandy had come for
a job interview at the bureau of Inner Beauty magazine, where Kelly worked as
the Editor in Chief. It was instantly clear that Mandy’s only talent was
looking good behind the reception desk. She had waltzed into the office,
beaming with the overconfidence of a stupid little girl who did not know her
place. The stench of vanity was exuding from her. Kelly was infuriated by the
audacity and assurance that Mandy had displayed in her ability to get a
desirable position, and in such a prestigious workplace to boot, without even
bothering to submit a resume. She just had to teach her a lesson.
    Kelly had interrupted the
interview and told Mandy that she’d noticed right away that Mandy had higher
qualities than the role required. She had given Mandy her business card and
told her to stay in touch. Of course Kelly hadn’t actually thought about
calling Mandy and had just planned on ridiculing her if she tried to approach
her. That should teach her a lesson or two.
    But as the hours went by, Kelly
felt it was not enough. The little imbecile must be punished.
    She had called Mandy that very
same day and had offered her to model for next month’s issue of Inner Beauty,
which would be featuring young and promising new discoveries in the modeling
world. Kelly might have even said that she was so impressed with Mandy that she
wanted her to be on the cover. Any reasonable person would have doubted such an
exaggerated offer, but Mandy’s arrogance had triumphed over her reason, if she
even had any, and she had immediately accepted it. After all, how could she
have refused such an offer, when the alternative would have been working as a
mere receptionist, away from the spotlight?
    Kelly had set up a meeting with
Mandy at her townhouse, allegedly for a photo shoot in her basement studio. She
had convinced Mandy to keep everything a secret so she could surprise her
family and friends when they saw her photo on the cover at the local news
stands.
    Actually, Kelly hadn’t planned to
take Mandy’s life that night. She had only wanted to humiliate the young girl
and crush her spirits, after which she would understand that she had no chance,
ever, to model for her magazine – or any other for that matter. She had wanted
to open this naive girl’s eyes to the bitter truth, but they had refused to do
so; therefore, they would remain closed forever.
    Kelly remembered Mandy arriving
at her house, dolled up from head to toe. How