Dear Killer (eBook)

The Murder Of Monica Hall

Safina Bello (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
302 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
9780001032972 (ISBN)

Infos

'If you're reading this; it means he killed me, he finally caught up with me, I've been running from him for years, he never gave up, his obsession never wavered.

'Even death can't take you away from me Monica.' He'd say, he was the biggest mistake of my life, now I'm trapped in a living hell, he silenced me forever, you are reading this, it's already too late. He's won.

When Monica's body is found, it seems like a gruesome end to a life marked by fear. But as detectives dig deeper, they uncover a web of secrets and lies that suggest Monica was more than just a victim. She was a mastermind, a manipulator, and a murderer. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that Monica's death was not the end of a nightmare, but the beginning of a new one. And the person she was running from may not be finished killing yet.

Textauszug

Chapter Four

SAM

"Monica." He asked.

His expression was not expected; he was shocked. Sam thought he would be nervous when he asked him, but rather he was shocked.

Mrs. Hall was right—they found him at home. He came home visiting his parents.

"Your ex-wife, has the divorce been finalized?" Sam asked.

They got to Sebastian's home an hour ago. They had to wait for him to come back from the gym. Sam expected him to flee, but he didn't; rather, he came back home.

Sam asked his parents a few questions about Monica. They informed him Monica met Sebastian while she was working in the fashion firm—he was a potential investor, and they dated for a while before marriage. It was weird Mrs. Hall didn't know anything about that.

Sam made sure to ask them about Monica's relationship with her mother, which they didn't know of. They weren't really close in-laws, and the wedding was rather a court marriage—nothing lavish.

"She filed for a divorce four months ago," Sam added.

"We got divorced two months into the wedding," Sebastian said, which made Sam alarmed.

Two months into the marriage.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"She started acting all weird and secretive. I found out she cheated."

Sam was a bit surprised. He had all his hopes pinned on Sebastian being the killer.

"Can you prove the divorce?"

"I have the papers." He replied. He walked further into the house and after a minute came out with the papers. It was indeed true—Monica divorced him a long time ago.

Did she lie about her divorce, or was Sebastian lying about it? These papers could easily be forged, Sam thought.

He knew Monica had plenty of secrets, but multiple marriages—he was not one he thought of.

Could it be Sebastian was framing her? Her mother wouldn't be able to vouch for her. Sam needed to find out if there was another man in the picture if Monica was saying the truth about the divorce four months ago.

And he had to figure out who was that man—the man who left the cigarette burns.

Everyone was a suspect.

"I'm going to need your shoe size and fingerprint," Sam said.

He knew he couldn't trust anyone, not even some silly papers.

"I would come down to the station," Sebastian said.

Sam took out a cigarette. "You don't mind if I do?" He asked, and Sebastian muttered a "No."

"Want to join me?" He asked, and Sebastian shook his head.

It was a test. The man she was with the night she died smoked, but Sebastian didn't.

When Sam informed Sebastian about Monica's murder, he couldn't believe it. The last time he saw her was when they got divorced, and after that, he never had any contact with her—she changed her number.

Sebastian was asked if Monica cheated on him during their dating era, but he confirmed she wasn't, which led to Sam being confused.

"What was she up to?"

"Why did she marry Sebastian if she would want a divorce in two months?"

"Was she married more than once?"

She had to be, Sam thought.

He got back to the office—no single evidence or proof that could make him closer to finding her killer. Everything was confusing. It seemed like Monica was a lot more than she pretended to be.

"What happened to her after she got divorced?"

"You didn't find anything?" Serene asked.

She was helping him crack the case.

"I feel like everyone is just lying."

"Sebastian could be telling the truth."

"What do you mean?"

"Monica was running away from someone. She changed her address. She had a mystery husband, but her parents didn't know all that. When they figured something was wrong, they stopped providing her money. And Sebastian—the paper he got, I ran it through the system. They got divorced."

"What if there were two different people in that house with her?" Serene added.

"Why do you think so?"

"Her house was trashed, and there are cigarettes everywhere on her porch. Maybe a different man killed her that night, and the cigarette belonged to someone else."

"Her window was broken, which meant forced entry," Sam said.

He was trying his best to put two and two together. The more information he got about her, the more complicated she appeared to be.

"So we are looking for two men here."

"It won't hurt to try different theories here," Serene said, and he smiled.

Serene could be right. There could be two men that night. They could be searching for the wrong man. Someone else was there that night.

"I need to know what she has been up to the last year." He muttered. "Did you get anything more from her phone?" Sam asked.

"She was sending money monthly to this number," Serene said, handing him over a paper.

Blackmail, he thought.

"And when she stopped sending money, he killed her."

"It could be possible."

"Get the address—we got a lead."

Finding Monica's killer was going to uncover a lot of past secrets. She could be a different person, not what her mother expected her to be.

Monica had lots of secrets. She was a complicated woman. She trusted no one but herself. Despite being in a family where she got everything she wanted, she still had trust issues. It could be because of her mother's behavior towards her father.

Monica stayed away mostly from home. She liked being independent, but it all changed when she met him. He came like a storm and destroyed everything in her life.

A year earlier…

Monica.

She stood in front of the judge. It was the day she was getting divorced. Sebastian didn't want a divorce, but she knew better than to stay in the relationship.

"I'm going to give you a minute to speak to each other," the judge said. He stood up and left them for a while.

"Let's get this over with."

"Why did we get married if you want to get divorced?"

"You lied, Sebastian. If I had known the truth, I would have never married you," she said bitterly.

After months of dating, she thought she found the one, but he wasn't what she expected. He lied to her and manipulated her into marrying him.

"You should be glad I'm not telling anyone about it."

"You can't if you wanted to."

"Is that a threat?" Monica asked.

"You know better than to rat me out," he said.

Monica found out her husband controlled a prostitution ring. He was into human trafficking. She knew she couldn't stay with him after knowing the truth. She was in shock she got married to a monster.

"Fuck you," Monica said.

Sebastian stared at her. He knew if she said anything to anyone, it would be the end of his life. He would be jailed. His reputation would go at stake, and it would destroy everything he ever worked for.

"Just sign the fucking papers and let's leave," Monica said.

PRESENT TIME…

SAM

She had a child. She looked a lot like her mother. That was where she had been sending money to. Sam was in stupefaction. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Monica had a child. She was a year old.

"How long have you known Monica?"

"I met her a year ago. She rented my apartment for four months."

"She dumped her baby here?" Serene asked.

"I found her outside my door with a letter."

"Has she tried to contact you?"

"She only sends money."

Eva Thompson, one of Monica's ex roommates. Monica came to stay with her shortly after her divorce with Sebastian. She was pregnant. Sam figured it could be Sebastian's daughter, which he didn't know about—she didn't tell anyone.

This woman hid a lot of things from people. Sam was wrong—it was not blackmail. She was paying Eva to stay with her daughter and take care of her. Sam got into thinking: why wouldn't she take care of her child? Who was she running from?

"She would rather not stay longer than four months. I had a policy for renters to pay for 11 months. She did pay, but she didn't stay."

"Did she say anything about a husband?"

"She was mostly quiet, kept to herself most of the time. There was something weird about her—she was always paranoid when her phone rang."

Mary said the same thing about her.

"Could it be Sebastian? I mean, he has so many motives. To get his daughter, to get back at her for leaving him."

"We still don't know how their marriage was during the two months."

Sebastian had too much motive. Sam could swear he could do this, but he couldn't arrest him without a warrant, and he couldn't get a warrant without evidence.

Sebastian was just a prime suspect. He believed the poor man until now.

Sam sat on his chair. He just got off the call with Mrs. Hall.

A test would prove if she was really Monica's daughter, and Mrs. Hall gave permission.

"What do you think we can do?"

"Monica was up to something," Sam said.

"Why do you think so?" Serene asked.

"Her story isn't clear. Everyone has something different to say about her. Everyone has a different perspective of her, and no one wants to say the truth."

Sam knew he would do anything possible to find her killer. This was the first case that had kept him on the edge of his seat. There were so many suspects but no evidence to prove who the killer could be.

Eva Thompson—she could be a suspect, but a thought came across Sam's mind: why would she kill the woman who was giving her money? But rather, maybe Monica had a will, and killing Monica would leave all her wealth to her daughter?

"Fuck," Sam muttered loudly. He was frustrated. He needed to know where exactly to investigate.

Hours later, the test came...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 25.8.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• ISBN-13: 9780001032972 / 9780001032972