Captive Justice: A Private Investigator Mystery Series (A Jake & Annie Lincoln Thriller Book 4) by Rayven T. Hill

weakness.”
    “How so?”
    “A psychopath has a low restraint and a demand for immediate gratification. That desire, combined with a low level of fear, not only makes him dangerous, but despite his intelligence, prone to mistakes.”
    Annie broke in, “And a need for a level of fame sometimes, considering they’re generally narcissistic.”
    “So,” Jake mused. “If that’s the case, then we haven’t heard the last of him.”
    “I believe he’ll be back,” Annie said. “Especially if he gets away with it this time.”
    Hank sighed. “I’m afraid you’re right. I’m so afraid you’re right.”

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 19
     
     
     
    Thursday, September 1st, 11:00 AM
     
    LISA KRUNK considered herself a first class reporter. Truth is, she wasn’t all she supposed herself to be, but her sensational stories, sometimes faked and usually exaggerated, always put her on top of the ratings for Channel 7 Action News.
    She’d been up late last night, chasing her latest spectacular piece, and slept in this morning. She was angry she missed the events that had taken place out on County Road 10 early this morning. By the time she got there with her cameraman in tow, there was nothing left to see but a few officers combing the nearby woods and unfortunately, she couldn’t nail any of them down for information on who the victim was.
    All she knew was, someone was dead, this was a great story and she wanted a piece of it.
    She pushed aside her frustration to answer her ringing cell phone.
    “This is Lisa Krunk.”
    “Ms. Krunk, I’m a great fan of yours.”
    Lisa rolled her eyes. She knew she had a lot of fans, but this guy was some kind of a nut-case. His voice was deep and unnatural. It sounded like it was filtered through something that made it that way.
    “I don’t have time for this,” she said. “I appreciate your call.” She touched the hang-up icon, tossed the phone onto the dashboard of the van and turned to her cameraman, dutifully maneuvering through the city streets. “Just one of my many fans.”
    Don nodded knowingly.
    The phone rang again.
    Lisa shook her head and retrieved the ringing cell. She looked at the caller ID. Unknown number. “This is Lisa Krunk.”
    “I have a story for you.” It was the same voice.
    Lisa perked up.
    “It’s about the woman found dead this morning.”
    Lisa sat forward, now giving the caller her full attention. “I’m listening?”
    The unearthly voice continued, “It’s unfortunate, obviously, but certain people didn’t play by the rules and now a woman is dead because of it.”
    “What rules? What woman? Who is she?” Lisa spat out the words.
    “Her name is, or should I say, was, Mrs. Linda Gould. Her husband, Dr. Arthur Gould was given a simple task and yet . . . he failed.”
    Lisa scrambled in the console beside her seat and found a pen and something to write on. “Failed how?” She furiously jotted down the names.
    Don was frowning, casting frequent glances her way.
    The voice said, “I offered him a fair trade. His wife, for one hundred thousand dollars. That’s fair, wouldn’t you agree, Ms. Krunk?”
    “Yes . . . yes, I guess so.”
    “How can you put a value on a human life? Of course it’s fair. More than fair.”
    Lisa had dug her digital audio recorder from her bag of tricks and switched it on. She put the phone on speaker and held it close to the microphone. “Can you tell me who you are?”
    A deep, eerie laugh, then, “You may call me the Merchant of Life.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “I sell life, Ms. Krunk. May I call you Lisa?”
    “Yes, and what do you mean, you sell life?”
    “I enter into a fair verbal contract with the purchaser. If that contract is kept, the life is preserved, however . . .”
    “Yes?”
    “If the contract is broken, then I’m under no obligation to keep my end of the bargain.”
    Lisa was bewildered. “What bargain? Are you trying to tell me you’re a kidnapper?”
    “That’s one way to