The Last Note

The storm had rolled in by the time Detective Olivia Carter arrived at the crime scene. The wind howled through the cracked windows of the abandoned building, and the rain lashed against the glass like an angry animal. A flash of lightning illuminated the darkened street as she stepped out of her car, her boots splashing in the growing puddles beneath her.

Inside the building, the air was thick with dust, the stale scent of mildew and decay hanging heavy. The only light came from the dim glow of the police flashlights cutting through the darkness.

Officer Jake Monroe met her at the entrance, his face pale. “It’s bad, Detective,” he said, his voice tense. “Real bad.”

Olivia nodded. She had seen it all, but there was something about the look on his face that made her uneasy. “Show me.”

They walked down the corridor, the only sound the echo of their footsteps. The building had once been a thriving warehouse, but now it was a hollow shell, forgotten by time and the city. The door to the back room was ajar, and Olivia stepped through.

In the center of the room lay the body of a man, his eyes wide in terror, his mouth frozen in a silent scream. His hands were bound to the chair, and a single sheet of paper was pinned to his chest, the words written in sharp, jagged handwriting: “You should have stopped looking.”

Olivia crouched down, studying the scene. The man appeared to have been tortured—marks on his skin told of blunt force trauma, and his body was stiff, like he’d been left there for hours. But it was the note that grabbed her attention.

“Who is he?” Olivia asked, her voice low.

Jake glanced at the ID on the desk beside the body. “A journalist. His name is Thomas Green. He’s been investigating some old cases… missing persons, murders from years ago. I guess he got too close to something.”

Olivia stood, her brow furrowing. “He was onto something. This wasn’t random.”

The officer nodded. “There’s more, Detective. We found his notebook. It’s filled with names, dates, and places. And it’s all connected to the disappearances that have been happening for the past year. Same pattern, same places…”

“Same killer,” Olivia murmured, her eyes narrowing. The investigation into the missing people had been dragging on for months, but this? This felt different. The killer wasn’t just taking victims—they were leaving a message.

“Any suspects?” she asked, looking at the officer.

Jake shook his head. “Nothing solid. But we’ve been tracking a pattern in the victims’ last known locations. It’s like they were chosen specifically.”

Olivia turned back to the body, her eyes landing on the note again. “Thomas knew too much. He was getting too close. Whoever did this… they want to stop anyone from digging deeper.”

As she stood there, a sharp chill ran through her. This wasn’t just about one man. This was about a conspiracy, something long buried, and it was much bigger than she had initially thought.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out, her eyes scanning the message that had just come through:

“You’re next, Detective. Stop looking or there will be more blood.”

Olivia’s pulse quickened, her heart pounding in her chest. She’d expected threats before. But this? This was personal. And it meant that the killer was watching her.

She looked at Jake. “Get a team on Green’s apartment. We need to find that notebook he was working on. It might hold the key to everything. And we need to dig into those missing person cases—there’s something bigger at play here.”

Jake nodded, but his expression was filled with concern. “You’re really going after this, aren’t you?”

Olivia met his gaze, her jaw set. “I’m not stopping. Not until we get the answers we need.”

As they left the building, the storm seemed to grow fiercer, the rain now beating down in torrents. But Olivia barely noticed. Her mind was racing, the pieces of the puzzle finally starting to fall into place. The killer was out there, and they were watching her. But Olivia was determined to find them before anyone else disappeared.

And this time, she wouldn’t let them slip through her fingers.