Layla Caine Mystery 02-First Mistake by Strong Ava

Author:Strong, Ava [Strong, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, American Suspense, Police Procedural, Crime Thriller, Murder Investigation, Profiler, LAPD, Los Angeles, California
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2024-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The park was silent but for the distant hum of city life and the occasional crackle of police radios. Layla stepped over the sawhorses, her boots sinking slightly into the damp earth. Mike’s shadow loomed behind her, silent, a steady presence amidst the chaos of red and blue lights.

They approached the shallow hole. The woman's body lay contorted, moonlight glinted off the silver tent peg that anchored her bound legs to the ground. Layla crouched beside the victim, careful not to disturb the perimeter the officers had marked. She picked up the woman’s clutch purse which lay discarded a few feet away. She sifted through the item which had already been marked with a small, yellow evidence flag. Her fingers brushed against the cold plastic of an ID card, slipped halfway from a pocket.

"Amy Camp," she read aloud, voice steady. Mike grunted in acknowledgment, his eyes scanning the surroundings, taking in every detail. He stood at her side like a faithful hound—he often gave the air of a watch dog. Silent but dangerous.

She felt oddly comforted with him at her side, and though he was a good ten years her senior, she found him an easy presence to be around. She glanced at her partner, then back at the hapless victim on the ground.

A single stab wound.

“Just like Tina,” Mike murmured.

Layla simply nodded, her own eyes narrowed as she fished her phone from her pocket. Information could be gathered more than one way.

Layla flipped open her phone, the screen's glow illuminating her face, contrasting sharply with the darkness around them. She scrolled, searching, digging through the digital past of Amy Camp.

“Anything?”

“She was a rapper—a hip-hop artist.”

“The pattern continues,” Mike said, grim.

“Same guy.”

Mike glanced at the knife in the victim’s chest. “Same guy,” he confirmed, his teeth biting off the words as if it was a hunk of tough meet.

Layla showed him the phone, the image of Amy alive, vibrant, and full of promise.

"Looks like fame was a cruel friend to Ms. Camp," he said.

"Seems so," Layla replied, her gaze returning to the body. Her lip caught between her teeth, a crease forming on her forehead. “Tina also stabbed with a single wound to the chest.”

Her eyes moved down to the black tableau again, then darted up once more.

“Tina and Amy both killed the same way…”

His omission left the obvious question before them. Even as Layla’s eyes catalogued the grim scene, trying to pull on threads, the question nagged.

Layla swiped to another page. "But Adam Rey… Multiple stab wounds. Rey suffered. Why?"

Mike pondered, his brow furrowing in the moonlight seeping reluctantly through scant tree cover. "Different M.O.? Or something more personal?"

"Personal." The word hung between them, a possibility that added layers to the case like paint on a canvas. "First kill?" Layla proposed. "A crime of passion that evolved into a pattern?"

"Could be," Mike conceded, his eyes still fixed on the screen before returning to the body in the shallow grave. "Or maybe the killer's connection with Rey was deeper, messier.

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