Bloody Trail

Bloody TrailPerfect Crime Series - Book 3 Clara Lewis Copyright © 2023 Clara Lewis – All rights Reserved This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.www.claralewis.com Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Continue Reading the Series Review This Book Also by Clara Lewis About the Author Connect With Clara PrologueShe wasn’t the one. None of them ever were. That thought was like ash in my mouth. I didn’t dare say it out loud. I didn’t want to be jinxed. All she did was fight me at every turn, from the moment she had woken up all the way until she had sat down in that chair facing me. She wasn’t afraid of me and that was one thing that threw me off. She had deceived me, too. I almost wanted to laugh at how desperate I had become. It was such a shame to let her go. She was the most fitting to become my wife. She had a soothing voice, bright green eyes, and hair that was always straight and shiny. I knew instantly that our children would be beautiful. And then the words began to spill out of her mouth. They were filthy and hateful, not at all what I was expecting from a woman who I would call my wife. Then the tears came. Even when I had led her far away from civilization, she cried enough to bring me to worry. What if the neighbors heard?What if I got caught? These were thoughts that had never occurred to me before. I was smart about it and people were dumb enough to fall for my façade. I will not fail again. Not this time. I’ve heard rumors, and whispers of someone who might pretend to be me. Little do they know, there can only be one of me. The police are baffled, and I guess they’ll be busy for a while. Because of this, I can afford to be bolder. After all, I need her back and I know that I would die without her by my side. That’s impossible, of course. There was no one else out there with the same motives. Whatever it was that they implemented, it wasn’t an act of love. Not like mine. They were selfish and they were stealing my attention from me. That was one good thing, but someday I will have to find them and put an end to them. I will not have someone’s selfish intentions ruining the city where I will raise my family. I have lost a family before. I swear that it will never happen again. Chapter 1Ever since that night he saw a strange figure in his room, Leon had been unable to sleep. At first, he thought that he was seeing things. It wasn’t that he was going crazy or anything, but he did read about the effects of sleep loss on a person. It led to hallucinations, and he was almost convinced that that was what had happened. Leon had a terrible sleep schedule, after all. He often stayed behind at the station to look at case files to the point when his eyes started to burn. His brain was exhausted from having to think over and over again about possible situations that would have led him to the killer. The result was always the same. He had overworked his brain for nothing and now, he was exhausted and unable to sleep. There was nothing else to do other than to go home. And what did he get when he was at home? Nothing except for fear. While he was convinced that the figure that he had seen that night was his imagination, Leon still wondered if that man was real. What his intentions were, Leon didn’t know. Maybe the man wanted him dead, or maybe he was just a creep who liked to watch people sleep. Maybe, and this was the most likely case, Leon was just too exhausted to function, and his overactive brain had become his downfall. Presently, he was sitting on the couch again, much in the same position where Dr. Evelyn had found him before and scolded him for not taking care of himself properly. He was tired, so tired that if he ever laid down on the bed, he’d fall asleep immediately. But no, his mind was like a live wire, ready to strike with a new thought every time he thought of going to sleep. Leon wasn’t easily scared, and he had seen more than his fair share of horror in his career. But that didn’t stop the fear from descending upon his skin. The room suddenly felt too cold, and Leon found his eyes darting from side to side in suspicion. After a few minutes, he placed his head in his hands. He refused to drink, knowing that that would lead him into a vulnerable place that he wasn’t quite ready for yet. Then, he laughed. There was no humor in his tone. All he could think about was how sorry his situation was. Big, bad FBI man, scared of the dark and his failure. “I’m a joke,” he muttered bitterly to himself. Why was he the only one so terribly