The Rebecca Black Trilogy (Paperback Bundle)

From Book 1: When Diamonds Bleed...

PROLOGUE

“You don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to stop,” Sara pleaded as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

The restraints burned into her wrists as she violently jerked her arms in a failed attempt to free herself. She gave up after only a minute, complete exhaustion overtaking her. Her body collapsed into the examination table, limp and drenched with a gruesome mix of sweat and blood.

The tears flowed uncontrollably now. “You can just stop.”

He turned his head and stared deep into her eyes. His mouth formed a gentle smile. For a brief moment she thought she had finally gotten through to him. However, all hope dissipated as he slowly shook his head from side to side. And when he reached over her to cinch the restraints even tighter, she knew she wouldn’t be walking out of that room alive.

He had been at it for hours. So had she. Begging, pleading, and crying to no avail as he continued to cut her over and over. He wasn’t a sadist though. His repeated injections of local anesthetic proved that. She almost felt she should thank him for the courtesy. Imagine that. Thank you, kind sir, for killing all my pain as you slowly kill me.

Finally, he straightened and took a step back. He tossed a crumpled tube of Krazy Glue onto a stainless-steel tray. It joined an array of scalpels, syringes, gauze, and more empty glue tubes. All the ingredients needed to rearrange diamond-shaped sections of skin on a more-than-unwilling partner.

He then removed his blood-covered latex gloves and dropped them into a white trash bag. The white paper apron was next. Her eyes tracked him as he walked to the corner of the room and returned wheeling an enormous steel frame. Within the frame, a narrow six-foot mirror.

Sara squeezed her eyes shut. She knew where this was going, and she wanted no part of it. He swiveled the mirror within the frame and positioned it over her. It spanned the entire length of her body.

She refused to look at herself. She had made that mistake early on—hours ago when she still wanted to know what the hell he was doing to her. The sight had horrified her, and she learned right then and there that sometimes, knowing is worse. Her eyes remained sealed as she turned her head to the side.

She focused on the incessant buzz of the fluorescent light above her. The rhythm of blood droplets hitting the plastic tarp beneath her. The echo of her attacker’s footsteps permeating the walls around her. The audible onslaught to her senses was too much for her to bear.

Her eyes fluttered open and darted around the room. Not for a potential escape—there was no option there—but instead, for any sight that didn’t include the mirror positioned over her.

She remembered her first view of the room. She had regained consciousness and, for a moment, thought she was in a hospital. The white walls, floor, ceiling, cabinets—it was blinding. She had fought relentlessly with the bindings on her wrists and ankles, while the stench of antiseptic singed her nostrils. This was no hospital she wanted anything to do with.

And then he had walked in. Not as her savior, but as her executioner.

Now, she just wanted it all to be over.

As if hearing her thoughts, he strolled across the floor and stood at her head, looming over her. He held something in his hands. She craned her neck for a better view of the object. Two metal eyes, full of evil and malevolence glared back at her. She recognized it immediately. A tribal face of polished brass made up the handle. The three-sided blade was cold iron. The Phurba Dagger.

She squeezed her eyes shut as the realization hit her. She had been wishing for it to be over, but now that it nearly was…she wasn’t ready.

His hand stroked her cheek. Softly. Slowly. He then cupped her chin and gently turned her head toward the mirror overhead.

“You truly are my greatest masterpiece,” he said. “Open your eyes.”

She did as she was told.

An audible gasp escaped her, followed by a deafening scream. It was her first visual of what he had been doing to her. The shock overtook her immediately and paralyzed her.

Diamonds.

An array of nonsensical thoughts raced through her head: a jigsaw puzzle…a Harlequin suit. But mostly, diamonds…bloody diamonds.

Over and over, the words repeated.

His work was done. He raised the dagger above his head and plunged it deep into her abdomen.

Diamonds.

CHAPTER 1

“He’ll burn in hell for this,” Rebecca Black said through gritted teeth.

Her body shifted incessantly in her seat at the back of the courtroom. She anxiously awaited the judge’s return while simultaneously staring daggers into the back of the man sitting behind the defense table. His head of perfect black waves and his flashy smile did nothing to distract her from the monster she knew him to be.

Beads of anxiety-driven sweat ran down the back of her neck. The room felt like a furnace, but she knew it was all in her head. She gathered the long blonde tresses that hung down her back and twisted them up into a loose bun. A rush of cool air crossed her exposed neck. Unfortunately, it did nothing for the rage that boiled inside of her.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I just don’t think he’s the one,” Lexy said calmly, trying to diffuse her friend’s rising anger.

“Are you kidding me?” Rebecca whipped her head around. “Are we talking about the same man? You’ve been right here with me the whole time. How can you not see him for the psychopath he is?”

“The evidence doesn’t—”

“He butchered them! Case closed!” Rebecca glared furiously around the hushed courtroom, daring anyone to try to silence her.

“If it was that simple, we wouldn’t still be here,” Lexy said, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

Rebecca closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Lexy had a point. The evidence was all highly circumstantial and didn’t really prove a thing. It all pointed to him, but nothing was concrete, and his dream-team of lawyers made sure every person in that courtroom was aware of that fact. However, successfully hiding guilt didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

He was so sure of himself it was difficult not to believe everything he said on the stand. But it wasn’t what he was saying that infuriated Rebecca. Instead, it was his mannerisms. His bold cockiness. His totally relaxed posture, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. And, worst of all, the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eyes when the prosecution presented the crime scene photos. The rest of the courtroom flinched and turned away from the gruesome sight of the sliced bodies projected onto the screen. But that monster actually leaned in closer, as if to get a better look. These were not the actions of an innocent man. Rebecca wished Lexy could see him the way she did.

Lexy gave it one more shot. “Look, I know this is deeply personal for you, but you need to try to see it objectively, at least.” She paused and chose her words carefully. “I’m telling you this as your friend. You need to put your biases aside, just for now, and look at this with a clear head. Because if you don’t, this whole mess is going to tear you apart. Not everyone is as ‘sure’ as you are…especially not everyone on that jury. They love him. They’re hanging on his every word. It’s written all over their faces.”

Rebecca knew Lexy was right. Not about the man’s innocence, but about her feelings being completely obscured by rage. But how could they not be? Four innocent women, murdered and dumped like garbage. And her sister, Sara, had been one of them.

As set as she was in her own judgement, Lexy had been her best friend for almost two decades, and Rebecca owed it to her to at least attempt her suggestion of objectivity. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. No feelings. Only the facts.

The first body had been found just over a year earlier, wrapped in plastic alongside a popular running trail within Rock Creek Park in Washington D.C. Exactly a month later, another body was found. The pattern continued every thirty days, like clockwork, until the body count reached four. Whoever had dumped the bodies had intended them to be found quickly. Such time and care had been taken to prepare them. He wouldn’t have wanted them to be destroyed by animals, insects, or the elements.

The most horrifying sight came when the bodies were unwrapped. The victims were naked and covered with diamond-shaped lacerations. The edges were glued, either to keep the pieces from shifting or to stop the bleeding—maybe both.

The autopsies revealed the skinning was not the cause of death, and the victims had still been alive during that process. The cause of death came from a single stab wound to the abdomen, the one area where the flesh had not been removed. That kind of wound would have produced a lot of blood, but barely any was found. He had stabbed them, let them die slowly over several hours, and then cleaned them up before gift-wrapping and dumping them.

There was no doubt they were all victims of the same killer. If the surface mutilations and murder weapon weren’t enough, his choice of victims was. His taste was specific. Tall slender brunettes with mid-neck wavy bobs, emerald-green eyes, and, of course, they were all stunningly beautiful.

Andrew Donovan had been questioned following the discovery of the first victim, as well as the second, third, and fourth. They had all been romantically involved with him at one time or another. He was the glaring connection between them all. The motive was not clear, but he was definitely linked somehow. His alibis placed him out of town at the estimated time of death of each woman. Suspicions had been high, but no hard evidence could put the knife in his hand…until the autopsy of the fourth victim.

The characteristics of the knife were inconclusive in the first three killings. Organs and tissue stretch and retract when impaled, which did not leave an exact impression of the blade. However, the body of the fourth victim told a clearer story. With his most recent kill, the blade buried itself deep within the liver. And, being a solid organ, an almost perfect impression of the weapon had been retained—a three-edged triangular blade, similar to a tent stake.

Bruising caused by the impact of the knife’s handle on the uncut flesh revealed the blade was nearly six inches long. Several days after the initial autopsy, more discolorations became visible. Intricate designs where the handle met the blade left patterned bruising and pointed investigators toward a very unique knife. One they had seen before…at Andrew Donovan’s house during his previous questionings. The Phurba Dagger was one of a collection of ancient weapons he had acquired over the years and proudly displayed in his home office.

But why would he suddenly start killing off all of his exes? And why cut them up the way he did? As hard as she tried, Rebecca couldn’t fathom a logical reason for it.

Once again, she closed her eyes and exhaled. And once again the horrifying images flooded her mind. She couldn’t shut them out. Every day she tried, but they always returned.

The plastic cocoons lying at the side of the trail. The mutilated bodies that were revealed once the plastic was cut away. Their dead stares that seemed to look right through her. And the eerie similarities between the victims, as though Sara was being murdered over and over again. Rebecca shuddered as her memory randomly sifted through the crime scene photos. Diamonds, diamonds, and more diamonds.

A tear escaped down her cheek. The endless suffering Sara endured. The suffering all those women endured. Lexy passed a tissue into her lap, and Rebecca swiped it to the floor without a second thought. A superficial peace offering like that didn’t erase the betrayal she felt. She didn’t understand Lexy’s thinking and why she defended him so strongly.

Again, her eyes bored into the man across the room. Mr. Perfect. Money, power, great looks, and charm. A very dangerous combination. She had never met him before, not even when he was dating Sara. But Sara had told Rebecca all about him. How amazing he was. How thoughtful and romantic and caring. Rebecca didn’t buy it, though. Sara was under his spell, and there was no reasoning with her. A man didn’t get to the top of the corporate ladder without being a master manipulator. The man was a flat-out wizard, with the way he could work people. And he had a pile of dead bodies behind him to prove it. All those women. They were all his, at some point. And none of them saw it coming. Yes, he was a very dangerous man. But why was she the only one to see it?

She gave a subtle glance to her right and immediately regretted it. The longing gaze in Lexy’s eyes proved that she, too, was spellbound. Her long strawberry locks were likely the only thing saving her from joining the pile.

Rebecca’s train of thought was broken as the crowd jumped to their feet. A hush fell over the courtroom as the judge took his seat behind the bench. Moments later, the jury marched in through the back courtroom door like a line of ants and shuffled into their box.

She glanced once more at the defense table. He looked confident with a subtle smile spread across his lips. He seemed to already know what the jury was about to say. And he did. He had known all along.

“We, the jury, find the defendant, Andrew Donovan...not guilty.”

CHAPTER 2

Rebecca stormed down the front steps of the courthouse. She was absolutely livid. The bastard actually walked.

“Beck! Wait!” Lexy stumbled after her in her heels, struggling to catch up. She finally joined Rebecca at the curb, breathing heavily. “I know this isn’t the result you wanted, but you have to accept it. He didn’t do it. Game over.”

“Why are you even here?” Rebecca shot back at her. “You’re not here for me. You’re not here for Sara. You’re here for him!”

“No, that’s not true!” Lexy replied. “I am here for you. To support you. But it’s also my job to keep you level-headed, and right now, you’re anything but that.”

Rebecca’s green eyes flashed with resentment. “She was my sister, Lexy. Maybe not by blood, but she was still my sister. We swore to protect her and keep her safe. I swore. And I failed!”

“You know there was nothing you could’ve done to prevent this.”

“To hell there wasn’t!” Rebecca lowered her voice, aware of the attention she was drawing from those passing by. “I knew there was something off about him. That pretty picture she painted of him...I read between those lines. I knew he wasn’t as perfect as she was making him out to be.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you get it? She was his wife. They were all his wife. That’s why he chose them.”

“Being attracted to a certain look doesn’t mean he’s under the delusion that they’re all the same person,” Lexy said.

“Where is she, then? Where is Marie Donovan? Even the police don’t know. She disappeared off the face of the Earth three years ago, and no one has been able to find her since. And you don’t think it’s strange that every girlfriend he’s had since looks exactly like her?”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does mean something. It means everything. I bet he knows where she is. I bet she’s wrapped in plastic somewhere in that park. She just hasn’t been found yet.”

“He didn’t do it. He was set up.”

“It doesn’t make a difference now anyway, does it? He’s a free man. Free to kill again.”

Rebecca looked deep into Lexy’s eyes. She had never been this angry at anyone so close to her. Maybe that was why it hurt so much. Lexy had truly betrayed her. She was supposed to hold her hand, wipe her tears, and support her through this hellish trial. Rebecca’s parents were far too distraught to even make it that far. They had stopped coming to the courthouse after the first week. She needed Lexy more than ever, and her best friend had let her down. The smile that spread across her face when the verdict was read infuriated Rebecca. Lexy was like family to her. In a way, she was her sister too. How could she be so clouded by a flashy smile? Countless people had been mesmerized and charmed by Andrew Donovan, but she had thought Lexy was smarter than that. She was wrong.

“You’re clearly not as intelligent as you make yourself out to be,” Rebecca said, knowing it was a low blow, but not having the willpower to contain it.

“Excuse me?”

“No excuses. You’re not the friend I thought you were, and I just don’t have the energy to put up with it anymore.” Rebecca’s eyes burned with the approaching tears, but she held them at bay as best she could.

She took two steps back to give Lexy some breathing room. With a heavy sigh her face softened. It was over. Her treks downtown to the courthouse, day after day. Her silent fight with Andrew Donovan. And worst of all, her friendship with Lexy.

“You can go now,” she said, with as little emotion as she could.

Lexy stomped past her without a word and headed to the curb to hail a cab. Within a minute she was gone, and Rebecca felt truly alone.

She couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. In an instant, the floodgates opened and they poured down her face. She’d been cruel to Lexy, and she hated herself for it. Her anger had been building for so long, and she simply couldn’t contain it anymore. Without giving a damn about the scene she was creating, she dropped to her knees in the middle of the sidewalk and gave her tears free rein.

It took longer than she had hoped for her emotions to stabilize. She simply had nothing left. She was exhausted and dehydrated, and ready to get the hell out of there. Struggling to her feet, and shaking the pins and needles out of her legs, she decided to walk for a while instead of heading straight to her car. The sidewalk leading to the parking garage was flooded with press anyway, and she didn’t want any part of it. However, she did pause for a moment as Andrew Donovan and his attorney exited the building behind her and were immediately ambushed by reporters. She watched him. He was absolutely beaming. And why wouldn’t he be? He had won.