He Didn’t Look for Me Until I Was Dead (by Durrin) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stefanie’s words instantly dragged me right back to that horrible night.

A tidal wave of fear shot through my spirit.

That night, when I sensed someone following me, I called Calvin right away.

My hands were shaking, my palms sweaty.

But all I got was his cold voicemail. “The person you are trying to reach is not available…”

The moment the killer choked me from behind, I managed to send the text to Stefanie.

But just as I hit send, the cold blade plunged into me.

I lost my grip, my phone clattering away. All I could do was endure stab after stab…

The pain before dying still made my spirit tremble.

Frowning, Calvin said in a low voice, “Take a screenshot of the text and send it to me.”

Stefanie hung up and sent it over WhatsApp within a minute.

Calvin stared at the two words-“Help me“-with no punctuation, and then his gaze fell upon the date–July 18th, 2023.

His expression finally turned serious.

He opened his call log and saw a missed call from me. The timestamp showed it was just three minutes before I messaged Stefanie.

His face went still, and then he dialed my number.

Looking at his grim expression, I said, my voice hoarse, “Calvin, no one will answer…”

But before I could finish, the call connected.

I froze, shocked.

Calvin pressed his lips into a thin line. After a moment, he spoke, his voice cold, “Are you enjoying this, Whitney? Playing games with Stefanie?”

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Chapter 4

His tone was pure accusation. “If you’re tired of being a cop’s wife, just say so.

“I’m busy. Don’t try to get my attention with stunts like this.”

Looking at his cold, stern profile, I felt my eyes burn.

“It’s not me, Calvin. Someone took my phone. Maybe it’s the killer.”

But Calvin, of course, couldn’t hear me. Whoever picked up stayed silent and hung up.

The anger in Calvin’s eyes felt like it could scorch my soul.

As he turned to leave, I drifted after him, desperately trying to explain.

“I’d never hang up on you, Calvin.

“Yes, I have autism, but I respond to you at all times.

“The last thing I want is to upset you. Why would I ever try to annoy you?”

Saying it out loud, I suddenly stopped.

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Only then did I realize–from the day I fell for Calvin, I’d always been the one trying to please him, to accommodate him.

But him? After a strange call that was completely out of character for me, he didn’t feel a single doubt.

Looking at his retreating back, I shook my head with a bitter smile.

“Even if I were alive, you probably wouldn’t have believed me anyway.”

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over me, and I gave up trying to explain.

I drifted silently beside him as he walked back to his office.

In front of us stood a large whiteboard covered with photos of the victims from the serial murder

case.

As my eyes moved over those horrifying images, I felt a chill.

There were six innocent female victims in total, including me.

But I was the only one whose head had been cut off.

Were they just as desperate and helpless as I was before they died?

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Chapter 4

I kept looking. Then, at one photo, my breath caught.

It showed a small, blue–and–gold metal badge.

It was from a user meet–up for a specific mobile app.

I recognized it because I’d been to one.

I turned to Calvin, pointing at the photo, and said firmly, “Calvin, this is the link!”

These past few days, I’d watched them go over the case.

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The hardest part was that, besides being women, the victims seemed to have nothing in common. It looked like the killer was striking at random.

But this badge–this was the connection.

I drifted frantically in front of the whiteboard, wishing I could stir up a breeze, knock that photo down, make him see it.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Calvin to notice.

Finally, dejected, I stopped. Just then, someone pushed the office door open.

Robin Trevino, the medical examiner, walked up to Calvin.

Under Calvin’s questioning look, he said, “Captain McMullen, I ran the DNA from the fetus through the database.

“Here’s the strange part. According to the results, the biological father of the fetus… is you.”

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