The 7th Victim

In a town with a few thousand people, there’s a killer on spree. One weird thing about this killer-psycho is that as his victim, you only have one prayer in your head: “That he kills you quickly.” This is because he had a wicked design for putting his victims through an excruciatingly slow death. No one had ever seen his face, no one survived an encounter with or ever lived to tell the tales. The bulbous eyes and dismembered flesh of his victims tell their stories.

************

He laid her limp body on the cold floor in a dark forest before glancing at his wristwatch; the time was 12:45am. Once again he gazed down at the unconscious girl and smiled. The second victim had fallen into his arms so easily unlike the first one he had abducted.

“Soon my beauty,” he laughed as he kept admiring her body, just the thought of taking her aroused him unbearably.

Sometimes it took days to find a victim, other times it might take weeks but they were essential to him and his accomplice. The victims blood and important parts of their body brought more money to him and prepared him for the 7th victim. They were also of high importance to some others who needed them to acquire more riches by diabolical means.

His victim would remain unconscious for several hours, he would have enough time to undress her and pleasure himself to the highest means, then he would proceed to rip her apart in cold blood.

He smiled at the thought of watching and hearing his victim plead for mercy until the final breath when the eyes went cold and the soul departed from the body, taking the journey to an unknown land—Paradise or Hell.

He looked around, studying the dark forest to see if anyone was watching. Even if someone was, they would never find him because he had a dark mask over his head to hid his face.

No one had ever lived to tell the tale. He accomplish his deeds in private places where no one would risk following him.

He ripped off the clothes of the drugged girl, unzipped his jeans, and eased out his pintle to pleasure himself.

Three Days Later…

“CeCe, breakfast is ready!” Gabriel opened the door, only to see his fifteen-year-old daughter taking pictures. “Stop that nonsense, you’re nearly late for school.”

“I am sorry Dad,” Cecilia apologized.

“Let me have the cellphone for now.” He stretched out his right hand but she hid the phone behind her.

“Da … dddd … yyyy…” her eyes pleaded.

Gabriel went to her. “Baby, lately this phone is taking too much of your time.” He smirked.

“No dad … it’s not what you think. I—”

He went round her and took the phone. “Time to eat.”

“Okay,” she mumbled before walking out of the room while Gabriel helped with her backpack.

“Baby, eat up on time if you don’t want to be late for school.” Gabriel turned on the TV as he waited for Cecilia to eat her breakfast.

The current issue on every TV station was the brutal murder of an eighteen-year-old girl found in the forest. Cecilia looked away quickly when she saw the decayed and dismembered body of the teenager. That was enough to irritate her, she felt bile rise up her throat and then she rushed into the kitchen to throw up. The image still did not leaving her mind, it was really disgusting.

“CeCe, are you okay?”

“Yes dad, but I shouldn’t have watched the news. That’s girl’s body—” She threw up into the sink again, while Gabriel sprinkled water on her face. He regretted turning on the TV at the irritating look on Cecilia’s face.

“I don’t think I can eat breakfast anymore,” she said.

“But—”

“I can’t bring myself to eat again.”

“Okay … let’s go to school,” he replied.

In the past week, the news had been just about the brutal murder of teenagers. The girls’ bodies had been found in different areas but with a similar death pattern. They were raped and then seen with dismembered and missing body parts. Now the police were searching for the killer.

Gabriel locked the door to their home. “Daddy, I think you have a visitor,” Cecilia informed him when a man in black suit waved at her.

He didn’t look familiar, maybe he was a new member in the neighborhood who just want to greet her daddy, CeCe thought.

Gabriel turned to look at the visitor. “Oh no …” he sighed as he held on to his daughter’s hand.

“Do you know him?” Cecilia asked.

“Yes, CeCe,” he answered.

The man in suit walked up to meet Gabriel. “Good morning, Gabe.” He stretched out his hand towards Gabriel but he ignored him.

“Good Morning, Ben,” he greeted.

“Hey, look at you, Cecilia, a you are now a big girl.” He smiled.

“Good morning, Sir.” She smiled in return at him.

“What do you want, Ben?” Gabriel interrupted Ben when he wanted to touch Cecilia.

“We need to talk, Gabriel,” Ben said.

“We have nothing to talk about,” Gabriel replied. “And as you can see, we are on our way out.”

“I know, just give me five minutes.”

“I don’t have one minute. CeCe is late for school.”

“I can wait till you return.”

“No, I’ll be heading to the gym afterwards,” Gabriel lied.

“I can come along—”

“No, I don’t need a company.”

“I’ll be in the car, Dad.” Cecilia went into the car.

“Gabriel, the state is under an unrest at the moment,” Ben stated.

“And it is your duty as a special agent to find the cause of the unrest.” Gabriel continued the walk to his car.

“Gabriel we need you at the agency.”

“I was dismissed.” He stopped to face Ben.

“The boss wants to see you,” Ben said.

“Tell the boss I don’t want to see him. And it is good to see you again after all these years.” Gabriel entered his car.

“Gabe, I won’t stop coming until you give the agency another chance!” Ben shouted as Gabriel drove away.

Why on earth did they send his ex-best friend to visit him after all this years?

Gabriel Afolabi was the best special agent in the Criminal Investigation Division in Lagos State. But he got dismissed five years ago after he was framed about giving out a secret information about the police to the press. And that really affected his career as a special agent.

He had no evidence to prove his innocence since the pressman claimed Gabriel had revealed the secret to him. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment for leaking out the secrets of the organization. No one ever believed he was innocent but Gabriel knew it was a setup by someone who didn’t want him at the Criminal Investigation Division.

And while he was in jail, his wife sent him divorce papers through her lawyer. He begged his wife to at least come and see him but she turned deaf ears at his pleas and refused to show up. She left ten-year-old Cecilia in care of Gabriel’s mom.

After serving his jail term, Gabriel took up the responsibility of taking care of his daughter. It hadn’t been easy for the few months after he gained his freedom again. As an exconvict, it was really hard to get a well-paying job but things later worked out for him.

And here they were doing fine, living a peaceful life. But Benjamin coming again to tell him that he was needed in the Criminal Investigation Division again would disrupt his peaceful life.

Why the hell do they want him after he had been dismissed? That won’t happen! He would rather move away from this state to another instead working in the Criminal Investigation Division again.

He grabbed the wheels harshly as he remembered how he had lost everything! How much he had suffered in jail for a crime he didn’t commit!

“Daddy? Daddy?” There was no response. Gabriel was lost in thought. “Daddy?” He snapped out of thought when Cecilia touched him.

“Yes … yes, baby.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes baby, I am fine.”

“I heard everything. They want you back, right?” she asked. Gabriel hummed a response. “Do you want to—”

“CeCe, I am not going back to work in the CID.”

“Okay.”

**************

Two Weeks Later…

“Soon, little one …” He laughed deviously as he chopped of her right thumb and the girl screamed out of pain.

A panicked scream from Cecilia’s room awakened Gabriel. He hopped out of bed and rushed to her room.

“No, don’t hurt her!” She kept saying as she shook vehemently.

Cecilia was terrified at the bloody blur of images that filled her mind’s eye. “CeCe, it’s daddy,” Gabriel whispered into her ears.

Uncontrollable tremors racked her body as he hugged her tightly. “I am here, baby.” His embrace assured her that she was safe. “Are you okay?”

“No, no, daddy, stay with me.” She embraced him tightly.

“Yes, I am going nowhere.” He kissed her hair.

“I just had a terrible nightmare.” Cecilia’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” he murmured.

Tears flooded her eyes. “Daddy … I … I … saw … him.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“He has a girl with him. I saw him cut off her thumb and she cried out in pain.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Daddy, I think … I … I … saw the killer in my dream. He tied a girl to a chair and murdered her,” she panicked.

“Shshsh … that’s enough,” he silenced her. “Did you watch that horrible series before going to bed?”

He laid her back gently in bed. “Yes, I did,” she answered.

“I told you to stop watching horror series before sleeping. That’s the cause of this nightmare.”

She shooked her head in disagreement. “This isn’t about a movie. I saw him holding a knife and a calabash, and then he whispered some words…” Cecilia stopped talking to block the images.

“Okay, okay.”

“Daddy, please don’t go. Stay with me.”

“Yes baby, I am here with you.” He sat next to her in bed and she held on to him tightly as she prayed the images would not return.

**********

“How are you feeling?” Gabriel asked CeCe when she came into the sitting room.

“I am alright.”

“But you looked worried.”

“Yes.” She went to sit beside him on the couch.

“What’s bothering you?”

“I tried calling Darasimi but she hasn’t been answering her call.”

“Maybe she’s busy.” Gabriel shrugged.

“Maybe …” Cecilia bit her lips. Somehow she didn’t want to accept Darasimi couldn’t pick up her phone, something she couldn’t do without. She moved around with it. She was also one of the students who broke the school rule of “Don’t bring cellphone to class.”

“I prepared rice, why don’t you go into the kitchen and dish your food.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” She kissed him before walking to the kitchen.

Gabriel grabbed the TV remote and tuned in to AIT. He readjusted his position when he saw the picture of the girl on TV.

“A fifteen-year-old body identified as Darasimi Popoola was found at the wee hours of the day. She was declared missing on Friday afternoon but later found dead laying by the roadside with some missing body parts.”

A sudden thud of broken plate made Gabriel look away for the TV. “Daddy … that’s Darasimi!” she screamed. “No … No .. this can’t be true!” she cried.

Gabriel went to her. “Calm down, CeCe.”

“No! I can’t calm down! That’s my best friend on TV! Found dead? No! That’s impossible! We bid each other goodbye when you came to pick me up at school. So that means …” She paused to think. “She went missing on Friday afternoon. How come? She had to wait for her driver to come pick her up. No..this is not true!” she shouted.

“Listen to me, CeCe—” he tried to calm her but it didn’t work.

Cecilia went down when her kneels grew weak. She couldn’t comprehend what she just heard on TV.

“She … she … she must have been the one in my dream,” she blurted out.

“No, it was just a nightmare as a result of the horror movie you watched before going to bed.”

“No! No! No! I saw him murder her! This is what I witnessed! He killed her and now they found a new body today. Doesn’t it make sense?!”

“CeCe, you need to calm down.”

“She’s the 5th victim!” she shouted. “This isn’t fair! How long will he go about killing innocent children?!” she sobbed.

Gabriel hugged his daughter. “Daddy … Darasimi is gone,” she cried.

“I am sorry about the news of her death.”

“He shouldn’t have killed her.”

Several minutes passed before he was able to calm her down. “Here drink up.” He handed her a glass of water.

She drank from it before giving it back. “Thank you.”

“Sorry.”

“Daddy, you have to do something.”

“CeCe, there’s nothing I can do.”

“There is something you can do.”

“It is the duty of the police to find the killer.”

“Daddy, please I want you to accept the CID offer. They want you to work with them again.”

“Yes, to help find the killer.” He nodded. “CeCe, I am not working with the CID again. All I want to do is devote my life in raising you.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I know, I know. What if I am the next victim? Darasimi is gone!”

“No! Never! You’ll never be his victim. Please CeCe don’t have such thoughts…” The mere thought of losing his daughter sent fears through his system.

“That’s why you need to find him.” She held his hands. “Daddy, please, do this for Darasimi,” she sobbed. “You’ve always been my special agent and I believe with you on the team, they will find the killer.”

“CeCe—”

“You can leave after they find the killer. I want justice for Darasimi and the other children.”

Gabriel hugged her. “That’s alright. I will work with the CID,” he whispered.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I can’t bear the thought of losing you CeCe. I love you.”

He would be a living dead if anything bad happens to his daughter.

“Why don’t you rest in your room while I call Benjamin?” Cecilia nodded. He typed the number on the small piece of paper Benjamin had given him three days ago.

“Hello, Ben, it’s Gabriel.”

“Gabriel? Hello Gabriel?”

“Yes, Ben.”

“How is CeCe?”

“She’s fine.”

“So to what do I own this call?”

“Tell your boss I am willing to work with the CID as an undercover agent.”

“Oh really?! You want to work with us again?”

“Yes, but don’t get too excited. I won’t be there for long.”

“Okay, okay, I will tell the boss about it.”

“Talk to you later.”

“Wait, Gabe! So what made you change your mind?”

“The girl in the news is my daughter’s best friend.”

“It is really sad. Gabriel all I want is to find the killer.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow, Benjamin.”

************

Criminal Investigation Division.

“So, I can see you are back to the division,” Gbolahan said to Gabriel.

“No—”

“A dismissed special agent back to work?”

“No, I am not back here.”

“So?”

“Gbolahan you don’t need to feel threatened by my presence. I am only here to help find the killer.”

“Oh! So we aren’t capable of finding the killer without your help?” Gbolahan snorted.

“You should have found him when he killed his first victim,” Gabriel replied.

Gbolahan was never friends with Gabriel when he worked as a special agent. And somehow, Gabriel knew Gbolahan knew something about his dismissal but he couldn’t make any allegations with no proof pointing that he was responsible.

“Gabe?” Ben called Gabriel.

“Yes, Benjamin.”

“The boss is ready to see you.”

“Okay. So I’ll see you later, Gbolahan.” Gabriel tapped on Gbolahan’s shoulder before walking away with Benjamin.

“Don’t pay attention to Gbolahan.”

“I am not here for him.”

“You know he wasn’t happy when the boss suggested that you work undercover.”

“I wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for my daughter. She keeps saying that she wants justice for her late friend.”

“CeCe deserves a gift from me for persuading you to accept the offer.” Benjamin smiled.

“Good morning, Sir,” Gabriel greeted his old boss, Mr Phillip Johnson.

“Good to see you Gabriel, and thanks for accepting my offer to work with the CID even after we all turned our back on you.”

“It’s all in the past now,” Gabriel responded.

“Please take your seat.” He gestured to the chair while Benjamin sat next to him. “Gabe, we are dealing with a serial killer and all efforts to find any traces to him proved abortive.” Philips gave Gabriel a big white file filled with stack of papers. “Here are the records—names of victims, location and patterns of death. I am sure you would be able to find a clue that would lead us to this killer.” Gabriel opened the file.

“Over the past three years there has been up to 47 deaths, unsolved cases at different states. He kills seven teenagers in a state before moving to another,” Benjamin explained.

“All his victims are between age 13-19,” Mr Philips added.

“Teenagers?” Gabriel asked and they nodded. “Someone had killed seven children in the same state over a period of three to six weeks, then disappeared, only to show up in another state two or three months later and repeat the same scenerio,” Gabriel stated as he studies the file given to him.

“I haven’t had the chance to travel to these places but we have gone over the evidences several times but found nothing,” Benjamin said.

“I think we are dealing with a pedophile in this case,” Gabriel said while Philip and Benjamin exchanged glances.

“A pedophile?” Philips gasped.

“Yes, a pedophile, someone who is sexually attracted to children,” Benjamin said.

Gabriel nodded. “Isn’t it obvious from the ages of his victims? 13-19 years.”

“You’re right! He rapes them before murdering them brutally!” Philips gasped out.

“That’s a good clue,” Benjamin added.

“And if I am correct, we already have a fifth victim.”

“Yes, late Darasimi Popoola,” Philip replied.

“Then two more children are in danger in Lagos,” Gabriel said.

“The 6th and 7th victim.”

“How do we know his next victims?” Benjamin asked.

“That’s aside for now. We should also look at the fact that the victims are left with dismembered bodies.” They nodded. “So don’t you think the killer might be involved in some sort of blood money rituals, too?” Gabriel asked.

Mr Philip loosened his tie. “Missing body parts…” He paused. “This is it! This is the clue we have been trying to find!” Philip said.

“That means someone must have ordered that psycho to kill innocent children and bring their parts to him,” Ben stated.

“Exactly what I am trying to say. We are probably dealing with a killer with numerous accomplices,” Gabriel stated clearly.

“As a pedophile, he pleasures himself before killing them. The clues are so clear that I couldn’t find them. You are a genius Gabe!” Benjamin exclaimed.

“This is the reason why I want you to work with us,” Philip said.

“I have been dismissed—”

“Yes, I know but the governor is offering to a reward to anyone who finds the killer.”

“I am not here because of any reward,” Gabriel replied.

“Benjamin, I want you to work on this case with him as an undercover agent.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Gabriel you can take the file with you.”

“No, I don’t want to be framed for taking CID documents as a dismissed agent.”

“Gabe, I am asking you to take them.”

“I’d rather have them on my phone.”

“Okay,” Philip mumbled reluctantly.

Gabriel took shoots of the pictures before giving the file back.

“The question now is how do we know his next victims?”

“I will get back to you on whatever I find tomorrow.”

“Thanks once again, Gabriel,” Philip said as Gabriel stood up to leave.

“We have sent all evidence to the criminal lab in the state. They are looking at the last victim to see if they will find anything,” Benjamin informed Gabriel as they walked out.

“They will find nothing.”

“Why do you say so?” Benjamin asked.

“We’re talking about a trained killer. He kills without leaving traces except for the horrible looking bodies of his victims. He might have diabolical powers too for him to always get away easily.”

Benjamin nodded in agreement. “Gabe, can I come over to your place so we can look into the records together?” he asked.

“You are capable enough to find that killer without my help.”

“Gabe, it didn’t take you a minute to bring up clues: pedophile, involved in blood money. Then you would definitely find more if you have the whole records.”

“I am late, I have to pick up Cecilia from school. You can come at 7:00pm.” He unlocked his car.

“Thank you, Gabriel.” Benjamin smiled

***********

“Please, don’t kill me,” she pleaded.

“I am sorry, beauty. I can’t let you go,” he answered as he tied her to a tree. “I promise your death won’t be brutal like the rest of them because I now have the police on my trail.”

“Please I beg you, let me go,” she begged before he placed a tape on her mouth.

“I will be back for you. I need to check on my 7th victim before I finish up with you.” He kissed her neck before walking away.

Cecilia’s eyed snapped open when the images faded. Her eyes scanned the room to see if anyone was there before running out. “Daddy! Daddy!” she screamed.

Gabriel and Benjamin were busy gathering evidence, trying to find more clues on how to locate this killer. Gabriel stood up when he heard Cecilia’s voice.

“Cecilia!” He rushed towards her before she could hit the ground.

“I saw him … I saw him again.” She looked terrified like the other night when she had dreamt of the killer.

“What are you talking about?” Benjamin asked.

“The killer. He has another girl.”

“No, are you for real?” Ben asked again.

“Yes … yes…”

“CeCe, I want you to calm down,” Gabriel muttered.

“I think her imagination is on the overdrive because of the killer on the loose,” Ben said.

“No, lately CeCe has been seeing things about this killer.” He picked her up.

Benjamin grabbed a jotter and pen. “Tell us what you saw.”

“He tied her to a tree …” she explained how the dream was to them.

“You can save her before he finds his 7th victim,” she said.

“He has someone in mind?”

“I think so. He said he was going to check on his 7th Victim,” she answered.

“How do we find him?” Benjamin asked.

“I heard bells … like coming from a church or something. But it was in a very dark place, somewhere private,” she said shakily.

“Call the boss while I put her back to bed,” Gabriel said to Benjamin.

“Okay.” Then he went ahead to call Mr Philip.

“Daddy, the killer knows the police are after him,” she said before falling back asleep.

“How do we know the location of this church next to a forest or something?” Benjamin asked when Gabe came back to the living room.

“That’s the big issue.” Gabriel rubbed his temples.

“I hate being in this sort of situation of not knowing what to do,” Ben hissed.

“What about the boss?”

“He already sent out men to start the search. I gave him a location. I am sure they are checking churches and forests.”

Gabriel sat up quickly. “I think I have an idea of where the girl might be.”

“What is it?”

“The first victim was found in a forest not far from a church.”

“Yes! We should probably check out those places again before it’s too late!”

“So what do we do?”

“You need to come with me,” Benjamin replied.

“No, Ben. I am an undercover agent, I shouldn’t work with you. If I get caught then that would be a big problem.”

“Mr Philip took a big risk by bringing you to the Division, so you can’t turn back now.”

“I can’t leave Cecila alone. So why don’t you call for back up and search those places.”

“Cecilia is alseep, right?”

“Yes.”

“The location is just sixty minutes drive. We would be back before you know it.”

Gabriel hummed a response reluctantly.

Benjamin put a call through to Mr Philip to let them know about their plans for check out the suggested places.

Gabriel wasn’t satisfied with leaving Cecilia alone at home with a deadly killer on the loose.

**************

He watched them at a far distance as they pack up the body he just murdered. He wondered how they had found out so soon without him putting an anonymous call to the hospital or police station.

Benjamin kicked his car hard. “We would have saved her if he hadn’t been too fast about getting rid of her,” Benjamin said in annoyance.

He never wanted to kill her soon but with the police siren everywhere in town, he knew he had to do it quickly before they found her alive or else she would disclose his identity and that would be the end of him.

He had to find his 7th victim quickly and get out of this state before they find him. A vibration in his pocket pulled his thoughts away from the scene.

“Yes, godfather, ” he said.

“Do you have it?”

“Yes, the heart only,” he replied.

“I will text you the address of the person who ordered it. Please be careful.”

“Yes, godfather.” He disconnected the call before walking away from the scene.

*************

“Did you find him?” CeCe asked.

“No.”

“He killed her, right?” She swallowed hard.

“Yes, we got to the location late.”

“Oh God!” she cried into Gabriel’s chest. Her description really helped them think about the possible location to find the killer and his victim. He had murdered her in the same place he had done the first one.

He was one step ahead of them, ripping out her heart before they got to the location.

“CeCe, the CID needs your help.”

“How?”

He asked her. “You saw him, right?” She nodded. “Was it clear enough to describe what he looks like?”

“I can try,” she responded.

“Okay. I’ll call Benjamin.”

**************

One Week Later…

The description Cecilia gave really helped to picture what the killer looked like. They hired artist who drew out the image according Cecilia’s description and they also made photocopies of it. The assumed killer’s face was all over the news declared wanted.

“I just pray we get hold of him soon before he gets his 7th victim, ” Benjamin said.

“I hope so, too.”

Cecilia walked into the living room. “Any vision lately?”

“I am not a prophetess.” She smiled.

“But you see visions.” Ben laughed.

“They are just nightmares!” They all laughed.

“Where are you going?” Gabriel asked when she was about stepping out.

“I want to give these clothes to Mrs Gbemi,” she replied.

“Who is Mrs Gbemi?”

“She’s our next door neighbor who runs an NGO. So Cecilia always gives out her clothes to Mrs Gbemi,” Gabriel answered Ben.

“CeCe, it’s late. You can do that tomorrow.”

“The time is just 7:00pm. I’ll just drop it at her house and return.”

“Okay. But I’m coming with you.”

“Why?” She frowned.

“We have a pedophile killer on the loose,” Gabriel reminded her.

“Oh daddy, I am not going far. Just Mrs Gbemi’s place and I’ll be right back now.”

“Ce-” She walked out before he could object.

“Let her go and drop the stuffs.”

“I just don’t want my teenage daughter out late with a killer lurking around. And also remember that my daughter gave the description of this killer too.”

“Stop being paranoid, Gabriel.”

“Okay. I am just—”

Benjamin interrupted him. “Gabriel stop over reacting, she just going to your next door neighbor.”

“Alright.” Gabriel focused on the papers.

He watched her step out of her home and as she made her way to the next door neighbor. Then he knew he had found the right 7th victim!

“Soon to be mine!” he said within. “Maybe I should take her away now,” he thought as she talked to the aged woman.

“That would be great. It’s really dark,” his inner voice replied.

He laughed at the poor parenting method of these days. It was easy for parents to let their kids roam around in the dark. Teenage girls should be well protected—they shouldn’t be seen in clubs late nights.

The clubs seem to be the perfect places to get his victims. But he also enjoyed abducting the younger ones too. That joy of being their first makes him the happiest man on Earth. He closed his eyes to imagine how he would pleasure himself again soon.

He jolted out of lustful thought when she started back to her home. “Perfect time!”

Suddenly Cecila sensed the presence of someone behind her. She turned but couldn’t see anyone. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the strange thought. Cecila wondered if she was visualizing the killer, the man who murdered her bestfriend.

“Hello, beautiful one.” She heard a voice behind her. She turned and saw a man staring straight into her eyes. He was tall and muscular—exactly the same way she had seen him.

“You live here, right?” he asked.

Her heart raced wildly out of fear. He was here for her. No! I can’t be! Why would he come for her? She took one step backwards, trying to think of what to do.

He brought out a pen knife and placed a finger on his lips so she would stay mute.

She looked at him from head to toe. He was really here and then suddenly she screamed. “Daddy!” more than she ever thought she could scream.

In a swift movement he grabbed her and covered her mouth. She fought with him before she felt a sharp pain on her cheek. He used the knife on her, weakness crept through every muscle in her body as he dragged her away.

He heard it clearly! “Daddy!”

“That’s Cecilia!” Gabriel’s heart skipped beat as he rushed out of the house. His eyes scanning the whole environment.

“That’s him!” Benjamin pointed at a moving car.

“The killer!” an inner voice told him.

“Cecilia!” he screamed as he ran after the car but there was little he could do. The car was faster than his legs.

Benjamin went back in to grab the car keys.

“The monitor!” Gabriel remembered.

“What monitor?” Benjamin asked.

“The tracker…” He rushed back into his house and soon came out to meet Benjamin.

“What are you doing?”

“Are you blind? This a fucking tracking device!”

“How did you get it?”

“Just drive Benjamin!” he snarled at him. “I got this device about a week ago after Cecilia had another nightmare that the killer wants her. So it has been on her since then.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

“Yes, yes, it’s reading her location.”

“Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! My daughter’s life is in danger!” he shouted. “I just hope he doesn’t remove the watch from her wrist.”

“Where should I go?”

“Turn left.” Gabriel panicked.

He prayed that nothing bad happened to Cecilia. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes at the thought of her.

The tracker led them to an abandoned building, a very far place to his home. Benjamin drove past the building at first to not raise suspicion.

“Do you think he’s in that building?”

“The tracker says he is. Call the boss and tell him we need back up. I am going in there to save my daughter.”

“Wait you might need this too—” he gave his gun to Gabriel.

He collected it and tucked it behind him before heading towards the building.

**************

“Now, I can have you to myself.” He laughed.

**************

The killer was here with his daughter. Silently he hid himself in the next room close to the entrance. Where he stood, he could see his daughter’s limp body on the floor, tied with ropes.

Gabriel knew he had to be careful or else the psycho killer won’t think twice of killing his daughter. He prayed the back up would come quickly so he wouldn’t have to use the gun on the killer.

“Gabe—”

“Yes, are they on their way?”

“Yes.”

“He’s in there with my daughter.”

Benjamin took the gun from Gabriel. “We need to be careful so he won’t harm CeCe.”

“I will deal with him while you get CeCe.” Gabriel nodded in agreement.

They both barged into the room when he was about to undress drugged Cecilia

“Drop your weapon!” Benjamin shouted.

He froze when he heard the voice, putting a stop to his attempt of raping Cecilia.

Slowly he dropped his knife. “Don’t you dare try anything silly,” Benjamin warned.

Gabriel felt relief when he heard the police siren coming closer. He went to his daughter and picked her up.

“I am sorry, baby.” he whispered to her.

“You’re surrounded, your hands behind your head and if you make any funny move I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”

He raised his hands behind his head while Gabriel carried Cecilia out of the building.

The police patrols were everywhere, ready to apprehend the killer. He was handcuffed and kept in police custody while Cecilia was rescused and taken to the hospital.

**************

“The killer, recognized as Bamidele Aremu confessed that he worked for a godfather named Bolatito Oluwaseyi, who was a dealer of human parts. They belonged to an occult group. They sold human parts to people who were into blood money. These criminals have been traced and apprehended and they will be charged to court tomorrow.”

Gabriel smiled after reading the Punch newspaper. He was waiting for the doctor to call him in so he would sign Cecilia’s discharge papers and take his daughter back home.

His decision to not go back to the Criminal Investigation Division was still in place. He was serious about devoting his life to raising his daughter.

Bamidele and his accomplices were charged for multiple killing of teenage girls and sentenced to death by electrocution.