How could they have known I told my dad? She wonders as she sits in her bedroom gazing out the window and into her lively neighborhood. Everyone has found their aura of positivity ever since Seth's arrest. The kids are back to playing in the backyard, and the neighbors feel more comfortable walking their dogs. However, Amelia knew that none of them are safe and that the real murderer is still out there waiting for the next perfect moment to wreak havoc.

She'd hardly digested anything Mr. Stanley had spoken as she solemnly gazes out the classroom window. The rain had been on the warpath for days and it was showing no signs of tiring. She places her chin in the palm of her hand as she watches the water droplets race. It always used to soothe her as a child. The long drives in the rain with her father. However, it offers her no comfort at this moment. It only makes her long for the times of her youth. When everything was bliss.

The situation with Seth had gotten to her. She knows he's innocent, but her father refuses to listen. She cannot allow her friend to suffer for something he didn't do.

"Miss Beckett." Mr. Stanley's authoritative voice knocks her from her unconscious thoughts. "Are you still with us?"

"Sorry." She lowers her head.

He opens his mouth to berate her but opts against it as he carries on with his lecture. She forces her mind to focus, but her thoughts keep drifting back to her anxious thoughts of Seth. What if he's not The Lurker's only target?

She'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize class was over until everyone stood from their seats.

How did I miss the bell?

She hurriedly gathers her belongings and marches into the hallway. An unexpected, but familiar, face catches her eye in the bustling crowd.

"Officer Nichols." She calls before pushing through the crowd to reach him.

"Hey, Amelia." He greets.

"What are you doing here?"

"Your dad placed me on patrol duty here." He shrugs before folding his arms.

She bites her lip in thought. Why would he place him on patrol duty if her dad believes they've already caught the killer? She chooses not to question him. Instead, she excuses herself to get to her next class. She tried to ignore the piercing gaze on the back of her head, but the goosebumps betray her.

Something doesn't seem right.

A boulder of burden has been heavily placed on Ethan's shoulders. The paranoia has become unbearable. He doesn't feel safe in his own home anymore. He's been avoiding interaction.

His foster mother has made several attempts at getting him to talk, but he's always been bull-headed. He preferred to deal with his inner turmoil on his own. He'd been alone for so long that he's found it incredibly difficult to open himself up to anyone.

May was the exception.

He told her everything. His thoughts. Fears. Desires. She knew every layer of him. The only one he trusted.

Too bad she never felt the same about me.

He thought he knew everything about her. Even her darkest secrets. However, she was more sinister than he was led to believe. He knew she had her flaws - no one is truly flawless, but he'd held her to a pedestal that she never deserved.

She'd done despicable things. The girl he loved was merely a façade. Disingenuous. It's as if he's lost her for a second time. Both sides of her are dead.

He wasn't sure if he should mourn or rejoice.

The second his phone chimed, his muscles went into overdrive.

Even texts have brought an unrelenting fear.

He expected the Unknown name to flash on his screen, but his intestines were still tangled together in fear.

Why have you been so glum lately? Be thankful it's Seth behind those cells and not you. Been there, done that, right?

His breath halts and the grip on his phone loosens. His entire body becomes numb.

How could they possibly know that?

Without a moment's hesitation, he reaches for his phone. With shaky hands, he dials the contact and brings the phone to his ear. His heart is pounding against his chest as he impatiently waits for her answer.

"Hello?"

"Amelia, are you busy?" He questions. "It's an emergency."

Ethan inhales the crisp air as goosebumps arise all over his body. The shivers aren't from the cold. He'd been hyper-alert since his phone call with Amelia, fearing that whoever was behind all these killings had been listening in.

He asked her to meet up at the abandoned warehouse, but instantly regretted it the second he arrived. He decided on the location as its the most inconspicuous, but it also places them in a vulnerable situation. Far away from civilization in the depth of the night.

Hopefully, I won't be alone for too long.

His hope comes true as the distance headlights reflect against the wall behind him, providing an excess source of light. Amelia steps out trailed by a disheveled Lillian.

"What's going on?" She hurriedly questions.

"Where's Jake?" He questions.

"He's been avoiding my texts." She sighs. "I told him to meet us here, but I doubt it."

Lillian remains mute as she wraps her cardigan tighter around her body as if they were stuck in the arctic. He can't tell if she's shivering from the cold or fear. Perhaps both.

"Lillian, are you okay?" He already knows the answer, but he felt it best to ask.

She looks like a lost Fawn. He notes.

"I'm fine." She squeaks.

She chews on her fingernail as her eyes anxiously dart back and forth. As if she's waiting for something or someone to spring out from the darkness and attack.

"What's the emergency?" Amelia attempts to change the topic.

"I got a text." He clears his throat and hands her his phone.

She skims through the text with furrowed brows.

"I don't get it." She states. "You've been arrested before?"

"I have." He hesitantly replies. "That's not what concerns me."

She doesn't speak. He inhales a deep breath for a dramatic pause which frustrates both girls.

"There was only one person in my entire life that knows I got arrested and the reason behind it." He sniffs. "And she promised she'd take it to her grave."

He winces at that thought.

"May." She notes and he glumly nods his head.

"She wouldn't tell a soul."

Amelia thinks back on her snooping in her dad's file. Ethan's history was extremely troubling, but she didn't have time to skim through his entire life story. Could that have been the crucial part he missed?

"May could still be alive, Amelia." He insists.

She expects him to laugh at the humorless remark, but he seems deadly serious.

"Ethan, that's ridiculous."

"It's the kind of thing she'd do." Lillian finally speaks. "Her mind was so twisted and she was so narcissistic I wouldn't put it past her to fake her death."

"You're both ridiculous." Amelia scoffs at the outrageousness. "No one is that twisted."

The silence covers them like a woolen blanket. The air becomes humid due to their flustered states. Amelia racks her brain for any other explanation until the invisible lightbulb shines vividly above her head.

"Maybe she wasn't the only one." She states. "My dad has an entire record on every single suspect."

They both gaze at her questioningly.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Anyone in the police station has access to your records." She hurriedly states. "Anyone there could walk into my dad's office and read your files."

"I don't follow." He folds his arms across his chest.

She gazes at both of them with large eyes.

"Think about it, the best way to defeat your enemies is to know everything about them and the only way to do that is to know their past." She nearly laughs at the absurdity. "What if The Lurker is someone working at the station?"

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A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all your reads, comments, and votes! You truly make my day!!!! The book will be coming to an end soon, which means the killer's identity is not far away from being revealed!!!!!!!