Read Online Little Girls Lost by Jonah Paine - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jonah Paine
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sometimes, when the voices in his head got the better of him, he murdered prostitutes and carved the word "slut" on their stomachs.
By the time he was apprehended, Stewart Smalls had murdered at least five women, though under questioning he claimed that he had killed twelve others who were never identified.
Stewart Smalls had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to five consecutive life terms. He had spent seven years of that sentence in a maximum-security facility, until one day when there was a riot in the yard. Prisoners escaped from their cells, guards were taken hostage, and the media descended on a chaotic scene that took several days before order was finally restored. When the guards took count of their prisoners, they found one missing: Stewart Smalls. He had simply disappeared in the confusion, and no one knew what had happened to him.
Another killer at large, another modus operandi that had recently shown up in Sam's town, another suspect at large for him to chase. The coincidences were piling up in ways that made Sam suspicious. He was of the opinion that two suspects were quite a bit worse than one. He was beginning to believe that there was something about this case that he didn't understand at all.
There were other possibilities that Sam was just beginning to toy with in his mind. The first was that the two cases were unrelated, and that he was dealing with two killers operating on their own. In many ways that was the most rational explanation, but Sam couldn't bring himself to believe it. The two dead girls were too similar, to close in age and circumstance. It would be coincidental for two killers to independently choose victims at virtually the same time who were so similar, and Sam didn't believe in coincidence.
The second possibility was that the murders were committed by two killers working together. That would explain the similarity between the victims, but the whole idea seemed ridiculous. It was like a league of villains from a superhero comic book. Sam put that idea aside with a prayer to the powers that be. He hoped to die long before killers started banding together like that.
The third possibility was that he was dealing with a student of crime. Perhaps he was looking for someone who had spent time in prison, long enough to meet two or more murderers and learn from them. Maybe he felt driven by forces that no one but him could possibly understand, driven to pick up the work of murderers who had come before him and complete their work. Sam couldn't find a flaw in the idea, but neither could he find anything in the theory that aided the investigation. A killer who modeled himself on others gave police officers like himself very little to go on. He had no motive, since his motives were inherited from others.
With a sigh, Sam closed the folder. He had learned something tonight, but if anything he felt further away from cracking the case. He hated to admit it, but he needed more information to work with. More information meant more dead girls. More information meant that he hadn't done his job well enough to save the people who were depending on him.
He would still catch this killer. Sam hadn't given up hope of that. But his fear now was that he would find him and he would stop him far too late, after far too many were dead.
C HAPTER E IGHTEEN
The hallway of St. Ignatius High School took on its customary din as students spilled out of their classrooms and converged on their lockers. Pamela Wilson walked with her books held against her chest like a shield.
She offered a shy smile to the occasional friendly face, but otherwise Pamela was accustomed to moving silently through the chaotic crowd of student bodies.
Near her locker she found refuge in her two closest friends. Jeannie and Katie were waiting for her to join them. She walked up with a smile.
"Hey, girl!" Jeannie said.
"Hey yourself," Pamela said. "What's up?"
"We were talking about you, actually," Katie said with
By the time he was apprehended, Stewart Smalls had murdered at least five women, though under questioning he claimed that he had killed twelve others who were never identified.
Stewart Smalls had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to five consecutive life terms. He had spent seven years of that sentence in a maximum-security facility, until one day when there was a riot in the yard. Prisoners escaped from their cells, guards were taken hostage, and the media descended on a chaotic scene that took several days before order was finally restored. When the guards took count of their prisoners, they found one missing: Stewart Smalls. He had simply disappeared in the confusion, and no one knew what had happened to him.
Another killer at large, another modus operandi that had recently shown up in Sam's town, another suspect at large for him to chase. The coincidences were piling up in ways that made Sam suspicious. He was of the opinion that two suspects were quite a bit worse than one. He was beginning to believe that there was something about this case that he didn't understand at all.
There were other possibilities that Sam was just beginning to toy with in his mind. The first was that the two cases were unrelated, and that he was dealing with two killers operating on their own. In many ways that was the most rational explanation, but Sam couldn't bring himself to believe it. The two dead girls were too similar, to close in age and circumstance. It would be coincidental for two killers to independently choose victims at virtually the same time who were so similar, and Sam didn't believe in coincidence.
The second possibility was that the murders were committed by two killers working together. That would explain the similarity between the victims, but the whole idea seemed ridiculous. It was like a league of villains from a superhero comic book. Sam put that idea aside with a prayer to the powers that be. He hoped to die long before killers started banding together like that.
The third possibility was that he was dealing with a student of crime. Perhaps he was looking for someone who had spent time in prison, long enough to meet two or more murderers and learn from them. Maybe he felt driven by forces that no one but him could possibly understand, driven to pick up the work of murderers who had come before him and complete their work. Sam couldn't find a flaw in the idea, but neither could he find anything in the theory that aided the investigation. A killer who modeled himself on others gave police officers like himself very little to go on. He had no motive, since his motives were inherited from others.
With a sigh, Sam closed the folder. He had learned something tonight, but if anything he felt further away from cracking the case. He hated to admit it, but he needed more information to work with. More information meant more dead girls. More information meant that he hadn't done his job well enough to save the people who were depending on him.
He would still catch this killer. Sam hadn't given up hope of that. But his fear now was that he would find him and he would stop him far too late, after far too many were dead.
C HAPTER E IGHTEEN
The hallway of St. Ignatius High School took on its customary din as students spilled out of their classrooms and converged on their lockers. Pamela Wilson walked with her books held against her chest like a shield.
She offered a shy smile to the occasional friendly face, but otherwise Pamela was accustomed to moving silently through the chaotic crowd of student bodies.
Near her locker she found refuge in her two closest friends. Jeannie and Katie were waiting for her to join them. She walked up with a smile.
"Hey, girl!" Jeannie said.
"Hey yourself," Pamela said. "What's up?"
"We were talking about you, actually," Katie said with
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