The Final Alibi
The Lawson Chronicles
Book 1
Simon King
The Final Alibi
The Lawson Chronicles
Book 1
Contents
Chapter 1: The Time Before
Chapter 2: The Return of the Devil
Chapter 2: A Horror Revisited
Chapter 3: Meeting the Devil, Part 2.
Chapter 4: The Trail Begins
Chapter 5: Clues and No Clues
Chapter 6: Rekindled Passions
Chapter 7: Trailing Madness
Chapter 8: When Words Are Not Enough
Chapter 9: Remembering
Chapter 10: Win One, Lose One
Chapter 11: Secrets and Lies
Author’s Note
Chapter 1: The Time Before
1.
“You’ll get used to it, kid. Trust me.” It was my partner Warren, sounding almost academic, as I tried to steady myself, one hand firmly gripping the doorframe for balance. The smell had overwhelmed me with such speed that my breakfast had already fallen at my feet before I had a chance to try and stop it. Warren had been a great mentor, showing me the ins and outs of the job with youthful enthusiasm, himself now almost 20 years in uniform. He understood that it was hard when you first started and I had only been in Cider Hill a little over a year. The killer’s victims had numbered 9 then, a large number already, but no-one was really prepared for just how long the monster would elude us. I fought my stomach back under control and wiped my mouth with a handkerchief. Warren gave me a pat on the back and resumed searching the room for evidence.
Victim 14, as we would come to know her, had been suspended by her wrists from a rope thrown over one of her living-room ceiling beams, her hands bound with a thick cord. She was naked except for her shoes, black leather T-straps. I approached the body, careful not to interfere with anything around the room and looked at her face. Both of her index fingers had been chewed off at the base and forced into her eye sockets, both eye-balls still oozing gelatinous remnants down her cheeks. We were guessing that it was some sick signature which he had adopted, to let us know it was him. The eye-balls and the fact most of her right thigh had been chewed off, confirmed our worst fears. Lucifer, as the locals had dubbed him, had killed again.
2.
Susan Heidenberg had lived alone in the house on Pickets Lane for almost two months, having moved from Melbourne earlier in the year to take up a teaching position at the prestigious Cider Hill School for Girls. She was 24, single and a pretty blonde. Her father had walked out on the family when she was 9 and her mother had passed this previous year from cancer. No other known family existed as far as we could tell. Our subsequent questioning of friends and colleagues revealed no known suitors, instead, we had found her to be a loner who favoured books to people. There were no alcohol or cigarettes found in the home and a bible sitting on her bedside table confirmed one person’s information that she only ever really ventured out to attend one of the local churches. Other than that, we had nothing. We had a young girl bound, gagged and then half eaten while suspended in her living room. The medical examiner would confirm later that, like the other victims, Miss Heidenberg had been conscious throughout the ordeal and had passed out due to blood loss and shock.
I shudder every time I think of her, and the rest that died under such horrific circumstances. We had 14 victims, all young women, ages ranging from 17 to 29, all living in the Daylesford/ Cider Hill areas and all cannibalized by a monster. A monster that not only enjoyed dining on his victims but one who also left that gruesome eye socket signature. The newspapers were in a frenzy over the story of the Daylesford Devil, had even coined the name within the first two weeks, after 3 victims had been discovered within mere days of each other. That had been back in 32, three long years before the nightmare finally ended.
3.
The problem we were having (and by we, I mean the 4 police officers from Daylesford, two (including me) from Cider Hill, and the seven officers from Melbourne), was that the killer severed any links to the crime scenes as soon as he was finished, erasing any possible evidence that could connect him to the deed. If there ever was any to begin with. Not a single clue was found that we could use to help us identify him. Even the teeth marks, of which we had many from the various victims, were perfect. It was as if he had pristine teeth with no distinguishable features. No gaps, no misalignments, no visible cavities, just perfect impressions. We had plenty of false leads too, ones we would initially get excited over, only to discover in a short amount of time, that they led to nothing more than dead ends. On one particular occasion we had discovered a used condom in the bathroom of victim 7, Nadine Johnstone, the youngest of the victims. Subsequent interviews had led us to a boyfriend, one Thomas Wright, 19, kept hidden from the victim’s family because of the overbearing and protective nature of her father. Mr. Wright had visited the victim earlier in the evening and the couple had engaged in some activities of a “private” nature. Witnesses had confirmed his alibi, that he had left the victim around 8 that evening, and her parents had discovered the young lady suspended from the shower rail some two hours later. After all the leads had been followed up and all the questions had been asked, we still had nothing.
There was nothing left at the scenes, not a single fingerprint left out of place. According to eyewitnesses, there weren’t any trophies removed from the victims. Valuables such as money and jewellery were always left intact, a fact we believed as a sign the perpetrator was well off. Another interesting note worth mentioning was that none of the
