The Night Slasher Book 1: The Night Slasher

By Keifer

Kane Keil is just your average guy from San Francisco: a pencil pusher, has a couple of friends, likes to play video games in his spare time, and loves his overbearing mother. One night, he takes his mother out for dinner in a rather fancy restaurant, where she proceeds to embarrass him at every turn. Seeking some reprieve from her, he hunts around in the restaurant for his friend, Nick, more of an acquaintance really, that he bumped into on his way to their table. Unfortunately for Kane, looking for his friend sets the ball rolling on a series of events that he finds himself smack dab in the center of—being framed for the murder of a woman found in the restaurant basement, and as the notorious serial killer The Night Slasher, no less! Worse yet, his friend Nick and his mother, Jeri, are missing too!

Ensnared in a trap where the police just want to find a culprit after twenty years of hunting this guy, Kane struggles to assert his innocence and find the real culprit, and his mother, and it doesn't help that the LC on the case, Mona, is an attractive woman to boot.

Told from different perspectives, The Night Slasher is a classic take on the cat-and-mouse game between witness and killer, but with a twist. On one side is a man desperate to assert his innocence and find his mother, on the other is a monster who has crushing secrets and nothing to hide. Can Kane find the real killer, and, more importantly, can he save his mother in time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keifer
• Release date: Jan 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393433897

Keifer

Keifer grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He has received many awards for his numerous writings including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.  He earned his Bachelors degree in business at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA at San Francisco State University.  Keifer has been a small business owner, a radio DJ, a manager, a paralegal, and a writer.  He continues to write many different types of books, novels, and poetry.  He currently lives in San Francisco.   

Book preview

PART ONE

This life of mine, what has it become?

People are so demeaning, surreal, and mean.

Nobody cares.

The only way to get any respect,

Is make people care.

How?

By fear,

intimidation,

aggression.

No.

That would be too easy.

Respect comes from you.

How you carry yourself,

taller than the rest.

How you speak to others,

with them, not at them.

How you do things,

better than anyone else.

Respect doesn't come easy,

and it doesn't come quick.

Never forget that.

If you abuse it.

If you use it without any regard.

Respect quickly turns into fear,

and disgust.

Then you can be sure,

nobody cares.

People will be demeaning, surreal, and meaner.

This life of mine, what has it become?

NEW TERRITORY

(Now)

Marisa Lopez was happier than she had ever been.  She had just graduated high school two months ago.  She was celebrating the summer sun, after working a half-day at the market.  She wanted to work fewer hours, but she needed the money for college next year.  Her dream of a higher education was becoming a reality, and the costs were piling up, the closer her college career approached.  Regardless, she was still happy. 

Marisa was on her way to tell her mother that she had just been accepted into Cal Berkeley.  She was going to be able to stay home and commute to school instead of having to move to a school where she would have to pay for lodging and other expenses.  She now felt a sense of relief that at least she could be with her family. 

She knew that she would have to save as much as possible for the upcoming year at Cal.  She had hoped that one of the scholarships that she applied for would come through; she still needed money for expenses.  The acceptance letter included a free-ride scholarship.  And although not having to pay for the enrollment fee would help tremendously with food, books, transportation, lab fees, and a lot of other costs would add up really quick.  Marisa’s mother worked at the Happy Hotel.  A small hotel that catered to not so happy clientele, centrally located in the heart of downtown Richmond, a rural area outside of San Francisco, just on the other side of the bay.  The city barely made the local news on a regular basis.  Tonight would be different.  Avoiding the bus, thinking of saving more, she decided to walk.  Then thought that the decision may be just have been another excuse to take advantage of the sun.  A half hour later she was staring at the parking lot of the Happy Hotel.  Letter in hand, she went looking for her mother.  She skipped across the parking lot, beaming with enthusiasm, she moved faster than she had all summer. 

Where is my mom, Carmen?  She asked her mother’s co-worker. 

Oh, Marisa.  She said with a slight Spanish accent.  She’s all the way up on the third floor, and the elevator is out again. 

That’s ok.  She looked up towards the third floor.  I can make it there faster than the elevator anyway. 

Marisa, don’t go running up the stairs again.  You know what happened last time.  Carmen looked worried, remembering the last time that Marisa had ran up the stairs.  She had been overjoyed to tell her mother that she had received all A’s at the end of her semester and stood a good chance to make Magna Cum Laude.  Halfway up the second set of stairs she had ran into the hotel manager and knocked him and his coffee to the ground.  Apologizing profusely, she did not dissuade his bad temper, and the terror it meant for her mother for the next week. 

I know, I know.  She smiled as she remembered the look on his face as he struggled to get the hot coffee off his cheap suit.  I will make sure not to spill any more coffee than I have to.  And she ran off before Carmen had a chance to stop her. 

SCOUTING NEW TERRITORY

He was scouting the East Bay when he came to the City of Richmond.  He was hungry, and tonight he was on the hunt.  After a week of searching the area, he had finally found a new woman that could help him.  A new woman that would talk to him.  A new woman that he could talk to.  A new victim. 

At first sight, she was the absolute perfect vision.  Wearing pink and white, she was like a dream.  Last week when he first encountered her walking across the street, he was transfixed.  Driving along 13th Ave. and McDonald, she crossed his vision at the light between the street and downtown skyline, his original destination.  He now realized that he did not need to go there.  He had another destination in mind.  A much more important place to go.  

Pink.  He loved the color of pink on a woman.  His first real girlfriend wore the color pink, and he briefly felt a pang of nostalgia for the times they were together. Then he remembered their breakup and he felt anger once again.  Regardless, he still liked the color on women, and he admired it on Marisa now.  He focused his energy on her and drove a little faster. 

He knew that she was either headed home, or to see her mother at the sleazy hotel where she worked.  Tonight he took a chance and headed downtown instead of her rundown residential area.  The hunger inside of him grew stronger, and he felt that he could not control it.  He was ready and could not wait any longer. 

His rage had been steadily growing, as he got stronger and stronger.  Now the feeling filled him to the boiling point.  He needed to relieve the hunger, the pressure, the rage that had built up inside of him, and he had just discovered his latest source of release.  He had to do it soon.  It had mounted in him for far too long.  And she was right there.  Her mother, the manager, and all the maids, would be no obstacle when it came to fulfilling what he really wanted. 

This was the perfect time and the perfect woman for the release.  Although this latest victim was not quite a woman yet, for the Night Slasher she was close enough.  And after he was done with her, you would not be able to tell if she was even human. 

IT STARTS

(Twenty Years Ago)

It started when the hunger inside of him had grown into something deeper.  Something that he felt was bad at one time, but over time had slowly evolved into something else.  In fact, the first time he killed someone it was an accident.  A simple wrong turn on a one-way street after a few drinks at the bar with some friends.  He had hit her with a thud.  He had barely noticed.  And if it wasn’t for the noise he would not have stopped.  But he did, and now they were forever linked. 

He didn’t think he had hit her that hard.  The truck wasn’t going faster than 25 miles per hour when he made the turn that struck her down.  At least he did not think it was more than 25 mph.  ‘Was it?’  When he stopped, he realized that the large bumper on his Explorer, combined with the angle from the turn that he hit her, catapulted her fifteen feet beyond her original spot. 

By the time he had realized he should have stopped what had happened, he had run over her body skidding the last five feet where she landed.  Getting out of the truck, his heart was pounding faster than he could ever remember.  When he finally made his way to the other side of the car, he was completely sober.  ‘Am I sober?’  The body, although intact, looked mangled and broken.  He could actually see a distinct impression of the tread from his tire on her dress. 

He was frantic.  The mixture of adrenaline, fear, anxiety, and confusion was deafening. He looked around for someone to help.  Not just for the woman that he had just ran over, but for the heart attack that he thought he was having.  ‘What if they hall me off to jail forever?’

He found no help at all.  He collapsed on the ground and rested his head against the side of the Explorer, staring at the body that was lying at his side.  After a few minutes his heart started to slow down. 

He thought that somehow he could get through this.  He just needed to find someone, get to a phone, something.  That’s when the unimaginable happened.  He looked from the dead body to the street, back to the body.  It twitched.  Not a big twitch, but enough to move the body slightly to the left a quarter of an inch, and back against his leg. 

He leapt to his feet, heart pounding hard once again.  He thought it was an illusion.  Then it happened again, moving to the right.  He went into emergency mode.  This time it was a flinch, like a late reaction to get out of the way.  He instantly reached down to feel for a pulse.  Faint, but it was there.  She was alive.  His mind raced.  He thought she was maybe in shock.  Shut down until her body was well enough to deal with the pain. 

‘What was I going to do?’  His mind seemed to dart in ten different directions.  He could run to a house, but no one lived in this closed down warehouse district.  At least not anymore.  He could try to find a phone, but that would mean leaving her.  He could drive and get help, but he was afraid that he might run her over again.  ‘What am I thinking!?!’  He was screaming inside his head. ‘I could simply drive her to the hospital.’ 

It made the most sense.  He would not leave her to die alone, without anyone to help her.  He would not have to waste time finding a phone, or someone else to help.  And he could probably get her to help quicker than emergency services could get there, let alone get her the medical treatment she needed.  He made a decision. 

Lifting her was more difficult than he had imagined.  She did not look more than a hundred and twenty or thirty pounds.  But for his weak body, he was having a hard time trying to get a grip, let alone have enough strength for the task he was about to undertake.  All his friends were at the gym constantly.  Now he wished that he had gone with his friends. 

Struggling he dragged her to the back of the truck.  He had to stop and rest for a moment.  Dropping her alongside the truck, his muscles felt some relief, but considering the time factor there would be no more time to rest.  It would be a long night before he was finished.  Reaching for his keys, lost? Realizing he left them in the ignition.  ‘Damn!’  He was worried that the longer he took the less time she had.  She twitched again. 

Running around to the driver’s side door, he thought he saw car lights in the distance.  Turning back, he could almost make out the flicker of a car making its way through the intersection. 

Hey!  Hey!  He started to wave his hands desperately.  Over here.  Help!  But stopped when the car sped on. 

The car drove out of sight.  Damn! He screamed. 

Feeling let down again, he reached inside the car for the keys.  Returning to the back of the car, he opened the back of the truck, making sure to step around the young woman’s body.  He was not just afraid that he might injure her, but he did not want to see anymore movement out of her, even though he needed to move her himself.  He wanted to delay having to touch her as much as possible.  Then, he decided to rethink the situation, and thought it better to get it over with.  He was wasting time, if there was any chance, to save her he would have to get her into the back of the truck and to a hospital before she got any worse. 

Ugh! he sighed.   

He hated the thought of moving her again.  But he needed to get moving.  Struggling to lift her again, he used the end of the bumper to wedge the upper half of her body into the back.  He was finally able to get one of her arms situated in the back enough to hold her upright.  Well slightly sideways, but upright none the less.  Actually, jumping into the large compartment in the back of the Explorer, he pulled the rest of her body into the truck by wedging his foot behind the spare tire affixed to the side of the car. 

‘I made it.’  Or, he thought, she made it.  Either way, he was done with moving the woman.  Hopefully he would get some help carrying her from the back of the truck to the hospital bed.  He needed to get her to the hospital, and fast.  He jumped in the driver’s seat, started it up, and shifted into gear.  Happy that he had recently bought that new car battery just last week. 

He saw it again.  Car lights.  This time from the rearview mirror.  In the distance to his left.  This time closer than before.  He started to shriek, but he realized that he was in the car, with the windows up.  He was definitely not thinking straight.  After a second, he got his thoughts together, and started honking the horn.  Looking up, expecting the car to stop.  Hoping, he saw nothing, and sighed in exhaustion and frustration.  Another unconcerned person gone again. 

Exhausted, and becoming more frustrated with the chain of events, he moved himself forward, and rested his head against the steering wheel.  ‘Why me?’ 

Gathering himself together, he sped off as fast as he could.  He had only one thought on his mind.  ‘She was going to die.’  He needed to get her to a hospital, get her some help, go home, and be done with the night. 

He let out a deep sigh and made his way to the hospital.  Or rather, where he thought the freeway to the hospital was.  Feeling defeated he put the pedal to the metal, hoping he could still save her.  Whipping the truck around, his tires screeching, he sped down the street.  He was not going to let anything stop him now.  Not until he reached the emergency room.  He only made it to the next block. 

Now more mad, frustrated, and tired than ever, he watched as a car caught up to him from behind.  ‘Now a car passes by!’ he frustratedly thought to himself.  Too late to flag them down, he had already set his mind to get this woman to the hospital no matter what.  Then the red and blue lights came on in the rearview mirror.  He felt completely defeated. 

‘COPS!’, That feeling of deafening fear and anxiety came back in an instant.

He looked at the speedometer and noticed he was doing at least 50 in a 35 MPH zone.  His heart rate increased yet again.  His mind went crazy.  He was going to jail, and he knew it.  They would find a body in the back of the truck, and no matter what kind of excuses he could come up with, they would haul him out, put him in cuffs, and drag him down to the police station.  He thought that if the cops didn’t get her some help as soon as possible, she would surely going to die.  And inside he sighed in relief that he in some small part was able to save her life. 

He didn’t know what to do.  He was in a losing situation.  Even if he told the police that he had a body in the back of the truck, there would still be a million questions, and the fact was, that he did run her over in the first place.  And if the ambulance was able to get her to the hospital, it still meant a criminal charge of some type.  Plus, who knew how much alcohol was still in his system.  ‘What a mess!’ 

The only other option he had was to make a run for it.  Crazy as it sounded, he actually contemplated stepping on the gas and making a mad dash for it.  For a fleeting second the thought really appealed to him.  But the chance of him out running a police cruiser in his old Explorer was ridiculous.  ‘Ha!’  The thought made him laugh. 

Running would only make him look guilty. More guilty than he already was, and probably looked.  He pulled in between two parked cars on the side of the road.  While he put the car in park, and turned off the key, his mind was still in overdrive; ‘It would make me look guilty,’ he thought to himself.  ‘But how much more trouble would I be in if I don’t run?’  He rolled down the window, and again he heard the faint rustling of a twitch, much bigger and louder.  He could not hear anything else, but tried to casually look into the back of the truck to make sure.  ‘Maybe.  Just, maybe.’  All thoughts of running left his mind. 

Thump.  He thought that the woman jumped again, but, he realized, it was only the door of the police cruiser.  Heart attack number two.  Every single step that the police officer made, he felt in the pit of his stomach to the top of his head.  Clump, clump, clump.  He heard the soles of the cop’s cheap police issued shoes close in on him.  Thump, thump, thump, his heart leaped in rhythm to the pounding step of each stride. 

All he would have to do is turn the key and slam the car into gear.  He would have at least a ten-block lead before the cop could get back to his car. 

Clump, clump, clump!  Thump, thump, thump!

He felt the sweat in the bottom of his back.  Now was the time.  ‘Do it!’  He again thought to himself.  ‘Do it now!’ 

Clump, clump, clump!  Thump, thump, thump! 

He moved his hand toward the ignition and laid one finger on the key.  He could see the cop in his rearview mirror getting closer. 

Clump! Clump! Clump!  Thump! Thump! Thump!  Louder and louder the end to his life pounded closer to him.   

Almost to the door, and ...  Ahhhhhh, wheeeew, uuuh.  He froze.  The strangest noise was coming from the back of the truck.  He did not know what that noise was, but it was not good.  If there was ever a time where he could imagine the exact point in time when you could hear the sound of death, he believed that he had just heard it.  She was dead, and he knew it.  And now there was nothing he could do about it.  It’s time to give up, turn himself in.  Confess everything.  Or time to run.

A moment of hesitation and he was too late.  Slam!  He jumped.  The police officer’s gloved hand reverberated against the roof of the truck above his head.  When the cop finally peered into the window where the glass usually was, it seemed bigger and more exposed than he had ever noticed before.  He thought that he had never seen a larger more menacing face in his life.  ‘Too late!’ 

Fortunately, he was able to calm himself down before the cop was able to see him acting like a mad man.  At least he thought so. 

Can I see your driver’s license and registration please?  The first words of his demise were spoken. 

He stared blankly, not knowing what to say or do. 

Sir.  The patrol man said in a more accusatory than inquisitive manner.  Are you ok, sir? 

He was still frozen, but somehow came out of it only to reply in an extremely squeaky voice, Yes, uh, officer.  He fumbled in his pocket for his license.  Here. 

He dropped his wallet twice before he could get his license out.  He needed to at least start explaining himself now before the cop found the dead body in the back of his truck.  Not only did he not know where to start, he was having a hard time talking.  Everything seemed to come out in a low squeal. 

Was that you parked at the corner back there?  The officers gloved hand thumbed towards the back of him, in the direction of the accident, and the back of the truck. 

He could not respond.  His throat was constricted, and he was starting to sweat.  He could only hold his license out and hope this man, police officer, the person that would decide the fate of his entire future, would not ask him any more questions. 

Registration?  He was still going by the book.  He thought that was one thing going his way. 

Uhm, ah, yeah.  He barely got the words, or grunts, out while reaching for the registration in the glove compartment.  I, uh, well, had an accident.  He finally said, while handing him the registration. 

A what?  The officer’s face became unbelievably huge, as he moved closer to him. 

He wanted to let it all out.  Start with answering all his questions, as the police officer, arrested him and hauled him off.  But the face grew nearer, and his heart rate got faster, and the only thing he could get out was, Ah, tire.

Oh, ok.  The officer, not hearing anything else, thought it was just a blowout.  Get those wheels checked.  You don’t want to be stuck out here in the middle of the night. 

Stunned by the cop’s complete oblivious perception of the last half hour he stared in disbelief. 

I’ll be right back.  He said as he clumped back to the cruiser. 

He sat there in the truck, heart thumping away, white knuckles griping the wheel, sweat dripping down his back, and a dead body starting to smell behind him.  The world had categorically turned upside down.  ‘How the hell was I going to get out of this one?’ 

‘Run!’  He again thought to himself.  ‘Grab the keys, turn the ignition, and go!’ 

He slowly lifted his right hand from the death grip he had on the wheel, moved it slowly to the ignition once again.  ‘Turn it, turn it now!’ His thought this was his last chance.   

Slam!  The hand hit the roof again, and his larger than life face was in the window right outside the door.  Sir.  There’s been an emergency.  He jumped again. 

Ah, what?  he stammered.

That’s it.  Someone called in the accident.  Someone saw the whole thing and was waiting at the end of the street to identify him as the killer.  Someone took down his license plate number and the cop ran the plates.  He was as good as dead himself.  Ready to be arrested, he tightened his fingers around the key, and moved his other hand to the steering wheel. 

There’s been an accident sir, here is your driver’s license and registration.  He moved his hand from the wheel to the window as the officer handed them back to a shaky hand.  Please remember to drive safe out there.

The officer sprinted back to his car, got in, turned the siren on, and he was gone. 

He was gone! He screamed out loud he was so elated and relieved at the same time.  The cop had made a u-turn and was out of sight.  Off to some emergency he had nothing to do with.  Or maybe he did?  Maybe they had found something at the sight.  Maybe they needed another cop on the sight of the accident to confirm the smattering of blood, cordon off traffic, send in the crime scene unit, whatever the backup does.  He would arrive, figure out that the truck he just pulled over was there just minutes ago, and put two and two together. 

He waited no longer.  He looked down to find his hand already on the key and gave it a hard turn.  He slammed the car in drive and left as fast as possible.  This time maintaining a relatively mild speed compared to the one that got him pulled over in the first place.  Still, he tried to get to the freeway as quick as possible. 

WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO

Now what?  What to do now?  He had just gotten away with ... what?  Murder!  Was that it?  Had he just killed someone, fled the scene, and eluded the police?  What was that, 500 years in prison?  The Chair!?!  He was still free, but what to do now?  There was only one thing he could do.  The only thing that made sense.  Get rid of the body.

Where was he going to get rid of the body?  He had never done anything like this before.  He didn’t know how he was going to get the body out of the back of the truck, let alone get rid of it.  Then another thought struck him.  What if she was still alive?  Damn!

He pulled off the freeway and found himself headed towards the Berkeley Pier.  The Berkeley Pier was a small pier compared to most of the others on the Bay.  But it boasted one of the best panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay.  From this vantage point you could see Treasure Island, halfway from Oakland and the City off the Bay Bridge.  The lights of downtown San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and