Killer Competition

By Robin Sterling

When the legal system fails innocent victims, Jake and Thomas are there to right the wrongs and restore balance. Their vengeance is swift and without guilt or consequence. For years, they have acted independently, using their own judgment to decide who lives and who dies. Perhaps fate brings them together or perhaps it’s the arrival of a third killer.

This new killer seems to murder for no reason at all. He is driven purely by blood with no rhyme or reason, making him both unpredictable and diabolical. In order to stop the growing body count in their city, Jake and Thomas must learn to trust each other. They know they’re the only ones who can stop this murderer, but can they do it without getting caught?

These two men aren’t the only ones searching for answers. Susana, an eager journalist, and her detective friend are hot on their trail. For Jake and Thomas, it’s now a race against madness in an effort to save innocent lives from brutal torment. In the end, a decision must be made. How far are these two killers willing to go, and will this final fight put an end to their vigilante justice?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665531573

Robin Sterling

I grew up in Andover, Massachusetts. A wonderful New England town where I could enjoy my youth to the fullest! My childhood home was steps away from miles of protected trails where along with the neighborhood kids, we would disappear and explore until dark. It was a much different world back then. I was fortunate to grow up in a time when our biggest worry was missing curfew. I always had an itch to explore more and to move away from what was always the protective bubble of home. As soon as I finished high school and was accepted to college in New Hampshire, I headed out and never looked back. Early during my college days I realized school wasn't the right fit. Sitting idle in classes while the real world was just beyond my reach, was a hard concept for me to tune out. So, I decided to take a chance and begin exploring on my own terms. After working in Corporate America for more than 20 years, I came to yet another realization, I needed to explore more! That feeling led me here. Sitting down and writing stories, whether they are mysteries or for children, the whole writing process is a blast! Even though I didn’t begin this journey with the intention of sharing my stories, with some gentle encouragement from my wonderful friends and family, I decided to give it a shot. My husband takes the gold medal of being my real motivator. He’s the coolest, most honorable and supportive man I've ever known. Our dog, Darla June completes our family unit and our hearts, as you will see in this book.

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© 2021 Robin Sterling. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/09/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-3158-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-3157-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Prologue

PART 1

Jake Matthews

Thomas Delaney

Sadie Monroe

The Taproom

Meet And Greet

Last Call

PART 2

Big Break

Old Flame, Fresh Look

Like Old Times

PART 3

Common Thread

This Bud’s For You

Interesting Hobby

PART 4

Saturday Night Plans

PART 5

Like Cramming For An Exam

Teamwork

PART 6

More On Tap At The Taproom

Bloody Marys All Around

PART 7

Three’s A Crowd

PART 8

Rack ’Em Up

Matter Of Trust

PART 9

Connecting The Dots

PART 10

Sharing Is Caring

PART 11

Manic Monday

PART 12

That’s The Breaks

The Task Force

The Profile Emerges

Working Lunch

PART 13

Changing The Rules

There’s A Chance

Child’s Play

PART 14

Protectors

PART 15

Members Only

PART 16

Surprise, Surprise

PART 17

Working Breakfast In Bed

PART 18

Filling In The Blanks

Timing Is Everything

PART 19

Donuts Win The Day

Mean Little Paper Cut

My Guy, My Hero

PART 20

New Twist

PART 21

Pick Your Battles

PART 22

Six Months Ago

PART 23

Mystery Killer

PART 24

Careful Where You Tread

PART 25

Magical Moving Furniture

PART 26

Come To Order

PART 27

Preparations Have Been Made

PART 28

Disturbing Discovery

PART 29

Dinner Foiled

PART 30

Hard Truths And A Heart-Carving Killer

PART 31

Killer To Killer

PART 32

A Life For Their Lives

Never Look Back

PART 33

Until Next Time

PART 34

The Right Decision

PART 35

Justice Served

Grave Mistake

PART 36

Come To Order

PART 37

Good Set Of Steak Knives

Epilogue

It is not the act of taking a life that makes you a monster; it is your motives.

PROLOGUE

T he world is filled with injustices and in many cases devoid of proper accountability. When the balance of justice goes unchecked, it is left to those with the ability to compartmentalize their obligation to right the wrongs—in the interest of justice, of course. These chosen few walk among us with no discernable signs. They are marked from within. They are the judges; they are the jury; and they will execute—always in the interest of justice, of course.

PART 1

JAKE MATTHEWS

T he city was buzzing with activity. It was just after six on a Thursday night—time for the millennials to get ready to hit the clubs and bars for another night of binge-drinking and bad decisions. Jake Matthews loved Thirsty Thursdays. Whatever frat boy coined that phrase back in the day was a genius. The bar where he worked, The Taproom, was in a prime spot. It was upscale enough to attract the business types from the financial district but approachable enough for the late-night crews. They would stop by for a few rounds on their way to the clubs before waiting in lines four people deep for a drink.

He knew he had struck gold six months ago when he’d taken home $650 in tips on his first Thursday-night shift. His boyish good looks—some of his regulars called him Kennedy because he resembled the illustrious ones—and disarming personality claimed the adoration of many women of all ages on a nightly basis. He did not mind the attention, but he never basked in it either, which made him even more appealing. He pretended, convincingly, that he was oblivious to the stares coming his way. He regularly mused to himself, If they only knew. Of course, no one did. He told stories about himself as if he were a character in a novel. Never had he shared one factual detail about himself with anyone, not even the social security number he had used to get the job. He found it entertaining to spin his web and watch people accept what he said as truth.

The only partially true aspect of himself that people saw was his love of art. He doodled on bar napkins, leftover receipts, anything left behind by patrons that he could draw on. The owner had taken notice immediately and had had him design his menus. He was talented, but living in a city overrun by talented artists made him a small fish in a gigantic pond. For now, side jobs like painting a mural in the bar or animals on the wall of a colleague’s kids’ room would have to be enough. He found other ways to explore his creative side.

THOMAS DELANEY

L ooking out his high-rise office window in the financial district of the city, Thomas Delaney felt powerful—not like God, more like a protector. As he watched the tiny figures moving below, he wondered how many of them needed protecting. One thing at a time, he told himself.

Thomas was a day trader. He had been working with the same firm for about twelve years, since college. He enjoyed his job. It paid the bills, but he liked his other occupation better. That was his true calling. His life was spent in a balancing act of shadows. He was careful to navigate his friendships through shallow, safe waters. If he wandered too deep, that would be dangerous for everyone. For now, his relationships were safe, basic. His friends did the things normal friends do and were always trying to set him up on dates. They all thought they had just the girl for him. He was amused that they thought they knew the right girl for him. He did not even know himself. He knew he was attracted to strong, independent women, but beyond that, he did not really have a type. Not that finding dates was hard for him. At six foot three and 215 pounds, with classic good looks that were compared to the likes of Cary Grant and Rock Hudson, he was considered a damn fine catch—just an elusive one.

His guy friends called his disposition cool. His female friends called it mysterious. Either way, people in general were attracted to him. But it had not always been like this for him. He had his reasons for keeping a safe parameter around himself. He rationalized that he did this for their safety, not for his own. It was not the best way to live a life, but anything was better than where he had come from.

Thomas was finishing up a trade for a client when one of his buddies stuck his head in his office door. Hey, we’re heading over to that new place, The Taproom. Pack your crap up and let’s go.

Thomas’s first instinct was to decline the invitation, but listening to his friends rag on him for skipping another after-work social hour was even less appealing, so he finished up and got ready to leave. Before he left, he grabbed the paper, which he always read after work, never before, as that would only distract him.

There were six of them walking from the office to the bar. The location could not have been better. If this new place had decent food too, it would make a killing. It was already showing signs of life with the after-work crews. Thomas recognized a lot of faces he had seen out before at this hour. There were other bars around, but most had been overrun by twenty-somethings, and he did not have patience for them. They usually drank too much and talked too loudly about their conquests, both at work and at play. After a while, the grown-ups would move on to another location. They would enjoy any new place as long as they could before the next invasion.

SADIE MONROE

L et’s see if this fish bites , Sadie Monroe thought. She had decided to dial up her look this Thursday night. She knew Jake was working, and even though they had established a healthy flirtation, she wanted to drop the hint that she had dressed up especially for him.

She took one last look in her ridiculously ostentatious floor-to-ceiling mirror. Satisfied with what was staring back at her, she left for the bar. Sadie called herself the poor little rich girl. She figured it would save everyone the trouble of saying it behind her back. Yes, she was rich. Very, very rich. And she had not earned a dime of it.

She was generous, though, and to a fault. She never knew whether people were drawn to her for her money or her charming personality. She joked about that, but over the years, enough people she trusted had told her that she was, in fact, a witty and wonderful spirit with a panache that made everyone feel special. Her looks were just a bonus that she never paid much attention to. She wore her jet-black hair at shoulder-length, with natural waves that gave it that messy look women paid hundreds to duplicate. Makeup had never been her thing. Give her a smooth red lipstick, and the rest would handle itself, she always said. And did it ever. She effortlessly looked put together, no matter what she wore. Her usual attire involved jeans, flats, retro ’80s T-shirts that fit just right, and maybe a wallet—never a big, expensive purse or jewelry dripping with diamonds, which she had plenty of. In her mind, less was always more.

But tonight, she was going glam. She had added some mascara to enhance her emerald eyes and wore a sundress that hugged all the right places, heels, and her signature smooth red lipstick. Jake would notice—he noticed everything. That last thought lingered with her, and she said aloud, Well, almost everything. Everyone has secrets.

THE TAPROOM

J ake had the bar stocked and ready for the after-work crowd to pile in. The word on the street was that The Taproom was favorable to the financial district group. The pain-in-the-ass, fresh-out-of-college demographic was still frequenting the more established bars, and that was fine by him. Those idiots drank too much and always required special attention from the bouncers when it came time to cut them off. It wasn’t that the older crowd didn’t like to drink—they did—but they drank the good stuff, which meant higher bar bills, and that was fine by him too.

There was good volume steadily coming in when he saw Sadie at the door. For the first time, he did a double take. She was getting first, second, and third looks from almost every guy in the room—and some women—on her way to the bar. But he noticed that she never took her eyes off him. Woman on a mission, Jake thought. OK, I will play this out. He enjoyed their relationship. To this point, there had been harmless flirtation between them, nothing more. He kept an eye on her when she came in. The queue of suitors waiting to approach her was consistently full, even when she did not look like she did tonight. Jake would run interference when she signaled that one wasn’t taking the hint. In the more extreme cases, he would pretend to be jealous or to be her boyfriend. They enjoyed the game they played. Until tonight, their interaction had had a fun, loose feel to it. But she was looking at him in different way now. She was making a move. Jake was not sure how he felt about that.

Sadie took her usual seat and placed her wallet on the bar. Jake came right over and picked it up.

Hey, beautiful. I’ll keep this safe. The usual?

She nodded, gave him a sly smile, and said, Beautiful, huh? ’Bout time you noticed.

He brought back her gin and tonic and said, "Yeah,