Behind Closed Doors: Unsettling Stories

By Charlie Thomas

What lurks behind the façade of ordinary lives? This compelling collection of short fiction peers into the dark hearts and twisted minds often concealed by genteel masks.Featuring an array of unnerving tales guaranteed to unsettle, Behind Closed Doors serves up morbid curiosity and perverse thrills on every page. These chilling vignettes offer glimpses into disturbingly abnormal psyches that reflect the darker undercurrents of human nature.From a macabre collector obsessively seeking extreme connections, to an eerie artistic impulse elevating mortality into grotesque immortal tableaux, here lie intricate stories ringing with gritty authenticity. The writing invokes a potent atmosphere using visceral specificity to weave intricate inner lives colored by compulsion and mania.Readers fascinated by the aberrant and bizarre will savor this debut offering by a bold new literary voice. Those brave enough to handle provocative material that stretches boundaries and defies expectations will discover a delicious gathering of transfixing psychological horror vignettes certain to linger.So prepare for a paradigm-shifting descent into the distorted realm behind closed doors where secret depravity breeds. But enter cautiously—you might recognize these unsettling reflections from closer than you dare admit!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charlie Thomas
• Release date: Jan 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224513727

Charlie Thomas

Charlie Thomas is an aspiring author and avid reader. He draws inspiration from his surroundings and imagination to create immersive worlds and compelling characters that reflect insightful themes. When he's not crafting his next tale, John enjoys activities like hiking and photography that allow him to glimpse life from new perspectives. Though in the early stages of his writing journey, he brings an infectious passion for storytelling that promises to captivate readers. As an emerging voice, he looks forward to developing his craft and sharing bold new narratives with an engaged audience.

Book preview

1 Blind Justice

CHAPTER 1

THE FOG CREPT OVER the city like a cloak, masking the filth and despair of the New York streets in the early morning. Detective Alexandra Park pulled her worn trench coat tighter against the chill as she approached the crime scene. Even the weather matched the mood – cold and gloomy.

She lifted the yellow tape, its cheery color betraying the horror within. The metallic scent of blood permeated the alleyway. She braced herself before proceeding towards Nina Johnson, the precinct’s forensic photographer.

Whatcha got for me today, Nina? Alexandra asked crisply, squatting beside the victim’s body.

Nina gestured towards the corpse with her pen. White male, early thirties. Name’s Dirk Hoffman. Released on self-defense three months ago after knifing his neighbor six times.

Alexandra studied the body dispassionately, taking in the jagged slit across his neck, the brutal stab wounds puncturing his chest. She didn’t need Nina’s expertise to recognize the killer’s distinctive signature – the single white lily placed over Hoffman’s silent heart.

Perp went for poetic justice this time, Nina commented. Can’t say I blame ‘em. Legal system’s a bad joke letting guys like this go free.

Alexandra cut her a sharp glance. There’s no cause for justifying murder. Our job’s to speak for the victims regardless of their worthiness.

Nina held up her hands. Keep fighting the good fight, Detective. But this system stopped working long ago.

CHAPTER 2

Alexandra gazed pensively out the streaked window of her department SUV. Four victims in six weeks, all violent offenders skating charges on questionable self-defense pleas before meeting their gruesome fate.

This would spell the end of her fledgling career if another cold-blooded killer roamed free on her watch after last year's disaster. She desperately needed help, even if it meant dragging a drunk out of retirement. But Martin Chamberlain’s brilliant albeit dysfunctional mind was her only hope of solving this quickly.

She rapped sharply on his weathered door, shaking off a sense of futility. After a lengthy wait, it opened halfway to frame Chamberlain’s disheveled figure blinking bloodshot eyes.

Alexandra Park, he drawled unsteadily. Now here’s a ghost from the past.

Seated awkwardly across from him fifteen minutes later, she summarized the serial nature of the self-defense killings while Chamberlain slowly sobered over lukewarm tea.

Finally, he spoke. We’re dealing with someone unhinged yet meticulous. These murders symbolize righteous retribution. He exhaled sharply. Have you examined the victims’ defense counsels? Therein lies our motive.

Alexandra averted her gaze momentarily. She’d considered the same alarming theory.

I should be involved regardless of where the investigation leads, Chamberlain stated, correctly reading her thoughts. You need me, and I’m not about to slip into complacent retirement when a sinister force menaces this city.

Alexandra reluctantly agreed before extracting his promise not to go rogue on her watch.

CHAPTER 3

By 7 A.M. the next day, the replicant killer had claimed another victim – Paulie Cervantes – slit throat, carved chest, lily on the heart. The crime scene swarmed with reporters shouting rapid-fire questions as Alexandra lifted the perimeter