HE FELT TOO tired to paint, but the creative juices were still flowing, so he picked up his sketch pad and pencil and sketched another lovely portrait of Detective Sasha Delossa. This one he’d keep for himself, though. He drew her chained to his basement wall, pleading for him to stop hurting her. He drew her broken and surrendering to his will. He expressed pain on her face along with disbelief, fear, and failure. She had failed to catch him, so he caught her instead.

He had already visited Tiffany Clark. He had peeled back the tape to allow her some water, and she had spewed obscenities at him. He laughed in response and reminded her to act like a refined lady. Then he had replaced the tape and bid her goodnight after pressing on the nail in her right hand. Her muffled cries almost engorged him, but that’s not what his mission was all about.

With a self-satisfied smile, he turned out the light and dreamed about adding the good detective to his collection.

He lured the detective until she was close enough to tase, and then he slumped her flaccid body over his shoulder. He took her to his dungeon and propped her up against the wall, cuffing her wrists and ankles. This woke her up with a start, and she began screaming. He wasn’t worried, though, because no one knew where to look for her. They’d already dismissed his property from their suspect pool.

She flailed violently against the restraints until he heard her left wrist snap like a twig. He wagged a finger in front of her face.

“Uh-uh. You’ll only hurt yourself, and that’s my job,” he stated with a smug smile.

He picked up a leather cat o' nine tails that he’d purchased at a local adult store and brushed the leather fingers over her forearms.

“Don’t worry, my dear. This isn’t for sex. This has nothing to do with sex at all, lest you think of me as Marquis de Sade.” He reared his arm back and lashed her flesh, causing her to wince and cry out in pain. “That’s it! Scream for me. Scream bloody murder because that’s what this is!” He lashed again but harder this time, and her cries of misery bounced off the walls.

He woke up and listened to the pounding of his heart in his ears. Sadism excited him even when in dreams. He just couldn’t wait for the real deal.