The Buried Truth

Three years had dissolved since my husband passed away. Working late on murder cases kept my mind busy, but whenever I was home, the emptiness that surrounded me was deafening. We had been together for twenty years when Jeff died of cancer. My best friend, Aria, suggested that I download a dating app. I was reluctant at first, but with much persuasion, I finally caved in.

I matched with a guy called Rick within a week and we decided to have a double date with Aria and her husband. That first date went smoothly and, a few days later, Rick asked if I would like to go on a second date two weeks from then. I agreed.

Rick and I dated for another couple of months before he asked me to move in with him. His house was in the suburbs, surrounded by trees and a lake. It was so gorgeous and serene there, but I had to decline due to my work. Instead, I asked him to move in with me. He agreed without any hesitation, saying he’d keep his house strictly for his writing since the surroundings provided him with the best atmosphere for his work.

Rick moved in that same week and, over time, started asking me questions about crime scenes and police procedures. I was reluctant at first to discuss the topics; it was not a subject I spoke to anyone outside the department, but considering he was a crime author, I didn’t think much of it.

A full year passed, and Rick proposed. I accepted. Rick and I planned an autumn wedding, and he took charge of most of the planning since a sudden spike in homicide cases kept me busy. I managed to squeeze in some time to go dress hunting, but it ended in disappointment when another woman clutched the dress I was eyeing; it was the last of its kind at the store, and I couldn’t find it anywhere else. Rick was with me at the store and tried to persuade her to give me the dress, even attempting to bribe her with cash, which took me by surprise.

A week later, however, Rick bought me the same dress after travelling two towns over. I was thrilled. There were a couple of smudges of mud at the bottom, but other than that, it was perfect. Rick said the stains were the result of a boy on a skateboard not looking where he was going. 

The next day, he went to house to work on his current book. It was my day off, so I decided to clean the wedding dress while washing some of our other clothes. When taking Rick’s clothes, however, I noticed droplets of dried blood on his trousers. However, I didn’t get time to focus on the matter as right then, I received a call from my partner, Gerard. Skeletal fragments belonging to a woman had been dug up in the woods by a hunter’s dog.

The investigation that followed led us to find the remains of twenty people scattered across different parts of the forest, but learning the identity of the first victim we had discovered was what drove chills down my spine—it was the woman who snatched that wedding dress I wanted. I suddenly found my mind spiralling down a dark pit of thoughts. Gerard asked if I was worried that the case would get in the way of my wedding plans. In a way, he was correct. I spoke to him about my suspicions and asked him what we should do. Gerard suggested that I have a peek at Rick’s work if I can and see if there are any similarities to our case. We decided to bug his house as well.

That night, I checked Rick’s current work while he was asleep. Pure dread sank through my skin, down to my bones. I was dating a serial killer. I got a sample of the blood on his trousers and had it run against the DNA of the woman the next day. It was the first of the many confirmations we received over the weeks that followed. Rick was arrested and interrogated, but he never confessed. However, luck didn’t remain on his side in the long run. The evidence against him was too strong by the time the trial commenced. Rick was sentenced to life without parole.