The Agent Tilt Mystery's Book 1 Payback

Chapter 1



I awoke to the smell of bacon coming from downstairs. I slipped on my favorite pair of slippers and walked down the stairs to see Jack in the kitchen cooking breakfast. His girlfriend Tracy was sitting on the couch watching the morning news as she has done everyday for two years.

I sat next to Tracy and watched the news with her and as we watched the news, it had me thinking back on that night of the accident on highway fifty. It still gives me chills to this day, seeing the blood running down the pavement and the blood on my hands as I tried to save that man’s life and how we left him there on the side of the road like trash still haunts me, I'm afraid it always will. After a few minutes Jack brought us our breakfast, I closed my eyes and took that first bite, the greasy crunch in my mouth felt like heaven. It was a sign, a sign that today was going to be a great day.

Then my phone rang. Agent Webster's ringtone. Sigh.

‘Sorry Frank I meant to call you yesterday but ---’

‘Alexa I’m sorry to bother you on your vacation but we need you to come in.’

‘What for?’

‘We have a body, it also has your name on it.’

‘Wait, what?’

‘Your name is written in blood above the victim’s body.’

My eyes opened wide as I stood up. ‘Where?’

‘Highway fifty at the forth mile marker.’

My mouth dropped. After a moment, I said, ‘I’ll be there shortly.’

As I walked to the door Jack came over to me ‘What’s going on sis?’

‘Not now Jack, I’ll tell you when I come home tonight.’

I grabbed my gun, keys, and badge off the table. Jack gently grabbed my shoulder. ‘You know I’m here for you.’

I turned to Jack. ‘I know and I love you for that but some things can't be talked about.’

Jack smiled ‘I love you, too, sis.’ He turned and started walking away. ‘Wait, Jack.’

He turned around ‘Yeah.’ I ran up to him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek ‘Thanks for being there for me Jack.’ He put his arms around me and laid his head on top of mine ‘Always.’

I put my gun on my side and left. Jack watched as I drove off.



A few hours later I drove up to the crime scene and saw Frank standing next to the yellow caution tape. He was looking at his notepad with a very stern look. He eventually looked up and saw me walking up to him and lifted the tape for me.

‘What do we have, Frank.’

‘Well it looks like a hit and run.’

‘Then why did we get called in for this.’

Frank looked over at me. ‘Well it looks, very similar to a case I worked five years ago on this road.’

‘So? Accidents happen all the time.’

‘ Not this type, the victim died in the same spot.’

‘So…’

‘Alexa, everything here is the same.’

‘I see.. and how did the victim get out here?’

‘She drove, her vehicle is over there.’ Frank looked over and pointed at the silver Nissan Rogue.

‘Have you looked in the vehicle yet?’

‘Yes all I found is a few fibers and hairs on the driver’s side. Forensics is taking them to the lab to be analyzed, we should know something in a couple days.’

I looked over where the victim was. ‘Shall we go take a look at the victim then.’

As we were walking up towards the body I looked around and saw the victim’s car in the same spot, faced the same way. There were tire marks on the road from where the killer’s car skidded. I bent down over the victim and saw blood everywhere. It put me back to that night and a vision of the blood all over my hands ran across my mind.

I looked up at Frank with a regretful look, ‘What can you tell me about the victim?’

‘The victim is a white female with blond hair, late twenties. She has no identification other than this passport she had in her back pocket. Looks like she came here from Australia.’

‘Name?’

‘Victim’s name is Courtney Cunning. I’ve called her husband and he's on his way.’

I stood up and looked at Frank confused by what he said ‘Can I see that’ I pointed at the passport.

Frank Handed it to me, I looked at the picture then back at the body ‘I don't believe this.’

‘Do you know her?’

‘I used to long ago, we went to college together. She was my best friend.’

‘When’s the last time you spoke?’

‘Four years ago, I haven't seen or talked to her since we graduated.’

‘What happened between you two?’

‘She got into drugs and just disappeared.’

Frank looked over at me and showed me an evidence bag that had a chip in it marked one year anniversary. ‘looks like she got clean.’ I glanced over above the body and saw written in blood Alexa. ‘I’m guessing that’s what you were talking about on the phone?’ I pointed at the name.

‘Yes, it looks like the killer wrote it, maybe this was their way of calling you out.’

‘I don’t know this doesn't make sense to me. Why would the killer put my name above her body?’

‘Maybe they know you knew her.’

I looked around the crime scene and saw the coroner coming over. I glanced over the body once again and saw something sticking out of her mouth. It looked like an end to a piece of paper ‘What is that?’ I put gloves on and grabbed the wad of paper and unfolded it. My heart raced as I read the note that said Murderer. I turned around to show Frank ‘What’s that mean?’

‘I’m not sure but that’s something for you to figure out.’

‘You mean us?’

‘No Frank, you know I can't be on this case, it's too personal you know the protocol.’

‘I know, but I figured since ---.’

‘Frank the killer wrote my name above somebody I knew. I can't be involved, I’m going back to my vacation and leaving this in your hands.’

‘What's going on with you Alexa? Usually you fight for a case, especially personal ones.’

‘I know, I just don't want this one, it stirs up some bad memories.’

The coroner reaches us and loads Courtney’s body onto the gurney. We walk away back to our vehicles as the tow truck arrives. My phone rings. A blocked Number? ‘Hello?’

A man on the other side of the call had a very deep voice ‘MURDERER.’ then the call dropped. I looked at Frank with a scared look on my face ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Noth.. nothing just a prank call.’

‘Are you sure?.. You looked like it was something.’

‘Yeah I’m.. I’m sure.’ Frank turned and walked to his car ‘Hey Frank?’

He turned to look at me ‘Yeah?’

‘Nevermind.’ I watched as the tow truck loaded Courtney’s car and wondered how to tell Jack that Courtney was murdered. And how her death was most likely caused because of what happened that night.



On the way back to the house I started thinking about the crime scene and how similar it looked to that night. I was paranoid that if Frank dug more into the other case he would somehow connect me to it. I realized that the case needed to be destroyed to insure that me or Jack could never be connected to that crime.



After sometime I found myself sitting in my chair behind my desk, wondering how the killer knew about what happened that night unless he was a cop, in the FBI, or worse.. the killer was one of us. Frank walked in and saw me behind my desk. He walked over ‘Agent Tilt, I thought you were going home?’

‘I was, but thought I could take a look at the case files to make sure I didn’t miss anything.’

‘I knew you couldn't resist.’

He handed the case file over to me ‘tell me if you find anything.’

‘Sure thing Agent Webster.’

He smiled and walked into his office. I opened the file and looked over the pictures of the body and of my name in blood then read over the report.

Everyone started to leave for the day after a few hours, just as Frank was leaving he stopped by the desk ‘Did you find anything yet?’

I looked up at him ‘No, not yet I’ll let you know as soon as I do, that is if I find anything.’

‘Ok.. just don't stay too late and enjoy the rest of your vacation.’

‘I won't, I promise and I plan to’

‘Night.’ Frank waved as he walked out the door.

I looked around the office to make sure that no one else was around. I took the case file over to Frank’s desk and laid it on the keyboard to his main computer. Then logged in on his laptop to shut off the live feeds to the cameras, then made my way over to the archive room and started looking through the file cabinets to find the case from five years ago. I found the file in the unsolved cases. I turned the live feeds back on then grabbed my coat and headed home.



I drove up the driveway and sat in my vehicle, for a moment before I grabbed the folder and sat it on my lap and opened it. I looked at the pictures of the body and the vehicle, it all looked identical to one another, a perfect mirror image. I then looked over the report and what I read shocked me to my very core. I walked in with a very concerned look on my face, the case file in my hands. I saw Jack sitting on the couch. He looked as if something was bothering him ‘What’s Wrong Jack?’

He looked at me with very sorrowful eyes ‘I heard about Courtney.’

I sighed. ‘Yeah.. it wasn't a good sight.’

‘Why would someone kill her?’

I threw the folder on the table and ran my hand through my hair. ‘For what we did!’

Jack looked down at the case file on the table ‘What is that?’

‘It’s the case of Thomas Claw.’

‘Who is that?’

‘He’s the guy we killed five years ago!’

‘That was an accident!’

‘It wasn't an accident when we left him there on the side of the dame road!’

‘No but ---.’

‘And that’s not even it!’

‘Wait there’s more?!’

Tracy came downstairs from Jack’s bedroom after hearing the commotion ‘Jack is everything ok?’

Jack looked over at Tracy ‘Yeah hun, everything is good, go back to bed I’ll be there in a bit.’

Jack walked in the kitchen to grab a drink of tea from the fridge ‘What else is there?’

I started to feel my heart race, tears started to fill my eyes as I sat down on the couch. ‘There were witnesses, Thomas’s wife and son were in the car, and on the back window was a decal of a deer, Peter didn't lie he just didn't realize it was a sticker on the back of the car.’

‘No there couldn't have been! How? I mean you would have seen them, right?’

‘We never went to look in or even at the car, and the rain was coming down so hard we couldn't see anything so I mean.. there could have been.’

Jack walked over to me and sat next to me ‘What were their names?’

‘Morgan and Drake Claw.’

‘We should find them.’

‘No! Jack we can't, I just want to leave this behind us and forget about it.’

‘Alexa, someone won't let that happen, they killed Courtney. She died for what we did.’

‘I was called out! My name was written in blood at the crime scene Jack. Then when I was leaving someone called me on my cell phone and called me a Murderer, the same thing was written on a piece of paper and left in Courneys mouth.’

‘Oh.. I’m so sorry sis.’ Jack rubbed his head. ‘Look all I’m saying is that we find them to see what they know about that night just so we know if we have anything to worry about or not.’

I started to cry ‘I can't do this right now Jack!’ I grabbed the file and ran out the back door. I ran over to the grill and laid the file on the rack.

Jack walked out to me. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m burning it! Making sure no one ever sees this file again!’ I had tears rolling down my face and Jack at that moment was worried about nothing else except other than me. ‘I understand but you're an FBI Agent, you're putting your career on the line.’

‘I don't care!’

‘But I do!’ Jack walked over to the grill, picked up the lighter fluid, then poured it all over the file and set it ablaze. ‘You shouldn't have done that.’

‘You’re a good Agent sis, you don't need to throw it all away, I on the other hand have nothing.’

Jack hugged me as I cried on his shoulder. His head pressed against mine as we watched the fire consume the file. I wondered who could have killed Courtney? Would they come for all of us? How did they know about that night that I so deeply tried to forget about but I never could.