A Brother's Obsession

Chapter 3

Evan Brown fought to control his rage as he drove. His throat felt raw, and his hands hurt from pounding them on the steering wheel as he screamed in frustration. He’d been infuriated since heading back to his car in the parking lot at the hiking trail.

He’d spent months perfecting his plans until he was sure he had everything accounted for. This morning he’d been ready, and then it had all fallen apart.

Taking the two lives had calmed his urge but only to a degree. As with the animals he’d experimented on, sitting back and watching them gasping for their final breath was what he needed to feel at peace. Today should’ve been his chance with an actual human subject.

Part of him was furious the female jogger had chosen that moment to come down the trail. One minute more, and he would’ve been done. The other part of him suspected her arrival didn’t change the outcome much. His initial victim had barely been breathing before the woman arrived. His plan might have still been a failure.

Throughout the planning, he’d been concerned about using carfentanil because of how potent it was. But he needed his targets to go down quickly. He couldn’t afford even a slim chance that they might get away.

Fortunately, he had a plan B. Evan always had a plan B. It had some risks, but it still should work.

His car left the main road and then traveled along several smaller streets before turning into his driveway.

Evan lived alone in a small, rundown rental house where he enjoyed the peace and quiet that desert living offered. The house was isolated, with his nearest neighbor almost a half-mile away. He’d lived here since leaving college and moving to the area almost three years before.

Getting out of his car, Evan headed inside, carrying his equipment. He set the dart pistol on the counter and plugged in the cell phone jammer to recharge.

He had converted one of the home’s small bedrooms into a workroom and he headed there next. He opened the wooden cabinet mounted on the wall, removed a new package of three blue-finned darts, and set them on the white plastic folding table he’d set up under the cabinet.

Returning to the cabinet, he took out a small vial, looked at the label, and saw the word carfentanil. Understanding that this was the d**g that had failed him this morning, he put it back and took out another vial. This one was twice the size, and he looked at the label and nodded. This time, things would be different. Checking the clock, he smiled and filled three darts from the new vial. Retrieving the jammer, Evan headed back to his car. He didn’t have to be at work until 3 pm, so there was still time to try again. If he was a little late to work, he wasn’t concerned. They’d never fire him. No one else wanted to do his job.