{"id":65,"date":"2026-08-27T15:02:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/?p=65"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:30:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:30:30","slug":"chapter-4-the-fake-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/chapter-4-the-fake-killer\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 4 – THE FAKE KILLER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t look like you\u2019ve ever killed anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman was still laughing.<\/p>\n\n

I stood less than ten feet from the couch, my feet pinched into Fox\u2019s heels, my face hidden behind her mask, my voice buried under her filter.<\/p>\n\n

Those things could hide who I was.<\/p>\n\n

They couldn\u2019t tell me what Fox had posted on the board.<\/p>\n\n

I glanced at Butcher.<\/p>\n\n

He sat exactly where he\u2019d been before. The handgun rested on the coffee table. His hands were loose on his knees.<\/p>\n\n

No smile.<\/p>\n\n

No impatience.<\/p>\n\n

Just attention.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman had accidentally asked the same question Butcher wanted answered.<\/p>\n\n

If I dodged it, I was exposed.<\/p>\n\n

If I invented some random murder, all they had to do was remember Fox\u2019s old posts.<\/p>\n\n

There was only one case I knew well enough to survive questions about it.<\/p>\n\n

It was also the worst possible case to choose.<\/p>\n\n

I sat where Fox had been sitting and kept my knees close together so no one would notice how unnatural the heels felt.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cRiverview Towers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman\u2019s laughter stopped.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I looked straight at him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLena Tran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Silence settled over the room.<\/p>\n\n

The air-conditioning hummed above us.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman leaned forward. \u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI said I killed Lena Tran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He shot to his feet.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou lying bitch-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSit down,\u201d Butcher said.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman stopped.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s stealing my story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI heard her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher\u2019s voice dropped half an inch and somehow got heavier.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman looked at me, then at the gun.<\/p>\n\n

He sat.<\/p>\n\n

I couldn\u2019t tell whether I\u2019d bought myself five minutes or cut five minutes off my life.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher said, \u201cTell it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I put both hands on my knees so they wouldn\u2019t shake.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI got into the condo after ten. Lights were off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman scoffed. \u201cSame time I gave? You can\u2019t even make up a new hour?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I ignored him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI went into the bedroom first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher tilted his head. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Too fast.<\/p>\n\n

I lost half a beat.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI thought the place was empty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou were there to kill someone, but you needed to check whether she was home?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I looked at him. \u201cDo you want to hear this, or do you want to tell it for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

A pause.<\/p>\n\n

Then a faint laugh.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I took a breath.<\/p>\n\n

What came next wasn\u2019t entirely a lie.<\/p>\n\n

That was what made it dangerous.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere was a framed photo on the nightstand. Lena was barefoot on a beach, carrying her sandals in one hand. She was laughing crookedly toward the camera. A man had his arm around her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nobody interrupted.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe bottom drawer stuck. You had to lift it slightly before it would slide out. There was jewelry inside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman had stopped smiling.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher asked, \u201cYou take it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI picked some up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPut it back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI heard something outside the room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t say what.<\/p>\n\n

Less detail meant fewer places to fall through my own story.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere was water on the floor when I came out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman snapped, \u201cBecause I dragged her from the bathroom-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

I turned toward him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe water didn\u2019t run straight from the bathroom to the balcony.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He stopped.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt broke in places. One section went back toward the living room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He pointed at me. \u201cYou\u2019re using what I already told you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen explain the towel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat towel?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou said you came back for one after moving the body. The towel was still in the bathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His foot shifted.<\/p>\n\n

Small.<\/p>\n\n

Enough.<\/p>\n\n

I was winning.<\/p>\n\n

Against him, anyway.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher said nothing, which worried me more than anything Horseman could do.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman leaned forward. \u201cMaybe you showed up after I left. That proves nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou just said you killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen when did you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He opened his mouth.<\/p>\n\n

Closed it.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou told us how you got in, how you killed her, how you moved her. You never said how you got out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy does that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBecause the person who was really there remembers the small things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I borrowed Butcher\u2019s language on purpose.<\/p>\n\n

Behind his mask, I couldn\u2019t see a reaction.<\/p>\n\n

One finger tapped his knee once.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman said, \u201cFine. You say you did it. What did you kill her with?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

My turn to pause.<\/p>\n\n

If I repeated his answer, I looked like a copycat.<\/p>\n\n

If I gave a different answer, I created another lie to defend.<\/p>\n\n

So I refused the premise.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need to tell you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He barked a laugh.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re asking me to prove you\u2019re lying. I\u2019m not asking you to believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re dodging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo. You are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman stood again.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher didn\u2019t stop him this time.<\/p>\n\n

He wanted to see what happened.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman pointed at me. \u201cYou think I\u2019m fake? Prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019d been waiting for that.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe writing on the glass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His hand lowered a little.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou said blood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He scoffed. \u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen what was it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

My pulse beat high in my throat.<\/p>\n\n

The police had never released this detail.<\/p>\n\n

Once I said it, Horseman wouldn\u2019t be the only person listening.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher would too.<\/p>\n\n

I had already gone too far to back away.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLipstick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman went still.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDark red. The tube was on the floor by the balcony door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBullshit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t see it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI wrote those words myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen what brand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n\n

I smiled behind the mask.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t remember?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy would I remember women\u2019s makeup?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou remember using blood, but not the thing you supposedly held in your hand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI remember the shade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

That part was a lie.<\/p>\n\n

I remembered the tube, not the brand or color name.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman didn\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWant me to tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He stayed silent.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher spoke.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHorseman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His voice was calm.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWas it blood?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo second thoughts?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher leaned back.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cKeep going, Fox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t like the way he said the name.<\/p>\n\n

Not belief.<\/p>\n\n

Not suspicion.<\/p>\n\n

More like he\u2019d placed another piece on the board.<\/p>\n\n

I pushed on.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou said she scratched you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman looked at me. \u201cShe did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cArm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou bleed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDid she have a fresh cut on her hand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI cut her finger. That\u2019s how I got the blood for the glass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I waited one beat.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen why wasn\u2019t there a fresh cut on her finger in the medical examiner\u2019s findings?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman stared at me.<\/p>\n\n

Longer this time.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat findings?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPublic case summary. Look it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I glanced at Butcher. \u201cYou can check too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher didn\u2019t reach for a phone.<\/p>\n\n

He didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman did.<\/p>\n\n

His eyes went to the handgun on the table.<\/p>\n\n

Fast.<\/p>\n\n

I saw it.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher definitely saw it.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou son of a bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman lunged.<\/p>\n\n

His hand closed around the gun.<\/p>\n\n

I jumped up.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher didn\u2019t even reach for it.<\/p>\n\n

He only slid his chair back.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman pointed the weapon at me.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou lying-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

He pulled the trigger.<\/p>\n\n

Click.<\/p>\n\n

No shot.<\/p>\n\n

He stared at the gun and pulled again.<\/p>\n\n

Click.<\/p>\n\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher laughed once.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cEmpty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman whipped toward him. \u201cFuck you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been sitting in front of you all night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher stood.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI wanted to see what you\u2019d do when you ran out of story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman backed away, waving the useless gun between us.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cStay back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher took another step.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI knew you\u2019d grab it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman threw the gun at him and bolted sideways.<\/p>\n\n

He didn\u2019t make it.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher caught his wrist, twisted, and drove him chest-first over the coffee table.<\/p>\n\n

No long fight.<\/p>\n\n

There didn\u2019t need to be one.<\/p>\n\n

Within seconds it was obvious the two men did not belong in the same weight class or the same kind of life.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman strained against him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cGet off me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen tell the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLena Tran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI told you-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

Butcher tightened the hold.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman cried out.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m running out of patience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMy story\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLipstick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Silence.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cCord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman\u2019s breathing turned ragged.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cTiming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Still nothing.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher bent closer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cGive me one thing nobody outside that condo could know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman went limp against the table.<\/p>\n\n

I stood beside the couch with sweat collecting under the fox mask.<\/p>\n\n

This was what Butcher had been doing from the start.<\/p>\n\n

Not listening.<\/p>\n\n

Verifying.<\/p>\n\n

He knew enough about Lena\u2019s murder to tell a memory from a performance.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman finally said, \u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His voice shrank.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cFine. I didn\u2019t kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The room went dead quiet.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI was never inside that condo that night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher asked, \u201cThen where did your details come from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNews.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAnd the rest?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman swallowed. \u201cI knew her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

No answer.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher applied pressure again.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cOkay. Jesus. I lived in the same complex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher stopped.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI noticed her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNoticed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI liked her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The word stripped something out of his voice. No swagger left. Just resentment.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cShe acted like she was better than everyone. Husband gone all the time. I tried to talk to her. She treated me like garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cShe slapped me. Threatened to call the cops if I kept following her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher said, \u201cSo you wanted her dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhen I heard she\u2019d been killed\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He gave a small, ugly laugh.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI was glad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen I found the board. Joined. Started saying it was me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman looked at me.<\/p>\n\n

For the first time, there was no bravado in him at all.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI wanted to know what it felt like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat what felt like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPeople believing I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

And suddenly I understood the worst thing about him.<\/p>\n\n

Not that he had killed Lena.<\/p>\n\n

He hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n

It was that after she died, he still wanted to own her death.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher released him.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman collapsed onto the floor, clutching his wrist.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher stood over him, then slowly turned toward me.<\/p>\n\n

Cold moved down my spine.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman had been stripped clean.<\/p>\n\n

Fake killer.<\/p>\n\n

Which meant a new question had taken his place.<\/p>\n\n

If Horseman knew less about Lena\u2019s murder than I did \u2013<\/p>\n\n

what exactly was I in Butcher\u2019s eyes?<\/p>\n\n

He came toward me and stopped close enough that I could see my reflection in the dark surface of his mask.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n

One beat.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHorseman has explained himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He tilted his head.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNow explain you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Previous Chapter Next chapter \u2192 \u201cYou don\u2019t look like you\u2019ve ever killed anybody.\u201d Horseman was still laughing. I stood less than ten feet from the couch, my feet pinched into Fox\u2019s heels, my face hidden behind her mask, my voice buried under her filter. Those things could hide who I was. They couldn\u2019t tell Read More “CHAPTER 4 – THE FAKE KILLER”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-https-horrorstories-online-index-php-2026-08-27-i-broke-into-a-killers-house-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}