One Step Ahead: A Crime Thriller Story

The top detective in her precinct had always been Sarah Carter. She achieved the respect and admiration of her coworkers by resolving cases that no one else could.

But she knew it would be the biggest challenge of her career when a high-profile murder case came across her desk. The victim was a wealthy businessman who was discovered shot in the head in his opulent apartment.

Searching through the evidence for any hint that might help them identify the murderer took Sarah and her team days to complete. They spoke with the victim's family and friends, but nobody seemed to be able to identify the potential assailant.

Sarah became more and more frustrated as the days turned into weeks. She had never encountered a case like this before, and it appeared that they were no further along in finding the solution than when they had first begun.

Sarah once got a tip from an unidentified source. She followed the tip to a sketchy area of town and came across a dilapidated apartment complex. She was informed by the source that the murderer was present, but she was unsure of where to begin her search.

Sarah and her team questioned residents as they went door to door in search of the murderer's whereabouts. Sarah picked up on an odd smell emanating from one of the apartments as they were searching.

No one opened the door when she knocked. The handle opened easily when she tried it. She entered and discovered a man's body lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He had obviously been dead for a few days.

A piece of paper was lying next to the body as Sarah examined the scene. It was a note that was written in a tongue she wasn't familiar with. She snapped a photo of the note and forwarded it to the linguist in the division.

Sarah was informed by the expert that the note was a hit list and that the language was Russian. The victim's name was first on the list, and several other names appeared after it.

They had stumbled upon a much larger case than they had anticipated, Sarah realized. The businessman's murder was just the beginning.

The following few weeks were spent by her and her team working nonstop to find the targets on the hit list and stop any further homicides. They learned that everyone on the list had ties to a significant Russian mafia boss. Sarah got a call from an unidentified number as they neared the truth. The assassin admitted to being a hitman hired by the mafia boss.

He made fun of Sarah by saying that she would never catch up to him because he was always one step ahead of her. Before he struck again, Sarah knew she had to track him down. Sarah tracked the hitman's whereabouts with the aid of her team to a deserted warehouse outside of town. The hitman was prepared for her when she and her team moved in.

When Sarah and her team arrived, he set off the explosives he had rigged up in the warehouse. Before the warehouse exploded and engulfed them in flames, Sarah and her team hardly had time to react.

Sarah located the hitman's hiding place at a deserted warehouse on the outskirts of town with the aid of her team. She entered with her team, but the hitman was waiting for them. When Sarah and her team entered the warehouse, he detonated the explosives he had set up there. The warehouse exploded just as Sarah and her team were reacting, engulfing them in flames.

After the explosion, Sarah discovered herself lying in the ruins with ringing ears. Her leg was trapped under a sizable piece of debris as she attempted to move. She heard approaching footsteps as she lay there. The hitman was standing over her with a gun when she looked up.

He pointed the gun at her head and said, "Detective, you ought to have stayed out of this." You'll never solve the case, I tell you.But as soon as he released the trigger, Sarah's associate tackled him, preventing the shot from connecting. The hitman was captured in the ensuing chaos, and Sarah and her team were taken directly to the hospital.

Sarah eventually made it through, but not without significant injuries. She attempted to regain use of her injured leg during months of physical therapy. During that time, Sarah and her team continued to work on the case, putting the pieces of information they had gathered over the course of their investigation's first few weeks and months together.

When they finally had enough, an arrest was made. The mafia boss who had ordered the hit was apprehended and put on trial.

Sarah felt satisfied knowing that justice had been done as she sat in the courtroom and observed the proceedings. Despite all the odds, she had managed to crack the case and, in the process, bring down a dangerous criminal gang.

But as she pondered the case, she couldn't help but wonder about the number of unsolved cases that might be out there. She was aware that being a detective was never an easy job, but she was committed to upholding the law at all costs.

Sarah realized she had found her calling as soon as she left the courtroom that day. She was a detective through and through, and she would go to any lengths to ensure the safety of the people she swore to defend.

THE END