Jeremy sat in his desk chair, dropped King Kong to the floor, and waited in the silent office for the next three minutes, until the S.W.AT. team arrived.
36
Epilogue
“Denver PD! If you have a weapon, drop it!” a voice barked as the doors burst open from the side exit. Five S.W.A.T. team members entered the room, guns cocked and aimed, looking for anything suspicious. Bodies lay all over the room, except for Jeremy, who stood from his desk with his hands raised above his head.
“Don’t you fucking move another step!” the man screamed, and Jeremy froze.
Three of the men dashed for Jeremy and tackled him to the ground, securing handcuffs around his wrists in seconds.
“Bag his hands!” the one who arrested him shouted. “He’s got powder on his hands.”
Someone pulled tight, plastic evidence bags over Jeremy’s hands. Knowing he needed to appear as insane from this moment forward, he started to make puppet gestures with the bags behind his back.
“How are you, Mr. Bags?” he asked in a low voice, opening and closing his right hand in a speaking gesture.
“It’s a delightful afternoon, wouldn’t you say?” he responded with his left hand.
The man who had cuffed him stood in shock as he looked around the room. He pulled his radio from his shoulder to his lips. “I need every officer and ambulance I can get right now. There’s bodies everywhere.” He spoke calmly, probably in disbelief.
More S.W.A.T. entered the building, breaking off into different directions. They would find a surprise in the training room, but everywhere else had been left untouched.
The arresting officer read Jeremy his Miranda rights. “Do you understand your rights?”
Jeremy grinned and nodded.
It felt like at least an hour that Jeremy kneeled in the middle of his office with his hands cuffed behind him. He kept staring at King Kong, resting on the floor, lifeless and innocent without his touch. As word started to reach the public about what had happened, cell phones started ringing all around the office. Buzzing and ringtones created a mix of chaos, until they hauled Jeremy out of the office.
They took him out of the side exit, and he caught a glimpse of his car, which hadn’t been touched. A couple of news vans had already arrived on the scene and caught Jeremy being pushed head first into the back seat of a police car.
It was a short ride to the police station—six minutes, he had calculated—and the driving officer didn’t say one word. Meanwhile, the radio cut in and out, with other officers screaming at the scene Jeremy had left behind.
“There’s fucking blood everywhere! There’s at least fifteen bodies that I’m counting. No one touch the bodies, leave everything how it is until forensics gets out here. We need more officers. There are survivors that need to get to the hospital!”
Jeremy grinned in the backseat. He had accomplished what he needed to. Fifteen dead was plenty to get national attention.
* * *
Jeremy’s arrival at the police station was greeted with more camera crews and chaos. The officer pulled up to the back of the building, but the reporters ran around back, in an attempt to get footage. The officer pulled Jeremy out of the car and was able to get him inside before the cameras could catch a glimpse. He guided Jeremy straight to a holding cell. Damn. Wish the world could have seen me before they took my clothes and threw me in a jumpsuit.
“We need to get blood work right away from him. Let’s see what kind of drugs he’s on,” another officer said.
The holding cell was roughly the size of the living room in his now-abandoned apartment. The walls were solid white with no windows, and the door of bars had clanked shut.
The next hour brought many visitors in and out of the cell. Some doctors, both medical and psychiatrists, came in. The medical ones poked him with needles, took his blood, and checked his body for injuries. Psychiatrists asked him if he knew his name and his current location. He responded with a blank stare and silence.
At one point a forensics specialist came, removed the bags from his hands, and swabbed them.
Finally an officer came in and uncuffed his hands. “Heston. You’re gonna be here over the weekend. Your first court date is Monday. You will sleep, eat, and shit in this room until then.” The pudgy man had a bald head and a slight northeastern accent, but Jeremy couldn’t pinpoint from where exactly. He walked out of the cell without another word. I never told anyone my name, but they know. The plan is ready.
Jeremy would sit alone in that cell for the next forty-eight hours and change. Officers came in and out of the station, poking their heads into his cell to get a look at him. Most had likely come straight from the office; blood soaked their clothes and skin.
A stocky Latino officer limped over, and Jeremy noticed a terrifying scar that ran across his cheek. “I hope you burn in hell for this,” he said in a raspy voice. Before the officer turned, Jeremy caught his last name, Lopez, from the badge on his chest.
He lay down on his cot, staring at the ceiling, hearing the roar of the press outside each time the doors opened. A TV blared in the background, and the reporters spoke in serious tones about the dozens of people killed and injured. Flustered survivors gave interviews about the banging sounds they had heard underneath them and the chaos of being trapped in the building.
Must be salespeople. Don’t recognize any voices.
Jeremy wasn’t tired, but he closed his eyes. The day was still young, word was still making its way across the country, but everything was officially in motion.
You did it. A grueling legal process now awaited him. Monday would be day one, and he needed to appear every bit as insane as he could sell. The initial hearings would be described by broadcasters, but he fully expected his actual trial to be televised.
Part one is done. The experiment begins.
Jeremy kept a certain thought in his mind as he started to doze, reassuring himself that this experiment would be a long and drawn-out process.
Good things come to those who wait.
The Burden (Insanity #2)
If you enjoyed Insanity, the story continues in The Burden.
Can Jeremy Heston get away with murder?
After leaving his mark on American history, Jeremy carries his experiment into the courtroom.
What looks like an easy win for the district attorney, turns into an uphill battle. Behind the scenes, an unknown person intervenes in multiple ways and attempts to rattle the jury in Jeremy’s favor.
Living in the solitude of prison, Jeremy grapples with his personal state of mind. As the odds stack up against him, the fate of his experiment—and life—are left in the hands of strangers.
Get The Burden today!
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Connecting with readers is the best part of this job. Releasing a book into the world is a truly frightening moment, every time it happens! Hearing your feedback, whether good or bad, goes a long in shaping future projects and helping me grow as a writer. I also like to take readers behind the scenes on occasion and share what is happening in my wild world of writing. If you’re interested, please consider joining my mailing list. If you do so, I’ll send you the following as a thank you:
A free copy of Erased, a short story from Jeremy’s childhood that may have shaped him into the person he grew up to be.
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Acknowledgements
I owe a huge thank you to my editor, Teja Watson. This story was complex to tell and she helped me get it where it needed to be as an easy read. Her contributions to this book are truly invaluable. I’d also like to thank my aunts, Chris, Tanya, and Maria for being early readers and providing feedback to ensure the book was as strong as it could be. Last but not least, my incredibly supportive wife, Natasha. She always makes
sure I’m moving forward and has been the biggest help on the business side of my writing habit. Thank you to everyone that made this possible, I can’t wait to get the final two books out!
As I mentioned in the dedication, I was fortunate to survive the Aurora theater shooting that took place in July 2012. That day was a big wake up call for me to start chasing my dreams, and every time I write I have those who weren’t able to make it home, in my heart. A dozen lives were taken, all with long futures ahead. Don’t be afraid to chase what you really want in life, because tomorrow really is not a guarantee.
Andre Gonzalez
September 20, 2017
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Also by Andre Gonzalez
Books are listed in order of most recent publication:
Warm Souls (Wealth of Time Series, Book #2)
Wealth of Time (Wealth of Time Series, Book #1)
Erased (Insanity Series, Prequel) (Short Story)
The Insanity Series (Books 1-3)
Replicate (Insanity Series, Book #3)
The Burden (Insanity Series, Book #2)
Insanity (Insanity Series, Book #1)
A Poisoned Mind (Short Story)
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