Night Strike

by Rodney Mountain

  "I don't get it though," Nick said, "You've been reading the books as well as I have. Women don't usually kill like this."

  "Elise Steele did," Corrie said, referring to the actual woman behind Sleeping Beauty, "But she's been dead for years now."

  "Elise's hair was black anyway," Nick reminded her, "Just like her heart."

  "She's blonde," Corrie said, "From the quality of men she's probably pretty."

  "All of them in remote locations," Nick said, "She's got to have a car or is stealing the victim's."

  "Two of the vics didn't have cars," Corrie reminded him, "She has to have her own."

  "If only we knew where she was getting them," Nick grumbled, "Wait a minute… I might have an idea…"

  Nick looked over at his notes and thought about things for a minute. He tapped his fingers against his temple, just like he usually did when thinking hard.

  Corrie watched him, knowing that he often was successful in coming up with something when he got like that. She scooted a little closer and looked at what he was looking at.

  "I need to see the apartments again," Nick said, "I think I know what is missing, but I want to be sure."

  "Let's go," Corrie nodded, "Most of them had roommates, so we shouldn't have any trouble."

  Chapter 6

  Krista pulled her hair back and used a rubber band to get it out of the way while she applied her makeup. She covered the bruise and spit a little to get the taste out of her mouth.

  She looked around the room and let herself be annoyed by the state of the house. Her annoying husband could not be bothered to clean anything.

  "Pig," Krista grumbled, "One day I'll fix that…"

  She prettied herself up and looked down, enjoying the way she had accentuated the positives about her figure. She pondered wearing a shorter skirt, but figured that would be pushing it, especially with the nasty bruise on her thigh.

  She took the keys to her husband's old impala and looked one more time at the man she had been living with for most of her adult life. It was not a pleasant sight, watching him snore on the bed.

  She walked out into the dirt driveway and stepped on the bumper of the car to straighten her stocking. She smiled and sat in the driver's seat, turning it on and shifting it into gear.

  "Let's go have some fun," she said to herself as she pulled out the knife, "Shall we?"

  Chapter 7

  "Who is it?" a sleepy voice asked, "It's ten at night here!"

  "Police," Nick said, "Detectives Jones and Albiston."

  "You again," the sleepy voice said, opening the door, "I gotta go to work at four. This had better be good."

  "I need to look around John's room again," Nick said, "It's important. We need to stop this person."

  "Yeah," he nodded, "Ok. Come on in."

  "Thanks," Corrie said, "We've been working nonstop on this."

  "I bet," John's roommate said, "Here it is."

  "Do you remember what he was planning on the night he died?" Corrie asked the young man while Nick pawed around the room, "Was he going anywhere?"

  "I don't know," the roommate said honestly, "That's why he and I got along so well. I work all day and he usually studied at night. I got to sleep. It worked well."

  "School has been out for a week," Corrie said, "Sure he didn't go out and party?"

  "I doubt it," he said, shaking his head, "He wasn't the type."

  "Do you have washing machines here?" Nick asked, looking around the room, "Or what?"

  "What?" the roommate wondered, puzzled, "Um, we have to go out to do that. The complex's machines have been broken for a year."

  "How often do you go?" Nick asked him.

  "Once a week for me," he shrugged, "I visit my mother and use her machine."

  "And John?" Nick asked, persisting.

  "His schedule was crazy," the roommate said, "I didn't know what he'd do from one day to the next."

  "I don't see many clothes," Nick pushed, "Where did he keep his basket?"

  "It's in the room, isn't it?" he asked, going in and looking around, "That's odd. He usually keeps… kept… it over next to the bed so he could just toss the clothes into it."

  "Son of a bitch," Corrie said, "You think he was at a Laundromat."

  "You got it," Nick smiled, "Thanks. We'll be in touch."

  "Get em," the roommate said, "I'm going back to sleep."

  Nick and Corrie went back to the car and sat down. Corrie smiled at him, knowing that he had come up with something.

  "We assumed that the ones who had left for the Laundromat never made it there," Corrie said, "What made you think of it?"

  "The notes," Nick said, "The laundry was the only thing connecting two of them."

  "Why didn't you ask him where?" Corrie wondered.

  "He wouldn't have known," Nick said, "He doesn't go along, probably didn't care."

  "Let's go find some of the others," Corrie said, "Maybe we can find a common denominator."

  Chapter 8

  Krista parked the car off to the edge of the lot near the run down Laundromat. She smiled and looked around at the neighborhood that she had been hunting.

  She put the knife that she'd used on all the previous killings into the side panel of the door, ready for use at a moment's notice. She stood up and took the basket of clothing taken from her last victim.

  She knew it was too soon, only two days removed from her previous killing, but the urge was there now. She couldn't control it anymore, but didn't want to kill her pain in the ass husband yet. She wanted more practice first.

  She walked in with the basket and looked around. There were four men in there and eight women. It was still early, so she put the clothes in the washer and dropped some soap in them.

  She watched the people finish up and filter out. It being a 24-hour Laundromat it looked like a few college students were the only ones left. She smiled and waited, watching the men and hoping the women would leave quickly.

  She saw one that caught her eye, a young man that resembled her husband when he was younger. He was smaller, however and less wary than her husband was.

  "Soon," Krista said to herself, "Very soon."

  Chapter 9

  "It's always the simple ones," Corrie said as Nick guided the car through the streets, "Who would have thought that you would be the one to come up with the Laundromat idea?"

  "Just because I'm a slob doesn't mean I can't think clean," Nick grinned, "Besides, we now have a connection."

  "Let's just hope that we can find this girl before she kills again," Corrie said, "Isn't that the Laundromat over there?"

  "Yep," Nick nodded, "Let's see if there are any regulars over there."

  Nick parked the car and turned off the ignition, letting the old engine sputter out and die. Corrie shook her head as the car backfired, showing her disgust with the car.

  "When are they going to replace this?" Corrie asked him, "Miller has been promising to talk to them about this for months."

  "It's free and we don't have to pay to feed it," Nick grinned, "Don't argue, Corrie."

  "I swear I'm going to buy us a car someday," Corrie said, "Just to get rid of this piece of junk."

  "You keep saying that," Nick shrugged, "Still will have to use this for work."

  "I'm trying to forget that right now," Corrie muttered, "Let's go inside, shall we?"

  "After you, my dear," Nick said, smiling.

  Nick and Corrie walked into the Laundromat to find that it was as dreadful as they imagined. A small, run down storefront, it showed that it was in 24-hour use and the only things clean were the clothes in the machines.

  There were only four people remaining, Krista and three college students. Corrie looked around and saw that it was a slow night. Krista was talking close to the student that had caught her eye earlier, so she wasn't paying too much attention.

  "Nick," Corrie said, "See the woman in the corner?"

  "Yeah," Nick nodded, "It can't be thi
s easy…"

  Krista had begun kissing the man when she saw Nick and Corrie. It didn't take too much imagination to figure out who they were. She started to panic a little, but kept on kissing. She hoped they would go away.

  "Excuse me, ma'am," Nick said, "Could we have a word with you?"

  "Yes?" she said, "Um, can't you see I'm a little busy?"

  "We're trying to find out about the slasher," Corrie said, "We've got some information pointing to this Laundromat."

  "The Crazygal?" Krista asked, not showing anything even though her stomach was jumping, "What makes you think that she would be here?"

  "The Crazygal?" Nick said, "Where did you get that name?"

  "That's what I've heard her called," she smiled, "Fitting name."

  "How did you know the killer was a woman?" Corrie wondered, "We didn't release that to the press."

  "I heard it somewhere," Krista said, shrugging and standing up, "Anyway, how can I help you?"

  "How long have you been coming here?" Corrie asked her, taking the lead as she usually did with women suspects, "And have you seen anything strange lately?"

  "Nope," Krista shrugged, "Nothing strange. Been coming in for a few months. Machines are cheap, so I come in and do some clothes."

  "Known her long?" Nick asked the young man with her, "You seemed pretty close to me."

  "Um…" he said, getting some bad vibes, "Just met her, man…"

  "Go home," Nick suggested, "Now."

  The young man took one look at the woman and another look at Nick and Corrie. He decided getting laid by a stranger wasn't worth it. He took his basket and left quickly.

  "Now," Corrie said, "What is your name?"

  "Krista," she said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "We just have some more questions," Corrie said, "Right Nick?"

  "This your basket?" Nick asked, looking at the clothes, "Interesting selection."

  "They belong to my husband," Krista covered.

  "Your husband wears low riders?" Nick said, "Stitched with the name of Cromwell?"

  "The name of one of our victims," Corrie said, "It may well be that easy."

  "What are you talking about?" Krista asked, deciding to play the dumb blonde, "Cromwell? Is that mine…"

  Krista waited for a moment and then pushed Corrie back towards Nick and made a break for the door. Corrie lost her footing and Nick fell over one of the baskets, falling backwards.

  "Stop her!" Nick yelled as he tried to get himself up.

  Corrie ran out, but Krista was quicker. She let off a kick, hitting Corrie in the chest and punched her in the face. Krista jumped into her car and started the motor, shoving it into gear and peeling out.

  Nick raced out and got into his car, trying to start it up, but the engine proved ornery. Corrie knew they couldn't keep up in their old hunk of junk so she made sure she got the license number.

  "She's gone," Corrie said, getting into the car as it turned over, "We really need a new car."

  "I take it you got the license," Nick said, "As well as a new bruise."

  "She knows she's caught," Corrie said, "Get this damned engine running while I call in the tag. We'll put an all points out on her."

  "Right on," Nick agreed, "Let's get her before she can do some more damage."

  Chapter 10

  Krista drove rapidly away and knew that her time was limited. The police knew her face and most likely had gotten her tag number. She was scared, but felt a little liberated as well.

  She drove a little to make sure she was no longer being followed, but then headed straight home. She knew that she had one more chance. She had wanted some more practice first, but things could never be perfect.

  She pulled the car into the driveway, taking surprise note of the two other cars in the driveway. She wondered what her husband was up to this time, then deciding that she could handle whatever was going on. It wasn't like it made a difference anymore anyway.

  She pulled the large knife out of the side panel and walked up to the house. She entered quietly, tossing it from hand to hand as she tried to assess what was going on.

  Krista heard some voices, two females and a male, all coming from the upstairs bedroom. She found it amusing that despite all the abuse he had heaped on her over the years he still had the time and energy to find two more sluts to fall for his shit.

  Krista's eyes darted around as she looked around for things. She came across her husband's prized bowling trophy and figured this would be a good use for it. She picked it up and weighed it in her hands.

  "Let's party," Krista said, "Time to die."

  Krista climbed the stairs slowly and listened to what was rapidly becoming a bad porn movie. Her anger was coming up as she heard more and more. She looked in and stuck her head through the door, looking in shock at the scene that played out in her bedroom.

  Her husband was being straddled by one of the women, who was obviously enjoying herself. The other one slipped back and forth between the girl on top and her husband. It was not a pretty sight, as none of the women were particularly good looking.

  "You son of a bitch," Krista said quietly.

  She raised the bowling trophy and stepped into the room. Before any of the heavily engaged people realized what happened Krista brought down the bowling trophy straight down on top of the first girl's head.

  "What the hell?" her husband yelled, "Krista?"

  "It's me," Krista said, "But you won't be here for long."

  Krista dropped the trophy and quickly dispatched the other woman with a vicious stab to the back of the neck. The husband stood up and looked for something to defend himself with.

  "You're not getting out of this one," Krista told him, "I've had enough of you."

  He knew that this had gone too far, so he stood up and grabbed something. She stood off with him and smiled as she tossed the knife back and forth. She felt empowered for the first time in years. She wasn't going to lose the feeling.

  "You killed them!" her husband yelled, "What the hell are you thinking?"

  "Why stop now?" she said simply smiling, "Another corpse on the pile."

  "Krista, you'll get the needle for this, bitch," he said, "What are you thinking?"

  "Krista is gone," she said, "I've killed enough that I'll be famous for years after you are forgotten. I'm not Krista anymore. I'm the Crazygal. You will be begging for my mercy."

  "You're insane," he said, really scared.

  "I was insane," she said slowly, her eyes burning into him, "I was insane for taking it as long as I did. Now you are going to see my return to sanity!"

  He lunged at her to try to put her off guard, but she was expecting it. She kicked him in the balls and slashed his left arm, causing him to rear back and fall over.

  "It's time to pay for your sins," Krista said, "As I'm going to pay for mine."

  Chapter 11

  Nick and Corrie pulled up in front of the house just before the black and white units got there. The street was soon a sea of flashing lights, but they knew that it was too late for caution.

  "Car is in the driveway," Corrie said, "Backup is here."

  "Let's go up," Nick said, "Warrant should be here soon, hopefully."

  "We can knock," Corrie said, "We'll see what happens."

  "Nothing to lose this time," Nick agreed.

  They went up to the doorway and were getting ready to knock when they heard screaming. Nick and Corrie looked at each other and realized that they no longer needed the warrant. Nick let up a good kick and they rushed into the house.

  "I've got a bad feeling about this," Nick said, "Don't you?"

  Corrie said nothing but kept her weapon ready. They rushed up the stairs and went into the bedroom with the weapons drawn, walking into a chamber of horrors.

  "Drop it, Krista," Corrie said, "It's over."

  "Not yet," she said, looking up, "He's given me so much pain over the years, you would deny me the chance to give it
back?"

  "The killing has to stop," Corrie continued, Nick wisely staying out of it, "You have no right."

  "According to him I had no rights at all," Krista said, "According to him I was just meat."

  "And what you did to those young men was better?" Nick asked.

  "They all think that way," Krista seethed, "They all deserve to die."

  "Don't make us shoot you," Corrie pleaded, "Drop the knife."

  "You won't shoot me," Krista smiled and drove the knife into her husband's heart, "Too much paperwork."

  She then leaned over and kissed him deeply as he died, leaving Nick and Corrie to watch the disgusting display. Nick had to fight to keep from pulling the trigger, but Corrie reached over and put her hand on his.

  "I think she'll come peacefully now," Corrie said, "Right Krista?"

  "Krista is gone," she said, standing up and raising her hands, "All that is left is the Crazygal."

  "Either way," Nick said, "You're going to jail."

  "Beats living here," Krista said, her eyes blank, "Just knowing that he's dead is good enough."

  "Your life is over," Corrie said as she went over to cuff the woman, "You know that, right?"

  "My life ended the moment I married him," Krista said, as she meekly submitted to arrest.

  Nick and Corrie couldn't say anything after that. They brought her outside and put her in the back of one of the black and white units to be brought in for booking.

  Chapter 12

  "This is sad," Corrie said after a few hours of searching the house, "The abuse he inflicted on her… I can't say I wouldn't have killed him myself."

  "Doesn't excuse the others," Nick said, "They may have been tramps sleeping with her husband, but that isn't a capital offense."

  "Did you get names on them?" Corrie asked him, "Or are we going to have to list them in the reports as Jane Does?"

  "Brandi Jones and Jackie Lemanchek," Nick said, "From the contents I found in their handbags they were a couple local sluts."

  "Nice," Corrie said, frowning, "Can't you come up with a better term?"

  "Two women in bed with a married man who from the amount of condoms in their handbags did this regularly?" Nick said, "No, I think I stand by my earlier term."

  "Point," Corrie sighed, "Her defense lawyers are going to have a field day with this one."

  "It will all be for naught," Nick shrugged, "They'll either get her committed or she'll go to jail. Either way she's off the streets."