Audrey scratching her chin said:
“What matters now, and I insist, is to know where the fuck Ava and Madelyne are. It’s been hours since he took them, and they haven’t returned.”
“Have you heard any weird noise when he took them?” Hannah interrupted enthusiastically. She knew that she’d get a “no” for an answer.
“No.” Zoe’s voice was shaky. That added more mystery to the situation.
Now, all of them were staring at each other without blinking, a moment that was beyond dreadful. Their heartbeats had accelerated like a cheap motorcycle’s cylinder.
Finally, Emily spoke:
“These walls are too thick, but I can imagine that nothing wrong would happen to them, otherwise, we would have heard some sort of scream no matter how vague. Maybe they’re in another room on their own will or maybe they have been released.” She was wrong.
“You know what?” Hannah was surprised for being such a chatterbox, the one the spoke the most among them. “I’ve matured a lot during this entire time. I’ve had time to think and come to my own conclusions about my life, my destiny, my family and everything else. That person, wrapped in a stubborn madness is the exact representation of the human mind’s perversion. I don’t know if Ava and Madelyne are really outside this, but I’d like to think they are.” She suddenly stopped and realized her lips were dry. Her pink and wet tongue traveled through them.
“I’ve been through the exact same thing, but I start getting desperate, my friend,” Zoe complained.
“We all go through that.” Emily urged.
Hannah shrugged again.
The heat in the room was almost unbearable and it could almost be touched as if it were a dense sticky cloud. Especially now that they were all sitting on the same bed, there was no air among them. There were no windows either. Their arms touched each other, sometimes, they would hold their hands. All of them exuded heat. They had their makeup done from the day before since Ava Cox left the place.
“It all seems to be so absurd,” Zoe repeated with her hands up in the air with apathy.
“We’ve already been through this over a thousand times, Zoe. You’re not the only one who thinks like this. After all this time and after being here, locked, but taken care of by that person, I can’t stop thinking what the hell is going through his mind. I repeat, I can’t find an answer, but I do know it’s not the time to cry.” Audrey was wrong.
“Yes, it’s stupid to talk about the same thing over and over when we have no other clue than seeing this guy with clear characteristics of an insane person. Don’t they say that lunatics kill people?” Kylie thought about this in a muffled voice and felt ridiculous repeating always the same litany.
It was the most absurd kidnapping in the whole history, but they knew the kind of ending that was waiting for all of them. Their lives were in danger and the countdown had started the day before. They, however, didn’t know this and kept talking uselessly about the purpose of their kidnapping. The question was: where were Ava and Madelyne?
It all started with a blue hair dye...
And a pair of eyes.
55
“I think they will be right where Ava Cox’s were,” Landon whispered while squatting. He had just removed his fingertip from Madelyne’s eyelid.
“Do you think that we’ll be going over through the same story?” Owen murmured as he was inspecting Madelyne’s body.
“You mean her eyes in her throat? It looks like the work of a manic-obsessive, a sicko.” His tone was so loud that Andrew heard him when he was about to touch his shoulder with his chubby hand. No one greeted him.
“Do you happen to know something I don’t?” Andrew asked with a deep voice. He looked with furtive eyes and saw the woman’s breasts. They had moved the petals that used to cover them. He realized about it because he saw a pile on each side. The rest of the body, however, was still covered with colorful, aromatic and soft petals.
Landon realized he had been exposed and felt that the worst thing he could have ever done was to leave that morning without telling him that tiny detail. He felt guilty about it now because he knew that Andrew would dig into it and would grab him by the balls if another woman appeared dead in the same circumstances. As for Andrew, he remembered the photographs of those seven women and Parker Atkinson’s as well. That damn son a bitch. Only God knew where his ashes were, either in the air or in the water; maybe even trampled by thousands of shoes. Now, more than ever, he was out of the case because they were appearing, plus, he didn’t have the balls, literally, to rip their eyes out and stick them in their throat.
Andrew knew that, and Landon was starting to understand. It was as if they had had a telepathic conversation. Landon stood up and Owen discreetly touched the petals on the woman’s thigh.
“Sorry, Andrew. I forgot to tell you. What with one thing and another...you know.” He pointed at Clarice who was 5.6 feet away from the yellow tape and added: “That girl was in a tight spot and I soon realized she needed help and something else. The way things went, so fast, didn’t give me enough time to think.” That statement had been partially true.
Andrew almost growled.
“Grrrrrrrrr.”
He put his hand in the trench coat’s pocket and grabbed a pen, blue like Madelyne’s hair. He already knew it was her. He recognized her despite the overwhelming makeup she was wearing. It was as if she were sleeping. Like a bride about to step into the altar. The exact same thing that happened to Ava Cox. Now, Andrew remembered Madelyne’s last name. Brewster. Not that it mattered now. Neither her last name nor the image he had seen early that morning mattered now.
“I think we’re dealing with a new sicko,” Landon said putting both hands on his hips. His badge shone like a mirror.
“Have you guessed that already?” Andrew rose one of his eyebrows while he tried, with earnest effort, to bend down and thought he might even fart if he bent too much, just right in front of everyone, and that, was simply disgusting.
“Well, I figured it out when I found that poor bitch.”
“Madelyne Brewster.” Andrew corrected him with a sour look on his face, just the opposite of Clarice’s.
Landon would have shrugged if he hadn’t been in front of his men, after all, he wasn’t as rebel as he was trying to show. In a way, he was a wimp; some other times, however, he was strict with his men and, above all, with prostitutes and drunkards.
It was as if Castle Lake Hill’s Sheriff was some sort of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, meaning, with no personality whatsoever.
With some effort, Andrew squatted, and his huge ass brushed against the ground. He reached out to Madelyne’s face while holding the pen between his fingers and started doing what he shouldn’t do. With the tip of the pen, he pushed the eyelid up. He had to press a little bit and the tip of the pen got in the eye sinking in its empty socket. The mascara stained part of her eyebrow, difficult, but true.
“What are you doing?” Landon asked stunned. Luke was watching them and, of course, Owen was doing so as well. The others were a few feet away looking for fingerprints and puzzling glues.
“You’ve said it yourself. He rips their eyes out and sticks them in their throat.” Andrew cackled showing the dark empty socket.
Landon puckered his lips and his entire face. Clarice was three feet away from them and did the same. Apparently, they were disgusted. Owen moved to a side to vomit froth; it looked like his morning donut hadn’t reached his stomach yet.
“Yes, that’s what happened to the first victim according to what Herbert told Owen last night.” Landon’s voice was shaky.
“Well, of course, it will happen the same to the others.”
“How can you be so sure that they’re all still alive?”
“Who could possibly doubt it? Good consideration. The five remaining women are alive, and time is against them. We have to have more than finding those girls’ bodies.” Andrew was now on his feet, snorting and he was glad his guts hadn’t bet
rayed him-
Landon blinked for a moment as if saying yes.
“We’re combing the entire area searching for evidence.” Landon urged with his reflective sunglasses posing like a model.
“You won’t find anything.” Andrew determined with a sweaty forehead. He touched it and partially dried it.
“Why are you saying that?”
“Because the murderer is smarter than us. You just have to look at his work. He’s sending us a message. He gets them ready before killing them. We don’t know how he does it yet, but he has an obsession. We’re dealing with a real psychopath.” Andrew’s words settled like an anvil which had to be shaped into swords.
Landon didn’t say a word for the next thirty seconds when he tried to smell a fragrance that was stronger than the flowers and grass. It was the smell of perfume.
“What’s inside her sockets?” Landon pointed at that poor woman’s eye, even though it was closed again.
Andrew nodded and bent down again.
“It’s perfume.” He said. Andrew stood thoughtful and it was then when the lacerating headache pierced him like an electric shock. He saw a car.
A black Buick.
Andrew took his hands to his huge head and pressed it strongly. His fingers didn’t bury in his flesh, but the pain was alleviated for a few moments, like intermittent shocks. Landon stood there, watching him in awe. His eyes were open behind his glasses. Clarice folded her arms in front of her hanging breasts.
“Are you okay, Andrew?” Landon offered his hand and Andrew replied with his right hand.
“It’s nothing.” He panted for a little like a tired bull and continued: “I suffer from migraines and this fucking sun can cause sudden headaches to appear.” Andrew lied without giving a damn if they believed him or not.
Kevin, who was right next to them like a fly, rose an eyebrow and pressed his lips. People used to say, according to him, that the fat detective had a weird headache that had something to do with him being a bit crazy. Those evil tongues, Andrew’s mother’s neighbors, had heard Karrin, his mother, say that the child could see things. Luckily, the thought of having an asshole standing right next to him rapidly faded away like the smoke of a cigarette in the middle of the woods.
The Sheriff’s assistant limited to look but didn’t open his mouth at all.
The girl was a bit concerned, even though her face just showed the pain inflicted by the bruises but didn't have any serious injuries. She stepped into the precinct like a lunatic covered in blood and all of them opened their eyes in awe. She had made her statement, whimpering and gave the corresponding details. But that was it, details.
“Mr. Andrew, what’s wrong?” Clarice asked with the palm of her hand looking up to the sky. The sunbeams caressed her skin giving her that great feeling of warmth.
They all seemed to have forgotten about Madelyne. The Sheriff’s men had stopped doing their job and all the gazes were like a handful of rats that try to leave their hole knowing that a bunch of cats was waiting for them outside.
Birds flew so high that neither their whistling nor their wing beat could be heard. The water was silent and Madelyne was lying there with her mouth sealed.
A 2015 Buick Lacrosse.
The words got stuck in his brain like an iron brand on a horse’s ass.
“It also could have been the stress. At my age, you suffer from everything.” He tried to fake a smile, but he could only show a slight rictus at the end of his lips. The lacerating pain caught him again but, in an attempt to hide it, he didn’t take his hands to his head this time.
He was receiving information again.
“With a couple of aspirins, you can make it go away fast. No matter how bad it is. It’s one of my mother’s recipes.” Landon said sticking the tip of his boot in the ground. Luck smiled scornfully, and his eyes shone like those of a demon. Henry and Jacob kept on working on his research investigations and gathering samples. They had found a yellowish fag end. At the same time, Owen went back to contemplating Madelyne’s naked body which was still covered in flowers. When they found her, she looked like she had been buried in them.
Fowler's Beach.
He kept getting information.
It was located on Long Island.
That morning, two episodes were exact to the ones that occurred the day before: The vision of the woman’s face in a clear example of precognition and now, remote vision.
Landon kept looking at Andrew from the corner of his eye and was getting ready to move towards Madelyne’s body. They had been there for over half an hour and the poor deceased woman was roasting under the sun while her makeup was melting like snow, staining her face.
Andrew, in an attempt to change the subject, said:
“We know the murderer is on the loose and he sticks to an M.O. We know he’s crazy and he’s coming back.”
“How can you figure out he’s insane?” Landon asked, now on his knees. His eyes didn’t stay away from Madelyne’s face, nor her hair.
“I easily deduce that because in both cases he performed the exact same steps. He glues her eyelids, their mouth and dyes their hair in blue.”
Landon nodded.
“Well, you’re right. You might want to add about Parker as well.” Landon’s voice was deep as if emphasizing his thought.
“That poor bastard is now somewhere else and has taken his secret with him, but he was neither a kidnapper nor a murderer, and you know what?” Andrew also emphasized his question.
“Tell me.”
“I hadn’t realized about it.” Andrew slightly smiled when Landon turned around with his forehead full of wrinkles.
Clarice folded her arms in front of her hanging breasts again.
Now, Andrew saw people passing by. There was a beach far away. The sand gleamed like the sun and the sea, shining bright like diamonds. He heard some noise, it was the traffic and some dog barking from afar. He heard voices and saw other vehicles next to the black Buick Lacrosse. His headache became more intense, so intense it would make his eyes blank and nearly closing them. He didn’t want to take his hands to the head again. He was in a compromised situation. He didn’t want any fingers pointing at him. Right then, he saw something else.
“What about me?” Clarice asked as if she felt they had forgotten her. Her bruises were bothering her, and she needed to go to the hospital.
“You’ve already made your statement, girl,” Landon said as he removed his sunglasses. His eyes were dark, and his gaze was deep. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Reconstructing the facts.” Andrew intervened willing to take his hands to his head. His heart was beating up on his temple and it was just as intense as a hammer blow. “She has to personally explain to me what really happened.”
Kevin made a cynical smile while on his knees looking at Madelyne’s pussy, who was lying face up with her arms buried in petals and flowers. Her feet were wrinkling in the water and they were becoming uglily whitish; at the same time, her long hair was extended above the flowers like a huge blue carpet.
In Fowler's Beach. Andrew was still receiving information along with some new events. He saw the face of some other woman with her blue hair and her eyes closed. She was the third one.
He got closer to Clarice, who was staring at him with sad eyes and said:
“Let’s go over everything that happened and then I’ll take you to hospital. Is it okay?”
Clarice nodded.
56
The remaining five women were still on the bed. The sound of the mattress was now similar to a bunch of branches cracking. As time went by, a time that none of them could physically see on a clock, their breathing seemed to accelerate like their heartbeat.
Audrey Hanson was the one who broke the ice.
“It’s been a while now, maybe an hours ago, when I said that time’s moving slow...”
“No, you said that it had been several hours since Ava and Madelyne hadn’t returned.” Hannah Ackerman interrupted he
r with her eyes blank.
“Well, the truth is that none of us is wearing a watch, right? Or does anybody have a goddamned watch in this fucking room?” Audrey raised her voice over sixty decibels, nearly screaming.
“Settle down ladies!” Zoe yelled while her palms were easily moving down as if trying to tame a beast.
Zoe Green realized that she had screamed more than the others. In fact, she had been the one who had whined, yelled and complained the most out of the seven women who found themselves in that seven-bed bunker. She remembered that there were already four women when she started her pilgrimage in the room. She now looked like the most conservative, the most prudent or even the one best adapted to the situation. She saw that person as a monster. She would stick her ear to the wall like a suction pad and couldn’t hear anything else but that damn song that she hadn’t named yet.
Emily Butler was the next one to speak, better said, to reflect on the events.
“What’s clear is that something’s going on. All this time, here, confined, and we’ve never experienced something like this until yesterday. Ava was the first one he took, delicately and whispering something that I didn’t quite understand. She’s no longer with us ever since and we’ve slept at least one night, even though I don’t know when it’s night or day. The thing is, she’s the one who’s been gone longer whereas Madelyne’s been away less than her. What’s more, today he didn’t bring us our breakfast and he didn’t put us any makeup on like he would do every morning. I believe it’s during the morning because that’s when we wake up.” When she was done, Emily realized that she was way better than Hannah or Audrey when it came to saying reflexive and coherent phrases. She felt happy about it, she had beaten the queen.
Her worrying eyes crossed paths again that morning. They were looking at each other as if one of them was to blame for their disgrace.
“Well, you’re right, girl. Something different is happening.” Kylie replied. The one who spoke and blinked the least.
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