“It’s okay.”
Headlights shone on them, as Jessica’s father arrived home.
When Dr. White found him sitting on his porch, he did not appear pleased.
“What is he doing here?”
Jessica walked over and gave her father a kiss on the cheek.
“I asked him to come by, and I need to talk to you.”
Dr. White took her by the shoulders.
“Is something wrong, has something happened?”
“No! Daddy, everything’s fine, now let’s go inside and talk.”
As they walked into the house, she sent him an encouraging smile.
***
“There’s nowhere else you can stay?”
“I can always sleep in my van.”
“Good God,” Dr. White said. “All right, but you have to promise me that you’ll find another place soon.”
“Yes sir.”
Jessica jumped up from the sofa.
“I’ll go make-up one of the guest rooms.”
“No you will not,” her father said. “He’s not staying in this house.”
“But Daddy, you just said that—”
“I know what I said, and I meant it, he can stay at Jimmy’s place.”
“Oh, okay,”
“Who’s Jimmy?” he asked.
“Jimmy’s my brother, he moved out last year, but when he was here, he lived over the garage. It’s tiny, but it’s a nice apartment.”
“It beats living in a van,” her father mumbled.
***
A short time later, he settled into the apartment.
Whitewashed wooden steps ran up the side of the garage and ended at a small landing. Jessica stood there in the doorway, saying goodnight.
“Come down for breakfast in the morning; we eat around seven, just tap on the back door.”
“Thank you, Jessica, for everything, and that includes not turning me in.”
“You just need a second chance.”
He looked around.
“This isn’t a second chance; this is a miracle,”
She tilted her head. “Was that a joke?”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“You’re very strange, do you know that?”
He nodded.
“Not in a bad way, it’s just that you’re... different. What was your childhood like?”
“My childhood?”
She laughed.
“I’m sorry, but I want to be a psychiatrist like my dad, and sometimes I ask too many questions.”
“That’s okay,”
She pointed at the house. “It’s late, I’d better go in.”
“Goodnight, Jessica.”
She sent him a little wave as she walked down the stairs. “Goodnight.”
He closed the door and looked around. There was a refrigerator, a small sink and stove, a tiny bathroom, and the sofa pulled out into a bed.
He sat on the arm of the sofa and shook his head in wonder.
“A miracle,”
CHAPTER 18
2:17 a.m.
The sound of breaking glass awakened him, and he looked out the window just in time to watch a figure, clad in black, reach inside the kitchen door and undo the lock. A moment later and the wraith-like figure entered the house.
He threw on his clothes and went outside. The kitchen door stood open and inside was darkness. He entered, while being careful not to step on the broken glass, lest it announce his arrival.
Other than the normal noises of a house, he heard not a sound, but knew instinctively that the intruder must have gone upstairs, and so he followed, while walking as silently as his prey.
As he approached the second floor, he saw him. Whoever it was, had opened one of the bedroom doors and was now slipping inside. He followed and watched as the figure stood by the bed, staring at its occupant.
A knife appeared; flashing in the moonlight, it had a long thin blade and appeared very sharp. The figure raised the knife over its head and prepared to thrust the blade down.
He leapt and struck his prey behind the knees, causing him to fall backwards, as the knife tumbled away into the shadows.
He made it to his feet just as the intruder did the same and that’s when the light came on.
“What the hell is going on?” Dr. White said, he looked bleary-eyed and his hair hung down in his face.
With the light on, he could see the blue eyes of the intruder blazing out from the ski mask and watched as a second knife appeared. This one was smaller than the first, but just as sharp.
The intruder stabbed at him and he stepped aside and countered with a kick that sent the intruder stumbling back out into the hallway.
Jessica, clad in pajamas, stepped into the hall from a door on the right and was grabbed and held at knifepoint.
“Get back or I’ll cut her throat,” the intruder said.
He put up his hands in surrender. “Don’t hurt her.”
A scream came from the left, as Jessica’s sister appeared. The intruder jerked his head around at the sound, and Jessica struck him in the throat with an elbow and escaped his grasp. The man made a choking sound and then leaped down the stairs and away,
He was about to give chase, when Jessica rushed into his arms.
“Who was that?” she said, and he felt her trembling.
Gabby appeared with tears in her eyes and went to her father.
“Daddy, what’s going on?”
“It’s all right, baby, everything’s fine; it was just a burglar.”
Jessica suddenly realized where she was and backed out of his embrace with an embarrassed grin.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, and then he walked over and looked down at the intruder’s lost knife. It was a stiletto with an ornate wooden handle. As he bent over to pick it up, Jessica called out to him.
“Don’t! It may have prints.”
He nodded in agreement and went back to her side.
Gabby pointed at him. “Who are you?” She was a younger version of Jessica.
“He’s a friend of mine,” Jessica said. “He’s staying at Jimmy’s place.”
Dr. White reached for the phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
He headed for the stairs.
“He broke in through the kitchen door; I’ll make sure that he’s gone and lock up.”
Dr. White called to him. “Young man,”
“Yes?”
“Thank you, I think you may have saved my... thank you,”
“You’re welcome,” he said, and walked out the door.
Jessica said, “He shouldn’t be alone,” and rushed out before her father could protest.
She found him in the kitchen, looking down at pieces of broken glass.
“I guess we should leave that for the police too,” he said.
She walked over and gave him a peck on the lips.
“That was for saving Daddy,” A moment later, she was laughing at him. “You’re blushing.”
“I am not.”
She giggled. “Whatever you say,”
***
The police came and talked to everyone in the house, even six-year-old Gabby, who was more interested in the police officer’s shiny badge than anything else.
After breakfast, Dr. White called them into the living room, as the housekeeper kept Gabby occupied.
Jessica looked out the window.
“There’s still a police car outside.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about, take a seat you two.”
As they sat on the sofa, Dr. White rose and began pacing.
“That man last night, he was no burglar.”
“Who was he, Daddy?”
“The police and I think he’s a man known as Stiletto; he’s a serial killer.”
“Oh no,”
“Yes, Jessica, you know that I’ve been doing some work with the FBI, well, I’ve been helping them form a new division dedicated
to catching men like this Stiletto, it’s a fairly new field called criminal profiling and it’s proven to be successful. It’s also turning out to be dangerous. I profiled Stiletto and somehow the information made it into the newspapers. The profile was likely accurate, but hardly flattering, among other things I postulated that Stiletto was likely a bed wetter well into his teens, and of course, like nearly all serial killers, he was—”
“Abused,” he said. “He was abused as a child.”
Both father and daughter stared at him.
“Yes,” Dr. White said. “Abuse seems to be a major contributing factor in the development of these aberrant personalities.”
“Daddy, are you saying that this man, Stiletto, that he’s going after you now because of what you wrote about him?”
“Yes, even before last night I received threats on my office phone; it’s why I’ve been on edge lately. However, the police thought the calls were from a crank, needless to say, they’re taking it seriously now. That’s why the police car is outside.”
“What should we do?” Jessica said.
“I want you and your sister to stay home for now, you too young man, in the meantime I’ll be setting a trap for Stiletto.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Jessica said.
Dr. White walked over and hugged her.
“I’ll be fine, baby; the FBI will be guarding me.”
***
The trap was set the next day, as another article appeared in the paper. This one reiterated what the first had said about Stiletto, but unlike the first dry, analytical profile of the serial killer, this one descended into personal attacks against not only Stiletto’s competence, but also his manhood, and left anyone reading it, with the feeling that Stiletto was little more than an impotent, murdering simpleton.
Dr. White spent the day at his office under the watchful eye of several hidden FBI agents. The hope was that Stiletto would be so enraged that he would strike that very day. It was also believed that the doctor’s absence from his home would draw the killer away from his family.
That belief proved to be false.
***
Late in the afternoon, Jessica awoke from a nap and went down to the kitchen.
The housekeeper greeted her with a smile.
“Did you catch up on your sleep?”
“Yes, and what smells so good in here?”
“It’s just spaghetti and meatballs,” the housekeeper said, and then grinned at her.
“Why the big smile Mary?”
“How did you ever talk your father into letting that hunk stay here?”
“He is handsome, isn’t he? But, we’re just friends.”
“Good,”
“Why do you say that?”
Mary shook her head.
“I don’t know, there’s just something... off, about him. Besides, aren’t you seeing that other hunk, Kevin Stewart?”
“Oh, we broke up.”
“You did, when?”
Jessica grinned mischievously, “Tomorrow.”
***
She went looking for Gabby, to tell her that dinner was ready, but she couldn’t find her.
She stepped outside and the cops waved to her.
“Have you seen my sister?”
“Yeah, she was over by the garage, riding her tricycle.”
“Thank you.”
When she got to the garage, she found the tricycle, but no Gabby. She looked up and saw one of Gabby’s shoes lying on the stairs, the stairs that led to him.
Her breathing increased, as her pulse quickened.
No, he would never hurt her; I don’t believe it.
She went up the stairs quietly, and just as she reached the top, she heard her sister giggle.
She peeked through a window and saw them both sitting on the floor with their legs crossed, in the space between them, was a play tea set.
She had to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, as she watched him pretend to drink tea from one of the colorful plastic cups. Gabby also offered him invisible cookies and he ate them, but afterward, he made a face.
“I think I ate too many cookies.”
“What d’ya mean?” Gabby said.
A moment later, he let out an enormous burp and the little girl laughed aloud, the big girl laughed aloud too.
“Jessie!” Gabby said, she jumped up and hobbled over to the door, while wearing only one shoe.
Jessica picked her up and gave her a kiss.
“I see that you’re having fun up here.”
“Uh huh, we had a tea party.”
“Well I hope you didn’t eat too much, dinner’s ready.”
“Good, I’m hungry.”
Jessica sat her down.
“Go wash your hands, honey; we’ll be down in a minute, oh, and put your shoe back on first.”
“Okay,” Gabby said. Before leaving the apartment, she whispered to Jessica in a voice that was too loud, “I like him too, Jessie.” Then, she headed down the stairs.
Jessica shrugged.
“She doesn’t quite get the whole whisper thing yet.”
“Any word from your father?”
“No, maybe this Stiletto will leave him alone.”
“Maybe,”
“Thanks for playing with my sister.”
“You don’t have to thank me, she’s fun.”
They then stood there, gazing at each other.
Jessica shook herself.
“I guess we better go eat.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have filled up on those cookies.”
***
The attack came at midnight. The patrol car was long gone, but in its place, were two FBI agents, seated in the kitchen, in the dark.
This time, entry came at the front of the house. They didn’t even realize that someone was inside, until the masked figure went creeping past the kitchen door.
One of the agents, a Teresa Ramos, called for the man to freeze and place his hands over his head.
Instead, the man whirled toward her, and a flash of reflected light glinted off something metallic, both Ramos and her partner opened fire, killing the man.
Jessica rushed out of her bedroom to find him already in the hall, staring down at the body. He had been sleeping in one of the guest rooms so that the agents had only one front to protect. When Gabby wandered out of her room, he pointed at her.
“She shouldn’t see this.”
Jessica took her sister by the hand.
“C’mon, baby, let’s get you back to bed.”
Gabby yawned. “Okay, Jessie, but what was that noise?”
“Just the TV, now come on, I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”
It took a while, and by the time Jessica returned, the home was busy with police.
She walked over and stood beside him in the upstairs hallway. Below, a body lay atop a gurney and was being wheeled out the door,
“Why did they shoot him, did he have a gun this time?”
“There was no gun; it was a can of spray paint.”
“Spray paint?” Jessica said.
“That’s what I heard.”
She shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Then, she called down to one of the agents. “Excuse me, but where is my father; is he still at his office?”
“That surveillance has been shut down, Miss; he should be leaving there soon.”
“Thank you,” she said, and then looked thoughtful, a moment later, she grabbed his arm. “What color did you say Stiletto’s eyes were?”
“They were blue.”
Jessica rushed down the stairs with him following, and raced to the coroner’s van, after a slight hesitation, she pushed back a lid on one of the corpse’s eyes. When she looked back at him, her own eyes were crying.
“His eyes are brown.”
***
Dr. White climbed into his car, and a second later, felt a cold steel blade against his throat.
“Hello, Doctor, guess who?”<
br />
“Stiletto?”
“Good guess, now let me guess, the FBI believe they’ve captured me.”
“No, they think you’re dead.”
“Ha, so they shot the fool I sent in my place, huh? I paid the man a thousand dollars to vandalize your home, knowing that the FBI would mistake him for me and give me a shot at you. Pretty clever, huh, Doctor?”
“Yes, you’re a very smart man; you’ve proven that. Now prove it again by letting me go. If you kill me, they’ll be certain you’re alive and hunt you down.”
Stiletto said, “Let you go? Doctor, where’s the fun in that?” and then he hit the doctor with the butt of a gun.
CHAPTER 19
Jessica was pacing in the living room when they heard her father’s car pull into the driveway. She hurried towards the door to greet him, and that’s when the shots rang out.
When the FBI realized that they had killed the wrong man, they left one police car behind to guard the home, while everyone else rushed to the doctor’s aid. Those two officers were now dead in their patrol car, as Stiletto walked toward the house.
He rushed Jessica towards the stairs.
“Get Gabby and climb out the window. I’ll stay here and slow him down.”
She looked him over.
“With what? He just killed two armed policeman.”
He pushed her up the stairs.
“There’s no time, get Gabby and get out.”
She sent him an agonized look and then ran up the stairs.
As Stiletto kicked at the front door, he reached into his pocket and took out the keys to his van.
***
After three hard kicks, the front door gave in and Stiletto entered the house.
The first thing he saw was the blood, big globs of it, leading down the hallway, towards the kitchen. Stiletto followed the trail, while wondering if he had somehow missed seeing a third cop, a cop that was now seriously wounded, at least, judging by the amount of blood he was leaving behind.
As he reached the threshold to the kitchen, he could see that the blood trail wound over to, and then behind, the island in the middle of the room.
“Whoever is over there better come out or I’m coming in.”
No answer.
Stiletto entered the kitchen with his eyes locked on the counter in the middle of the room. He never noticed the scuff marks ascending the wall or the young man by the ceiling, his long frame stretched between the walls of the entryway, muscles shaking from the strain of holding himself aloft.
The TAKEN! Series - Books 1-4 (Taken! Box Set) Page 9