“It has to be,” Jeri explained. “The killer is basically killing the same woman, over and over again. But he’s killing her when she was a teen, not as she is now. That tells me that she hurt him, badly, when they were kids.”
“I don’t get it. Every person on the planet was jilted, or hurt, when they were teens. It’s part of growing up. What makes one man hold onto that experience so tightly that it turns him into a monster?”
“It’s the same with other types of serials. Not everyone who has a crappy childhood turns into a serial killer. The predisposition was already there, lurking. His experience simply brought it out. Let’s talk about our guy, specifically. We know he has money, but we don’t know if he always had money. If he grew up privileged, then it’s possible that he was accustomed to getting everything his way. Maybe the girl we’re looking for was the only person to tell him No. It could be as simple, or as complicated, as that.”
“Please, you’re telling me that our guy was spoiled rotten, got rejected, then turned into a serial? That’s a little far-fetched, Jer, don’t you think? I had privileges, growing up, but I heard ‘No’ all the time. It didn’t turn me into a psycho.”
“That’s just it, your parents didn’t give in to your every whim. You weren’t taught that the sun rose and set with you. If you had been, and then some woman rejected you, how would you handle it? It would be difficult, at best. Kids learn to navigate life’s challenges through experience. If his experiences were all positive, all the time, then one woman threw him over, or didn’t share his affection, it could trigger latent issues of self-worth, or anger. He wouldn’t know how to deal with it.”
“Enter Anson, and his ‘lessons’, and several years later, we have the man we’re looking for today,” Ethan finished, finally seeing the sense in Jeri’s theory.
“Exactly. We’ve always known that not all serial killers are born, some are made. Our guy falls into the latter category.”
“A lifetime of privilege would also account for his confidence levels. He’s progressing rapidly, an in-home abduction is definitely trickier than a snatch-and-grab off the street. Also, the fact that he’s sticking to Clevestone as a dump site takes guts.” Ethan finally found a spot to turn the car around, pointing them in the direction of Fremont.
“It is trickier, maybe this time he made a mistake,” Jeri sent up a silent prayer as she clicked the link to Diana Post’s online profile.
~~~
Allison had never been so miserable in all of her life. Every muscle ached, she was chilled to the bone, and her head pounded like she’d been hit with a sledgehammer.
The hours passed without incident, only the occasional scurrying of rats on the floor offered any diversion.
Except when he came in.
The last time seemed like days ago, but it also seemed like minutes, so it was hard to guess. He’d brought in a cot, set it up on the opposite wall, then placed two more cameras, neither of which he turned on.
He’d spoken to her of a roommate, someone that she could talk to, then he’d laughed like a man possessed.
Allison failed to see the humor, but she’d taken the opportunity to ask for water.
“Please, I’m so thirsty,” she’d begged, surprised to find that her voice was nearly gone.
“Yes, of course. We mustn’t let you get dehydrated.” The man had left then, only to come back with a bottle of water, which he held to her lips.
“Not too much, now,” he cautioned, taking the opportunity to fondle her as he waited.
It was strange, Allison didn’t even feel his hands now, when he touched her. Her mind shut down, or took her to another place, one where she was safe and warm.
“That’s enough. I’ll return soon, with a friend.”
Part of Allison felt sorry for the girl that would soon be in the same predicament as she, but another part of her welcomed the opportunity for company. Maybe if there were two of them, they could come up with a way to escape, they could help each other.
As soon as she had the thought, Allison felt guilty. She shouldn’t want anyone to go through what she was going through. It was wrong.
Closing her eyes, she drifted into unconsciousness. Dreams of happier times, warm, wonderful moments with her family filled her mind as she slept.
~~~
Graham didn’t stop at the house, instead he drove straight across the field to the cellar entrance. It was nearly dark, but the lights from the truck illuminated the patch of trees surrounding the entrance. Backing the truck to the doorway, he jumped out, eager to get a better look at his latest prize.
It was too bad that he’d had to shut down the internet feeds. His followers would love seeing both girls in such a state. Part of him knew that they would never trace the signal to him, but the cautious part insisted that he keep it offline. Graham was nothing, if not cautious.
Glad to see that pretty Diana remained unconscious, Graham hefted her over his shoulder for the walk down into the cellar. She weighed next to nothing, or at least it felt that way.
“Such a little thing, just like Aubrey,” he crooned, closing the cellar door behind him.
The damp cold increased as he descended the stairs, reminding him to move the heater closer to his newest guest.
“We wouldn’t want you to become ill,” he chuckled at the absurdity of the notion. “We have much to do, you and I.”
Pushing open the door to the chamber where Allison waited, he saw that she slept.
“It’s just as well,” he said, quietly. “I haven’t time to spend with her now, anyway.”
Placing Diana on the cot, he removed the duct tape, then taped her hands and feet to the metal rails. Next, he pulled scissors from his coat pocket, then proceeded to shred her clothing. Removing them prior to taping her down would have been much easier, but he couldn’t risk her coming to and fighting him.
“Oh, my. You are so beautiful,” he told her, once she lay naked before him. “Just like my Aubrey looked, I’m sure.”
“Not that she ever let me see her,” a small voice reminded him.
“We’re making up for that now, aren’t we my dears?” As a final touch, he draped a sheer veil over her body. Stepping back to see both girls at the same time, he felt pride swell in his accomplishments. Soon, Aubrey would have no doubt that he remembered her.
Positioning the new cameras, one to focus solely on Diana, and one to encompass both girls, he pressed record before reluctantly leaving the room.
Mother would wonder where he’d been. It wouldn’t do for her to become curious.
~~~
Thomas stood at the library window, watching the lights from Mr. Grant’s truck bounce across the field.
Whatever he was doing at the old cellar, Thomas thought, was taking quite a bit of time. Mr. Grant had left from the cellar, early that afternoon, returning only moments ago.
Slipping his hands into his pockets, Thomas felt the business card the FBI lady had left with him. Feeling a prickling around the edges of his conscious, he weighed the option of calling her, telling her about Mr. Grant’s recent activities.
But what would that get him?
Fired, that’s what.
As well it should. Mr. Grant’s affairs were not his business. The thought of the entitled prick dirtying his hands with murder was preposterous, anyway.
But still, his time at the cellar was odd. Perhaps a looksee was in order, Thomas thought. When Mr. Grant was sure to be out.
Going to the cellar in the daylight was risky, anyone could look out the window and see him. But if he went at night, then no one would be the wiser. And he could satisfy his curiosity, without risking his job.
Satisfied with the plan, Thomas slipped from the darkened room, ready to greet Mr. Grant, drink in hand.
Chapter Fourteen
“The similarities between all three girls’ rooms are eerie,” Jeri told Ethan as they drove towards Toledo. “You could interchange any of them, and the girls would be happy.
”
“Having both parents present at the interview was different,” Ethan commented. “Diana’s father was falling apart, her mother was the strong one.”
“Not when I talked to her,” Jeri shuddered at the memory. “Can you believe that they weren’t even aware of Allison’s disappearance, or of Shelby’s murder?”
“Hard to imagine, but the abductions did take place in different states, though within an hour’s drive of Fremont. You would think the locals would do a better job of alerting the community at large.”
“Diana is their only child,” Jeri added. “Like Shelby.”
“I don’t think that figures into his victimology, do you? Allison was not an only child.”
“No, I don’t either. I’m just saying, it’s tough.”
“Yes,” Ethan agreed.
Both of them fell silent for a time, until Jeri’s tablet dinged.
“Anna sent over the first batch of images from the women in Clevestone,” she told Ethan as she searched the screen. “You should take a look as well, but I don’t see any resemblances, yet.”
“We’ve only just begun, give it time,” Ethan reached over to squeeze her hand. “Why don’t you call Chloe and Monique, ask if they’ve made any headway with the satellite images.”
“I’ll text Monique. I’m totally talked out at the moment.”
Ethan waited, knowing the toll these particular cases had on Jeri. If he could fix it, he would. But there was no way to combat the personal hell she’d endured as a child. The best thing he could do was to listen, if she wanted to talk, and hold her, if she needed him.
~~~
“Jeri wants to know if we’ve found anything,” Monique explained to Chloe as she responded to Jeri’s text. “I told her it’s like searching for a peanut in a room full of elephants.”
“What does that even mean?” Chloe asked, not taking her eyes from the tablet.
“That there isn’t one,” Monique answered with a sigh. “I think we could look at this stuff all night and never find a cellar door. Images of the ground are not clear enough.”
“I’m looking for depressions in the grass, changes in elevation, anything that’s out of the ordinary.”
“So am I, but no luck,” Monique returned to her tablet. “Maybe we’re going at this the wrong way, maybe we should think inside the box.”
“I’m game, what have you got?”
“Why don’t we interview each of the male homeowners of the houses we searched today? It’s standard police procedure, but we’re doing everything but. There’s a lot to be said for a face-to-face sit down.”
“Don’t ask me, I’m new to this. Surely Jeri and Ethan have reasons for not interviewing the men.”
“Probably, but I’d like to know their reasons.”
“Then ask, they’ll be here soon. In the meantime, let’s keep at this, okay? Two girl’s lives are depending on us.”
“Of course, I just want to find a faster way.”
~~~
“Monique and Chloe aren’t having any luck,” Jeri reported. “Monique says that the ground images are very blurry.”
“We knew it was a longshot. We should get better results tomorrow, with the chopper.”
“I hope Allison has until tomorrow. Now that he has Diana, Allison is expendable.”
“Perhaps not. We know he’s getting bolder. Keeping two girls, instead of one, is more challenging. It’s also more like something Anson and his brother did.”
“He may have learned from Anson, but he’s writing his own script, now. He proved that by dumping Shelby’s body in Clevestone.”
“The only time Anson ever used the same dumping ground was in the bayou. Even then, his purpose was to draw us in. As soon as he accomplished his goal, he stopped. This killer is ignoring that lesson.”
“It’s too bad we don’t have the manpower to monitor all of the back roads in Clevestone.”
“They’ve stepped up patrols, that’s something.”
“I feel like we should be doing something more,” Jeri rubbed her eyes.
“We’re doing everything we can, tonight. Tomorrow is a new day.”
“Yes, but will it come soon enough for Allison and Diana?”
~~~
“Wake up!” Allison called to the girl on the cot across the room. “Hey, wake up!”
The girl stirred, but didn’t awaken. Allison couldn’t believe how much the girl looked like her. The creep who took them definitely had a type.
“Hey! Wake Up!” she tried again, to no avail. Lowering her head back onto the cot, Allison sighed deeply. Moving her head hurt like the devil, but it was the only way she could see the girl, know if she was awake.
Allison had been sound asleep when he’d brought the girl in. The headache she endured now was evidence that he’d drugged her again. Must have been the water, she surmised, as she took in her new roommate.
The girl was tied up, just like Allison, with a camera positioned at the end of the cot. Just like the one focused on Allison. The third camera sat higher than the first two, but it wasn’t focused on either one of them. All three cameras had red flashing lights, meaning that they were recording.
“Pervert,” Allison screamed at the one closest to her. It made her head hurt more, but she didn’t care. She was tired of being here, sick to death of being tied up, helpless. She wanted to go home.
The girl on the other cot could be her salvation. Surely they could overpower him together, if they could only get the chance.
The new girl twitched, but still didn’t open her eyes. As much as Allison wanted her to awaken, she dreaded telling her about their predicament.
Another twitch, this time Allison could see deliberate movement of her hands. Then her legs, though her ankles remained firmly attached to the bed.
She was waking up, good. Allison summoned her energy for another scream.
“Wake up!”
“What? Why? Ohhhhhh….” The girl came awake abruptly, jerking her hands unsuccessfully. Her screams would have shattered glass, had there been any in the room.
“Stop!” Allison yelled, hoping to get through to her. “Stop screaming!”
The girl looked at her then, wide-eyed shock mirrored Allison’s emotions, when she’d first awakened.
“Please don’t scream. It won’t do any good,” Allison tried to reason with her, but the girl started screaming again, anyway.
Deciding to wait it out, Allison turned to face the ceiling, her own heart breaking at the sounds of the girl’s fear. She knew it all too well.
Once she realized that screaming was useless, Diana stopped, but she couldn’t stop the flow of tears. The girl on the cot next to her was tied up, too. And they looked so much alike, that Diana felt that she was looking into a mirror. A terrible, terrible mirror.
“I’m Allison.” Turning her head again, Allison spoke in a quieter voice. One that didn’t cause her head to explode with pain.
“Where are we? What’s happening?” Diana asked, trying to control her sobs.
“I don’t know where we are, some dungeon, I suppose. We were kidnapped. By a perverted creep who’s watching us right now. See the cameras?”
“What?” A fresh wave of shock descended on Diana as she looked around the room for the first time. Sure enough, three cameras caught their every move.
“But we’re naked!” she cried, trying again to move her hands.
“I think that’s the point,” Allison told her, dryly. “This creep likes to watch.”
“Who is it?” Diana asked, wishing she could cover herself better.
“I don’t know, some old guy. I’ve never seen him before.”
“What does he do?” Diana’s voice became small.
“So far, he only touches, but that’s bad enough. What’s your name?”
“Diana.”
“What’s the last thing that you remember?”
“I don’t know, my head hurts. I think I was at home,”
“He drugged you. He drugged me, too. The headache won’t go away, but it will get better. Especially if you don’t scream.”
“How do you know that screaming won’t work? Someone might hear us, come to our rescue.”
“No one can hear us. I spent hours screaming, but all I got was a sore throat, and a worse headache.”
“How long have you been here?” Diana tried to get her sobs under control.
“I don’t know. What day is it?”
“Thursday, I think.”
“I went to a club Tuesday night. He took me in the parking lot, afterwards.”
“What are we going to do? How are we going to get away?” Diana started to cry again.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Allison lowered her voice, hoping that the camera would not pick it up. “As soon as he unties one of us, we hit him in the nuts, hard. Then we free the other one, and between us, we get away.” It sounded reasonable, to inexperienced ears.
“But how do we free the other one? This tape is tough, I can’t make it budge.”
“We can tear it with our teeth, I think. We have to try.”
“We should knock him out, too. Hitting him where it hurts won’t keep him down for long. I’ve seen men on television get up and run, almost immediately. How can we knock him out?”
Formulating a plan made both girls feel better. It didn’t matter if it was doable, or not.
“We can hit him with the camera, or the tripod. If we hit him hard enough, it should knock him out.”
“Are you sure that there’s only one of him?”
“I haven’t seen anyone else,” Allison felt tears roll down her cheek. “I heard someone, when I first woke up. She was screaming. Then she stopped.”
“Oh, my God. Do you think he killed her?” Diana’s eyes widened.
“I don’t know. But I haven’t heard her again,” Allison forced herself to brighten. “Maybe she got away.”
“Maybe so,” Diana didn’t look too sure.
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