Killing Room

by Shawn Raiford

  All of the sudden, I saw nothing but darkness. Then I woke. Not sure how long I was out. Minutes had passed I guessed. Just a few? An hour? I had no idea. I was still on the floor. I didn't hear the power tool anymore. But Kathleen was screaming.

  Then I saw it. To the side, a severed hand. Shit! He cut it off while I was unconscious. Fuck! I needed to act, now.

  I glanced up at him. While his right arm moved back and forth, Kathleen's screams became gurgles. I didn't understand what he was doing. Something glimmered in his hand; I spotted what he was moving back and forth—a saw.

  He reached down his left hand. By a tuft of hair, he raised Kathleen's severed head, making sure the camera was getting a clear picture. "How do you like that?" he asked the camera.

  If I weren't so angry, I would throw up. Another innocent life extinguished by this fucking savage. At least she was not suffering any longer. I failed her. It was my fault she died, but I had to put her death aside if I wanted to survive this. If Kathleen were still alive, she'd want me to kill him, and that's what I was going to do.

  Something beeped.

  Placing her head on the edge of the table, Edward checked the equipment on the wall. He looked at the security monitors, then shook his head. "Fuck!" He turned in my direction, but I shut my eye quickly enough. The floor vibrated, then the door opened and closed. I waited a few seconds and opened my left eye. He was gone.

  I waited a full two minutes before I moved. Although painful, I was able to move all my body parts, but my head still felt fuzzy. Ignoring her head on the table, I searched for the knife, but it was gone. He took it with him. A wave of dizziness came over me; I sat back down and laid flat on the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Borderline Crazy

  AFTER THEY ARRESTED JANICE Gilseg for the murder of Caitlyn meadows, they plugged her into the sofa, and check her entire apartment.

  Several knives, found in the kitchen, were bagged and tagged. The crime-scene unit techs would test them all for human blood. They were sure that one these knives or on

  "What are you guys doing?" Janice asked. Cuffed, she sat quietly on the couch.

  "All of this is evidence," Mitch replied.

  They did not find much more as in evidence, but they did find something interesting on her phone. Pictures and videos of Janice and Barry Olsen kissing and having sex were found in a Dropbox app.

  They were in the kitchen when the saw the pictures and videos.

  "What do you think?" Henry whispered. Were Barry and Janice dating? Was Caitlyn's murder a simple case of jealously? There were a lot of questions.

  "Not sure. I didn't like seeing Barry's hairy ass," Mitch said.

  "Nothing that tequila can't help you forget," Henry said. He figured they would have to talk to Barry. The video still wasn't enough to get a warrant for his laptop, but if he and Janice were dating, the news of her arrest might get them inside Barry's apartment. Once inside they could manufacture a reason to have a look inside his computer.

  Henry checked his phone realized he had a new voice message from his sister. Chloe said: "Hey, Henry, I'm checking in. Barry did indeed have a snuff film on his laptop. It was horrible! A woman was tortured then murdered on film. Barry says he didn't make the movie. I believe him. He says there are more movies and he only did the editing. Some guy named Edward Rawlings is the movie maker. I've tracked Edward to a warehouse. I'm pretty sure Edward's inside right now. I'll call you in a few minutes to let you know what I find out. Bye!"

  Henry just stood there, contemplating the new information. Barry didn't make the movies, but she knew who did: Edward Rawlings.

  “Was that Rose?” Mitch asked.

  Henry handed his phone over to his partner. Figured it was quicker than him repeating what she said. "Yes, listen to her voice mail."

  Mitch grabbed his phone and listened to it. When he was done, he returned the phone. He said, “I knew Barry was a dirty!”

  “Rose says Barry didn’t make the movie."

  Mitch shrugged. "But he's involved, he edits the damn things!"

  "Yeah,” Henry replied.

  Mitch grinned. “Where did she say she was? I’d like to buy you and her a drink when we finish up here.”

  “Sounds great. She tracked him down to a warehouse, says Edward might be there. She is going to call us when she's fin—” Henry stopped, noticing the time.

  "What is it?" Mitch asked.

  "Well, in her voice mail she she'd call me in a few minutes. And it been over an hour!"

  Mitch frowned. "You think she forgot to call you and went home?"

  Henry did not like this. "No, this guy makes snuff films, and she's at his warehouse. It's serious. I don't think she forgot."

  "You think she's in trouble?"

  He shrugged.

  "Just call her," Mitch said.

  He did, but it went to voice mail. He did not leave a message. He sent a text message telling her to call him right away. They waited another minute, and nothing. Henry did not like to be the hysterical brother, but he believed he had a right to be nervous.

  "Call her again," Mitch said.

  Henry did. But Chloe did not pick up. "Damn it!"

  "No answer?" Mitch asked.

  "No."

  "What if we go talk to Barry again? Ask him where this warehouse is?" Mitch asked.

  If Barry edited the movies for Edward, then he might know where the warehouse was located. But Henry looked over at Janice, thinking they could ask her first. Motioned to his partner to follow them into the living room where Janice was waiting.

  "Is it time to go?" she asked, standing up, hand behind her back.

  "Yes, but I need to ask you something," Henry said.

  "What?"

  "We got into your phone, and we saw the pictures of Barry and you," Mitch said. "Having sex."

  She smiled. "Well, those are private."

  "So, you two are dating?"

  She chuckled. "Uh, yeah! We want to get married one day."

  Mitch nodded. "Look, Janice, I don't care about you and Barry. I'm just doing my job, okay?"

  "Okay."

  "I have a friend who tracked down a guy, a bad guy. His name is Edward Rawlings."

  Janice began laughing loudly.

  "Why are laughing?"

  "Where is she? At his warehouse?"

  "Well, she just left us a message letting us know she's there, but she was supposed to call us back to le—,"

  "But she hasn't called you back?" Janice asked.

  "No, she hasn't."

  “If your friend went to that warehouse looking for him, she’s already dead! Edward found her and killed her on his table!”

  Instantly, Henry felt light headed. Dennis mentioned something about watching a man torture a woman on a metal table.

  Mitch asked, "How do you know about that table, Janice?"

  Then she told them how she first met Edward. How Barry took her to the warehouse and ended up recording Edward hurt and kill a woman on a table in his killing room.

  Mitch walked over to him and whispered, “Call her, right now!”

  Henry did not like what he was hearing. He called his sister a half dozen times more. Every call went straight to voicemail. He hit redial; it went to voicemail again. Then again. A bad feeling crept up his spine. ”Damn it!"

  Mitch scratched his cheek. "You think she might need some help?”

  "Yes," Henry replied./

  Mitch sat down and said, "Janice, please sit with me."

  She did.

  "I need you to tell me how to get to the warehouse?"

  She thought about. "What do I get if I do?"

  Mitch sighed. "What do you want?"

  "I want conjugal visits," she said.

  There was no way the DA would agree to that but she didn't need to know that. He remembered that she said they were going to get married. "That sounds fair. We could arrange that."

  "Oh, if my partner and I talk to the district attorn
ey, I am positive we can get that for you!" Mitch chimed in.

  She grinned ear to ear. "That sounds wonderful."

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ascended the stairs

  "TURN HERE," JANICE SAID from the backseat.

  They went by Barry's apartment but he was not home. Mitch was the one who said they needed to take Janice with them to the warehouse. Instead of wasting time taking her to the precinct, they would take her with them. Janice did not complain because she thought that Barry might be at the warehouse with Edward. She wanted to see him. Mitch promised that he'd give her a few minutes alone with him before they took her in.

  Henry hated not knowing Chloe's status. She should have called him by now. He did not have a good feeling about this situation. He called several more times since they left Janice’s apartment, but no answer.

  Edward might have Chloe, doing God knows what to her. Or she might be sitting in a bar getting wasted, with her phone on silent. No, she wouldn't do that. His sister would not call him, leave a message informing him that she was at the warehouse of the man who made the snuff film then not call back to let him know what she discovered. His sister could be impulsive at times, but she was always responsible.

  Mitch pointed. "Is that it?"

  "Yes, that's Edward's warehouse," Janice said.

  "The door is open," Mitch said, then pointed.

  Henry spotted two cars parked across the street. One of them belonged to his sister, the other was a VW Beetle.

  "That's her car!" Mitch said. He pulled in next to the cars and turned off the ignition. All three of them stared across the street at the warehouse. Mitch crouched a little, attempting to get a better angle to see inside. "I think I see some tires on the inside. Can't be sure."

  Henry couldn't see anything; God, he hoped to hell his sister wasn't in there. He didn't care, if she was dead, he'd kill Edward. But he'd have to fight Mitch over who got to shoot him.

  "I think its Edwards car, but I don't see Barry's," Janice said. "I need a better look. You want me to go check?"

  Mitch spoke first. "No, you stay in here. We shouldn't take long. We are going to go inside and look around for Barry and Edward. We'll be right back.”

  Henry looked at Mitch, both nodded and exited the car. Before closing his door, Henry stuck his head in. "Stay here, you'll be fine. We will be right back. If Barry is in there, I'll bring him out and I'll give you two some alone time, okay?"

  "I'd like that," she said, nodding and grinning. Then she turned her attention back to the warehouse. "I'll wait for you here!"

  "Don’t even bother trying to open the doors, they won't open. Only a key opens them from the outside.” Mitch jiggled the keys in his left hand.

  "Okay," Janice said.

  "What should we be looking for in there?” Mitch asked.

  "Go inside, and all the way to the back of the warehouse, there are some stairs. Go up them and the office is there, but it ain't no office, you know." She grinned wickedly. "It's where Edward does what he does."

  "Yeah, alright. Be right back," Henry said and shut the door.

  Mitch shut his door too and went to the trunk, opening it up. He pulled out two, handed a flashlight to Henry and kept one himself. They crossed the street, and went up to the bay door. "Let's just squeeze under the door. If we open it enough to walk underneath it, the noise might be enough to alert him."

  "Agreed, but there is a video camera right there," Mitch said.

  Henry looked up at it. There was a chance it wasn't working or he wasn't even in there. Chloe could be in there just looking at stuff, not aware that he had been blowing up her phone.

  Mitch laid down and side shuffled under the door, disappearing. Henry saw Mitch's flashlight beam on the floor inside the warehouse.

  "Okay, come on through!" he said.

  Henry sat down, laying down all the way. The cement was col on his butt and back; he did the same side shuffle Mitch did, but liked to think he did it better. Once he was standing he turned on his flashlight. It was so dark Mitch was barely visible. The place was old and dusty, and there was an odor he couldn't place. Metal? Copper, maybe?

  He and Mitch put their light beams on old machinery. It looked like metal lathes and grinders, and other machinery Henry didn't recognize. Appeared to be decades old, this warehouse used to be some kind of manufacturing shop. Although old, he thought the machines were worth a lot of money. Collectors liked this kind of stuff.

  Henry flashed his light to the side. He thought he heard something. Mitch swung his light beam over too. "Sounded like a door closing, right?"

  "Yes, but I don't see a door anywhere except the one we just went under."

  They kept their beams on that side of the warehouse for several seconds before they decided to move on. Twelve feet high, an office protruded ten feet from the back wall, supported by a couple of big poles. Stairs were on the left side of the office. A bench with a bunch of weight was under the office. Janice did mention the guy was big.

  Mitch walked up next to him. "That's it. The office. She might be up there partner.” He flashed his light beam to the left, illuminating the first few steps of the stairs.

  “You ready?”

  “Yes, let’s go,” Mitch said.

  As they approached the base of the stairs, Henry spotted a boot. He picked it up. Spikes poked through the laces; a queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach bubbled. His left knee gave out a little. “Oh my God. This is her boot!"

  Mitch nodded and put his light on the stairs; he aimed up towards the top, illuminated the entire stairway. "You know, what could be up there, correct?"

  "Yes. Chloe might be up there, dead," Henry said.

  "That's right. If she is up there, like that, can you handle it?"

  "I hope so."

  Mitch nodded. "Good enough. I'll go first.”

  They turned off their flash lights. Mitch ascended the stairs; Henry followed—the stairs did not creak or make any noise, which Henry thought weird. Every set of old stairs he ever used creaked.

  Without incident, they made it to the top landing. The door was closed. Mitch turned his back on and aimed the light beam down the stairs. Nothing was there. “I thought I heard something.”

  “Let’s go inside.”

  Mitch turned off his flashlight again—placed his hand on the door knob. “Here we go.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Take the bucket to an alley

  THE OTHER SCREAMER, ROSE, had passed out, so he wasn't worried about her right now.

  Turning off the stove, Edward grabbed the pot and placed it down on the floor under the desk to cool. After he removed the skull, some of the gunk left floating in the water would go down the drain in the slop sink. Whatever didn't went into a five-gallon bucket. Later that bucket would be emptied in the back alley. Within the span of a couple of days, bugs, rodents, stray cats would take care of it all.

  Edward spotted some action on the CCTV on the wall. Another car pulled up. It parked on the other side of the street with the other two. Scratching his head, he said, "More visitors?"

  Upon realizing that there were more people here, he left Kathleen and the other screamer in the killing room. He ran down the stairs and scuttled across the length of the warehouse in just a few seconds. Night-vision goggles helped him move in the dark. Hidden by a few tall boards in the front corner of the warehouse, a side door. He exited through it.

  In between his warehouse and the neighboring warehouse (empty for months), he waited in the corner, watching. Two men, in suits, exited the car. Someone sat in the backseat, but didn't exit with the suits. The person in back looked to be a woman. Who was she? He couldn't tell.

  The suits walked across the street. They looked like cops. He hated pigs. Too much action tonight for them not to be here for him. But they would not be able to take him away. He’d make them scream first. Before that, they would tell him what they had on him. And who knew what about him.

  Perhaps
Rose told him the truth about being a cop.

  Before introducing himself to the suits, Edward wanted to see who was in the backseat. When they went under the bay door he approached their car. As he advanced, he confirmed it; a woman sat in back.

  Could he make her scream too? Today had been full of screams: Crystal's and Kathleen's. So far, it had been a great day. But the fun wasn’t over yet. Rose’s screams were next. After that, then the suits’.

  Rose was passed out on the floor upstairs. Doubtful she could move far, but those damn suits could help her, so Edward needed to hurry. As he neared the car, the woman began screaming. It was Janice, the bitch Barry was banging. Janice brought them here? Why? Some time ago, she came here with Barry. She must have talked to the cops about what she saw that night.

  He walked up to the car and opened the door. It was locked. He tapped on the window. "Unlock it!"

  Screaming, Janice turned and showed him her wrists.

  "You're under arrest?"

  "Yes! I killed a bitch who was trying to steal Barry from me, and they caught me," she said.

  "Why did you bring two cops here, Janice?"

  "They made me! I'm sorry!” she screamed.

  Infuriated, Edward reared back and sent his fist into the window. It shattered; he reached in and grabbed a handful of hair, bringing her closer.

  “No please, Edward, no!” she said, attempting to move away from him, but was unsuccessful.

  He asked, ”Janice, why did you bring the police here?”

  "Please, Edward, don't kill me!” she begged.

  “You are going to be the third woman I kill today!”

  “No! They made me show them, I swear to you, they made me,” she said in a low voice, as if the low volume would explain everything away.

  He pulled, and one of her shoulders caught on a section of stubborn glass. Yanking harder, Janice exited the car; window glass rained down to the ground. Edward held her up so she could find her footing. Once she stood, he released her hair.

  "Please, Edward just let me go, and you go in there and kill those fucking cops. They’re only here to help a friend of theirs. A woman."