All the Shiny Things: A Kate Reid Novel (Kate Reid Series Book 1)

by Mahle, Robin

  He turned away in anger. When his back was toward her, she released the breath held firmly inside, wincing from the pain that now pulsated in her breast.

  She heard the front door open and the screen door bouncing against its frame as it closed. Oh God, he’ll know the phone is gone. Katie was starting to panic. Where are you, Marshall? Where the hell are the police? Her throat tightened as a lump rose high. She tried to swallow it back down, forcing herself to find calm.

  The rusty screen door slammed shut once again. Hendrickson was back.

  She could hear his heavy footsteps in the hall, approaching the living room where she sat helpless on the couch. He was getting closer and a single thought popped into her head. Throw the phone under the couch! Katie thrust her hand deep into the front pocket of her jeans and ripped the phone out. It was still on. She shoved it as far beneath the couch as possible.

  As she reared back up, he was standing in the arched opening. If any sort of human being had ever existed inside this monster, he was long gone now. She recognized the look on his face. It was the same look she saw as she ran away from him; the twisted, murderous look.

  “Where is it?” His monotone words chilled the room in an instant. Underneath his arm was the little wooden box. The hospital bag and his grocery bag hung on his right hand.

  She wondered, for a moment, if he’d been asking about the phone or the pendant necklace, but she dared not answer.

  The bags hit the floor and he opened his box of trinkets. “Where is the necklace, you stupid little bitch?”

  Katie felt almost relieved, but that didn’t last long. “I don’t know. It must’ve fallen out in the car.”

  He threw the box at her, its contents spilling out, clinking and tumbling toward her feet. She knew each piece had come from a victim and they all lay at her feet. There must have been nearly ten.

  She stared at his collection, shocked by the number of them. She raised her head, her heart filled with a hatred that surpassed anything she’d felt before. “My God, how many children have you killed?”

  Hendrickson laughed. “Recently? None. These are all from my younger days, mostly before we first met. Save for Samantha’s ring, which I selflessly returned to you. No. It was you that brought me back to life, little Katie. You were the one who rekindled the fire. But, oh, when I saw Samantha and I knew that she would help me get to you, well, I just couldn’t resist.

  “The funny thing was that she knew right away who I was. Of course, you had broadcast my face all over creation, so, not really that funny, I guess. And as soon as I saw that look in her eyes, the fear that I caused—damned if it didn’t make me want to cum right then. I couldn’t hardly control myself.”

  Katie felt the bile rise in her throat and fought hard not to let him see her disgust.

  “That’s when I knew I was back. I felt like the old me again. And boy, did she give chase. But, she was wearing those high-heeled shoes and she just couldn’t get any speed. I caught up to her, pushed her to the ground, and I was so damn excited that I just fucked her right then and there on the soft wet ground, covering her pretty mouth with my hand. She struggled for a while, till I jammed my knife into her side. That quieted her down.

  “Then, when I was finished, I dragged her back to my car and threw her in. She didn’t have any fight left in her by that time, so the drive out to the rest stop off the 101 was pretty quiet. I took her around the back of the building. No one was around, of course, since it had been shut down. I called my brother after it was all over and told him where he could find her. I wanted to be sure that he knew I wasn’t fucking around anymore and that he’d better get on board or risk losing his own family.

  “I did have a little more fun with her though, but it started to lose its thrill. You see, I do prefer the little ones; so much more delicate and they don’t fight back so much.

  “My favorite part was watching the knife slide into her gut like butter. Over and over, her blood splashed up on my mouth and it tasted so sweet.”

  Katie was trembling; she couldn’t bear to hear any more. He started touching himself as he went on about killing her best friend. “Shut up!” she screamed.

  He moved in closer, knelt down, and started sifting through the jewelry spread out on the floor. “So many wonderful memories. And to think, I put all that pleasure on hold for so long.”

  “What did you do with the children?” Her voice cracked through the sobs.

  He stood back up and smiled. “Well, that depended on where I was living at the time. When you and me got acquainted, I had been having a heck of time traveling up and down the north coast. Mostly, I just buried them in the woods. Of course, the girl in Portland I thought I’d have some fun with. I put her somewhere I thought they’d find her right away. It still took a year before some hiker saw her and I think that was only because of the rains that summer washing away the cover. I didn’t have a lot of time to bury her properly.

  “I couldn’t let myself get caught though, so I buried the rest of them around my folks’ cabin. I imagine they’ll find them soon enough. You know, I still can’t quite figure out how it was you got away from me. It was like you had the power of God running through your little body that day. Took me by surprise, that’s for damn sure. You were slippery, and I don’t just mean when you got away from me.”

  He lurched over her, pulled her up, and dragged her to the banister. She lost her footing and felt a snap as she went down. Her arm was contorted to the point that her shoulder had dislocated. The pain was unbearable and only made worse when he stretched her arms up over the railing. If anyone was within fifty yards, they’d have heard that scream.

  Hendrickson yanked an already loose spindle free and drove its blunt end into Katie’s gut. “Shut up!”

  Her arms hung on the finial so when she instinctively tried to double over, it stopped her. He pulled the gun from his waist. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. He placed it on the ground and kicked it away. Hendrickson clawed at her front, tearing the hospital gown and even her camisole. He pushed his lips onto hers, trying to force her mouth to open, but she clenched her teeth as hard as she could. The blood that had seeped from his wounds smeared onto her face, her own cuts reopening by the force.

  “I told you I’d get you, didn’t I? The best part about it was that you suffered longer than any of them. You suffered your whole life. I bet you wish you would have died the first time around. Oh, I think we’re going to have lots of fun now, little Katie Reid.”

  He released her from the rail and she fell to the ground; her knees withdrawing quickly to shield her. The welt on her stomach increased in size and began to darken. The blow had been so severe she wondered if she was bleeding internally.

  Hendrickson went into the kitchen. He was out of view, but upon his return, he held a tape recorder. “Remember this?” He pressed play.

  It was the song. The same song he’d played upstairs while she was in the basement. She remembered it now; an old, soft tune from the 60s, but she couldn’t recall the singer.

  “This was my mother’s favorite song. She was listening to it when she pulled the trigger and splattered her brains out all over her bedroom. Dear old Dad had already gone away. And the only thing I could do was try stop the fucking baby from crying.

  “I guess it stuck with me ever since. They’d let me play the record in the home, until they sent me away. Then, they took everything from me. My brother was gone, living the good life with a loving family, and what did I have? Three pills a day and a room with nothing in it but a bed. I guess they thought they were helping me.”

  “You killed your baby sister!” Katie couldn’t yell and her voice sounded small, wounded. “My God, she was only a baby.” The tears wouldn’t come; not because she didn’t feel the pain, but because dehydration had taken hold. There were no tears left to cry.

  “She wouldn’t shut up, just like you! Just like all the other little shits. I did their parents a fucking favor!”

&n
bsp; He shoved her again, straddled her, and forced her knees down. Just then, a buzzing sound came from beneath the couch. They were both taken by surprise as they swung their heads to see where the noise was coming from.

  He quickly snapped his head back, his frame resting on top of her. The look on his face changed as he realized what it was. “You goddamn whore!” He jumped off of her and raced toward the couch, throwing it up as if it weighed next to nothing.

  There it was; her phone bouncing as it vibrated with an incoming call. He looked at it and smiled.

  She knew it had to be Marshall.

  He picked it up and answered. “Detective Avery, so good to finally hear from you.”

  Katie realized the depth of his insanity. He’d gone from crazed, violent psychopath to civilized human holding a conversation in the span of thirty seconds. But more importantly, what was he going to do now?

  “I don’t think I can let you talk to her, detective. But I can promise you that she is fine. In fact, we were just about to play a little game. And based on this call, I can only imagine that you and your team of FBI grunts will find us soon enough. I’ll tell you what; I’ll keep her in one piece until you get here, okay?”

  Katie could hear Marshall screaming at him on the other end of the line. A moment later, Hendrickson disconnected the call.

  “That was either very smart of you or very stupid, Katie. I’m sure they’ll be sirens heading our way soon, since I know they’ve been tracing your calls. And leaving your phone on? Nice touch. I didn’t see that coming either. I had to take great precautions when I called you myself. But that was a fun game, wasn’t it? After all, it brought you back to me. The only problem is that now we’ll have to postpone our game. We may not be able to play it at all. I might just have to kill you instead.” He threw her phone against the wall, smashing it to pieces.

  The song on the cassette player stopped and only static could be heard. He stared at her, seemingly trying to figure out his next move. A moment later, he turned and walked into the kitchen, reemerging with a glass of water and a knife. Not a kitchen knife, but a large pocket knife that he must have been carrying all along.

  His gun was out of reach, near the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. She glanced at it, his eyes immediately following hers.

  “You think you can get to it before I can?” he asked. “Go ahead. I think we should make this a fair fight, don’t you?”

  He wasn’t going to let her get anywhere near that gun, she knew that. She remained seated, her arms crossed over her chest. “They’ll be here soon. What are you going to do?”

  Provocation was not her intention. Katie wanted to understand if she was about to die or if he would continue to torture her. She preferred the former.

  “Oh, I don’t think we’re done yet,” Hendrickson said, a determination like she hadn’t yet seen. He lifted her off the floor. “We’re going to play a little game of hide and seek with your detective. It should be fun.”

  He led her down the hallway and out the back door. She was cold and terrified; exactly how she felt before. Only this time, he wasn’t chasing her. They were about to be chased.

  27

  She tried to keep up as they ran into the woods, toward the stream. They were at least half a mile away from the house when she heard the sirens. They grew louder as they approached the house. There must have been ten of them screaming down the quiet street.

  What lay ahead was quickly approaching; the stream that led to the river.

  Hendrickson continued to pull her along. Intentionally stumbling over the river rocks only made him yank harder on her already dislocated arm. Then the sirens stopped.

  The stream widened and led them closer to the river. And, almost as if they’d spotted the place at exactly the same time, he turned sharply toward the derelict shack that might have once been a bait shop, her steps following closely behind.

  He busted the door in with his foot. It had been barely hanging on its rusted hinges and gave way with ease.

  The atrocious smell of rotting fish bait nearly knocked her down. The place was empty except for a standing refrigerator that housed white Styrofoam containers; what once had probably been live worms inside. That must have been where the smell was coming from. There was no electricity. The place was clearly abandoned, like so many of the small town shops.

  Hendrickson pulled her around like an unwanted child whose father was searching for a place to punish her. That was exactly what was happening. Katie was different. She was being punished by him for escaping. He had little, if any, deviant sexual interest in her; like he said, he preferred children. He wanted to hurt her for leaving him; not letting him achieve the satisfaction he so desperately desired. The only sexual gratification he needed, she kept from him long ago.

  “I think this will be a good place for us to spend some time, don’t you, Katie?”

  They stood in front of the store’s cellar door. Not again, she thought. Images of the dark place he kept her before flashed through her mind. She felt like the helpless little girl again.

  “They’re not far. What’s the point? Why don’t you just kill me already?”

  He leaned in to her. She could feel his hot breath against her neck and could smell his burned flesh. Had her stomach not been completely empty, she’d have lost whatever remained. His wet tongue left a trail of saliva along the side of her face as he slowly tasted her dried blood.

  “I could have killed you a thousand times over, little Katie. But I need to teach you a lesson first. You don’t get to decide when you die—I do.” He shoved her inside the storage area.

  She nearly tumbled down the stairs and grabbed the rotting handrail to steady herself. It gave way and she fell to the ground. The concrete floor was wet and muddy, like the place had recently been flooded.

  He followed her down, his steps more cautious. “Well, I think this will do just fine.”

  “You know they’re going to search every building in this town.”

  “Oh, I’m counting on that. Though it might take them just a little while to find this place. It’s pretty far off the main road. I expect we’ll have enough time for me to get my point across.”

  “Can I at least get up off this muddy ground? Can I sit over there on that crate?”

  “What’s the matter? Don’t like getting dirty? I thought all you whores liked getting dirty.” He pulled her up by her good arm and led her to the stack of crates a few feet away. He flipped one over and set it down, tossing her onto it.

  Katie sat quietly, waiting for him to make his next move. She could feel the swelling in her eye calm down just enough to gain full peripheral vision again. But she felt weak. It had been almost two days since she’d had anything to eat or drink.

  The grotesque man before her seemed to be suffering from the same. She watched as he carried another crate and moved slowly away. He seemed a little unsteady.

  “I need some water,” she said.

  She watched his expression as he considered her request. Katie noticed his bandages had grown darker with fresh blood. He would need to treat them soon or risk infection, if there wasn’t one already present.

  “Stay here.” He grunted, moving toward the stairs again.

  Where am I gonna go?

  He disappeared and she looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. Her hands were still bound and her arms ached, even the good one. But there must be something she could use. Short of launching a plastic crate at him, nothing else remained in this abandoned cellar. Katie felt as if her luck was about to run out. They had no place to go. How much time did he have before Marshall and the FBI showed up? There was no doubt in her mind that his plan was to kill her in front of Marshall. But they had guns.

  She had no idea what weapons he still possessed. They’d run out of the house so quickly, she couldn’t recall seeing him pick up the gun. The knife was probably still in his pocket. He could certainly do enough damage with that alone.
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  A moment later, Hendrickson reemerged. He held one of the Styrofoam containers from the refrigerator. “Don’t confuse this gesture with kindness. I need you to stay alert and conscious long enough for me to kill you in front of the FBI and your detective.” He thrust the container to her lips and proceeded to tip it into her mouth.

  She wanted to spit up whatever that filth was. It tasted like it had come from the river. But thirst was powerful, so she swallowed the dirty water.

  She looked up at him. “Thank you.” Never before had she stared into a man’s eyes to see such evil. She was nothing more to him than a possession; one of his shiny things. And she was growing tarnished.

  He pushed her off the crate with a hard shove that nearly took the wind from her lungs. “I told you not to mistake anything I do for kindness.” He dropped the container, the water spilling out in front of her, leaving a small puddle inches in front of her face. He pulled out his knife and laid the blade against her bruised cheek.

  The pain hit as he pushed the flat end of the blade against the purple bruise. Its sharp edge pressed into her flesh just enough to draw blood.

  He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out his own cell phone. “I think it’s time we speed things along here. Call him!”

  Her trembling hands reached for the phone. She swiped to turn on the screen and began entering Marshall’s phone number. The only reason she’d remembered it was because she had been calling him from the disposables in Sacramento. Otherwise, there wasn’t a chance in hell she could have recalled it. Her numbers were stored, as were most people’s, by name.

  The phone rang only once before the call connected.

  “Detective Avery.”

  “Marshall, it’s me.” She began crying immediately. Just hearing his voice, for what she believed could be the last time, was enough to bring all her emotions to the surface.

  “Are you okay?” He sounded just as desperate as she had.

  “Mostly, yes.”

  Hendrickson snatched the phone from her, scraping his nails against her cheek. “Detective Avery, how are you? I have no doubt you’re nearby.”