by Tom Heaven
“Now, I want you to listen closely to me. I am going to tell you how you can cuddle with someone else. You are going to want to make them strong enough, like I did with you, but it would be very hard to find girls who would let you beat them. You will have to make them. There is an old warehouse that I own, downtown. Take them there and tie them down so you can beat them and cuddle like we used to.
His aunt had also told him that it was time to take care of himself and find some work. Thanks to her very specific home schooling, he was able to find a job as a medical transcriptionist. In order to function at this job, he had to take some classes in anatomy and physiology. He was particularly fascinated in the lessons on the spinal cord and how the nerves affected the various areas of the body.
He used the computer at work to learn about sedation and was able to get into a supply cabinet to get syringes and needles. He got the drugs he needed from the nurse’s stations on the wards when no one was around.
Chapter 26
Dan awoke in the morning smelling the bacon on his breakfast tray that Benji had left for him on the bedside table. He looked at the clock next to the tray and saw that it was six o’clock.
He needed no help to get from the bed into his motorized chair and with the handles Benji had installed, could manage to get from there, into the shower, and back into his chair again. While Benji was helping him dress, Dan said, “I ‘ve decided to request a return to full duty with the department. I’m going to ask Chief Gates to pursue that option when we go in today. What do you think?”
“Absolutely boss, I think you were probably ready to return two months ago, but better late than never I guess.”
“I’ve asked you a million times to stop calling me boss, and I don’t know why you would think that. I was still too shaky and was still on medication at that time. I am off the meds now and ready to get back to work.”
In anticipation that he would someday become active on the force again, he and Benji had designed a van to meet his every need while traveling. It was equipped with a ramp at the back which pulled out to allow him to ride his wheelchair from ground level all the way up to the front. Either he or Benji could drive depending on where he locked it in place. A five-shot pump shotgun was clamped to a rack between the seats.
The van was also equipped with a computer and five monitors, one for the workstation and four more for the high-resolution security cameras located near the roof on all four sides. There was a small dish antenna on top for a satellite phone.
Today, at 8:45 in the morning, the van backed into the handicapped parking slot in front of the main entrance to precinct headquarters.
Chief Gates usually came in promptly at nine o’clock, so Dan had a few minutes to shoot the bull with his fellow detectives over coffee.
Jerry said, “Hey guys, I told you to leave the front door closed for a reason, I thought some bum might slip in, like this one coming down the hallway on two wheels.”
There was a smile on everyone’s face when they realized that it was Dan. He was immediately smothered in a group hug. While all the guys gave him a “man hug” with lots of back slapping, hand shaking and “Welcome back buddy’s”, Karen leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek causing him to turn bright red. From the look on Jerry’s face when she did that, Dan guessed that Karen had moved on from their relationship.
“We have really missed you around here Danny boy,” said Jerry.
Frank Rawlings said, “Yeah, now we finally got some class back in this place!”
“I thought I heard your voice, Dan.”
With all the commotion, no one had noticed the Chief joining the revelry.
“Hey boss, the guys were all just telling me that you had to kick their asses on a daily basis to keep them out of trouble while I was gone.”
“Yeah, right, cuz we all know how much of a good influence you are on them, don’t we? Alright, let’s move this shindig into the briefing room and get some work done.”
Once everyone was settled into their seats, the Chief asked Dan to present his findings.
Dan started with, “While I was reviewing the vic’s files, it was evident to me that you all had put in a lot of overtime and shoe leather working this case. I could not think of a single aspect that you didn’t cover. With all the work that you have done, I believe we are ready to brainstorm a profile. That is the only way we will be able to move forward.
Thanks to the coroner’s precise measurements, we know exactly how tall each victim was. By comparing where the highest bruise was located on each of their backs and factoring in the two to three inches off the floor they must have been suspended, we can estimate that our perp is five foot nine, to five foot eleven inches tall.
Since none of the whippings broke the skin on any of the girls, we can also hypothesize that this is a weak person that doesn’t do much heavy work in his job. On the other hand, the sheer number of lashings administered to each victim is consistent with an abundance of suppressed rage.
The fact that the victims have all been women, and their naked and bruised bodies were displayed in public places where they could be seen by many passers-by, tells us that he wanted to humiliate them, indicating that his rage is directed toward a powerful female figure who abused him in his past.
He has intercourse with his victims, which indicates he had a sexual relationship with that same woman. His feelings about women are extremely conflicted, as a result.
He is highly intelligent, has at least some medical knowledge, and has access to medical drugs. I believe that his aberrant behaviors suggest he is suffering from a psychotic break which probably occurred during a traumatic event that happened shortly before these killings began. I think that is enough to get us started.”
The Chief said “Thanks, Dan. Okay, folks, let’s get going. Jerry, you work your magic on the computer to do some background on hospital and clinic employees. Karen, you and Frank can hoof it. Split up the hospitals and clinics and talk to the HR reps to see if anyone pops out who has had psychotic-like behavioral problems in the past year. Compare any “hits” with our theorized physical characteristics.
As the detectives exited the briefing room, Frank asked Dan if he was coming with them.
“No said Dan, I do envy you, though. I have an appointment to get my massage this afternoon, but you guys have fun checking out all those hospitals and clinics without me.”
After the team left, Dan said, “Chief, can I have a word with you?”
“Of course, anytime. What’s up?”
“I have thought about it and Benji and I think that it is time for me to get back to work. If you agree, I would like you to work out the details with the Captain and HR.”
“That’s great man. We have all been waiting to hear you say that for a long time. We were afraid that you might decide not to come back. I can’t tell you how much you are missed around here. Don’t worry about the Captain or HR I will work it out with them. Maybe half days while you are still on physical therapy.”
Chapter 27
Back at his house, Dan was lying face down on the massage table while Annika Eld, a lovely, blond, Swedish woman, used her knuckles to firmly rub the muscles along his spine.
Eddy happened to have come down with a sudden case of the flu.
In spite of his discomfort with having a woman touch him in such an intimate way, Dan was told that Annika was the only substitute available at such short notice.
Although he was not the one exerting any physical effort, Dan was sweating profusely. It appeared that every time she put pressure on any of his muscles, his face became redder.
Benji watched this process with great amusement. It had only cost him $150.00 to pay Eddy to concoct the flu story and send Annika over.
He had a tremendous amount of respect for his boss but had been becoming more concerned regarding Dan’s lack of desire to d
evelop a relationship with a woman since his injury. He had decided to force the issue.
Benji had not told Annika about the deception. As it turned out, however, she was a natural at getting clients to relax. When she noticed how uptight Dan had become, she leaned over and said softly into his ear.
“In your mind’s eye, just see yourself lying on a beach. You may even feel the warm sunshine on your face, and all your muscles. As you let yourself become completely immersed in this image, you can imagine that you are sweating from that lovely warm sun. While you are enjoying this sensation, you can find yourself relaxing more, and more, because whatever you are concerned about, really doesn’t matter.”
In spite of his trepidation about having a woman touch his body like this, Dan found that he was becoming more, and more relaxed by her husky, calming voice.
After she had finished her work on his back and arms, she helped him turn over, while holding the towel over his midsection to prevent any additional awkwardness.
She started with his feet by checking for reflexes. She did this by lightly running a fingernail along the instep of each foot. The muscles did not contract in response. A firm massage of the muscles in each instep followed. Next, she performed a full range of passive exercise maneuvers for his feet, calves, and thighs.
By the time she finished with his lower extremities, Dan was wholeheartedly glad that he was no longer able to attain an erection. That would have resulted in the absolute zenith of mortification for him.
When she had completed massaging his upper extremities, and the session was over, he felt more relaxed and comfortable than he had for a long, long time.
After Benji had thanked her for filling in for Eddy and escorted her out, he returned to the exercise room.
“I’m sorry they could only come up with a woman physical therapist today boss. I could see that she was stressing you out a bit.”
“No, no, she was alright. In fact, I feel better now than I usually do after Eddy’s sessions. I wonder if we might work something out with him to let Annika be my regular. Of course, that would depend on her schedule.”
“I would hate to just drop Eddy though. He has been with you from the beginning.”
“You’re right. See if he would be O.K. with having him continue billing me for our sessions even if he isn’t the one providing them. Also, offer Annika whatever she wants to take over as my physical therapist.”
Benji just stood there with a big grin on his face.
“Is there anything else, Benji?”
“No sir, would you care to have your dinner now?”
Chapter 28
He handcuffed her wrists and connected the chains that would eventually suspend her from the large hook attached to the pulley in the ceiling rafters. For now, he had just strapped her arms and waist to a thin mattress on the floor, naked and face up.
As she slowly opened her eyes and looked straight up, she was blinded by a single light in the ceiling directly above her head. There were no other lights on in the room.
Sitting next to her in a folding chair, Ben waited for her to return to full consciousness. As she started to look around, he quickly began talking to her in a soothing voice. Lying to her, telling her that everything was going to be alright. He had not taped her mouth. He was looking forward to her delicious screams.
“Where am I? Why are my hands cuffed and my feet tied? Where are my clothes? What are you going to do to me? Her voice trembled with fear.
“Don’t worry about a thing honey, I am just going to show you how much I love you.”
“But I don’t even know you, and if you loved me, you wouldn’t have me all chained up like this.”
She looked around and saw that the room she was in had no windows. She began screaming in the hopes that a passerby might hear her. “Help! She cried, Help Me!”
He laughed at her. “No one is going to hear you. There are empty buildings on both sides of this one. Nobody will be walking in this part of town at three in the morning anyway. So, relax, and remember that the pain you are about to experience will make you stronger.”
He removed the restraints from her arms and waist before he walked over to the wall to her right, where he took down the end of the chain from its peg and began pulling on it. As he pulled, she could feel the cuffs being lifted and her arms starting to stretch. The fear began building in her chest, making her scream every time he pulled. She was gradually being lifted off the mattress, as her arms were pulled tighter and tighter until she was completely suspended in front of him.
He walked toward the back of the room where it was too dark to see what he was doing. When he returned, he was carrying what looked like a belt or a leather strap. She now realized what was going to happen to her.
“Don’t worry, he said. Tonight, you are only going to have to count to twenty. Each night there will be five more than the previous night. That will give you something to think about during the day while I am gone.”
He stepped back and swung the strap as hard as he could, loving the sound of the swish, crack, swish, crack, pausing between strokes just long enough to see the welt begin to form. Three, four, five... twenty!
He lowered her back onto the mattress, undressed, and got on top of her. Every movement sent shock waves of sharp pain throughout her body from her back rubbing against the mattress. When Ben was finished, he covered her with a blanket, leaned down to her and said, “Remember, the pain will make you stronger, so the more pain you feel tonight, the easier it should be tomorrow. Good Night.” With that, he got dressed, turned off the light and left.
***
On the way home, Ben could hear his aunt talking to him from the back seat. “That was good work tonight honey. Have you noticed that your arms are getting more muscular from trying to make the girls stronger? It looks like you are able to put more into each swing of the lash. You can now see how my efforts with you have paid off. You have become a real man.”
“Yes, Aunt Jane, but will I ever make one strong enough for me to love? They just seem to get weaker every day after the treatment. Even the cuddling after doesn’t seem to help. They just lay there, not making a sound unless they are screaming at me to stop.”
“Don’t worry Ben, there is some girl out there who will be right for you. She will come to enjoy your treatments and will love you for making her strong. You just have to keep hunting for her. By the way, haven’t you noticed how thrilling it is to see your work in the newspapers, since you started leaving the worn out ones in public places?”
“Yes, I have. It’s like you always said, ‘A man should be proud of his work’.”
Chapter 29
No matter how he tried, Dan could not outrun whatever was chasing him. At times, when he looked over his shoulder, it appeared to be an enormous animal with long sharp teeth drooling and growling. At other times, it was a man with a sword which he swung back and forth, trying to cut the detective’s legs out from under him. Dan could feel the pounding of his heart trying to escape his chest.
No matter how fast he ran, whatever was after him kept the same distance behind him, never closing the distance between them or falling back. The creature’s growling was getting louder;
“Sir, Sir, wake up!”
As the veil of sleep slowly melted from his consciousness, Dan recognized Benji’s voice calling him.
“Sir you were having a nightmare again. Was it the same one?”
“Yes, I just can’t seem to shake whatever it is that chases me.”
He had been having this same nightmare for six months now. Benji thought it was PTSD and frequently encouraged him to see someone for the problem, but Dan had steadfastly refused. He knew that therapy could be extremely taxing, and he had felt his mental status to be too precarious since his injury.
Today, however, he shocked his assistant by saying, “You know Benji, I mig
ht just make an appointment with the department shrink and see if we can get these nightmares under control.”
“Whatever you think is best, Boss.”
“Once we catch this son of a bitch who is killing these girls, please make an appointment with Dr. Butler at the precinct for me.”
“Yes, sir!”
Chapter 30
By this time, Benji had become more than just a home nurse, tasked with overseeing Dan’s medical needs. He had become friend, cook, butler, valet, and most importantly, like a brother to Dan. He hadn’t dropped the “yes boss” line yet as he continued to use it to tease Dan.
They were together almost constantly. He didn’t even ask for a regular day off. The only time he took any time off was when Dan got tired of him “hovering” over his shoulder and told him to go out.
It was on one of these rare occasions that Benji decided to visit one of the gay bars in Hillcrest. He was on his second drink when a “gorgeous” young man sat next to him at the bar. After ordering a drink this ultra-handsome guy turned to him and said, “Hi, I’m Sean.”
Benji could not believe his luck. He stuck out his hand and said, “Benji.”
Sean took his hand and shook it, but then did not let go. “I don’t think I have seen you in here before.”
“Yeah, I don’t get out much. I work for a paraplegic, so I spend a lot of time helping him. What do you do?”
“I am a fire fighter. I work for the forest service.”
“That sounds like a challenging job, how long have you been doing that?”
“For six years now.”
“You don’t look old enough to have done it that long.”
“You only have to be eighteen to start as a trainee.”
“So that makes you what…twenty-four?”
“Yeah, you aren’t too much older, are you?”