“To hell with everything,” she said aloud and started back down the stairs.
61
The director slapped Lorelei hard and watched her eyelids flutter. He had been so angry that she took away his moment that it took him several hours to calm himself. He wouldn’t have let her die like that though and flicked the air back on.
She had done something that none of the other women had ever done. And that unnerved him. He thought he’d seen it all. The begging and pleading, the catatonic states of shock, but never so much fury as Lorelei had.
Her forehead had already turned bright red and a massive gash ran from her hairline to her eyebrows. He’d stitched it up with some thread because she would not bleed out on him.
Getting her awake from her concussion was another thing entirely. If her head injury and possible brain damage took away her awareness of what was happening to her, she was no good to him. It would take time to assess the damage and she had bought herself another day, at least. But first he needed to get her awake. He slapped her again and her eyes opened.
“I’m impressed with you, lady.” The director murmured. “Your fire is unique. I admire that. I’m sorry that you still have to die but I’m hoping that you will give me the honor of showing you the truest pain.” He said.
She nodded and closed her eyes again. He wasn’t sure what kind of sign that was. He wiped her face with the cold, wet washcloth he’d used to clean her wound and her eyes opened.
“I’m not dead, am I?” She asked him.
“Not yet, Lorelei.” He said, caressing her cheek. “Not yet.”
62
Sara Caine’s entire journey downtown took three hours. Los Angeles’ transit system was extensive but slow. Buses still had to get through Los Angeles traffic, which was ugly on any given day. Between the bus and the two metro trains she took to get there, it took her an hour long then she expected. She was ready to jump out of her skin in anticipation.
By the time she got to Spring Street it was mid-afternoon. Enough people were going in and out of the lobby to gawk at the old hotel that Sara felt comfortable slipping in with the crowd of tourists.
The Alexas Hotel was famous for many things, the beginnings of the United Artists Studios for one, and being an up and coming apartment building for another. She was thankful that the guards didn’t give the nonresidents any trouble.
She saw a group of film students doing just that and attached herself to them. The moment they went to take a peak at the old ballroom, Sara broke away and headed up to the second floor. Remembering the number had proven difficult, but she needn’t have worried since the police tape still crisscrossed across the door.
Special Agent Harper didn’t mention anything about Janice Hollebeck’s investigation, which made Sara wonder if she had made any headway with the nitrate film address. It wasn’t her place to worry about that. Focus, Sara, she admonished herself.
Sara waited several beats in front of Janice’s door to make sure the hallway stayed empty. When no one appeared, she took out her small kit and got the door open. She ducked beneath the tape, making sure not to touch it, and closed the door behind her. The room was silent. It was hard not to look at the spot where they had found Janice’s body, her head bashed in. It felt ages ago and it had just happened last week. A week that had completely destroyed the life she had tried to make for herself.
“No time thinking about that,” she said aloud and brought down her walls again. It didn’t take long for her to see Janice. She was sitting on the couch with a distraught young woman, her hand around her.
“What took you so long?” Janice asked her.
“Long story, but I’m here. Who are you?” She turned to the young girl.
“I found the film reels and brought them here. I’m the reason he killed Janice.” The young woman whispered beside Janice.
“Hush, girl. Don’t even worry yourself about that anymore.”
“Where did you find them?” Sara said as she crouched next to the girl. “I found them then he found me. I had escaped to the outside of the building and he found me.” She said.
“Did he take you back inside this building?” Sara asked.
“Yes. She’s told me that much,” Janice said.
“Do you know where she found them?” Sara directed the question to Janice.
“In the basement, somewhere.” Janice whispered as the girl’s eyes opened wide in terror.
“You can’t go there. He’ll get you. You never come out and no one will ever see you again. And then he’ll eat you. He didn’t eat me but he ate the others. To make him strong. So his skin won’t peel. You can’t go down there.” The girl cried and her form flickered. Janice attempted to calm her down, but she got hysterical. With one last cry, she disappeared.
“It’ll take time for her to get enough energy to be seen again.” Janice said.
“Are you sure it’s in the basement?” Janice nodded. “It’s the only place he could hide them.”
“Do you know who it is?” Janice nodded.
“Who?”
“It’s him. Asmodeus. Be careful.” Janice faded too.
63
Sara Caine found a side staircase off the second floor of the Alexas Hotel and dialed Special Agent Kate Harper. She’d called Ritchie and Eva first but when they didn’t respond, she decided the information was too important not to share with Agent Harper.
Agent Harper picked up on the first ring.
“Special Agent Harper, this is Sara Caine.”
“I told you to stay away from this case, Ms. Caine. Do I need to call Detective Gutierrez?”
“I left this case alone and went back to searching for my father’s killer. In following up a new lead, I’ve stumbled on a potential lead in your case. Do you want to hear it or not?” Sara was tired of everyone not treating her with respect. There was a silence on the other end.
“I’m listening.” The FBI didn’t have a clue of where Lorelei was, Sara realized.
“Do you know of the Alexas Hotel on Spring Street?”
“Yes, I know of it.”
“Has it come up at all in your investigation?” Sara surprised even herself with her forward question. She doubted the agent would answer, but she wasn’t sure how else to go about starting the conversation.
“You know I can’t share that kind of information with you.” Agent Harper said.
“You should check out the basement. It could be where he’s keeping her.”
“How do you know this?”
“Do you really want to know?” Sara said, not wanting to reveal how she knew all of this.
“No, I guess not. Are you there now?”
“No.”
“Good. Stay as far away as possible from that place. I’ll have it checked out as soon as I can. I’m surprised you haven’t heard.”
“What do you mean?”
“We have a name. Richard Ailes. Thanks to you, Eva Murphy and Ritchie for tracking down the nitrate film lead. We’re about to bust down the door on a warehouse in Commerce. I know she’s in there.”
“What about the Alexas Hotel? This lead is solid.” Sara heard noises in the background.
“It’s starting.” And the line went dead.
“But,” Sara started and found herself talking to an empty line.
She didn’t think that Janice Hollebeck or the girl had led her astray. Could the Alexas be where Johan was hidden? Perhaps Asmodeus had nothing to do with Lorelei’s disappearance.
“That can’t be right, though. Can it?” Sara said to the empty staircase. This whole case started with the film reels and those came from here, the Alexas Hotel. She was certain of that.
What if Asmodeus lived here but kept the women in the warehouse? But that didn’t account for the dead girl. He was keeping her here somewhere. They had to be in here somewhere.
She stood on the stairs, unsure of what to do. She had no way of protecting herself. No gun, no Johan or Eva Murphy. If she walked down
there all by herself, and found what she thought she’d find, she was as sure as dead.
She dialed Ritchie. He picked up on the first ring, excitement in his voice.
“Eva called me, finally. The FBI thinks they’ve found Lorelei. The nitrate film was the key to this investigation. I found that.”
“I know you did, and it was incredible work but...”
“But what? Where are you? Did you find the ring?”
“I’m at the Alexas Hotel now and I went back to Janice’s room. I let down my walls and spoke to her and the girl who left the film reels in her room. They came from here. The dead girl and the film reels.”
“My findings stand, Sara. The nitrate film stock was being sent to that warehouse address. I suppose...” he stopped. “Of course, it could be just a dead drop. But a hotel? That would be so risky to have set that you kill women in at a hotel, don’t you think?”
“I know. But I also believe Janice and the dead girl. What should I do? The dead girl said she’d been held in the basement. If there’s a chance I can save Lorelei or find Johan, I should do it?”
“Did you find the ring?” Ritchie asked again.
“I did find a ring. I’m just not sure if it’s THE ring. It looks like a regular wedding ring and couldn’t be over three thousand years old. I’m thinking it was my Dad’s. His wedding ring was never found on his body.”
“I see.” He sounded as disappointed as she felt.
“What do I do, Ritchie?”
“Wait for me. It’ll take me about fifteen minutes to get there. We can go to the basement together.”
“All right. I’ll be on the stairs closest to the entrance on Fifth Street,” Sara said and headed there.
“Don’t go there alone, Sara.”
“Trust me, that’s the last thing I want to do.”
64
“Eva, wake up. Wake up.” Anderson whispered and Eva’s eyes fluttered open. She hadn’t been aware of falling asleep but judging by his tone, he must have been trying to wake her for some time.
“What do you want?” She thought.
“Sara Caine. She found the ring and is walking into Asmodeus’ trap. She doesn’t know Asmodeus already knows she’s there. And that she has the ring.” Anderson’s voice rose until he was yelling making her ears ring.
“Wait, what? The ring? Which ring? Solomon’s Ring? The one he’s been looking for all this time?” She said. “How do you know this?”
“Johan. Johan knows she’s at the Alexas and she’s alone.”
“I hear you just fine. You need not shout in my ear,” She said and got to her feet.
“How much time do I have?” She asked him.
“Not enough time to get there. I feel his glee. He must be close to her.” Eva didn’t want to know how he knew that.
“I’m leaving now but what else can I do? I can’t teleport myself there.”
“But I can.”
“You would do that?” Eva stood frozen. Could this be how her ordeal ended?
“I never wanted this to be an ordeal for you.” Anderson’s voice was soft. Something inside her stirred. Was that guilt at being so horrible to him?
“I wanted you to leave my body all these months.”
“I know. I have to stop him.” Anderson said. The resoluteness in his voice was final.
“He must me stopped.”
“I won’t let you back in,” Eva said.
“I know that too. This was a mistake. I never meant to cause you any pain. I wanted to be with you and that need overrode everything else. And instead of loving me, you despise me. I can at least save Sara and Johan. At least, there will have been a purpose to all this madness.”
“Go, save them. I’m right behind you.” As she said it, she felt a wind go through her soul. Then a forceful punch to the gut that threw her back into the couch. She could barely breathe from the impact.
Eva gasped for air and searched around her mind for Anderson. He was no longer there. Anderson didn’t leave a trace.
“Anderson? Anderson?” Eva called out. She was met with silence.
For the first time since that fateful day she let him into her mind, he was gone.
Gone.
Eva scrambled back up to her feet and grabbed for her car keys. She’d been nasty to Sara and regretted it. Now that her mind was her own again, she’d find a way to make it up to her. Eva hoped she wasn’t too late.
65
Sara Caine sat on the stairs that looked out to the door onto Fifth Street and checked the time again. Ritchie hadn’t arrived yet and the fifteen minutes were long past. Sara was terrified of going to the basement on her own but didn’t know how long she’d last on the stairs. The security guard at the front desk had been shooting her looks since she sat down and she was sure he was about to come over and ask what she was doing.
The unimaginable appeared out of the corner of her eye. A man came out of the elevator. A man whose face was a blur to her. In constant motion. Asmodeus was here. He stopped to talk to the security guard and Sara remembered Johan’s warning. Only people with their gifts could see his true nature and the rest of the population saw an ordinary man.
She had no idea whose body Asmodeus had taken over but, the moment he saw her, he would know why she was there. He scanned the lobby. It was now or never.
Inching down the stairs and keeping low, Sara made it to the lower level without being seen. She jumped off the stair and ran to the basement door. At least she knew if he was up there than he wasn’t down there. She pulled open the door and stepped inside, breathing a sigh of relief. If he was here, then Lorelei and Johan were here too. She turned on the flashlight app on her cell phone and saw she only had fifty percent of her battery left. Figures, she thought.
Passing the washing machines and dryers while holding the cellphone light in front of her, she headed for the door at the back of the room. Worried it would be locked, she assumed it would be and took out her tools. She hoped she had enough time to get it open. To her relief, the door wasn’t locked. Another long hallway stretched in front of her. Would he keep them here or somewhere deeper?
Deciding on deeper, she walked down the dark hall, opening the doors along the way. She found storage rooms and nothing else.
She turned left at the fork and noticed the boxes growing scarcer and the rooms emptier. No sign of anyone being held down here. She came to a dead end and turned around. Maybe, she’d gotten it all wrong. Sara scratched her arm, wondering what to do next, when a gust of air lifted the hair off her neck. Frozen in place, she waited for the otherworldly presence to make contact.
“Sara, it’s me, Anderson. You’re in grave danger. Get out of there,” he whispered. He was so close she felt his energy all around her.
“I know. Asmodeus is upstairs.”
“He’s not upstairs anymore. He’s come down into the basement.” Anderson’s voice grew softer and Sara strained to make out the words.
“What do I do?” Sara asked as she searched for some way out of this.
“Find the subbasement and use the ring on him. Send him back to the hell he belongs in.”
“Not without finding Lorelei and Johan first. I can’t take the chance of sending him back there without them. Who knows what he’s done to the both of them. What if he’s taken their souls but hasn’t eaten them yet?”
Anderson materialized in front of her and nodded. He motioned to follow him and she did as instructed. Anderson opened a door in the middle of the hallway and pointed at a row of boxes.
“Is the door behind them?” She asked and stepped in closer.
“Yes.”
She went to shift a box and, instead, found a fake wall painted to look like boxes. Running her fingers along the top and sides of the solid mass, she found the catch and pressed. The wall slid open with a groan. A single door was hidden behind it.
To her dismay, the door was locked. Picking a lock under pressure wasn’t her forte. With shaking fingers, she took out he
r kit and positioned her cellphone to illuminate what she was doing.
It didn’t work out so well. She dropped each tool at least once but got the lock sprung. Finally. Anderson pushed her from behind.
“He’s coming.” She stepped inside a darkened room and heard the door swing closed behind her. The light coming from a window set in a metal box blinded her. She rubbed her eyes and her forgotten cellphone clattered to the floor.
“Crap,” she muttered. Then she saw her. Lorelei, in the middle of the metallic box, a deep gash in her forehead.
66
Special Agent Kate Harper watched as one of her SWAT team, dressed as a flower delivery guy, walked up to the door of the warehouse. The rest of the SWAT team surrounded the warehouse and a helicopter was on standby. The Senator had instructed her to bring Lorelei home and didn’t care whether her kidnapper was brought in alive. As far as she concerned, she’d prefer it if he was dead.
“Everybody hold until we get confirmation that place is occupied.” She reminded them. Kate knew everyone was on edge and ready to jump. There were professional but also human.
The SWAT delivery guy knocked on the door and looked pointedly at the camera that was attached to the upper right-hand corner open doors. He then shook his head and dropped the flower box, pulling out his gun. Kate nodded at the SWAT leader, and they sprung into action.
The SWAT team ran by with the RAM and, within seconds, the door was down. Kate followed the SWAT team as they spread across the warehouse floor.
“All clear.”
“All clear here.”
“All here clear.” She heard the chiming of voices as she stepped into the darkened warehouse. This was not the place that Lorelei was being held. The warehouse stood empty. There was no place to hide a stage set or keep a caged girl.
“Everybody fall back. They’re not here. I repeat, they are not here.” She said into the walkie-talkie. The SWAT team started back outside, and she remembered.
Silent Death: A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller (A Caine & Murphy Thriller Book 3) Page 18