Simon had been observing but now he spoke up, “Can you tell us all you know about Sarah and her family and the fire. The sheriff here told us about the fire.”
“I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. The first day I went to school I noticed Sarah. She was the smallest in the class and tried to hide in the corner.
“Every time the teacher would take her by the hand and lead her to her seat she went back to the corner and curled up and stuck her thumb in her mouth. Finally the teacher gave up and for most of the school year, that’s the way Sarah spent her days.
“At recess every day I would go over and try to get her to play with the rest of us. It wasn’t until toward the end of the year that she began to stand on the edges of our crowd and watch the other kids play.
“Even though she eventually started playing with the rest of us in the second grade, she was still painfully shy. And on into high school she was shy. She didn’t date at all.
“The boys called her the ice queen. She had a cousin named Bucky who lived with them although I didn’t realize it until our junior year. I didn’t even know he was her cousin.
“Everyone was afraid of her cousin. I saw him torture a kitten once and I saw him burn a frog alive. Everyone was scared of him.”
I stopped her, “Just a minute, Dot. What did Bucky look like?”
Simon looked at me and nodded.
“That’s what was strange,” Dot said, “He looked so sweet and innocent. He had the same coloring as Sarah but his front teeth protruded a little. That’s where he got his name I guess.
“Once he was sent to reform school for about eighteen months for beating a boy so badly he ended up in the hospital. Bucky was small and the boy he beat up was a linebacker on the football team.
“When everyone realized he was Sarah’s cousin, no one called her the ice queen anymore. I tried to befriend her and we did manage to hang out after school a couple of times but her mama came for Sarah and dragged her home.
“I couldn’t believe the things her mama was saying to Sarah, telling her she was no good and should never have been born. I had never heard a parent talk to a child like that before or since.
“I came from a poor family but there was never a question in my mind that I was loved and I make sure both of my kids know they are loved.
“Sarah made good grades in school but her true love was art. She had a sketch pad she carried around with her at all times. She wouldn’t show it to anyone but one day I talked her into letting me see. When I opened the pad I was amazed at her work. She had designed the most beautiful clothes I had ever seen.”
I looked at Simon and back at Dot, “Tell us about the fire.”
“About three years ago I woke up in the middle of the night and it looked like the whole sky was on fire. Actually it was the sirens from the fire trucks that woke me, but then when I opened my eyes the sky was red.
“It turned out it was the Koffer house. They said an accelerant had been used and it had burned to the ground before the fire trucks could get there. The bodies of a man and woman were found and were identified, using dental records, as Mr. and Mrs. Koffer.
“Sarah and Bucky had disappeared. No one knew where they were. I always wondered what happened to them. I’m glad to know Sarah is all right.”
Neither Simon nor I said anything. We looked at each other but silently agreed to let Dot believe Sarah was all right.
CHAPTER 22
Simon and I spent the night in the cheap motel room and left the next morning for Augusta. We had been quiet most of the evening before, each lost in his own thoughts. I was still worried about Sarah but not as much as I was before I put her in the hands of Dr. Anna.
We had gotten up early the next morning and didn’t even stop for coffee until we were about halfway to Valdosta. Then we stopped at a truck stop and had an excellent breakfast and good coffee.
Once we had gotten down half a pot of coffee we were both ready to talk and Simon began. “Sounds like Sarah had a very troubled childhood but I don’t see her as Twoon. I don’t care how many personalities she has, one of them is not Twoon.”
“I agree,” I said. “I was thinking Freddy was possibly Bucky and Twoon, but Dot said his coloring was the same as Sarah’s.”
We looked out the window. A motorcycle drove up and a big guy with pitch black hair dressed all in black leather got off and helped his passenger off. She was a small woman who looked about thirty six or thirty seven. She laughed when he picked her up and swung her over his head. She had curly red hair and freckles and I was reminded of my deputy, Freddy.
I glanced at Simon and we said at the same time, “Hair dye.”
The couple from the motorcycle was coming in the door and I noticed her skin was very light. “You know, Freddy’s skin is kind of dark for him to be a natural red head,” I said. “But how would you get artificial freckles?”
“With one of those eye liner pencils used by women?”
We got into Valdosta at around five o’clock and checked into another cheap hotel and went looking for something to eat.
They seem to have a diner in every town I’ve ever been in in Georgia and we found it, We ordered the special, pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, and string beans with cornbread and sweet iced tea. We hadn’t stopped for dinner so this big supper was just what we needed.
A tall skinny man of about forty with greasy black thinning hair and acne scarred face waited on us and I asked him about Freddy Price. He shook his head, “No, I don’t remember him a ‘tall. He was with the police here, you say?”
“Yeah, and it would have been up until about six months ago,” I said.
He shook his head, “Nope, I been living here for about six years and I never met him. But that don’t mean nothing, I never been in trouble with the law anyhow.”
We thanked him and continued to enjoy our supper. Simon drank down about half his iced tea and said, “There’s a cop just come in, looks like he’s going to the bar. You want to go talk to him or you want me to?”
“Since I’m done, I’ll go.” I walked over and sat on the stool next to him. When he glanced over at me I said, “I’m Sheriff Kola from Monroe Beach.”
“What can I do for you sheriff?”
“Do you remember a police officer named Freddy Price? He was on the force up until about six months ago.”
“He wasn’t on my police force. I’ve been here for twenty two years. What, does he work for you and you wanted to do a background check? But why wouldn’t you just call?”
“Well, he evidently lied. Thanks officer.”
“Wait a minute,” he said, “Isn’t Monroe Beach where they’ve been having all those stabbings? The Beach Front Stabber, that what they call him. I’m Paul Trimmer, by the way,” He stuck out his hand. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee, sheriff?”
“Nah, we gotta go. I’m here with the FBI,” I nodded to Simon and he waved.
“Well, good luck. That’s one collar I wish I could be a part of.”
Simon and I went back to the motel and turned in early. We wanted to get an early start in the morning. The plan was that we would head back to Monroe Beach the next day but Simon had another idea.
As we were pulling out of the parking lot of the motel, Simon said, “Hey, Robert, why don’t we go to the Panhandle of Florida along the beach there since we’re this close and see what we can find out?”
“Do you remember the name of the towns where the stabbings took place?”
“I don’t remember the names of the towns but they are between Panama City and Destin. You want to ride along there and see what we can find out?”
I shrugged, “Why not, since we’re this close. It might save us a trip later on.”
CHAPTER 23
I think the beaches in the panhandle of Florida are the prettiest of any in the United States. The sand is white as snow and the water in the Gulf of Mexico is blue/green. They call the beaches along there the Emerald Coast, and the sands, sugar sa
nds.
We found very few motels in the area and decided to treat ourselves to a two bedroom condo. We went to the small Publix grocery store and bought some steaks, potatoes to bake and fixings for salad and some beer.
The condo was right on the beach and we sat and ate on the back porch. It looked almost like a lake and when the sun started setting the water turned teal blue and the sand turned pink.
“Sarah would love this. I plan to bring her here for our honeymoon if we ever get married.”
“I have high hopes for you, Robert. I really don’t think Sarah is Twoon and if I’m right and Dr. Anna is as good as I’ve heard, then Sarah will get well and you’ll be married.”
“You going to be my best man. Simon?”
“I certainly will,” he said and then we didn’t say any more but just watched the sun go behind a sand dune to our right. I couldn’t wait to show Sarah.
Our plan was to walk on the beach the next morning and question people. The problem was, this was a resort area and most people we met were from somewhere else and were here for a week or two.
We did meet one young couple who were walking along enjoying the sunrise. “That happened during the winter,” the guy said. He was a good looking kid who looked like a younger Tony Curtis and the amazing thing was that his wife looked a little like Janet Leigh.
“Yeah,” she said. “You’d need to hang around and question the snow birds who come down from up north for the winter.”
We were about to give up when we spotted a pickup truck and realized it was the beach police. They’re the only vehicle allowed on the beach in this part of Florida.
We flagged him down and asked him about the murders. “Well, there was just one on the beach along here. It was a teenage boy but he didn’t die. He was a run-away from Athens, Georgia. His parents already came and got him but he described the perp as a small young man with blond hair and green eyes.”
Simon and I looked at each other and nodded. It was the way Sarah looked when she was picked up. When he drove off Simon and I took off our shoes and walked on the beach for awhile. I noticed the sand was finer here like a finely ground sugar. It was soft and felt good against my feet.
There was one thing that still continued to bother me and I asked Simon, “Why was Sarah dressed like that if she’s not Twoon?”
“I thought about that myself and I believe that Twoon dressed her like that when she was experiencing one of her blackouts. I don’t think Dr. Anna will agree right now but when Sarah is stronger I’d like for one of our agents to hypnotize her.
“He’s the best there is. His name is John Shepherd and he lives in New Orleans.”
We spent some down time the rest of the day, stayed in the condo that night and planned to head back the next morning.
TWOON
I’ve had to curb my appetite since they arrested Sarah but I can’t wait any longer. This has been a long dry spell, the longest I’ve had since I began three years ago. At first about once every couple of months was enough. I could live on the memories, but now I need it more and more often.
There’s no getting around it, I have to go hunting tonight while the sheriff’s still out of town. There’s no more patrolling on the beach so it should be easy. They can’t find a body and I haven’t tried to hide a body before. It can’t be that difficult.
I’m getting so turned on just thinking about it I don’t know how much longer I can hold off. I may have to go out before night.
CHAPTER 24
I was tired when we got home and I knew it was emotional instead of physical. I called Dr. Anna as soon as I got into the office to let her know I would be coming down there the next day.
“How is Sarah?” I asked Dr. Anna.
“Sarah has made remarkable progress, Robert, in such a short period of time. She understands her MPD and says she’s actually relieved to know why she has missed time throughout her life.
“She hasn’t met any of the other personalities yet but that will be the next step. I know she will be glad to see you. I’ll tell her you’re coming. It will give her something to look forward to.”
I did paperwork the rest of the day and asked to see Freddy in my office before going home. When he came in I filled him in on what Simon and I had found out but I had really called him in to have a good look at his hair and freckles.
Simon came in as I was talking to Freddy and sat beside him and I could see him looking closely at Freddy’s hair. He suddenly did something that totally surprised me.
Simon had been drinking a coke. He stood up and said, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
He then tripped and somehow his coke ended up on Freddy’s head and poured over on his face.
“Oh Jeez, I’m sorry, Freddy,” Simon said as he took a paper towel out of his pocket and started mopping Freddy’s face.
The freckles didn’t come off and his hair didn’t look like a dye job either.
After Simon left Freddy asked, “Why did he do that?”
“We wanted to see if you really had red hair and freckles or if your hair was dyed and the freckles painted on.”
“Why would you think I had dyed my hair and painted on freckles?”
“You’ve been lying about some other things Freddy, for instance, they don’t know you in Valdosta.”
“I wanted to be in law enforcement all my life and no one would take me seriously. I lied to you to get the job but I thought if I could prove myself you wouldn’t need to know I had no experience. That’s why I’ve been trying so hard to catch the Beach Front Stabber.”
TWOON
I had a wonderful night. After such a dry spell it was even more exciting. I was glad I had waited until dark. I didn’t see anyone on the beach at first and had to walk down a ways before I found someone.
I saw a young couple sitting on one of the dunes hugging and kissing. He kept trying to feel her up but she kept giggling and slapping his hand away.
I worked my way around them and knew I had to be fast or one of them would get away and then tell on me. I came up from behind and jumped, grabbing the boy and slashing his throat. The girl was so shocked it took her a few seconds to act.
Just as she started to run, I grabbed her, put my hand over her mouth and dragged her over between the dunes. It was a perfect cover for me.
I don’t know why, but for some reason I wanted to do more than stab her. It was as if my teeth wanted to bite. I’ve never felt that before and it might have been because it had been so long.
I used the knife to cut her blouse and bra off and she told me to go ahead and rape her and get it over with. I lowered my head and started biting her breast all over. I bit off big chunks. Blood was running down my chin.
I had the best orgasm I’ve ever had but was still hard as a rock. I could hear her boyfriend making gurgling noises and I would ordinarily want to stab him some more but I didn’t care about him anymore.
The girl was now screaming and crying and telling me how much she was hurting. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. When I had pretty much eaten up all her breast, I tore off her panties and put my head between her legs and bit and chewed.
I think she must have passed out at that point and I had already lost track of the amount of orgasms I had had. I was pretty worn out. I knew I had to get rid of them and I didn’t look forward to that chore.
I spent most of the rest of the night digging their grave between the sand dunes. I rolled them into the hole and covered them with enough sand to smother them if they were still alive.
I got home as it was getting light out and decided to throw my clothes away instead of washing them. I showered and went to bed naked, another first, and slept like a baby.
CHAPTER 25
My flight arrived in Jacksonville, Florida at nine forty seven the next morning. I rented a car and drove to Ocean Sands where Sarah was a patient.
There was no reception counter or desk inside but there was a plush waiting room and a gift shop off to
the right. I sat down on one of the teal green leather sofas, wondering how they would know I was there. I looked around and saw another door and beside it a button that looked like it belonged to a door bell.
I pushed the button and waited around and when nothing happened I decided to see what was in the gift shop. I bought Sarah some flowers and a box of candy. As I was paying, Dr. Anna came in and hugged me.
“Sarah’s going to be thrilled to death. She’s been doing her hair and she keeps changing her clothes. I think she settled on jeans though.”
“I’m glad she got comfortable since I did too. Is she really all right, Dr. Anna? I’ve been worried about her.”
“She’s in good hands, Robert. I’ll take you back to see her. She should be getting out of group just about now. By the way, Judith told me to put you up in one of the cabins and I reserved a one bedroom for you.”
“I saw those when I was driving in. They’re about as cute as a bug’s ear.”
Dr. Anna took a key out of the pocket of her skirt and led me through the door I had seen earlier. I looked around and was surprised. I had expected to see something like in the movie, One Flew Over The Coo Coo’s Nest. This place looked more like a country club.
Dr. Anna looked over at me and smiled, “Surprised, huh? Most people are. When I had this built I didn’t want it to look like an institution. I tried to create a calm and comfortable atmosphere.”
“You actually own this place?”
“Yeah I do but I don’t usually tell anyone. I don’t think Judith even knows.”
She looked lost in thought and I asked her what was going on. “I’ll tell you what; let’s go into my office before I take you to her room. I’ve been debating on whether or not to tell you this, but I think I will since you are her temporary guardian.”
When we got to her office she picked up her phone and ordered coffee from someone. While we waited I looked around. Her office looked like a living room of a very nice home. There were paintings on the walls but none I recognized.
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