Thrills: Vol.2

by Jason A. Joseph

  Goodbye, Princess, he thought to himself. See you on the other side…

  ***

  Meanwhile at the coroner's office

  “Who could do something like this?” one of the coroners asked. “She was just a little girl.”

  The other coroner in the room shook his gray head. He had been in the field for thirty years, and seeing these kinds of crimes never got any easier.

  All faith in humanity was lost when one realizes that someone could do such terrible things to another human.

  “It looks like she was drug through the woods for a distance. In the police report, it shows that the undergrowth in the area was disturbed.

  The body shows signs of being dragged as well.” He was trying to keep as focused as possible on the task at hand. If he started to think about the whys and reasons, he wouldn’t be able to carry on with his job.

  “I also observed that the cause of death was strangulation. It would have had to have been a thin material, because the markings on her neck are very thin. I’m thinking it could have been baling twine.

  However, I won’t be certain until the tests come back from the lab,” the other examiner stated.

  She had only been in the field for a few years, and this was the first child she had seen murdered. It made her stomach roll to think that any person could do this. However, she followed her colleague’s example and kept focused on the task in front of her. She couldn’t let this eat her up inside.

  “We found severe clotting in her lower abdomen as well. I think that she might have sustained some trauma there prior to her death.”

  “I’m confident in stating the cause of death as a homicide. Send all the specimens to that lab so that we can find some clues as to the monster that would do this to a child!” she threw her pen down and walked out of the examination room. She couldn’t bear to look at that poor child another moment longer.

  ***The Man***

  He started watching for the next child that he could take. Since they had found his last piece of work, the whole situation didn’t feel as good as it had when she first had gone missing. He needed the next rush.

  Now that he had gotten a taste of what it was like to kill, he needed it. It was becoming an addiction. Ashlyn was his first friend, but by the time he would be satisfied, he would have a whole collection of little friends. Knowing that he couldn’t repeat his crime in the same town, he moved south into Fort Collins. It would be easier to find a child there that not every person knew. Parking out in front of an elementary school several afternoons a week, he was beginning to get a feel for the children that frequently walked home by themselves.

  One little girl caught his eye. She looked so much like Ashlyn Anderson, he felt like he could relive that exhilaration of his first kill if he could get her to come with him. However, he didn’t think that he could convince her as easily as he had Ashlyn. He had met and talked to her before he had taken her. He needed his rush. He had to take his time though. Planning out his next abduction would mean thinking through every detail so that the evidence didn’t turn back to him…

  ***

  Ashlyn’s memorial service

  The memorial service for Ashlyn was scheduled a week after they had discovered her body up near Red Feather Lakes. Martha and Derek had decided to hold the service in Arizona where their friends and family were located. Sarah and Martha flew back with Derek and his wife a few days after Ashlyn had been found.

  The coroner’s office had released the body, but Derek had made sure that Martha didn’t see it. He didn’t want this nightmare to live in her mind forever. He wanted to make sure that she remembered Ashlyn as she was the day she disappeared. She was smiling and alive and hopeful.

  The department had cleared Martha as a suspect when her alibi checked out. They had traced all of her phone calls and spoke with her employer. She had no acquaintances in the area, and that fact alone made it obvious that she hadn’t arranged for her daughter’s disappearance or murder.

  Chief Wilson was quick to offer his condolences and assured the family that he would do anything he could to find the monster who had done such a thing to their daughter. However, his promises didn’t seem to be enough. Nothing would replace the little girl who had filled their lives with happiness and laughter.

  The service for Ashlyn was held in the small church where Martha and Derek had met as teenagers. It only felt right to end it where it had begun. Even though it was sunny outside, the atmosphere seemed dull and dark. Friends and family filled the pews and the little casket sat in the front of the church. A framed picture of Ashlyn sat on top of it, surrounded by tiny daisies.

  As soon as Martha saw that picture, the tears started flowing again. Seeing that her daughter was truly dead made life unbearable.

  Derek placed his arm around her shoulder and walked her to the front pew. His wife silently followed, leaving a small distance between herself and them. They needed to grieve the daughter they had both loved so dearly.

  All the anger and blame had melted away since everything happened. Derek realized that this could have happened anywhere. He was just hurt that she had taken Ashlyn away without giving him a chance to say goodbye. Ashlyn was his little girl, and no one would be able to replace her.

  After the service, they buried the little girl in the cemetery near where they had lived when they had first fallen in love. It only felt right that they take Ashlyn back to where her life had started. Now she would be forever in their memories.

  Martha felt like she was moving through a perpetual fog as the week passed. She couldn’t eat or sleep. The tears that had come so easily at first dried up within days. She felt guilty for what had happened to her daughter and nothing anyone could say would change that. If only she hadn’t said yes to taking that extra shift, her daughter would still be with them.

  After the last goodbyes were said for the sweet little angel, no one knew what to do next. Martha couldn’t even imagine returning to the life she had led before the whole nightmare had begun. However, she felt like she needed to be there when the killer was found and brought to justice.

  Martha and Sarah flew back to Denver just a week after Ashlyn was laid to rest. They tried to return to a life that was missing so much, but they knew that they couldn’t just run from what had happened. They needed to be there to look Ashlyn’s killer in the eyes if and when they found him.

  ***The Man***

  A few weeks after the coverage of Ashlyn’s murder began to fade away, he knew it was time to make his next move. He had been watching her for several days now. She always went the same way home. Parking his car near the school, he watched as the stream of children began to emerge after a week of school. He saw her a few minutes later. Knowing that he needed to get a ways away from the school before he took her, he drove along behind her until the groups of children disappeared.

  She lived further from the school than he had expected, but he knew that he could use that to his advantage. He quickly parked the car and went around in front of her. Smiling at her, he grabbed her and threw her in his car and sped away. He had decided that convincing her to come with him wouldn’t do much good and would waste precious time.

  The little girl offered a struggle, but she soon settled in the back seat and whimpered uncontrollably as he made his way out of the city. He needed to move quickly if he was to do what he needed to before her disappearance was discovered. As far as he knew, he hadn’t been seen taking her. The rush of excitement built up in him as he realized that he would be making yet another little friend.

  ***

  The older woman who lived in the house that the girl passed in front of every day looked out her window. She liked looking around the neighborhood and she enjoyed watching the children play out in the street in front of her home.

  Lily Mayer, the little girl from down the block, always walked by her home at the same time every afternoon when school let out. It was a reassurance to her to see that little girl walk past and wave a
t her. That day, however, she got the shock of her life. As she saw little Lily walking up the block, she noticed a gray sedan following her at a close distance. Something wasn’t right about the situation. She stood up and got closer to the window so that she could get a closer look at the car. A few seconds later, the car pulled quickly to the curb and she watched in shock as a man with thinning brown hair got out and grabbed Lily and violently forced her into the car. As the car sped away, she quickly ran to dial the police. She just hoped and prayed that little Lily would be okay until someone could find her.

  The news about the new disappearance spread quickly. No one was going to let this one sit until the next morning. An Amber Alert was called immediately after the eight year old girl had been seen being thrown into the back of the car. This time there was a witness who could provide a detailed description of the perpetrator. The whole community feared that the poor little girl would meet the same fate as Ashlyn Anderson had. The elderly neighbor woman who had called in the abduction was able to provide significant clues as to the description of the man and the car that he had been driving. Everyone hoped that these clues would make it possible to find her before anything bad happened to her. Everyone got the sense that this was the same man who had taken Ashlyn. The little girl’s mother had told them that her daughter walked home every afternoon and stayed with her older brother until she got home. She had always arrived home on time and stayed home. This was the first time all year that she hadn’t come home. The police were able to retrace her steps and found the spot where they thought she had been taken. Her backpack laid on the ground near the curb. Whoever had taken her had been sloppy this time. Based on the profile of the suspect, the authorities guessed that he would head back to the same place that he had killed and dumped Ashlyn’s body. Several departments made an effort to cover the canyon and the roads that led to it. They would not let another innocent child die.

  Martha’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the news of the abduction. She knew what the mother must be going through at that very moment. Her heart beat in fear, but she also hoped that this would make it possible for the police to find the person who had killed her daughter.

  The backpack was a good clue. If the perpetrator had left that evidence behind, then there must be something else that could link the person to both of the crimes. Both incidents were too similar not to have been done by the same person.

  The state patrol had immediately started watching the entrance to the Poudre Canyon after the elderly neighbor had called. They sensed that he would take her to the same place he had taken Ashlyn or someplace near there. However, as night fell, they didn’t see any signs of anything suspicious. They just hoped that they could save this little girl before she ended up like Ashlyn had.

  ***The Man***

  After he had grabbed her, he drove a little ways out of town before he pulled over. He wanted to make sure that she cooperated with him so that he could get past the police he knew would be waiting at the head of the canyon. He had waited a few hours and drove around the countryside, hoping that if he didn’t show up right away, the authorities would start looking elsewhere.

  “Okay, my dear, this is what is going to happen,” he spoke to her in a loud whisper. The tears were flowing down her cheeks, but she laid still on the back seat where he had tied her up and left her. “I’m going to put you in the trunk of my car. We’re going to go on a little drive. If you hear anyone talking to me, you need to stay as quiet as you possibly can. If someone knows you’re here, then I will kill you and your family. You don’t want to watch me kill your mommy, right?”

  She shook her head and allowed him to lead her into the trunk of his car. He covered her with a dirty blanket and closed the lid.

  Making sure that he wasn’t being watched, he slipped back into the car and began to make his way towards the canyon. As he expected, there were officers at the mouth of the canyon. They motioned for him to stop the car and roll down the window. He obediently complied.

  “Yes, officer?” he smiled up at the officer who walked up to his door.

  “I just need to see some identification. There is a little girl who has gone missing and we just want to know who’s going up and coming down,” the officer explained.

  He pulled out his wallet and showed his license to the officer.

  “Oh, Chief Wilson! I should have recognized you! What brings you up the canyon today?” the young officer asked.

  “I just wanted to check out the Anderson crime scene one more time. I feel like we’ve been missing something that might help us catch her killer,” he patiently explained. “Call it a hunch, but I feel like there is something there that might help us.”

  “Sir, did you hear about the child who just went missing in Fort Collins? It seems she was taken about two hours ago. We thought that maybe the perpetrator would head up this direction again, so we are just talking to anyone coming and going up the canyon.”

  “Is that right? Well, I guess I can check things out when I get up there. If the perpetrator decides to replay his last crime, I’m sure he will be there soon. You guys keep up the good work,” Wilson patted the young officer on the shoulder.

  “It’s scary that another little girl has disappeared. I hope you find something so that we can bring that monster to justice,” the officer stated as he waved Wilson past the barricade.

  Wilson sighed with relief. That was easier than he had expected it to be. He was just thankful that he could use his credentials to get through without too many questions. Humming to himself as he continued the drive up the canyon, he tried to think about what he would do with this one. As Chief Wilson’s car moved past the checkpoint, the officer who had spoken to him thought that something was off. Why was the chief in his ordinary clothing to go and check a crime scene? The car he was driving was also eerily similar to the description of the one that the elderly woman had seen. And the one detail that made it all seem more bizarre is that Chief Wilson had thinning brown hair. With this hunch, the officer got behind the wheel of his cruiser and decided to follow the chief up the canyon. He told a colleague that he would be back in a little bit. Making sure that he stayed a good distance behind the car, he followed the chief’s car up the canyon.

  The drive felt like it would take forever. He knew that Red Feather Lakes was quite a distance up the canyon, but the tension of the chase made the drive seem much longer. Since his encounter with Wilson, he had felt that there was something not quite right. Could a man of the law be responsible for that little girl’s death?

  About an hour later, he noticed that Wilson’s car had pulled onto a dirt road. He hesitated for a few minutes before he too took the road. The car in front of him was out of sight, but the rain from the night before made it easy for him to be able to follow the treads that the car in front of him had left. He eased around the bend and saw where the other vehicle had come to a stop. The officer carefully kept out of Wilson’s sight, but he watched him as he exited his vehicle and walked around to the back. He watched as Wilson popped open the trunk and lifted out a bundle. Wilson set the bundle down on the ground and removed the blanket that was over it. It was then that he realized just what that bundle was. Everything he had been taught and had known about his profession was lost in just a brief moment.

  ***

  He looked in all directions before he set his new friend on the ground. He hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to her like he had the last one, but they were going to go for a little walk and talk now. He felt driven to know something about her so that he could feel a connection to her.

  The ground muddy around them and the wind was a little brisk. He knew that no one would suspect him of anything, so he didn’t bother to look around him any more than that first glance. There were no campers out today. And that young officer at the mouth of the canyon had known him for years. He would never suspect that he would do anything to hurt a child.

  She stood before him and whimpered. He wanted to talk to her, b
ut first he needed to take off the blanket and ropes that he had tied her in. Finally, she stood there in front of him and gazed up at him. The cold wind made her shiver uncontrollably, so he placed the blanket around her shoulders.

  She was frightened, but the fact that he had untied her and made sure she was warm made her feel a little less afraid.

  “Come with me, my dear. We’re going to have picnic by the lake and talk. I want to be your friend. I’m sorry I frightened you,” he told her as he took her hand and led her in the direction he had taken Ashlyn a few weeks ago. She hesitated for just a moment, but with a gentle tug, he was able to get her to follow him without much of a struggle. He wanted this to be as easy as possible.

  She remained silent at his side as they took the path down to the water.

  “What’s your name? You can call me Wilson,” he smiled charmingly down at her.

  “I’m Lily. Sir, I want to go home. My mommy is going to be worried about me,” she said in a soft voice.

  “We will see about that after we talk. You see, I need a new friend and wanted to talk to you. I didn’t mean to scare you today.”

  “You said you would kill my mommy. Are you a bad man?”

  “No, I just wanted to make sure that we could have this talk. And if you would have talked, the other men would have taken you away. You never would have seen your mommy again.” He was trying to create doubt in her mind about the situation. If she thought of him as a friend, then it would make the kill much better.

  They sat on a picnic bench near the side of the lake. Lily was still scared, but at least she wasn’t crying and hadn’t tried to run. He smiled as he anticipated his next move.

  The Officer in pursuit

  The officer who had followed him up the canyon radioed down to his colleagues and told them that he needed backup right away. He was shocked and confused by the scene that was unfolding in front of him.