Double usage

by Christine Bols

  Jameson called Williams again, and this time he picked up the phone right away. ‘That was a very good decision Dean, but I was expecting that from you.’ Williams didn’t react. ‘Now we can talk. Tell me, what do you hope to achieve with this action?’

  ‘You tell me first how many cops you have with you.’

  ‘Apart from myself there are two more in the car on the road and two on both sides of the house.’ He said nothing about the team in the basement and Connely and Haynes. When he saw Sackley and McCool come out of the ambulance, he slowly stepped to the side of the house, his mobile phone still to his ear. Sackley held up a notepad that he protected from the rain with his hand. OPEN WOUND ON HEAD – TWO STAB WOUNDS LEFT ARM – JAKE SHOT IN KNEE – ALL IN ROOM AT FRONT – NOT TIED UP – THREATENING WITH A GUN.

  Jameson nodded.

  ‘What is it you want to achieve with this Dean? If you have demands we can talk about that. You don’t want any more innocent victims do you?’ It stayed quiet on the other side. With a few interruptions, Jameson had been on the phone with Williams now for two hours, with the only result that Steffie had been released.

  Suddenly Williams started talking again. ‘I want you to get rid of your teams. And all of them, not only the two you mentioned.’ His voice sounded threatening. Jameson hesitated. ‘I can’t do that Dean, you know that. But if you surrender they don’t have to do anything. How about it?’ Williams disconnected again.

  ‘Good’, Jameson said turning to Tim. ‘That gives us some time to decide on a strategy.’

  ‘Do you think he is going to surrender?’ Jude asked.

  Jameson shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not, not without a fight. He has got nothing to lose. He’s going to prison, whatever happens now.’

  ‘What do you think he wants?’ Tim asked.

  ‘He wants that Chevy to get out of the state’, Jameson said. ‘And money probably.’

  At Jameson’s request Tim had joined the team in the basement. An agent stood on one each side of the stairs, taking care that they couldn’t be seen from inside. Through the small window only part of the living room was visible. Williams’s arms were resting on the table. In his right hand a gun pointed at a corner on the left of him. A bandage on his underarm indicated he was hurt, but Steffie had already told them that. His left hand rested on the telephone.

  ‘There is no way we can use the mechanical drill here for the camera without him noticing’, one of the men whispered.

  Although Tim knew Williams was at the front of the house, he crawled back against the bushes to the side of the house. The soil was damp from the rain which made his feet sink into the ground with every step he took. When he almost reached the others he suddenly heard a phone ringing. Williams called Jameson. The FBI-man put the phone on speaker.

  ‘Listen good FBI-guy. You make sure that Chevy has its windows blinded within fifteen minutes, and within the hour I want fifty thousand dollars, unmarked.’

  Jameson rolled his eyes but said: ‘And what are you putting against that Dean?’

  ‘I’ll release the parents but the boy stays with me.’

  In the background Tim heard a woman shout, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying.

  ‘Dean, you look like a very sensible guy to me, so you will understand that I can’t get my hands on fifty thousand dollars at night. You will have to give me a bit more time.’

  ‘One hour’, Williams shouted, ‘For every fifteen minutes longer, I will shoot someone here.’ He disconnected abruptly.

  ‘The camera can’t be used in the basement’, Tim whispered to Jameson when he sat back next to him. ‘He is sitting at the table close to the window in the front and points a gun at the hostages.’

  ‘We have to buy us some time’, Jameson sighed. He called Williams again but there was no answer. Then he called the team in the technical van on the road. A few minutes later two men got out, both holding a roll of smoky self adhesive tape which they started to put on the windows of the Chevy. Jameson put his megaphone to his mouth again. His voice boomed through the silent night. A dog barked in the distance.

  ‘Dean, I completed your first request. Look outside.’

  After a few moments the curtain was drawn back a little bit and a beam of light shone on the front yard. Right away it shut again. Suddenly they heard thumping and voices shouting. A deafening shot echoed in the cabin. ‘No Jake, don’t do that,’ they heard a woman scream.

  ‘Oh no,’ Jude said startled, ‘I hope no one got killed.’

  Jameson shook his head. ‘We have to act fast, this is getting out of hand.’ He took his walkie-talkie out of his breast pocket. ‘Team one, stand-by in the basement. Team two, break the window and throw in the flash bang, but you will have to wait till the two police officers are there too.’

  Jameson glanced at Tim and Jude. ‘It’s up to you now. The moment team two throws the flash bang, you shoot the hinges of the front door and storm in. Everything has to be done in a hurry so he has no chance of recuperating from the flash and the sound. He will be disorientated, deaf and blind for ten seconds, so within that time frame you will have to overpower him.’

  Two men in bullet proof vests appeared on the left side of the cabin and crawled to the window where they waited. On all fours Tim and Jude crawled over the damp grass underneath the window and headed for the front door. Tim looked at Jude and pointed to the top hinge.

  ‘I’ll shoot this one, you do the bottom one.’ She nodded. This was her first time in this kind of situation. Her legs felt like rubber and she could only hope she would get the hinge the first time. No way did she want to be the one to make this operation fail. Tim’s face was tense and looked grey in the faint moonlight. A vein throbbed in his neck.

  One of the FBI-agents said softly: ‘On three I break the window.’ Jude shivered. ‘One, two, three…’

  The glass broke with a loud crash and right after that the flash bang was thrown in. Without hesitating Tim and Jude shot the hinges. They rushed over the front door that had fallen to the inside. From that moment everything seemed to her to go into slow motion. As Tim got hold of the screaming Williams, Jude pounded the gun out of his hands. It rattled on the floor, went under the table and finished underneath the couch against the side window. Williams didn’t resist when they put the handcuffs on.

  All that followed seemed like a bad dream to her, almost surreal. Jameson came running inside, followed by Connely and Haynes who looked at the scene in horror. Williams allowed Jameson to lead him outside, stumbling over the door. Her feet felt as if they were glued to the floor, but she started to follow Tim outside. Williams groaned as Jameson pushed him in the car, hand on his head. The gauze colored deep red. In a haze she saw the paramedics with stretchers run towards the cabin. The nightmare was finally over. Tim took her in his arms and she started sobbing uncontrollably against his shoulder. The gun that she was still holding dropped on the damp grass with a muted thump. It was four in the morning.

  CHAPTER 22

  Foster had given the day off to the people who had helped arrest Williams. He had planned a press conference for later that day, but didn’t insist that Tim and Jude take part. He didn’t mind having the lime light to himself when he announced the arrest. Jameson had returned to his unit that same night and had congratulated Jude and Tim on their courageous performance.

  Jude woke up at ten and saw Tim still sleeping next to her. Leaning on her elbow she looked at him. Since the beginning of their relationship she had had mixed feelings about it. Not that she doubted him, it was more herself she doubted. She knew she wasn’t very stable regarding romantic relationships and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. Silently not to wake him she pushed the covers back on her side of the bed and put on her slippers and dressing gown. As she opened the bedroom door she heard him turn around and moan. He put his arm on her side of the bed and opened his eyes in surprise.

  ‘I was going to make breakfast’, she said smiling as she went bac
k to give him a good morning kiss.

  ‘Breakfast can wait honey. Come lie next to me.’ He patted the mattress invitingly. They made love very gently, without talking. When they sat at the breakfast table an hour later, he said: ‘I would like to go and see Williams in the sick bay.’

  ‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’ she answered worriedly as she put down her cup.

  ‘I don’t know, but that is what I want. Are you coming along?’

  She knew he needed answers for what happened, why he had killed these women, what connection there was between him and Dawson. Williams probably wouldn’t talk, after all, he had nothing to lose.

  ‘All right’, she sighed. ‘I’ll clear the table and take a shower. We can leave in half an hour if you want.’

  He looked at her thankfully.

  ‘Don’t you think we should let Foster know?’ she asked as they went on their way to Salem.

  ‘No, it’s our day off. We don’t owe him any explanation.’ His eyes were fixed on the road. She felt his nervousness and as they approached Salem it got worse.

  Salem prison was situated on the edge of the city on State Street and was cut off from the outside world by a high wall all around the complex with electrical wire on top of it. The different buildings were spread out over several acres. The heavily manned watch towers covered every inch of the whole area.

  ‘Capacity of five thousand’, Jude said with a straight face.

  Tim smiled as he stopped in front of the barriers. ‘Useful information.’

  They showed their badges to the guard at the entrance who checked them carefully. The barriers slowly went up and he drove further into the visitors parking near to the main administration unit. The building had a gloomy appearance which was accentuated by the bars in front of every window. Although the temperature was pleasant, she shivered when she got out of the car. She hid her handbag underneath the passenger’s seat and closed the door. Tim softly took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The guard at the entrance desk handed them their visitor’s badges.

  ‘Just wait in the room over there’, he pointed out. ‘Someone will come and get you soon. Please use your badges on every door you encounter, even with the guard there. We don’t want an alarm here’. He gave a friendly smile.

  What the guard had called a waiting room was only a bare space with a few wooden benches and a small window high up in the wall. At the end of one bench sat a woman in her thirties with a toddler on her lap. She looked up when Jude and Tim came in and gave them a short nod in greeting. Then she turned her attention back to the child that tried to free itself from her arms. They went to sit down at the other end. After a ten minute wait a uniformed guard entered the room and the woman got up.

  ‘Sorry ma’am, you will have to wait another half hour or so. There is a bit of a disturbance in block B and your husband is involved once again.’ Dispirited the woman sat down again.

  ‘The two of you can come with me’, he said. They got up relieved and followed the man through different corridors and doors until they arrived at the sick bay. ‘Williams is rather rebellious. We had to tie him to the bed.’ He pushed open the double glazed door. ‘Bed 5, left in the back.’

  They entered a large ward. There was a guard sitting on each side of the room. The one at the entrance asked them for their visitor’s badge. There were at least ten beds, separated from each other with plastic curtains. Jude heard the beeping of a monitor and the hissing sound of a respirator. They went straight to the back of the room. Williams seemed to sense their presence, because he opened his eyes. In his left hand was a drip, his right one was tied to the bed with a leather belt. Although she had seen him yesterday, she didn’t recognize him. The man smiled grimly.

  ‘Inspectors Sackley and McCool’, he said. ‘Nice to see you. I would offer you a chair but there isn’t a lot of comfort here for visitors. And I can’t shake your hand either’, he said, pointing his head to the belt. His voice sounded harsh and dripped with sarcasm. She wondered how he knew their names.

  ‘Dean, we just want to talk to you about what happened’, Tim said.

  ‘I bet you do.’ He turned his head away from them. ‘And why don’t you tell me what happened?’

  ‘You’re not going to deny you killed these girls’, Jude said.

  Williams turned his head back to them and looked her straight in the eye. ‘Do you see a lawyer here? Why would I want to talk to you? Give me one good reason.’

  ‘We know what it was that triggered your behavior Dean’, Tim said calmly. ‘And you’re right, you don’t have to talk to us without a lawyer present.’

  Williams moved his gaze from Jude to Tim. ‘My mother was a bitch’, he said all of a sudden. ‘She is the reason why I am here, she and she alone.’

  ‘Don’t you think you have a responsibility and a free will of your own?’ Tim asked.

  ‘Responsibility?’ he shouted. ‘You with your pompous words. I am just a simple guy in every sense of the word. So, I only answer simple questions.’

  ‘Okay, then here is a very simple one for you. What has Jacob Dawson got to do with all of this?’

  Williams laughed hoarsely. ‘Dawson? A guy I met in prison.’

  ‘Did you want to frame him for the murders? Therefore the alarms on the watches? Therefore the girls he raped?’ There was a sudden loaded silence. Jude wondered if he was going to answer. ‘You fooled us Williams. Everything pointed to Dawson. You’re not that simple as you want us to believe. You are very intelligent.’ Jude saw a hint of pride in William’s dark eyes, but he didn’t react. ‘All right, then I will tell you myself what happened. If what I say is correct you don’t have to react. If I got it wrong, you just say no.’ Williams kept silent and didn’t look at them. Tim continued. ‘You and Dawson became mates in prison. Dawson was the weak one of you two and you used that to your advantage.’ Tim waited a few seconds and then went on. ‘After you were released you started working in a cleaning company and so you discovered that Dawson worked in Albany station. Maybe you were still in contact, I don’t know, but what I do know is that you were aware of the fact Dawson copied the surveillance tapes. One way or another you got hold of these tapes and you knew which girls he was going to rape. Dawson raped them and a few days or weeks later you went hunting for them, and tortured and killed them. Obviously you both had the same taste in women. To blame Dawson you left the watches that pointed to the departure times of the trains they took every Saturday. And you know what happened then don’t you. You made a big mistake.’

  Tim paused for a few moments. Williams didn’t react. ‘What you didn’t know was that we jailed Dawson after the third murder. If you had stopped then, we would never have found you. Dawson couldn’t have killed the third one since he was in jail.’ Jude knew Tim was bluffing and that at least he was bending the truth a little bit. ‘And then of course’, he continued, ‘there was Amy Donovan. You let her escape and that was the final deathblow.’ Williams still didn’t react, only clenched his right hand. ‘One more thing Dean. Why did you find it necessary to remove the left eye and nipple? And the womb?’

  Slowly Williams turned his head towards him and smiled sadly. ‘I have a headache man. I want to rest.’

  CHAPTER 23

  The debrief was scheduled for ten o’clock. Connely and Haynes were already sitting at the table when Tim and Jude arrived. The charged atmosphere that had hung over the office during the last few weeks had turned into cheerfulness. Haynes laughed uproariously at one of Connely’s jokes, while she wiped some sugar from her blouse. She took another bite from her donut and lifted her other hand in greeting as Tim and Jude came in. Connely was still laughing about his joke. Foster came in and gave everyone his ‘I-haven’t-seen-you-in-weeks’ handshake. He looked overjoyed. Probably he had received a pat on the back from the mayor and the promise of a pay rise. He sat down at the head of the table and waited until he had everybody’s undivided attention.

  ‘First of all I want to thank T
im and Jude for the professional manner they took on this case, a case I have to say, looked hopeless at the start. With Haynes and Connely’s help we finally caught Dean Williams.’ He looked around as if he had just made the statement of the century and looked at Tim. ‘I know you weren’t very pleased with the FBI-help at first, but it paid off.’

  ‘I have to admit’, Tim said, ‘Jameson wasn’t so bad after all. He had a very professional attitude and knew what he was doing.’ Tim knew all too well that the FBI only got involved because of the mayor’s hot breath on Fosters neck, but he was willing to play the game. He heard Jude cough lightly.

  ‘I scheduled another press conference for this afternoon and I would like you all to be there this time.’

  Haynes and Connely obviously wanted their moment in the spotlight because they looked at Foster elated. Tim was a bit less happy and he assumed Jude felt the same. He felt drained, physically and mentally. The last few weeks had been demanding.

  ‘What are we going to tell the press hounds?’ Tim asked.

  Foster gazed at him. ‘We’re going to give them everything. I want fair reporting, I want them to know what we did to catch Williams in this short time.’

  ‘That’s all well and good, but Williams hasn’t even been convicted yet. You can’t call him a serial killer when he hasn’t even appeared before a judge. Amy Donovan hasn’t been able to identify him yet. Can’t we tell them Williams has been arrested for taking the Hubbard’s hostage and that he is our probable killer?’ Tim asked.