by Andrew Hess
As he exited into the hall, a set of stairs caught his attention. He figured Reed’s bedroom was located on the second floor. When he made it to the top, he noticed there were several doors. He checked each room finding one to be a spare bedroom, another was an office, and the third was a bathroom. There was one door left which meant his victim was about to die.
There was a slight creak as he opened the door. Tiptoeing to other side of the room, he found a bundle of blankets piled on top of and around the body. The Puppet Master positioned himself next to the bed and stretched his arm out with the knife pointed towards the body. In quick repetitive motions, his hand plunged the knife into the blankets. He expected the blood and feathers to spill out from the comforter, but none did. He ripped the blankets back finding pillows in place of a body.
“Where the fuck is she?”
The blankets flew back as a woman appeared next to the pillows. She jumped to her knees and sprayed pepper spray into the Puppet Master’s eyes. He sliced the air hoping to get cut her before she got away. He managed to grab her with his left hand, gripping her shoulder tightly. But the A.D.A. swatted it away shoving him back and kicking him in the chest.
Using his shirt to wipe his eyes, the Puppet Master heard his victim place a call.
“Ali, he’s here…hurry!”
It was too late. The Puppet Master was back on his feet and chasing after Ms. Reed. She aimed the bottle at his eyes again, but he swatted it away. “You think that shit’s gonna stop me?” His fist slammed against her face, breaking his victim’s nose instantly.
“Help!” she cried out.
“No one’s gonna save you.” He kicked her in the side, making sure she stayed down. “You think that call is gonna do anything?” He grabbed Stacy Reed by the short strands of hair, lifting her face off the floor. The click of the blade, revealed the knife as he slammed it into the back of her head. He pulled it out before picking up the cell phone. Noticing the call was still connected, he decided to taunt Detective Ryan in a new way. “Just give up, Ali. No one is safe from me, not even you or that snitch you’re hiding.”
Chapter 37-Ali
Being on lockdown was not my idea of fun. I had hope for it only being the one night, but the lieutenant told me there would be round the clock protection for all of us until we caught the killer. Personally, I believed if he were to strike, tomorrow’s prison transfer would be the ideal time.
I stood in the living room staring out the window. Our assigned detail sat in their car. There was really no need for them. If the so called “Puppet Master” wanted me, he would find a way. It’s not like he hasn’t before, only this time he would have to get through four officers including myself. Part of me wanted him to try. I’d love nothing more than to be the one to take him out. He’s done so much to hurt the people in my life, I would be justified for wanting to inflict just as much pain on him.
“Ali, what are you doing up?” James’ gravelly voice tore me away from the window momentarily.
“I-I couldn’t sleep.”
He placed his arms around my waist and nuzzled his face against my neck. “Relax, there’s no way he’s gonna try anything.”
“If he does, I have a bullet with his name on it waiting for him.” Admitting that would be grounds to take me off the case, but I knew James wouldn’t say anything. He’s seen the pain and devastation in my eyes that this asshole caused.
“Forget him and let’s go back to bed.”
Before I could tell him no, his lips grazed the side of my neck. I melted into his arms as he scooped me up and brought me back to the bedroom. He placed me gently on the bed gently as he bent down to kiss me. My hands threaded through his golden brown hair, pulling him closer. I felt him grab my leg, placing it around his side. His eyes had a lustful look to them, telling me how bad he wanted me. As his fingers pulled at the buttons on my shirt, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
“Did you add something new to our foreplay?” James asked.
“No, it’s my phone.” I shoved his chest, pushing him back to the edge of the bed. The upturned corners of his mouth made me believe he had nothing but mischievous thoughts running through his head. I pulled the cell from my pocket and showed him the device as it continued vibrating in my hand.
“Damn, I think we need to make a trip to the store later.”
I smacked his chest playfully as I checked to see who was calling. Seeing A.D.A. Reed’s name pop up, sent a chill down my spine.
“This is Ryan,” I said into the phone.
“Ali, he’s here. Hurry!”
I jumped to my feet and grabbed my shoes. “We need to go now,” I snapped at James. “He’s at Stacy’s house. Call in for backup and call the Lieutenant too.” I pressed my ear against the receiver.
“You think that shit’s gonna stop me,” a man shouted. I heard a thud as if something fell to the floor.
“Help,” Stacy cried out. I jumped in the car, connecting the call to my Bluetooth as I slammed on the gas. I wanted to be there for her, to make it to the house before the intruder hurt her more than he already had.
“No one’s gonna save you,” he said coldly as I heard him grunt and the faint yelp of pain from a woman. “You think that call’s gonna do anything?” I heard a click which made me press the gas pedal to the floor. “Just give up, Ali. No one is safe from me, not even you or that snitch you’re hiding.”
Hearing the killer’s voice made the rage inside worse. I wanted blood, his blood. I knew there was nothing I could do for Stacy Reed, but with any luck we could find him leaving her house.
“Police are already in route and are advised to close off the area. The Lieutenant is also on his way.” I felt his eyes lock onto me as I rounded the corner. “Ali, talk to me. What happened?”
“She’s dead,” I spat. “The son of a bitch killed her while I was on the phone and then he taunted me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he’s coming after all of us including the snitch we’re hiding.” We both knew he was referring to Claire. She was scheduled to be transferred from one prison to another the next morning, but would it still happen now that the A.D.A. was dead?
We pulled up to the house finding a squad car parked out front. There were cars parked all along the street and in driveways. With the few lights the street had, someone could easily hide between the houses.
“Lights on,” I whispered. We pulled the flashlights from our pockets and un-holstered our glocks. I signaled to James to take the passenger side of the squad car while I took the driver’s side. We reached the front doors simultaneously. With our guns drawn, we pulled the doors open. One of the officer’s fell at my feet. Inside the car was covered in blood.
James rushed to the driver’s side of the car. “Is he dead?”
I nodded. I didn’t need to check for a pulse. With the amount of blood he and the squad car were covered in, there was no doubt in my mind the officer was dead.
“Weren’t there supposed to be two men watching her?”
I moved to the front of the car and scanned the houses, searching for any sign of movement. “She was supposed to have one keeping an eye outside the house and another guarding the inside.” I looked back at the house and took a step towards it before James placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Whoa, where are you going?”
“To check out the house. We need to check on Stacy.”
“You think she’s still alive?”
“I don’t know, but if she is, she won’t have much time.”
James agreed as we charged the front door. We tried the handle, finding it unlocked with no sign of forced entry. We stepped inside and searched the first floor. Splitting up wasn’t a good idea, but knew it was the quickest way to cover the most ground.
I rounded the corner into the living room. The beam of light swept from side to side, not picking up anything suspicious. I entered the room until I found the couch. Another pool of blood circled the floor. I hurrie
d over to the cushions, finding Officer Davis’s lifeless body.
I held back the shriek of horror. He wasn’t a friend, but he was a colleague that I’ve known for years. I knew he had a wife and three kids. Two of them were teenagers in high school. The third was about to start the seventh grade.
“Ali, backup’s here,” James shouted.
I jogged back to the front of the house seeing several officers exiting their cars. “We started securing the first floor. I need half of you to stay down here. The other half, come with us upstairs.”
We slowly crept up the steps until we made it to the landing. I signaled for pairs of two to take a different set of doors as we marched down the hall, taking the final room on the right. I held up my fingers counting down from three. By the time I hit one, we barged through the door with guns drawn.
“Shit, I found her,” James shouted as he ran over to a body on the floor. His muscular frame kept me from seeing any wounds, but could see the blood seeping into the carpet.
I moved closer as I heard the other officers yell “clear,” from down the hall. I hovered over James and saw the blood covering the back of Stacy’s short, blond hair.
“Looks like our killer decided to change up the way he murders his victims.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t go down without a fight.” James pointed to the bottle of pepper-spray that sat a few feet from Stacy’s hand. “We need to get the C.S.U. team up here immediately. I want this whole room processed.
I rushed out of the room, trying my best to shield myself from everyone. It wasn’t the anger welling up inside at the sight of another victim that tore me up inside. It was the fear of knowing this man would not stop until he has crossed off every name on his hit list. There was no rhyme or reason to his actions. There was no motive we could find. The worst part of it was that he was willing to kill anyone who got in his way, including police and the A.D.A. The only thing we knew for sure was that he had two targets, Dr. Claire Cain and me.
I ran from the house, pushing away a pair of officers as I tried to get back to my car. Instead, I ran into what felt like a brick wall. I looked up and found Rodney standing at the edge of the property.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” he asked.
“I-I just gotta get away from this.” I looked up at him with a puzzled look on my face. “Wait, why are you here?”
“The Lieutenant called me and ordered me to get my ass down here fast.” He looked around and saw the number of police cars surrounding the house. “You mind telling me what happened here?”
“He was here. He killed the Assistant D.A.”
“Where’s James?”
“He’s inside. The house is clear. I just couldn’t stand being in there anymore.”
Rodney put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close. “It’ll be okay, Ali.”
“Rodney, he killed two cops just to murder the A.D.A. This guy is a psycho. There’s nothing he won’t do. Hell, he threw me off a bridge, kidnapped my sister and probably killed Matthew while framing you for the murder.”
“It doesn’t matter, we’ll get him and he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
I know as a cop we’re expected to keep a cool head and not resort to physical violence unless provoked. We’re supposed to arrest the suspect and let the system carry out justice. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to kill the bastard that was behind it all and make the world a better place. If given the chance, I’d gladly pull the trigger.
A few minutes later, another car pulled up. I recognized it as “the car I am never to touch again.” That was the Lieutenant’s cardinal rule. I’ve been threatened to be demoted down to school crossing guard or transferred to the prison to handle cavity searches if I ever attempt to drive his baby again.
Esposito approached and tipped his hat at us. “Detectives, do we have a handle on the situation inside?”
“Yeah, James is inside,” I mumbled. “He’s waiting for the C.S.U. team to get here.”
“They should be here in a few minutes. Any sign of the suspect or any evidence pointing to which direction he ran off in?”
“No, sir.”
“Very well. Johnson, take Ryan home and wait with her at the house. She is not to leave until I call you.”
“What about my statement?” I asked.
“It can wait until the morning. Right now, you’re still a target, and I want to make sure you stay safe.”
“And James?”
“I will be with him and take him back to the station to give his statement. I’ll have a pair of officers escort him back home when he’s done.”
“Look what happened to the last pair of officers that got in the killer’s way. We just lost a rookie and Davis.”
“I know, but right now we have no choice. You need to trust me. I promise; he’ll be okay.”
“And I’m supposed to sit back and pretend like everything’s okay when in reality I’m a sitting duck?”
“No, you need to rest. Tomorrow we have a meeting with the D.A. to discuss what happened tonight and how we’re gonna nail the murderous son of a bitch.”
I let out a half smile. It was nice to see the Lieutenant fired up at someone other than me. “You better hold up your promise. Don’t let anything happen to him.”
“Ali, you have my word.”
Chapter 38-Ali
I sat in the bedroom for hours waiting for James to come home. Rodney told me it was best for me to get some sleep, but that was impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flashes of Stacy and Matthew’s dead bodies. I had flashbacks from when I was attacked on the bridge and left for dead in the icy cold Hudson River. But most of all, I remembered hearing the voice taunting me, telling me no one was safe.
I stumbled out of the bedroom around three and found Rodney passed out on the couch. “Some security you are.” I grabbed a pillow to hit him in the face with, but found a pair of lights hitting the house. Heading back to the kitchen, I ripped my spare gun from under the counter and ran back to the couch. “Rodney, get up.”
He pushed himself up and un-holstered his glock. “What’s wrong?” he asked while frantically searching the darkened living room.
“Someone’s here.” I crouched down and hurried to the large bay window. Peering out the curtains, I could see someone staggering towards the front door. The outside light hit the man’s face and could see the exhaustion on James’ face.
I stood up and shoved my gun in the back of my jeans. Rodney must have picked up on the hint as he holstered his gun and sat back down on the couch. Clicking on the lights in the living room, I opened the door as James fumbled with his keys.
He looked up and smiled at me. His right arm snaked around my waist and pulled me to him. Our lips collided and could feel the intensity burning inside.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just tired.” He entered the house and closed the door behind him. He turned his head to see Rodney sitting on the couch with his hands folded behind his head. “You can head out if you want.”
“Yeah, I probably should. Mia’s probably worried sick about me.” He stood up and grabbed his jacket from the arm of the couch. “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
After Rodney left, James locked the door and walked towards our bedroom. “What was that about?” I asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“Why did you just kick Rodney out?”
“It’s late, and he was here to make sure nothing happened to you while I was gone. I’m home now, and he needed to get back to his wife.”
“You just seemed rude about it.”
“Sorry, Ali. I’m exhausted and ready to pass out. Esposito and the D.A. are calling a meeting at nine to discuss how to proceed with the investigation as well as the Claire situation.”
“Were you or the techs able to uncover any evidence at the house?” I was hopeful the killer might have slipped up and left a thumb print, the murder weapon, o
r something we could use to pinpoint a suspect.
“I stayed there for a bit, but I didn’t see anything other than blood on her cell phone. The C.S.U. team bagged it and took it in for testing.”
I watched as he stripped out of his shirt and pants. I followed him into the bedroom, and watched as he collapsed on the bed. I climbed in after him and began rubbing his lower back. There was no response. James simply pulled the pillows closer and fell asleep.
I woke the next morning feeling completely drained. James was still passed out next to me, while I only slept for an hour and a half. The clock showed it was already seven, which meant going back to sleep was completely out of the question.
I spent the next hour getting ready before James decided to drag himself from the bed. He barely said two words to me as he stumbled around the house. He slipped on a pair of khaki pants, and a polo shirt before sitting on the bed.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” he mumbled.
Something was wrong. James had never acted that cold to me before. His hair was a mess and he left the stubble on his cheeks. One thing I knew about James was he always made sure he looked his best.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked at me with heavy bags under his eyes. “Nothing,” he lied. “Just want to get this meeting done and over with.”
“Did something happen last night?” He refused to say another word. He continued putting on his shoes as if I never said anything to him. “Did Esposito say something to you?”
“Ali, I’m beyond exhausted right now. I can’t deal with any paranoid, conspiracy crap right now.”
His words stunned me. I didn’t know what to say or why he was being so mean. He threw Rodney out the house, and decided to verbally attack me for wanting to know the truth.
“Fine, I won’t say anything then.” I grabbed my keys off the dresser and walked towards the front of the house.
“Ali, that’s not what I meant.” I heard him shouting down the hall as he chased after me. His hands grabbed my shoulders, but I pushed them away.