Should Be Dead (The Valkyrie Smith Mystery Series Book 1)

by Jeramy Gates

  “When we saw the chance, Tom told me to escape. I refused, but he wouldn’t allow me to stay. He made up some story about how I could run to the neighbors and call the police. Of course, Tom knew he was going to die. He was just trying to save me.

  “It was night, and I ran out of the house naked and covered in blood. As soon as I crossed the front lawn, I heard the man screaming at Tom, beating him. I heard him come outside, and I knew then that I’d never get away. I looked around, trying to find a safe place to hide, and decided to climb inside the old well. I figured if I was quiet, he would never find me there in the dark.

  “I hung inside the well by my fingertips. I was too exhausted, too out of sorts to support my weight for long. I slipped, and I ended up at the bottom of the well, unconscious. When I woke up, it hurt to move and my legs were numb. I thought I might have been paralyzed. I was terrified. I could see a tiny patch of clouds and sky and I kept seeing shadows moving up there. I could hear him walking around the well, searching for me. I knew that he was going to find me eventually; that he would crawl down there and finish me off. But while I was laying there in the darkness, surrounded by crawling creatures and the bodies of dead rodents who’d fallen in before me, something happened. The terror just kept building and building, up to the point that I finally snapped. I suddenly realized I wasn’t afraid anymore. I didn’t care if I died. What did I have to lose? He’d already killed my entire family. I didn’t have anything else to live for. I wanted to die. Suddenly, I was perfectly calm.

  “For a while, it seemed like that was the end of it. I was just lying there, waiting to die. I figured the internal bleeding would finish me off, eventually. When that didn’t happen… I slowly realized that I wasn’t going to die. The broken back was enough to keep me at the bottom of that well, but it wasn’t enough to kill me. I might die of dehydration eventually, but that would take a while. I spent two nights down there, waiting, wondering, and planning.”

  “Planning?”

  “Yes. I had a lot of time to think over the events and decisions that had brought me to that place. I realized that if I’d been a little more careful, a bit less naive, I might have prevented the entire situation. I was trusting, you know? I had trusted in humanity, in the basic goodness of people; that they won’t walk into your house and kill you just because they can. But that’s not the way the world is. I suppose you could say my blinders came off.”

  “What happened?”

  “The killer left. He must have realized that someone would come looking for us eventually. Monday afternoon, the police found me and pulled me out of the well. I was in surgery for most of the night.”

  “You said you were planning something, down in that well? Was it revenge?”

  “Of course. But I knew that goal was a long way off. I didn’t even know if I’d survive. I just knew what I wanted to do if I survived. After my surgery, it took several months to recover. The doctors said I would probably never walk again, but I did. I made it to my feet, and I relearned how to walk.

  “After they released me, I still had to go through more than a year of therapy. But it was time to put my plan into action. I had to learn how to defend myself. I took martial arts and self-defense classes. I learned how to shoot, and how to fight. I sold the farm. I sold everything except the car, and put the money in different bank accounts under various corporate entities that I created. I formed an alliance with my son’s best friend, a computer hacker. Between the two of us, we swore to bring the killer to justice.”

  “Michael Barnes?”

  “No. Michael Barnes isn’t the killer. He’s just a copycat. An apprentice, you might say. I followed the trail of the killer here. He calls himself by the name Odin.”

  “Odin?” said Riley. “Your name is Valkyrie, and the killer calls himself Odin?”

  “I’m afraid so. I was the first of his victims to survive. Somehow, in his lunatic mind, he decided that since I was named Valkyrie that he must be the Norse god Odin. He took on that persona because of me. Now, when he kills his victims, he hangs them upside down from a tree and drives a spear through their hearts. My name inspired all of that.”

  “And Michael Barnes?”

  “He’s local. I believe Barnes is taking lessons from Odin, learning his style. Barnes calls himself Loki now.”

  Riley leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and ran a hand through his hair. He gave her an anguished look. He still wasn’t sure he could trust her.

  “Let me show you something,” Val said.

  She pulled the projector out of the closet and set it up as quickly as she could. Her back was stiff, her muscles aching, and Riley kindly assisted her. Even with that gun in his pocket, he couldn’t stop being a nice guy.

  As before, Valkyrie connected the projector to her laptop and loaded a series of panoramic images. The first scene came to life - the interior of the Brooks home after the murders- and Riley’s jaw dropped. He rose from his chair and turned slowly, scanning the image from wall to wall.

  “How did you get this?”

  “That’s not important. What’s important is this…” Val pointed at the runic writing on the wall, using the laser pointer on the remote. “Do you know what this says?”

  Riley shook his head mutely.

  “It says: I am Loki. I shake the earth. It’s an ancient alphabet used by the Vikings.”

  “Loki. That’s Michael Barnes?”

  “The only reason he would have taken that identity is because of Odin. At first, I thought Loki might be a copycat, but when I looked at the rest of the scene… when I saw the bodies out back, I knew.”

  She clicked the remote, and the image of the backyard came to life. “This is Odin’s work. He cuts throats. He tortures. This is his M.O. The public doesn’t know about this yet.”

  She clicked the remote again, and the image switched to a similar scene. The landscape was different, and the display showed the bodies of a young couple next to a backyard swimming pool. She clicked again, pulling in for a close-up of the bodies. “These victims also had their throats cut. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that all that changed with the Brooks family. Those murders were far more violent. Loki is the reason for that.”

  Riley had begun to pace, wringing his hands, forcing his gaze from the grisly images to the floor, only to continually glance back a moment later.

  “What does it mean?” he said. “Why are they working together?”

  “It depends. It’s possible they just happened to meet, and to join up. It’s also possible that Odin chose his student for a purpose.”

  “Like what?”

  “To dilute the trail. With two of them doing the same thing, it will be impossible to track them both. That way, Loki is a distraction.”

  “This is insane.” He turned his gaze on Valkyrie. “Why are you doing this? Why don’t you let the police handle it… the real feds?”

  “They had their chance. I spent two years recovering from what Odin did to me. Two years of surgeries and physical therapy, tai chi, acupuncture. All that time, I kept calling them, asking if they had him yet. What do you think they told me?”

  “What?”

  “That they were very busy, and if anything changed, they would contact me. During all that time, how close do you think they got?”

  Riley winced. “Not very, I’m guessing.”

  “Exactly. The feds don’t care about Odin. He’s just one serial killer out of dozens. They don’t have the resources to track down every tip, or interview every witness. That’s not the way it works. They don’t actively pursue a case like mine unless it gets national attention. All along, Odin just keeps killing.”

  “They must have put it together by now,” Riley said. “The FBI must have a team working on this.”

  “Do you think so? Tell me, after the killings last weekend, how many feds have come looking? Besides me, of course.”

  “That’s not fair. If you weren’t here already, Diekmann migh
t have called them himself.”

  “Maybe, but I can guarantee that nothing would have come of it. They wouldn’t know about the previous murders. It would take weeks for them to trace his steps and build a profile, and by then he would be long gone. Don’t you see, Riley? There is no one else to do this. If I don’t do it, he goes free. He just keeps on killing.”

  “How does he choose them?”

  “The victims? I have no idea.”

  “So there’s nothing they all have in common?”

  “Not that I’ve found.”

  “But serial killers always look for specific victims, like young blonde women, or men who look like their father.”

  “Maybe, but if there’s a connection I haven’t found it yet.”

  Val’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen, and then turned on the speaker. “Go ahead, Matt,” she said, staring it Riley.

  “I found it!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “One hundred percent. I hacked into SatCom and tracked the ID tag on that satellite receiver. It has a two-way radio, so I activated the radio through the satellite and tracked it back to the source. It took a while, because the signal was lousy, but I can tell you where the receiver is. Within two hundred yards or so, anyway.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” said Val. “Send the coordinates to my GPS.”

  Valerie retrieved her pistol and tucked it back into her holster. She took her cane to the door, lifted her jacket from the hanger, and glanced back at Riley. “Are you coming?”

  Riley gulped. He hesitated a moment and then rose to obediently follow her out the door.

  Chapter 22

  Maddie ran for her life. Her body ached, her lungs burned, her naked feet cried out as the sharp rocks ripped into her flesh, but still she ran.

  She had a good lead on Odin. The killer had taken longer to get out of the house than she had expected. Maddie didn’t realize the reason for this until Odin took his first shot at her. He’d gone back for the shotgun. She was halfway to the tree line, just two hundred yards from the shelter of the woods when Maddie saw a flash of light illuminate the fog behind her, accompanied by the thunderous kaboom of Frank’s old twelve-gauge. She cried out and dropped to her knees, certain that he’d hit her.

  Maddie knew how the shotgun worked. Odin couldn’t possibly have missed her. Yet, as she collected her wits, Maddie realized that he had. She moved the palms of her hands across her torso and lower back, finding only smooth flesh. Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside her, and she forced it down. She glanced back down the slope and saw Odin’s dark, fog-shrouded silhouette standing beside the greenhouse. He lowered the gun and broke into a run.

  In a heartbeat, Maddie was back on her feet. Encouraged by the lead she had on her captor, she pushed herself into a sprint. She ignored the thorns jabbing into her feet, the dry sage slapping at her naked legs and torso. Cuts, bruises, and scratches, that was all. She would live. She had survived worse. They had already done far worse to her…

  Maddie hit the tree line a few seconds later, just as Odin fired a second shot. She ran into the shadows with her head held low. She promptly tripped on a branch and went sprawling in the darkness. Maddie cried out as something sharp pierced her midsection. Her face hit the ground, and she saw stars. For a few seconds, she didn’t move. Maddie was reeling with shock.

  In the distance, she could hear the sound of Odin tearing his way through the sage, stomping up the hill towards her. That sound was enough to get her moving. She pushed to her feet and went blindly stumbling through the darkened woods. She held one hand out in front of her, searching for obstacles in her path. The other went to the wound at her side.

  Maddie knew it was bad. She could feel the piece of wood that had penetrated her flesh, and broken off inside her. For the moment, it didn’t hurt. Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Or perhaps it was simply the adrenaline that kept her moving.

  As her eyes adjusted, Maddie noticed shafts of moonlight here and there, cutting through the fog and the darkness to illuminate small patches of ground. She headed for the nearest one and then stood there, examining her wound. A shaft of wood three inches long and as big around as a man’s thumb protruded from her gut. Maddie touched it, moved it slightly, and cried out as she felt it groping through the flesh inside of her.

  Darkness closed in at the edges of her vision. She fought to maintain consciousness. In the distance, Odin called out to her:

  “I know you’re in there, shield-maiden! Where are you? Do you hear me? Lord Odin is calling for you!”

  Maddie settled down on the mossy ground with her back against the trunk of a redwood. The world spun around her and the forest seemed to alternate from light to dark, matching the beat of her pulse. Her hand was warm, slick with blood oozing from her wound.

  “Shield-maiden, you fought bravely! I will reward you with a just death!”

  Maddie held her breath. She gripped the piece of wood in her fist and yanked on it as hard as she could. An involuntary scream rolled out of her. She felt the wood splintering, tearing, tugging at something inside of her. Then it came free with a gush of blood and a searing, crippling pain. Her head fell back against the tree.

  Odin stood at the edge of the forest, gazing into the darkness. He heard Maddie scream, and tilted his head.

  “Is that you, shield-maiden? I’m coming for you!”

  Chapter 23

  For two long excruciating hours, Loki waited in the parking lot. For the first hour, he hid himself in the shadows and kept a sharp watch on the front door, hoping to catch the waitress leaving at the end of her shift. Then it occurred to him that the restaurant had a back door -a door in the far corner near the kitchen- and if his intended victim left that way, she might escape!

  Loki became frantic at the thought. He hurried to the other side of the restaurant to check the door, and upon finding it closed, moved around the building once again, desperate to catch a glimpse; desperate to verify that his prey had not already flown the coop. Eventually, he saw her, but he was in a state of near panic by then.

  From that moment on, Loki was restless and anxious. Every sound startled him. Every time another customer or group left the building, he had to rush back to verify that she was not among them. Since Loki couldn’t watch the front and back of the restaurant all at once, he had to keep moving, and that was not only exhausting but dangerous. It would only take one suspicious witness to notice him and call the police, or one overzealous security guard with a watchful eye.

  By midnight, Loki was a nervous wreck. He felt so wretched with anxiety that he was nauseous. It had been nearly an hour since the last of the customers left. In that time, Loki had seen the beautiful waitress wiping down tables in the dining area and disappearing into the kitchen several times while handling her end-of-shift duties. He was out front, watching through the windows when he heard the back door open, and heard her voice.

  Loki stealthed up to the corner and caught a glimpse of the woman heading in the opposite direction, down the boardwalk. He hurried back the way he had come, sneaking along the shadowy edge of the parking lot, making his way cautiously towards the boardwalk to head her off and wait for her.

  It was the greatest of luck, he decided, that she had chosen to walk in that direction. He could wait for her in the shadows. In that chosen place, he would be only a short distance from the stolen Mercedes. It would be all too easy to snatch her out of the darkness, to silence her with a knife blade to her throat, and then lock her in the trunk of the car.

  All too easy…

  The girl left the restaurant still wearing her apron, but now also a light denim jacket. Her hair was white in the moon-drenched fog, a glistening raiment that fell over across her shoulders, the rest of her form a sleek shadow whispering through the night. She was everything Loki could have hoped for, all he ever could have wanted.

  The door at the back of the building opened, and a beam of light stretched across the back patio, brig
htening the fog. The girl paused, turned in that direction as a shadowy figure appeared in the doorway. A man stepped out.

  “Lisa! Do you want me to walk with you?”

  “Only if you hurry. It’s cold out here.” The man turned, closed the door behind him, and hurried in her direction. Loki blinked, his eyes still adjusting to the quick change in lighting. From what he could tell, the man was of medium height, five-ten or so, but well built. He had long hair pulled back in a tail. He wore an apron also, as well as a white chef’s shirt. That explained why Loki didn’t recognize the man. He was the chef. He had been hidden inside the kitchen all night.

  Loki went slinking back towards the car, scratching his head, mumbling softly to himself. This changed everything. This was different… He turned, looking the man up and down, watching the couple stroll up the boardwalk towards the hill. A horrible feeling came over him, a terrible fear that he was about to lose her forever. Loki shook his head. He formed a fist with his right hand and punched it into his palm. This wouldn’t do. This would not do. Perhaps he should follow them, find out where the girl lived… but what if she lived in an apartment building? Or worse, what if she climbed into a car and drove away?

  No, Loki couldn’t let that happen. He’d been too patient, waited too long for this opportunity. He couldn’t afford to wait any longer. Soon, Odin would notice he was gone. Soon, the police would find out about the ranch house they’d broken into, the old man they had killed…

  Loki made his decision. He straightened his body and headed towards the couple with a purposeful stride. As he walked, his right hand snaked around behind his back, drawing the thin-bladed boning knife from where he had tucked it into his belt.

  They didn’t notice him at first, but as Loki came within striking distance, the rustle of his jacket and the jingling sounds of his zippers alerted them to his presence. The girl turned, and screamed. The cook instinctively threw out an arm, pushing her back.