Jack nodded and gave Crews a soft smile. “You deserve it man, more than anyone else.”
Crews took in another deep breath and prepared himself. “Okay, let’s do this.” He put his hand on the door knob and paused.
It was Jack’s turn to place a hand on Crews’ shoulder. “It’ll be alright. We’ll get to the bottom of what happened to her.”
Crews nodded and opened the door.
CHAPTER TWO
She immediately took notice of him. There wasn’t exactly a spark of recognition in her eyes, but she knew that someone else was in the room with her.
“Hello Jennifer.” Crews said as she sat down across from her.
“Hello Allen.” She said in return. The sound of her voice was soft, nearly childlike. Jennifer sounded so unsure of herself. Even so, it was amazing to Crews to hear her voice say his name.
“You remember me?” He asked, trying to be very careful. He didn’t know what kind of mental state she was in. He didn’t want to set her off by accident.
She nodded, albeit very slowly, like her motor functions were running at half power. “I know who you are. I remember all the time we spent together.” She gave him a soft smile. It made him feel odd inside.
“Where have you been? What happened to you?” He stopped himself and sat back. He sighed. “I have so many questions.”
“I know. She leaned forward and went to grab his hands. The chains on the cuffs caught though, holding her back. She looked at them disappointedly and sat back. “I’ll explain everything, though.”
He nodded and waited. He didn’t want to rush her, make her feel like she had to say anything she didn’t want to. Crews wanted her to feel safe. At the moment he was just glad that she had come back.
After a few minutes passed in silence Jennifer looked up at Crews. “You remember Hector right?”
Crews nodded and leaned in. “Your husband, of course. He disappeared shortly after you did.”
“I need to tell you about him.” She said, her eyes going wide.
“Okay.” Crews said. He pulled out his phone, ready to take notes.
“I know what happened to him.” Jennifer said with a bright smile.
******
The date was October 24, 2007. Jennifer was heading downstairs to prep for running errands.
“Hey! I’m hungry!” Called her husband, Hector from the living room.
Jennifer sighed and dutifully went into the living room. Her husband was busy watching TV. As always he had a beer in his hand and his feet up on the coffee table. She’d given up trying to tell him to stop.
“I’m on my way to pick up some food now.” Jennifer said, bracing herself.
“Well I was hungry an hour ago!” He yelled without turning around. At least he stayed facing the television.
“I’m sorry, I had a bit of work to finish up before I could head out. I can’t for dinner without a paycheck.” She said, perhaps a bit too harshly. In reality she had been putting make up on the most recent black eye she’d received. But pointing that out would only gift her another one to match.
That made him turn around. He was large, one of the few things he did after work was going to the gym, so he didn’t definitely had size on her.
“Sorry?” He said. “I didn’t hear you. It kind of sounded like you were talking back to me.” He came in closer to her and Jennifer took a step back.
“No, that’s not what I meant at all.” She said, looking at the floor. “I was just being honest with you, like you asked.”
Hector huffed for a moment before going back to his chair. “Now go get some food!” He flopped back down and stared at the TV. Jennifer looked at him for a moment before gathering her things and leaving. Hector huffed for a moment before going back to his chair. “Now go get some food!” He flopped back down and stared at the TV. Jennifer looked at him for a moment before gathering her things and leaving.
When she came back her husband was nowhere to be found. She checked the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, even the basement. But he’d disappeared.
For a moment she was able to breath. Jennifer dropped the bags off on the table and sat down. Within an instant tears began to roll down her face. The feeling of release felt sweet, something she wished she could hold on to.
In a second everything disappeared. Jennifer heard the door open and she quickly wiped her tears.
Hector came into the room and stared at her. “What are you doing?”
She stood and flattened out her clothes. “I was just sitting. I’m getting started on dinner now.”
“You better.” He said, about to head out of the room.
“Where were you?” She asked. Big mistake. She felt his big hand wrap around her chin and turn his face to his.
“Excuse me?” He asked. Anger filled his eyes.
Jennifer said nothing. She just waited. After a second he let go and she was able to speak. “I was just asking.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” He said, defiantly. “Do your job bitch and worry about yourself.” He then walked off and disappeared into the living room.
Jennifer huffed and silently did her duty, which in this case was cooking dinner.
They enjoyed the meal silently, though to say either of them enjoyed it would be an overstatement. The silence was deafening, Jennifer though. But to speak up would incur more punishment and she just didn’t want to deal with that right now.
Or ever again for that matter.
She was exactly sure how it felt, or the thought that ran through her mind. But something had changed. The cliché would be “snapped” but that doesn’t really describe it either. It was more of a dull burning sensation, one Jennifer wasn’t entirely sure was real or just something she imagined feeling.
Even so, she began planning how to murder her husband.
******
Crews scratched at his chin. “So what are you saying?”
Jennifer’s eyes slowly blinked and she gave him a kind seeming smile. “I’m telling you what happened to Hector.”
Crews’ stomach wasn’t feeling so good, but he had to hear the rest. He had to know what happened to her.
“Should I continue?” She asked, still smiling. She appeared animated, almost like she was a hallucination or born from a dream.
Crews took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. His notes were already pages long. But he nodded nonetheless. “Fine, go ahead.”
Jennifer was still smiling.
******
The plan was simple. Hector always did the same thing after work. He cracked a beer every night, almost immediately after that he’d plop down in front of the television and never be heard from again until dinner.
It was during dinner that step one would begin. She thought about making something specific and working some poison in, but that wouldn’t be enough. Instead Jennifer brought home some take out from Hector’s favorite chicken place. He was a spice kind of guy, so she knew that he would be putting a lot of extra hot sauce on. That’s where the she would put it.
She bought some regular strength sleeping pills. She didn’t want anything too fast acting or else he might suspect something, or just not make it upstairs. As long as he made to the chair she’d be okay. But there was no way she was going to carry him anywhere.
When Jennifer got home with the food Hector was already sitting in front of the television. He paid no attention to her as she began setting out the food. She’d even stopped by the supermarket to get a brand new bottle of hot sauce.
Jennifer unscrewed the cap and grabbed the sleeping pills. In a small bowl she crushed them up into a fine dust. Then she poured the dust into the new bottle of hot sauce and mixed it around. Then she screwed the cap back on and set it on the table.
“Dinner is ready.” Jennifer said.
Hector grunted in return, but didn’t get up. Jennifer shrugged to herself and sat down at the table. Everything was set on the table, but she had to wait until Hector sat down bef
ore she could eat.
After another fifteen minutes he finally got up and sat down. Jennifer was almost thankful that he didn’t wait any longer, her stomach was roaring.
He sat down silently and began digging in. Once he’d served himself Jennifer was allowed to get her own food. She ate quietly and slowly, waiting for him to grab that bottle of hot sauce.
When it finally happened, she nearly gasped. Jennifer controlled herself though and watched with silent glee as he poured tons of drops onto his food. The red-orange liquid splattered over his food and drizzled down the side.
Now all she had to do was wait. Jennifer continued eating, doing her best to act as naturally as possible. She just kept eating like nothing was going on.
Minutes passed and Hector just kept eating his food, pouring more hot sauce, eating his food, and so on. This went on for about ten more minutes as Jennifer anxiously waited for him to get tired.
Finally, they had both finished and she began cleaning the table. As she took the plates away, she noticed him yawning. That was good, it meant the drugs were taking effect.
She went on cleaning the table while Hector hauled his ass over to the chair and turned on the television. By the time she was done cleaning she could hear him snoring from the kitchen.
Now it was time to the put the rest of the plan into action. Jennifer quickly went into the garage and grabbed a bundle of rope that she had set aside. With that in hand, she returned to the living room.
CHAPTER THREE
Hector was fast asleep. His face was limp, hanging on his shoulder. She kicked him a few times for good measure, but he didn’t move a muscle.
She considered for a moment putting a plastic bag over his head and leaving him to suffocate slowly. But that wouldn’t be nearly as gratifying to watch, she thought.
So Jennifer went about tying the rope around her husband’s wrists and ankles and tying those down to the legs and arms of the chair. So no matter how he moved or what he did, he would be stuck to the chair for as long as she wanted.
The next step was to gather her tools. Back into the garage, she went. Jennifer could exactly decide on which ones she wanted to use, so instead of setting a few special ones aside, she just put everything she could find in a box and brought it inside. She would improvise, if nothing else.
Now all that was left was for him to wake up. In the mean time she would work on what to do after the fact.
Her neighbors already didn’t see her very much. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken to any of her neighbors. Hector forbid contact with anyone that wasn’t about work, God forbid she not bring home a paycheck for him to buy beer with. So there was a really good chance they if she disappeared after this, no one would even notice that she was gone. Then she could disappear into the wind. She could cover her tracks well enough not to be found for a while.
Jennifer felt satisfied with the plan she had put together. The only thing left was to put the damn thing into action. And for that she would have to wait for her lovely husband to awaken. Then he’d be in for a nasty surprise.
It was long past nightfall by the time Hector woke up. He blinked and stirred for a few seconds before he realized he couldn’t actually move.
“What the fuck is this?” He asked to no one in particular. Then he noticed Jennifer, who was smirking at him.
“You bitch.” He spat. “Let me out!”
Jennifer shook her head. “Sorry. No can do.” She was enjoying this way more than she thought she would.
“Let me out right now, or I will rip your head off!” His face was beet red already and he was practically foaming at the mouth. He looked pathetic.
“Frankly, I don’t think you’re any position to make demands.” Jennifer said. “So instead I think I’ll be the one making the demands.” She reached down and picked out the pliers from the toolbox.
Hector looked at her nervously and tried to put his hands up. “Okay, what do you want then?”
Jennifer took a moment and pretended to consider her thoughts. Then, very simply, she said: “I want you to suffer.”
Jennifer moved towards his eyes with the pliers. Hector struggled and shook his head violently.
“Get away from me, you fucking bitch!” He screamed. He thrashed about, trying to strike her with his forehead. So she threw down the pliers and quickly grabbed the hammer from the toolbox.
She swung with all her strength into his knee. There was an instant crackling. Hector howled in pain, screaming several curses as he bit down on his lip. Tears flowed from his eyes. Jennifer was enjoying herself immensely.
“Now stand still or I’ll just keep hitting you.” She said plainly.
Hector was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down. “Why don’t you just knock me out and kill me?”
Jennifer shrugged. “Because then I can’t hear you scream.” She bent down and picked up the pliers back up. “Hold still please.” She smiled brightly and leaned in closer.
This time Hector didn’t move. Instead he began whimpering. Jennifer had to contain herself in order to keep her hand steady. She clasped the tip of the pliers on the very edge of his left lid. Once she had a firm grip, she pulled. There was a little resistance at first. Then there was a squishy, yet satisfying ripping sound.
Blood squirted everywhere and Hector screamed in pain. Jennifer dropped the eyelid on the ground and did the same to the other eyelid. This time she pulled harder, so there wasn’t any resistance. It came right off like she intended.
She had to admit that Hector looked kind of strange without his eyelids. But he would look worse after she was done with him.
The next step was to get the adjustable wrench out. She opened it up as much as she could and measured it against his eyeball.
“You wouldn’t…” He said, sniffling. The tears were pouring down his face. She could see the muscles in his face twitched as he tried to blink. It was the details like that, that made it all worth it.
She pressed the wrench against his eyeballs and adjusted the wrench so the clamp fit. Then she tightened it just a little more. Jennifer wanted to make sure it had a good grip. No messing up this time!
And then with a simple pop the first eyeball came out of his socket. The eye fell limp against Hector’s cheek. He squealed in pain.
Jennifer was honest with herself, she wasn’t really sure what to do with the eye once it was out. It looked kind of gross. She didn’t exactly want to touch with her bare hands. She wasn’t entirely sure gloves would help either.
She dug through the toolbox until she found a wire cutter. That would do the trick! With a snip here and a snip there, both eyes were cut. There was still plenty of blood, but that wasn’t the exciting part. Watching Hector writhe in pain was.
From here the rest was simple. She took the saw and began taking his hands. The process was very, very bloody, but that was okay. She could get rid of the evidence easily enough.
It took longer than she thought. Bones were harder to cut through. Who knew? But she got it done. After the left hand fell off, she didn’t have the strength to do the other. Her arms were tired and she was beginning to come off the high she was on.
So Jennifer took the saw, pressed it against Hector’s throat, and pulled it towards her. The serrated edge took hold of the skin and tore it open. Blood sprayed like a fountain. It got all over the TV, the carpet, and Jennifer. Some of it even got in her mouth. It tasted different than she had expected.
But now Hector was dead. That meant it was time to clean up.
******
Crews blinked slowly. His brain could barely process what was going on. “So… you not only killed him… You dismembered him, and then slit his throat.”
Jennifer nodded vehemently, like a child explaining what she’d done at school that day. “That’s right.”
Crews rubbed his eyes. “So why are you telling me this? Does this have anything to do with the subway murders?”
Jennifer nodded.
“Yes that’s why I’m here. I did all of those.”
Crews shook his head. Of course she did. “So you mutilated all those men on the subway?”
“Yes I did. It took a little while for me to find a method I really liked. But I thought the mutilation of the penis was a nice touch.”
At this point Crews had stopped taking notes. “But… why? You used to be such a good cop.”
“To prove to men that they have no control over me. Hector wasn’t enough. They all needed to be taught a lesson.” She said as if it was a plain fact.
Crews were confused. “Then why are you here? Are you turning yourself in?”
Jennifer smiled. “No, of course not.”
“Then what do you want?” Crews asked.
“I wanted to give you a clear picture of who you are looking for. You were always kind to me. But unfortunately that won’t stop me from killing as many male chauvinistic wife cheating pigs in this world as I can.”
The lights flickered above him. Some kind of power surge, he thought.
Then before he could react, Jennifer was up and out of her chair. The cuffs on the table.
The lights went out. Darkness took hold of the room.
Kill or be Killed (Horror Series): Three in One Box Set (The Collection of Horror Series Book 1) Page 4