The Mind Hunter

by Mir Quadri

  “Pressing charges?” retorted Evelyn.

  “Yes. As I understand, it was your job to protect my client. Instead, you let that lunatic break into the hospital and get to Ms White”

  “We understand that sir, but please let us place a few police cars around her home. We want to make sure Ms White is safe” said Cas.

  “My client has rejected the offer. She doesn’t want to deal with this anymore. That lunatic broke into the hospital and got Ms White from right under your noses. You couldn’t protect her then. I think she is better off on her own” replied Murthy.

  Cas and Harry looked at each other and had nothing to say.

  “Well, I just came here to serve you the court restriction order. Do yourselves a favor and don’t get close to my client’s house” said the lawyer and walked out of the room.

  “Well, I don’t care. I am going to place a couple of cars outside the house anyways” said Harry as he picked up the phone and started dialing the number of police patrol service.

  “You do realize that this is a real court order, right?” interrupted Evelyn.

  “Yes” said Harry.

  “We can’t go near that house” said Evelyn.

  “Agent Monroe, I am more interested in catching him, who I believe is going after Ms White” said Harry.

  “That’s insane. If he wanted her, he would never have returned her to us” said Evelyn.

  “That’s right. But she is the only lead we got. We have nothing else in this case. Nowhere to search for him” said Harry.

  “You call this a lead?” said Evelyn.

  “Alright, alright” interrupted Cas and continued “Harry is right. Let’s put a couple of cars somewhere not easily visible, outside her house. Who knows, we might get lucky.”

  “Yeah, that would be one hell of a luck” said Evelyn as she walked out of Harry office. As she proceeded to her office, she checked her phone which had a voicemail note notification. She played the voicemail, while slowly walking towards her office “Evelyn, I am about to do something that I never thought I would do. I am lost and this seems to be the only way out. I am sorry about what I am going to do. Its very likely that we may not see each other again, so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being a great friend. You are the only person who comes close to being called my family. What I am going to do will disappoint you very much. But please be assured that this was the only option. Thank you for everything. I am sorry. Will” said the voicemail.

  “Jesus Christ! He is going to kill Ms White” said Evelyn to herself as she dialed the number back and called Will.

  In the meanwhile, Will got out of his car and walked across the street, adjacent to the wall between the street and Ms White’s house. He wore the long leather trench coat, his face covered by a black mask and a black colored hat with black gloves. It was raining heavily and his clothes were drenched wet. Arriving at the wall, he looked around carefully to confirm that no one was watching him. After a brief moment, he climbed wall and jumped inside the house.

  “Come on, Will” said Evelyn as she continued to try and call him but each time, she got the ‘not reachable’ message and his phone went straight to his voicemail.

  “Will, whatever you are thinking of doing, don’t do it. Please stop. Harry has a few officers around the house, so don’t think of doing anything stupid. Damn it, receive my call, please” she screamed while leaving him this message.

  Meanwhile at the house, Will picked up a stone from the garden of the house and smashed opened a window pane on the first floor. He then slowly crawled his way inside the house. One look inside the house and he realized that he is at the same damn house where it all started for him.

  “This is where it all started for me. This is where it will end” he said as he slowly walked on the staircase, feeling the wooden railing from his hands. He arrived to the second floor where he saw the large bedroom door, shut. He slowly opened the bedroom room and walked in. As he walked into the big room, he glanced at the wall beside the bedroom door with the family pictures, beautifully arranged and hung. As he scanned through the pictures of Mr Zhu and Mrs White, their holiday in Thailand, Las vegas, the bank gate, he came across a smiling picture of Mr Zhu and another Asian guy, standing and hugging sideways.

  Will’s eyes turned red and feet turned cold as soon as he laid eyes on the person standing next to Mr Zhu.

  ‘I know this guy’ he said to himself. His hands started to shake and his body started trembling as he started sweating. “I saw the same picture while Hunting Ms White before! I couldn’t connect the dots back then, but I remember now. This is the one I have been looking for, who’s picture is on my wall. He is my prime suspect of my family’s killer. He killed my family. He was the one Evelyn was talking to me about. My family’s killer’ he thought. He swiftly moved into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. As he walked slowly towards the bed, he saw Ms White, fully covered by a blanket, sleeping on the bed. He moved closer to her and took out a sharp knife from his back pocket.

  In the meanwhile, Harry came running to Evelyn.

  “We got him, Evelyn. We got him!”

  “What are you talking about?” asked Evelyn.

  “The guys who drove to Ms White’s house saw Will break into the house. I am going to the scene right now. We have surrounded the house. He is not getting away this time” he said and ran off as Evelyn continued calling Will.

  Meanwhile at the house, Will slowly walked towards Ms White, who was sleeping on the bed, covered from head to toe with a blanket.

  ‘I have to do this. I am sorry, Ms White’ he thought as he proceeded to slit her throat by the knife in his right hands. He climbed up the bed, got close to her. He then slowly put his hand on Ms White’s face and raised his hand, when he suddenly got another shock — she was already dead. Her throat slit. The moment he laid his hands onto her, blood started spilling out off her neck. All this happened in a split second. The blood spilled over the bed and dripped from his gloves when suddenly the clock, which was hung on the wall, started playing the merry viennese music to mark the hour.

  On hearing this, Will suddenly realized that this was the exact same thing that he had seen when he was Hunting Ms White the first time around. What he saw was not Mr Zhu. He actually had seen Ms White, dead on the bed. He could not see from behind if the man in black had actually killed the person underneath the blanket. All he could see was a man, wearing black, like him right now, climbing the bed, getting close to Ms White, who he had back then assumed to be Mr Zhu, but he actually hadn’t seen him really kill anyone. As soon as the clock finished marking the hour, Will instantly turned around and looked behind him, where he saw the chair, the same small chair, which was placed exactly at the same position where he was sitting, when he was Hunting Ms White. He could not see anyone on the chair, but the chair was right there. He slowly walked closer to the chair, looking right at the chair, trying to figure out if there was anyone actually watching him, when suddenly his mobile phone started buzzing. He raised his mobile phone up to his ears, still continuing to stare at the chair.

  ‘Run, Will” screamed Evelyn on the phone, who was trying to reach him all this while. Will, realized that this was the exact same call he had seen in the Hunting Session before. He realized that Will, who he was not able to see, was probably sitting there and watching him while all this was going down. He lowered the phone and came even closer to the chair, watching it carefully, and said “I know you’re there” and slowly took out his black mask.

  “I AM…”

  The police sirens echoed the entire street as hundreds of policemen surrounded the building. The adjoining streets were blocked and the police choppers circled the building from top. Snipers took their aims from across the scrapers. Even the underground tunnels were fully secured. A string of cars arrived at the site as Cas, Harry, Dan and Kate got out. They immediately rushed out of their cars and joined Ron Casity who was on the ground, making all the arrangements.
>
  “Give me the good news, Ron” said Harry.

  “We got him, sir. He is on the second floor. I just confirmed with the sniper, and he has him at gun point. All the exits have been secured. There is absolutely no way for him to leave. He is completely trapped.”

  “Great. What is he doing up there?”

  “We are not sure, sir. From what we can say, he is just standing there, staring at an empty chair by the window.”

  “What? Is he okay” asked Kate.

  “We are not sure. We haven’t intercepted yet”

  “Okay, all personnel have shoot on sight authority if the suspect is at the risk of escaping. Ask all the snipers to stay alert. We will intercept him now” said Harry.

  “Alright, how are we going to do this?” asked Cas.

  “I will ask him to surrender. Kate and I will provide backup to Ron and team as we go up to the second floor to get him” said Harry.

  “Sounds like a plan” said Cas.

  “Alright, Ron, find me a loudspeaker, please” said Harry with his bright eyes, which were lit up by the excitement of the fact that they had him. Ron quickly handed him a loudspeaker. Harry held the speaker into his right hand and shouted “William Ross, we have a warrant for your arrest. We have sealed this house from all sides and there is absolutely no way to escape. All snipers and policemen have shoot on sight authorization, if you try to escape. We can fix whatever you have done, but you need to come in, now. Surrendering yourself is in your best interest, and your only option. Please come out of the building by putting both your hands on your head.”

  After a minute, he turned around and looked at Ron and asked “What happened?”

  “The sniper is saying there is no movement. He is still standing by the window” replied Ron, while speaking to the sniper on the radio.

  “We need to get him. As decided, Ron, you and your team take the lead. Kate, Dan and I will back you up” said Harry. Everyone in the group nodded as they took their guns out. “Let’s do it guys” said Harry as they all walked inside the building.

  The group slowly got into the house. They checked each and every room carefully before going upstairs to the second floor. The door of the room was locked. Ron signalled the team which surrounded the door with guns, raised high, aimed at the door. Once his team was in position, Ron kicked opened the door and walked in. His team followed, and so did Harry, Kate and Dan.

  As soon as Ron entered the room, he saw Will, still standing by the window and looking at the chair.

  “Mr Ross, please put your hands on your head and lie on the ground, now” shouted Ron. Will, did not move a muscle. He continued to stare at the chair.

  “Mr Ross, I am counting till three. If you don’t move, I will have to shoot you” warned Ron and continued “one, two and three.” Will, still did not move a muscle. Ron then signalled his team, which quickly surrounded Will, with their guns all pointed at Will. Harry, Kate and Dan slowly moved into the room. Looking at Will, fully surrounded by his men, Harry had a sigh of relief. Will, who was still staring at the chair, turned around and looked at Harry. He then slowly raised his arms and folded them behind his head, and slowly kneeled down.

  “Ron, I have been waiting for a long time to say this and since this is your case, would you mind arresting him?” said Harry, smiling.

  “With pleasure, sir” said Ron as he walked up to Will and put the cuffs on him. Kate and Dan looked at each other as they could not believe what they were witnessing. Will, who brought the entire police department to it’s knees, was finally arrested.

  Eight guards surrounded Will as Ron and team came out of the building, holding Will, handcuffed. The entire police force of over hundred personnel, just gazed at the sight of this moment, as the guards walked out, put Will into the car and drove away. Fifteen police vehicles on the front and fifteen on the back, blocking the entire street, drove with Will in order to ensure he doesn’t escape, as the choppers on the top followed. Kate, who was in her car with Dan, called Evelyn while driving and gave her this news.

  Back at the station, the security was beefed up. Cas had made some calls to get the Special Forces to welcome their new guest. The bunch of cars stopped at the Station, and Will, along with other officers came out. As they entered the Police Station, all officers stood up to have a peek of the most wanted man in America. Evelyn, along with Sarah emerged from the crowd. As Evelyn looked at Will from a distance, she saw Will, pale, expressionless, in a state of shock, looking at the ground, slowly walking through the corridor of the Station. He was taken to the interrogation room and was cuffed to the chair. The guards locked the room and stood outside, waiting for the interrogators.

  “We did it guys, congratulations” announced Cas loudly as the entire department clapped. Cas congratulated Harry and other by shaking their hands.

  “Good job, Captain!” he said.

  “Thank you, sir. I think everyone played their part. Especially, Evelyn” he said as they both looked at Evelyn, who was standing in the corner of the hallway.

  “Yes, officer. Great work. We would not have gotten this far if it wasn’t for you” said Cas and continued “alright, what’s next?”

  “Well, we don’t need any kind of confession here. We found the murder weapon, the knife on him, when we arrested him. We have his prints, DNA all over the place. We got him” said Harry.

  “That does not connect him to his other murders now, does it?” interrupted Evelyn as she walked closer to Harry.

  “What other murders?” asked Harry.

  “All the other murders that we think he did, including Mr Zhu’s? His own family?” clarified Evelyn.

  “Well, I thought you never believed that he committed those murders?” asked Harry, sarcastically.

  “Yes, I didn’t. But you did. You still do, don’t you? We have nothing but circumstantial evidence against him for those. We need him to confess of committing those murders” said Evelyn.

  “Alright, so what are you suggesting officer Monroe?” asked Harry.

  “Let me go in there and get that confession for you” said Evelyn.

  “You of all people? Out of question. You’re too close to the suspect, and clearly biased.”

  “Let me talk to him, sir. I can break him. I can get that confession for you. He trusts me.”

  “Trusts you? The last I remember, he made a fool of your entire team. Sorry, we can’t take that chance” said Harry as he looked at Cas. Cas, just looked back, nodding in agreement.

  “Sir, before he went in there to kill Ms White, he left me this message on the phone” said Evelyn as she played the message through her phone.

  “Evelyn, I am about to do something that I never thought I would do. I am lost and this seems to be the only way out. I am sorry about what I am going to do. Its very likely that we may not see each other again, so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being a great friend. You are the only person who comes close to being called my family. What I am going to do will disappoint you very much. But please be assured that this was the only option. Thank you for everything. I am sorry. Will”

  “Why didn’t you come forward with this information when you had it” asked Harry, suspiciously.

  “By the time I heard this, you guys had Will in your custody already” lied Evelyn and continued “this is the reason why I am asking you to trust me. He trusts me fully. He knows I have his back. I can make him confess to all those murders. The sooner he confesses, the sooner we are all off this case. Let me talk to him and I will get you a confession” pleaded Evelyn as she looked at Cas.

  “Alright, but you are on a tight leash officer. You go ahead” said Cas.

  “Are you serious, sir?” interrupted Harry.

  “Yes. You can monitor their conversation from the camera. Let her talk to him.”

  “Thank you, sir. There’s one more request I have” said Evelyn as she rushed towards the interrogation room.

  “What?”

  “I would like
to take Will out in the patio area. That’s the spot where we always used to talk. I think Will will open up to me in a familiar surrounding.”

  “You got to be kidding me! He is a murderer for god sake!” screamed Harry.

  “What good is he to us if he is not confessing to his previous crimes? He won’t say a word in font of these cameras. Furthermore, just look at him. He is basket-case. He hasn’t spoken a single word ever since his arrest. He hasn’t even asked for a lawyer. If I have to break him, I need to take him to a place that he can relate to” explained Evelyn.

  “You can’t allow that, sir” said Harry looking at Cas.

  Cas, after thinking for a brief moment said “alright, Evelyn” as he turned around and looked at Ron “Ron, I want the entire patio to be secured. Put all the snipers in place. If he attempts to escape, shoot him.”

  “You got it, sir” said Ron and walked off while Cas continued “and for you Evelyn, if you lose him, I am going to get your badge for this. You got it?”

  “Sure, sir” said Evelyn and rushed to the interrogation room.

  Evelyn slowly opened the door and walked into the interrogation room. She saw Will, with his hands tied to the chair, just staring at the desk.

  “How you doing, Will?” she asked. Will did not even turn and look at her. He kept staring at the table with no expression.

  “What happened, Will? Are you doing okay? Whatever it is, we can work it out” she said while putting her hands on his. After a brief moment, she continued “let’s get some air” and she took his cuffs off.

  “Come, let’s get out in the open” said Evelyn as she got up and slowly started leading the way. Will, still quiet, slowly walked with her as they both walked out to the patio.

  The two choppers were hanging in the air on the top of the patio, with gunmen ready to shoot Will if he had moved with intentions to escape. The entire patio was surrounded by snipers.