Chapter Eleven
After over an hour at the Haskells’ residence Elgie, Kim, and Connors went to Jimmie’s in Hollywood. The bartender recognized Mrs. Haskell’s photo but said she left alone. Most likely she met up with her killer somewhere else or met him at his place. They had checked her car and purse for an address or phone number before they left the residence but didn’t find one.
Once back at the tip line office Elgie asked Sergeant Pool if any calls needed to be followed up on.
“There were several that required telephone follow ups and I did the follow ups on those calls,” Sergeant Pool said. “None required in-person follow up.”
Around an hour later Sergeant Rance Johnson received a call and then spoke to Elgie.
“Lieutenant Reynolds, someone is on the line claiming to be the Butcher. He’s insisting on talking to you.”
“Call downstairs and have them put a trace on the call and transfer the call over to my line,” Elgie spoke to the caller. “Hello, this is Lieutenant Reynolds. Who am I speaking to?”
“This is the Butcher,” the voice sounded like a villain from a video game. “The reason I’m calling is to give you fair warning. I know where that whore that got away with her life is and who she is. I’ve been busy. I also know your wife Vanessa is at home right now, and I think I might pay her a visit. I’m definitely going to see that whore in the hospital. I’m sure she would love another visitor. That’s all I have to tell you for now. Have a wonderful day.”
Elgie hung up the tip line phone, pulled out his cell phone and called home.
“Hello, Vanessa. I need you to stop whatever you’re doing and come to headquarters immediately.”
“Why? You sound worried. What’s going on?”
“The Butcher knows you’re at home. I need you to get in your car and come down here immediately!”
“Okay, I’m on my way to the door.”
“Wait a minute, get your cell phone and call me back before you leave out the door.”
“Okay,” Vanessa called Elgie back. “Okay, I have my cell phone, and I’m on my way to the car.”
“Use the remote to start your car.”
“Alright.”
“Stay on the phone with me until you get here.”
“Okay, I’ll put my phone on speaker. Why did you want me to use the remote to start the car?”
“Because I thought that the Butcher knew I would have you leave the house and I thought he may have booby-trapped your car.”
“You mean like a bomb?”
“Yes, like a bomb. Don’t get upset, just take your time and come on down.”
“Alright—I’ll be careful.”
Elgie turned to Sergeant Johnson and asked him to ask the front desk about the trace and if they found the Butcher.
“No, sir,” Sergeant Johnson said. “They found the phone, but it had been thrown in a trash can.”
“Ask him what area he’s in,” Elgie said.
“What area was he in?” Sergeant Johnson asked. “Lieutenant, the call came from East Hollywood.”
“What street?”
“Highson Drive.”
“What’s the cross street?”
“Hold on, I’ll find out.” Sergeant Johnson asked the desk officer. “The cross street is Halston Avenue.”
“That’s near Norman Bennaderick’s apartment!” Elgie said. “Tell them to go to 3540 Halston Avenue, Apartment 12 and find out if Norman Bennaderick is at home. If he is, ask him to call me.”
“I’ll tell him, sir.” Sergeant Johnson said. “The dispatched unit has the information, and they are on their way to Mr. Bennaderick’s residence.”
“How far away are you?” Elgie asked Vanessa.
“I should be there in about a minute.”
“Okay, when you get here come directly to the tip line office. On second thought, when you get here take the elevator up to the fourth floor, and I’ll meet you at the elevator.” Elgie again turned to Sergeant Johnson. “What happened with Mr. Bennaderick?”
“Hold on, let me find out…they say there was no answer.”
“Call Bennaderick’s job and see if he’s there and call the other suspects on the list. I want to know if they’re at work or at home.”
“Lieutenant, your wife is downstairs,” Sergeant Pool said.
“Have them send her up.”
Elgie walked over to the elevator and waited for his wife. The elevator doors opened, and Vanessa stepped out. Elgie grabbed her and hugged her tight.
“I’m glad to see you too, Elgie.”
“I’ve been worried that he might try to intercept you. Try to run you off the road in the hills.”
“Nothing happened, and I wasn’t followed.”
“How did you know to look for someone following you?”
“I’m a cop’s wife, I know these things.”
Elgie and Vanessa entered the tip line office, there were extra chairs against the wall. Elgie grabbed one and rolled it over next to his desk. Connors and Kim were at their stations. Kim was in the center.
“Vanessa, this is Detective Quinn Kim and Doctor Lucas Connors,” Elgie said.
“Hello, Mrs. Reynolds, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Connors said.
“Hi,” Kim said.
“Hi guys, it’s good to finally meet you,” Vanessa said.
“I need to call the hospital,” Elgie told Vanessa.
“Is it about Michelle?” Vanessa asked. “Did the Butcher threaten her too?”
“Yes, he did, but I didn’t hurry to call because she has a police officer right outside her door.”
Elgie called the nurse’s station on the third floor, Michelle’s room was right across the hall. “Hello, this is Lieutenant Reynolds, may I speak with the officer at Ms. Chamber’s room?”
“Hold on a minute.”
“This is Officer Mooney.”
“Officer, this is Lieutenant Reynolds. I’m calling because there has been a threat made against Ms. Chambers. I want you to check the identification of anyone entering that room. That includes all staff. Make sure you see their hospital identification. Get out your pen and notepad. You are only to allow the following people in to see Ms. Chambers—my wife Vanessa Reynolds, Jennifer Park, and me. Also, just in case, put down Ana Chambers. If anyone other than the people I just mentioned asks to see Ms. Chambers, get their identification and call me before allowing them in.
“Officer Mooney, I need you to be extremely careful and make sure you watch anyone walking down the hall or getting off the elevator. Are you wearing your vest?”
“No, sir.”
“I was informed that the Butcher is carrying a gun, so you need that vest on. Have hospital security watch the door for you and go get it. And make sure you tell the next shift to wear theirs and tell them to inform the following shift.”
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
Elgie spoke to Vanessa. “That takes care of Michelle’s security.”
“Are you going to tell Michelle about the threat?” Vanessa asked.
“I wasn’t planning to. Do you think I should?”
“No, that would only worry her and right now the only thing she should be concerned with is getting better.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Besides, Michelle already knows there are officers posted outside her door in case the Butcher tries to get to her. I also know that his calls and threats are geared to put me off track and make me lose focus on the investigation.”
“How long do you want me to stay here?” Vanessa asked.
“Until I go home,” Elgie replied.
“And what about tomorrow?”
“You can come in and do your work from here, just bring your laptop and have your office forward your calls to your cell phone.”
“I’m not going to do that,” Vanessa said. “I won’t let this man scare me into hiding. You made sure I could take care of myself. You taught me hand to hand combat, you taught me how to shoot, and you made sure I had a gun and a
license to carry it. Hell, you trained recruits at the academy for a while in both hand-to-hand combat and shooting. I was trained by the best. I’ll just be careful and carry my gun when I leave the house.”
“Alright, but I want you here for today.”
“Okay, I’ll stay for now, but I’m going home this evening. I’m sure he’s not going to be waiting for me that long. That is if he’s been after me at all. It could just be a bluff. I doubt he knows where we live. How would he get information like that?”
“You have a point. Since he didn’t try to attack you at the house or on your way here he probably was just trying to throw me off balance again. If nothing happens at the hospital, you can go ahead and go home this evening.”
“Gee, thanks for allowing me to go to my own house,” Vanessa said.
“Okay, your point is taken,” Elgie said. “Sergeant Pool, were you able to contact all of the suspects on our list?”
“Yes, sir, all except Alexander Deorader. He was out to lunch.”
“Did you leave a message for him?”
“Yes, sir, I did.”
“Norman Bennaderick was at work as well?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you know where Deorader works?” Elgie asked.
“Yes, his office is downtown, sir.”
“Kim,” Elgie said, “I want you to call Deidra at West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and ask her if they were able to substantiate Deorader’s knife game.”
“Right, Boss, but why are you investigating Norman didn’t you say he didn’t do it?”
“Yes, but I just want to be sure since the call came from near his house.” Elgie saw a familiar face coming into the office.
“Hello, Lieutenant Reynolds.”
“McBean, you’re back, what a surprise. What can I do for you this time?”
“I would like to apply for a job with your tip line. I understand that you don’t have any detectives on the tip line staff. I mean no detectives except Detective Kim and Doctor Connors. Anyway, I’d like to volunteer.”
“We don’t need anyone right now, McBean, but thank you for your interest.”
“I’m very interested, sir. I’ve been monitoring the investigation since day one. I’ve been looking at crime scene photos and reading your reports.”
“That’s very enterprising of you McBean, I’ll keep you in mind if something comes up.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Boss,” Quinn said, “I got in touch with Deidra, and she says the knife game is real and most of the prostitutes on Sunset are familiar with it.”
“Okay, thanks, Kim. That still doesn’t let Deorader off the hook. Like I said before, he could just use that knife game to lure the prostitutes into a false sense of security and then attacks them. That’s an easy way to get them into an alley without them resisting. He could have also made that call since he could have walked to the red line downtown and took it to East Hollywood and get back during his lunch break.
“Kim, call down to the computer room and ask the computer forensics specialist if you can use another phone to place a call from a cell phone. I don’t need specifics I just want to know if it can be done.”
“Right, Boss.”
In two minutes, Kim had the answer.
“Yes, the specialist says there are several different ways it could be done from both a cell phone and a landline.”
“That means any of our suspects could have gone to the bathroom and placed the call from their cell phone. Or maybe someone we haven’t identified as a suspect yet.”
“Ana, what are you doing here?” Michelle asked. “I thought you went back to Ohio.”
Ana had a tremor in her voice when she spoke.
“I called my boss and told her I need some time off. I’m not going back to Ohio while you’re still in the hospital.”
“That’s nice and all, but you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.”
Michelle listened with suspicion. She wondered what Ana really wanted. She wondered if her mother had really changed or was this just an act.
“If you remember,” Ana said, “I worked for Charles in a real estate firm. After he fired me, I got another job, and now I’m a real estate agent.”
“That’s nice for you. Why are you telling me?”
“I thought, if it’s okay with you, I could move out here and transfer my license. I’d just like to be close to you. I don’t want to crowd you or anything, but I thought eventually you might come to see me from time to time.”
“Okay,” Michelle was reluctant, “I can see how you bein’ out here might help get us together, but I’m not sure if that’s what I want right now. I just remembered all that stuff, and it feels like it just happened.”
“I didn’t want to be pushy, I just wanted to be available for you, that’s all.”
“Alright,” Michelle said, “you can live where ever you want. That’s up to you. But don’t think this means everything is okay. I still don’t wanna see you right now. We can talk on the phone like I said.”
“Alright, Dear, I’ll still come to see you while you’re in the hospital and if you need me when you get out. I’ll let you get your rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, see you then.”
Michelle couldn’t help but feel some sense that she wanted this relationship to work. She always wanted her mother’s love, just like any child. Despite her cynicism, she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time—hope.
He saw Ana leave Michelle’s room and he knew the rules. He knew the officer at Michelle’s door would follow the watch commander’s orders and stand facing the elevator. No sitting. They may fall asleep. The watch commander wanted every officer to be awake and alert. It was shift change in the hospital, so the third-floor nurses’ station was temporarily empty. He also knew he would need to show his hospital identification to be admitted to Michelle’s room. Even if he had one, it would have interfered with his plans.
He saw the officer look behind him seeing a surgeon wearing scrubs, a surgical scrub cap, and a mask. Obviously, the officer didn’t know it wasn’t customary for surgeons to wear masks outside of surgery. The officer turned his head back to the elevator.
The surgeon came up behind him and put him in a chokehold. The officer went for his gun. The surgeon lifted the officer by his neck. Dropped him on his back. The surgeon had his foot on the officer’s arm. He couldn’t get to his gun. The surgeon tightened the chokehold. The officer began to lose consciousness. He frantically kicked his legs and tried to get his breath as he was being dragged into Michelle’s room. The officer was unconscious by the time he was fully inside the room. He, impersonating a surgeon, took the officer’s gun and put it into his pocket underneath his surgeon costume.
The Butcher pulled his knife and walked over to a sleeping Michelle. Put his left hand on her neck, which woke her.
“Shh, don’t make a sound,” the Butcher said. “This won’t take long.”
The Butcher squeezed Michelle’s throat. Pushed her flat on her back. Held her down with one hand. Raised his knife high over his head. Brought it down towards her chest. Then stopped. The tip of the knife just piercing her skin.
“Be quiet, or I will kill you.”
Michelle shook violently and sweated so much she wet the gown and the sheets. The Butcher noticed she managed not to urinate on herself. She remained quiet like she did the first time he attacked her.
Then he spoke in that game villain voice. “I just want you to know I can kill you anytime I feel like it.” Then he cut her right cheek and said, “Shh, be quiet, I’m going to leave now. Be quiet, or I’ll be back. Have a wonderful day.”
After she was sure the Butcher was gone, Michelle sat up and saw Officer Mooney laying on the floor unconscious. First, she pushed the buzzer for a nurse then got up pulling her IV pole behind her in her hospital gown leaving her high-flow nasal oxygen cannulas behind. She managed to make her way t
o the door.
“Help! Somebody help! The officer in here is unconscious.”
The nurse who had just sat down at the nurses’ station called over the intercom, “code blue in room 301, officer down.”
Several staff members came running into the room including a respiratory therapist, physician, and the nurse that made the call. Two other nurses came behind them. While the emergency team treated Officer Mooney one of the nurses had Michelle with her at the nurses’ station while she dialed 911.
Since her cell phone was still in her room, Michelle used the phone at the nurses’ station to call Elgie on his private cell. While she made her call the nurse retrieved an oxygen tank and a fresh nasal cannula put it on Michelle and connected it to the oxygen tank while she talked to Elgie.
“Hello, this is Elgie.”
“Elgie, this is Michelle the Butcher just attacked me, and he hurt Officer Mooney. The hospital folks are working on him right now.”
“What did the Butcher do?”
“He had me pinned down to the bed and plunged his knife toward me but didn’t stab me. He said he wanted me to know he could kill me if he wanted to.”
“Are the hospital security guards there?”
“They’re just getting off the elevator.”
“Stay with them until the uniformed officers get there. Where are you?”
“I’m at the nurses’ station.”
“Stay there until I get there unless you go back to your room. If you do have one of the officers in the room with you and one outside. Tell them that’s my order, and I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay, Elgie, I’ll see you when you get here, thank you.”
“Not a problem, Michelle, you just try to relax and leave the worrying to me. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Alright, I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Vanessa, that was Michelle. The Butcher attacked her in the hospital. She’s alright, he didn’t hurt her, but I want her out of the hospital and someplace more secure.”
Tracking the Butcher Page 12