“And then?” I asked.
“Leave the rest to us.”
I thought for a moment. It was the easiest option and at the same time the hardest decision, I had ever made. All that mattered was to give Jules back his life. That meant we could be together again soon.
Woods showed me a tiny microphone. “See this? This is an earpiece, which helps you to be in constant contact with me. We’ll have you followed twenty-four hours a day.” “I am not sure if I am the right person for this.”
“You have no other choice if you want to help him.” I was afraid but trying not to show it. “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do,” Woods said. “Trust me.” “What happens if your plan doesn’t work and the killer doesn’t take the bait?”
“He will. He is close to making a mistake. They all do.” He looked at me with those grey eyes. Somehow, I trusted him. For the first time I realized how serious the situation was. “I can’t force you, Allie, but it is the only way that Kevin can be free again. You don’t want him to spend the rest of his life hiding, do you?”
Of course, I did not!
“The killer found out that you’re looking for him. He knew that Kevin was in the building, and that is why he killed the elevator attendant and took on his identity. He hoped you would lead him to us. When you told him that Kevin had moved out, he had no purpose anymore for being there. He is watching you because he knows you are trying to find Kevin.” “Why does he hates Jules, I mean Kevin so much that he wants to kill him?”
“Most of the time, you can’t work serial killers out. However, there are certain patterns,” Woods said.
“Didn’t you say he had plastic surgery? Therefore, he should not be afraid of Jules. He won’t recognize him.”
Woods paced through the room. His voice came from behind me.
“Yes, but that doesn’t stop him. He thinks he is God and has power over everything. The fact that somebody saw him disturbs his ego. He will not give up before he finds what he is looking for. In this case, it’s Kevin.”
Jules must have gone through hell in the last years that he could not tell me the truth. I only began slowly to imagine. My eyes fixed on Woods as he turned to face me.
“It’s hurting him terribly that he can’t be with you,” he said. “You’ve no idea how much Kevin talked about you since he left Australia. He said it was the best time of his life and he had never been happier.”
Woods knew how to get to me. Tears shot into my eyes. Jules had meant it when he said he loved me. That was all that mattered.
“How will you let the killer know your plan?” I asked curiously.
“I have my ways. Don’t worry about that.”
“I don’t know. That all sounds very crazy. What does Jules think about it?” I asked.
“He doesn’t want you to get involved. I told him it’s too late for that: The killer has found out too much already.” He looked at me, waiting for my answer. His words hung in the air, in the silence that followed them.
I took a deep breath. “I will do it, but I want to talk to him first.”
A burden fell off Woods’ shoulders.
“Okay, let’s go, you can call him from my apartment.”
Chapter 31
vv
The Say saw Allie leave the apartment, walking across the road. He pulled his baseball cap down to cover his face and followed her, wondering where she was going. The traffic was not very heavy this morning.
At the police station, she stopped; he should have known it. She walked inside, probably to report the incident at the elevator.
She would not be so silly, would she. That would only complicate things. This was not good. It was all over the front pages of the newspapers, an elevator attendant killed at the Hercules building. Anybody who had seen anything should come forward.
Allie, do not do it! It is not good for you. I do not want to kill you.
It would make things a lot worse if she talked to Woods about it. The Say had enough on his plate. He struggled already to keep up with his busy schedule. The voices demanded more of him each day. Soon he would have another breakdown, if he were not careful.
Tonight he was definitely going to ask them. Lately they never seemed to be satisfied wanted him to kill more. Allie was making it harder on him than it already was. That was why she had to die. Why did she not stay out of it? Maybe the voices wanted to add more spice to his life, make it more interesting for him, a challenge. They knew he bored easily. When he was bored, he made mistakes. To kill the boy was unnecessary. He had not achieved anything with it; he only made the voices angrier. They told him to make sure before every murder there had to be a purpose, and the boy did not have one. On top of that, he needed to find out where the FBI was hiding that idiot!
It was good that Allie had appeared. She tried everything to find him. One thing he did not understand, why did she think that the idiot was in Germany? Did somebody tell her? Surely, she did not come all the way because of her brother’s wedding. There had to be more to it. What were they talking about right now?
He became nervous and reached into his trouser pocket, touching the cell phone to make sure it was still there. Every call to her was going through his cell phone. He was in total control and would find out soon if she confessed to Woods. First things come first. The Say walked inside a small coffee shop at the corner of Graben Street and sat at a table close by the window where he ordered a cappuccino from the pretty waiter. She looked like she needed some attention. He had no time for this - not now.
From the window, he had a good view of the police station and could see everybody coming and going. He finished his cappuccino and wondered what took her so long. After an hour, she left the building, but not alone; Woods was with her, an undercover agent was following them. He knew by now how they looked, how they walked, how they tried to be not so obvious.
She looked more relaxed than before she entered the building. Whatever Woods said to her must have lightened her up. The old fool. His days were numbered. Did he not know that? The Say took his binoculars and followed her with his eyes. He saw a slight smile on her face when she turned her head towards Woods. What was all that about? It looked like she was helping the FBI. This could be a good thing. Every call she received would go through his cell phone, too. Could it get any better?
How stupid did Woods think he was? Did he not know by now that nobody could fool The Say?
It is time to call you, asshole of a cop, to give you a little clue, as I always do. You do not even deserve it. See what a nice person I am!
The Say reached for the creased photograph in his pocket. It showed a naked woman with long black hair. She had given it to him last night at the Mona Bar in Eiffel Street where she worked as a stripper with her phone number and address written on the back. He did not want that anybody saw him with her, and he went to her place early this morning when she was still asleep. She did not expect him when she opened the door and complained that it was too early for that. When he showed her the bundle of notes, all of a sudden she was wide-awake and opened the door, letting him in. The rest was easy. He had killed her quickly, burnt her hair down to the scalp, and then left his trademark behind. His sharp knife did the rest. He would have loved to see Woods’ face when he opened the box with the scalp in it after he delivered it in front of his apartment this morning. The feeling was very satisfying. He dialed Woods’ number.
“Agent Woods here.”
“Did you get my present?”
“You son of a bitch!” Agent Woods yelled into the phone. “This time you’re not getting away with it. Give yourself up.” “Another unusual piece to add to your collection,” The Say said mockingly.
“I’ll get you, you scum. Your time is running out.” “Why am I not tempted to believe you?”
“You have already made a mistake.”
“Don’t bother, Woods; the only one who is making a mistake is you. If I was you I would be more careful th
at your girlfriend is not next on my list.”
“Leave her out of it. She has nothing to do with this.” “That is up to me, not you.”
“Bastard”
“If you’re trying to trace my call, don’t. You will not have any luck. It’s a scrambled cell phone that can’t be traced.” “I’ll get you, no matter what.”
“You won’t.”
“There are other ways to track you down.”
The Say laughed into the phone.
“To catch a butterfly, fly, fly, you have to have a net, net, net.” He hung up.
Chapter 32
vv
My heart literally skipped a beat when I dialed the number on my cell phone. Any moment I would hear Jules’ voice. Woods stood at the window. He had let Jules know about the plan. He was prepared.
“Hello?”
The sound of his voice almost made me weep. I whispered into the phone, “Jules? It’s Allie.”
“Allie?”
I could not believe it.
“I’ll give you a moment alone,” Woods said quietly, leaving the room. The door shut quietly behind him.
“How are you?”
“I am fine.”
“I am sorry for everything I put you through, Allie.” “Don’t be sorry,” I said, holding the cell phone tightly to my ear so that I did not miss one precious word he said. I wanted to tell him how much I had missed him but no words came. “You are amazing, Allie. You never gave up on me. I don’t deserve you.”
“I just did what I had to do. I knew the whole time you meant it when you said you loved me.”
“I love you more than anything in the world.”
“And I love you. My heart aches because I can’t be with you.” “We will be together, soon. Keep believing that Woods gets the killer.”
Tears were streaming down my face.
“If I only had known the reason why you left, I wouldn’t have put you in danger, Jules.”
“You could not have known. Things happen for a reason.” “I miss you so much.”
“I miss you, too.”
“Will you come back with me to Australia?”
“Of course, my home is there with you.”
“It’s not fair what they put you through.”
“I have to hide. Otherwise, I am dead. Keep believing in us, Allie.”
“I always will.”
“Is Woods there?”
“He just left his apartment, to give us some privacy. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Not yet. How did you know I was in Germany, Allie?” “I didn’t. My brother will marry soon and asked me to come and be their wedding planner. That was mind-blowing when I saw you in front of the bridal shop. What did you think when you saw me?”
“At first I couldn’t believe it but when I realized it was you I wanted to take you in my arms and tell you how much I love you. I wondered what you were doing in Germany.” The whole time we talked, we hoped the killer would be listening to our conversation. We had to be very careful what we said.
Woods returned and raised his hand. That was his sign; from now on, I had to say what he wrote down on a piece of paper. He handed it to me. Our plan came into action.
“Woods said I can meet you secretly,” I said.
The dangerous part was coming; one wrong word and it would spoil everything.
“That’s great, where?”
“There is an old primary school in a run-down area in Albert Street. I used to go to school there. Go inside the school; take the stairs to the second level. You will see a number written on one of the doors, number 38. I will be waiting inside for you. Be there in half an hour.”
“I can’t believe I’ll see you soon, Allie.”
He hung up.
There was another click in the phone line. I looked at Woods. We knew the killer had been listening the whole time. “Mission one accomplished,” Woods said relieved. “Hopefully, the killer will take the bait.”
I was shaking, but that was nothing new. Wood paced through the room; he raked his curly hair with his fingers and said, “Well done, Allie, well done. You should be working for the FBI. You were fantastic, just the way I wanted it. Now we are getting somewhere. Let’s get this bastard.” He hugged me as if I were his daughter. “I knew you could do it. I knew it! You were great!”
“What if he doesn’t come?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. He will.”
“Do you want me to leave now?”
Woods nodded.
“We’ll follow you, don’t worry; just get there. We’ll do the rest.”
“How dangerous is it?” I asked.
“It’s not dangerous, as long as you do exactly what I tell you.” He handed me an earpiece and explained how it worked. I inserted the tiny device in my ear. Could I do this? I had to do it, for Jules, for us, for our baby, and all of a sudden, I felt my energy coming back.
It took me about thirty minutes’ brisk walk until I saw the school - walls covered in graffiti, windows broken, some without frames. What happened to the school where I had spent so many years? The courtyard where we used to play was a rubbish dump litter everywhere. A couple of dogs were roaming among the bins, hoping to find some scraps. I stared at the desolate establishment. The smell of urine and dead animals made me feel sick to the stomach. My instinct told me to turn around but at the same time an inner voice said, “You can do it.”
I looked around. Where was Woods’ team? Where was everybody? He had promised I would not be on my own. I could not see anybody. Panic went through me, what if they were not there. Did he care what happened to me as long as he got the killer? Was the killer already waiting for me, for the right moment to kill me? I had to pull myself together. Jules needed me and I had to get over my panic attack. Breathe in! Breathe out! Allie, you can do it.
I took a deep breath, slowly walked inside the school and took the stairs to the second floor. What was the number again? Number thirty-eight. There it was. I held my breath, listening. I could not hear anything; no noise came from behind that door. Was Jules there?
I noticed the door was ajar. This was it! Go in, Allie, now! Slowly I pushed the door open, certain my legs would collapse at any moment. It took all my strength to enter the room.
Woods had given me a bulletproof vest that I was wearing under my denim shirt. I felt the 380 semi-automatic in my pocket, and prayed that I did not have use it.
The room was half-dark but I saw Jules straight away. A bedside table threw a faint glow into the room.
“Jules,” I whispered. “Are you there?”
There he was. He took me into his arms. His lips sealed mine, his body close to mine. We stood there for moments without moving, holding each other. I still could not quite believe that it was real.
I wanted to tell him how much I had missed him and that I was pregnant with his child, but I knew it was not the right moment for it. I buried my head in his broad chest. “My sweet Allie,” he said, “I’ll never forgive myself for what I put you through.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said.
He was wearing the fake beard again; his hair was darker than I remembered.
“We’ll talk later, Allie.”
I nodded in silence. After several moments, reality hit me. “Do you think he will come?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Then his body tensed.
“What, Jules? What is it?”
“Somebody is in the room.”
“What are we going to do?” I whispered.
“Come here, Allie, behind the door. I want to hold you,” he said.
Where were the snipers and the S.W.A.T. team that Woods had promised? Then everything happened at once. The door flew open. They buzzed in from everywhere, through the windows, through the roof. I could hear the sound of the gunshots ringing in my ears.
There was screaming, yelling, tear gas, bullets, gunfire everywhere. Jules pulled me down to the floor, his arms covering
me. I did not know what they were shooting at. The noise was unbearable. I covered my ears with my hands. Jules yanked me up and dragged me along. He was knocking the breath right out of me. My skin crawled. Then I looked into Woods’ scruffy face.
“Get the hell out of here, now,” he yelled.
They crashed through the old desks that were in the room. A chair flew over my head into a mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Then the shooting stopped all of a sudden, what now?
I looked at the tiny secret door in the wooden wall, covered with a picture that had fallen on the floor. The colours of the sunflowers had faded away over the years and were nearly white now. The killer had escaped through it. I remembered the room behind it. It used to be the punishment room. Students who did not behave had to go in that room for ten minutes.
I heard Woods screaming. “Do not let him get away this time.”
I could feel exactly what he thought at this moment. Why did he have to choose room number thirty-eight?
Two agents helped us up. Broken glass and smashed chairs were everywhere. Jules and I stepped over the mess, Jules holding me tightly.
Woods was hysterical. Then at the corner of the room, I saw him pointing his gun at the suspect who wore a black mask. He cocked the hammer, his face as white as a sheet, all the emotions of the last years written on his face.
“Freeze!” he yelled. “Drop your weapon, you are surrounded. Show your face, you damn bastard! Show it now!” “The killer escaped, that’s not him, it’s an assassin, Woods,” the S.W.A.T. commander yelled. “
Agent Woods was still pointing the gun at the suspect who slowly took off the black latex mask. Everybody stared at a woman.
“Woods don’t shoot! It’s not The Say,” Kevin yelled at Woods. “He tricked you and sent her.”
Nobody could believe what they saw. The assassin was tall, of muscular build, dressed in black leather clothes, her face expressionless.
“Stand down, Woods! Do you hear me?” the S.W.A.T. commander screamed.
Woods was staring at her, still ready to pull the trigger at any moment. The assassin stared back at him.
To Catch A Butterfly You Need A Net Page 13