The Child's Plan

by Audrey Walker

  He trailed off, shaking and shivering.

  “My mother was the one who taught me everything. She taught me how to read and write; she taught me how to walk and talk and escape from the horrible place to find food for myself. I tried to help her escape, but the Butcher was too careful. So, I brought her what food I could. The vent I used to escape was too small for her. She asked me to run away, I remember. She told me to go to the police and tell them everything, but I was too scared. I had never been to the outside world. Every time she told me to run away and find help, I came back to her every time. I was not even eight.”

  “Don’t,” Robin whispered. “Don’t speak anymore. It can’t be you! It can’t!” As much as Robin wanted to deny it, she couldn’t. He knew too much. The details, they were all so accurate; it had to be him. “Who else could it be? How would he know so much if it wasn’t him?” But Robin didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to accept that it was him.

  “I watched him beat my mother,” he whispered. “Every day that man would come to her and ask her to marry him, and every day she said no. Every day he beat her up, and every day she made me hide in the dark corner. Her eyes were always pleading at me to stay there. I think she was scared. Too scared of what he might do to me. He knew I existed, but he didn’t care for me.”

  “Just stop talking!” Robin shouted, pulling out her gun. “It can’t be you!”

  “But it is,” he whispered. “I am the child in the basement. I am your killer.”

  Robin’s hand trembled as she looked at the familiar face, tears running down her cheeks.

  She had no choice but to accept it.

  The killer was Jim.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Don’t take another step forward,” Robin said, pointing her gun at him.

  Jim just looked at her, his eyes dead and his face expressionless.

  “Can you imagine the trauma?” he whispered. “I wasn’t just abused by him. He ignored me. Can you imagine if your own father refuses to acknowledge your very existence? If he acts like you are not even there? Even when you are under his feet, can you imagine that pain? So unworthy that my father won’t even look at me? I was that bad. I was that horrible. So unlovable, so hated. No, I wasn’t even hated. I wish my father hated me. At least then, he would have admitted that I exist. But no, he only cared about my mother. The only acknowledgment I ever got from him was a punch now and then if he happened to see me.”

  “Why are you telling me all this?” Robin asked.

  “I thought you wanted to know,” he said. “You always seemed so interested when I was a child. You asked me about my past all the time. Don’t you want to know anymore?”

  “I am sorry you had to go through all that,” Robin said. “I know how hard it was for you. Suffering all that – it must have broken you, didn’t it? And then I forgot about you too. I understand your pain. I really do. Jim, why did you wait so long to do this? We knew each other for years before this. Why did you wait so long?”

  Jim ignored her question and said, “Then one day, he decided he had enough. He decided he was done with my mother. So, he killed her. He slit her throat, and then he slowly chopped off each limb right in that basement. I hated that part. Then, he started bringing in more women, and I always enjoyed it when he would slit their throats. I loved watching the blood spray everywhere–.”

  His voice broke off, and he took a deep breath. His deadpan eyes continued to look at her, his hands shaking.

  “The blood sprayed everywhere. I loved it. But when my father would chop those limbs off, it seemed so brutal. So unnecessary. So unsophisticated,” he said, his voice trembling. “I hated it. So, I never copied it. But I liked it when he would cut the head off, so neatly, so methodically. When I cut the Butcher’s head off, I took care. I made sure I did it as neatly and as efficiently as he had done it to others. I used his tools; you know that? And when his blood splattered on me, I enjoyed every second of it.”

  “Jim,” Robin said, her mind racing. “Why did you call me here? What do you want from me?”

  “All in due time,” he said, staring at her. “Patience. When he killed my mother, I had no one. The women he brought seemed to hate me or detest me. Maybe they were just too scared of me. But I felt so unloved. I wondered if I was so bad that I didn’t even deserve a kind word now and then. Was I so bad, Robin? Was I so bad that I didn’t even deserve kindness? Was it so hard to love me?”

  “You know that’s not true,” Robin said. “Your mother loved you. And I loved you.”

  “No,” he said. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t have forgotten me. But you did and you moved on and lived a happy life. I tried so hard to make you happy and wanted you to love me so desperately. I tried to make you love me. I gave you gifts, but you never liked them. I didn’t understand why. The Butcher enjoyed killing, and I loved watching him kill. It satisfied some evil part of me, I think. I thought everyone enjoyed it, but it made you so angry.”

  “Jim, why am I here?” Robin repeated. “What do you want me to do? Why did you call me here?”

  “I want my revenge,” he said. “I want to make you suffer for forgetting about me. I want to ruin you. It’s why I did all this. It’s why I set you up to take the fall, so I could ruin you completely. I wanted to see how long you would take to remember me. It was so easy for you to just forget about me. Well, my plan is working. I already have my next target ready. I told you, I will ruin you.”

  “Next target?” Robin asked, her heart thumping in her chest. “What do you mean, next target?”

  “You better hurry, Robin,” he said. “You don’t want to lose her, do you?”

  “Who?” Robin whispered, shaking. “Who? Abby? You have Abby?”

  “She doesn’t have long to live, you know,” he said, his voice shaking horribly now. “You will lose your sister, and the worse thing is, they will blame you for it. You will be held responsible for her murder.”

  “Tell me where she is,” Robin shouted, pointing the gun at him. “Tell me!”

  “You want to save her?” he said, swallowing. “Shoot me. Shoot me, and you will save her. Kill me, Robin Matthews!”

  “Just tell me where she is,” Robin said, her heart throbbing in her chest. She was filled with panic and anxiety. Her body was stressed out, her mind racing as worry for Abby took over all other thoughts.

  “Shoot me,” he said. “Shoot me and save her! Do it now!”

  “Jim, just tell me,” Robin said, her gun aimed for his chest.

  “Do it!” he roared. “Do it already! Just do it!”

  Robin’s finger rested on the trigger, and she looked at him with sad eyes.

  “Shoot me!” Jim shouted. “You want to save Abby, don’t you! Then shoot me!”

  Tears began to fill Robin’s eyes as she aimed the gun at his chest.

  “Shoot me!” he screamed. “Save her! Shoot me!”

  Robin gasped as she sobbed, tears freely flowing down her cheeks.

  “I am sorry, Jim,” she whispered and pulled the trigger.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The bullet hit the rocks behind Jim as the sound of a gunshot echoed in the air. Robin’s hands trembled, and the gun slipped from her hands.

  “Why?” Jim said. “Why don’t you shoot me?”

  “I don’t believe you,” Robin said. “I don’t believe that you are the killer.”

  Robin didn’t know how she knew, but her instinct was screaming at her that it wasn’t him. That none of it made any sense. None of it fit Jim. The profile, the murders, the notes; they didn’t fit the man Jim was. She knew enough about the criminal psyche to know when a criminal profile fit someone, and she knew Jim couldn’t be the Executioner.

  “You have to shoot me,” he shouted. “Please. I beg you. Shoot me.”

  He collapsed on his knees, tears running down his face as he desperately looked at her.

  “Tell me the truth, Jim,” Robin whispered. “Tell me what really happened. Why a
re you lying to me?”

  “Lying?” he said. “It’s the truth! Why won’t you free me of the evil in me? Why won’t you save Abby? Why?”

  “Just give up, Jim,” Robin shouted. “I know it isn’t you. Tell me why you are doing this?”

  “Kill me, Robin,” he whispered. “Please. You have to kill me.”

  “No,” Robin said. “What’s going on here? Jim? Is it the killer? Is he making you do this?”

  “No!” he shouted. “It’s me! I did this! I am the killer!”

  “Is he forcing you into this?” Robin asked, her mind racing. “Jim, I can help you.”

  “You don’t understand, Robin,” he sobbed. “If you don’t shoot me, Abby will die.”

  “I am not going to shoot you, Jim,” Robin said. “Tell me everything, and I will save Abby, I promise. Just tell me everything.”

  Jim broke down, sobbing openly as he looked at her.

  “If you don’t shoot me,” Jim sobbed, “he will kill Abby.”

  “Who?” Robin whispered, her heart racing. “Who will?”

  “I don’t know who he is,” Jim said. “I got back from work, and Abby wasn’t home. And then I got a call. It was a man. He told me to act as if everything was okay. To switch on the TV and act as if we were both home, and then he told me he had Abby. He was going to kill her if I didn’t do as I was told.”

  “Oh, God,” Robin whispered. “What did you do?”

  “He had left a small box for me on the table,” he whispered. “It had an earpiece in it. He has been using it to whisper in my ear all night. Telling me all these horrid things and asking me to say all these terrible things. He said I have to do everything as he says, or he will hurt our Abby. Robin, Please. I can’t lose Abby. Please.”

  “Tell me everything,” Robin said. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “He told me that I have to confess,” Jim whispered. “That I have to say that I am the killer you are looking for. He told me he had a replica of my ring, and he will plant it at the crime scene. He said if I confessed in front of you, he would let Abby go. I told him you wouldn’t believe me, but he just laughed. It was such a peal of cold, cruel laughter. I have never heard anything like it. He said he would tell me things to say, things that only he knows.”

  Jim shuddered as he said those words, and Robin put a comforting hand on his shoulder, her mind racing.

  “He sent me a picture of Abby,” he whispered. “Injured and looking so scared. I was horrified the moment I saw it. He said if I told anyone at all, he would know, and he would pull the trigger on Abby, and she would join his other victims. He said I had to convince you that I am the killer. I didn’t just have to confess; I had to convince you.”

  He looked at her with wide, terrified eyes and whispered, “He said I had to get you to kill me; I had to die for Abby to survive. And I failed. I failed, and now Abby will die. I did this to her. It was me.”

  “No,” Robin whispered. “Nothing will happen to Abby. Nothing, I promise.”

  “I failed her, Robin,” he whispered. “I failed my Abby. He said that you had to kill me. But now–.”

  “Jim,” Robin said. “It will be okay. I will find her.”

  “No, it’s too late,” he whispered. “I have to die for her to live. I have to die!”

  Robin realized too late that the gun had been dangling loosely from her hand. Jim lunged for it and pointed it toward himself, his eyes filled with fear.

  “I have to do this for Abby,” he whispered.

  “No, you don’t,” Robin said. “I will find her, Jim. I will bring her back to you, I promise. Please, don’t do this. Please.”

  Jim collapsed, sobbing openly as Robin gently took the gun away from him. She took the earpiece from him and held it to her own ear.

  “This was interesting to see, Detective,” the voice from the earpiece whispered in her ear. “Even though things didn’t go as planned, I must say that you made things rather fun. Tell you what, I will play along. I will give you a chance to save Abby. You know where to find her. You have one hour, and remember, this is between you and me. If anyone else shows up to save her, I will kill them all.”

  The earpiece disconnected, and frustrated, Robin threw it to the ground.

  “Jim, I am going to save Abby, okay?” Robin whispered. “You have to stay here for me.”

  Robin called Kyle, waiting anxiously until he picked up.

  “Robin? Where are you? I have been waiting here for ages! I called you so many times!” he hissed.

  “Can you come to the cliffs?” Robin said. “I need you to look after Jim. I need you to make sure he doesn’t do anything dangerous while I go after the killer.”

  “Robin?” He said. “What’s going on?”

  “Just do as I say,” she said. “I will explain it all later.”

  “Jim,” Robin said. “Kyle is coming. He will look after you. Stay here while I go and save Abby.”

  “I will come with you,” Jim said. “She is my wife.”

  “No,” Robin said. “Jim, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but you will just get in the way. Help me by telling Kyle everything that happened. Ask him to send backup if he can.”

  “Thank you, Robin,” Jim said. “I am sorry I didn’t believe you.”

  Robin smiled at him reassuringly, even though her heart was sinking with worry. She thought about her little sister and how scared she must be right now.

  “I am coming for you, Abby,” Robin thought to herself. “Just hold on.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Robin ran as fast she could, her mind whirring. She had an idea that the killer was holding Abby in the basement, but it was just a hunch. It was the place where everything had started, the place that tied it all together. It will be fitting if this is where it all ended, as it began.

  Robin wasn’t sure she would even make it in time. The killer was playing a game with her and he was enjoying all this. She thought back to the child she met in the basement. Even after all he had done, Robin didn’t hate him. She couldn’t, she thought. “How could I feel anything more than pity for him? Sympathy for a child who had no family and who just wanted love.”

  “Did you manage to eat something?” Robin asked softly as the child crept close to her.

  “I miss my Mama,” the kid said. This was the first time he had ever said anything like that, and Robin’s heart melted even more.

  “I miss my Mama too,” Robin said.

  “Don’t you ever want to hurt him?” He whispered.

  “Hurt who?” Robin asked.

  “The man who was in the other car,” he said. “The drunk man who crashed his car into theirs. The one that killed them.”

  “That’s not how things work,” Robin said.

  “Why not?” he whispered. “Why can’t you hurt the one who hurt you?”

  “Because it’s not on us to take justice into our hands,” Robin said.

  “Then who will do justice?” the kid asked. There was a look in his eyes that made him look more mature than his years.

  “Kid,” Robin said sharply. “The justice system does the justice. The court does the justice.”

  “Was he punished for killing your parents?” he asked.

  “I –,” Robin stammered.

  “Don’t you ever want to hurt people?” he asked, his eyes looking dark and soulless. “Don’t you ever just want to kill them? Don’t you ever just want to ruin them all?”

  Robin looked at him uncomfortably. He was looking straight into her eyes as if he could read what was going on in her mind.

  “There is darkness in you,” he said. “Just like there is one in me. You think you are pure, but you are not. There is an evil inside you. A madness just like me.”

  “That’s not true,” Robin said, feeling scared for some reason.

  “Can’t you see? Can’t you see your darkness reflected in my eyes? Can’t you see?” he whispered.

  “I think that’s enough!” Robin snapped
, her heart thudding in her chest.

  The child looked away, his face resuming its normal expression.

  “I am sad,” he whispered. “I miss my Mama. She made me feel better.”

  “It’s okay,” Robin said. “Here, put your head in my lap. I will sing you to sleep.”

  As the memory suddenly struck Robin, she realized that the evil had always been inside the child. But it had been worsened, molded, and contaminated by the hate and cruelty he received. Maybe if he had been loved, the good within him would have grown, but instead, the evil in him had festered, and he had become corrupted.

  Robin couldn’t help but feel guilty and wondered, “if I had remembered, could he have been saved? Could I have somehow helped him out of this? Would love and care have been enough to save him? Or was he already too traumatized by that point? Was I responsible for what he had become?”

  She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and would figure this out later. Right now, she had an urgent matter to deal with. Robin needed to get to the basement and save Abby. But it wasn’t that easy. For one, she had to be careful now that she was back in town. Aware that the police were hunting for her, Robin needed to sneak around and stay out of the public eye. She could see police vehicles passing by and officers posted around street corners. Abby would not be the next victim, but the presence of all the police personnel was really delaying her. She was going to be too late.

  Robin had to get across the street, but it would take too long if she took the back alleys. She would have to risk it and hope her disguise hides her identity, and then she will be able to cross the road. Robin had to make sure that the officers were not looking before she made a dash for it. This would have to be timed perfectly.

  The moment the opportunity presented itself, she made a sprint for it.

  “Stop right there!” Robin heard a voice shouting. “I got you now, Matthews!”

  Robin froze, recognizing the voice as Gary Dane’s. She slowly turned around to find him standing there, his gun pointing at her.