by J. Fritschi
Mike shook his head as he glared at her with sympathetic eyes. “Axe told me.”
“How do you know Eric?”
“I work at the OPD in homicide. I had drinks with him the other night. He told me what happened to Tom and about you and April Rose.”
Denise just stared at Mike with tears welling in her eyes. “Eric is such a great guy. I don’t know what we would do without him.”
“He feels the same about you and April Rose,” Mike hesitated with a twinge of guilt. “Listen, if you and Axe have something going, just tell me and I will stand down.”
Denise put her hand on Mike’s arm. “It’s not like that. Don’t get me wrong. I’d be lucky to have a man like him, but he is like a brother to me.” She took a sip of her Cosmo and then locked eyes with Mike. “I haven’t felt the way I do with you since Tom died. I didn’t think I would ever feel like this again.”
Mike smiled, but his face was not reassuring. Denise pulled her hand from his arm.
“What is it?” She asked alarmed. “Did you come here to tell me something about Eric? Is he alright?”
Mike turned and held her hand tenderly. “Axe is fine,” he assured her. “But I do have an ulterior motive for being here tonight.”
“What are you talking about?” She pulled her hand away.
“Have you heard of the Sterling Killer?”
“I don’t think so. Should I have?”
“He’s murdered two women.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Both of the victims were blonde bartenders.”
“Holy shit,” she said under her breath. “Do you think I’m in danger?”
“Probably not. The first two victims worked at hole-in-the-wall bars where they were vulnerable to an attack. There are too many people here and there is too much of a risk of being caught.”
There was a look of distress on her face. “What should I do? I can’t stop working.”
“You need to be cautious and aware of your surroundings,” Mike told her with intense eyes. “Make sure you are never alone. Park your car near the entrance and have someone escort you to it after work.”
“Do you have any idea who it is?”
“We think he’s a Caucasian in his thirties, but that’s all we know.”
“What does he do to his victims?” Denise asked sounding a little desperate.
“Don’t worry about that. He is not going to come after you. I promise.”
chapter 28
THE STERLING KILLER couldn’t believe his luck. Detective McCormick was having drinks with his next victim! He couldn’t have planned it better; unless he followed Detective McCormick around and waited for him to lead him to his next victim; why didn’t he think of that sooner? It was a risky proposition, but one worth considering, except that would mean letting him go, and the prospect of killing two birds with one stone was too enticing to pass up.
The Sterling Killer waited in the shadows of a parking lot across the street from Buschini’s spying on Mike and Denise through the plate glass window. He watched with anticipation as Mike helped Denise with her jacket. He pulled his hood over his head and readied himself for the attack.
It was around eleven thirty when Mike and Denise finished their drinks. Mike walked her to the door where Denise grabbed her light blue North Face jacket from the coat rack. Mike held it for her as she slid her arms in. Outside it was quiet and dim as they crossed the street in a quick pace and made their way to her car. Mike was walking behind her with his hands jammed in his jean pockets trying to figure out something clever to say and trying to decide if he was going to make a move for a kiss. He wanted the night to end on a good note and he wanted to be respectful, but all he could think about was her soft, full lips and that smile. He had to kiss her. He wouldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Was it going to be a friendly kiss on the cheek or a polite one on the lips? Mike wanted nothing more than to feel her moist lips on his. He was hoping it would start as a friendly kiss and turn into something more passionate.
When they got to the side of her car, Denise turned and looked up at Mike with her blue eyes and full, warm smile. “This is the time of night that I reluctantly say goodnight,” she said in a soft, innocent tone as they stood inches from each other, the sexual energy drawing them closer together.
“I guess this is the time I hesitantly lean down to kiss you,” Mike said uncertainly, looking for affirmation.
“I was hoping this is the time when you kiss me passionately,” and before she could say another word, Mike pulled her against his body and kissed her with an overpowering tenderness. It was a long, deep kiss and Mike was entranced by her warm, probing tongue. She tasted like fresh tropical fruit. Maybe it was the cosmopolitan? It was an all consuming, overwhelming kiss.
When they finally stopped kissing and reluctantly broke apart, there was an awkward moment of silence as they both stared at each other waiting for the other to say something. Denise chuckled nervously. “I better go,” she told him in an unconvinced tone as she turned, put the key in her car door and opened it.
Mike didn’t know what to do. He was still in a haze of ecstasy and couldn’t think straight. Don’t let her go. “Can I call you?” He asked unassumingly and as Denise turned to respond, she noticed someone approaching rapidly from behind Mike like a looming shadow. At first it didn’t dawn on her that the dark, hooded figure was the Sterling Killer until she saw him raise his arm above his head.
By the time Mike saw the look of terror in her wide eyes and realized what was happening, it was too late. He wheeled around and raised his arm up in an attempt to shield himself, but a club came down hard on the side of his head, splitting his ear and neck with an excruciating thud. His knees buckled and he heard Denise scream as he fell limp to the ground.
Denise frantically scrambled into her car and slammed the door shut, fumbling to lock it. Her heart was pounding as she watched in horror as the dark figure continued beating on Mike as he lay defenseless on the ground. Once the Sterling Killer was sure that Mike was out, he quickly turned to face Denise who screamed as he moved swiftly towards her and put his fist through the driver’s side window. Denise screamed as she struggled to move over to the passenger side as the he reached in, got a hold of her leg and pulled hard on it. A sharp pain shot up it as she kicked him with all of her strength. Losing his grip, the Sterling Killer reached in the car, unlocked the door and quickly was on Denise before she could escape out the passenger door. He was a solid man and she tried to fight him off, kicking and clawing at him, but it was no use. He was supernaturally strong.
And then Denise noticed the killer fumbling with something and watched in terror as he reached his hand up to her face and smashed a small damp towel over her mouth and nose, holding it firmly, causing her nose to twinge and her eyes to water as her bottom lip throbbed from the impact. Denise couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Not after all she had been through. What did she do to deserve all of these terrible things? She struggled to get a breath and she began to get dizzy and weak. What kind of chance would April Rose have growing up without a mother and a father? Her heart ached in despair as she pleaded with God to spare her life and have mercy on her poor, fatherless child. As she speckled into darkness, her last thoughts were of April Rose’s angelic face.
The Sterling Killer dragged Denise from her car and carried her to his van which was parked in front of her car. He looked around for any witnesses as he slid the side door open and threw her into the back. As he shut the door and hurried around to the driver’s side, he looked up the street and saw Detective McCormick lying unconscious in the middle of the road with a pool of blood coming from his head. The killer smiled. That would teach the stupid son of a bitch.
chapter 29
AS FATHER JOHN stood at the top of the long aisle in the middle of the dark sanctuary, he could sense the looming evil that hovered in the air like an invisible mist. He looked a
round at the high vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows and realized with great despair that it was happening again; he was having another nightmare. This time he was determined not to allow the killer to take another victim.
He took a deep breath as he gathered his courage and cautiously proceeded past the rows of pews until he was standing at the end of the isle. It was cold and silent as he looked with piercing eyes in either direction for something lurking in the darkness. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he could sense the evil presence watching all around him.
On top of the altar, in the middle of the stage, lay another naked, helpless victim. Father John climbed the three stairs to the altar and stood staring silently, admiring Denise’s naked body as his heart pounded with fear and excitement. He wanted to set her free, but there was a morbid curiosity that stopped him. She was so naturally beautiful and pure, like an angel, that he found himself disturbingly attracted to her. He tried to resist the temptation, but the desire was too strong. As she lay there with her arms bound above her head, helpless and vulnerable, it filled him with a sense of power. He wanted to help her, but he was overcome with an exhilarating lust that consumed him. He had to have her.
To his distress, he reached his hand to Denise’s face and brushed her blonde hair away from her eyes and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers as she stirred with a low moan. She was so sensual and he knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t help his strong attraction to her. He had been through this before and knew what was coming next. He wanted to stop himself before he went any further, but the more he told himself that it was wrong, the stronger his desire to have her became. Father John watched with a growing feeling of power as this helpless creature struggled uselessly to get free. Much to his dismay, he was enjoying the control he possessed over Denise. He could do whatever he wanted with her and there was nothing she could do to stop him.
Denise’s eyes were heavy and her vision faded as she tried to hold them open. The room was dark and cold and when she tried to wrap around her for warmth, a piercing pain shot down her arms and up her legs. She was groggy and it took a few seconds before she remembered, with a sobering horror, what happened when she left work. She struggled and thrashed to free herself as she tried to scream, but it was muffled by the gag in her mouth.
Denise turned her head and with blurry vision saw the dark silhouette of her hooded attacker. Her eyes bugged out of her sockets like they were going to explode as her heart pounded against her chest. She began to hyperventilate.
Was this how it was going to end for her? Naked and alone in a dark sanctuary, with a dark stranger looming over her? She watched with helpless fear as the dark stranger crawled up on to the altar and knelt between her legs. She realized what was going to happen next and knew there was nothing she could do to stop him. There was no use in fighting him, so she closed her eyes and hoped that it would be over quickly.
Father John battled his will as he climbed on to the altar and knelt over Denise like a stalking predator. He knew what was coming and he tried to will himself off of the altar and away from her alluring vulnerability, but the uncontrollable urge to devour her was too strong to stop. Father John then spread her legs and lay on top of Denise’s soft, naked body. She felt too heavenly to control himself and he forced himself on her repeatedly.
Denise’s eyes welled with tears as the dark figure laid his body on top of her making it hard for her to catch her breath as she reluctantly accepted her fate. She just wanted it to be over. Maybe the killer would spare her life if she didn’t fight him? Maybe he would let her go? She knew it was a long shot, but she figured her chances of surviving were better if she cooperated and didn’t give him a reason to kill her. She just lay there emotionally detached as he repeatedly had his way with her.
When Father John was done, he lay on top of her motionless body as he caught his breath. He was filled with a euphoric haze that reverberated throughout his body and with a shameful guilt for enjoying her so much. Why was this happening to him?
As Father John raised himself to a kneeling position between her legs, he watched the tears rolling down Denise’s cheeks and was suddenly filled with rage. What was she crying about? She asked for this with all of her enticing beauty and come hither ways. What did she think was going to happen? You can’t just go out looking all seductive and not expect something like this to happen! He gave all of the women he killed exactly what they deserved and then they had the nerve to act like they didn’t like it?
How could he think such a thing? What was the matter with him? They didn’t ask for this or deserve it, no matter what they did. This young lady has a mother and a father and maybe children of her own that will miss her. It’s not fair or right that he have the power to take her life. He should let her go. If he has the power to take her life, he also has the power to let her go.
To hell with them! They all got what they deserved. She wasn’t going to have any problem sleeping with that Detective McCormick tonight. What made him more worthy than he was? I’ll bet he even thinks he’s better than me. What gives him the right to judge me? I’ll bet after tonight he doesn’t think he is better than me anymore. Now he knows that I have the upper hand and that I am in charge of the game. He has to play by my rules now.
Then he felt the familiar cold steel of the knife handle in his hand as he removed it from beneath his robe and held it up, taunting Denise with the glimmering blade, as he waved it in front of her bulging eyes. He could feel her intense fear and it filled him with a God-like rush of power. He had the ultimate power to decide if she would live or die and he reluctantly enjoyed the control. She was his slave.
Denise’s heart stopped when she saw the glimmer of the long, shiny blade. She shook her head as she began to weep for all of the things she would never get to do or see. She was going to leave this world alone, just like she came into it. Hadn’t she spent enough nights alone, crying herself to sleep? And who would take care of April Rose? What would happen to her? What chances did a little girl have of growing up without a mother or a father? She pleaded with God to spare her life. She promised to devote herself to God if he would only save her. She would have made any promise, no matter how unrealistic, just for the chance to be with her again.
As Father John raised the knife above his head with both hands, readying to plunge it into Denise’s heart, he cursed her and all of womankind. They were the root of all of his lifelong problems. The guilt that he lived with because his mother died giving birth to him and the shame of being raised as a motherless child manifest itself into a deep, burning anger for women.
As he plunged the knife into her chest with a bone crunching thud, his heart cried out in anguish.
Please forgive me Lord for I know not what I do.
Denise watched in terror as the dark figure slammed the knife with piercing penetration, into her chest. Her eyes bulged and rolled back in her head as she gasped for her last breaths. As she felt the gurgling of her lungs filling with blood, her last thoughts were of April Rose. Be strong. Your father and I will be together watching over you. We love you so much. And then she faded to black.
Father John watched with horror as the killer cut Denise’s abdomen open, removed her intestines and smeared the 6 symbol on the wall above the altar with a taunting laugh. Why was he doing this? Father John awoke standing naked in front of the mirror in his bathroom with blood dripping from his nose. Why was this happening to him and who is Detective McCormick?
chapter 30
“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” a distorted, echoing voice asked with frenzied alarmed. Was the voice talking to him? Mike tried to open his eyes, but he didn’t have any motor skill functions. What the hell happened to him? His head felt as if it had been split down the middle with an axe and then he remembered the look of fear in Denise’s eyes right before something hit him. The Sterling Killer must have hit him over the head and then taken Denise. He couldn’t believe that he was so careless and that the Sterling Kill
er was so bold. How the fuck did he allow this to happen?
“Call 911,” the voice echoed frantically in his head.
Mike heard the wailing siren of an ambulance followed by the sound of voices and commotion. He could tell by the urgency in the voices that he was in trouble and he suddenly realized that he might die. His head felt as though his brain was oozing out of his skull like an egg dropped on the floor. Not only was he going to die, but he allowed the Sterling Killer to take Denise after he promised to protect her. Now she was going to die as well and it was his fault. How could he have been such a God damned fool?
He felt the sensation of his body being carefully rolled over as two voices spoke urgently with each other in a language that he could no longer comprehend. It was as if this wasn’t happening to him; like it was happening to someone else and he was a bystander eavesdropping on it.
They strapped something around his head and then he felt himself being levitated. He realized he was being loaded into the back of the ambulance. Would he make it to the hospital or would he be dead on arrival. What a stupid fool he was. How did he fail to realize that the Sterling Killer was watching him?
He involuntarily opened his eyes a crack as the ambulance rattled down the road. It was too bright and his vision was blurry. He could hear the beep of an EKG monitor over the droning sound of the siren as he faded in and out of consciousness.
More sound of commotion as he was wheeled down a softly lit hall on a wobbly gurney. He was surprised that he didn’t die in the ambulance. Maybe there was a chance that he wouldn’t die. Maybe they would be able to save him.
He made a promise to himself to fight with all of his will to survive. If they could somehow save him, he swore on his father’s grave that he would capture and kill the Sterling Killer. All he needed was one more chance. He would make the Sterling Killer pay for all of the lives he took and destroyed. He was not about to let the Sterling Killer get away with this.
