by Gail Caban
“You idiot!” Wyatt exclaimed. “You know you have to be the stupidest smart person I know!” Wyatt leaned forward and placed his head in his hands. “Ness, he wasn’t doing that to help you. He was doing that to help himself. He wanted to see what you were made of so he could go after you. I spent a lot of time discussing him with Gramps, and I know that’s how he operates. En Passant thrives on the challenge of a worthy adversary, and you played right into his hands.”
“Gramps told me that’s how he operates, but he doesn’t know that I was involved with En Passant.”
“Things are going to get really messy from here on out, Ness. En Passant—Eddie Rose—is going to come after all of us before he goes after you.”
Ness’ heart felt like it dropped into the pit of her stomach: “I don’t know what to do, Wyatt. I’ve been thinking about ways to throw him off guard, but I can’t think of anything.
Well, we need to make it as difficult as possible to get to—” Wyatt was interrupted by his phone buzzing on the desk. “It’s Dad,” Wyatt answered the phone, and his expression became more morbid with every passing moment. “I’m on my way.”
“What is it?” Ness asked, concerned.
“We’re too late. En Passant was at the cabin . . . Gramps has been murdered.” Ness buried her head in her hands and started sobbing. “This is all my fault.”
“Ness, we need to fight back. If he’s still here, he may not be back in Chicago for a while. Is there anything in his house that you can use against him?”
“As a matter of fact, there is,” Ness answered.
“Good, head there—he won’t be expecting that. Lindsay’s mother has decided to get away to her sister’s, and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Lindsay will be safe there.” Wyatt ran up the stairs. “Get dressed, Ness, and get ready to leave.” Ness moved up the stairs behind Wyatt and into the guestroom.
“What’s going on?” Lindsay asked, jumping up from the bed. “Gramps has been murdered, and I think we might be in danger,” Wyatt said, cutting to the chase.
“What?” Lindsay’s shock and confusion were practically palpable. “But . . . we were just there,” she started shaking with tears in her eyes.
“I know, honey, but we’re not safe here. Call your mom and tell her that you’re going with her to your aunt’s. Don’t go into any details because it will only freak her out.” Wyatt said grabbing his gun and extra clips from the gun safe in his bedside cabinet.
“Wait, where are you going to be?” Lindsay asked, insecure and confused.
“I need to head to the cabin with Dad to look for any way to catch the monster who did this,” Wyatt grabbed his jacket and clipped a hunting knife onto his belt. “Honey, you need to call your mom. We need to get moving,” he handed her the phone.
Lindsay knew that Wyatt was a cop and was trained to stay calm in stressful situations, but his methodical demeanor was freaking her out at the moment. She grabbed the phone and dialed her mom’s number. “Mom, have you left yet for Aunt Tracy’s?” she waited for her mom to respond. “Good, because I’m coming with you. But we need to leave tonight. I’ll explain when I get to you. I love you, Mom,” she said, hanging up the phone.
“Don’t bother packing, honey. Just get dressed and buy anything that you need when you arrive at Tracy’s,” Wyatt assured her. Lindsay nodded and started getting dressed.
10 minutes later, Lindsay was in her car and starting it up. Wyatt walked to the window and leaned in. He kissed her passionately: “This will all be over soon, honey, I promise. I love you.”
“I wish you were coming with me,” Lindsay said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Wyatt said as she reversed out of the garage.
Ness walked up beside her brother as Lindsay’s car disappeared into the distance. “I’m also heading out,” Ness said, hugging Wyatt. “Be safe.”
“You too,” Wyatt said, and Ness got into her Civic and pulled out the driveway.
Wyatt closed the garage and locked the house up. He knew that the chances of En Passant coming to the house were enormous, and he didn’t want to leave any easy points of entry. That done, he got into his truck and drove to the Illinois woods. He needed to make it to the cabin as soon as he possibly could.
Lindsay had made it about 10 miles out of town when she realized she left her phone on the bedside table and cursed under her breath. She knew that going back was ridiculous, but she needed her phone in case she needed to get hold of Wyatt. She turned the car around and drove back towards North Utica.
10 minutes later, she parked the car in the driveway and ran toward the front door. She unlocked it and went inside. All the lights were off in the interior of the house.
Strange . . . I’m sure Wyatt would have left lights on. Maybe he was just in a hurry, Lindsay though as she walked quickly up the stairs and found her phone on the bedside table. She didn’t bother turning on the lights because she knew where she left it.
Crash . . . Glass broke downstairs in the kitchen.
Lindsay’s heart was pounding in her ears and she started to feel dizzy. She wanted to call out, but she realized that in doing so she’d give away her position. She took several deep breaths and moved quietly toward the door of the room. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark, and she could see the landing on top of the stairs easily. Lindsay moved out of the master bedroom and tiptoed into the guest room and crawled under the bed in the guest bedroom; she turned so she could see the door. She strained to hear anything. She laid there for what seemed forever, but she wasn’t going to risk crawling out. Something, or someone, had to be responsible for breaking the glass downstairs.
Then she saw the feet move quietly past the door and into the master bedroom. Lindsay had to cover her mouth to muffle her building scream. “Lindsay, where are you?” the voice ominously whispered. She could hear the closet doors being opened and rummaged through in the other room, and then everything went quiet. Lindsay focused her sight on the doorway again and could see the black boots standing in the doorway facing the room. He took two steps forward and then stopped.
Lindsay wanted to scream as the tears ran down her cheeks. His body lowered to the ground and she could see his eyes meet hers. They seemed to be as dark as coal against the moonlight streaming into the room. “Well, hello there,” he laughed.
21
Ness drove as quickly as she could toward Chicago, but she was careful not to go too excessively over the speed limit. The last thing that she needed now was to be pulled over by the cops. It wouldn’t necessarily be detrimental to her, but she didn’t want to waste the possible head start that she had. She continuously checked her rearview mirror because she felt that she was being followed.
About an hour and a half later, she stopped her car around the block from Eddie’s place. She didn’t want to make the mistake of parking too close and it giving her presence away if he pulled in early. She climbed out of her Civic and walked down the sidewalk until she reached his address. She stood behind a tree and watched for several minutes before approaching the house, but if Eddie stuck to his original M.O., he'd hang around the cabin until the police showed up. That gave Ness a few hours to find a way inside.
She moved toward the front entrance; she knew from her time inside that Eddie didn’t have an alarm system, but that didn’t rule out other hidden measures that he may have in place. She peered in through the small square windows surrounding the door and couldn’t see much on the inside. There is of course the possibility that he’s waiting inside the house because he predicted that I’d come here looking for him, Ness thought to herself.
After several seconds of deliberation, she decided that she couldn’t waste more time outside and she broke one of the windows close to the door and stuck her hand inside feeling for the lock. Her heart drummed in her ears as she felt for the release. She felt the small handle and flipped it, unlocking the door. Ness walked inside and looked around in the darkness. Get to the garage, Ness.
She walked
quickly through the hallway and through the kitchen. She opened the connecting door quietly and peered inside. Because there were no windows in the garage, it was pitch black, and Ness couldn’t see anything inside. She closed her eyes, expecting a sudden attack and felt for the light switch. Her fingers brushed over the metallic switch, and she flipped it on.
The Contour isn’t here. Got lucky, Ness. she moved quickly to the light switch on the other wall and looked for the keypad. Although she only saw Eddie type it in once, she remembered the code. Most people wouldn’t remember a 12-digit code if they only see it once, but one thing that Eddie didn’t know about Ness was that she had an eidetic memory and was able to remember things in vivid detail. She closed her eyes and typed in the code. The tool shelf started moving and Ness had access to everything that she needed. She grabbed a duffel bag from inside the room and loaded all of Eddie’s alias passports, cash, electric lock picks, and several firearms into the bag. She was about to zip it closed when she spotted something else—she picked the item up and held it in her hands. Oh, yes, this will work very nicely, she smiled and packed it into the bag. Once she was finished, she grabbed the gasoline canister from the back of the G-Wagon—which was still three-quarters full—and poured it round the garage. She then moved into the house and poured the gasoline into areas that would ignite easily like carpets, curtains, and furniture made of wood. Once she was finished, she carried the gasoline canister and duffel bag to the front door, and with a box of matches that she grabbed from the kitchen, she ignited the fire and walked out the door. As she moved up the sidewalk, she could see the smoke billowing into the air behind her. She put the canister and duffel bag into her car and drove past 397 Riverview Road, that was now being engulfed by flames. She continued driving—Ness had one more stop she had to make.
She drove on the interstate until she found a gas station and she pulled in. She filled both her car and the canister up, paying for it with her credit card. Once she’d filled up, she hit the road again and drove straight to Eddie’s Bar. She parked her car on the street, and because it was late on a Sunday night, the area was relatively empty. Even the bar was closed. She reversed her car into the alleyway and walked toward the metal door that led to Eddie’s Bar. She pulled out the electric lock pick and held it in her hand. She wasn’t entirely sure how to operate it, but she pushed it into the lock and turned it on. The machine vibrated, and Ness started to wiggle the machine and then twisted it, like she would be unlocking it with a key. The door unlocked. Bloody hell! It worked! Ness opened the door and listened, but everything remained silent, so she assumed that there wasn’t an alarm. However, she wasn’t going to hang around either in case it sent a silent signal to an alarm company.
Ness walked through to the freezer room and had to use the lock pick again to access the door. Once she was inside, she started looking for anything that she could use as leverage against Eddie. She started opening the freezers but found nothing. There was only one left. She opened the lid. Well . . . this is going to be problematic for you, Eddie, Ness shut the lid of the freezer and ran out. She grabbed the canister of gasoline and went through to the bar. She didn’t pour any gasoline in the back room because she was hoping that the police or arson investigators would discover what was in the last freezer. Ness poured the gasoline everywhere and set the place on fire. She ran out into the alleyway, shutting the door behind her and she drove off.
Wyatt drove his truck up the windy terrain of the Illinois woods and could see that there were multiple blue lights flashing up ahead. Wyatt’s heart sank as he approached the cabin. It seemed surreal that his grandfather—who he only just saw a few hours earlier—met such a tragic end. He parked his truck next to Heck’s and climbed out. He was in civilian clothes, but the rangers and other local police officers quickly recognized him and ushered him under the crime scene tape. He could see Heck sitting on one of the chairs on the porch as the police officers worked around him.
“Dad?” Wyatt said as he approached the porch. Heck couldn’t respond when Wyatt approached him, he just stood up and embraced his son. He wasn’t normally a man that showed emotion, but it was at this moment that Heck burst into tears.
“Where is he, Dad?” Wyatt asked gently.
“The bastard dismembered him. He’s all over the place.”
Wyatt started looking around and could see that there was blood all over the porch and leading out onto the ground outside. He looked toward the wood pile and saw that Wyatt Sr.’s head was placed on top of it. Wyatt had to swallow the bile rising in his throat.
“We’ll catch the monster, Dad. Come hell or high water, he will pay for this,” Wyatt said as felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was Lindsay’s mom. “Hi Karen, are you and Lindsay ready to head out?” he asked.
“Wyatt . . . she isn’t here. She never arrived. What the hell is going on?”
“Fuck!” he said and hung up before answering her question, instead dialing Lindsay’s number. The phone rang, but there was no answer. He hung up and called Ness, she answered practically instantly.
“Wyatt, what’s up?” Ness asked, concerned.
“It’s Lindsay. She never made it to her mom’s place, and she isn’t answering her phone. How far are you from North Utica?”
“I’m about 15 minutes out,” Ness said.
“Push it, I’m on my way.” Wyatt exclaimed, and got into his truck. At that moment, his phone buzzed, and he saw it was Lindsay calling. “Lindsay, where . . .”
“Hello, little Wyatt. Did you like my present that I left for you at the cabin?”
“Where’s Lindsay?”
“She’s here, but she’s rather indisposed at the moment.”
“I’m going to gut you for this, Eddie,” Wyatt said.
“Oh, so you think you know who I am just because your baby sister spilled the beans?” Eddie laughed into the phone.
“She didn’t spill anything, I figured that out on my own. You see, you made a mistake.” Wyatt said as he tried to negotiate the treacherous road.
“How’s that?” Eddie asked in a monotone voice.
“Oh, no. I’m not going to make it easy for you. But if I figured it out, it’s only a matter of time until others figure it out, too. Your game is almost up, Eddie Rose,” Wyatt knew that taunting him probably wasn’t the best move, but if he was still on the line, he couldn’t hurt Lindsay anymore. His stomach clenched at the thought. Please, let her still be alive.
“Very well, little Wyatt. Our time will come shortly where you will share all sorts of intimate secrets with me,” Eddie laughed and hung up.
“Shit,” Wyatt threw his phone onto the passenger seat and drove even faster down the road.
10 minutes later, Ness parked her car a few houses down from Wyatt’s house, and she got out and ran down the street. If Eddie was inside, she didn’t want to warn him of her presence ahead of time. She ran straight for the door and saw that all the lights were off, but the front door was ajar. She moved inside quietly and could hear water running upstairs. She sprinted up to the second floor and straight for the bathroom, she kicked open the door and saw Lindsay’s bloody, limp body being held under the water as the bath filled up.
Eddie turned and looked at her with a fiery malice in his eyes. “It won’t be long now: all of her life is almost gone,” he laughed as he continued to hold Lindsay’s head under the running water.
Ness charged him but Eddie turned, and push-kicked her in the abdomen. There was a loud whoosh of air as his foot made impact with her soft tissue of her midsection. Ness flew backward into the bathroom door hard. She regained her composure as quickly as she could and kicked directly for Eddie’s knee. She knew that he expected a kick to the groin and would dodge it if she tried, but a kick to the knee was much faster. There was a crack as the cartilage gave way under the force of the well-placed kick, and Eddie screamed in pain as he went down to the ground.
Ness got up and pulled Lindsay out
of the bathtub. She turned to deal with another attack from Eddie, but he was already limping down the stairs. Ness wanted to chase after him, but she couldn’t leave Lindsay. She held her ear close to her mouth, and there was no breathing. Ness moved her onto her back and quickly started compressing her chest on her sternum. A few seconds later, Lindsay started sputtering as bloody water was expelled from her mouth.
Ness rolled Lindsay onto her side and could then see the full extent of the damage that Eddie had done to her. Her back was slashed open in multiple places, and there were multiple lacerations on her face. He was obviously trying to inflict as much pain as he could before she died, and he didn’t allow for any of his cuts to go too deep. He wanted her to die slowly. She grabbed her phone and called 911 and explained the situation. As soon as she hung up, she called Wyatt.
“Ness, what’s going on?” he said quickly.
“I’m with Lindsay at your house. She’s hurt badly, but she’s alive. The ambulance is on route.”
“I’m 10 minutes out,” Wyatt said and hung up.
Ness stroked Lindsay’s wet hair while she was laying silently in her arms. She was bleeding profusely from the lacerations on her body, and Ness prayed that the ambulance would get there in time.
A few minutes later she heard the sirens wailing in the distance, but she heard the front door swing open. “Ness?” Wyatt screamed. “In the bathroom upstairs!” she shouted back.
Wyatt burst through the door and started sobbing as he fell to the ground and started cradling Lindsay. He couldn’t speak through his weeping and just held her close to him.
“The ambulance is coming, Wyatt,” Ness said and ran downstairs to flag them down.
22
They all sat quietly in the hospital waiting room. Heck had made it to the hospital a few hours after Lindsay was initially brought in and still looked like he was in a state of shock. All three of the Elliott’s weren’t in the mood to talk and had been sitting quietly for a long period of time.
