Death Notes Omnibus

by James Hunt

  The door led to a narrow staircase that descended at least twenty feet below ground. Every few feet a light illuminated their path, and Cooper found herself slowing as she neared the end of the staircase, and she felt the tip of the pistol dig into her back. “Just a little farther, Detective.” When Cooper stepped around the corner of the wall that concealed the rest of the hidden basement, she sprinted to her sister’s side.

  Beth, Tim, Sarah, and Mary were strapped into four wooden chairs lined up against the basement’s back wall. Their wrists, ankles, and waists were all chained, pulled tight against their skin to minimize their mobility. Wires protruded from the top of the helmets on their head, and Cooper followed the wires to a machine in the corner, which was attached to a generator that pumped its exhaust into a fireplace. And even with the hum of the generator and the gags in their mouth, Cooper heard every moan, scream, and cry.

  “Beth, are you all right?” Cooper cradled her sister’s face, and she nodded in response. She quickly went down the line, checking the girls and saw that Mary had wet herself. Aside from the restraints, they were unharmed. When Cooper turned to face the killer he still had the pistol in hand. “Let them go, now.”

  “But before you sounded like you were so fond of games.” The killer picked up a small, rectangular box and threw it to Cooper, who caught it clumsily with both hands. “And considering we only have a few minutes left together I suggest you play along.” The sadistic tone grew in comparison with his smile.

  Cooper slowly turned the box over in her hands. It was flush on every side except for one that had four separate switches. She looked from the device to Beth, and she felt her body tremble.

  “So, this is what’s going to happen,” the killer said, his voice returning to the same teacher-like tone when they spoke on the phone. “Your sister and her family are attached to a high-voltage battery capable of pumping thousands of volts of electricity into their bodies and frying them to a toasty crisp. The device in your hands has four switches. Three of them are harmless, but one will trigger voltage to pass through their bodies and kill them right in front of your eyes. That happens, and I turn myself in. You save them, and we all go free. A fair deal if I do say so myself.”

  The four silver switches caught lamplight in the basement, the metal gleaming, and Cooper set the box down. “You’ll kill them out of spite.”

  A glimmer of rage flashed across the killer’s face, which up until now had retained a measure of control. “You should know better than that!” Spit flew from his mouth, and the pistol in his hand trembled in sync with his rage. “Look at everything I’ve done for you, Detective.” He glanced around and gestured to the cabin. “You’ve dedicated your life to catching killers, and I promise you that I’m the best you’ll ever see. I’m your final labor.” He took a breath, forcing himself to regain control of his emotions. “Time is running out, Detective, and stalling will only seal your sister’s fate. The moment I hear the FBI bust down that door, I shoot your family regardless if you’ve tried to save them.” He glanced down to the device on the floor and raised his left eyebrow. “Don’t lose them like you lost your child.”

  With everything the killer had done, all he was able to accomplish, Cooper knew she didn’t have a choice but to play along. It was the only way to save them. “The entire cabin is surrounded. Even if they survive, the moment you step outside you’ll have thirty federal agents on your tail. You won’t have a chance.”

  The killer checked the time on his watch. “I like my odds.” He looked down to the box in her hands. “But do you?”

  The metal box grew slick from the sweat running off her palms. She turned to Beth, whose cheeks were drenched in tears. Cooper moved her thumb to the switch on the far left. She felt the blood drain from her limbs and her entire body become weightless as the nerves collected in the pit of her stomach. She pressed her thumb against the switch with the lightest pressure. Her body trembled, and she drew in a sharp breath and flicked her thumb up.

  All four of them shuddered in their chairs, hyperventilating. Sarah cried and thrashed violently against the restraints. Beth kept her eyes on the girls, while Tim kept his shut, his body drenched in sweat. But despite the outcry, they were alive.

  “Two more to go!” The killer followed the harsh words with even more sadistic laughter as the tips of Cooper’s fingers flashed white on the tight grip of the box.

  A drip of sweat rolled from her nose and onto one of the chrome switches as she moved her hand to the far right, opting for the switch on the opposite end of her first choice. The pounding beat in her chest thumped harder and harder the longer she hesitated. She eased her thumb against the rounded bulb of the switch, and her heart rate spiked. She shut her eyes, felt her legs go weak, then flipped the switch.

  A synchronized moan escaped Beth and the family, but when Cooper opened her eyes they were alive. She dropped the box from her hands and collapsed to all fours. She drew in deep, long breaths and felt the tears welling up in her eyes, the stress and anxiety reaching a fever pitch.

  “Such a simple task, Detective,” the killer said. “And yet it has worked you over like a small child screaming for its mother.” He shook his head, the gun still aimed at her. “One more to go.”

  Cooper eyed the box with disdain, the switches glaring back in mocking fashion, only the two middle switches still flipped down. She reached for the device with a shaking hand, and it scraped along the dirt floor as she pulled it toward her. She clutched it delicately, and pushed herself back to her feet. She stumbled, lightheaded, but managed to walk to Beth’s side. Keeping the box in her left hand, she held her sister’s hand with her right.

  Laughter burst from the killer’s lips, unable to hold back his smile. “Dammit, Detective, you are a beautiful sight to behold!” He licked his lips, pacing back and forth in the small basement, making a point to keep the pistol aimed at her. “Even at the very end, with nothing on your side but chance, you’re willing to die with your family.” The large smile made his skin grow tight and pink. “You’re everything I’d hoped you be, Detective.” The manic excitement in his voice slowly calmed, and his eyes fell to the box. “Only one more left.”

  Beth squeezed Cooper’s hand tight, and she looked down at her sister. She mirrored the tears that ran down Beth’s face, and her voice grew thick with grief. “I love you. So much.” Beth nodded in response. With her eyes still locked on Beth, Cooper slowly brought her thumb to the switch on the right. Her sweaty skin was slick against the metal. “We’re going to be okay.” Her body stiffened, and the moment she flicked the last switch, she squeezed Beth’s hand as tight as she could.

  A simultaneous shudder ran through all of them, but the only thing Cooper felt was the vice-like grip from Beth’s hand. Cooper glanced down to Tim and the girls, all three of them still alive, and then collapsed to the floor. One hand holding Beth’s, and the other still clutching the box.

  The killer clapped, the pistol now holstered at his side. The applause was slow at first but gained momentum and rang in chorus with the killer’s laughter. “Well done, Detective. Well done.” He walked over and removed the box from Cooper’s hand, which she let go without any resistance.

  The killer lifted the box into the air, smiling, still chuckling to himself. “It’s always amazing to me what the unknown can do to a person. The chaotic consequences of chance can make or break an individual. And do you know what the best thing about the future is, Detective?” He placed his thumb on the last switch. “It can always change.”

  “No!” Cooper outstretched her free hand, still keeping hold of Beth, but the moment the killer flipped the switch another cry belted from the gagged mouths of her family. Yet this one was no different than the others.

  “Hahaha!” The killer tossed the device from his hand, and it crashed to the ground with a thud. He paced around the room, drunk off his own musings. “You should have seen your face, Detective!” He bent over laughing, his arms clutching his stomach and
tears streaming from his face. After a few more hard chuckles he slowly regained control and reeled in the hysterics. He glanced up to the basement’s ceiling. “I suppose they’ll be coming through any minute now.” He looked back down to Cooper. “Our time is up.”

  Every ounce of the strength and energy had been drained from Cooper’s muscles, and the first attempt at pushing herself off the floor ended with a quick stumble back to the ground. “You’re not getting out of this alive.” She was forced to crawl, her legs no longer working. “You hear me? You’re a dead man!”

  The killer pushed aside a desk, which revealed a small tunnel. He unholstered the pistol and pointed the gun at her head. “I made you a deal, Detective. I told you that if your family remained unharmed, then I would walk free.”

  “I’ll follow you.” Cooper struggled to her feet. “I’ll hunt you down like the animal you are.” Her face reddened, and spit flew from her mouth. “I’m not letting you go.”

  The killer lowered his pistol from Cooper’s face and shook his head. “Then I’m afraid our deal is null and void, Detective. Though, out of a show of mutual respect, I’ll give her a fighting chance.” Seamlessly, he shifted his aim at Beth and squeezed the trigger. The bang of the gunshot deafened the world, and when Cooper looked over to her sister a red stain grew over the cloth on her stomach. “Until our final chapter, Detective!”

  “Beth!” Cooper placed both hands over the wound, keeping pressure. “Stay with me!” Her hands were slick and wet with blood as she watched the light in her sister’s eyes slowly diminish. “Stay with me!” The girls screamed and Tim cried, their gags muffling their grief. When Cooper looked back to where the killer had stood, he had already vanished into the tunnel.

  The crack of wood upstairs signaled that the FBI had stormed the front door, and she heard the quick shouts of the agents. “Down here!” Cooper screamed, her voice hoarse, and she kept pressure on Beth’s wound. Her sister’s eyes were nearly closed now, and the pool of blood had grown larger. “Christ, no. No, no, no.” She lifted one blood-soaked hand to Beth’s cheek, staining her sister’s skin red. “Don’t leave me, Beth. Please. Don’t.”

  The FBI flooded into the basement, followed quickly by the medical team. One of the agents peeled Cooper off Beth’s body, and she watched the medics swarm her while some of the other agents removed the chains that tethered the girls and Tim to the chairs. Arms continued to pull Cooper upstairs, and the last images she remembered seeing were of Beth’s bloodied body on the stretcher, with one of the medics pumping her chest.

  Chapter 13

  The florescent light in the hospital caused the blood on Cooper’s hands to shimmer an ugly red. She flexed her fingers as Beth’s dried blood crusted and flaked onto the white tile. Beth was still in surgery, and the girls and Tim were still being examined by the doctors. She sat alone in the waiting room.

  Outside the glass walls Cooper saw Hart and Hemsworth exchange a few words. Hemsworth noticed her watching. Hart ended the conversation and headed her way. When he stepped inside, Cooper returned to watching her hands and wiggled her fingers. The scent of her sister’s blood was still fresh in her nose.

  “Hey, we haven’t had any word from the doctors in surgery yet,” Hart said, keeping his distance. “But Tim and the girls look like they’re okay. Physically at least.”

  “Where is he?” Cooper kept her eyes on her hands, taking in the different shades where the blood had pooled thicker and lighter coats over her skin.

  “They followed the tunnel, and it dumped out near a river. There was a dock, and we think he took a boat downriver.” Hart inched closer. “Forensics is still sweeping the cabin for any evidence. They found a few leads that are promising.” He took a seat next to Cooper. “How are you holding up?”

  “We have to find him, Hart.” She glanced straight ahead and curled her hands into fists, feeling the cracked grime and blood in the grooves of her skin. “He’s only going to kill more. My family won’t be safe until he’s caught. He chose me because we’re connected somehow. And I need to find out why.”

  “Cooper,” Hart said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think the FBI or the chief is going to let you stay on after this.”

  Cooper’s rage was cut short by the swoosh of the waiting room door, and she leapt to her feet at the sight of the doctor. The first two steps were quick, but the moment she saw the look in the doctor’s eye, his body language, she knew the answer before it left his lips.

  “I’m sorry, Detective,” he said. “We did all we could to save her. She just lost too much blood on the way here. She’s gone.”

  The walls, the chairs, the lights, all of it slowly faded away until the hospital was consumed with darkness. A cold chill ran up Cooper’s spine, and the empty space was silent, save for her own vengeful thoughts. If he wants a story, then I’ll give him an ending he won’t forget.

  Death Notes: Obituary

  Chapter 1 – Baltimore 30 years ago

  The basement was small and dirty. A fine layer of dust signaled the room had not been touched in years. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling. It cast a dome of light in the darkness, stretching across the concrete floor to the walls where boxes were stacked in clusters by the dozen. Most of the cardboard tops were closed, but the few that were open revealed the spines of books piled messily inside.

  A thick musk of old paper and wood lingered in the air, which was only intensified by the stifling heat, and Gary Beachum felt himself growing sick. He wiggled uncomfortably in the chair. Thick cords of rope were wrapped around his stomach and chest, pinning him tightly to his seat. The flesh of his ankles and wrists grew puffy around the edges of the zip ties. He breathed through his nose, the duct tape taut across his mouth, and he struggled to keep from hyperventilating.

  A man, tall, skinny, dressed in slacks and a button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, stood on the far side of the basement near a desk. He was hunched over, his head down, staring at something. Gary spit his pleas that filtered through the tape in unintelligible mumbles.

  The kidnapper slowly craned his neck around. In the shadows of the hanging light, only his chin and mouth were visible. He placed a long, slender finger to his lips and smiled. “Shhhh.”

  Gary shuddered, and his pulse quickened. He didn’t know that man, had never seen him before today. He felt the sweat on his skin stick to his shirt, and he jerked his arms and legs against the ropes that tied him down. He rocked back and forth, the chair legs lifting off the floor, the wood groaning under his pressure. Finally, he smacked to the floor, and he felt his left shoulder numb upon impact.

  “Enough!” The kidnapper’s voice was violent and explosive like the sound of thunder. He spun around, snapping shut the book in his hands. He stepped forward, his shadow growing longer and thinner the closer he moved. He stopped only inches from where Gary had fallen, then knelt, placing a gentle hand on Gary’s face. “My apologies.” He looked to the book in his other hand. “It’s just that I’ve always loved this story.”

  The book’s cover was thrust in Gary’s face, but the picture and title remained hidden from the dim lighting.

  “Have you read it?” the kidnapper asked, a hint of childlike curiosity in his voice. “It was my favorite as a kid. Arrow to the Sun.” He smiled, gently tracing his fingertips over the pictures on the paper. “It’s about a boy brought to earth by a powerful being, an outcast who changed his destiny and grew into his own power. I always wanted to be that boy.” He opened the first page of the book. “See here? Beautiful illustrations. And an important lesson at the end. Do you like it?”

  A drop of sweat rolled down the valley between Gary’s nose and eye, blurring his vision and stinging his eye. He couldn’t focus on the book. He couldn’t focus on the man’s questions. The only constant running through his mind was getting back to Anna.

  The kidnapper returned to the desk, tossing the book aside, and hunched over. He trembled, his knuckles blanching white agai
nst the desk’s edge. When he turned around, the rage subsided. He stepped directly under the light, giving Gary a good look at his face.

  A youthful gaze examined him. The kidnapper couldn’t have been older than twenty. Most of his features were normal, except for his eyes. They were small, beady things, sunk deep into his skull, almost as if they were afraid of the light.

  The kidnapper glanced back at the table, some of the books still open on the desk. He picked a few of them up and clutched them to his chest. “I read all the time. Stories are so much better than regular life, aren’t they?”

  Gary shivered, turning his face away. The kidnapper grew angry again and grabbed his face, digging bony fingers into his cheek and jaw. Despite the slenderness of his hands, the man’s fingers were strong. “You think you’ve done better than me? Is that it?” He squeezed harder. “And what have you done with your life, Gary? Working at some stupid baseball stadium? Maintaining the structures so the masses can have their mind-numbing entertainment?”

  The smack of palm and cheek rang through the dank basement air. Each repeated slap left a burning mark etched on Gary’s cheek, and it was all he could do not to whimper and cry. The kidnapper fisted a cluster of his hair, then yanked his head back with a vicious pull.

  The veins along Gary’s neck pulsed, and the muscles strained to keep the neck from snapping. “Well, you’re in my story now. And now it’s my turn to write the ending.” He shoved Gary’s head forward again and returned to the stacks of books on his desk. “This will be better than the ones I’ve tried to write before. It’ll be different. It’ll be real.” Items thumped and scraped along with the flurry of the kidnapper’s hands.

  Gary shifted his gaze toward the stairs while the kidnapper’s back was turned. A gut-wrenching knot twisted in his stomach as he slowly realized that this nightmare wasn’t going to end, that he would not wake. He shut his eyes, and the fear that had befuddled his mind leaked out in tears that streamed down his cheeks. He felt the sting of the salt in the few cuts along his cheek from the kidnapper’s assaults and accepted the fact that he was going to die.