by Melissa Seal
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lexie planned to be on the road by six am, but after a long night, they slept until nine am when a truck’s ignition woke Dani. She watched Lexie sleep for a while. The older woman looked so peaceful that Dani hated to wake her up, but she knew they needed to get on the road.
Dani wrapped her arms around Lexie and whispered, “Morning, sunshine, it’s time to wake up.”
Lexie moaned softly and snuggled into Dani’s arms. She had gotten a good night’s sleep for the first time in months and felt relaxed and ready to face the day. Realizing the time, Lexie panicked thinking about the three-hour drive to Tampa. She was aching to get there to find out if her husband was the Last Call Killer. Even though Chris had called and basically divorced her in a voicemail, she still needed to know if he was the monster everyone made him out to be. The two women were quiet in the car, each lost in their own thoughts about the night before.
Dani broke the long silence, “Can we stop to get some breakfast?”
“I thought you would never ask, I am starving!”
Their new mission was to find the nearest breakfast buffet. They had certainly worked up an appetite. Within minutes, they took an exit and found an all you can eat breakfast buffet right outside of Jacksonville. The restaurant was small with outside dining. Since it was a gorgeous summer Florida morning, Dani suggested they eat outside. Lexie thought that was a great suggestion because they were the only people out there, and it would give them a chance to talk about what had happened between them the night before. They hit the buffet hard and inhaled pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and waffles
After devouring as much food as they could, Lexie asked, “So, do you want to talk about our shower adventure?”
“I’m really not interested in talking, but I certainly would love a repeat performance.”
Dani could tell by the look on Lexie’s face that she had given her the right answer. They paid the check and got back in the car and buckled in for the rest of the ride to Tampa.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tiffany Decker woke up in a great mood. She had breakfast with her parents, then left on a trip to the mountains with her boyfriend Cameron, her college roommate Anya, and Anya’s boyfriend Ronnie. Since she grew up on the beach, she liked the idea of a summer in the mountains because it was different. After the kidnapping she needed a diversion. Her parents were troubled about her leaving so soon after her ordeal. They also knew she needed to get away for a while to find her independence. Outwardly, it appeared that Tiffany was doing better. However, she hadn’t forgotten what it felt like being locked in the trunk of that car. She had nightmares every night but hadn’t told her parents. Telling them the truth would make it impossible for her parents to agree to let her spend three weeks in a cabin at Beech Mountain in North Carolina.
After breakfast, Tiffany hugged them both goodbye. She met her friends at the campus. Tiffany wanted to drive, because she was terrified to not be in control. Once, she had gone to the grocery store with her mom, and while riding down the road, she panicked, and her mom stopped the car to let her out. She told her mom it was because she felt like she was going to be sick. She was only a few miles from home so after getting some air for a few minutes, she got back in the car. She was in a complete state of panic. Since that day, she has driven herself everywhere.
Chris arrived in Clearwater as Tiffany drove away from her parent’s house. He smirked and thought how great it would feel when he finally had Tiffany back. The roads were empty, and Chris passed Tiffany with three other people in her car. She was laughing and talking like he had never existed. Chris was furious, but he knew he needed to stay focused and not lose his head now. He was too close to have her slip away again, so he calmly turned around and followed her car filled with four blissful, fun-loving young adults.
It was going to be tricky, but Chris decided to wait until he could get Tiffany alone before he could make his move. Their car stopped to fill up at travel center about an hour into the trip. Chris got excited because he assumed, he would be able to find Tiffany alone. To his dismay, she got out of the car and walked hand in hand with the tall, stocky, dark haired guy that had been in the back seat. He escorted her to the bathroom and waited for her to come out. Then, he strolled with her to get snacks and back out to the car. He never let Tiffany out of his sight. This infuriated Chris. He tried his best to stay calm and in control, but it was getting harder with every passing mile.
After leaving the travel center, the group drove north. A few hours later, Chris almost gave up and travelled back to Clearwater to wait for Tiffany to return, when their car exited the interstate. Chris tailed the car with the unsuspecting college kids to a burger place. Tiffany and another girl got out of the car followed by the two boys from the backseat. This time, Tiffany and Cameron were arguing because she wanted space, and he wanted to make sure she was safe. Tiffany told Cameron she wanted to cross the street to a gift shop. He got mad because he didn’t want her to go. Cameron and Ronnie went into the restaurant while Tiffany and Anya went to the gift shop. Cameron loved Tiffany’s independence. But he couldn’t understand why she was being difficult. He decided to eat his lunch and try not to worry about her for a while. He had worried about her every second of every day since the abduction.
The two guys ordered burgers, fries, and sodas for themselves and salads for the girls. They talked about the upcoming basketball season and when the food came, they ate their burgers. After realizing the girls had not come back, Ronnie called Anya’s cell phone. No answer. Cameron called Tiffany. No answer. They figured they would be back soon, so they ordered dessert and watched the sports highlights on the restaurant television.
Chris observed the girls walk across the street. His pulse raced, and his mouth got dry as he parked his car in the back of the gift shop parking lot. He wasn’t prepared to take two girls, but the more he thought about a double kill the more excited he became. He was so blinded by his need to kill these girls that he almost blew it. He wanted to burst into the store and drag them both out, but he had to be smarter. Chris walked around the store, following the girls until he found his opportunity. Anya was near the back door when Chris grabbed her, knocked her out with the chloroform, and placed her in the backseat of his car. He used zip ties to bind her hands and feet, so she couldn’t get away. He went back for the real prize. Tiffany was wandering around the store looking for Anya when Chris found her.
He approached her, “I don’t mean to bother you, but you seem to be looking for someone, and I just saw a girl crying in the back parking lot when I came in.”
Tiffany didn’t recognize Chris since the colored contacts changed his eyes and his hair was longer and a different color .
“Yes, thank you sir, I am looking for my friend.”
She followed Chris out the rear exit.
Once she was outside, he put his hand over her mouth with his favorite drug. Tiffany was out instantly. He threw her in the back of the car without taking time to tie her up. He had wasted a lot of time abducting both girls and there was no way he was going to risk getting caught now that he finally had sweet, young, Tiffany back.
Cameron panicked when the girls had been gone for over an hour and neither one of them answered their cell phones. Ronnie was about to suggest they go look for the girls, but Cameron was already out the door and across the street by the time he finished his sentence. Ronnie caught up with Cameron at the front door of the gift shop.
They rushed in yelling, “Tiffany, Anya!”
“Where the hell could they have gone?” demanded Ronnie.
They dashed all over the sizeable store, but with every passing minute the young men panicked. Cameron called Tiffany’s cell again, and he heard the special ringtone she had for him. He followed the sound of the ringing phone to the back of the store. He found her phone lying on the floor by the back entrance, and in that moment, he knew something terrible had happened to her. He called 911, but they police told him
that she was over eighteen, and she would have to be missing for forty-eight hours before they considered her a missing person. While Cameron and Ronnie were talking to the police, Chris was riding off in the sunset with Tiffany and Anya.
He had stopped and tied Tiffany up so there was no way for her to escape. The three of them were going back to the cabin where unlucky Brenda, the girl he had met in Key West, had taken her last swim. The cabin was about six hours away, and Chris worried about the girls waking up and causing trouble before they got there. He knew how resourceful Tiffany was. He was sure with the other girl’s help they could be trouble. After few hours of driving, he pulled over and drugged them both again when Anya started to wake up.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Dani was driving when they finally reached Tampa. She pulled over to let Lexie drive since she was familiar with where they were going. She and Chris had been married on the beach not too far from where they were. She knew exactly where to start their investigation. Lexie drove three miles to Chris’ parent’s house. It was run down and had clearly been abandoned for years. She expected to see Mr. and Mrs. Fleming and a brand-new garage since Chris had told her not too long ago, that he had spent a few days with his parents, helping his dad build the new garage. He went to Florida for business a lot, and most times he would tell his wife that he was staying a few extra days, so he could spend some time with his aging parents. She was at a loss after seeing the house and realized that her husband had been lying to her for years. She wondered what else he had lied about. She still didn’t believe Chris was a murderer, but she was open to the fact that he had secrets.
Dani’s cell phone rang, it was Captain Harris. “Oh, shit Lex, it’s Harris. What do you want me to tell him, because he is going to ask where we are?”
“I think you should be honest with him. There is no need for both us to lose our jobs.”
Dani answered, “Hey Captain, what going on?”
“Where the hell are you and your partner? I have been calling her for hours. There has been a development, some DNA evidence just came back on one of the Last Call Killer’s victims and it is a match to Chris Fleming. I need you to stop whatever you are doing and bring Lexie back now. She can’t be involved in this mess with her husband, especially now that we know he is the killer”
After hanging up with her boss, Dani pulled the car over, and even though she knew what she was about to say was going to break her partner, she knew she had to tell her.
Lexie was anxious, “Why are we stopping? What did he say? Dani please tell me what’s going on!”
“I’m so sorry sweetie, but DNA evidence proves that Chris not only killed Sophia Nunez, but he is the Last Call Killer. Harris wants us back at the station. I didn’t tell him we were in Florida”
The news devastated Lexie. Hearing that her husband was the Last Call Killer made her physically sick. She shot out of the car puking and crying. She was grieving for her friend Jack, all the women Chris murdered, and the families he had destroyed. She had chased this killer for two years. It made her skin crawl when she thought of all the times, she had laid next to that man after he had tortured and killed other women. Her head spun, she felt weak, her knees buckled, and she crumpled to the ground. Dani was outwardly calm, but her mind was churning, what do I say or do now? All I really want to do is grab Lexie and hold her tight and tell her everything is going to be fine but is it? Would they be able to find Chris? Would Lexie be able to recover from the realization that her husband killed her mentor and friend, not to mention all the other horrible things he had done right under her nose? After all they had been searching for this killer for years, and he was always two steps ahead.
Lexie pulled herself together and got back in the car, “Drive. We need to find him before he does any more damage. This man lied to me with almost pathological sincerity, and I never suspected a thing. How did I not know?”
A few minutes passed before Lexie cried, “Oh shit! I think I may know where he is! Chris used to take me to this cabin when we lived in Florida. He said he sold it after the Ponzi scheme, but he’s lied about so much, how do I know he hasn’t lied about that, too?”
“Do you remember the address?”
“Nope, but I do know how to get there. Let’s go get that deranged bastard.”
They drove forty-five minutes before getting to the road that they hoped would lead to answers.
Tiffany woke up when the car stopped in front of the cabin. She was groggy from being drugged, but she heard a man’s voice talking to her and calling her by her name. At first, she was confused. She finally recognized that voice. Tiffany saw Anya passed out on the seat beside her, and she had a panic attack. This made Chris guffaw maniacally while he dragged her into the cabin. He kept her hands and feet bound. Since Tiffany couldn’t walk, Chris drug her down the narrow dirty hallway that led to a room with a single metal chair bolted to the floor. After making sure Tiffany was secured to the chair by her hands and feet, he left her screaming and went back to the car to get her friend. Anya was fully awake when Chris came back outside. He heard her crying and yelling for help. He smirked and fed on their terror. The more they screamed, the more ecstatic he was. Chris snatched Anya from the back seat of the car and dragged her down the same hallway, so she could see Tiffany bound to the metal chair. He threw Anya in the room across the hall from Tiffany. There was no chair or furniture in this room, only a metal frame bolted to the wall where Chris secured Anya by her hands and feet. After making sure both his guests were comfortable and settled in well, Chris went for a walk around the lake to clear his mind. He was not sure what to do with Anya, she was not part of his original plan, but he was sure he could find some way to use her to further persecute Tiffany. She needed additional punishment for escaping and causing him trouble.
Chris walked the lake reminiscing about the girl he killed there in high school as well as sweet, unsuspecting Barbara. He was reenergized after his trip down memory lane and geared up for fun with his new guests. Tiffany was trying to gain her composure, I must get Anya to calm down, so we can figure out a way to escape! I know if we don’t escape, this lunatic monster is going to kill us! Chris joined Tiffany and pulled out a disposable cell phone.
“Okay Tiffany, it is time to call your parents again or your boyfriend, your choice. You will tell them goodbye and remind them that you are going to die a very slow and painful death. Just like before. So. Who is going to be, Tiffany? Mom and Dad or loser boyfriend? Give me a phone number, now!”
“There is no way in hell that I am making that phone call!”
Chris flew into a rage and punched her in the face repeatedly.
After a few minutes, he stopped and looked down at the bloodied face of his victim, “You ready to make that call now?”
Anya was trembling with her eyes clenched shut, oh my God, he is going to beat her to death?! Why is this happening?! She needs me, and I cannot even move. I must do something!
“Stop! You’re going to kill her!”
Chris responded dryly, “Yeah that’s kind of the point.”
After Tiffany continued to refuse to make the call, he moved on to his other victim. He unhooked Anya from the wall and dragged her kicking and screaming into the room with Tiffany and beat her. When Tiffany still refused to make the call, he ripped off her friends’ pants and underwear. Anya screamed and begged him to stop, but he didn’t.
Tiffany couldn’t stand it anymore, “Fine you son of a bitch, I will make the damn call if you leave her alone!”
Chris gloated to himself, finally! I win. I will gladly put this annoying bitch back on the wall for now, so I can enjoy what is about to happen with this phone call.
He took the phone out of his pocket and looked at her with his empty eyes, “What is the number, Tiffany?”
She gave it to him, and they waited for someone to answer. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to them both, Tiffany’s mom answered the phone and as soon as she heard her daughter’s
voice, she knew something was terribly wrong. Tiffany spoke slowly like her captor had ordered, then she told her mom to stay quiet and listen as she told her all the ways this man planned to hurt her. Her mom was in shock and wanted to reach through the phone and pull her sweet daughter into her safe arms. Chris reveled in the conversation between mother and daughter. The more Tiffany talked, the more her mom cried, and the more excited he became.
After she said everything he wanted her to, Chris took the phone away and listened while her mom begged, “Please don’t do this to my baby, please don’t kill her!”
This cannot get any better, I will take this sweet, innocent girl while her mom is listening! He kept the phone on speaker while he tore the young girl’s shirt off.
Tiffany screamed, “GET OFF ME!!!”
She smelled the stale beer on his breath, she felt the roughness of the callouses on his hands as he continued to rip off her clothes. He heard her mother sobbing. He wanted her mother to hear her daughter scream in terror and pain. Chris was about to rip Tiffany’s pants off when he heard a vehicle drive up to the cabin. Who the hell is that? He stopped and hung up the phone. Tiffany lay on the floor in a curled-up mess of blood and tears, but he knew how feisty she was, so he grabbed his chloroform, and covered her mouth and nose until she was no longer conscious.
“I better tie you back up to just to be safe” he said to an unconscious Tiffany.
He walked to the room where Anya was held. What am I going to do with this hot mess?
