by Robin Mahle
“I couldn’t let myself get caught though, so I buried the rest of them around my folks’ cabin. I imagine they’ll find them soon enough. You know, I still can’t quite figure out how it was you got away from me. It was like you had the power of God running through your little body that day. Took me by surprise, that’s for damn sure. You were slippery, and I don’t just mean when you got away from me.”
He lurched over her, pulled her up, and dragged her to the banister. She lost her footing and felt a snap as she went down. Her arm was contorted to the point that her shoulder had dislocated. The pain was unbearable and only made worse when he stretched her arms up over the railing. If anyone was within fifty yards, they’d have heard that scream.
Hendrickson yanked an already loose spindle free and drove its blunt end into Katie’s gut. “Shut up!”
Her arms hung on the finial so when she instinctively tried to double over, it stopped her. He pulled the gun from his waistband. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. He placed it on the ground and kicked it away. Hendrickson clawed at her front, tearing the hospital gown and even her camisole. He pushed his lips onto hers, trying to force her mouth to open, but she clenched her teeth as hard as she could. The blood that had seeped from his wounds smeared onto her face, her own cuts reopening by the force.
“I told you I’d get you, didn’t I? The best part about it was that you suffered longer than any of them. You suffered your whole life. I bet you wish you would have died the first time around. Oh, I think we’re going to have lots of fun now, little Katie Reid.”
He released her from the rail and she fell to the ground; her knees withdrawing quickly to shield her. The welt on her stomach increased in size and began to darken. The blow had been so severe she wondered if she was bleeding internally.
Hendrickson went into the kitchen. He was out of view, but upon his return, he held a tape recorder. “Remember this?” He pressed play.
It was the song. The same song he’d played upstairs while she was in the basement. She remembered it now; an old, soft tune from the 60s, but she couldn’t recall the singer.
“This was my mother’s favorite song. She was listening to it when she pulled the trigger and splattered her brains out all over her bedroom. Dear old Dad had already gone away. And the only thing I could do was try to stop the fucking baby from crying. I guess it stuck with me ever since. They’d let me play the record in the home, until they sent me away. Then, they took everything from me. My brother was gone, living the good life with a loving family, and what did I have? Three pills a day and a room with nothing in it but a bed. I guess they thought they were helping me.”
“You killed your baby sister!” Katie couldn’t yell and her voice sounded small, wounded. “My God, she was only a baby.” The tears wouldn’t come; not because she didn’t feel the pain, but because dehydration had taken hold. There were no tears left to cry.
“She wouldn’t shut up, just like you! Just like all the other little shits. I did their parents a fucking favor!” He shoved her again, straddled her, and forced her knees down. Just then, a buzzing sound came from beneath the couch. They were both taken by surprise as they swung their heads to see where the noise was coming from.
He quickly snapped his head back, his frame still resting on top of her. The look on his face changed as he realized what it was. “You goddam whore!” He jumped off of her and raced toward the couch, throwing it up as if it weighed next to nothing.
There it was; her phone bouncing as it vibrated with an incoming call. He looked at it and smiled.
She knew it had to be Marshall.
He picked it up and answered. “Detective Avery, so good to finally hear from you.”
Katie realized the depth of his insanity. He’d gone from crazed, violent psychopath to civilized human holding a conversation in the span of thirty seconds. But more importantly, what was he going to do now?
“I don’t think I can let you talk to her, detective. But I can promise you that she is fine. In fact, we were just about to play a little game. And based on this call, I can only imagine that you and your team of FBI grunts will find us soon enough. I’ll tell you what; I’ll keep her in one piece until you get here, okay?”
Katie could hear Marshall screaming at him on the other end of the line. A moment later, Hendrickson disconnected the call.
“That was either very smart of you or very stupid, Katie. I’m sure there will be sirens heading our way soon, since I know they’ve been tracing your calls. And leaving your phone on? Nice touch. I didn’t see that coming either. I had to take great precautions when I called you myself. But that was a fun game, wasn’t it? After all, it brought you back to me. The only problem is that now we’ll have to postpone our game. We may not be able to play it at all. I might just have to kill you instead.” He threw her phone against the wall, smashing it to pieces.
The song on the cassette player stopped and only static could be heard. He stared at her, seemingly trying to figure out his next move. A moment later, he turned and walked into the kitchen, reemerging with a glass of water and a knife. Not a kitchen knife, but a large pocket knife that he must have been carrying all along.
His gun was out of reach, near the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. She glanced at it, his eyes immediately following hers.
“You think you can get to it before I can?” he asked. “Go ahead. I think we should make this a fair fight, don’t you?”
He wasn’t going to let her get anywhere near that gun, she knew that. She remained seated, her arms crossed over her chest. “They’ll be here soon. What are you going to do?”
Provocation was not her intention. Katie wanted to understand if she was about to die or if he would continue to torture her. She preferred the former.
“Oh, I don’t think we’re done yet,” Hendrickson said, a determination like she hadn’t yet seen. He lifted her off the floor. “We’re going to play a little game of hide and seek with your detective. It should be fun.” He led her down the hallway and out the back door.
She was cold and terrified; exactly how she felt before. Only this time, he wasn’t chasing her. They were about to be chased.
27
She tried to keep up as they ran into the woods toward the stream. They were at least half a mile away from the house when she heard the sirens. They grew louder as they approached the house. There must have been ten of them screaming down the quiet street. What lay ahead was quickly approaching; the stream that led to the river.
Hendrickson continued to pull her along. Intentionally stumbling over the river rocks only made him yank harder on her already dislocated arm. Then the sirens stopped.
The stream widened and led them closer to the river. And, almost as if they’d spotted the place at exactly the same time, he turned sharply toward the derelict shack that might have once been a bait shop, her steps following closely behind.
He busted in the door with his foot. It had been barely hanging on its rusted hinges and gave way with ease.
The atrocious smell of rotting fish bait nearly knocked her down. The place was empty except for a standing refrigerator that housed white Styrofoam containers with what had probably been live worms inside. That must have been where the smell was coming from. There was no electricity. The place was clearly abandoned, like so many of the small town shops.
Hendrickson pulled her around like an unwanted child whose father was searching for a place to punish her. That was exactly what was happening. Katie was different. She was being punished by him for escaping. He had little, if any, deviant sexual interest in her; like he said, he preferred children. He wanted to hurt her for leaving him, not letting him achieve the satisfaction he so desperately desired. The only sexual gratification he needed, she kept from him long ago.
“I think this will be a good place for us to spend some time, don’t you, Katie?”
They stood in front of the store’s cellar door. Not again, she thought. Images of
the dark place he kept her before flashed through her mind. She felt like the helpless little girl again. “They’re not far. What’s the point? Why don’t you just kill me already?”
He leaned in to her. She could feel his hot breath against her neck and could smell his burned flesh. Had her stomach not been completely empty, she’d have lost whatever remained inside it. His wet tongue left a trail of saliva along the side of her face as he slowly tasted her dried blood.
“I could have killed you a thousand times over, little Katie. But I need to teach you a lesson first. You don’t get to decide when you die—I do.” He shoved her inside the storage area.
She nearly tumbled down the stairs and grabbed the rotting handrail to steady herself. It gave way and she fell to the ground. The concrete floor was wet and muddy, like the place had recently been flooded.
He followed her down, his steps more cautious. “Well, I think this will do just fine.”
“You know they’re going to search every building in this town.”
“Oh, I’m counting on that. Though it might take them just a little while to find this place. It’s pretty far off the main road. I expect we’ll have enough time for me to get my point across.”
“Can I at least get up off this muddy ground? Can I sit over there on that crate?”
“What’s the matter? Don’t like getting dirty? I thought all you whores liked getting dirty.” He pulled her up by her good arm and led her to the stack of crates a few feet away. He flipped one over and set it down, tossing her onto it.
Katie sat quietly, waiting for him to make his next move. She could feel the swelling in her eye calm down just enough to gain full peripheral vision again. But she felt weak. It had been almost two days since she’d had anything to eat or drink.
The grotesque man before her seemed to be suffering from the same. She watched as he carried another crate and moved slowly away. He seemed a little unsteady.
“I need some water.” She watched his expression as he considered her request. Katie noticed his bandages had grown darker with fresh blood. He would need to treat them soon or risk infection, if there wasn’t one already present.
“Stay here.” He grunted and moved toward the stairs again.
Where am I gonna go?
He disappeared and she looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. Her hands were still bound and her arms ached, even the good one. But there must be something she could use. Short of launching a plastic crate at him, nothing else remained in this abandoned cellar. Katie felt as if her luck was about to run out. They had no place to go. How much time did he have before Marshall and the FBI showed up? There was no doubt in her mind that his plan was to kill her in front of Marshall. But they had guns.
She had no idea what weapons he still possessed. They’d run out of the house so quickly, she couldn’t recall seeing him pick up the gun. The knife was probably still in his pocket. He could certainly do enough damage with that alone.
A moment later, Hendrickson reemerged. He held one of the Styrofoam containers from the refrigerator. “Don’t confuse this gesture with kindness. I need you to stay alert and conscious long enough for me to kill you in front of the FBI and your detective.” He thrust the container to her lips and proceeded to tip it into her mouth.
She wanted to spit up whatever that filth was. It tasted like it had come from the river. But thirst was powerful, so she swallowed the dirty water. “Thank you.” Never before had she stared into a man’s eyes to see such evil. She was nothing more to him than a possession; one of his shiny things. And she was growing tarnished.
He pushed her off the crate with a hard shove that nearly took the wind from her lungs. “I told you not to mistake anything I do for kindness.” He dropped the container and water spilled out in front of her, leaving a small puddle inches in front of her face. He pulled out his knife and laid the blade against her bruised cheek.
The pain hit as he pushed the flat end of the blade against the purple bruise. Its sharp edge pressed into her flesh just enough to draw blood.
He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out his own cell phone. “I think it’s time we speed things along here. Call him!”
Her trembling hands reached for the phone. She swiped to turn on the screen and began entering Marshall’s phone number. The only reason she’d remembered it was because she had been calling him from the burners in Sacramento. Otherwise, there wasn’t a chance in hell she could have recalled it. Her numbers were stored, as were most people’s, by name. The phone rang only once before the call connected.
“Detective Avery.”
“Marshall, it’s me.” She began crying immediately. Just hearing his voice, for what she believed could be the last time, was enough to bring all her emotions to the surface.
“Are you okay?” He sounded just as desperate as she had.
“Mostly, yes.”
Hendrickson snatched the phone from her, scraping his nails against her cheek. “Detective Avery, how are you? I have no doubt you’re nearby.”
“It’s only a matter of time, Hendrickson. Why don’t you make things a little easier on yourself and tell me where you have her?”
“Haven’t I made this easy enough for you, detective? Or, rather, Katie has made things very easy for you, hasn’t she? Tell me, how was it that you arrived at the house so quickly? You must have been somewhat close.”
Katie couldn’t hear what Marshall was saying, but knew he wouldn’t tell him anything that might jeopardize her safety. Hendrickson only nodded as he listened. His face was vacant of all expression.
“I did expect to have more time with our Katie at the house, but then she went and left that damn cell phone on.” He glared at Katie and an evil grin crossed his face. “Not to worry. I’m sure I’ve got some time left for fun with her. But, detective, I wouldn’t wait too long.”
“Let me talk to her now!” Marshall shouted loud enough for Katie to hear this time.
“Marshall! I’m in the….”
Hendrickson disconnected the call. “Now that wasn’t very smart, was it? I can’t have you giving away our location too quickly. They’ll find us, but not yet. I just wanted to give them some encouragement.” He turned off the phone and slid it back into his pocket. “Seems the detective and his team of merry men were at the warehouse when the signal from your phone registered. They all came blazing down here to try to find you. Must feel pretty good knowing the whole damn FBI and police force in Humboldt County is out looking for you. I’m guessing your face is all over the news too, just like mine, or at least, how mine used to look.” He touched his right cheek; the bandage was wet with blood now. “That stunt of mine may have gone a little awry, but I was becoming a desperate man. And you know what desperate men are capable of.”
He got down on his knees, leaned back, and rested his weight on his heels. Katie was still on the ground, lying on her side and balled up into a fetal position. Hendrickson brushed her hair away from her face and traced her wounds with his knife.
She closed her eyes as the knife moved closer.
“Almost feels like before, doesn’t it, little Katie?” He ran his hand along her leg until he reached her waist, then he moved it down until he brushed the outside of her groin.
All the things Katie had done to find this man only brought her back to the same place she had tried so hard to escape. All the pain she had caused her family by forcing them to relive the trauma, losing her best friend, even losing Spencer. All to be in this very same spot where she was convinced she was about to die.
Hendrickson began unbuttoning her pants, slowly pulling down the zipper, when the sound of cars approaching made him lean back and take notice. “I think this party’s about to get started.” He looked back at Katie. “Oh, and I’d think twice before opening that sweet little mouth of yours.” The knife was now pressed against her lips.
He stood up and walked toward the stairs, leaning his head in the direction of the
door. “Sounds like we got some visitors.” He rushed back toward Katie, picked her up from the ground, and shoved her in front of him. He held her by the waist, pulling her close enough that she could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Her back was against him. He held the knife to her neck, waiting. Waiting until the moment when he could see Marshall. Then, it would be over.
She knew he would slice her throat and Marshall would shoot him dead. The scene played in her head over and over.
The footsteps grew louder. It didn’t sound like there were more than two or three people walking around. Where was everyone else? She’d expected an army of officers and FBI.
They both heard the handle turn and the door latch release as it opened. Hendrickson was breathing heavily on the back of her head as she felt the knife press harder into her neck, so hard she couldn’t swallow. He’d broken the skin and Katie looked down to see streams of blood falling down her chest, her torn clothing absorbing it like a sponge.
Appearing on the steps were shiny black shoes. They were not Marshall’s. As the unidentified person continued down the stairs, he revealed himself to be Agent Scarborough.
“Let her go, Hendrickson. You won’t make it out alive if you take her down.”
“You must be with the FBI. Agent?”
“Scarborough. Now why don’t you put the knife down and let her go.”
“Where’s the fun in that, Agent Scarborough? In fact, I’ll do you one better. I’ll let her go if you put your gun down.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Scarborough replied.
Marshall emerged just behind him.
“Go back upstairs. I got this,” Scarborough said, diverting his attention.
When the agent turned to look at Avery, Hendrickson reached behind his back and retrieved his gun, dropping the knife.
Katie knew the situation had just gone from very bad to a hell of a lot worse.
“He’s got a gun!” Avery shouted.
