by Robert Olsen
“If I tell, will you come to see me?”
“How could you be with my mother Donald? You don’t even know where she lives.”
“Hold on one minute, Kathryn. I’ll get her for you.”
He handed the phone to her mother.
“Kathryn!” Her mother screamed.
“Mom!” Kathryn’s eyes instantly filling with tears, her brain instantly filling with panic, her body feeling on the brink of collapse, all damn near brought Kathryn to her knees.”
“Now, will you come, my darling?”
“Donald, please don’t hurt her, please! I beg you not to hurt my mother. I will come to you. Wherever you want me, I will come. Please, just don’t hurt her.”
“Ok. For you my darling, I promise not to hurt her, if you promise to come.”
“Ok, I promise.”
“Alone, Kathryn. Don’t be foolish. You will come alone. No police, understand? If I see any funny business, your mother .......well, I do know she is a diabetic. I would feel terrible, if something were to happen to her.
“I’m coming Donald. Where are you? I’m coming and I’m coming alone.”
“Good. Take the A train, all the way to the end. Mott Street Station. I’ll be there to pick you up. And I’m warning you. Come alone. If you try to trick me, it won’t work. One press of the keyboard on my MacBook and mom is dead.”
Kathryn’s head fell to her desk as she sat hysterically crying.
Chapter 35
Kathryn, sat there, arms folded on her desk, with her head laying on her arms. She continued crying while trying to figure out what she could do. Donald warned her not to bring the police and if he saw anything suspicious, he might kill her mother. Kathryn could not take that chance. All she could do was go alone as instructed and pray he was taking her somewhere where maybe she could come up with a plan.
She thought about it another couple of minutes.
I can’t call the police and tell them about Mott Street Station. It wouldn’t work. But, what if Richard could find me and he could bring the police. He could track my phone - he knows how to do that - and he’ll find me. If I tell Richard, he’d understand the danger and the police would lay low. This is the only chance I have and I have very little time. Donald is waiting. If I don’t move quickly, Donald could panic thinking I’m up to no good. I’ve got to go, now!
Kathryn stood up, took out her cell phone and speed dialed Richard.
“Come on, come on, and answer the damn phone, please!”
“At the sound, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Richard, it’s me, oh God Richard, I need you. Donald has kidnapped mom... what am I going...... please call..... Donald said no police... please call......”
“When you are finished please press one to hear your message.....”
Kathryn hung up the phone, grabbed her bag, and left in a hurry. Barbara wasn’t at her desk yet Kathryn had no time to find her. She didn’t even leave a note. She was briskly walking to the elevator when she remembered one more thing. Suddenly, she spotted Robert, a young man who worked for her.
“Robert,” she called out getting his attention, “do you have your cell phone?”
“Yes, of course, it’s right here.”
“I’m sorry Robert, but this is an emergency, what’s the password. I promise I’ll bring it right back,” she said snatching the phone from his hand.
“2sexy4u” he yelled to her.”
“Thank you.” Kathryn answered, running for the elevator. She took out her phone and speed dialed Richard again as soon as the elevator doors opened.
“Shit! She cried. “I need you Richard.
Once on the street, she hailed a taxi.
“Hi. 59th - Columbus Circle subway station - fast, this is an emergency.”
She was standing in the A train on the way to Mott Street when the cell rang.
“Shit, it’s Barbara,” she yelled out loud seeing the name on the iPhone.
“Kathryn? It’s Barbara, is everything alright? Where are you?”
“Sorry Barbara, I’ll explain later. Everything is ok, but ..........”
Just then, the phone died as the train pulled out of a station, speeding through the underground tunnels. It was going to be upwards to an hour to get to Mott Street Station. Even on the express train, Kathryn knew this was a long ride. There had to be at least 30 stops to Mott Street and that could easily take an hour. Kathryn didn’t know whether to cry or pee in her pants. Her nerves were frazzled beyond repair!
As soon as Richard walked away from the patient, he grabbed his phone. He had felt the vibration in his pocket, but understandably could not take the call. After hearing the message, he became extremely alarmed and instantly tried to call Kathryn. Of course, being in the subway tunnels, her phone went straight to voicemail.
“I have an emergency, you need to ask Dr. Keller or Dr. Weller if they can see the rest of my patients, or if not, reschedule the appointments. I’m afraid I must leave the office. I don’t know when I’ll be back, “Dr. Marks explained to his nurse, before leaving to find Kathryn.
He grabbed a cab and raced to the offices of Rockne Pharmaceuticals. When he got off the elevator, approaching the reception desk, Sherry recognized him.
“Oh, Dr. Marks, I’m afraid Kathryn is not in.”
“I know, is Suki Nikimora here?”
“Yes sir, let me ring her.”
“Ok, fine, I’ll tell him. She’ll be right out Doctor.”
“Thank you.”
In seconds, Suki was standing in the lobby.
“Hi, what’s up?” She said giving him a hug.
It’s serious Suki, very serious, and I desperately need your help. Do you know where Donald Gingrich is?”
“Oh, Dr. Marks? Sorry for interrupting, but Donald left the office hours ago.” Sherry, the receptionist, told him.
“Did he tell you where he was going?”
“He said some client in Garden City.”
Instantly both Suki and Richard looked at each other. They intuitively knew Kathryn’s mother lived in Garden City. Suki, we need to send the police immediately to her mother’s address.”
“I can help you with that Sherry said. I heard you say this is an emergency. I’ll get Human Resources on the phone immediately,” Sherry said, trying to help.
“Richard, what the hell is going on?” Suki asked.
Richard leaned close to Suki and whispered in her ear, “Kathryn’s mom has been kidnapped by Donald. Kathryn is on her way and I fear, she will fall into a trap and be taken hostage too. He warned her, no police!”
“Oh dear God, no!” Suki immediately started crying, also alarming Sherry.
“Wendy, this is Sherry. We have a medical emergency and need two things immediately. First Kathryn Becker’s mother lives in Garden City. Do you have the address? Second, what is the address of Donald Gingrich? A medical doctor and Suki Nikimora are in the lobby if you need them. This is extremely urgent. Moments later Vice President Wendy Coral appeared in the lobby with papers in her hand.
“Hello, I’m doctor Richard Marks. June Becker is a patient of mind and owns your medical equipment. She is in grave danger of dying and is with your employee, Donald Gingrich. No one is answering the phones and I need to get to them quickly. I need to get to Donald’s residence, and I want the Garden City police to check Lois’s residence immediately.”
“Of course, sir. Here are the addresses. Is there something else we can do?”
“I don’t think so.” Suki replied, then handed the one paper to Sherry. “Can you call the Garden City Police, and ask them to check out this address, immediately? Call my cell as soon as you finish,” Suki said, also giving Sherry her personal cell phone number.
Dr. Marks, holding on to the paper with Donal
d’s address, looked at Suki, “come on, let’s go.”
They jumped into a taxi and headed downtown to Mulberry Street on the lower east side. They found the apartment. It was a five story walk up. Donald’s apartment was number 208, on the second floor. Here it is, Suki. They knocked on the door, and rang the bell. It took quite a while, but eventually a woman yelled out, “who is it?”
“My name is Doctor Richard Marks with Lenox Hill Hospital. It’s urgent I speak with Donald Gingrich.”
An elderly woman opened the door.
“Is there something wrong with my Donald? I am his mother.”
Dr. Marks immediately showed the woman his credentials to prove he was a doctor. “I am with the trauma center at Lennox Hill Hospital. This is Miss Suki Nikimora, who works with your son at Rockne Pharmaceuticals. May we come in and talk with you. I believe your son is ill, and in danger.”
“Yes doctor, please come in.”
“Do you have any idea where your son is?”
“I thought he was still at work.”
“He left work, sometime this morning. No one knows where he is. We believe, he may have left a computer behind, perhaps here in the house, or a note or something that explains where he may have gone. Have you seen anything like that today, Mrs. Gingrich?”
“No doctor, but I would not have. Donald keeps everything in his room, and I am not allowed in there.”
“Could you please show us his room?”
“I’m afraid he would get very upset with me.”
“Mrs. Gingrich, it could be a matter of life or death?”
“But his room is locked.”
“Can you please show us?”
The old woman, took them down to the end of a long hall.
“This is his room.”
Richard tried the door, and sure enough it was locked.
“Look Richard, it is one of those old skeleton keys.”
“Mrs. Gingrich, do you have a key to the lock on your bedroom door?”
“I don’t lock my door.....wait, I think I might have the key. There’s something in my dresser drawer.”
She turned and walked two doors down from Donald’s room, and entered another bedroom. Suki and Richard followed. She reached down and opened a drawer and took out a small ring that had three keys on it.
“This is what I remembered. Maybe it will help.”
Richard returned to the first room and tried the first key but it was much too small. He looked at another, but obviously, it was much too big. The last key fit snugly into the keyhole. Richard wiggled the key back and forth several times and finally, the door opened.
“It worked,” cried Suki.
Richard and Suki slowly entered the room and immediately froze.
“Oh my God!” Gasped Suki at what she saw.
Both Richard and Donald’s mother also stood frozen, shocked by the images before them. “We have to find Kathryn, Suki. This man is very, very ill.”
“No shit!”
Every wall, every inch, every blank space, was covered with photos, newspaper articles, maps, computer code, and unrecognizable objects. Hundreds of books and magazines, as well as computer related paraphernalia, cluttered the floor. A single mattress lying crooked in the middle of the room. A wooden school chair and desk shoved into an inconspicuous corner.
They slowly moved into the room, their fear escalating as one thing stood out, above everything else that deeply concerned and frightened them. Over 400 photographs and printed pictures of Kathryn appeared on the walls. Hundreds of beautiful pictures of her in the office, standing at the head of a classroom teaching, having lunch with coworkers, sitting on a wall in Central Park, and running in Central Park on a typical Saturday morning. He even had photos cut from college newspapers or yearbooks from a time long before she ever knew Donald.
“Holy shit Richard. Donald is the man in the trench coat!”
Most disturbing to them, were the many photos, heinously altered and converted into collages by cutting body parts from the original photo. Some horrific image such as insulin needle, or surgical knife were inserted in its place. One large frontal picture of Kathryn depicted her head chopped off, then glued back on but tilted at an angle as if she was losing her head. Hand painted drops of blood could be seen, dripping from her neck.
“Suki, come here, look at this,” Richard said looking at a series of heinously altered pictures of unknown women in a neat, orderly, vertical column. At the top of the column was one male. A cutout of a revolver was pasted to the left of his head. To the right splattered red paint or real blood, was portrayed as spraying from his head. It was a picture of the boy that was murdered. The second picture was the waitress followed by the young lady found on the street at midnight. Each one had a big X drawn over the picture, and a hand drawn hypodermic needle on their body. The next picture after the young lady was a picture of Kathryn’s mother.
“Oh no, Richard, I think I’m going to be sick!” Suki could not help it. That instant, she buckled over and vomited all over Donald’s bed and floor. Richard lunged to hold her in the event she got dizzy or passed out. Donald’s mother quickly grabbed a grey sweatshirt hanging on the back of the desk chair, sympathetically holding it close to Suki’s face.
Tragically, the scene could not be mistaken for anything but the ultimate obsession of a deranged man. Richard immediately turned to Donald’s mother.
“Please Mrs. Gingrich. You must help us find your son. He needs help, and other people are in grave danger. Donald is not at the office. Can you possibly think where he might be?” Richard asked.
It was obvious by looking at her that she was distraught and terribly upset at the evil, and ugly atrocities created by her son.
“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say. I have no idea where he could be.”
“He possibly has a woman with him and he has contacted another woman and may have given her instructions to meet him somewhere. Where would he go that would be very familiar to him, comfortable, and where he could be alone.”
The old lady thought for a second, then looked up into Richard’s eyes. “My house. Yes, he could be going to my house!”
“Where is that Mrs. Gingrich?”
“Rockaway, Far Rockaway,” she said convincingly. Richard looked at Suki.
“That’s it! Of course, Kathryn could take the A train!” He said, asking Mrs. Gingrich for the address.
“Come on, quick, we have no time to spare,” he said, grabbing Suki by the arm.
They ran down the stairs and out into the street.
Richard just looked at her.
“How the hell do we get there? And Suki, you realize we can’t risk calling the police. If they were to pull up to that house, Kathryn and her mother are as good as dead.”
“I’m sorry Richard, forgive me for what I’m about to do. Here, take my hand.”
He did, and Suki raced off on foot toward the busy intersection dragging Richard with her. At the end of the street, she spotted a young man, sitting in his car. The traffic light had just turned red, windows were down, and the music blasting real loud.
With lightning speed, she let go of Richard, ran up to the car window, pulled the door open and screamed, “ you son of a bitch. What did you do?” As she made a fist and punched him right between his eyes.
“What the fuck,” the man screamed jumping out of his car running after her. Suki quickly spun around facing him. Suki was literally two feet off the ground as her right foot slammed full force into the man’s face sending him head over heels, landing on his ass. Suki screamed again, “Get in the car Richard, Now!”
She quickly jumped in the car, slammed the accelerator to the floor, the tires squealed, ran the red light, and went screeching around the corner. They were off and on their way to Far Rockaway.
“Where the hell did you l
earn that?” Richard asked, impressed with her stunt.
“Hello, Richard? I’m Chinese? Didn’t you ever hear of Bruce Lee?”
Meanwhile, to the south, Kathryn was panicking that Richard hadn’t called her, until she realized the phone probably didn’t work inside the tunnel. She was almost at Mott Street Station when she suddenly started to feel really tense. Her shoulders and neck were hurting like crazy. Naturally, it was most likely the stress.
She was wracking her brain, about what to do, when she saw Donald. How will he act? What will Donald do to her or do with her? One thing she had anticipated, was Donald trying to control all possible phone calls, both incoming and outgoing. That is way she snatched Robert’s cell phone. But, what should she do with her phone, she thought?
Fortunately, just before the new Apple six came out, she fell into a swimming pool at a party with her phone in her pocket. She was pissed at the time, because that meant she had to buy a new five with a two year plan, and wouldn’t qualify for the upgrade to the new six without significant cost. But, today she was glad she had the smaller phone! While still on the subway, she placed the phone on silent mode, unbuttoned the top half of her blouse, and with the phone in hand, proceeded to undo her bra, place the phone inside the cup, than fastened her bra again using the last clasp on the strap. The young man sitting next to her didn’t take his eyes off her for one second. “Can I help you with that?” he said, staring down her blouse getting a really good eyeful as she undid the thing.
“Of course. Are you offering to hold my tits in place while I buckle up my phone? NO!” She screamed. “Fuck off dirt bag! And get away from me before you set the fucking explosive off!”
The kid got up and ran like hell into the next car.
Eventually, the train pulled into Mott Street Station. Kathryn, climbed off the train, not really knowing where to go. She stood there on the platform for quite some time, getting more nervous by the minute. The train eventually pulled out of the station, heading back to Manhattan, and most of the passengers on the platform were now gone by the time she spotted Donald. He was wearing a trench coat. She could see the MacBook Air he was holding when he finally got close to her.
