by Andrew Hess
The color drained from Claire’s cheeks as her eyes widened. It was a question I’m sure she wasn’t expecting to hear. “I think that’s a question you should direct to my attorney.”
“Hey, once they get the Puppet Master, they’ll probably offer you a deal in exchange for your testimony against him.”
Claire picked up the remote and turned the T.V. on. “I think that’s enough talking for tonight.”
I knew that would shut her up, but a part of me wanted her to keep talking. I wanted to know what made her tick and why she murdered three men.
Silence filled the house as the night wore on. A few times I thought I heard someone outside the house, causing me to jump from my chair and check every window until I was sure there was no one there.
I had a gut wrenching feeling that the man we were looking for was nearby, but I couldn’t see any sign of a car other than mine, or anyone lurking near the house. I was beginning to think my paranoia was getting the better of me. Then I heard it again.
I checked the windows surrounding the living room. Thanks to the roof lights, I could see an extra fifteen feet from the house, allowing me to see several hiding spots. Again, I found nothing out of the ordinary.
“What’s wrong?” Claire asked. Her voice sounded panicked. The last thing I needed was her to freak out and do something reckless.
“I’m sure everything is fine. I’m just checking out the area.”
“You don’t think someone’s here, right?”
I didn’t know how to respond without letting her catch a glimpse of my own paranoia. “Impossible, no one knows where we are.”
I was beginning to wonder if that was true. The D.A. obviously knew about the house. He borrowed it from a friend. Esposito knew. He was the one to tell me it belonged to Richard Garrett’s friend. They led me to believe they were the only ones that knew where we were, but it wouldn’t be the first time they withheld information from me.
I grabbed the phone and checked for any missed messages or voicemails. There was nothing, not a word from the lieutenant, no updates on James, or any check-ins from anyone else. I was truly alone.
“Hey, we should probably get you settled in your room before we fall asleep out here.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” We stood up to walk back to the stairs, but heard a loud pounding on the front door. I ripped the glock from my holster and grabbed Claire’s arm. The petrified look on her face told me she knew this was serious.
“Do exactly as I say,” I said in a forceful whisper. “Follow me.” I brought her to the bedroom on the first floor and opened the glass doors. “Stay here and don’t move until I get back.” She nodded in agreement.
Once I knew Claire was safe inside the room, I crept towards the front door. I looked for any sign of movement from the windows. I didn’t see anyone, and the pounding on the door seemed to stop. The idea of the intruder running around the other side crossed my mind, but I had to check the front first.
Grabbing the handle of the door, I pulled it open. I didn’t see anyone standing on the porch. My head turned to the side, checking to see if I could find the person responsible for my minor heart attack. I was about to re-enter the house when I saw something that caught my eye. Two black roses sat in front of the door.
He’s here!
A wave of panic hit me in an instant. If the so called “Puppet Master” was there, it was up to me to stop him. My first instinct was to call for backup. I reached for my phone, but there was nothing there to grab. Then I heard a click behind me. I knew the sound. Anyone who fired a gun before knew the sound of the hammer being pulled back.
My heart was beating a mile a minute. I was trapped between a rock and a hard place. I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The chance of me getting the jump on him before he fired a shot was slim to none. If I tried to run for the car, I was leaving Claire to be killed like the rest of his victims. My only option was surrender and hope for a chance to turn the table.
I slowly brought my arms out to the side and slowly brought them over my head. “If you’re going to kill me, at least let me see who’s made my life a living hell for the last year.” There was no response. I turned at a snail’s pace until I saw who had their gun on me. I almost thought it was a joke until I saw the look in her eyes. “Claire, give me the gun.”
“You don’t get to call the shots anymore. Although, you never really did. We just let you think you were.”
“We?” My mind registered it instantly. I gripped my gun, ready to mount an assault. Before I could lower my hands, I felt something bash me in the back of the head. The room went dark as I felt my body hit the floor.
“Let’s secure the bitch before she wakes up.” It was a voice I recognized. I lifted my head to see his face, and then…everything went black.
Chapter 41-PM
The first text came through earlier in the night, telling the Puppet Master the location of the safe house. It took him two hours to stray away from his job and drive to the location. He knew the D.A. would trust Detective Ryan to watch over Claire. After all, they knew he was after both of them. They were bait, drawing him out of hiding at the thought of killing both women. They just never anticipated the plan he set in motion.
He expected the house to be guarded by police. When he approached, he cut the lights on his car, finding only one vehicle parked in front. Knowing Detective Ryan would be suspicious if she found anyone else parked near the house, he drove down the road and left the car two blocks away.
Walking back, the Puppet Master noticed the spacious property surrounding the two floor ranch house. The white wrap-around porch was a nice touch. There were so many people who would love a house like that. From the outside, it was a dream home, but not for the Puppet Master. The lights on the outside of the house would give the occupants inside a better view to the surrounding property.
Trying to keep himself far away from the lights, the Puppet Master walked around the house in search of any police or any other uninvited guests. He knew it was a trap, but it was one he had concocted and was nearly ready to act on.
Circling back around, the Puppet Master counted the windows and checked to make sure no one was watching him. He was too concerned about the house instead of his surroundings. Snap. A twig broke under his foot as moved closer.
Running back into the bushes, he concealed himself as Detective Ryan opened the curtains. He wondered if she saw him, but became confident when he saw her open other windows.
“She can’t see me,” the Puppet Master whispered. He decided to test her by walking from one side of the house to the other, staying away from the lights. He watched as Detective Ryan continued running to the windows searching for the noises. “It’s been fun toying with you, but I think it’s time to end the games.”
He hurried back to the car and pulled out the two black roses from the passenger seat. Returning to the house, he placed the flowers on the porch before slamming his fist repeatedly on the door. He knew the Detective’s first instinct would be to hide Claire, which gave him enough time to move to the side of the house where there were hardly any windows.
He could hear the sound of the front door open. If she decided to take a look around, his cover would be blown. She would see him standing next to the house and know he was the one the police were after. He took a deep breath, determined to run for the bushes until his cell vibrated in his pocket.
Count to ten and come to the front door.
This was the moment he had to decide how much he could trust Claire. She had been flawless in executing her part of his plan. Closing his eyes, the Puppet Master counted to ten and returned to the porch. The woman standing at the door had her back to him, providing the opportunity he needed.
“Claire, give me the gun,” Detective Ryan said calmly.
“You don’t get to call the shots anymore. Although, you never really did. We just let you think you were.” Hearing Claire’s voice left a smile on the Puppet Master’s face.
The moment he heard Detective Ryan question Claire, he knew it was his moment to exact revenge.
Sliding the gun from the back of his pants, he gripped the nozzle tightly and smashed the handle into Ali Ryan’s head. She dropped to the floor instantly. It was easier than he thought. With the difficult part over, the Puppet Master was ready to have his fun.
“Let’s secure the bitch before she wakes up.” He grabbed Ali’s legs and dragged them inside the house so he could close the door.
“I’ll go find some rope,” Claire replied. She leaned in planting her lips on the Puppet Master’s.
He waited until she left the room before bending down next to the unconscious detective. “Come on; you don’t wanna miss all the fun.”
*****************************************************
Ali
What the hell happened? The last thing I remembered was hearing someone bang on the front door. The more I tried to think, the more I felt a painful throbbing in the back of my head. I tried to reach around to feel the lump, but couldn’t move. My wrists and ankles were bound to a chair.
“Shit, she’s waking up.” I heard a woman say.
“Good. I can’t wait to see her face when she hears the truth.”
The voices were familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint who the man was. It was someone I knew, but the cold, callous tone made it difficult to confirm.
“Wake up, bitch.” The hard slap across my face was enough to jolt me from my daze. My eyes lit up to see Claire standing in front of me. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.” She swung again, backhanding me across my other cheek.
The burning sting ignited a fury that I wanted to unleash on her. I struggled against my restraints, feeling them bite into my skin with every move I made.
“You’re never getting out of here alive,” I spat.
Claire pulled my spare gun from the back of her pants. It was the one I left inside my bag in the bedroom I placed her in before checking the front porch.
“You got it all wrong, Ali. You’re the one who won’t make it out alive.” She placed the gun underneath my chin with a sadistic smile on her face, so much different than the Dr. Cain she let everyone else see. “I just hope he lets me be the one to pull the trigger.”
“He? You mean the Puppet Master, the same guy that’s been threatening you for months? You’re going to trust him after he killed your friends?”
“You really, don’t get it, do you? I thought you were supposed to be this great detective, the woman that could solve any case.”
“What don’t I get, Claire?”
“You catching me, the death threats, the worthless pieces of shit he murdered while I was in prison; it was all part of his plan.”
“Claire, he killed your friends.”
“They weren’t my friends. Friends wouldn’t talk shit behind your back because you wanted to get good grades or you worked hard to get promotions at work. I busted my ass to get my position at the hospital. Sheila practically begged me to hire her as my assistant, and she did a shitty job when I hired her. Rebecca just slept with whoever to get ahead. She slept with lawyers, witnesses, and judges just to win cases. Hell, she slept with all the partners in the firm so she could put herself in position to become one of them.”
“So you let him kill them because they were incompetent and slept around? They were still your friends and stuck by you after your arrest.”
“Did they? Sheila never came to visit me in prison. Rebecca was only there because she was my lawyer, and she was only doing that because I confessed to her about the murders. She would’ve been forced to testify against me if she wasn’t my attorney.”
“You really are a sick, twisted bitch. What the hell happened to you? You were a doctor. You were supposed to help people.”
“I did, and then Ron DeMarco had his way with me. In one night, he took everything from me. I couldn’t look myself in the mirror for a month, not until I started going to the meetings. That’s when I met him, and I started to feel whole again.”
“You really think you can trust him? Once he’s done with me, he’ll kill you too. Think about it; you’re the only one that can tie him to any of the murders. If both of us are found murdered in the house, it just looks like we were attacked. But if you go with him, they’ll know you had something to do with my death and come looking for you. Then it’s only a matter of time before they find you.”
Claire stepped away as a voice calmly said “Don’t listen to her.” The male voice I heard earlier rounded the corner. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw who it belonged to.
“Reyes?”
“Surprised, Ali? I knew you would be.” He approached with two black roses in his hand. “This has been a long time coming.”
I struggled against the ropes feeling them cut into my skin as droplets of blood trickled down my hands. Reyes, the rookie cop I tried to take under my wing last year, was the same man Claire called the Puppet Master.
“You killed all those people?”
“Not all of them. DeFalco and Claire took care of most of them. I’ve only dirtied my hands a few times. But your death I will enjoy the most.”
“You were the one that attacked me on the bridge, the one who kidnapped my sister, and setup Rodney?”
“And I enjoyed watching it tear you apart. I’ll admit, I had hoped the fall from the bridge or the icy water would have killed you, but I’ve enjoyed torturing you ever since.”
Knowing Reyes was the Puppet Master caused me to thrash around in my chair more violently. “I’m gonna kill you.”
He took one of the black roses and brushed it against my cheek. I pulled away from him, but felt his other hand grab my chin and held my head in place.
“I know how much you hate me right now. It’s the same anger and hatred I’ve had for you for far too long.”
“What are you talking about? We’ve known each other for a year. What the hell did I do to you?”
“Does the name, Carmela Jimenez ring a bell to you?
I racked my brain to remember the name, remembering her from earlier in my career. “She was the girl that took the stray bullet from the first time I shot at a suspect. What does she have to do with this?”
“She was an innocent girl you shot, and let bleed out on the street. She was also my baby sister.”
“And you think this is gonna bring her back?”
“No, but it’ll feel damn good to kill the bitch that took her away from me. You see, I just wanted you dead. But then your boyfriend saved you. The one chance I had to get revenge slipped away. So I thought it would be best to take someone you loved and make you feel the pain I felt. An eye for an eye, a sister for a sister, but that would only make you fight harder to find me. I needed to hit you where it would do the most damage. Since I already had an in with the self-help group, I used it to get to know your boyfriend a little better. After overhearing him talk about your break-up, I knew it was the perfect time to strike.”
So you killed him because I shot your sister?” The tears were welling up. It was my fault Matthew was dead. He was killed because of a psychopath’s determination to attain vengeance for something that happened several years ago.
“Yes, but framing your partner just made it so much more enjoyable. Seeing you turn your back on him was the icing on the cake. But there was still so much more to do. I made promises to Claire that I fully intended to keep. Her mission for revenge was incomplete. So I did what had to be done. I killed her two self-absorbed whorish friends and that pain in the ass A.D.A. in order to get her released from prison. Which brings us here, to the last few moments of your life.”
“You’re not gonna get away with this,” I shouted.
Reyes, walked behind me. His hands were on my shoulders. He dropped to a knee placing his mouth by my ear. “I already have. I’ve circled the area about a dozen times. There’s no one here, which means no one knows you’re here.” His chin rested next to his hand on my shoulder as
he looked back to Claire. “I think we should play with our toy a little more.” He turned his head towards me, focusing his hot stale breath on my ear. “Sorry, but this might get a little messy.”
Reyes took a knife from his pocket and clicked it open. The blade traced my jawline before he dragged the tip down my chin to the base of my throat. He continued bringing it to the top button of my shirt. Each flick of the wrist ripped another button loose until my shirt was open.
“You think that scares me?”
“Oh I don’t plan on doing that. I just want to make sure you don’t bleed out from the first shot.” He placed the knife against my chest and brought it to my arm. The tip pressed firmly against my flesh. I could feel it slowly piercing my skin, but then it stopped after a car door slammed shut. “Move her into the other room,” Reyes snapped.
I didn’t know who it was, but I owed my life to whoever just pulled up to the house.
Chapter 42-PM
It was the moment the Puppet Master had dreamt of for years. Detective Ali Ryan was at his mercy, helplessly tied to a chair. The tip of the knife was slow to puncture her arm. The trickle of blood dripped down her sleeve. He was just about to jam the rest of the blade in when the sound of a car door stole his attention.
“Move her into the other room.” He barked the order at Claire as she peered out the nearest window.
“It’s that other detective, the pretty boy.”
“Thornton. I’ll handle him. Just hide her in the bedroom.” He placed the knife back in his pocket before looking back to Detective Ryan. “You better hope he’s smart enough to leave before I have to kill him too.”
“Ja_” Ali tried to shout, but the Puppet Master was quick to place his hand over her mouth, muffling the sound until Claire used a wad of paper towels as a gag.
