MAD AS BELL

by Jeremy Waldron

  With Glock in hand, I exited my car and headed into the shadows, praying this would end well for everyone involved.

  Chapter One Hundred Nine

  The sirens wailed above King’s head as he yanked on the steering wheel with both hands. The roads were clogged and vehicles were slow to part. He threaded his way forward, losing what little patience he had.

  Alvarez drummed on the dash and kept glancing in the mirror to make sure they hadn’t lost Gray who was following close behind. “C’mon. Move people.”

  King knew they’d messed up by thinking Bowers was it. They should have stayed in University, checked on Eva. But he’d followed orders. Now he couldn’t help but think that if something were to happen to Eva, he’d get the blame. Just as he was being blamed for Josie.

  He couldn’t believe she’d been taken to a funeral home. Everything was off that night, including the orders coming from the top.

  A text came through and a car horn honked. The tires squealed when King took his eyes off the road and pulled his phone from his pocket. Alvarez was quick to grab the wheel.

  “He’s not at his apartment,” King said, taking the wheel back into his hands.

  “What do you mean, he’s not there?”

  King hit the brakes, yanked hard on the steering wheel, and spun the car around. Alvarez leaned into the turn and called out as King nearly crashed into oncoming traffic. Punching the gas, they flew in the opposite direction.

  “You sure you know what you’re doing?” Alvarez asked.

  “Samantha has him at a house in Lakewood.”

  “Samantha? Shit.”

  King flipped his gaze to his partner and tossed him a knowing look.

  Without saying a word, Alvarez got on the radio with dispatch requesting a squad car check out Helton’s apartment in University, then letting Lakewood police know their investigation was spilling over into their jurisdiction.

  Alvarez said, “I hope she has this right because it’s your job on the line. Not mine.”

  There was less traffic going north and King was able to pick up the pace. He kicked himself for letting Sam go after Helton alone. He only hoped she knew what she was doing. He lowered his head, shifted gears, and pushed the engine to its limits.

  King smiled. “Ride together, die together.”

  Chapter One Hundred Ten

  I reached behind my back and gripped the gun with my right hand. It was secured in my belt, the cold metal pressing into my side. I was worried I’d be surprised and wanted to be ready to react if that happened.

  I crept toward the front of the house, keeping my eyes focused on the window. Blinds had been drawn and I lost my visual inside. A dog barked in the distance and an airplane flew overhead.

  Once at the house, I pressed my back against the siding and tried the door. My body buzzed on heightened alert as I realized it was unlocked. Slowly, I pressed the handle down until I heard the latch release. Then I cracked the door open before working my way inside.

  I was greeted by Eva’s scent, but the house was quiet, lights on. Latching the door shut behind me, I paused, taking my time to study the layout of the house.

  There was a short flight of steps directly in front of me, one side going up, the other going down. Going up led to the living room with TV and couches and, off that, was the kitchen. I flipped a mental coin and decided to go up.

  The house was much nicer than I imagined. Once at the top of the steps, I noticed it was well-kept and up-to-date on both furniture and appliances. But this was no rental. Helton lived here.

  Keeping my ears peeled for any sounds, I padded lightly to the kitchen table where I found Archie’s book. It was clear Helton had been studying it, perhaps even drawing inspiration from it, too.

  A noise came from the back and I jumped into action. Holding my breath, I reached for the gun and closed my fingers around the handle. The noise disappeared, but the feeling that I wasn’t alone stayed with me.

  I moved into the kitchen and came to the back of the house. A light was on in the basement and I descended the stairs to see what I could find. The bottom opened up into a series of doors, each one of them closed and locked. A foul odor like sewage filled the air I breathed and that’s when I heard it. The floor directly above my head started drumming like a marching band practicing its routine.

  I sprinted back up the stairs, gripping my gun out in front of me like King had trained me to do. I searched everywhere, sweeping each room whose door I kicked in, always expecting to find Eva in the next. Then I heard it again. This time it was Eva’s voice coming from the room next to mine.

  As soon as I kicked the door in, I couldn’t believe what I had found. It was Helton, and he was on top of Eva wearing a clear mask, stuffing her body into what appeared to be a wedding dress.

  Chapter One Hundred Eleven

  I pointed the muzzle at Helton’s head and took aim. “Get off of her now!”

  Helton had Eva pinned to the floor. She was half-naked, the top part of the dress over her head and around her neck. The moment she saw me, she screamed. “Help! Get this lunatic off me!”

  Helton immediately sprung his wrist and clamped his hand around Eva’s neck when he turned to look at me. “Excuse us, but you’re interrupting my day of holy matrimony.”

  I narrowed my eyes and held my hand steady. “Get off her, Scott, or I’ll shoot.”

  He held my eyes with his and laughed a sadistic howl. I watched his fingers dig deeper into Eva’s throat. I could see in her eyes that she was having trouble breathing.

  “Go ahead. Shoot me.” Helton raised his mask and grinned. “But just know that if you do, they’re all dead.”

  Eva started kicking her feet and I hesitated to pull the trigger. I wasn’t sure I could call his bluff. “Like how you killed Megan?”

  Helton eased his grip, but only a fraction.

  I kept distracting him with more questions.

  “Why would someone as smart as you want to work with an amateur like Christopher Bowers?”

  Jealousy flashed in his eyes and he pulled his hand away from Eva’s neck but kept her pinned to the floor with both his knees. “That asshole, Bowers, gives people like me a bad name. He took her,” Helton glanced to Eva, “and I had to save her from him. Save her from all the other assholes she let into her life. He’s nothing like me.”

  “You mean like a pedophile who preys on his students?”

  “I didn’t want it. They came to me. Just like Eva did today.” He took Eva by the face and said, “Isn’t that right, sweetie?” Then he snapped his neck back to me. “Bowers ruined everything. So did Megan. It all went to shit because of him.”

  “Is that why you framed Bennett? Because you knew the police would find out it was you?”

  “Naomi gave me an opportunity and I took it.” He shook his head like a dog and had his hand back on Eva’s neck. “It’s so easy to manipulate the media when you have someone like Daniels who’s a ratings whore.”

  I kept the gun on Helton as I thought about the mysterious ways the world worked. The irony of one killer contacting another didn’t escape me, and I doubted Helton knew Daniels killed Josie like we suspected.

  Eva stopped kicking as she started losing consciousness.

  The moment Helton looked away, I lunged forward and swung my hand back like a hammer with the intention of striking Helton’s head. He must have sensed me coming, because he ducked and rolled off to the side, managing to sweep my feet out from under me with one kick of his leg.

  I hit the ground hard. The gun dropped from my hand and stars flashed in front of my eyes as my head hit the floor. Before I could catch my next breath, Helton was on top of me, pinching my windpipe shut just as he had with Eva.

  I punched his forearms, hit him in his ribs, but he only squeezed harder.

  When I heard Eva coughing, I fought even harder.

  Helton took one hand off me and was searching for the gun. I kicked and bucked, but he was too heavy. Nothing seem
ed to break his hold. He was too strong. And just as the lights in my head began to fade, I heard a single pop.

  Chapter One Hundred Twelve

  “There.” Erin pointed to Samantha’s car.

  Susan pulled in behind it and parked. There had been an accident on Federal Boulevard, and it had taken them longer than they anticipated. They were here now, but didn’t know where Samantha was.

  “She’s not here,” Erin said, looking around.

  Susan swiped a hand over her head and asked, “She wouldn’t be inside, would she?”

  Erin gave her a knowing look. They both knew if Samantha saw something she didn’t like, she wouldn’t wait for them. They turned to the house and approached the front door with caution. There were lights on inside and it had the appearance of someone being home, but it was too quiet. Susan brought her hands to her eyes and attempted to peer through the window past the drawn blinds.

  “I don’t see anything,” she said.

  Sirens wailed in the distance.

  Susan asked, “Do you think they’re coming here?”

  “Let’s cross our fingers they are,” Erin said just as they heard the screaming sirens stop.

  Then an engine roared down the street and the women watched as a cruiser came to an abrupt stop in front of the house. The emergency lights were still flashing in the grill, and they were blinded by a beam of light coming from the car.

  “Put your hands on your head.”

  Susan and Erin laced their fingers behind their heads. Erin recognized the voice. It was King.

  “Alex. It’s me. Erin. We think Samantha is inside.”

  Boots rushed toward them, and neither of the women flinched at the guns the detectives were holding. King apologized for not recognizing who they were when suddenly they heard a gunshot come from inside the house.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

  I couldn’t open my eyes.

  My body trembled beneath the weight of Helton. His blood was all over me and I wondered if he was dead. Turning my head, I managed to free my right hand. I wiped the blood from my face and away from my eyes. As soon I opened my eyelids, I saw Eva.

  She wasn’t more than ten feet away, sitting on her heels, still pointing the gun at Helton with a wide expression filling her eyes.

  I slid out from under Helton’s body and told Eva to put down the gun. She was in shock, couldn’t hear my voice. I checked for a pulse on Helton. It was faint and on its way out. He’d be dead soon without help.

  “You’re safe now,” I said, touching Eva’s arm.

  Eva blinked and turned her eyes on me. The dull look on her face vanished and was replaced by a trembling bottom lip. When her gaze fell to the gun, I watched her fingers snap open. The gun dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. I immediately wrapped my arms around her, embracing her in a comforting hug, reminding her she saved my life.

  “Help! Help us!”

  The house erupted with screams and calls for help. It seemed to be coming from the floor and through the walls. I thought about my journey to the basement and the locked doors I’d seen. Jenny had to be down there. But there were more voices than just hers.

  “We need help!”

  Eva’s body was limp in my arms. She couldn’t stop crying. I continued to hold her, knowing Susan and Erin were on their way.

  “Can you stand?” I asked Eva.

  She lifted her head off my shoulder and nodded.

  “There is help on the way,” I said, looping my arm around Eva’s waist.

  Together, we supported each other as we stood. She was wobbly on her feet but had enough strength to walk on her own. That was when I heard the front door snap open and heavy boots run through the house. It was a familiar sound, and something told me my message to King went through.

  “They’re here for us,” I said, needing Eva to believe her nightmare was over. When I saw King’s face come around the corner, I knew it was over for me, too.

  Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

  I was sitting in the back of the ambulance getting cleaned up and evaluated when I stopped the paramedic to watch four young women get escorted out of Helton’s house. They were wrapped in blankets and looked like they hadn’t seen the light of day for a very long time. Not surprisingly, one of them was Jenny.

  They were the voices calling for help.

  Against the paramedic’s wishes, I climbed down from the back of the van, needing to get a closer look. I wondered who the other three women were and how long Helton had kept them locked away from the outside world.

  I floated between the officers and detectives and overheard that Josie Zapatero wasn’t here. I didn’t know if all his captives made it out alive, but the only body I saw get carted away was Helton’s.

  Jenny glanced in my direction and I smiled. When she didn’t smile back, I naturally took a step toward her. There was so much I wanted to say, so much to ask, but mostly I just wanted her to know that she hadn’t been forgotten.

  A hand caught my arm and I turned my neck to find King.

  His eyes crinkled at the corners and I fell into his chest.

  He held me like he always did, and it felt good to have him back. But I still had to tease him for being so hard on me earlier.

  Tipping my head back, I said, “Are you sure you want to associate yourself with the press?”

  “You’re a victim today, and I’m here to protect and serve.”

  We both laughed. Then I said, “Your Jane Doe’s name is Josie Zapatero.”

  He nodded once, like he knew the name but was surprised that I did. He hadn’t leaked the police report. What he didn’t know was what Susan heard on Daniels’s voicemail. I told him, and said in a hushed voice, “It seems like Daniels might know something about how she died, and Chief Watts might also be involved.”

  King gripped each of my shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze as he lifted his gaze and nodded. Susan came running over to us holding out her phone.

  “Sam, take a look at this. Heidi Mitchell went rogue. Look at what she just put on live TV.”

  I took her phone into my hands and together King and I watched a replay of Heidi’s reporting on Owen Daniels.

  “We’re at the scene where Josie Zapatero was found murdered only days ago. Tonight, we’re learning her body has been mistakenly cremated before an official autopsy could be conducted. The case is currently under investigation, but a source close to the police department has assured me that they are searching for this man, executive producer to our own news team, Owen Daniels.”

  I locked eyes with Erin. “Crazy, right?”

  I couldn’t believe it. Neither could King. I said, “Anything I can do to help?”

  King chuckled. “You can start by getting yourself home.”

  Chapter One Hundred Fifteen

  Six weeks later…

  I had lost track of time and was doing anything to keep from checking my social media.

  Work had been nonstop since Bowers’s arrest and Helton’s death, but it was the combined reporting by Heidi and myself that had the city spinning off its axis. I was determined to ride this wave until the end, despite the threats we had each received.

  After Heidi brought Josie’s story to the world, the Colorado Times published the leaked police report on my behalf. The source remained elusive, but I was able to confirm its authenticity. I also learned that I’d seen the report before King, so I knew he didn’t share it with me. That was enough to get Daniels to turn himself in shortly after, but not without arranging an army of defense lawyers to protect him from the hammer he knew was coming his way.

  Though his case file was sealed, it was believed that Daniels had paid for sex with Josie and only after did he discover she was underage. It was enough to scare him into murdering the only witness who knew about his crime.

  But it didn’t end there.

  Amazingly, Daniels then took his attempted coverup a step further by involving Chief Watts who had, before Josie’s murder, r
ecruited Daniels to assist in suppressing as much of the city’s crime reports as he could. Their plan had worked. Until Daniels murdered Josie. They nearly got away with it, too, and if it weren’t for that phone call from Allison to let me know about Josie Zapatero’s murder scene, they might have.

  The coverup went deep. While we knew about the voicemail from Watts to Daniels, it was since erased, severing their connection. Daniels wasn’t speaking and the mayor’s hands appeared clean, too—continuing to hold press conferences with promises of transparency and implementing action to root out corruption inside the department he oversaw. His argument was convincing. Even I was starting to think he hadn’t been involved. All we could do was continue applying the pressure on the Denver Police Officer Association to call for the chief of police’s resignation and hope, at some point, evidence proving his involvement would come our way.

  I eased back in my chair and closed my eyes, listening to the surrounding chatter.

  The newsroom was as lively as I remembered it my first year on the job, a time when threats of layoffs and budget cuts weren’t a constant point of stress for me or my colleagues. It was a good feeling to be reporting on news important to us all, even if we knew the good times wouldn’t last.

  When I opened my eyes, I grinned at the sight of my blog, Real Crime News, flashing on my computer screen like a little beacon of hope. Articles I’d written over the past week covered my desk, and it had me thinking about the cryptic messages Bowers had given both Erin and me. He’d used a play out of the Prom Queen Killer book, trying to get us to connect Helton to the crimes before we figured out what he was up to. It hadn’t worked out the way he’d hoped. In the end, Bowers confessed to Eva’s kidnapping and took a plea deal, accepting lesser charges for false imprisonment and aggravated assault rather than that of kidnapping which would have, if convicted, put him behind bars for up to twenty years. I could live with the result, but what he really needed was proper treatment for his mental illness.