Fifteen Times a Killer

by Alan McDermott

  “Leave her out of this,” Benning growled.

  “Why? I thought this was all about her.” Corrina wondered how long she’d been out. Two minutes? Ten? However long it was, she had to keep him talking until the cavalry arrived.

  “It was all about her,” Benning said, taking a seat on the stool. “It was always about her. The people who killed her have to be punished, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Well, you said you’d explain why you picked me and Jess. Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

  “You see, this is the problem. No one thinks they did anything wrong. You’d expect people to be warning their families that they could be in danger, but to do that they’d have to admit that they’d been greedy at the expense of others. Take Jess, for example. Her father ordered his men to pour chemicals into the local water supply, instead of disposing of them properly. Those same chemicals reached my home and we drank that water for weeks. Months. My mother developed cancer because of it. Did Kenneth Duffey call his daughter and warn her that she could be next on the list? No, he didn’t.”

  “But he was punished. You got a pay-out of over six million. Emma told me all about it.”

  “You call that a punishment? His balance sheet drops into the red for a couple of quarters. Is that the cost of a human life these days? I abandoned God years ago, but there’s one phrase from the bible that stuck with me: an eye for an eye. I’ve lived by that ever since.”

  “Okay, so what about me? What did my parents ever do?”

  “Your father represented Kenneth Duffey’s company. He made a vast amount of money trying to deny my mother justice.”

  “That’s it? You want to kill me because a defendant in a court case was allowed to have a lawyer present his case? That happens in every single case that goes before a court. You have lawyers on both sides. Don’t you realize that? Are you saying only the plaintiff should have legal representation because the other side is obviously guilty?”

  She was surprised to see Benning look uncomfortable. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

  “Well, it sure sounds like it.”

  “What I mean is, your father saw all the paperwork from Duffey’s company, and he still went ahead with defending him.”

  Corrina shook her head. “Let me tell you something about lawyers. They ask their client if there are any little surprises that might cost them the case, because no lawyer wants to stand up in court and be humiliated because the defendant didn’t mention a damning email, or a secret recording, or other evidence that would have been a red flag. But it happens all the time. If Jack Stone thought Kenneth Duffey had a solid case, he would have demanded it go to trial. As it was, it appears he advised his client to offer a settlement. What should he have done? Gone to trial anyway, knowing he was going to lose the case?”

  Benning jumped to his feet. “Yes, he should.”

  “And ruin his reputation? Lose his livelihood?”

  “If that’s what it means, yes.”

  “So you’d prefer him to use trickery to try to fool the judge and get his client off rather than be honest and make Duffey pay for his crime?”

  Benning swallowed. “No, it’s not like that. He should have just walked away from the case.”

  “You’re just going around in circles,” Corrina said. She shifted her weight and immediately wished she hadn’t. She grimaced. “I don’t think you’ve even thought this through. I think you’re just using your mother’s death as an excuse to kill. All this ideological bullshit is just a cover. You’re just a psycho trying to justify his actions, and it’s not fooling anyone.”

  Benning’s face portrayed his rage, but he instantly changed, like someone had flicked a switch. He offered Corrina a smile, though there was no hint of humor or kindness in it. “I know what you’re trying to do. You want to make me angry so that I kill you quickly.”

  “No, I just want to know that I’m gonna die for a good reason, not just some crazy notion that popped into your head during one of your drink and drug binges. In one of your chapters you mentioned cognitive dissonance. I think that’s what you’ve got. Deep down you know my father didn’t do anything wrong, yet you use it as an excuse to kill me.”

  Benning walked over to the bench and picked up the gardening shears. “I’m not listening to you anymore. I’ve said my piece, now it’s time to finish what I started a long time ago. First you, then I’m going to kill Jess. If you were hoping for someone to come to the rescue, I’m afraid it’s too late.”

  “Then tell me this: why not just kill me and Jess ten years ago? Why kill all those other people first?”

  “Because anyone with half a brain would have linked your fathers to my case and I would have been the prime suspect. Besides, two kills wouldn’t have made a difference, but fifteen will be remembered for years to come. It was going to be twenty, but that bitch Miriam Crane up and died before she could feel any real pain. After that, I had to revise my plan, and fifteen is a nice round number. I could have gone straight for you two after Crane forced my hand, but thirteen is an unlucky number, so I rounded it up. With any luck, I’ll have inspired people to carry on my work, and fifteen will just be the start. You two were always going to be the last of my victims, and now here we are.”

  “In that case,” Corrina said, “I’m glad your mom died. The world is better off without someone who teaches their children to hate, that violence is the only way to solve your problems.”

  Benning became flustered. “She didn’t teach me that. Stop saying those things about her.”

  “She must be so proud of you right now,” Corrina continued, “looking up from hell and seeing you act out your fantasies in her name. What did she say on her death bed, huh? Kill people to make yourself feel better? Avenge me, my son? Do you think this is what she wanted?”

  “She said that whatever I do, I should have no regrets, and I have none.”

  “Do you think she meant kill people without regret? What about cheating people and not regretting it? All these people you claim to have punished, they were just businessmen and women who had no regrets. If you shouldn’t regret your actions, why should they? They were just doing what your mother wanted you to do?”

  Benning slowly shook his head. “No. That’s not what she meant.”

  Corrina could see that she was getting through to him. He might be in his mid-thirties, but deep inside, Seth Benning was still that poor twenty-year-old mommy’s boy. He was lost without her.

  “If your mother were here, right now, what would she say to you, Seth? Would she tell you to kill innocent people? Would she think that was a good thing? Would she think it a fitting way to honor her memory?”

  “You’re not innocent!”

  The violent outburst shocked Corrina, but she had to press on. “You mentioned racism in one of your chapters. Do you think that’s a good thing?”

  Benning’s face relaxed at the chance to answer a simple question. “Racism? Hell, no. You have to be a complete dumbass to hate someone you’ve never met just because of their skin color.”

  “Exactly, and people don’t get to choose the color of their family before they’re born.”

  “Duh,” Benning exclaimed.

  “Then you’re going to kill me for being born into the wrong family. Like racism, that isn’t a crime.”

  Benning shook his head again. “No. Nuh-uh. That’s not how it works. Your father did something that he needs to be punished for, and killing you is his punishment.”

  “Then you’re no better than a racist, hating me and hurting me for something I have no control over.”

  “It’s not like that! That’s not who I am!”

  Angry Benning was back, and that wasn’t the side of him Corrina wanted to negotiate with. This persona was unpredictable.

  “I’m genuinely sorry for your mother’s passing,” she said, “but this isn’t going to bring her back.”

  Benning mellowed a little, but his face was still flushed. “I kno
w. Nothing will bring her back, but it will change the world. You just won’t be around to see it.” He checked his watch. “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve wasted all that time. I’m gonna have to do this quickly before they come to stop me.”

  He put the garden shears back on the bench and pulled the mounted mirror over Jess’s body, angling it so that she could see Corrina.

  “You can watch her die,” he said to Jess, “then it’s your turn.” He took a knife from the bench. Ten inches of cold steel that flared as the artificial light caught the blade.

  He approached Corrina, who could do nothing but kick out with her one good leg. When she did, it sent a spasm of fire through her. Nevertheless, it was her only defense, and a weak one at that.

  When she lashed out a second time, Benning swatted her foot aside and fell with his knee on her thigh, pinning it to the ground. He stuck the point of the knife in the side of her neck.

  “This will make me fourteen times a killer,” he said to Corrina.

  “Fifteen,” she winced.

  Benning leaned back to see her face. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve already killed fourteen people,” Corrina said. “Conrad Veldman took his own life when he found out what you’d done to his wife. That’s on you.”

  “No, no. That’s collateral damage at best. He didn’t die by my hand.” He leaned in close, so close that Corrina could smell his breath. Coffee and mints, not the most alluring combination. “But I know who will.”

  Corrina didn’t know what made her do it. Perhaps it was a survival instinct she never knew she possessed, but she didn’t have time to reflect on it. She jerked her head forward and sank her teeth into Benning’s nose, then shook her head from side to side until the resistance was gone. Benning’s head disappeared from her view, but she hadn’t released her grip. She opened her mouth and a chunk of bloody flesh fell from her lips.

  Benning put his hand to his face and touched the space where his nose had once been. “You…bitch!” He raised the knife above his head, and Corrina squeezed her eyes shut as it arced toward her.

  Corrina felt the splatter of blood on her face moments before the sound of the shot rang through the confines of the basement. Benning fell on her as she opened her eyes, rage permanently etched on what was left of his face. His nose was on her lap and the top right side of his skull was gone.

  McCrae advanced down the stairs, his gun trained on Benning’s body. When he saw what his bullet had done, he holstered his weapon and threw Benning aside. Corrina screamed as the body was pulled from her.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked her.

  “That better be your last ever dumb question, or this relationship is over, mister.”

  “We’re in a relationship?”

  “You bet your ass we are.”

  McCrae’s radio cackled and the voice of the SWAT team commander came over the air. McCrae told him the house was clear and that paramedics were needed urgently in the basement. “And watch out for bear traps. There’s a couple at the back of the house, so there could be more at the front.”

  “Glad you saw it,” Corrina said, stiffening as she changed her weight distribution to relieve a cramp in her buttocks. “I walked straight into one.”

  “I almost did the same. My foot came down on one of the jaws. An inch to the right and I wouldn’t have got here in time.”

  “I’m glad you did,” Corrina said.

  An alarm sounded upstairs.

  “I forgot to tell them about that,” McCrae said. “I saw the door was wired, so I climbed in through the kitchen window. Didn’t want to let him know I was here.”

  “Smart move. Now get these cuffs off and make sure Jess is okay.”

  McCrae reached around behind her and unlocked the restraints, and the moment she was free, Corrina threw her arms around him and squeezed with all her might, the tears finally coming.

  “I know,” McCrae cooed. “It’s all right. It’s over.”

  Corrina released him. He took off his jacket to cover Jess.

  “How is she?” Corrina asked as she wiped her face with her sleeve, suddenly aware that she hadn’t heard from the reporter since she’d woken up in the basement.

  McCrae walked back over to Corrina. “I think she’s in shock,” he whispered. “He really did a number on her.”

  Corrina resisted the urge to stand and take a look. There’d be plenty of time to find out all the details later, but first she and Jess needed medical attention.

  The paramedics arrived, escorted down the stairs by two SWAT team members. Two tended to Jess while a second pair got Corrina comfortable for the trip to the ambulance.

  “I’m gonna let these guys take care of you,” McCrae told Corrina. “I’ll see you upstairs.”

  “No problem.”

  Corrina knew he had a lot to do. There always was when an officer discharged their weapon. This case was as clear-cut as they came, but he still had to have everything in order.

  An oxygen mask was put over her face and she felt a needle going into her leg, then the pain faded and everything suddenly felt right with the world.

  Epilogue

  Corrina carefully eased the plaster cast out of the passenger door and stood, putting all her weight on her good left leg.

  “Are you sure you’re up to this? It’s only been a week.”

  Corrina took the crutches from McCrae and nestled them under her arms. “I’m fine,” she smiled. “It’s healing nicely.”

  She knew what he really meant, though. Her physical injuries were temporary, but the experience would live with her forever. Going to visit Jess in the hospital would bring it all flooding back. She hadn’t suffered nightmares, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come. It could be weeks, or months, but something would inevitably trigger the part of her brain that had stored the horror.

  The same went for Jess.

  She’d been through much more than Corrina had. The damage to her body would be there for everyone to see for the remainder of her life, a constant reminder of her time in Seth Benning’s company.

  They entered the hospital and McCrae punched the button for the elevator to take them to the fourth floor. When they got there, he flashed his badge at the police officer sitting outside Jess’s private room.

  “Her parents are in there,” the cop said as he asked McCrae and Corrina to sign the attendance sheet.

  “You wanna wait?” McCrae asked Corrina.

  She suspected he was worried about recriminations, and she’d had the same concerns, but she couldn’t avoid them forever.

  She shook her head. “No, let’s do this.”

  They knocked on the door and McCrae held it open so that Corrina could enter first.

  Kenneth Duffey stood, but his wife remained in her seat, holding Jess’s hand while her daughter slept. Both looked to be in their seventies, which surprised Corrina. They must have had Jess late in life.

  McCrae did the introductions, and Kenneth offered his hand to Corrina.

  “I want to thank you both. I understand from Captain McErlane that you were responsible for saving my daughter’s life.”

  “It was mostly him,” Corrina said, nodding toward McCrae. “I was in as much danger as Jess.”

  “Nonsense,” McCrae smiled. “If you hadn’t kept him talking, I would have got there about ten minutes too late.” He looked at the figure in the bed. Jess was fast asleep, bandages around her face and hands, and tubes running from her body to an array of monitoring machines. “How is she?”

  Duffey sighed. “Her wounds will heal, but I doubt she’ll ever be the same.” He took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow. “I was in Vietnam,” he said. “Da Nang. During the Tet offensive, they attacked the base. We lost eighteen men, but it was the wounded who really suffered. I stayed in touch with many of them after they rotated back to the world, but none were ever the same. It changes you forever, and no amount of therapy can fix it. Those were hardened men, so there’s no telling what
it’ll do to my little girl.”

  Tears welled in Corrina’s eyes. She used her sleeve to wipe them away.

  “How are you holding up?” Duffey asked her. “I understand you went through a lot yourself.”

  “It was scary, I’ll admit, but it’s what we do.”

  Duffey gave her a look that said his fellow soldiers in Vietnam were doing what they were best at, too, and look what happened to them.

  “At least Jess won’t have to worry about reprisals,” McCrae said.

  “No, but I understand the press are camped outside waiting to interview her.” Duffey shook his head. “As if she hasn’t been through enough already.”

  Despite Benning’s death, the story was going to run for some time. Travis hadn’t been able to prevent Claire McMillan releasing her story with the twelfth and thirteenth chapters, but at least his body count ended there.

  “Not a fan of journalists?” Corrina asked him.

  “You could say that. I was shocked when Jess said she’d chosen this career. Did everything I could to talk her out of it, but she went ahead anyway.”

  “It probably saved her life,” Corrina pointed out. “If she and I hadn’t worked so closely together, there’s no way I would have known she was to be the fifteenth victim.”

  “There is that,” Duffey conceded.

  No one spoke for a few moments, until Duffey broke the silence.

  “What kind of sick bastard does that to a girl?”

  “We’ll never know,” Corrina said. That was one of many questions left unanswered. Why choose Kerry Swanson? Why go all the way to Vegas for his first kill? Why not seek professional help instead of going on a killing spree? Now they’d never know, but she’d take ignorance over being his fourteenth victim. “I tried to reason with him, but I think he was beyond redemption. His sister said he never showed any violent tendencies as a child, so maybe it really was his mother’s death that tipped him over the edge.”

  Duffey remained silent, and Corrina inwardly cursed as she realized how insensitive she’d been. She saw a tear well up in Duffey’s eye.