Heartbeats of a Killer

by Michael Merson

  There was Matt, his friend, and neighbor, standing in front of the grill, burning what smelled like hamburgers. His wife Jill was spraying their two girls with a water hose as they ran around the yard. The girls cautiously moved closer to their mother who pretended not to see them until they were really close. Their laughter and screams filled the air, and for a moment, Axel forgot about where he had been earlier.

  He stood there, watching for a minute and then started toward the opened garage. He knew that in a few minutes, he would be in his bed and hopefully within a few seconds after that he would be in a deep sleep.

  “Axel! I hope you’re just going inside your house to put your stuff away because I know you see us over here grilling some fine bison burgers!” Jill yelled as she took a break from spraying the girls who looked like they needed it.

  “Hi, Jill,” he called back.

  “I really would love to come over, but I had a long night, and right now my bed is calling my name,” he explained, tiredly.

  “Axel you can't say no! I’ve tried, but she'll keep nagging you until you’re sitting over here with a burger in one hand and a beer in the other. Now put your stuff away, get your ass over here, and have a burger and a wiener with the rest of us,” Matt demanded just as a flame shot up from the grill, startling him and forcing him to back away quickly or lose the hair on his arm.

  “Matt, somehow I don’t think you mind losing to her that much.”

  Jill was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties and very athletic. Axel often saw her on the trail running or biking. She was also the type of woman who met the man of her dreams, married him, and with him created a fairytale family. Axel believed that when she and Matt took their wedding vows, it was in their minds, as it should be, that it really was until death do they part.

  He would swear that the two of them were the type of neighbors that you can only find in movies and books. He smiled as he recalled the times when the master griller, Matt was encouraged by Jill to walk across the yard in January with snow a foot deep, carrying a dinner plate over to the lonely bachelor who lived next door to them.

  They were the neighbors who knew what was going on in the neighborhood and they also knew when Axel was called out at night, during the day, or over a holiday weekend, where once again, Axel, their neighbor became Detective Axel Frost. Axel believed that Jill prepared extra food on those occasions to ensure that he ate something other than food from a convenience store.

  Before walking across the lawn to the burned wieners, burgers, and cold beers, he had to put his gun away. It was an item that Jill was uncomfortable with having around the girls. He knew a cop was always a cop, but he was respectful of his neighbor’s home and their wishes. If he wanted to eat a great meal, he’d just have to leave the gun at home. After putting it in the drawer next to his bed, he took the opportunity to trade his hiking boots and pants for flip flops and shorts.

  ***

  “Axel, did you catch the game yesterday? The Rockies won eight to four,” Matt stated.

  “I saw the end of it. That grand slam sealed the game for them in the eighth,” Axel replied.

  “How do you like your wiener?”

  Axel quickly glanced down at the grill, and he knew right away by the number of hotdogs and hamburgers that his neighbors had once again made extra."

  “Not burnt,” Axel answered slight sarcastically.

  “I hope you aren't complaining,” Matt responded back.

  “Nope, just making a statement based on my direct observation.”

  “Whatever! After dinner, if you don’t mind, we’ll go in and catch the game in my man cave where we can enjoy some cold beers.”

  “I wish you’d just call it the basement instead of the man cave. It just sounds better.”

  “It’s a man cave. Don’t be afraid to say it. Are you saying yes or no to the game in my man cave?”

  “Yes, I’ll go and enjoy the game in your manly man cave.”

  “Now see, when you say it like that it sounds dirty,” Matt explained while shrugging his shoulders.

  “My point exactly,” Axel laughed.

  By the time the game started, Axel had eaten one hamburger and one hotdog, and he had washed it all down with a couple of beers. Now it was time to sit back and watch the game in one of Matt’s leather recliners. The coolness of the basement, a full stomach, the cold beers, and of course the recliner created a concoction too hard to resist. Axel closed his eyes for just a moment while the Diamond Backs started to warm up for game two of the series against the Rockies.

  ***

  The bedroom was almost completely dark. The only light came from the luminous glow of a small candle that sat upon a dresser in one corner. The flame flickered in the darkness and afforded the man to see his dark reflection in the mirror.

  Jeramiah closed his eyes as he felt the familiar pain in his head slowly begin to build bigger and bigger, more intensely with each breath he took.

  “Are you crying up there, boy?” Jeramiah heard the voice echoing through the house, but it was especially loud in his head.

  “No father,” he answered after clearing his throat.

  The sound of footsteps and the creaking of the staircase warned of his father’s arrival at any minute. Jeramiah listened intently as each step grew closer and then stopped just outside his door. There was a long silence, and Jeramiah took the time to wipe his tears away as he moved to the side of the bed to cower on the floor. Suddenly and without warning the door flung open, and once again the boy’s mountain of a father stood in the doorway with his large frame blocking the light in the hall.

  “I told you about candles up here! This is my house, and you will do as I say and abide by my wishes when you are staying under my roof!” His father yelled.

  The large man then slowly walked over to the scared boy who had placed himself into a fetal position for protection as his heart raced uncontrollably. His father unfastened his belt from around his waist and moved even closer to Jeramiah.

  Jeramiah begged and pleaded with his father for forgiveness, and when this failed, the boy remembered the prayer his mother taught him. He began to whisper it.

  “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” His father heard his words, and it fueled his anger even more.

  “You ask God for help. Well, your God has no more control over me than you do,” His father said coldly.

  The voice torturing him would not stop, and he burst from his fetal position and began spinning in circles. He crashed feverishly into the furniture that lay hidden in the shadows as he held his head between his hands. He had his palms covering his ears, all while screaming for his father to stop. The candle danced in wild movements in the darkness as the boy moved about the room violently.

  The madness quickly came to an end as Jeramiah stumbled over a chair and struck his head against the bedpost. As he fell to the floor, his father’s voice grew silent in the darkness as the scared child faded into unconsciousness. Underneath his now still body the hardwood floor began to collect a small pool of blood from the cut on his head. The flickering flame that had danced just a few moments ago began to fade as it slowly burned to an end. The frightened boy’s figure gradually disappeared into the blackness that slowly engulfed the room.

  Chapter 5

  Monday, July 2nd

  “Mr. Axel, Daddy says it’s time for breakfast, and you should come upstairs and eat.”

  Axel heard the little voice of Cindy, who was standing in front of him in a pink ankle-length nightgown. In her hand, she held a small plush brown puppy with rather large eyes. Her disarrayed hair circled her face, and when she tilted her head and smiled, it invited him to smile back. She quickly disappeared behind the corner of the wall, and Axel listened as her feet hit every step as she ran back upstairs.

  Looking around the basement, he slowly began to remember the previous evening and determined that somet
ime during the game, he must have fallen asleep in the recliner. Later during the night someone, most likely Jill, had covered him with a blanket. He walked up the same stairs Cindy had recently run up and entered the dining room where he found Matt sitting in front of a rather large stack of homemade pancakes. A smile appeared on his face as he looked up from his mountain of flapjacks that had rivers of syrup running down the sides.

  “You can stay at our house anytime you like,” Matt said as he shoveled in a mouthful.

  Cindy sat next to her sister, Sam, who was running her finger around the edge of her plate, catching the syrup that was leaking over the side. She apparently enjoyed the pancakes as much as her father. Jill was at the stove, placing a final layer onto another already large stack.

  “Sit. You need to eat before you go to work, and if you hurry, you’ll even be on time,” she said.

  “Yes, ma'am,” Axel replied.

  “You fell asleep before the game even started, but it wasn’t until the third inning when I heard you snoring and saw the girls applying the make-up.”

  “Matt, stop it! Axel, you didn’t snore, and the make-up will come off with some rubbing alcohol,” Jill said jokingly.

  “I came down with two beers, and you were sound asleep. Matt noticed that your cell phone was on your side and we figured that it’d be okay if you just stayed here and slept. I mean you did look pretty tired yesterday.”

  “Man, you look like crap in the morning,” Matt managed between shovels.

  Matt had apparently already showered, shaved, and dressed in his usual work attire, very clean brown denim pants, a plaid shirt, and work boots. Matt owned his own landscaping company and had a few employees working for him, which allowed him to manage rather than actually set stone walls. Axel admired Matt for being so successful, knowing that he grew up poor in Florida. That was something Matt had shared with Axel after a six-pack some time back.

  “Daddy had too much beer last night. Mommy said he was sitting on the toilet until the wee hours of the morning,” Cindy said, adding to the conversation as she giggled and hid behind the big-eyed puppy.

  “Eat your breakfast, young lady,” Matt growled jokingly.

  Axel finished some of the pancakes and thanked his very generous friends and walked over to the lonely house next door. He figured there was still time to get cleaned up. He waved from his front door as Matt backed his truck and trailer out of his driveway and took off to another job site.

  ***

  Hours passed before light once again made its appearance into the room through a small circular window located on the east side of the house. The sun brought light and warmth into the once cold, damp bedroom. The morning glow found its way into Jeramiah’s eyes, awakening him from his slumber. Slowly and very carefully, he sat up and then propped himself against the footboard of the bed where he sat for a moment.

  He placed his hand to the back of his head and felt the open cut that he had sustained the previous evening. He rubbed around the wound for a few seconds and then turned and looked at the clock beside the bed. The flashing numbers read 7:30.

  “Damn!” He said aloud as he pulled himself to his feet.

  After a quick shower, Jeramiah grabbed a handheld mirror. He positioned his back to the sink mirror and used the smaller mirror to view the cut to the back of his head.

  “I could probably use some stitches,” he said quietly to himself, but then thought it was better to just clean it and not go to the hospital.

  After making himself presentable in the short amount of time he had, Jeramiah was soon walking outside. He locked his front door behind him, climbed into his SUV, and headed toward Denver. The traffic was light, and Jeramiah relaxed while listening to the radio. He thought about the evening’s events and how he may have been seen by the two-midnight hikers.

  I need to try and find out who they were. Damn!

  There were times after each kill that Jeramiah would tell himself that he wasn’t going to do it again, and there were periods that he would go without having the urge, but eventually, the urge always found its way back to him. Before long, his thoughts would drift back to the last kill, and he would find himself reliving the moment again and again. Before he knew it, he was fantasizing about someone new.

  Now, as he drove into Denver, he wondered when the urge would return once more.

  ***

  Jaxson Locke sat at his dinner table, eating cold cereal while reading over the national news on his cell phone when he came upon the story.

  PPK Strikes Again!

  Jaxson Locke had been following the PPK case in the news and at work. He wondered when the Colorado Springs Police Department was going to officially ask for help from the FBI. Jaxson knew that the police department had sent crime scene photos into the Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU) and that they had sent a profile of the UNSUB, or Unknown Subject back based off those crime scene photos.

  Through a friend, Jaxson was able to get his hands on the profile but based on what he was able to get, he thought there was more that could have been added. He wanted the opportunity to review the photos for himself, but he didn’t currently have the authority or the clearance. After all, Jaxson Locke had only been with the FBI for three years. He held a Doctorate in Forensic Psychology but had not been accepted into the BAU yet. Instead, Agent Jaxson Locke spent his days as an FBI agent reviewing cold cases concerning the ever-growing internet ring of child pornography. He currently completed psychological profiles on those offenders from the confines of his desk.

  When he contacted the BAU a short time ago for a chance to share his own profile and to see if he could participate in the UNSUB Profile of PPK, he was informed that he wasn’t adequately trained in the study of serial murder. He felt that he was laughed at and humiliated by those that he had reached out to in the unit.

  He sat there thinking about how he could get involved without anyone knowing.

  They won’t let me be part of it in the BAU. But what if I just went to the lead detective? I do have some vacation time I could take, Jaxson thought.

  ***

  Axel arrived at the department a little late. He doubted anyone would say anything. After all, he was called out over the weekend and deserved a little comp time. Besides he was usually the first one into the office before eight most days.

  Linda, the major crime unit’s receptionist, was sitting at her desk near the entrance to ‘cubicle city.’ She served as the buffer between detectives and visitors. She was in the perfect spot to stop and ask people who they were and who they needed to see. She was great at delaying someone you were trying to avoid, which earned her wonderful gifts on Secretary’s Day.

  “Good morning Detective Frost,” Linda said in an upbeat manner. She always enjoyed greeting and looking at Detective Frost. Although he was younger than she was, she still found his perfectly groomed dark hair, with his bright white smile and olive skin very attractive. Not to mention his blue eyes and the way he smelled.

  Wow, Linda thought to herself as he walked in. Linda always dressed professionally, and today was no different as she had decided to wear a blue dress suit with a red flower pinned to her chest. She had a larger than usual smile that accompanied her greeting.

  “Good morning, Linda. Did you have a good weekend?”

  “Yes. Larry and I drove up to Cripple Creek Friday night, and I won a thousand dollars on a slot machine,” Linda replied excitedly.

  “Well, I guess that means you’re buying lunch today.”

  “Oh yes, you can count on that Blue Eyes,” Linda responded flirtatiously.

  Everyone in the office knew that Linda and her husband, Larry, were always in the gambling town of Cripple Creek, Colorado on the weekends and that they had probably spent fifteen hundred dollars to win a thousand. They then continued to play the thousand dollars they won back into the slot machine. When that was all gone, the two of them were probably actually down a few hundred.

  “Good morning, Axman!”


  Axel was about to sit down inside his cubicle when he heard Gary’s familiar morning greeting.

  “Good morning to you Bernard,” Axel said as he sat down and spun around toward his desk, patiently waiting for Gary to come unglued.

  Gary, wasting no time, ran around the cubicle wall that separated the two of them and stood dangerously close to Axel. He cautiously looked around the office, for any possible witnesses.

  “We talked about the Bernard thing, Axel. You agreed not to tell anyone my middle name,” Gary whispered in a serious tone while once again looking around the office.

  “I didn’t tell anyone your middle name, Bernard. I just said it a little loud.”

  “You keep being a little loud, and you may find yourself alone on Christmas this year,” Gary said smugly as he stood up and crossed his arms, smiling as if he had his young partner over a barrel.

  “Carol wouldn’t allow that to happen,” Axel said just as smug and then crossed his own arms and leaned back in his chair.

  “Remember, I bought her that nice coat last year, and you got her what, a vacuum cleaner and treadmill? Right?”

  “Yes, I do remember, and this year we shop together Santa Claus. Do you know that every time we go out during the winter I have to listen about how sweet and nice you are as she rubs that leather coat?”

  “I’m sorry. Carol doesn't say things like that about you when she’s doing the vacuuming?” Axel asked in a pathetic voice, followed by a smile.

  A smile formed on Gary’s face as well, and the two of them began to laugh out loud.

  “If you two are finished joking, I’m sure there’s some police work needing to be done somewhere in this city,” Wilson barked from the door to his office.

  “Oh yes, I was just about to tell Detective Frost that we have interviews to conduct with our two witnesses from the latest homicide,” Gary shot back quickly.