CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Ben studied the directions Tadpole had given him. He
figured Danni’s place shouldn’t be too difficult to find. He
crawled into his Chevy and turned the key in the ignition.
The engine roared and then idled into a purr. With his
right indicator on, he accelerated gently and joined the
flow of traffic heading north. Jay hadn’t phoned him to
say that Danni was fine and all was okay and Ben was
worried. It wasn’t like Jay to leave him hanging like that.
He knew he was at Bluey’s waiting for some kind of word
from him. Something didn’t feel right and Ben couldn’t
stop thinking about Augie’s theory.
He grabbed for his phone and hit the speed dial button
for Jay. The call connected but much to his surprise, it
diverted directly to the message bank. His mind raced,
now he was certain something was wrong. There’s no way
Jay would divert his phone when he told him that he’d
let him know what was happening. Ben felt his heart rate
picking up, that old familiar uneasy feeling he always got
when things weren’t right settled into the pit of his
stomach and began to churn. He flung his phone onto
the passenger seat and concentrated on the road, his foot
growing heavier on the accelerator.
He made a left turn and sped further along the street until
making a final right onto Cloverdale. Easing his foot off
the accelerator, Ben idled slowly down the street,
scanning for any sign of Jay’s car. Further down he
spotted it parked on the left hand side of the road, he
drove past and noticed the driver’s side door was open,
but the cab was empty. Jay must have left his cruiser in a
hurry. The panic he had been trying to fight was now
rising within him. He made his way to the end of the
street and did a U-turn before cruising back up on the
opposite side of the street. Danni’s house and the cruiser
came into view again. He looked up at the small
weatherboard home and saw that the front door appeared
to be hanging unevenly in the frame. It looked like it had
been pulled off and propped back up against the frame in
order to cover the entryway. There were no bright lights
shining, that he could see, although there was a dim glow
coming from the window right at the front of the house.
Ben drove further back down the road and pulled his car
up to the footpath. He leaned over to the passenger seat
and felt around underneath it. He retrieved a small lock
box from beneath the seat and, using a key from his key
ring, unlocked it. His hands flipped the lid back and dived
into the box.
‚Shit!‛ he cussed. The box was empty. He tried hard to
recall where he had placed his gun. It suddenly hit him
that his weapon was still down at the station house. One
of the officers had taken control of it after the scuffle with
Rose yesterday. Ben had forgotten to retrieve it after his
meeting with Anna this afternoon. With both hands, he
slammed the lock box shut and threw it to the floor in
front of the seat, his panic was now turning to dread. Here
he was with a possible situation at hand, and no weapon
to arm himself with.
A loud crashing noise sounded from somewhere behind
him. He looked in his rear view mirror but could see
nothing through the blackness of the night. Ben grabbed
his phone and scrolled through the menu. After setting it
to vibrate instead of ring, he stuffed it into his jeans and
slid out from behind the steering wheel. His feet hit the
footpath feeling like two sticks of jelly, his nerves were
shot to hell and he was visibly shaking. After yesterday’s
ordeal, Ben had had his fill of showdowns, sieges and
scuffles and to add extra pressure, his head was now
pounding hard. The last thing he needed right now was
another one of his brain-bleeders, the timing just couldn’t
be worse.
Ben crossed the street and walked silently towards
Danni’s house. He entered her yard and crept up to the
side of the house, taking cover among the branches of
the large camphor laurel tree beneath one of the
windows. He grabbed for the window ledge and boosted
himself up using the trunk of the tree for leverage.
Through a small part in the curtains, he could see he was
at the window of the main bedroom. A double bed lay
below the window and a duchess sat against the wall
further into the room, on the left. The bedroom door was
directly in front of the bed on the opposite wall; it was
slightly ajar, enough so that he could make out a light
shining in from the adjoining room.
His eyes scanned the bedroom for any sign of life. All was
quiet and still. With his feet pressed firmly against the
tree trunk and his chest pinned against the window ledge,
he was free to use his hands to slide the window open. It
took some careful prying and wiggling before he
managed to make any headway. One pains-taking inch at
a time, he finally had an opening large enough for him to
manoeuvre his body through. Ben eased himself up onto
the ledge and slithered head first, into the window,
coming to rest on the cushioning of the bed on the inside
below the window. Never fond of placing a bed below any
window, Ben was secretly thanking Danni for having her
bed in such position. It made his entry that much
smoother and most importantly, quieter.
Face down on the bed; Ben lay there for a moment,
listening for any sounds from the next room. There was
not so much as a peep, no whimpering, arguing or
talking. That struck him as odd. Too odd. Then the
frightening thought struck him, was he too late? Were
Jay and Danni beyond his help? He forced the questions
from his mind, took a deep breath and rolled off the bed
and onto the floor, hitting it with a dull thud. Once again
he looked straight to the door to see if he had been
detected by whoever was out there, if there was anyone
out there. When he was convinced it was safe to continue,
he crawled along the bedroom floor to the open door in
front of him. His toes and elbows dug into the carpet,
pushing his legs and torso along the floor like a snake.
Upon reaching the door, he sprung to a crouching
position and pressed his body against the wall, his head
poking ever so slowly around the crack in the door.
Ben could see a timber walkway on the other side of the
bedroom door. Beyond that was a small opening, leading
in to what he guessed, was the living room. Glass and
long splinters of wood were scattered about the walkway.
Ben cursed at the obstacle they would pose for his exit
from the bedroom. Bit by bit, he pulled the bedroom door
open until it was just wide enough for his body to slip
through. Pressing his body firmly against the bedroom
wall, he pushed up on both legs and slid into a standing
position. He checked
the walkway one last time before
stepping out into it.
Leaning against the wall of the hallway, he was now
completely exposed to whatever danger lay before him.
He had nothing to hide behind and nowhere to run. It was
imperative to figure out the layout of the house and get
out of the hallway as quickly and as safely as possible.
Still pressed against the wall, Ben could see the front
door on his right. Just as he had originally thought, it had
been knocked from its hinges. It was simply leaning
against the inside of the frame. On his left, against the
wall was a small telephone table. A second doorway was
visible just a meter or so further down. Ben’s eyes
followed the hall towards the back of the house. Yet
another door was present at the end of the walkway. The
hall then veered off to the right, leading to an open door.
Dim light was flickering from the opening and spilling out
onto the hallway floor. Ben turned his gaze back to the
door on the opposite side of the hall in front of him. His
eyes darted around the room trying to get a feel of the
area. A shadowy figure crossed the wall on the far left side
of the living room. Ben froze. Sweat trickled down the side
of his face and dripped from his jaw. He closed his eyes
and breathed hard, his mind a muddle of racing
thoughts. It was fight or flight.
Ben chose fight. His eyelids flew open and he lifted his
foot off the ground and stretched his leg across the
broken glass and timber on the floor in front of him. He
leaned forward with his entire body and softly placed his
foot down on the opposite side of the hall. Taking a
minute to steady his balance, Ben remained in a stretched
out, squat position, straddling the hallway. Placing all his
weight on his front foot, he pushed off on his back leg,
pulling it over the top of the debris and finally placing it
on the floor beside to his front foot. He had successfully
crossed the hall and was now leaning against the wall of
the living room.
Side stepping along the wall, he made his way up the
hallway and found himself beside the open doorway at
the end. He slid down the wall, back into a crouched
position and carefully listened for any sounds. He heard
what he thought was the sound of glass clanging, not
unlike the sound made when a glass is set down on a
hard surface. Ben lay down on his stomach and slithered
right up to the doorframe. In a make or break decision he
stuck his head around the corner of the door and
surveyed the room. To his left was a fridge and to his right
there was a wall with another opening a few feet down.
The kitchen was divided in two by a breakfast bar. On top
of the bar there were at least half a dozen thick, white
candles, their flames danced and flickered in the open air.
On the other side of the breakfast bar, he could see a
kitchen table. A figure sat at the closest end of the table
with it’s back to Ben.
From the way the figure was stooped over with its elbows
pointed slightly outwards, and the sound of cutlery
scraping on china, it was clear that whoever it was, was
eating. Ben was not completely certain, but he felt that the
figure was male. It was hard to be sure as the figure was
slight of build and had it’s back to him. The lighting was
too poor to see much else. Ben continued to watch him.
Every now and then, his left hand stretched out and
snatched the wine glass from the table beside him. The
glass disappeared from view for a couple of seconds,
before being placed back onto the table. Once in a while,
he would put the cutlery down, pick something from his
plate and throw it over the table, towards the corner of the
room. He would then let out a shrill, piercing giggle and
return to his dining. Ben strained his eyes and tried to
look below the table, in the direction of the flying food.
Anger rose within him when he saw Jay sitting on the
floor in the corner. His hands were bound to his feet and a
piece of masking tape was across his mouth. The animal
at the table was mocking him, taking great delight in
using him for target practice. Ben pulled his head back
quickly and sat against the wall again, desperate for a
plan of attack.
The most logical thought that entered his mind was to
get the hell out of there and call for back up. His
conscience wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t leave Jay and
Danni in there with that freak. If the man in the kitchen
was indeed the monster they’d been looking for, he had
to bring him down. He turned around and slid back down
the hall to the living room door. Again, lying on his
stomach, he stuck his head far enough around the corner
to survey the setting. The room was dimly lit by yet more
thick, white candles that were placed on top of the
television set. Just inside the door against the wall on his
left, was a dark green, three-seater sofa. At the far end of
the sofa, was a wall, which ran at a right angle and backed
onto the kitchen. A large bookshelf about six feet tall
stood against the wall, next to an archway. On the
opposite side of the living room, facing the sofa, was a
television on a stand. Under the window to his right, at
the front of the house, was an ornate china cabinet with
glass shelves and a mirrored back. When he looked at it
just the right way he could see into the kitchen and dining
room. This gave him a bird’s eye view of the man sitting at
the end of the table.
As he was about to pull his head back from the living
room, he saw some movement on the sofa beside him.
Groans soon followed. Ben stole a brief glance over the
arm of the sofa and saw Danni lying there, semi-naked,
her hands and feet bound at the wrists and ankles. Ben
then heard the sound of a chair being pushed around on
a hard surface. He withdrew from the living room and
pressed himself against the hallway wall again. In the
china cabinet mirror, he saw the figure at the end of the
table lean back in his chair and turn towards the Danni.
He then lifted his wine glass from the table and stood up.
He poised like a statuette for a short time before walking
towards the living room. He reached the sofa and sat on
the edge, leaning over the top of Danni, his wine glass in
one hand and the other one poking at her. Frightened
screams mixed with muffled sobs echoed from the living
room.
Ben patted his pockets daring to hope that he had any
sort of instrument, even a pen that he could use to cause
injury to the man. In his breast pocket he found nothing
but his painkillers. His eyes scanned the splinters of wood
and shards of glass on the floor. None of them were thick
enough to cause any damage, they were too flimsy or too
small to grasp. He tried the pockets of his jeans. His
hands
dug in deep and felt his phone. Ben pulled it out
and punched in 000, he put it to his ear and waited for the
operator to pick up. When she did he left the line open
and, unable to speak because the figure was too close, he
placed it on the floor in the hallway praying she would
understand he was in trouble and track the origin of his
call. As much as it hurt him to hope for it, he willed that
Danni would scream again so the operator knew that it
wasn’t a crank call.
Ben crawled back up the hallway towards the kitchen, and
Jay. If he had a chance at freeing him it was now, while
the figure was taunting Danni. He stood at the entrance
way and while he could still hear the figure giggling in the
living room, he charged into the kitchen and scoured the
benches hurriedly for a knife. More screams and sobs
filled the air. He had to get to Danni. Beside the
microwave on the breakfast bar, he spotted a knife block,
he pulled the sharpest one he could find from its slot and
then sank to the floor. He slithered to the end of the bar
and looked under the kitchen table, hoping that Jay
would see him. Louder sobs came from the next room;
Ben could see Jay struggling with the confines of his
binds.
Unable at this point to secure Jay’s attentions, Ben
moved further out on the floor from behind the breakfast
bar. He lay there waving his hands across the floor and
wanting badly to scream, ‚I’m here.‛ Jay suddenly ceased
struggling and bent down as far as he could, looking
under the table. He saw Ben and their eyes locked.
Holding up the knife in his hand, he mimicked a sliding
motion and Jay nodded he understood. All he could do
now was wait. Wait for the next wave of screams so he
could slide the knife across the floor to Jay. A few
moments later they came and Ben sent the knife sailing
smoothly across the floor towards his partner. It made it
all the way under the dining table but hit against the chair
on the far end, a couple of feet short. Jay threw himself
down onto his side and edged closer to the blade, finally
grasping it in his fingers. Ben watched as he frantically set
about the task of cutting through his ties.
Danni’s screams became more terrified. Ben could hear
the man teasing her and giggling that high-pitched
cackle. Leaving the kitchen, Ben headed back down the
hallway, settling onto his hands and knees a few feet from
the living room doorway. The mirror from the china
cabinet showed the man on top of her, pawing at her
body. The wine glass was sitting on the small coffee table
at the side of the sofa. Ben stared at it. He moved back
into the hallway and thought for a second before pulling
his painkillers from his pocket. He popped five capsules
from the silver leaflet and set about pulling them apart,
letting the powder fall onto the back of the packet. When
he had enough powder to kill a small elephant, he tipped
it into the palm of his hand and returned to the doorway.
On his hands and knees, Ben crawled as far inside the
living room door as he dared to go. His fingers curled
around the wine glass, slid it off the coffee table and
towards him. He held his other hand above the rim and
poured the entire contents of powder into the liquid,
stirring it quickly with his finger. Ben slid the glass back
onto the coffee table and disappeared behind the door
again just as the man crawled off Danni and stood beside
the sofa. All Ben could do now was hope.
Through the mirror in the cabinet, Ben watched as the
man stuck it’s tongue out at Danni and then held a finger
over his lips in a shush gesture. The evil smile on his face
was chilling. He reached down beside the sofa and took
the wine glass from the coffee table and gulped down half
the glass. Ben was now close enough that he could see
the man more clearly. He was fairly young and not terribly
beefy. Maybe he could take him after all. Seeing his build,
Ben now understood why halothane had been used in the
commission of Kylie-Anne and Marla’s murders. He
watched closely as the red headed man drank the rest of
the glass before throwing it against the wall next to the
television.
“Are you ready to party?” the sick young man asked Danni.
He stared down at her, a wicked smile running across his
acne ravaged face. He lingered above her before walking to
the other side of the room. He picked up a small army
green knap-sack that was sitting there. His bony hands
reached inside it and retrieved a piece of cloth and a small
brown bottle of something. Ben guessed it was the
halothane and watched as the killer emptied a liberal
amount onto the cloth. He then returned to the knap-sack
and pulled out a thin, steel apparatus. A scalpel. Ben’s
breath caught in his throat as the man turned back to
Danni.
“I promise you’ll like it. They all do,” he said to her. He
placed the cloth on the sofa and holding the scalpel in
one hand, he began to unzip his trousers.
“I’m gonna show your girl a good time, Detective Marnotti,”
he yelled out to the dining room before laughing and
pulling his pants down to his ankles. “ I’d let you watch,
but I’m kinda shy.”
Ben heard Jay struggling and making muffled grunts
from the dining room, he must still be trying to cut
through his ties. The killer went to step free of his
trousers and stumbled forward a little, he steadied
himself against the sofa, shaking his head from side to
side in quick succession. Ben knew the painkillers were
taking effect.
“Whoa,” he blurted out. He dropped to his knees with his
feet caught up in his trousers and leaned over Danni. He
held the scalpel tightly in his hand and waved it in front of
her face.
“You’re going to be my finest master-piece yet.” he kissed
the blade and then lowered it to her face, tracing it
delicately over her lips, down her throat and around the
fullness of her breasts. Danni squealed and cried hard,
wriggling and squirming in a vain attempt to break free.
The killer continued to babble, “I’m a fine surgeon, you
know. My full potential is yet to be realised.” He shook his
head again and rubbed at his eyes. He ran the scalpel
from her breasts down to her abdomen and circled her
navel. “I know what’s buried in here and I can take care of
that for you.”
He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “The unborn of
a Showsdale City Detective would be the most prized
possession in my trophy vault, wouldn’t you agree?” He
stared down at her stomach and made a tiny cut just
below her navel. Danni cried out in fear as much as pain.
Ben rose to his feet behind the wall and braced himself for
a tackle. The killer had stepped up the pace and now so
mus
t he. He grabbed hold of the doorframe and threw
himself into the living room, knocking the coffee table
over and lunging at the man. Ben had misjudged the
distance and fell a foot and a half short of his target.
The young man waved the scalpel at him and yelled, “Get
back.”
Ben crawled up onto his haunches, the scalpel right in
front of his face. He looked over at Danni and saw the
blood beading on her stomach, he put his hands up on
either side of his head and cried, “Okay, okay, just calm
down. You can walk away, just don’t hurt the girl.”
“I have work to do, I’m…” the killer stumbled over his
words. He swayed nauseously and stuttered, “I’m a great
surgeon you know.” He kept his eyes fixed firmly on Ben.
Ben lowered his hands slowly and nudged towards him
ever so slightly.
“Don’t fucking move!” screamed the killer. He grabbed
Danni’s head and moved the blade up to her throat. “One
more move and I’ll slit the bitch’s throat.”
“Hey Ed.” The man spun his head around in a panic. A
loud crack suddenly sounded out and the man slumped
forward on the sofa, his head falling onto Danni’s chest.
Ben looked up and saw Jay standing between the
kitchen and the living room, a dining chair in his hands.
He looked down at Ben and said, “No one calls my woman
a bitch!”