Tangled

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!”