Chapter 65
SIXTY-FIVE
Katie was groggy and couldn’t seem to wake up.
She remembered the taser hit to her torso, but it seemed more than that.
She felt drugged. The points had been removed, but the small penetration holes still hurt.
Her limbs felt heavy, as if they were being held down.
She tried to speak, but barely a whisper came out.
She couldn’t sit up or roll over. She tried to open her eyes but all she saw were dark shadows.
She couldn’t tell if she was experiencing blindness or was just in a dark area.
That’s when she heard it.
“Katie, we finally meet on my terms. I knew you would come, just not this early,” said the voice. It had a sibilant quality to it, making the dark seem more frightening.
Katie knew whose voice that was. He had been ahead of the investigation the entire time.
Her instincts had been true about the type of killer he was, but she hadn’t been fast enough to catch him, or avoid getting caught.
She should’ve waited for backup and SWAT, but that didn’t matter now.
She knew Chris would do the right thing.
“Katie, my pet. You’ve been my inspiration. Don’t you have anything to say?”
“What do you want?” Her voice was hoarse.
“You.”
Katie still couldn’t see around her. She felt packed earth beneath her body and could smell some type of solvent—it reminded her of being in an auto garage. Her patience waned and her anger grew, despite the predicament she was in.
“Aw, what’s the matter?” said the snake-like voice. His tone was nauseating and all high minded. He had murdered women and dismembered them all to satisfy his urge to be in control, to sate his ego.
She managed to say, “I tried to figure out why you do what you do, but now talking to you…”
“Yes?” He sounded proud of himself.
“You’re insecure and entitled. Nothing special. You’re a sadistic killer.”
He laughed. “Tell me what you really think.”
“You are actually beating up yourself by controlling and dismembering those women.”
“I think you might have misunderstood why you are here and why I’ve been preparing for you. You’re like a prize animal. I don’t want to keep you… I want to kill you…”
His voice in the intense darkness put Katie on the defense, but she had to be patient to wait for backup. They knew where she was going; Chris would have made the call.
“You just have to be patient while I set everything in place,” the voice continued.
“Who are you? Tell me your name.”
He had finished talking, and Katie soon heard a scraping noise and the sound of a huge door closing. A lock secured her in the dark area.
She assumed she was somewhere on the property in an underground area such as a garage or basement. Her eyes had adjusted to a degree, and she could see a faint outline of the large door the killer had disappeared behind.
Her body felt better, so she sat up, gaining her bearings. She checked her pockets, but her cell phone was gone.
“Chris,” she whispered to herself, hoping he’d seen where she had disappeared.
She stood up slowly and felt a low ceiling.
She ran her hands along it and realized it was the inside of a large cement tube, like the ones used for drainage she had seen on the south side of the property.
Yet more evidence that the killer worked in some type of construction.
Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a moan. It startled her and then she froze.
Katie heard it again.
“Katie,” he said.
She realized who it was. “Chris?”
“Yeah…”
Katie dropped to the ground and crawled her way toward his voice until she touched his leg. He was lying on his back like she had been. It was so dark she hadn’t realized he was there.
“Are you okay?” said Katie. Her heart sunk knowing they both were trapped until the killer decided to murder them. Their only hope was that McGaven would come bringing reinforcements after not being able to reach them. They would have to hold their position until then.
“I don’t know… my arm,” he managed to say. “He ambushed me and then tasered me.”
Katie ran her hands over his arm and felt something wet: blood. Chris winced in pain.
“You’ve been cut, I think.”
“I remember now. He attacked me with a knife, but…”
“We need to stop the bleeding.” Katie took off her tactical jacket and then tore the bottom of her T-shirt so she could make a bandage. She wrapped it around his arm where she could feel the most blood. “Can you get up?”
“I’ll try,” he said, his voice sounding extremely weak.
“Do you have your gun or cell phone?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
Chris sat up. “No. I’m sorry I didn’t see him coming.”
“Chris, he made sure you didn’t see him.”
He let out a breath.
“I’m going to see what kind of space we’re in… okay? Just keep talking.” Katie stood up and put her hands back on the curved ceiling. She walked the entire length of it, getting her balance back in check. “It’s strange,” she said.
“Stranger than being in here,” said Chris.
“The back area seems like loose soil, and it’s wet.”
“That would make sense if this tube or cylinder was once used for drainage.”
“Good point.” Katie kept talking to help Chris stay awake, but it also helped calm her nerves and to concentrate on how to get out.
She pushed her hands on the back wall and the soil moved.
She scooped out some of the wet dirt. “Chris, I think we can dig out of here. I don’t know where it goes, but I’m going to try. ”
“Okay… I wish I could help you…” His voice trailed off.
“Chris? Chris! Stay awake,” she said. Not knowing the extent of the injury, it was important he stayed conscious.
“Um… okay.”
“Tell me a story,” she said.
“About what?”
“Anything. Why you became a cop or why you want to be a detective,” she said as she began digging her way out…