Chapter 67
SIXTY-SEVEN
Katie dug with all the energy she had and was making progress, but the downside was the dirt was filling their space.
She listened as Chris talked about his life and how all he’d wanted to do was become a police officer.
It actually made her feel closer to him.
He had shown his intelligence and fortitude on this case.
She knew he would go far within the department.
Katie was exhausted and covered in mud, but she wasn’t going to stop until she got through to the other end. She was also mindful of any noises, like the killer or their backup.
“How are you doing?” said Chris. He was able to sit up and see the outline of Katie working. “I wish I could help.”
“Making progress, but sure could use a glass of water,” she said, taking a momentary break to wipe her forehead. “You need to stay still and keep that injury stable.”
Katie attacked the dirt wall with everything she had—time wasn’t on their side. She kept moving. Her arms were sore and hands tense, but she kept working. Until…
She broke through into air and the evening light crept in, giving just enough illumination to see around her. Katie was relieved.
But then she saw there was barbed wire across the back of the tube. Of course the killer wouldn’t put her in anything she could escape from.
“No.” Katie dropped to the ground, exhausted and frustrated.
Chris didn’t have to ask her what was wrong—he could see the wire through the opening. He hung his head.
Katie wasn’t going to give up. This wasn’t just about her; they both had to get out alive. She knew McGaven was coming, but “when?” was the nagging question.
“Katie?”
“Yes.”
“You’re amazing.”
She smiled. “What makes you say that? I got us into this mess.”
“McGaven told me that if I wanted to learn about cold cases and being a detective, shadowing you was the best thing to do.”
“Thanks, Chris.” Katie kneeled next to him to check his bandage now there was some light. “Let’s look at this wound.” She carefully unwrapped it and could see the blood had stopped, but the gash was jagged and her worry was infection. “Okay, let’s wrap this back up.”
Still grimacing, he thanked her. His face looked pale and his eyes sunken. The wound was worse than she’d realized and he needed to get to the hospital to get it checked out.
She went back to the opening to assess it, moving the excess dirt away. Leaning down, she saw the barbwire fencing was old and rusted. She grabbed hold of the bottom and pulled—it slowly began to give and then fully break away. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Chris shuffled closer. “Can we get through?”
“I think so,” she said, continuing to pull at the wire strands. “But you’re staying put while I get help.” Looking around, she saw some broken fence posts and reached toward them. She was able to get part of one and pull it into their chamber.
“What’s that?” he said.
Katie handed it to him. “It’s for you. It can double as protection.”
He gripped it tightly. “It’ll work.”
Katie sat down next to him. “I don’t know if I can get to the Jeep, but I don’t think he’s going to be expecting me to have escaped. I’m going to check out that weird house.”
“Don’t do that, you have no backup.”
Katie ignored his comment—she knew that. “Trust me, McGaven is coming with the department—that’s for sure.”
“Katie,” he said.
She looked at him.
“Thanks.”
There was an unwritten rule, especially among law enforcement officers, that respect and camaraderie bonded them without words, that the silence during an intense situation was enough.
She smiled and squeezed his hand. “You’ll be fine.” She thought about how he had helped her to save Cisco. She would never forget that—ever.
Katie got up and went to the opening; she didn’t want to look at Chris again. She knew he would be fine, that McGaven would find him. The department would soon be all over the property searching top to bottom.
Katie squeezed through the opening she had made, pressed up against the rusty wire by slowly bending down, pulling at the bottom of the fencing, and wiggling her way underneath and out into the field.
The wire had poked her skin, her stomach, and side.
She looked at her stomach, which was bleeding.
But the discomfort didn’t matter. It was only temporary.
She looked around. She was going to be able to use the dark cloudless evening to her advantage.
She scaled along the fence line, moving in silence.
McGaven drove with purpose, using his truck because of the uneven and difficult terrain. He didn’t say anything to John, who sat next to him. They drove in a group with the rest of the officers and the sheriff.
He was concerned. This investigation felt different. The killer was clever and devious and seemed to be fixated on Katie.
Cole Dillon.
“I bet I know what you’re thinking,” said John.
“Yep, I’m sure you do.”
“Katie can handle herself.”
“Yes, she can.” McGaven thought of her jumping off the hotel balcony into the pool as she went after the killer.
“We’ll get there and get everything straight,” said John.
McGaven glanced at him. “I just hope it won’t be too late.”
Katie crept around the building and found a place along the old fencing where she could re-enter the property again.
The place where they had been held had been at one time underground and recently dug out.
It was a strange setup, but that didn’t hinder her focus.
She had to hold off the killer until McGaven and the rest arrived.
Just then Katie froze. She heard a sound of someone outside near the truck. Moving forward with caution, she peered around the side where all the giant piping was stacked. She saw the back of the killer. He was loading something into the back seat of the black truck. It appeared to be suitcases.
Katie wondered if he was running to find another location to restart his fantasy world.
If he was fleeing, what did that mean for Patricia?
She got the feeling he killed these women and either dropped the limbs somewhere, like Brandon Bates’s house, or he had a place where he could bury them without raising any suspicion. That realization made her cringe.
I don’t want to keep you… I want to kill you…
Hearing him say those words made her realize, even more, how dangerous and formidable his actions were.
Katie heard the killer walk toward the manufactured building.
She took her chance and crept stealthily to the truck.
The doors were open and she saw a gun sitting on the passenger seat.
Glancing at the building and back to the car, she pounced and retrieved the weapon, stepping into the shadows on the other side of the vehicle.
Standing next to an old pile of aluminum, she checked to see if the gun was loaded and ready to fire and then remained perfectly still. She could barely breathe. She smelled what seemed like some type of solvent.
Katie waited. She knew exactly what she was going to do.
The killer came outside carrying a box and headed to the truck. As soon as he was next to it, she made her move.
“Stop! Drop the box and show me your hands now.”
The killer didn’t seem too surprised to see her, but he did what she asked.
Katie walked over and kicked the box away. She realized she didn’t have her handcuffs, so she was going to have to improvise.
“You got me, Katie…” There was something haunting about his voice. It was the way he said her name that made her want to spit. She was now looking at the man who had caused so much turmoil, destruction, and death.
“Turn around.”
He did so.
Aiming the gun at him, she patted him down. He wasn’t carrying anything. It bothered her that he was so calm, as if he had been expecting everything.
“Cat got your tongue?” she sneered. “What’s in there?” She pointed to the house.
He looked away and shrugged his shoulders.
“Or there?” Katie pointed at the barn. “Huh? You’re not so tough now.”
He looked at her, his dark—almost black—eyes giving a demonic appearance.
“Move,” she ordered, waving the gun toward the building.
He turned and moved slowly; she followed ready to kill him if she had to.
This part of the property seemed to have been updated. The buildings were newer and the supplies more organized. They couldn’t see that when they were doing their recon. The big barn seemed to contain something worth protecting. It was a high-end metal structure with a digital entry.
“Wait,” she said, pointing at the barn. “I want to go there. Now!”
Katie had hoped by this stage to hear her backup coming, but there was only silence. She tried not to think about Chris waiting in the concrete tube.
The killer moved slowly and almost hesitantly, which was odd.
“Move!”
They were at the entrance. The killer stood looking at nothing in particular.
“Open it,” she said.
He hesitated for a second, but then punched in a number one… one… nine… two… Katie heard the lock disengage and the door opened.
“That’s good.”
She kept her cool, even though her body was spent and her energy was fading fast. Part of her wanted to put a bullet in his head and be done with it, but that wasn’t going to happen because she was a law enforcement officer.
Otherwise, she would be no better than the killers she had put away.
It was a thin line at times, but this wasn’t going to be the one time she couldn’t help herself.
Katie pushed him with the barrel of the gun and they stepped inside. She flipped the light switch panel and the fluorescent lights came on one by one.
It was all white, a sterile environment, reminding her immediately of the medical examiner’s office. She saw two large tanks like the flotation tanks John had showed her and McGaven.
“What’s in there?” she said, gesturing to one of them.
He shrugged.
Katie wasn’t in the mood. “Open it.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“It’s on a timer.”
“Do it.” Katie pointed the gun closer to his head.
He went to the controls on the wall. He pushed two buttons, and Katie heard an electronic noise. Thinking it was the pod, she glanced at it, only to realize he’d opened another door in the wall and was running through it.
Katie gave chase, but wasn’t fast enough. He was gone.
She went to the door she had come through and another one where the killer had fled. Both were locked securely. She was trapped.
She saw tools—a bone saw and many types of hardware on one of the tables—including another of the specialized metal pieces that had secured Shelby’s body to the tree. The thought of what this man had done was beyond comprehension.
Katie pounded her fists on the door out of sheer anger and frustration.
She rushed to the tank. It was still locked. “No!”
Desperately she looked around and saw a utility closet. She flung open the door—there were mops, a broom, sheets, a blanket, and cleaning supplies. She grabbed a mop and broke off the handle, then began battering the padlock with it for several minutes.
Finally it broke. She threw the lock on the floor and opened the lid of the pod.
Peering inside, she said, “Patricia?” Her voice echoed in the chamber, giving it a haunted sound.
There was no reply. Her worst fears were realized. The pod was empty. She was too late.
“Patricia?”
Nothing.
No…
Katie leaned inside and the breath rushed out of her.
She could see an outline of someone huddled in the corner.
She plunged her hand in. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.
” She didn’t know if it was Patricia or not, but it didn’t matter.
She was saving the person who had been kidnapped and held against her will by a sadistic killer.
The shadow inside the pod moved slowly and awkwardly. The water swished until Katie felt a hand on hers, a hand that felt like a wrinkled piece of leather.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“Are you the police?” said the feeble, shaking voice.
“Yes, I’m here to save you.”
“Ohhh,” she said and moved quickly, the water splashing behind her.
Katie saw the face of a woman she recognized, but her skin was sheet-white and her face looked decades older. She was completely naked and looked almost shrunken.
“Patricia?” she said, keeping her composure at Patricia’s appearance.
The woman nodded.
“Stay here,” Katie said. “I’ll be right back. I need to find you something to put on.” She returned to the utility closet and found a sheet that would work. She helped Patricia get wrapped up so she could still move and tucked in the corners.
“Can you walk?” said Katie.
Patricia nodded.
“We’re trapped in here, but I’m going to find a way out. There is help on its way. You understand?” she said softly.
The woman nodded. Her light, glassy eyes watched Katie.
“Stay here.” Katie toured the large space but found nothing of interest. There weren’t any windows she could break, and those doors wouldn’t budge.
Then she had a thought and looked up. There was access to the barn roof. She would have to climb up there, but it was the only way to get out. Patricia would have to stay. Katie knew help was coming. They just had to hang on.
Going back to Patricia, Katie said, “The only way out is through the roof. I’m going to climb out of here to get help, but you’re going to have to stay until the police can come and break the door in.”
The woman immediately clung to Katie, obviously traumatized by her horrendous experience. She began to shake.
“You’re going to be fine. I’ll be back for you.” Katie held the woman a little bit longer.
She went to the closet once again and made room for Patricia to sit down and hide. Then she led the woman there.
“Stay here until you hear the police, okay?”
“Yes.” Patricia nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
Katie could hardly move her gaze from the terrified woman. What she had endured Katie couldn’t imagine.
She would climb the ventilation system that had been used to control the temperature and humidity in the barn.
Katie ascended awkwardly, falling several times until she got her footing and handholds down.
She went up almost ten feet to the roof hatch, still carrying the gun in her waistband.
It felt higher than ten feet, but she sucked up her uneasiness and pulled herself up to the hatch.
She had to release the latches, which took a bit of effort, but eventually Katie was on the roof.
Catching her breath, she stayed low on her belly, not knowing where the killer was. His truck was still there, which seemed strange. Why hadn’t he fled?
As she lay on the metal roof, a flash in the distance caught Katie’s eye. To her relief, she saw vehicle lights approaching—dozens of headlights. Backup was almost there.