In the Attic

In the Attic

         Detective James Walker came out of the small neighborhood grocery and put the bags on the back seat of his car. Then he watched as Mr. Wong put the closed sign in the window and turned out the lights. It was the end of a long hard day's work; Walker was no closer to closing his case than when he started. As he started to get into his car, he heard a woman scream. "Police," he yelled as he entered the alley with his gun drawn. In the shadows he saw a woman leaning against the dumpster. Her clothes were torn and she was holding them trying to cover her body.

         "He ran away when I screamed," she said.

         He took off his suit coat and put it over her shoulders. "I'm Detective Walker, Jefferson PD," he said. "I'll get some help." As he looked down and reached for the cell phone on his belt, he felt a jab in the side of his neck. He looked up; the woman was holding a syringe. Then he recognized her. She was Arlene Carter, the serial killer he and the entire police force were looking for. Her eight victims, all men, had been horribly mutilated. He dropped his cell phone, fell to his knees and passed out.


         When he came to, he was lying on his back, his hands over his head, handcuffed to the bottom of a radiator and his mouth covered by tape. Starlight was coming from a single, small, high window. Due to his position and the dim light, he could see very little around him. He heard footsteps. The hinges squeaked as the door opened and the light came on.

         As his eyes adjusted to the brighter light, he could see he was in an attic. The floor around him was stained with blood. For the first time in his career he was truly afraid. Oh please, God, he thought, don't let me be her ninth victim. He turned his head to look at his captor, a tall, dark-haired woman.

         She knelt straddling his hips and peeled the tape from his mouth. "Detective Walker, I understand you've been looking for me." With her knife she began cutting the buttons off his shirt. "Don't you have anything to say?" She pushed back the sides of his shirt and began sliding the blade of her knife on his chest.

         He cried out as she began cutting him. "Please, don't kill me."

         "That's it, Love, beg, maybe you'll convince me to let you live." She rubbed his chest smearing the blood. "You're younger than the others." she moved her hand to his abdomen. "And in better shape. It makes a girl curious." She started to unbuckle his belt and then said, "No, we'll save this for later." She gave his crotch a pat and stood up. "What would you give me to let you live?"

         He shuddered as she licked his blood from her hand. He had seen the bodies of her victims; he knew what she intended to take. He remembered that the coroner said that the mutilations were done while the victims were still alive. "What do you want?" he stammered.

         She stood over him. "Tell me why I should let you live. The others all tried. They pleaded and tried to make deals. In the end I wasn't convinced and they died." She paused and licked her hand again. "Now it's your turn."

         He asked, "Why did you kill them? What did they do to deserve what you did to them? The last two were police officers, my friends. They were both married and had children. John Peters, your last victim, his little girl is only three. She keeps asking, 'when's Daddy coming home?'"

         "I didn't ask you to tell me about them." She kicked him in the ribs with the toe of her boot. "Tell me about you; convince me to spare you."

         The pain in his side made it hard to breathe, but he struggled to speak. "I don't know what to say." His heart was pounding so hard it hurt. "My friends were good men with families. If you didn't think they deserved to live, I don't stand a chance."

         She touched the ring finger on his left hand with her knife. You're wearing a wedding ring. Tell me about your wife."

         "I'm widowed; my wife died six months ago in a car accident." Tears filled his eyes as they always did when he thought about his beloved Susan. "I haven't been able to bring myself to take it off." For a brief moment he thought he saw compassion in her eyes but then she cut him again. He felt blood running down his side and soaking into his clothes. The pain changed his fear to anger. "All I have left is my job, which is to put you away for the rest of your damn life. It's a pity our state doesn't have the death penalty, because the way I see it, you're the one who doesn't deserve to live."

         She frowned. "That was a stupid thing to say." She slashed him across the abdomen. He screamed with pain and passed out.

         When he opened his eyes again sunlight was coming in the window. He felt weak and nauseous. He turned his head from side to side. Arlene Carter was nowhere to be seen. He wondered, has she left me here to bleed to death? He heard footsteps coming, closed his eyes and pretended to still be unconscious. He felt her foot slide between his legs and press hard against his crotch.

         "Open your eyes or I'll kick you."

         Walker swallowed and obediently opened his eyes. "They'll be looking for me by now." he said. "They'll have found my car and cell phone."

         "They won't be able to find you." She tossed his phone on the floor. "I used your car to bring you here." She straddled him again and sat on his legs. "Besides,your time's up." She cut his belt and opened the front of his pants with her knife.

         He gasped as he felt her take hold of him and pull.

         She laughed. "What's a matter, love? Is my hand cold?"

"Please, don't," he cried and tried to shake her off him but he was pinned and couldn't move.

         "In the end, you men are all the same," she said and raised her knife. "Hold still, it will be over quickly."

         With a loud crash the door burst open. Walker's partner, Maggie Kent and six of Jefferson's finest came into the room. With one hand Maggie held her gun to Arlene's head and with her other hand she took hold of the wrist of the hand holding the knife. "Touch him again and I'll kill you," she growled.

         Arlene's knife fell to the floor and she was cuffed and led out of the room. Maggie unlocked Walker's handcuffs, helped him lower his arms and covered him with a blanket. "Hang on, partner. The ambulance is on its way." She lifted his head so he could drink some bottled water.

         "How did you find me?"

         Maggie smiled. "Let's just say that your LoJack* has finally paid for itself."





* LoJack is a device to install in you car. If your car is stolen the device is activate by the police so they can find your car.