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  “Okay, you boys just sit tight here for a few minutes. We’ll need to get more information from you both a soon as we talk to the Chief,” one of the troopers said turning to assist the other trooper helping me into their cruiser.

  “You have to call Ken Garber right away,” I said huddling under the blanket. “He has to know what’s happened. Keith Willingsby, the serial killer we are looking for, is in this area, and we have to act now before he kills another girl and escapes. He just tried to kill me over at the river” I said, feeling a little light headed.

  “My partner is putting the call into Captain Garber right now. Sit back, Chief, and let me take a look at that arm,” the trooper said pulling off my jacket and shirt. “You’ll probably need some stitches to keep this closed. I’ll wrap it in some Steri-Strips and gauze until we get you to the hospital in Worcester.”

  “Hospital, MY ASS!” I shouted. “I’m not going to any hospital! Let me talk with Captain Garber when you reach him. We need to get over to the abandoned state hospital. That has to be where Willingsby is hiding. It’s the only thing that makes any sense. Two of my people are over there searching the grounds right now. We need to get there and back them up!”

  “Okay, okay, Chief. I get the message. Ray, hurry up with that call to Captain Garber.

  We need to get over to the state hospital and back up a couple of the Chief’s people. If this guy would go after a police chief, he won’t have second thoughts about taking out a couple of police officers.”

  I sat in the back of the cruiser while the trooper on the radio contacted Ken. A few minutes later the trooper in the front seat handed me a cell phone with Ken Garber waiting on the other end.

  “Ken, that fucker Willingsby tried to take me out! Pushed my Explorer right off of the road into the Blackstone, and then tried to finish it up by shooting me!”

  “Son-of-a-bitch, Ron. Did you see him?”

  “No. It was too dark, and I was too busy trying to save my ass, but it’s the only logical explanation. Listen, I have Kim and Derek over at the abandoned hospital searching those buildings that are still hooked up to the grid. I need to take your guys here and get over there right away. They’re going to need all the help they can get if they run into that maniac!”

  “Alright Ron, put Trooper Nelson back on. I’m going to send out the chopper and three more units to help you with the search. It will take about half an hour to get the other twounits out to you. You guys be careful.”

  “Thanks, Ken, I’ll touch base later. This has become very, very personal. I really want a piece of this guy’s ass!”

  Two minutes later the state-police cruiser sped down Route 9 toward the state hospital, while I silently said a prayer hoping Kim and Derek would be waiting for us by the main building when we arrived. I borrowed Trooper Nelson’s cell phone and put a call into Todd at the station in Sutton.

  “Chief! What the hell! Where have you been? We’re all looking for you. Kim and Derek are going out of their minds worrying about you!”

  “Thanks for the concern, Todd, but I need you to contact Kim and Derek and tell them to meet us by the main building at the state hospital. I’m with two Staties and we’re about five minutes out right now.”

  “Gottcha, Chief. By the way, you’d better call Peggy and let her know you’re alright. We called her looking for you, and she is really upset.”

  “Listen, Todd. After you talk with Kim, call Peggy back and tell her I’m okay. Tell her I will call her later when all of this plays out. Have you got all of that?”

  “I’m good, Chief. Kim first, Peggy second.”

  “Thanks Todd. Kosciak ou,” I said sitting back. My strength was returning, but it seemed a very slow process. “So, this is what old age is all about,” I thought as the cruiser pulled up the main drive to the hospital.

  My heart sank when I did not see Kim or Derek’s vehicle. This night was not over yet,and I did not like the way it had begun.

  “What do you want us to do, chief?” Nelson asked looking over his shoulder into the back seat.

  “Let me use your cell phone again.”

  Nelson handed me his phone, and I dialed in Kim’s number. There was no answer. I left her a message asking her to call me right away with her location. I then dialed in Todd’s number at the station again.

  “Sutton Police, Officer Bentley, how may I help you?”

  “It’s me, Todd. I need you to put a call out to Derek Larson’s phone and see if you can find out where he and Kim are located. I’ve tried Kim’s phone, but there’s no response.”

  “Chief, Kim said something about having four buildings left to search on their map.

  There were three on the west side of the property and one on the northeast side of the property. I believe she said they were going to search the single building first.”

  “Okay, Todd. Make that call to Derek right away. We’re going to find that building and see if we can catch up with them.”

  “Trooper Nelson,” I said. I need you to get in touch with Captain Garber again and ask him to fax you over a copy of the layout for this facility. Tell him it’s the one Kim and Derek are using that gives the details of the buildings still hooked up to electricity. There should be nine buildings marked off on the map. Tell him we need it ASAP. We don’t have any time left. There could be three lives at stake.”

  Nelson got on the radio right away as I sat looking up into the night sky. My arm was beginning to throb. My clothes were half way between wet and dry. Totally uncomfortable, wrapped up in a blanket with two of my officers in jeopardy, I was beginning to get mad. I was beyond mad. I got angry back at the bridge when I sat like a human ice cube in, the road freezing my ass off. More than mad was just where I needed to be right now.

  68

  Within five minutes, Trooper Nelson handed me a faxed copy of the map. Quickly orienting myself to the map, I located the single building on the northeast side of the property, and we were on our way, covering the same route Kim and Derek had driven only forty-five minutes before. I would feel better once I caught up with Kim and Derek. We would then be a group of five with more re-enforcements on the way.

  Kim’s cruiser was parked out in front of the subterranean building. Both front doors were open, and Todd’s voice from the radio echoed into the night trying to get in touch with Derek. After getting out of the cruiser, I stood listening as the radio in Kim’s cruiser went silent. Within thirty seconds, Trooper Nelson’s cell phone buzzed. Nelson handed it to me.

  “Chief, I can’t raise Derek either” Todd said sounding frustrated.

  “Yeah, I heard you on the radio in Kim’s cruiser. Okay, just hold tight there at the station. We’re about ready to enter the building. I’ll call you in a few minutes,” I said, the pit of my stomach beginning to feel very uneasy. If neither Kim nor Derek were answering, they had to be in some sort of trouble. We needed to get in there fast.

  I heard the rotor of the approaching State-Police chopper as the three of us entered the building. I signaled the other trooper to check out the garage while trooper Nelson and I entered the main building.

  Walking slowly with our weapons drawn, we entered the same room Kim and Derek first inspected when they entered before us. Nodding to one another we moved silently into the hall and, taking a right, saw the door to the next room partially open. A dim light shown from the room. We approached the door on the opposite side of the corridor noticing splattered blood on the wall to the right of the door. The blood mark was curved and moved slightly upward away from the door. On the floor, more blood formed a tight circle about a foot in diameter next to the door jam. My apprehension peaked, dreading the thought that Kim or Derek were going to be on the other side of the door. Nelson and I raised our guns toward the doorway. Nelson went in first and signaled me over his shoulder to come in. His eyes were confirming my suspicions, as I pushed past him i
nto the room looking at the body of one of my officers lying in a pool of his own blood, flashlight’s beam illuminating his face.

  “Chief, I’m sorry.” Nelson said placing his hand on my shoulder. Turning away to let me have a minute with my friends, he took up a defensive stance at the doorway just in case Willingsby was still here waiting to ambush us as he had Kim and Derek.

  Kneeling down next to derek, I gently reached over and touched his shoulder. Closing my eyes and clenching my teeth tightly, I felt myself tearing up, the first tears already falling onto the floor. I did not care if Nelson heard me crying. I did not care if God himself heard my sobs. One of my officers, my friend, lay dead on the floor and there was nothing I could do to bring him back. I thought of Derek’s family and children. I thought about the vast, empty hole he would leave in this world. I had been lucky earlier tonight when Keith tried to kill me. Perhaps I had used up all of our luck when I survived the attack at the river. I knew in my head that that was not true, but in my heart I could not help but think this just might be the case. After a few minutes I stood up and looked at Nelson who turned to look back at me. Without saying a word, I knew by the expression on his face that he had experienced the loss of a fellow officer and friend, too. His look was empathetic, and whether or not he knew it at the time, his look helped me to re-focus on our present situation. I had progressed from anger at the river, to being mad. Now, my emotions catapulted from being mad to seeking revenge. Keith Willingsby might be a serial killer, but, he had never dealt with me when I’d lost my temper. I hoped with every cell in my body that I would meet Keith Willingsby tonight, and that Nelson, or whoever elsemight be in the vicinity would turn a blinds eye to what I might do. I had one officer dead and Kim was missing. This was no longer by the book.

  Walking over to Nelson, I turned one more time to look at my friend. That part of me that lives in reality knew that this was part of our job. Every law enforcement officer knew this possibility existed, but seldom spoke about it. We all knew we could lose our lives each day we put on our uniform. When you wear a police uniform, you sometimes found yourself in both the world of the hunter and the world of the hunted. Right now, I was determined to hunt down this bastard and make him pay. As Nelson and I stood there, I knew I had crossed the line. I was no longer Ron Kosciak, Chief of the Sutton Police department, I was Ron Kosciak, seeking total revenge for the people who Willingsby had killed during the last few years.

  69

  The State Police helicopter arrived shortly after we found Derek dead on the floor. Four additional troopers exited the chopper which had landed in a field close to the building. Two of the troopers joined Nelson and I inside the building, while the remaining two began a search of the outside perimeter. Nelson’s partner had inspected the garage and found the white van as well as a black SUV with damage to the right front fender and bumper. The five of us continued searching the rest of the building in hopes of still finding Marty McMaster alive.

  All of the troopers had been briefed on the situation before they landed. Everyone on the team knew that one officer was down, killed on the scene, and one officer was missing. Every person on the team who was familiar with Keith Willingsby’s face, and the order had been given from the top echelon of the State Police to use any force necessary to apprehend and subdue this suspect.

  Before leaving the room in which Derek had been killed, I looked around and found the video surveillance monitor on the desk. Views of the outside of the building were displayed as well as a room with an empty army bed. I figured this was the room Marty was being held in and was upset to see the room was empty. The thing I found peculiar, was that the van and SUV were still in the garage. That meant Keith was either still here, or had hidden a third vehicle with which he made good his escape. As our team of five began to move further down the hall, Nelson’s phone began to vibrate. I raised my hand in the form of a fist and the team stopped without making any sounds. Nelson handed me the phone.

  “Ron, Ken Garber. What is your status?”

  “We’re in the main hallway moving further into the building.” I whispered.

  “Listen, hold up for one minute. I have some information for you that might help your search.”

  “Ken, I’d like to stay and talk, but we don’t have a minute. One of my officers is dead, one is missing, and Marty McMaster may still be alive. We have to move now!” this time an emphatic whisper.

  “No. Ron. You don’t understand,” Ken was saying as I shut the phone off and handed it back to Nelson.

  I gave the go signal and our group began its search once again. We had only moved twenty feet down the corridor when we heard the screams. Our instinct to run toward the screams at full gate was suppressed by the thought of Derek’s bloodied body lying on the floor behind us. The screams could be a ruse to bring us running right into a trap. Instead of rushing toward the screams, I raised my hand in a fist once more, and the group stopped to listen.

  “Nelson, take one of your people and stay against the right wall, one behind the other,” I said very quietly. “The rest of us will stay single file on this side of the hall. Make sure you stay against the wall. Keep about six feet between you. We don’t want to give this guy two targets for the price of one.”

  “Understood” Nelson replied. “What do we do if it is him, and we have a clean shot?” he asked.

  “Shoot the mother-fucker right where he stands,” was my reply. Still talking in a whisper, I followed, “We have the probability of a young woman being held hostage here. There is also the possibility she has been, or may be being tortured by this asshole right now. Marty McMaster is our mission. If every single one of us has to go down in order for her to be safe, that is exactly what I expect to happen. Are there any questions?”

  There was no response. It was understood, and each man was willing to give his life so that Marty might survive.

  Nelson and his partner moved to the opposite wall and the team began moving once again in the direction of the screams.

  70

  After killing the two police officers, Keith believed there would be ample time to “play” with Marty before killing her and making his escape. With Kosciak dead, Keith figured no one else would respond for at least a couple of hours. Needing only an hour to spend with Marty, he went to her room and dragged her by the hair, naked and screaming, down the hallway to his very special room: outfitted for just this type of party. Marty knew instantly as Keith entered her room that his intention was to kill her. He no longer wore the black mask to hide his face: a face with black eyes devoid of any emotion. No. This time, she faced a man fanatically determined to hurt her, and hurt her very badly.

  Pulling Marty behind him down the corridor, Keith came to door of his special room. Opening the door, Keith pulled Marty violently into the room, releasing her hair. He pulled with such force, Marty’s body did not stop sliding for about three feet, her skin squeaking as it slid over the tile flooring. Keith turned immediately, closing and locking the door.

  Marty looking up from the floor could see the stainless steel table under the surgical light hanging from the ceiling. Instinctively she knew what Keith had on his mind and began to crawl across the floor away from Keith as sobs of hysteria began flowing uncontrollably out of her mouth filling the room.

  “Go ahead and scream. Like they say in the movies; it won’t do you no good,” Keith said, walking over to a coat rack in the corner of the room selecting a white, surgical smock. “You are in my world now Miss Marty smart ass McMaster! This isn’t Christopher’s half way house. No. Indeed. This is MY house! In my house we play by my rules; which of course, do not exist! You were lucky the other day when you killed my brother. Usually he was very astute and aware. I know you surprised him, and, in fact, you even surprised me. But,” Keith bowed like a knight of the realm in a theatrical gesture, “I’m sorry to inform you that tonight your life is going to end in a very painful and
agonizing way. Let me just say I want to see what you look like from the inside out! Oh, don’t worry yourself with a whole bunch of silly questions. This is going to hurt like nothing you have ever experienced before. You will feel everything as it happens. I would not think of holding anything back. It will be like Biology 101 when you dissect the frog in the lab! The only difference is this time you are the frog!”

  Smirking and walking over to Marty, who now huddled in the corner of the room, Keith reached down and once again took Marty’s hair in his hand. Pulling her up to her feet, he soundly punched Marty in the stomach holding her up as her legs went limp from the concussion of the blow. Marty lost her breath from the punch and gasped for air as Keith picked her up and roughly placed her on her back upon the surgical table. Marty, gasping to bring new air into her lungs, could not fight or resist Keith as he snapped the restraints onto her wrists, ankles and waist.

  Marty was watching Keith’s every move even though she was struggling to breath. Behind him she could see the shiny tools on the tray waiting for Keith to pick up and wield his carnivorous madness. Fear forcefully expelled itself out of Marty’s mouth in shrilling screams of terror. Marty no longer had rational thoughts. There was no hope of escape. There was no hope at all. This asshole was going to torture her and cut her up. There was no ESACPE!

  Keith pushed the tray over to the side of the table picking up a box cutter and Kelly Clamp. “Hmm,” he said in a thoughtful manner while turning to Marty clamping her right nipple in the jaws of the Kelly Clamp. Within a millisecond, Marty’s screams of unearthly agony filled the room. The pain, feeling like a white hot flame burning the end of her nipple, convulsed her body, every muscle tightening and writhing on the surgical table.