It was good seeing you and Mary last
week. I know―he tends to get
that way. Listen, I have an
issue. I need you to meet me at the
emer gency
room at Eastern Maine in ten minutes if you can. I’ll be there with a Miss Patty
Jennings.” There was a silence and
in that silence, James Coleman frowned. “I’m not sure if she’s the Patty Jennings you know of, Steve, but we’ll
see you there in ten? Good. And Steve? A favor for an old friend? I’ve come to you with this for a
reason. For as long as possible,
would you keep this quiet for me? I
understand. But whatever you can do
would be appreciated. See you
soon.”
He hung
up the phone and looked at her. “Are you ready?”
“Do you
think he’ll call the press?”
“Not
right away, but eventually, if Cheryl does go missing for more than twenty-four
hours, it will come to that. At
that point, she’ll be a missing person and the two stories will become one.”
She
stood. “So, let’s do this,” she said.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kenneth
Berkowitz stopped cold when he heard the shriek far off in the distance.
He
listened to the woods. He listened
to the breeze and he breathed it in. He felt the beat of the sun on his face, he listened to the leaves fall
from the trees, and he heard birds signing. He tuned in hard to his surroundings,
fully aware of all that could be lost to him if he didn’t listen carefully.
In spite
of having run far, he was so fit, he hadn’t broken a sweat and he was breathing
normally. And so he listened with
no interference. A silence
passed. Then, he thought he heard
movement in the underbrush, but it was too far away to tell if it was human
movement or an animal’s movement.
In woods
this deep, it could be anything.
But he
knew the shriek he heard was human, and that it belonged to the
cigarette-smoking whore that was Cheryl Dunning. He was certain of that. Was she dead? Had Ted killed her without him? Did Ted have no choice because God
commanded him to do so? He wasn’t sure. The only thing he knew is that what he
heard was Dunning and that right now, her death might already have happened.
If that
was the case, he felt cheated and disappointed. Was he not to be there for each
death? Was he not to help deliver
the divine calling with those he targeted with Ted? He would never, ever challenge God’s
will, so he only could accept what might have happened and that Ted was meant
to learn something from that kill for a reason.
Still,
as much as he wanted to believe this, he knew he was, after all, a divine
spirit that existed above Ted. He
knew that Jesus Christ viewed him differently. He was brighter than Ted. He had a vision for their mission that
Ted lacked. He might be younger
than Ted, but spiritually, he was thousands of years older. He was sent here for a purpose. So was Ted, but only to serve him. Before they met, Ted may have experienced
more kills on his own, but Kenneth obviously was his superior in every
way. And his kills were more
creative.
So,
maybe there was a lesson to be learned here. Maybe it was deemed that Ted needed the
taste of his own kill again, if only because it had been so long. If that was the case, Kenneth Berkowitz
was fine with God’s decision because it would only strengthen his bond with Ted
as they moved across the country and took out as many whores as they could.
Still,
there was a chance that she might not be dead. Maybe she was suffering...?
He was
about to start running in the direction of the shriek when a woman he
remembered from his past stepped out from behind one of the trees in front of
him.
Her name came
to him instantly―Meredith Ward―and she looked just as she had when
he took her life after following her out of a Texas bar four years ago. Same snug red dress, same sluttish show
of nipples pressing against the dress’s
week. I know―he tends to get
that way. Listen, I have an
issue. I need you to meet me at the
emer gency
room at Eastern Maine in ten minutes if you can. I’ll be there with a Miss Patty
Jennings.” There was a silence and
in that silence, James Coleman frowned. “I’m not sure if she’s the Patty Jennings you know of, Steve, but we’ll
see you there in ten? Good. And Steve? A favor for an old friend? I’ve come to you with this for a
reason. For as long as possible,
would you keep this quiet for me? I
understand. But whatever you can do
would be appreciated. See you
soon.”
He hung
up the phone and looked at her. “Are you ready?”
“Do you
think he’ll call the press?”
“Not
right away, but eventually, if Cheryl does go missing for more than twenty-four
hours, it will come to that. At
that point, she’ll be a missing person and the two stories will become one.”
She
stood. “So, let’s do this,” she said.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kenneth
Berkowitz stopped cold when he heard the shriek far off in the distance.
He
listened to the woods. He listened
to the breeze and he breathed it in. He felt the beat of the sun on his face, he listened to the leaves fall
from the trees, and he heard birds signing. He tuned in hard to his surroundings,
fully aware of all that could be lost to him if he didn’t listen carefully.
In spite
of having run far, he was so fit, he hadn’t broken a sweat and he was breathing
normally. And so he listened with
no interference. A silence
passed. Then, he thought he heard
movement in the underbrush, but it was too far away to tell if it was human
movement or an animal’s movement.
In woods
this deep, it could be anything.
But he
knew the shriek he heard was human, and that it belonged to the
cigarette-smoking whore that was Cheryl Dunning. He was certain of that. Was she dead? Had Ted killed her without him? Did Ted have no choice because God
commanded him to do so? He wasn’t sure. The only thing he knew is that what he
heard was Dunning and that right now, her death might already have happened.
If that
was the case, he felt cheated and disappointed. Was he not to be there for each
death? Was he not to help deliver
the divine calling with those he targeted with Ted? He would never, ever challenge God’s
will, so he only could accept what might have happened and that Ted was meant
to learn something from that kill for a reason.
Still,
as much as he wanted to believe this, he knew he was, after all, a divine
spirit that existed above Ted. He
knew that Jesus Christ viewed him differently. He was brighter than Ted. He had a vision for their mission that
Ted lacked. He might be younger
than Ted, but spiritually, he was thousands of years older. He was sent here for a purpose. So was Ted, but only to serve him. Before they met, Ted may have experienced
more kills on his own, but Kenneth obviously was his superior in every
way. And his kills were more
creative.
So,
maybe there was a lesson to be learned here. Maybe it was deemed that Ted needed the
taste of his own kill again, if only because it had been so long. If that was the case, Kenneth Berkowitz
was fine with God’s decision because it would only strengthen his bond with Ted
as they moved across the country and took out as many whores as they could.
Still,
there was a chance that she might not be dead. Maybe she was suffering...?
He was
about to start running in the direction of the shriek when a woman he
remembered from his past stepped out from behind one of the trees in front of
him.
Her name came
to him instantly―Meredith Ward―and she looked just as she had when
he took her life after following her out of a Texas bar four years ago. Same snug red dress, same sluttish show
of nipples pressing against the dress’s
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