Chain of Death
Susan Ames walked down the street to her favorite corner. As usual it was crowded with other teenage girls looking for excitement. She looked for Maggie, among the other teens. Must have been picked up, Susan thought. Maybe she decided not to go out tonight, and will call me later. A black van pulled by the curb next to her. The driver waved a red bandanna. Susan smiled and dashed to the driver. "Is Maggie with you?" "No, but she is with my brother. She wants you to join us." Susan paused for a second and ran around to the passenger side of the van and got in. The driver pulled out into the street. Suddenly a hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the edge of the bucket seat. Within seconds a fist struck the side of her head knocking her unconscious. The van drove in President Cemetery, and stopped at the cemetery's lake. The kidnappers stripped Susan and laid her clothes out beside the lake. As the van left they tossed out her purse in the ditch next to the entrance. Detective Ames walked in his apartment and saw a note from Susan on the refrigerator. It told him that she was going to hers and Maggie's favorite corner to look for "Mr. Right". The note also ensured him that she would be home around midnight. He smiled and laughed at her "Mr. Right" vision, a blonde in a blue Trans Am. He grabbed an A & W from the side door and retired for the evening. He reminded himself to ask Susan about Maggie when she got in, for Maggie's father called and asked if they have seen her. Susan regained consciousness in a strange room. Her eyes became accustomed to the dark as she looked around the room. She lifted her head for a second then lowered it back down on the pillow. Somebody must have stripped her and slipped her a pick nightgown on her. She trembled at the thought of having someone seeing her naked. "Daddy, please forgive me," Susan moaned as she pulled herself into a fetal position. 6:00 a.m. Detective Ames phone rang. "Hello, this is Detective Ames," "We have another one." "Where?" "The Nature Center Creek. Two hikers found the body." "Secure the area, and start a search of all the cemeteries. If he follows the same pattern, the victim's clothes will be hidden in one of them. I'll be there in twenty minutes." Susan woke up to someone shaking her. "Cut it out! I'm awake already." Susan's eyes slowly focused on the stranger's face. "We are taking you to the dining room to eat breakfast." "Go fuck yourself!" Susan shouted. Instantly the man slapped her face. Susan's head snapped back from the blow. A red handprint started to form on her right cheek. "Now Sis, you shouldn't talk like that." "I'm not your damn sister." He slapped her again, knocking her off balance. "Okay, whatever you say. Just don't hit me anymore." "Sis, I didn't mean to hit you, but you have been away for so long. The world has corrupted you." They walked down a long corridor. About halfway down the corridor Susan stopped to admire what seemed to be a chapel. The man pushed her from behind. "Keep going. You'll make us late for breakfast." "Tell me about that room we just passed. It looks like a chapel." "That's where we have services and baptize people like you from the flesh there." Detective Ames remembered to ask his daughter about Maggie. He stopped at the doorway of her bedroom. Her bed was still neatly made, and her nightgown laid the bottom of the bed. Maybe she's in her bathroom. "Susan, are you there?" He entered her room to check the bathroom and closet. The door was wide open with no one in sight. Detective Ames opened the closet door to see if her clothes and suitcase were there. Fear gripped him by the throat as the officer's voice repeated in his memory. Then he dashed to his car and drove to the crime scene. Detective Ames hoped that he was being an irrational parent, but his senses kept telling him that something was definitely wrong. When Detective Ames arrived at the murder scene he checked with the officers for new information. Then he stopped at the covered form, and slowly lifted up the sheet. Tears of relief and of grief came down his cheeks, when he saw that it was Maggie lying there, instead of his daughter. "Do you know the victim, Detective Ames?" an officer asked. "Yes, her name is Maggie Smith. She is I mean, was, my daughter's best friend." "I'm sorry. Give your daughter my regards." "I would, but she's gone." "What do you mean?" "She is missing. She didn't come home last night." "Did she tell you where she was going?" "Yes." Detective Ames dug into his pocket and brought out her note then handed it to him. "She left this." Detective Ames lowered the sheet to Maggie's chest. He saw the familiar Chain of Death, a stainless choker with a skeletal skull with two bones underneath it, wrapped tightly around her throat. The officer handed Detective Ames back the note. The officer knew that he should have kept it, but it could be the last communication between them. Detective Ames covered Maggie's body back up, and watched the attendants take the body away. "It’s similar to the others." Detective Ames nodded. Two days from now they could find Susan lying next to a creek wearing the Chain of Death. That thought popped in his mind and tormented him. After breakfast Susan sat in the room that her captors gave her. She thought about how she could escape her prison. There were too many unanswered questions that could prevent a successful escape. How many are there? Where are they? And why? A knock disturbed her line of thought. Whoever it is they're polite, Susan thought. "Come in. I'm decent." Two men approached her. "Time for devotion. Please, follow us to the chapel." Susan stared at them for a minute. They were identical in every way. She wondered if they could read each other's minds, like the ones that she read about. Susan then noticed that the twins each had a tattoo of the Reaper on their right arm. She realized that she should not keep them, and followed them to the chapel. Susan and her captors took turns reading passages from the Bible. Most of the passages dealt with the penalties of sin and death. "Sis, please concentrate on the Bible. We are doing this for your benefit, not ours." "Sorry. It's just my eyes are tired. I'm not used to all of this reading. Could we, please, take a break?" "Okay, but first we need a word of prayer. Cory, will you lead us in prayer." "It will be an honor, Joseph." Now Susan knew she would never escape because she knew their names. She thought since I'm going to die I'll ask them some questions. "Tell me about your religion." "Our religion is called Death. After we baptize a hundred females from the flesh, God will come to the world." Susan's face paled. Again the weird phrase, baptize from the flesh, bothered her. Then she saw a chain with a skull and two crossing lying underneath the altar. Joseph saw her looking at the chain and said, "That's the symbol of our faith." "It's a likeness of our God. Man is created in his image," Cory added. Susan turned her attention to the stained windows. They were full of religious symbols and passages from the Bible. As if reading her mind, Joseph looked at the windows and said, that's God's Son, Jesus Christ." "Sis, all of the females are created in your image," Cory told her. Susan opened her mouth to tell them that she wasn't their sister but she closed it. Her face was still sore from being slapped. Detective Ames stood at the gate of President Cemetery. He held Susan's purse. The other detectives searched the graveyard, but hadn't found anything. He told them to search the woods and the lake. According to the map and chart, this was the only cemetery left. Unfortunately, including the surrounding grounds, it was also the biggest. The radio cracked and Officer Lee's voice came through. "I'm at the woods. I found a pile of clothes." "Okay, I'll be right there." He drove down the road that led him to the woods. He let out a sign of relief when he saw that it was Maggie's clothes. He hoped Susan just lost her purse, but his hope ended with the next crackle of the radio. The captain sent Detective Ames home early, so he could rest and think about the case. Detective Ames knew something was missing, but he could not think of what it was. Then finally it came to him. "Captain, was there a red bandanna among the clothes of either Maggie's or my daughter's." "No, Detective Ames. Didn't I tell you to get some rest?" "Yeah, you did. Was there one by Maggie's body?" "So, why all the questions?" "Because Maggie always wears one or uses it as a signal to tell my daughter when she is with someone, and wants her to join her." "So, what!" Captain said. "It means that it's still out there." "I guess that means that you are going to follow up on it." "Yep, it does." "What makes you so certain that her friends will cooperate with you." "Because I will be talking to them as Susan's father, not a cop." "Keep us informed on your progress." "I will, Captain." Detective Ames dashed out of his apartment to his car. Susan felt drowsy after she ate her supper. She stretched out on top of the bed to take a little nap." After they were sure Susan was asleep, Cory and Joseph walked in the room. They slipped Susan into a white gown, and took her to the chapel. Detective Ames walked over to the corner where his daughter hung out. As usual there were a lot of teenagers standing there. They were dressed up to look like hookers. Sometimes they acted like hookers, especially when they are hunched over a car. Detective Ames recognized one of the girls and approached her. "Hello, Carol. How are you?" "So what's the town's finest doing here?" "Out looking for Susan. Have you seen her?" She shook her head. "Why? She's missing?" "I'm afraid so. She didn't come home last night. I take it that you have heard about Maggie." "Everyone has. Do you think that the same thing happened to Susan?" "Possibly. I am very concerned about her." "I'll like to help, but I wasn't out last night." "Detective Ames nodded his head. "Do you know anybody who might?" "Maple would." Carol pointed to a young girl wearing short shorts, low cut blouse, and black cowboy boots. "She's out every night." "Thanks for your help," Detective Ames said, and walked toward Maple. "I better come with you. She won't talk to cops, even if it's to save one of us." "I don't talk to pigs," Maple stated. "But he is Susan's father. A person that is able to find Maggie’s killer. Besides I don't have to remind you that Susan is one of us, and could be next victim," Carol warned. "You know that if it wasn't for his daughter he wouldn't be here," reminded Maple. "That's not entirely true. We just didn't have any facts or clues. Now after six victims, a pattern has emerged. I know it sounds like a lie, but it's the truth. Not until Maggie's death and Susan's disappearance have we been able to find where the victims came from. Now I am wasting time. They could be killing Susan right now! Are you going to tell me what I need to know," Detective Ames pleaded. "Okay, she went in a black van with Iowa license plates that spelled Death." "You mean Death is the license plate number?" "Yes," Maple replied." Detective Ames ran to his car and radioed the information back to headquarters. In minutes, he had received the address of the owners of the van. In the chapel, Cory lifted the false floor from the baptism pool. The three feet pool's bottom was painted to resemble hellfire. Cory put his hand into the pool, causing the flames to move. This created the illusion of fire consuming the emptiness of the pool. "Cory, she is ready, let's get her in the pool." Susan moaned as they carried her to the pool, and lowered her in. She stirred when the cold water hit her bare legs. "Stay still, or I'll kill you right now!" Joseph threatened as he tightened the choker. Susan started to choke and grabbed her throat. "That's just to tell you that I'm serious. Just stay still, and I won't kill you." Joseph paused a second and said, "Not yet, anyway." Detective Ames pulled in the driveway, and saw the black van parked next to the house. In a few minutes he stood by the van's door. He saw that it was unlocked. He looked under the driver's seat, and found Maggie's red bandanna. "Move in all units, now! These people are the ones," Detective Ames shouted in the radio as he stormed toward the house. Cory opened the Bible and nodded his head toward Joseph. "Wages of sin is death," he read from the Bible as Joseph tightened the choker again. Susan kicked about and struggled as the Chain of Death dug into her throat. Joseph turned her face down into the water, submerged her completely. He placed his knee into Susan's back, and tightened the choker around her throat. Cory lost his place in the Bible, but he decided to watch the hellfire consume Susan's body as she fought for air. Then suddenly, a loud crack echoed the chapel. Joseph was thrown backwards by a shot to his head. Susan's motionless body floated toward Detective Ames. "You bastard," Detective Ames shouted and fired at Cory. The bullet struck him in the chest. Cory touched his nose and the two sides of his chest, before he died. Detective Ames pulled Susan out of the pool. He removed the Chain of Death from her throat and checked for a pulse. It was irregular but strong. He held her close to his chest as Susan opened her eyes. Detective Ames looked up at the picture of Jesus in the windows and smiled. October 2000 |