SUMMER OF EVIL Read online

  Mike said, “The assistant DA is working on the paperwork now. You’ll be able to contact the credit card and phone company by the time you get your receipt. So far the State Police haven’t been able to trace Berner’s movements. Maybe you’ll get a lead.”

  “Thanks, Mike,” the tech said as he left the office.

  “Keep me posted,” Mike called after him.

  #####

  Shooting practice went well. Taylor was a quick study with a steady hand. She was determined and made appointments to practice each evening at seven until she felt comfortable enough to purchase a handgun. Taylor watched Kellie practice. She was impressed by her calm demeanor and how it seemed the gun was an extension of her hand. Taylor thought, “I’m going to practice until I’m as calm as Kellie. I won’t be a victim again either. Wills is not going to strangle me.”

  When they arrived home, they let the dogs out. Penny and Rufus ran around and played as if they had been raised together. Kellie, Taylor, and Hunter sat on Kellie’s deck and watched them play. It took their mind off their worries for a bit.

  When it was late enough for everyone to call it a night, they had a difficult time separating the dogs, but they managed to get them home. Hunter called over to Kellie, “This might be a good time to pull out the walkie-talkies again.”

  Kellie agreed and said, “I’ll find mine and check it out now. Goodnight.” She waved and joined Rufus in the house.

  A short while later they checked out the walkie-talkies and found they still worked well. Kellie’s panic button reverberated in her room and Taylor’s. Both dogs howled.

  Taylor spoke into the unit, “I think this will work. We’re covered. Good night.”

  “Night,” Kellie answered and laid the unit on the bathroom counter while she took her shower.

  #####

  Wills woke drenched in sweat. While in the prison psychiatric ward and later the prison asylum, he had learned to control his emotions. The pills they force fed him calmed his emotions more. Now he was free of both, and he needed to feel the soft skin of a beautiful woman. His dream seemed real. He watched the light of life dim from the eyes of the woman he was strangling until it went out. Once her blank eyes stared at him, and her body was limp he felt the relief of satisfaction consume him. He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of his bed.

  Catching a glimpse of his new self in the mirror hanging over the old dresser, he smiled. “It’s time to move on to another small vacation town where I can blend in with the tourists. Kellie and Taylor will be there when I decide to visit, but I need to shake the cops off my trail. Crisscrossing the state for a while should do it, and I can find a playmate or two along the way. It might be fun if I started today,” he said to his reflection.

  Wills packed his suitcase and checked out. Driving away from the town and the memories of the prison asylum, he turned the radio up loud but watched his speed. Being stopped for speeding might ruin all his plans.

  A few miles down the road he spotted a car with the hood up. A young blonde woman was trying to flag him down. “Mmm, just my luck. We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Wills mumbled as he pulled over in front of the disabled car.

  The pretty girl said, “I don’t know what happened, it just stopped.” She kicked the tire of her old car.

  Wills tried to start the car and said, “You’re out of gas. There’s a station not far down the road. I can take you and bring you back here.” He smiled, and his new warm brown contacts made her feel at ease.

  “I’d love that,” she said as she leaned into the car to grab her purse. Wills slammed the hood, and they both climbed into his car.

  “I’m so happy you stopped. I don’t know how long I’d be waiting, and I’ll be late for work,” she smiled at Wills. “My name is Zoe.”

  “Name’s Wayne, nice to meet you.” He didn’t dare look in her direction, or he might have lost control. A guard at the asylum was particularly hostile to the inmates. He would walk around and whisper his mantra in their ears. It terrified all except Wills. He borrowed the mantra and now used it to help control his urges. To keep from grabbing Zoe, he ran through his mantra over and over in his head.

  “Pain, misery, torture, agony, death.”

  “Pain, misery, torture, agony, death.”

  He calmed enough to keep driving.

  A billboard loomed in front of him advertising a gas station and diner a mile down the road. He didn’t have time to wait. Spotting a road grown over with weeds to his right, he turned sharply and smiled.

  “What are you doing? Where are you going? Let me out,” Zoe screamed. When she reached for the door handle, Wills grabbed her arm and yanked her closer to him.

  “Not so fast,” he grinned at her. “It’s playtime.”

  Zoe screamed as Wills pulled the car to a stop beyond the view of the highway. He opened his door and pulled Zoe out his side of the car.

  #####

  The tech knocked on Detective Stellion’s doorframe. Mike looked up and said, “C’mon in, did you learn anything?”

  “Not much, the purchase wasn’t out of the ordinary. They sell dozens of those gnomes each summer. They have them on their website. Someone placed the order from one of the prison asylum’s phones using Liz Downer’s credit card. It was the last time anyone used the card.” The tech leaned against the doorway and crossed one leg over the other.

  “They know better than to use the card again. They’re in hiding if she’s still alive. Wills Berner is not the type of man to trust anyone or carry more baggage than he needs.”

  #####

  Zoe sat with her back against a tree. Her sobs shook her petite body, and her blonde hair fell over her face.

  Wills was sitting cross-legged in front of her. “Don’t cry it’ll mess up your makeup.”

  “My makeup? Why do you care? You’re going to …” She dropped her head and began to cry again.

  “If you’re afraid I’m going to assault you, don’t be. I need a friend, and I just want to talk to you for a while.” Wills smiled a gentle smile, and his heart beat faster as he watched Zoe relax. She believed him.

  “Talk? You only want to talk? Why couldn’t we have stayed in the car? You said it was playtime. I thought …” She pushed away from Wills but could only move sideways since her back was against a tree.

  “I was in the hospital for a long time. The doctors said I was very sick, but I’m better now and they released me. I missed having friends.” He scooted a bit closer to Zoe.

  Zoe took a deep breath and released it trying to relax. “Maybe he isn’t going to hurt me. He’s just lonely,” she thought.

  “I understand. My grandma was sick for a long time and always said no one visited her often enough,” Zoe told Wills.

  “Did you visit her?” He leaned in closer and stared into her eyes.

  “I tried, but I was in high school, and there was so much to do.” She tried to smile, but was feeling sick to her stomach.

  “Typical selfish witch,” Wills thought.

  “I’m sure you did what you could,” he said as he reached out and gently stroked her cheek.

  “Yes, I did.” Bile rose in her throat when he reached out with his other hand and took her face into his hands. “Please don’t kiss me. I have a boyfriend.”

  “I won’t kiss you; I promise.” Wills’ hands slipped down her cheeks onto her neck, and he squeezed.

  Zoe’s eyes flew open wide as she tried to beat at his arms with her fists. He loosened his grip just a bit and heard her take a breath and then another. “Enough,” he thought and squeezed again. This time Zoe’s arms were too weak to fight. They dropped limp at her sides, and Wills watched her lovely blue eyes grow dim and blank.

  He released her, and her body fell onto its side. “Did you have fun at playtime? I did.” Wills laughed as he headed for his car to retrieve a shovel from the trunk.

  The ground was soft and her body small. It didn’t take long to bury her and her purse. He was humming on his wa
y back to the car. He dropped the shovel into the trunk, turned and said, “Bye, Zoe. It’s been nice to know you.”

  Before driving off, he took the time to change the license plates on the car. He mumbled, “Thanks, Liz for stealing these from your brother’s auto salvage lot. No sense in taking a chance someone might trace my car.”

  #####

  Mike Stellion slammed the receiver back onto the phone base. “Damn it, how can a man with as much press coverage as Berner just up and disappear? It’s been over forty-eight hours. He must have left a clue somewhere.”

  A deputy rushed into Mike’s office. “We might have caught a break, sir.”

  “What?” Mike stood fists clenched.

  “This just came over the wire.” He handed the paper he had been holding to Mike. “An eighteen-year old woman named Zoe Krumwich was reported missing approximately forty miles from the prison. A motel clerk and a waitress in a nearby town think they may have seen Berner, but he looked a lot different. Neither will swear that it was him. Motel clerk said he registered under the name Wayne Burke with a current state license and license plates. State Police ran the license and plates. Neither was valid. The officer I spoke to and I agree it must be Berner.”

  “Sounds like it. This case is frustrating. There isn’t anything we can do unless he enters our jurisdiction. I know he’s coming after Kellie and Taylor. All we can do is sit and wait unless he’s spotted in town. He’s shrewd. If he abducted a young woman, then I doubt he’s with the nurse. She’s most likely dead and possibly the missing girl, too. Let’s hope he makes a mistake and soon.” Mike dropped back into his desk chair and interlaced his fingers.

  “Maybe he still needs the nurse and grabbed the girl to keep from killing the nurse.” The deputy shrugged.

  “That could be and if it’s true his urge to kill is strong, and every woman that crosses his path is in danger.” Mike drummed his fingers on his desk.

  The deputy’s pager beeped. “There’s another fax. If it’s relevant, I’ll be right back.”

  Mike bounced his pen on his desk while his thoughts wandered to what Wills Berner might have in mind. The sounds of running footsteps nearing his office broke his train of thought.

  The deputy rushed in and said, “They found the girl’s car a few miles from the motel. It ran out of gas. They’re towing it and checking for prints. They’ll let us know if they find anything. Also, there weren’t any security cameras at the café and only one at the motel. It caught the front desk, but the manager said the guy who might be Berner was wearing a hat. Report says they couldn’t make a facial identification from the footage. Also, the copy of his license is blurred. They can’t make a positive ID. Oh, here’s a picture of the missing girl. Reminds me of my baby sister.” He handed the fax and picture to Mike.

  “Damn! A young blonde with blue eyes is exactly the type of woman Berner likes and killed before. If he killed this girl and the nurse that makes six we’re sure he killed, even if they only convicted on two. Let’s hope the nurse is alive. It’s easier to find two people, but I have a bad feeling about this. He’s on his way to becoming the state’s worst serial killer.” He tossed his pen onto the desk.

  “Didn’t some guy kill eight hunters up north back in the fifties?” The deputy sat in the chair across from Mike’s desk.

  “Yeah, but he shot them as they were hunting. Berner gets up close and personal. He likes to watch them die. That’s a new level of sick. One of his original victims was still in high school. I called a press conference for three. If that girl Zoe didn’t recognize him, either she doesn’t watch TV or didn’t pay attention. He made the National news. I need to be sure everyone here knows that Wills Berner is planning on coming back to town.”

  The deputy stood nodding his head. “The entire county and not just the Malone Springs Police Department are on watch for him. I think officers all over the state are as vigilant as we are, and someone will catch him. If a fax comes in about prints, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks.” He said reaching for his phone. He couldn’t give Kellie details, but he could let her know what the reporters would learn that afternoon. Wills Berner was most likely headed toward Malone Springs since two people thought they saw him—maybe. He fought the frustration building as he balled his right hand into a fist.

  #####

  “Oh my God, Uncle Mike. Do they know he killed her for certain? Okay, I’ll be careful, and I’ll watch the press conference. Taylor and I are doing okay. Hunter is making us connect with the walkie-talkies again, and they got a dog. She’s a sweet dog, but barks when she hears strange noises. Hunter walked around the house outside last night wiggling the windows and doorknobs. She growled and barked with each noise just like Rufus.” She smiled as Rufus reacted to his name and padded over to her side.

  “Kellie don’t panic. When you panic, you lose perspective. You need to keep your wits about you. If you are uneasy home alone while Hunter and Taylor are at work, visit your Aunt Rita. She asked me last night how you were doing. She’s worried if she calls you she’ll cry and make you worry more. You can come and stay with us until this is over. Anytime.”

  “I know Uncle Mike, but I’m okay. If I think I can’t stay here alone, I’ll go to your house. I promise.”

  Kellie smiled at the concern her Uncle had for her and the love she felt for both of them. While not related, her Uncle Mike had been her dad’s best friend. Aunt Rita and Uncle Mike had stepped in when her parents died. They were more than godparents. They were family.

  Kellie hung up the phone and turned on the local cable channel to wait for Mike’s press conference. She called Taylor to let her know about the press conference and said she’d see her later.

  Rufus settled at her feet as she watched the comedy on the TV. At three, the station broke in with a breaking news special. She saw her Uncle Mike standing in front of the police station.

  “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming. I have a statement to read. I will not be taking any questions. As you know, Robert William Berner, aka Wills Berner has been on the run for over forty-eight hours. He may have been spotted heading in this direction, but we do not have a positive ID. You have his description, but he may change how he looks. Pay attention to strangers. A young woman has been reported missing in the same vicinity.”

  The TV station split the screen, and the picture of a young woman appeared next to Mike. Kellie gasped. “She could be my younger sister. We have the same hair and eyes. It had to be Wills. He’s coming.”

  Mike continued, “No one has connected Berner with the missing girl; however, he does seem to be traveling in this direction. He may be planning on coming back to where he grew up. Pay attention to his photo and report anything you feel is suspicious. We will investigate, and if it turns out to be nothing, no one will be angry. Please stay safe. If I learn more, I will share it with you. Thank you.” Mike turned and walked back into the station ignoring all the questions the reporters shouted at him.

  #####

  Kellie’s cell rang. It was Taylor.

  “Did you watch? That girl looks so much like you. It had to be Wills.”

  “I know,” Kellie said as she paced from the living room into the kitchen and back again.

  “Kellie, he wants to kill us. I’m sure of it now. What are we going to do?”

  “We’ll do whatever we have to do. I said it before; I will not let him get to me. I’m angry more than scared. If he comes, we’ll be ready. I made another appointment for shooting practice for tomorrow evening.”

  “Great. I’ll see you when I get home.”

  Chapter Three

  Wills was cruising down the highway singing along to a rock tune when the newscaster broke in with a bulletin. The bulletin was about him.

  The intensity of the newscaster’s voice caught Will’s attention. “Robert William Berner, the serial killer that escaped from Graywoods Asylum for the Criminally Insane, may have been seen in our listening area.
He might have changed his appearance. A local girl is missing. He may be responsible. Be wary of strangers. It was reported he could be driving a four-door brown sedan. Do not hesitate to phone police if you think you have seen him. We now return to our musical program.”

  The rock music blared from the radio again, and Wills changed his mind.

  “Damn,” Wills muttered. “They’ll be looking for this car.” He made a U-turn and headed back to the cabin he and Liz hid in when he first escaped. It didn’t appear as if anyone had been around. He walked into the cabin and pulled the keys to Liz’s car out of her purse. Heading back to his car, he transferred everything into Liz’s green four-door sedan. He replaced the license plates from his collection and headed back to the highway.

  He didn’t head to the east side of the state to look for Kellie and Taylor or to crisscross the state and keep on the move. He turned off onto the highway and headed north.

  He thought, “No one will be looking for this car for a while and I can ditch it later. I’ll hide in the northern part of the state or cross the state line to stay out of sight for a while, but first I’ll visit Holly. I’m sure no one has visited her since I left her under the oak tree. Maybe she’ll be happy to know I remembered her.”

  He began to sing along with the radio again as he headed for the recreation area near his parent’s cabin. He mumbled, “It’ll start getting dark soon, but I can make it before nightfall. No one will pay attention to me in that vacation area. The hotel and indoor waterpark are crowded all year round.”

  Before the sun set, Wills had found the old road that led to the lake. Most people didn’t use it since it was impossible to pull boats over the rough road. Exactly one mile in he saw the oak tree. It was taller and fuller, but he remembered it. Stopping the car, he walked up to the tree and then around to the back of it where the ground cover wasn’t quite as thick.

  “Hi, Holly,” he said to the ground. “Did you miss me? I missed you. I wish our playtime had been longer, but I thought about you nearly every day they kept me in that awful prison and asylum. You wouldn’t have liked it there. This is a better place for you. It’s quiet and peaceful. I don’t have time to talk since they’re after me. I needed to be sure you were still safe. Maybe I can visit you again another time. Bye, Holly.”