Book One: Part II: Random Evil -Chapter Seven

At Baker’s Townhouse – 9:30 p.m.

The car slowly made its way down the fairly well-lighted street, looking for a parking space. In doing so, Claire spotted the unmarked car again.

“Dear me. I was afraid of this. Doesn’t matter. A couple well-placed shots will take care of them. They won’t stop me from finally destroying Baker!”

Checking her jacket pockets, her fingers curled over her gun. In her other pocket was her Emerson knife, finely honed, and in that darkest of nights it would cast off a blinding glare.

Leaving her car, her right hand inside the pocket clutching the gun, she walked toward the car, as if she were out for an evening stroll. As she was even with the passenger side door, she faced them, and pulled her gun, firing several times, shattering glass.

The two men didn’t have time to react. The rookie, Eddie Barkley, died instantly. Larry Addams, caught a bullet to the chest, and like Eddie, one to the face.

No one heard the muffled shots.

That’s what they make silent suppressers for.

Just Twenty Minutes Before

It’s time. Time to end it all.

I am so excited, sweet Janis.

I hope you will be when you see me.

Really see me through your dead eyes.

Here I come.

Baker’s Townhouse – 9:45 p.m.

“Thanks for the call, Ed. Yes, I’m fine, really. Everything is dandy. I swear, the phone’s been like Grand Central tonight. First Stevie, then Rodgers, then Captain Todd, and now you. I’ll be in the office, Monday. Yeah, things are nice and quiet here. See you in the light.”

Baker hung up, and just that quickly her phone rang again.

Baker rolled her eyes saying, “Now who’s calling.”

Lifting the phone to her ear, she said, “Baker.”

All she heard were two whispered words and a sigh, then the line went dead.

“sweet Janis.”

9:53 p.m.

Claire walked directly to Baker’s door.

This was the moment she lived for.

Not hesitating, she shot the lock on the door causing it to swing open.

She raced inside just as Baker, hearing the noise, was walking from the kitchen with her cell phone still clutched in her hand from the last call.

“Hello, bitch.”

Baker stopped dead in her tracks. The cell phone slipped from her fingers to the floor unnoticed, with a small thud.

Claire Waynestead stood four feet away pointing a gun right at Baker’s face.

“Let’s you and I not spend much time talking.”

From the pocket where her knife rested, she removed a brand-new package of clothesline, unopened.

“Just turn around and sit in that chair in the kitchen.”

“Claire, you don’t want to do this. If you kill me, you kill a cop. Do you know what that means? It means you’ll be hunted down until you are killed or captured. You will never be able to rest safely in one place ever again.”

“Like I care. Your two cop buddies are already dead, so cop-killing doesn’t matter to me. It’s you that matters. Do you realized you ruined me? You ruined my beautiful body! The scars on my beautiful stomach are your fault, and I’ve come to give you my paybacks. Trust me, bitch, I so want to do this!

“Now sit your ass in that chair before I lose it completely and just shoot you where you stand!”

Claire cocked the hammer back and tightened her finger on the trigger. “I said turn the fuck around and SIT DOWN!”

As Baker did so, she felt a stabbing pain in her skull, then darkness reigned supreme. Ten minutes went by before she regained consciousness.

“I am so going to enjoy this; do you know that? I am going to pop out your eyes first. I want to hear you scream. Then I’m going to slice off your tits. Where you’ll be going, you won’t need them. Then I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. This should be interesting.

“While you were out, I went to my car and came back with this.”

On the counter was a five-pound bag of dry concrete mixture, already opened. Next to Baker’s feet sat a bucket, with the compound already mixed with water and ready for use.

“Claire, you really are insane. You won’t go back to the asylum this time. You’ve just bought yourself the death penalty.”

“Who cares? It won’t be you who makes that happen, now will it!”

She looked at the mixture.

“I’m going to force-feed that down your throat, but not before I peel away a few inches of your face. You will suffer, bitch! It’s a promise.”

10:05 p.m.

Once again, he was back on Baker’s street.

As he parked his car, he smiled, remembering the sudden intake of air Baker made when he whispered her name over the phone.

Leaving his car, he was prepared to kill the two policemen watching her home. As he came upon them, he saw both were slumped over, both shot in the face.

Something was terribly wrong. Someone is out to steal his glory. He rushed to Baker’s door, saw it was wide open. He reached for his Bowie knife, the blade glistening.

He carefully walked inside, and his eyes darted about, first the living room and then the kitchen. It was there he could see sweet Janis’ back, and then, Claire Waynestead.

Claire looked up at him just as she was about to cut out Baker’s eyes before she would ruin her face. Baker was unconscious because she spit on Claire’s face, and Claire hit her with the barrel of her gun.

Claire reached back for her gun she placed on the kitchen counter.

Bowie knife already in his leather=gloved hand, he threw it full force as her hand filled with the gun. The knife struck full-thrust into her forehead to the hilt. Claire managed to fire one shot, but the bullet went wide of him and imbedded in the wall next to the door.

Claire lay face up on the tile floor, eyes staring at nothing. Freddy was about to retrieve his prized possession when he had a better idea. After all, he had over a dozen Bowie knives.

He rummaged around until he could find a pen and piece of paper and scrawled out another note in the same style handwriting no one could pinpoint to his real identity.

sweet Janis,

First, I am not responsible for the two dead officers. That falls on whoever that crazy woman was I killed, for trying to kill you. I couldn’t let her do that; you understand. Killing you is reserved for me alone.

I came here tonight expressly for that reason. But tonight, tonight I let you live; only because saving your life, gratified my desire for someone to die tonight, and oddly as this may be it really wasn’t murder, was it? I saved your life. A reversal of self-defense if you will.

You owe me one. You can keep the Bowie knife as a gift (I have others), but this one was my favorite.

Be well, sweet Janis. I will, I promise, see you again.

P.S. She was about to pluck out your eyes as I came in, so I thought, since I’m here, why not take hers. And hers, I won’t return.

Until next time, sweet Janis.

Freddy

He walked over to where a landline phone hung from the kitchen wall and dialed 911.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“You can trace calls directly to its location from where you are, correct?”

“Yes, sir. What seems to be the problem?”

“I don’t have a problem, but the owner does. Oh, and you may want to send a couple of ambulances, too. It’s a little messy both in and outside the house.”

“Sir, please; can you be a bit more specific?”

Silence.

He let the phone hang from the wall, walked over to Baker, and he tilted her head back and gave her a fleeting kiss on the lips. Then he was out the door and gone.

Ed’s Apartment

Saturday – January 6th – 9:30 a.m.

Baker stepped out of his bathroom and walked gingerly into his small kitchen built for one. Looking around, she didn’t see anything to indicate Ed was an untidy person, which was a relief for her.

After last night, she didn’t need any more surprises.

Ed made sure she was given priority attention at the hospital, and then refused all of her “No’s”, about not spending at least the night at his place. At least until her townhouse was no longer a crime scene, and she had a brand-new door to be installed.

Captain Todd said he would rush things along as much as he could, but he also advised her that it would be in her best interests to move to an undisclosed location where only those people who needed to know, would know where she lived.

But her being her, she refused to move.

Seeing the coffee was made, she set herself up with a cup. Ed was walking into the kitchen to greet her.

“Morning, Baker. Feeling better?”

“Other than twenty stitches in my scalp from Claire banging me in the head; about as good as can be expected. You?”

“Never better now that the boss is living with me.”

“Yeah, well don’t get too comfortable with that thought. It’s only for the weekend.”

Ed put his coffee cup down.

“I thought since you have the weekend off, and so do I, maybe we could do a few things together that doesn’t require a badge and a gun.”

“And what would that be?”

“We could do lunch somewhere, maybe a movie, and the circus is in town. My treat.”

Baker flashed back to the note Ed had gotten in the parking lot. Does he really like me? He is a nice-looking man, and he has the most incredibly piercing blue eyes. But he’s my partner, co-worker for heaven’s sake. It wouldn’t work, not in a billion years.

Sipping her coffee, her head still throbbing from the injury Claire gave her, she winced slightly when her lips parted. Her lip was split open when Claire knocked her unconscious for spitting in her face. She couldn’t remember anything about the eye.

Her mind slipped back into police mode.

“Ed, you don’t suppose he really will try to come back after me, do you? I don’t think it will be easy for him next time to get to me as it was last night.”

“Ja, er, Baker, I wouldn’t worry about him right now. I don’t think he’s going to make any sudden appearances for a while, not after all this. Besides, we don’t need to rehash this right now. Let’s deal with this weekend and just enjoy ourselves.

“Just do me a favor, Baker.”

“What pray tell, would that be?”

“If you decide to say yes, put these sunglasses on.” He slid a pair of his Ray-Ban’s to her. “Don’t take them off, either. I don’t want to have to explain your black eye all day.” He smiled.

Maybe he does like me after all. No push, no shove. Let’s see how things go.

“You’re treat, huh?”

Ed nodded.

“You’re on.”