The Killer Strikes Again

The everyday commotion continues through the station. Some officers drag suspects in, while others escort them to their cells. The remainder is busy writing daily reports or checking on a lead.

The detectives work steadily at their desks on their latest case, hoping to find something to explain the strange turn of events. None of them believe Janet did it, but without concrete evidence, all they have to go on is their gut.

Joe glances at the clock to see it's a little past 6. I wish we'd hear something soon. He scans the report again, trying to figure out where Janet might go, but the sergeant is at a loss with no living relatives or close friends; he doesn't know where to start.

The K9 unit said her scent stopped at the highway, so they figured she must've gotten a ride from someone, but with whom and to where? Joe thinks back to when they first met.

Aging out of the foster system, Janet took the first job she could find, flipping hamburgers at a local fast-food joint for minimum wage. Money was tight, but Janet was getting by.

Then she met Bill and fell head over heels in love. Everything was great for the first year, or so Joe thought, then Bill started hanging out with some local thugs. His demeanor quickly changed. The sweet, loving, carefree guy became a hideous monster. Someone no one could stand to be around. Bill became violent. He'd come home drunk nearly every night and beat his wife.

Joe tried to tell Janet the situation would only worsen but claimed Bill was going through a rough patch and that they'd work out somehow.

See where your loyalty got you, do you see? You're facing a murder charge, and your husband is dead. Joe thinks, slamming his fist on the desk.

He looks toward the clock again to find the hand has barely moved since his last check. I've got to talk to the captain, get what I know off my chest. Joe thinks, pushing himself away from the desk.

Stepping up to the boss's door, Joe knocks and waits.

The captain looks up from his computer, a distressed look on his face. "Do you need something, Serg?" he snaps.

"I can come back later if now's not a good time."

"No, I need a break from this hogwash the rookies call incident reports. Closing his laptop, he pulls his glasses off his face and rubs his weary eyes.

Joe steps into the shrine. The office furnishings were a part of the station's original decor, as were the numerous plaques covering the dark wood walls. The captain says he wants to keep it in its original form to remind everyone how far Berryville PD has come. It was a trading and education center in the mid-1800, rebuilt after being demolished during the civil war.

"I"m not sure Janet is good for this, not her, not sweet little Janet."

"What about all our evidence and her running from the law?"

"There has to be another explanation. There has to be. Aggravated, Joe springs off the couch and paces back and forth.

The captain leans forward in his chair. "You and I have seen this a dozen times. A battered woman convinces that their husband's death is their only way to escape their mess."

"If it were anybody else, I'd consider it, but not Janet. She brings home mangy strays and nurses them back to health, for god's sake."

The captain recalls when he and his wife brought Janet their cat. He'd gone out hunting, returning a month later nearly dead. The poor woman cried over the horrid sight, promising to do all she could. A few weeks later, Janet called them to say their healthy pet was ready to go home. "She has the heart of a saint. I'll grant her that. So what do you think happened?"

"I don't know, but whatever it was, Janet didn't have any part of it. She ran because she was scared. I'm not sure if it's us, she's scared of the one who killed Bill."

"We can't call off the search because of a hunch. So find me another theory, a reason to call this off."

"Yes, sir." Joe salutes, storming over to his desk. "Call me if something comes back, " Joe yells, collecting his gear.

"I will, boss. Jerry nods, scooping up the phone. "Berryville, PD." Glancing up, Jerry holds out his hand. "We're on our way." Hanging up, he looks up and says," There's been a stabbing at the park."

You don't think Jantet did this, do you, Joe? Rachel asks.

"I doubt if she is even in town."

***

The light swings back and forth as the killer stares in disbelief at her sister's pale, battered face. The barn door slams closed, bringing her out of a trance-like state. The assassin glares up at Steve with tears streaming from her hazel eyes; she growls, "You killed her. You killed my sister." Her grief turns into anger, and her anger into rage. Springing to her feet, the killer lunges for him, sending them both to the ground.

Air wooshes from the big man's lungs, and the gun flies from his hand when they land. Straddling him, Penny punches him again and again. "I'm going to make sure you never hurt anyone again," she spat, delivering a right hook, quickly followed by a left.

Sitting up, Steven pushes her away.

Penny flies back, smacking the wall. Shaking her head, she grabs the crowbar beside her. "You're dead. Do you hear me? You're dead." She yells, jumping to her feet.

Seeing Penny coming toward him, Steven grabs a pitchfork as he stands.

Penny takes a batter's stance and says, "Come on, you piece of shit. Show me what you got." Adrenaline rushes through every cell in her body as she stares her enemy down.

Steven glares at her and says, "I wanted to get rid of you long ago. Then your husband locked your crazy ass up and blew my plans."

"Yeah, my being locked away was the only reason you married my sister. The only reason you're alive today."

"Who's going to kill me, you?" Steven laughs, sizing her up.

"I killed your brother, and he's twice your size, and I killed a man in the park wishing he was you."

He remembers leaving Bill at the bar a few short hours ago. He'd been flirting with a girl all night, saying he would get a piece of that before the night was out. Steve kept saying she was out of his league. To his surprise, the two slipped off to the back, so he left. "You killed William?"

"Your dad and baby brother Larry too, which only leaves you." She smiles, remembering how good it felt to release all her pent-up rage on the family that did her wrong so long ago. The family took her in briefly. Not wanting to be their sex toy, she ran away. Despite all her pleading, her sister Beth stayed.

"You bitch," he yells. Raising the pitchfork like a spear, he rushes toward her.

Penny moves out of the way.

The pitchfork stabs through the wood where she once stood.

The killer shakes her head and says, "Your mother did better than that."

"You killed Ma?"

"She lets you perves do whatever you want to me, so I had to kill her too."

Steven pulls the weapon from the barn wall and spins around. "Noone kills my family, No one. Do you hear me?"

The killer shrugs. "You killed my family, so I killed yours. Tit for tat, as they say."

Steve throws the hayfork like a spear.

Penny ducks, She looks over to see the weapon stuck in the wood. "Janet's kid can throw better than that," she laughs. "Here, I'll make it easy for you." She drops the crowbar to the ground, opens her arms wide, and says, "Free shot."

Running over, Steven jerks the weapon from the wall. Glares at her and says, "Your dead bitch, here me, dead."

"You've been saying that." She pretends to check her watch. "For the past thirty minutes now."

"I'll get you this time, bitch."

Penny pretends to yawn. "You've been promising that a lot too, and frankly, I'm getting bored with this game. She tugs on the rope. A net falls from the ceiling. Penny pulls on a second cord suspending him in mid-air. "Sorry to cut this short, but I have places to go and people to kill." She glances toward the door. "A lot of sicko's out there, you know."

"Get me down from here," he yells."

Penny smiles. "Oh, I will, but you won't like what I do."

"Your crazy, bitch, bat-shit crazy. Your husband did right by keeping you locked away."

"You're right, I am. I'm certified crazy, too looney to ever be out on my own, according to the docs. That's why I had to escape. Now I'm out here getting rid of pieces of shit like you." She grabs a sharpened knife and runs her finger up and down the blade. "With me being as crazy as I am, It's hard to say what I might do."