The Second Coming (47 page)

The footsteps stopped and Kate could sense that he was near. She squatted frozen with fear. She kept telling herself to move, but she was afraid if she did, she would give herself away. Finally she got down on all fours and began crawling, ever so cautiously, towards the front of the stage. As she got closer to the stage, she noticed a narrow hallway on the side of it. Maybe there was a way out? She snuck a peek over her shoulder, up the rows of pews, to the back of the sanctuary. She couldn’t see anyone in the shadowy darkness and decided that she was going to have to risk making a dash for the hallway.

Slowly, she raised herself into a crouch and darted towards a pillar to the side of the room. Her heart pounded in her chest. From there she made a dash to the hallway without looking over her shoulder. She didn’t have any idea where the Sterling Killer was or if he saw her. She just hoped there was a way out.

When the Sterling Killer got to the end of the isle, he turned just in time to see Kate scurry toward the side hall where she would be trapped. The stupid bitch was so predictable. He loved playing this game with her.

The hallway was lined with opened closets where robes and other garments were hanging. At the end of the hallway was a door. She prayed that it was unlocked and there was a momentary sense of relief as she sprinted to the door, only to find it locked. She let out a whimper as her body sagged. She was losing her will to continue on. It would be so much easier just to give in and let him finish her.

Kate slipped into a closet, disappearing behind the musty robes. She could hear the faint footsteps of the Sterling Killer getting closer to her. When she thought he was passing right outside of the closet, she held her breath and closed her eyes as she waited for him to pass by. Suddenly, the ring tone for her text message vibrated, barely audible, in her pocket. She grimaced as she carefully slipped her hand into her pocket and silenced her phone.

The Sterling Killer’s footsteps stopped and Kate bit her bottom lip as she waited breathlessly for him to continue on. She could feel the blood in the veins of her neck pulsing in thick surges and as her body shook uncontrollably, she could feel a warm sensation trickling down the insides of her legs as she lost control of her bladder.

The Sterling Killer eased his way down the hall knowing full well that Kate was hiding in one of the closets. As he approached the first open closet, he noticed the robes shaking from her trembling and then he heard the unmistakable vibrating of a cell phone and watched amused as a pool of urine trickled out from under the robes. This was going to be easier than he thought.

Suddenly the Sterling Killer’s hand reached in through the darkness and grabbed her violently by the neck, lifting her off the ground as he pulled her out of the closet and held her in the air like a prized fish.

Kate’s eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out of their sockets and as he crushed her larynx, her feet dangled precariously over the floor as she grasped and clawed at his arm to no avail.

The Sterling Killer reached into her pocket and retrieved her cell phone and held it in his opposite hand. “It is a good thing you are so predictable,” he hissed as he glared menacingly at her red, trembling face. “Just like all of the other women I killed, I knew I could count on you to do my bidding and lead your boyfriend and my brother to me. I couldn’t have choreographed it any better,” he told her proudly. “I am going to enjoy this last part of my plan more than anything. I’m going to give you something to remember me by for the rest of your life.”

The pressure in Kate’s eyes and ears made it impossible for her to hear a word he was saying. All she thought was that she was going to die without getting a chance to say good bye to her father and tell him how much she loved him. She regretted that she worked so hard and put so much time and effort into her career that she didn’t make enough time for him or for any other man to have a meaningful relationship with. She hoped Mike might have been the type of man she could have developed a loving relationship and started a family with, but now it was too late.

chapter
73

A
S
K
ATE SLOWLY
regained consciousness, she rolled her head from side to side and tried to blink the lazy haze from her head. At first she didn’t know where she was or how she got there. It was like waking up from a heavy, feverish sleep. The room was humid and her breath was thick and labored as beads of sweat trickled down her flesh like tiny tsunamis.

As her vision faded in and out of focus, she lifted her head and realized with despair that she was lying on top of an altar in the sanctuary of the Oakland Children’s Orphanage. The distant glow of the setting sun was radiating through the stained-glass windows casting an ominous, reddish hue that blanketed the dust covered pews as candles flickered on top of tall wrought iron holders that lined the wood paneled walls. Kate tried to sit up, but her wrists and ankles were bound to the altar. She pulled and tugged on the ropes, but the harder she tried to get free, the more the ropes cut into her flesh. Hopelessly resigned, she laid her head back and stared at the wood beams of the ceiling with her heart racing as she tried to catch her breath.

What was she going to do? How was she going to get out of there? Where was Mike? Did he get her text? Was he on his way to save her right now? Is that where the Sterling Killer was? Did she inadvertently lead Mike into his trap when she sent him the text? What happened to her phone? Was the Sterling Killer using it to send Mike text messages to lure him into a trap? Her mind was racing and her heart gripped with fear as she began to struggle to get free. She had to find a way to escape before the Sterling Killer returned.

And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move like a blur in the shadows. As she raised her head and looked towards the pews,
she saw the Sterling Killer dressed in a dark robe with the hood pulled ominously over his head descending down the aisle like a looming phantom.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked with a trembling voice.

The Sterling Killer approached the altar silently and as he stood by her side, he ran his fingers lightly over her sweaty flesh. “The same thing I do to all my victims,” he said admiringly from under the shadow of his hood. “Do you think Detective McCormick will still want you after you have been defiled?” he asked with a curious whisper.

“What are you talking about?” Kate whimpered.

“You know what I’m talking about,” he replied with a sinister hiss as he ever so slowly ran his fingers down her legs as he crept towards the foot of the alter. “Once you are damaged goods, will he still want to make love to you like he did last night or will he find you repulsive?”

Oh Jesus, he’s going to rape me.
Her chin quivered with fear as she struggled against her bondage. “Please don’t hurt me,” she pleaded with tears in her eyes.

“You are such a naughty girl,” he hissed under his breath as he climbed up on the altar and knelt between her legs. “I enjoyed watching you and the detective have carnal knowledge last night. You are such a tease. What do you think your daddy would think if he knew that you are such a slut?”

Kate felt like she was going get sick as her stomached churned with fear and disgust. What was taking Mike so long? Did he already come and not find them or did the Sterling Killer kill him? How long had she been unconscious?

“Do you really think he can save you?” he taunted her chillingly. “You don’t really think I’m going to let you both just walk out of here do you?”

Kate turned her head and stared at the doors of the church hoping against all that was reasonable that Mike would barge through and rescue her any second now.

“Don’t look away from me,” the Sterling Killer growled angrily. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Kate reluctantly turned her head and looked up at the Sterling Killer’s face which was concealed by the shadow of his hood. Her face trembled and her eyes were blurry with tears as she waited for his next move.

“Don’t bother trying to fight me,” he told her menacingly. “Your boyfriend isn’t going to get here in time to save you and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Kate clenched her eyes shut as the Sterling Killer penetrated her with tearing force and began to rape her repeatedly. At first all she could do to bare the pain was clench her teeth, but then she thought of happy memories to distract her from what was happening. She remembered Christmases and birthdays and swimming with her dog Rocky in their pool. She remembered summers at Tahoe waterskiing and playing tennis and dancing with her dad under the stars next to the shimmering lake. She remembered her Junior and Senior proms and being crowned the prom queen. She remembered the night she went swimming in the pool with little Jimmy and how she was saved from drowning by an invisible, levitating force; the peaceful force of divine intervention. How she wished the force of divine intervention would come to her now and carry her away from here.

When it was over, she turned her head to the side and gazed vacantly at the flickering flame as it danced on the wrought iron candleholder.

“You are just like the rest of them,” The Sterling Killer said breathlessly as he crawled down from the altar. “You think you’re better than me, but I am not going to kill you. I’m going to do something worse to you. I’m going to let you live with this memory.”

Kate stared at the orange and yellow flame of the candle detached from her body. It was as if she wasn’t there anymore.

“You have served your purpose,” the Sterling Killer told her in a satisfied tone. “You are the one I have been searching for. Your boyfriend will soon be here and you and he can watch as I change the prophecy foretold in the Satanic Codex.”

chapter
74

R
OCKS AND TWIGS
snapped and popped under the tires of Mike’s car as he made his way up the dirt and gravel road, careful not to rev the engine of his car so much that it would alert the Sterling Killer of their arrival. The car meandered through the shadows of the overhanging green tress and underbrush, rumbling quietly, until they reached the apex of the road. On the side of the hill, dangling precariously from a tilting post was an old rusted sign for the Oakland Children’s Orphanage. Mike pulled the car to a stop and left the engine softly grumbling as he scanned the surrounding forest.

“Is that Kate’s car?” Big Pete asked alarmingly as he pointed in the direction of the dirt turnout. Kate’s car was parked haphazardly with both the driver and passenger doors left open.

“Mother Fucker,” Mike said under his breath as he turned his steering wheel and pulled in, parking behind her car.

“You wait in the car,” Mike told Father John sternly as he glared at him in the rearview mirror. Mike glanced at Big Pete nervously and then nodded at him with a grimace as both men cautiously opened their doors and got out in unison with their guns drawn.

The engine of Kate’s car was quietly idling as Mike and Big Pete approached on either side of the vehicle with their pistols held out in front of them. They peered into the car to make sure it was clear. Mike leaned into the front of the car, turned off the engine and removed the key from the ignition. As he stood up and examined the surrounding area, Mike saw Kate’s high heels strewn in the dirt. His heart sank heavily. She must have struggled to escape.

“It looks like they left in a hurry,” Big Pete said concerned. “Maybe she was able to escape?”

Mike grit his teeth as he examined the surrounding area for foot prints or signs of struggle. “It looks like she lost her heels when she tried to run,” he said reservedly. “The question is, was she able to get away from him or did he catch her?”

“I don’t think he caught her right away or the car wouldn’t be parked here with the doors open and idling like it was,” Big Pete deduced as he motioned with a nod of his head toward the dense bushes and trees that bordered the turnout. “She must have taken off for the woods and he probably gave chase.”

Mike remembered her text message.
Help me Oakland orphanage sterling killer.
“My guess is that she was able to get out of the car and make a run for the woods,” he hypothesized as he holstered his gun and strode back to his car looking at Big Pete with wide eyes. “He took off after her and either she got away and texted us from where she is hiding at the orphanage or he caught her and used her phone to send us the text to bait us to the orphanage. Either way, she’s got to be at the orphanage.”