Six years ago the quiet town of Raven Hill in upstate New York was terrorized by a serial known as the Triple-6 Killer. After marking the doors of his intended victims, six days later they would be found dead, posed in a gruesome scene. After a sixt...
The very air around us changed as Eli brought the car slowly down the unpaved road. The forest was not dense, but the fresh spring growth on the conifers encroached on the single-lane path, making it feel claustrophobic. I jumped at the sound of fingernails scraping against the sides of the car, but then I realized it was just unpruned branches.
"I take it not many people come this way," Eli broke the uncomfortable silence. "How much further until her driveway?"
I checked the map on my phone, "Says a quarter of a mile or so."
"Shit," he hissed.
We came across a small break in the trees and suddenly Eli turned off the road, coming to a park between a couple of large spruces. Engaging the handbrake and turning the car off, he reached to grab our guns from the glove box.
"What are you doing?" I questioned out of confusion.
"We are going to cover the car, then continue on foot," he said as he handed me my piece.
Before I could utter another word, he was out of the car, searching for the largest fallen branches to hide the car from the road. I ran around to help him even though I thought he was being a bit paranoid. But of course, he's used to being one of America's Most Wanted. Expecting the worst had become second nature to him. He didn't escape capture by driving up to the front of homes of people he hardly knew.
"Isn't it going to be difficult to make a quick getaway?" I pointed out as I tossed my findings over the back of the car.
"We'd be better off using the forest for cover if it ever came to that," he responded plainly. "They'd expect us to return to the car, so we head deeper into the forest. The nights are thankfully not as cold now. Finding someone who doesn't want to be found in a forest this size is a lot harder than you think."
By the way he spoke and his emotionless expression, I realized it wouldn't be the first time for him. Not as cold? Shit, he had done it during winter. I had so many questions, but to ask any of them felt, for lack of a better word, cold. I doubted though he would ever freely talk about harder the days on the run even though I wished he would if not with me at least with someone. It was evident that even the briefest recall of the memory, the past weighed heavy on him still. He kept his head lower and avoided eye contact with me as he evaluated our camouflage job, then marched on into the forest leading the way to Dr. Higgins' cabin with his backpack over his shoulders. I glanced back at the car before continuing after him.
The lump of metal in my pants made the hike uncomfortable. Every couple of minutes I found myself adjusting it, trying to get the front holster to sit better. Although Eli was in front of me, he eventually stopped and pulled out my holster, then shoved the gun in the back of my pants. Even he had grown irritated by my constant adjusting. Putting it away in his backpack I was told was completely out of the question.
Under any other circumstance, I would have enjoyed the leisurely stroll through the forest to Dr. Higgins' cabin. The air was clear and crisp and full of oxygen, something I sorely missed. Hearing the sticks and leaves crumble beneath our feet brought back so many memories of playing in the forest as kids. The ground was uneven, which slowed us down, but with every fallen trunk and grassy knoll, I swear I could see young Heather shouting out to me. The sweet memories began to pain my heart, more than my lack of fitness. Raising my phone, I checked our progress on the map. We were so close now.
Suddenly the trees opened to a clearing. In the middle stood the unassuming two-bedroom wood cabin with its inviting front porch extending to full width of the front. The driveway that we didn't take ran right down in front of it where an old Ford pick-up sat parked. Between us and the cabin was a small creek running steadily with the spring melt. It also served as a fresh water source for Dr. Higgins chicken coop behind the cabin. I went to step forward, but Eli grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back behind a fir tree.
"Give me a moment," he mumbled as he lowered his backpack and crouched down to pull out his laptop.
"Oh surely not," I said in disbelief at the idea that there was any surveillance in such a natural setting. I wasn't even entirely sure that the cabin had electricity.
Eli ignored me and squatted down with his computer in his laptop. I watched him from above, sparing occasional glances to the quiet cabin. He typed into a black screen and I thought for sure he was getting nowhere until suddenly a window popped up with a 3x3 grid of cameras. I stared aghast as he went through the process of repeating the last hour of recorded footage on each camera. When he finished, he gave me a poignant look before putting his laptop away.
"Peculiar woman, living on twenty acres by herself with a single lane road access to her property. I suspect she would have been notified of our presence the second we touched the driveway, giving her ample time to decide if we were friend or foe," he commented as he stood upright again.
"Sounds like something you would do," I teased.
"Because I would," he replied plainly before turning his attention back to the cabin. "You go first, she's expecting a female face."
It felt strange to walk out of the tree line from the side of Dr. Higgins' yard, like we were both seen and unseen as we crossed the lawn. Aside from the chickens clucking at the rear of the property, all else was quiet, but as we rounded to the front, we found the front door pinned open. Just as I was stepping onto the porch, I could hear Eli behind me cautiously pulling out his handgun.
"Wait," he spoke up. "It could be a trap."
Turning back, my eyes scanned our surroundings, then peeked through the open door. If it had been a trap, it would have already been too late I would have thought.
"Dr. Higgins! It's me, D-, uh, Cammy!" I called out. I waited a moment for a response before continuing, "We spoke on the phone yesterday?"
The house was quiet, almost too quiet. If she had been on the phone, surely I would've heard her voice by now. It wasn't that big of a cabin. Despite Eli's attempt to stop me, I stepped into the front room, a cozy living room with a single recliner and sofa across from an old, cast-iron fireplace and its pile of dried, chopped wood. The recliner was perfectly positioned to look out the wide window out onto the property. A small coffee table sat in the middle of the room with Dr. Higgins' latest read sitting in the middle. I could imagine the retiree spending many hours watching snow fall outside the window beside her fireplace snuggled under a fleece blanket with a book. It was the retirement of dreams.
There was a door to my left slightly ajar, but it was the opening to the brightly lit kitchen that had my attention. "Dr. Higgins?" I called out again as I walked towards the light.
"Dani, wait!" Eli rushed to stop me, but it was already too late.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright LED lamps hung around the small country kitchen at the island in the middle. The cold white light contrasted so starkly with the deep red that had flowed from the torso cut and held open with surgical tools – a make shift autopsy performed on someone still with pulse. Two pale, glassy eyes rolled back in their sockets to stare at me in unblinking terror with her mouth still agape. It was as if the nightmare had not yet ended even in death.
I turned and pushed past Eli, who stood frozen in shock of the scene. I went to run out the front for air when I stopped dead in my tracks. A freshly painted '666' dripped down the pinned front door, mocking us for not having seen it on the way in, but positioned ever so carefully so we wouldn't miss it on the way out.
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