MINDCHANGER

There is a Light That Never Goes Out: Part One

[QUANTICO, VIRGINIA]

It's the next morning, and Bill is walking through the dewy grass to get to his car. He's got with him the address, a map, and his gun. He enters the car, immediately pulling away from his home. He turns up the radio to pass time on his journey.

Wendy wakes up exhausted, having stayed awake late waiting on Kay's return. She wound up passing out, assuming Kay would come back home in the middle of the night. She springs out of bed when she hears a noise outside of the bedroom. As she walks out of the bedroom, she calls, "Kay?"

"No, its me," Nick responds. "Where's mommy?"

"Oh, I think she just went to the store. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes please!" he begins to jump around. "I want pancakes!"

She smiles down at him, reaching out her hand for him to take. As he holds her hand back, they walk to the kitchen and she wishes Kay was here to see this. 

After getting him fed, and Kay still not having returned, she goes to the phone and calls Holden. "Hey, I don't know where my roommate went, and I need to find a baby sitter."

"Oh, well, Bill's not gonna be at work, are you calling in as well?"

"Well, I just might be late. I was hoping you could tell Gunn for me. I'll try to find somebody, though."

"Yeah, that's fine."

After he hangs up, Holden begins to get dressed to leave. He goes to defrost his car, and checks his mail box. There's already another letter delivered from Kemper. He goes back inside, to add it to the pile of unopened letters. He's decided to quit opening them to help with his anxiety.

Upon arriving to work, Gunn is sitting in the basement, on a desk. He is the only one there. "Glad somebody could bother to show up!"

"Sir, Wendy's roommate is nowhere to be found, and so she is looking for a babysitter for the woman's kid. And Bill is going to see Nancy."

"What about Joe?"

"He's probably running late. I'm sure he'll show up."

"He better," Gunn begins. "Cause if not, it's all on you today."

Holden takes a seat at his desk and begins prepping for paperwork. He thinks back to what Bill had said last night, that he should arrive in Richmond at around 9 A.M. so Holden should call then. He looks at the clock, and it's just now 8. He begins starting on a case review to pass the time. He looks at the images of the BTK victims again, analyzing them for tiny details. All he can acknowledge are the unique knots each rope has been tied in. This man clearly does his homework on knot tying. He goes to the small library inside the Quantico base, looking for books on knots. He picks one up titled 'KNOTS: The Complete Visual Guide' and takes it with him back to the basement. When he checks the time again, it's 9:12 A.M., and he attempts to call the number that Bill said was Nancy's. There's no answer, but he doesn't stop trying.

[RICHMOND, VIRGINIA]
[Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac plays]

When Bill arrives to the apartment complex, he has in one hand flowers and in the other his cigarette. He's shaking from nerves, and takes a deep breath. "You can do this." he says to himself on repeat. He exits the car, carefully carrying the arrangement with him. As he knocks on the door, there's not an answer. 'Could she be asleep?' he wonders, as he knocks harder. After trying the doorbell too, he decides to attempt to open the door. Without fail, it slowly creaks open.

"Nance! I'm here!" he says, feeling lightheaded as he see's the furniture all cluttered into the small space. He almost doesn't recognize the couch, as he's used to seeing it in his own living room. The pictures on the wall still include images of him, giving him a slight feel of relief. "Nancy?" he calls.