Chapter 2
Thursday, December 31st, 10:55 a.m.
"I'm back! Did you think I left for good? Nope!" Alexia could hear him coming down the stairs. He was actually in a "happy" mood. Could he be happy enough to let her go?
Alexia mumbled through her stitches.
"Oh, sorry, can't really understand you. You've kind of got . . . you know!" He then started to laugh. "Aren't you happy I'm back?" She shook her head. His face moved under his mask, and he turned to his bench and picked up a sharp, gleaming, knife. "What did you say, Alexia?" She quickly nodded, hoping that he wouldn’t cut her for disagreeing for what he thought was right. "That’s better. Now, I'll see you tonight, I have to go somewhere today. Don’t try running off." His voice changed again. "Don’t," he said through tightened teeth. His happiness came back. Bipolar much? "Don’t miss me!" He walked in front of the camera and said, "You really should have taught her manners!" He walks out of the room and locks the door again.
Alexia is left alone again. Who is watching through that camera? Her mom? Or is it really just a normal camera and he's just messing with her? She'll never find out. Why did he say to whoever is watching, that they should have taught her manners? He's crazy, there is no real answer to what he does.
With him gone for a while, this was her chance! It was time to get out of this crazy place once and for all!
In the past, while he was gone, she found a rusted nail by her right hand, sticking out of the wall. How come he never noticed that? Or did he purposely put it there? Whatever the reason, Alexia didn’t care. It took her a while to pull the nail out of the wall while being cuffed behind her back. Once she got it out successfully, she worked on the nail for a good solid three days, scraping it against the wall and making it nice and sharp. She has kept it in a close range ever since, waiting for another day like this one.
The rusted nail was now a useful pick tool. The right size to fit into the keyhole of the locks on her chains. The first chain she managed to get loose was the one around her wrists. After it came off and swung behind her back, she worked on getting the metal clamp around her neck off. Once it was off, she felt around her neck and looked at her hand. It was covered in black from the rusted metal. She then got both of her leg chains off. Then she slowly stood up grabbing the wall for support. Finally, she stood on her legs after four months of sitting on the cold, dirty floor for so long. The back of her thighs was as cold as ice from being in contact with the concrete floor.
Walking over to the door, she held the rusted nail in her hand. The time was perfect. This nail, that hole. It's time to get out of here.
11:02 a.m.
Monomaniac was in the back of his limo when suddenly a buzzer went off. A screen lowered from the roof of his car. He watched as the image of Alexia showed up. "Wait, how did she get out of those chains?! Is she escaping!"
He then relaxed and a smile grew on his face.
"Go ahead, open the door. You're not going anywhere." He watched as she hesitated to open the door. "Do it," he whispered. "He will regret it when I return." He then saw her open the door with the object in her hand. She walked out, and the screen rose up. "She's the first one to escape. Not even him, an almost forty-year-old man can escape, but a fifteen-year-old girl! Ha! It's going to be great to see the look on his face when I get back!"
He then stopped.
"What if she actually gets out of the house? Then everyone will know it was me!" He stopped, closed his eyes and took a breath. "But that won't happen. She'll never get out! He is probably so upset! I can't believe I'm missing this right now! But sadly, I have to keep my social appearance."
He was halfway to his destination when his phone started to ring. "I can never get any peace around here," he said before picking it up. "Hello?"
"Reuben, is this you?"
He smiled.
"Who else would it be? I'm almost there, can't you people wait?"
"Reuben, this isn't the time to be funny. We just found a clue of who might have taken my daughter." He dropped the phone. They can't find out! I can't be taken away to jail! I love what I do, and it has just gotten better! "Reuben? Are you there? He hung up on me! Great!" He quickly picked the phone back up.
"Cammie, I didn’t hang up on you. I dropped the phone. I was so thrilled to hear that you have found another clue!" This is torture.
"I'm glad to hear that. It's really urgent, so try to get here quicker, hm? You might want to be here when we find out." What should he do? They're going to find out it was him! But who would expect the dashingly handsome, kind, and rich Reuben Bernstein to do all of this? No one.
"I'll be there as quick as I can! Bye, now." He hung up and slammed the phone down.
"Is everything all right, sir?" his driver asked.
"Yes, everything is quite fine, thank you." Words swarmed in his head the whole way to the police station.
When he got there, Cammie was waiting by the main doors to bring him inside.
To be the least suspected person about the kidnappings and murders, he had to join in on the searching group. "Nice to see you again, Reuben," Cammie said with a smile. If only she knew who I was, she would pull out her pistol and kill me without blinking.
"The last time we met, your daughter was only missing for 2 months. Now it has been 4. What have you been doing this whole time? Have I been funding this operation for nothing?" The deputy looked at Reuben with anger. "No disrespect though," he quickly added.
"Reuben, we have been working so hard that some of us had to work some all-night shifts. What exactly have you been doing this whole time? You think we're the only ones that are supposed to be looking for her? When you signed up to help, you are expected to help. Also, the fact that you do pay for our investigations, as you mentioned." Reuben pulled up the sleeves of his suit.
"I have been looking, but it gets me nowhere. So, what exactly have you called me here for?"
Reuben followed Cammie into the police station. She led him down the halls and into the first room around the corner. "We've got new evidence on who might have kidnapped Alexia. Also, we think we know who this "Monomaniac" guy really is." Reuben shut the door behind him as he followed her more into the room.
His palms started to sweat. How could they think it was me though? Hopefully, it's not me or I'm busted for good. But it can't be me, I wore gloves that night! "So, is it pictures or fingerprints that you have here?" Reuben asked.
"Fingerprints. The only pictures we have are of a gun we found under a car in the parking lot. I guess he tried to hide it, but we found it. The serial number was scratched off, so we couldn’t trace it." Reuben let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t his fingerprints that were on that gun. It was a man in the parking lot trying to stop him from stealing Alexia. He had to kill him, or the man would have told everyone. The body, of course, had to be disposed of right away. A river and some weights did the trick.
"Do you have any idea who it was then?" Reuben said, looking around the room. There were people walking around with medical supplies in their hands. Nerds.
"Give us some time. It's not that easy tracking a person with just their fingerprints. But I bet you've never done it yourself, right?" Actually yes, it is, that is how I found your daughter, Deputy, Reuben thought to himself.
"No, I haven't. There was no reason to ever do it, for me anyway. At least we have a lead now. Waiting for four months was . . . sort of a bore and I started to think that she might be dead. But now we have something, and everything is exciting again."
"There is nothing exciting about this Reuben! My daughter is missing and has been for a while. It's far from exciting." Whatever miss nag-a-lot. You're not the psychopath here. The Deputy let out a sigh and calmed herself. "Now, if you follow me, I have something else to show you." The deputy opened the door once more, and Reuben followed her out.
"There isn't going to be a lot of walking involved in this, right? I hate to have to keep moving everywhere," Reuben said. The deputy sighed but kept walking in front of him.
"A little exercise shouldn’t hurt you. You're already fit as it is." Reuben smiled. It was no secret that she had a thing for him. Every girl in the town did. But there's a dark beast to his side that they don’t know about. . .
"Where are we now? God, this place is like a maze, I don’t get how you find your way around here." Reuben almost slammed into the Deputy as she stopped in front of a door to her right.
"We're in the left wing of the building. We are now in front of a room we like to call the "Tracking room"." They both walked in. There was a map of the town on the wall with red lines and thumbtacks marked all over the place.
"Appropriate name," Reuben said as he walked over to the wall. "Now, what do these strings mean?" The deputy was now right beside him.
"They track all the places where Monomaniac has kidnapped his victims, so we're trying to find out where exactly he takes them after kidnapping them. Alexia—" she took a pause, "—was taken in front of her work, which is on Rockfall Road. We connect that to all the other strings where other residents have been kidnapped. We are just trying now to find out where he is hiding out. It must not be far away from where the kidnappings occur. The group and I have decided to check every house and businesses in the town. But that's only if we can't find out who the fingerprints belong to. And that is the other reason I have asked you to come here. We need you to agree in what we will have to do, because you pretty much run the town."
"Did you include my house too?"
"Yes, Reuben, you're in this town too. Are you hiding something?" the deputy asked with a concerned look. He laughed.
"Of course not! I was just asking, because . . ."
"I have to get my house inspected also, which is dumb, but so does everyone else," the deputy interrupted. "This is the longest kidnapping—of a child—in our town. We haven't found a body yet, so she must be alive, thank God."
"I like how you don’t give up, Deputy." She did have a striving personality.
"Cammie. You can just call me Cammie. Just how I call you Reuben and not Mr. Bernstein."
"Oh, so not Deputy anymore? That's fine. It's just that—" The door suddenly burst open, and a young, chubby man, was now standing in the doorway, taking deep gulps of air.
"Phil? What is it? What's wrong?" the deputy asked.
"Nothing's wrong ma'am. It's just that we found out who the fingerprints belonged to!"
"Belonged? Don’t you mean "belong"?"
"Well, you're going to want to see this, then." The deputy practically ran out of the room after Phil.
"Come on, Reuben!" he heard her yell from the hall. He walked out of the room, but then went into a sprint down the hall after the deputy and the fat one named Phil.
When he finally reached his destination, he was back in the room where people were investigating the fingerprints. Reuben's heart started to beat quickly. He was now stuck in the middle of something very big. The room was now crammed with people. He then spotted the deputy and walked casually over to her. She had many papers in her hands, and didn’t even look up at him. "Here it is!" she finally yelled.
"What? Who is it?" Reuben moved swiftly around her to look at the papers. The deputy's shoulders fell, her hand clasped around her mouth. "Cammie, are you alright?" She looked up at him with horror on her face.
"Reuben . . . " she started. His face started to sweat rapidly, but he tried not to show anything. "It was . . . her boss, Otis Passer! If only I had known! She wouldn't have been taken, if I told her just to stay home that day!" She then broke into a sob, and hugged Reuben tightly. As she did that, he breathed out in relief. So that was his name?
"But ma'am, Otis is dead, remember? His wife said he never came home the night your daughter was taken."
"She could have been lying! He could be at that house right now! He could be hiding my daughter in there for all I know!" She started to get panicked. Reuben laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Cammie, let me go check. If she's there, I'll bring her back here." She looked at him. She obviously didn't want him to go.
"No, Reuben. I can't—"
"Cammie, please. It could be the least I could do. Honestly, I haven't been doing a whole lot for this group. It's time I do something important. And also, you're a bit worked up right now, you might drive yourself off the road . . . "
"I'm pretty sure I wouldn’t do that. Thank you for trying, Reuben," she said. She then started to pack things in her bag and clipped her gun into its place. "You're not going by yourself, if my daughter's there, I want her to see me rescuing her." Maybe he should back out? He can't have Cammie there while he takes care of Otis's wife? He has to go along though; he can't act too suspicious.
"Alright, we'll both go then. You can go in through the back, and I'll go in through the front." She gave a sharp nod at his plan.
"Everyone, keep your radios on. I'll call for backup when I need to, there's no point making a big scene on a quiet street." He left the police station, with the deputy following close behind and walked back out to his limo. The driver opened the door for Reuben and Cammie.
"Bradstreet, and step on it!" he yelled up to the driver. He needed to act like it was real, and that they had to get there fast. The driver had no idea what was going on though.
"On it, sir," the driver said back. They zoomed out of the parking lot, and headed for the home of Otis Passer and his wife, Sara Passer.
"Kelvin, they found Otis Passer's fingerprints on the gun! The deputy and I are heading over there right now, which is where you're driving."
"Do you really think he did it?" his driver asked. Reuben shot him a look in the rearview mirror that said, Play along.
"Yes, he had a gun, so who else would it be?" Reuben said, a bit annoyed.
"We're going to find out if it was really him or not, but it's the best lead we've got," Cammie said, changing out her magazine. Reuben watched as she handled her gun, a Glock 22, he recognized, right next to him. He felt safe though. She didn't have the faintest idea about who he was.
"Oh, do I get to use my own too?" Reuben bent over and popped open a little cubby to the right of him. Inside was a gun of his own.
"You have registration to carry that, Reuben?" she asked him, still admiring her gun.
"Of course, I do!" He didn't.
The limo then stopped in front of Otis's home. Kelvin opened the door for him and Cammie once again. "That was a nice ride, Reuben. But we have to be stealthy now, no fooling around, got it?"
"Have you known me to fool around, Deputy?" She was about to say something, but Reuben interrupted, "Never mind, don't answer that. Got it ma'am." Cammie looked around, keeping her gun close in front of her.
"No cars in the driveway, looks like she's not home," she said. "I'm heading to the back. You stay here, keep an eye out in case she comes home." Inside, Reuben was exploding. Who was she to start calling the shots? On the outside, though, he stayed completely calm.
"What should I do if she pulls up?" Please say kill her.
"You're Reuben Bernstein, talk with her. Just keep her distracted so I can look around, okay?" Reuben secretly rolled his eyes, but smiled and nodded, assuming it was a compliment the deputy gave about his talking skills.
Cammie walked away, heading to the backyard. Was she going to break into the house? This woman would do anything to save her little brat. He just couldn't let her find out.
Reuben then walked up to the steps of the house and started to look around. He read the sign on their door: Remember, God loves you! Reuben cringed at this statement. If he were to ever die, and the afterlife was a thing, God would not be seeing him.
Reuben stuck his hands in his suit jacket pockets, flipping around the house's key copy. He’s kept the Passer’s key with him until one day, sort of like this, when he needed to get into their house. He wanted to just hand the deputy the key to make the investigation go faster. The key was one of the many copies of keys from homes in the town that he made. In the past, when he threw parties at his mansion, people would leave their car keys in his glass bowl. Attached to their car keys, was also their house keys. He would take them, one at a time while no one was watching, and imprint them into clay.
But, of course, he couldn't give the key to her, because suspicion from her would rise faster than anything. He couldn't have that. The many copies of keys were just another part of showing that he has complete control over the town. He could walk into anyone's house, take anything he wanted, then leave without anyone knowing how he got in.
His thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of a car. Pulling into the driveway. It was Sara Passer, Otis's wife. She eyed Reuben standing on her porch and smiled. Hopefully the deputy didn't hear the car.
"Reuben! How are you doing?" Sara asked him while getting out of the car. She was about twenty years older than him, so technically she knew him all of his life. Reuben hated what had to be done.
"Hello, Mrs. Passer." Reuben walked over to her car, to keep their conversation as far from the house as possible. "You're probably wondering why I'm here, right?"
"Yes, when I saw you standing at my door, I got a bit curious. Honey, do you think you could help an old woman with her groceries?" Perfect.
"Of course, ma'am." She slowly walked to the back of her car, and in that time, Reuben pulled out his gun, and attached a silencer to the barrel.
When he reached the back of the car, she was faced away from him. Good, I don't want her to see me do this. Killing the elderly was not something Reuben liked to do, but with a certain Aunt Wilma, it wasn't hard at all.
"Now, Reuben, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Reuben didn't reply, but simply lifted the gun and pulled the trigger. The old lady slumped forward onto her groceries; all being contaminated now with her blood. Reuben tucked his gun away and pushed Sara Otis's frail body into the back of the car.
Kelvin got out of the limo, watching everything from the rearview mirror. "We must get the car out of here," he said to Reuben.
Reuben coughed, trying to get rid of a certain emotion that was overwhelming him. "Get it out of here and be fast. Park it somewhere for now, maybe just a block away, then get your ass back here so she won't suspect anything. I'll go in and distract her. Now go!" Kelvin started up the car, backed out of the driveway and sped down the road, making a sharp turn to the right.
Reuben walked up to the porch again, but this time, rang the doorbell. The sound of the knob being unlocked was heard, then the face of Cammie appeared once the door opened. "Reuben! What are you doing!" She then saw the look of horror on his face that he put on right before she opened the door. "What's wrong, what happened!"
"It was Sara and Otis! They pulled in the driveway, saw me, then fled! My driver, Kelvin, he ran to the nearest house to call for help, he'll be back soon."
"He doesn’t have a phone of his own? Where’s your phone?”
“I left mine back in my car,” he said, patting his pockets, which obviously had it in the right pocket, but she didn’t notice, so he continued, “and Kelvin’s an old soul—it doesn’t matter!”
“But Reuben, why would they back out after seeing you? I saw Sara this morning at the store, she didn't look nervous at all!"
"Did you find anything in the house?" Reuben asked, getting her off track.
"Huh? Oh, no not really, I was in the basement most of the time. Nothing really came out at me, but we'll do a full-length search later.”
“You broke into their house? How—”
“Where were they heading, Reuben? I have to call the team, maybe they can find them," Cammie said, cutting him off.
"No need, Kelvin's already trying to get a phone somewhere—"
"I'm still calling this in." She whipped out her walkie talkie, walked away from him, and began talking into it. Dammit! Why doesn't she listen to me?
Reuben turned around to find Kelvin quickly walking back. He then joined Reuben on the porch. "You get rid of the car?" Reuben asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, I'll just have to go back later and get rid of it completely. Nighttime would be best so that—"
"Did you use a phone anywhere?" Cammie asked, walking back towards the two from inside the house.
"No one around here is home; must all be vacationing for the new year."
"Don't worry, I already called for backup. Reuben, thanks for being here, but you can go now. This is police business." Reuben was shocked to hear the change in Cammie's voice.
"Glad I could help in any way that I could. I'll keep in touch," he said, winking at her. She rolled her eyes at him, slowly shook her head, then walked back into the house.
"Come on, Kelvin, we’ve got to get out here. Police cars are going to be on this perimeter any second." Reuben opened his own door and flew into the back. Kelvin quickly closed it for him and took his seat up in the front. The limo then zoomed away from the Passer's house. "I know that was a very dangerous thing to do, but I had to play along—"
"You don't need to explain to me, sir. You call the shots, and I'll go along." At least someone understands where I stand. . .
He forgot about Alexia.
"Any news about that brat? Is she still in the house?"
"I kept my eye on her for a while. She's just been wondering around; she won't get out. She has no idea he is upstairs still. We should head back soon."
"Right, that's a good idea." Before Reuben could say anything else, his phone went off in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered it. "Ah, Deputy—or Cammie, sorry."
"It's fine. So, where exactly did you say the Passers went?" Reuben changed the tone of his voice. Innocence.
"Deputy, I can't recall if they went left or right. All I know is that they sped out as fast as they could. Sorry I can't be of any help. . .."
"Reuben, go back to the police station. I need stuff there; I would greatly appreciate it if you could get them for me?" Another request from the deputy? If he blew this off, a simple request, then she would know he's up to something.
"What do you need me to get?"
"So that means you will?" Reuben told her yes. "Good, thank you. I'll tell you when you get there, I'll have to instruct you on where to go. I'll have someone come pick you up and bring you straight here. You're going to need a cop car if you want to go fast."
"Alright, I'll tell Kelvin about it. Goodbye." Reuben angrily hung up the phone and threw it to the front of the limo.
"What's wrong now?" Kelvin asked, looking in the rearview mirror.
"I have to go back to the police station. Why I joined this circus act I'll never know." He then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "That's right, I wanted to blend in!" Reuben yelled. "Now I really have to keep going on with this act, playing so innocent—I hate it!"
His limo then stopped in front of the police station. Reuben got out, with the help from Kelvin opening his door. He pulled out his phone, waiting to call the deputy for instructions. After this, I am totally moving out of this town, he thought to himself.
"Reuben, what would you like me to do about the girl when I finally get back to the house?"
"Just keep her somewhere until I get home. You know who will be glad to see what I'm going to do to her when I get back. I warned him about this happening."
"Just keep her still until you get home? Sounds good."
"Thank you, Kelvin, and make sure no one sees you when you discard that body."
"Got it, sir. I'll be waiting at the house with the girl."
