The Trinity Murders Page 12

  Randy stood over her for a second and then went back and picked up the chair. He placed it back where it was and sat back down. “I’m sorry Linnie. I didn’t mean to get upset. This is just the way it’s always been done.”

  “Just because that’s the way it’s always been done doesn’t mean it’s the right way. Maybe you went through all those other girls to find me. Maybe you and I can have a life together and you can stop all of this once and for all.” Even as she said this, she could see that their influence over Randy was strong and she wasn’t sure she could break it. She decided to switch gears and come at it another way. “If this does have to be it Randy, if there’s no changing your mind, then can we be together one last time? But instead of having sex with me chained to the bed, let me be free so we can make love. So I can put my arms around you and pleasure you the way you pleasure me. That’s the least you can do for me Randy.” Now she really thought she might vomit but she stayed strong. Partly because she could see Randy was considering it.

  “Really, that’s what you want Linnie?” His demeanor was starting to change. This girl that he had grown attached to finally wanted him back. None of the other girls got to that point, but he always believed that if he kept them long enough maybe they would. This was his proof. He knew it. He knew given enough time they would grow to want him just as much as he wanted them. “Okay, one last time.”

  He had completely changed from the person who first came down the stairs. He looked like a teenager in love. He even ran his fingers through his hair and shook it out. He stood up and reached into his pocket and produced the key to her restraints. He held it up for her to see as if to say, ‘found it.’ This would be the first time since she was taken that she would be without restraints. He was always very careful. Each time he went to uncuff her from the wall he would first put handcuffs on her and then when he got her to the bedroom, he would cuff her one hand to the cuffs on the bed, then unhook the cuffs joining her hands and cuff the other one to the other side of the bed. There was never a moment she was free until now. He didn’t even give it a second thought. He quickly uncuffed both of her hands and both of her feet. She stood up and massaged both wrists for a few seconds. Those cuffs had become a part of her and now that they were removed, like an amputee feeling a phantom limb, she still felt that the chains were a part of her.

  He took her hand and as if they were a couple taking their relationship to the next level and they walked together into the other room. Linnie knew that she could make a break for it at anytime. When Randy came downstairs he hadn’t bothered to lock the basement door because he hadn’t imagined this was how the night would turn out. Once he finally uncuffed her, he was so giddy with his love for Linnie that he never thought to go lock the door which wasn’t just a turn lock but a keyed lock from both sides. He even thought about taking her up to his bedroom, had he known ahead of time and had thought to straighten up.

  Linnie was going to wait until after they were done. She learned from experience that men were usually useless right after sex. Some of them immediately fell asleep and some became so lethargic that they could barely move. It was actually a perfect arrangement for the prostitute. Once they were done, she would leave them to recover while she got dressed and got out of there. She usually didn’t get the money up front but she made sure it was always out on the table. Tonight, she was taking a gamble that she would get her payment and that she wouldn’t have to fight too hard for it, but that was a gamble of which she wasn’t sure of the outcome. However lethargic Randy was after they were finished, the second he realized what was going on, the adrenaline coursing through his veins would wipe it all out but she hoped those few precious seconds would mean the difference between life and death.

  He led her to the room and she sat down on the bed. Then he said something she wasn’t prepared for. He told her he would be right back and left the room and went back upstairs. He was only gone a minute, but when he returned, she wasn’t sure if he locked the door or not. As quickly as he returned she didn’t think so but it was something that now weighed on her. What he did return with was a candle. When his mother was still alive she always had candles around and Randy grew fond of them. Since her passing, he continued to keep them around. His favorite scent was cinnamon.

  He lit the candle and set it on the nightstand, beaming to Linnie. He appeared flustered, unsure what to do. It was possible this was the first time he was to have sex with a girl when it wasn’t against her will. Linnie took control to further show Randy how much she wanted him. She stood up and kissed him. Taking him in her arms, she could feel his excitement almost instantly. She slowly undressed him, kissing her way down his body as she did and then undressed herself. Once they were both naked she gently guided him towards the bed and moved in on top of him.

  When these sessions first began with Randy, she didn’t have to use any of her tricks to help her through the night. Being chained and forced, she wasn’t required to perform so she just laid there motionless. Now that she was back in control, she was grateful that she still had the ability to shut off and take her mind to a different place.

  She thought back to the animal shelter. She thought back to when the police had broken up the dog fighting club and brought fifteen dogs to them for care. Most were beyond hope and so fractured that all they could do was put them down. Some were so mangled that they would forever be scarred by what they had to endure. She understood how these dogs could have their spirits broken and have their nice sweet demeanor turned to that of a vicious killer. She knew that she had become one of these dogs and that if cornered, she would kill to stay alive. When given the option of life or death, she would do what was needed to survive. She just hoped she could be rehabilitated like the dogs she tried to help. The terrifying realization for Linnie was that most dogs couldn’t.

  He came inside her for the last time and it made Linnie sick to her stomach because this time she felt it. In all their previous encounters, the only way she knew it was over was when the weight of his body was lifted off her. Outside of Mitch and Randy, every other john had used a condom. She was able to take her hatred to a new level with the thought of Mitch.

  She removed herself from him and rolled over onto her back, laying next to him. Randy appeared to be in a state of euphoria and it was clearly the best sexual experience he had ever had. As she lay there, Randy rolled onto his side and began to trace his index finger up and down her arm. Linnie began to steel herself to what was coming next.

  30

  Boggs came into the room and for the first time, they both saw the face of the man they were hunting. They also both knew what that meant. If he was willing to let them see his face then they weren’t meant to make it out of this room alive.

  He appeared to be in his early forties, looking like a lumberjack cut out of the mold of Paul Bunyan. His face had seen plenty of years with a leathery look fashioned with creases across his forehead and around his eyes. He may not have a blue ox out back but that was more than made up for by the piercing blue of his eyes. The eyes alone would cause you to think he was a gentle giant if you didn’t already know what he was. Despite all that, the eyes always wondered down and fixated on his hands. It was cliché to say a person’s hands were as big as catchers’ mitts, but in this case, the cliché was a reality. The calluses and cracks representing the girls whose lives he stole. Topper could imagine the terror the girls must have felt being held captive by this man. Right then he vowed to do whatever it took to stay alive and stop this behemoth from continuing the havoc he wreaked.

  As he approached the men, putting his hands in his pockets in a kind of “aw shucks” shuffle, the corner of the right side of his mouth began to slightly raise in the start of a grin and those eyes which just seconds ago were piercing now appeared to be stabbing. “Mark, John. What a pleasure it is for you to join me. Yes, I’ve done my homework. I know all about you both. You didn’t think I was going to refer to you as Topper, did you Mark? I mean, it figures you’d still be wearing that nickname with pride but you’re not captain of the football team anymore, are ya Mark? Don’t you think you’ve finally outgrown that? What a ridiculous nickname. The great Topper McMullen who got two little girls killed last week because of his need to be a cowboy.” The two men had been sitting about a foot apart and while Boggs was talking he was slowing circling the men. The knife was still balancing across Mayfield’s lap. Neither man looked at Boggs but continued to stare straight ahead, in a sense, staring at each other. In a game of duck, duck goose Boggs finally stopped next to Topper and filled his field of vision with his face. “How’s that been working out for you, Mark? They told him to come alone but you just had to play the hero. So arrogant, and now that father is a father no more. Actually, he isn’t anything anymore, Mark. He took his own life this morning, did you hear about that? Probably not. I’m glad I could be the one to share that with you. Three dead Mark. Three dead because of your arrogance … arrogance, isn’t that one of the deadly sins? No, no, that’s pride. That’s right, pride. Which is your sin, right John?” Shifting from one side to the other, his face was now suffocating the vision of Mayfield. He had both hands resting on Mayfield’s knees with the right hand draped over the handle of the knife. Mayfield just wanted him to pick it up. Just pick it up. He knew it was safer in his lap but the knife couldn’t have given him more chills had it been a tarantula doing circles around his lap. Just pick it up.

  Boggs, on the other hand, was having too much fun. These would be the first two males he’d killed since high school and he was quickly realizing he liked the taste of it. The girls were fun but they were easy prey. Even without his great size they were easy to overpower and dominate. But here he had himself a real live FBI agent and detective of the Dallas PD.
It was like being in the ring with a bull. Of course they were still in their pens but they were bulls nonetheless. This was a power Boggs thought he could get used to. “Pride, John. It’s your stupid pride that brought you here today. You always had to be the best, strongest, fastest. Had to close the most cases. Couldn’t even look the other way when a bribe was handed out. Nobody wants to work with you, John, because you make them all look so bad or you get them in trouble. Look at today. You went out to West Dallas all by yourself. That wasn’t smart was it but you just had to be the hero, had to save the day. You probably thought good old Mark here could help fast track you to the FBI. Oh well. Maybe if you had a partner he would have had your back and you might not be here. I’m glad you don’t though John, I’m really glad about that. Now that I think about it, arrogance applies to you both. You guys are like two peas in a pod, aren’t ya?”

  Boggs was hitting a rhythm now. He closed his hand around the knife on Mayfield’s lap, picked it up and started slowly circling the men again. He started rotating his right wrist, making a tick tock motion with the knife while he circled as if his hand was a metronome. “You know we only let you find the bodies we want you to find right? I mean, you guys are law enforcement, so you must know how easy it is to get away with murder. You two will vanish without a trace; vanish as if you never existed. Although, had you never existed Mark, I guess that man and his two little girls would still be alive, wouldn’t they? That really is too bad. But before you two break on through to the other side, I’m going to need to know what you know. Now I’m going to find out, there’s no question about that. The question is, how much pain are you willing to endure? We’ll get to that though in a second.” Boggs was enjoying this captive audience and he wanted to milk it for all it was worth. By now people had to be out looking for them but where would they start? No, Boggs felt he had all the time in the world and he was going to use it.

  “Do you know what sin all those girls had, Mark? No, how about you John? Lust. The answer is lust, but they were even worse. They tempted others into that same sin. Strutting down the street, shaking their asses. It’s a disgrace what they do. Wearing those clothes that don’t cover nothin’. Painting their faces in that whore makeup. They ask for it, you know that? They are getting exactly what they ask for. I’m doing the job you won’t. They’re like cockroaches. You kill one and three more pop up. It’s no coincidence that they scurry when the sun comes up.” Boggs was starting to lose it. His own rant was making him increasingly more agitated but he pressed on. He squatted down next to the men, one hand on each of their knees. “She didn’t deserve to die but she was stupid, too. She thought she could help them. Rehabilitate them.” When he said that he stressed each syllable. “All she got for her trouble was a knife … much like this one I guess. So I picked up where she left off, and although my form of rehabilitation may lack finesse, it sure does get results.” As he said that, he stood back up and drove the blade deep into Mayfield’s thigh and punched him in the face, sending his chair toppling backwards.

  As Mayfield began to cry out in pain, Topper continued to stare forward.

  31

  Minnie did a form of power walk as she traveled from her command center to team leader Andy Apperson’s office. She wished she had a little more time to think of some talking points before she told him she had been helping Topper in the field. If it wasn’t enough to get her fired, it was definitely enough to get her some unpaid leave and a mark in her file.

  Outside of the office, App was a riot. His theory was that the team should spend time together outside the FBI so they could build that rapport that was vital in order to trust each other. He put together some great parties and he really knew his way around a grill. At the office though, he was all business. Not only was he responsible for catching criminals, he was responsible for keeping his people safe and that sometimes took a toll. He was also fair, so Minnie hoped he would tap into that fairness and maybe have a touch of compassion sprinkled in.

  As usual his door was open, inviting anyone who wanted to speak with him to do so. Usually when Minnie needed to speak with App she would peak her head in the door and wait for permission to enter but this time she didn’t even break stride as she crossed the threshold. App knew right away there was a problem.

  “Minnie?”

  “Topper has been kidnapped by a medical examiner in Texas named Carl Magnusson.” As soon as those words exited her mouth she realized how absurd she sounded. Had she not, the look on App’s face confirmed it. Lucky for her she came prepared. “I’ve sent the case file to your tablet if you’ll take a look.”

  App stared at her for a second and then picked up the tablet, opening the relevant document. He scanned through it for about a minute before he looked up again at Minnie bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking like a small child who needed to use the bathroom. “Assemble the team, five minutes.”

  She didn’t stick around to offer an explanation or a thank you, she simply sprinted from the office. Waking her own tablet she sent the case file to the rest of the team then stopped by each desk to pass on App’s instructions. Five minutes was more than enough time as everyone was seated and waiting patiently as App entered the room.

  The team consisted of six people with Minnie making seven. With Topper on leave that left six people around the table as App entered. App took a lot of pride in the team he assembled and he’d be willing to go into any war with them. His first handpicked member was Samantha Greyson. As an Army brat and West Point grad, Sam was a perfect fit for this team and App knew he was lucky to have her. With her time spent on the team she could write her own ticket, and although she could definitely attain more power and prestige, she knew her talents were best utilized here and this team was her family. Someday she would lead this family but for the time being the satisfaction she got from protecting the innocent was plenty.

  Next on the team was Nathan Cardinal. At the age of nineteen, Nate was the number one wrestler in the country while attending Ohio State. He went on to win two Olympic gold medals and later two bronze stars as a Green Beret. He was mesmerized by the stories of a man he heard speak once and after he left the Army he showed up on his doorstep. That man was Andy Apperson. At the time, there wasn’t an opening on his team but App fought hard to create one and Nate had been with him ever since.

  Sandwiched around Nate at the table were Susie and Cheryl Coleman. Identical twins from Georgia. They were each the true definition of a Georgia peach and two of the best profilers money could buy. Without debate they were considered the best identical twin profilers in the country, even if they hadn’t been the only ones. Cheryl had been on the team for about a year when she finally convinced Susie to come aboard. It took absolutely no convincing to get App to hire her. At the time, Susie had been working for a private security firm in California. The girls attended different high schools so they could find their own identities. All it did was bring them closer together. They competed against each other in everything from field hockey to track and field to basketball and sometimes, just for a lark, they would go to each other’s high school to see if anyone would notice. No one ever did.

  The last member of the team, who had been with them the shortest, a year and a half, was Nick Myers. Nick had been a child actor with over thirty movies on his resume before he turned sixteen. He also had an IQ north of 150. He didn’t mind acting but he figured out at an early age that if he were in school he would be put with kids much older than him and he didn’t want the headaches that came along with that. Instead, he made a lot of money while having top notch tutors with him all day, everyday. He could have started college at age eleven but decided to hold off. He continued acting until age eighteen while devouring as much knowledge from his army of tutors as possible. He walked away from acting and had not had a single regret since. At fourteen Nick played the son of an FBI agent. The producers hired a retired agent to be on set as a consultant and Nick learned as much from him as he could. By the time shooting wrapped, he knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He got degrees in psychology and criminal justice from Stanford University and then a master’s in criminology from Penn State.