5
Alex crept through the house and paused in front of the kitchen doorway. She’d been through here three times in the last forty-five minutes, and was surprised to find someone in the kitchen this time. The man standing here, a big hulking guy, didn’t scare her, but she didn’t want to encounter him either. Waiting him out seemed the best course of action.
She was doing the Lord’s work. Every time she took care of a sinner, she knew she was that much closer to being with him and all his glory. He’d told her, over and over, that she had to do this, and now that she was acting on his words, he was rewarding her daily. Just today, he’d given her a van to drive around in instead of having to walk everywhere. She could also sleep in it, which gave her time to pray to her Lord without anyone interrupting her.
The man in the kitchen was on his cell phone. She could hear him speaking, telling someone that they needed to get home quickly as he was ready to leave again. Alex knew it was time for her to move to a place that she could do her work when Melly, a teacher that had sinned at the school, came home. Wherever she had been, Alex knew she was sinning. That was what she’d been told about them, they were all monsters and sinners.
Going to the stairs in the sublevels of the house, Alex pulled out one of the sandwiches she’d made herself today when she’d been alone in the house. Her Lord had told her that it would be a long wait, but she would be rewarded if she would do as instructed. She was also to make sure that she was well hydrated as well as nourished. She remembered his words like she did her own name.
You cannot do my work if you are ill, my child. Eat well and make sure that your water is as pure as your thoughts. She told him that she would. I will give you so many riches once you have completed my work. And that was what she was doing here today.
The house was nice, much nicer than the other three she’d been in lately, but none of them compared to the one that Tisha had been whoring in. The sinner had been selling herself for such a big house, she’d been told. It was one of the reasons she’d been told to end her life with suffering.
Tisha had been hard to hurt. She knew that her responsibility had been to end her life, but she’d not been able to do that. Alex had thought that she had killed Tisha and told the Lord this. Alex had left her for dead but had been wrong. The Lord pointed out that because of Alex’s laziness, the whore lived. She had taken better care after that to make sure that her job was finished before leaving the houses.
Alex thought of the first time that her Lord had called to her. She’d been in bed with a man, having the best sex she’d ever had, when the man just dropped. As she struggled to get free from him, Alex realized that he had bled all over her and the bed.
When she’d finally gotten out from under him, her body was covered in warm, fresh blood. Alex had screamed only once, barely getting out the sound before she was told to shut up. The man, she forgot his name now, had turned his head all the way around from his body and glanced at her. He looked as if he’d been broken, then his head put on backwards. It nearly made her sick to see him lying there like he’d been. But then he spoke to her, scaring the shit right out of her.
I have a need for such a woman as you. Not saying a word, Alex only stared at the body all twisted up like it was. You have been called upon to come into my fold and help me with ridding the world of teachers that are whores and liars. You will be my chosen one.
“I don’t understand.” The body had gotten up from her bed and stood looking down at her. His ass, the first thing that she’d noticed about him in the bar that night, was right in front of her face, his head still turned so that he was able to see her. “How is it that you’re making your head turn all the way around like that? Doesn’t it hurt or something?”
This body has no meaning to me. I can do what I wish. And I wish for you to help me with the whores of the world. She tried to think if she knew any, and the first name that popped into her head was Tisha. Yes, she is the one. You will need to take them out of my world so that they cannot harm others with their sin. The others, the women, the whores that you work with, will also need to be taken from this world. I wish them dead for what they have done.
She thought about Tisha and her coming into work every day with new shoes on and pretty dresses. She had the best of everything. And her room was the nicest too, with all the bright pictures and posters, the new crayons that she handed out like they were free. Alex even hated that she had a new car too, and when her dad was in town, he would take them all out to eat, like he was trying to buy them or something. But Alex had never seen her dating anyone, and if she had, she didn’t talk about it at school. Then the week before classes began, Tisha had done something bad to her.
“I have some extra things that are left over from my class last year. I’d like for you to take them if you want.” Alex had asked her what sort of things. “Well, crayons for one. I know that kids can go through them pretty quickly. Someone donates them to me every year, and I have more than enough for this new one coming up. They’re all new and still in the boxes.”
She was giving her castoffs, Alex had thought, and not the new ones she said. Used and broken up crayons that the children wouldn’t want. But instead of telling her no, Alex thanked her. Then Tisha doubled her crime by laughing and adding insult to injury.
“Also, I was wondering if you’d like to have the mats that the kids didn’t use last year that are still packaged up. I know that they’re supposed to provide them, the children’s parents, but there are so many families that have little to no money that I buy them up so I can help out. Would you like those too?” More castoffs, more things that would be used up and broken. Before Alex could tell her no, that she’d rather die than take them, Tisha continued. “I have a lot of boxes coming in too. When they do, I’ll give you everything that I can’t use, and we can have the best rooms possible. Don’t you just love the first day of school when all the kids are as excited as we are?”
“No, I do not. You think I can’t have the best room without your help?” She’d been harsh, mean, and she could tell that Tisha had been shocked. “I can do just fine on my own, Miss Porter. You just go on ahead and decorate your room like a crayon factory exploded, and I’ll do mine in a way that doesn’t distract from what I’m trying to teach them.”
“I never meant that, Alex. I was just trying to be friendly. I thought we were friends.”
Alex told her she was wrong and hung up. And then the Lord had come to her and told her to take her out of this world. He also told her what she had to do to rid the world of women like Tisha Porter and her nasty ways.
There are pages where you can find links to make what you will need. I want you to find a way to take them all from this world at once. I wish for them to be taken care of soon, the first day of classes at that whorehouse called a school. She got up and went to her computer immediately. You will do this for me, my child, and I will reward you greatly.
After doing as she was told, they made plans to make it work. She had less than a week, only a short amount of time to get things in place and to please her Lord. Then there was the matter of the man’s body.
His death had been necessary. It was the way of things, the Lord told her. One must be willing to die for the betterment of the world. He’d taken the man’s life so that he could speak to her freely. The knife lying on the bed where they’d been, he said, was the murder weapon. And that she had to not just get rid of it, but the man as well, for it would have her prints on it. When asked why, he explained.
I had to use you to rid yourself of him. As I have said, I need you to come into my fold and do my work for me. I have a list, not long, but one that I would like for you to take care of for me. And if you do this correctly, which I’ve no doubt that you will, then I shall reward you greatly. He’d said that to her before, and Alex asked him if it was money. Nay, my child, you will have no use for money when you have me in your heart.
The bomb was easy to make. She’d just gone to the sites on her computer that the Lord had told her to. Making a list, she bought the items easily enough, even going so far as to travel out of town to purchase a few of them when the Lord suggested it.
After getting all the things she’d needed and putting it together, he told her that while there would be a lot of innocent lives taken, it would be a good thing, that his word was law. After that, he assigned her to make twelve other, smaller bombs to be set off when Tisha was dead.
She will come in to her room and see the big package on the desk. It will be like her to open it when there are children there. To show off what was inside. As soon as she opens it, she will be stricken from my list, and those others that work there as well. Alex asked him about the children again. You dare to question what I have set before you? I do not need for you to do this if at every turn you are going to ask me about my actions. Are you going to do as I need?
“Yes, my Lord. I am but your humble servant.”
It was only a matter of taking in all the smaller bombs and setting them about in the areas that he told her, then taking in the larger box and setting it on the desk the afternoon before school was to start. Alex was excited, very much so, and sat up to watch the television all night so she’d not miss a single bit of coverage when they were all dead the next morning. But it didn’t happen the way it had been told to her.
The news reports came in about ten that night. The building was gone. A gas leak had taken out not just the building, but cars and the playground equipment as well. No mention of Tisha, nor of the other sinners that worked there. The only bodies that they’d been able to find so far were a few men that worked to scrub up after the nasty children were gone for the day. Alex had failed her Lord.
You will need to go and finish my work. She nodded, hearing the Lord speak to her as if he were in the room with her now. Go to her home and kill her. I will tell you what you will need to bring with you to finish the job. You have failed me, Alexandra. I’m terribly disappointed in you.
“I’m so sorry. I will take care of this now.” Going to the garage as he told her, she gathered what he said she’d need and made her way to Tisha’s house. The list of things needed was long; hammer, nail gun, a knife that she’d taken from her kitchen, tape to bind her with, and a gun. She put that in her pocket and took all the other items to the car.
It had taken Alex several hours to do all the things that her Lord had told her to do. She’d broken in and attacked the woman even as she begged for her life. Alex had decided that she’d do this sort of work for the Lord whenever he asked her. She’d enjoyed upholding his laws. And making Tisha suffer had given her the biggest thrill of her life. But she didn’t mention that to the Lord. She felt he’d find it wrong of her.
The door to the basement brought her from her thoughts. The light flared on, and then the door shut loudly in the space she was hidden in. Pressing her back to the wall behind her, she watched as the feet touched each step, the body of the person taking up more and more space as he entered her area. It was the man again, his body bigger than Melly’s.
Melly was a fifth-grade teacher. She was old, nearly sixty, and didn’t strike her as the wanton type. She taught Sunday classes and had pictures of her grandchildren all over her desk. Alex had had a hard time thinking of her as a whore, but her Lord would know best. And it was her duty to take her out of his world. Alex was startled out of her thoughts again when the man spoke.
“I don’t see it.” His voice sounded like he was angry; it was then that she realized that he was still on his phone. “I’m looking at the washer right now, Melly, and I don’t see your blouse. Could it be in the dryer, or even in our room?”
Alex could hear something, a buzzing sound that she knew was Melly answering the man. He moved closer to the washer and the Lord spoke to her again. He seemed angry for some reason, and it made her react quickly.
Kill him. She moved forward and hit the man as hard as she could with the hammer to the back of his head. When he dropped to the floor, the Lord spoke again. Hit him. Kill him. He’s a whore’s servant. Kill him.
Hitting him several more times, closing her eyes when his head simply fell into itself, she stepped back when the Lord told her enough. Her body was slick with blood and sweat, and she rubbed it all over her arms and face. It was like having a spa day after a long work week. She was glad now that the Lord had told her to do this as she was born, naked, to do this, and it felt wonderful. And it made it much easier to clean up. Her clothing wasn’t covered in the whore’s blood.
Shower here. Get all the blood off your body before the whore comes home. She will hurry now, knowing that something happened to her servant. Alex picked up the phone, hearing Melly screaming out the name of David. When you are cleaned of his vile blood, we shall have to leave here for now. But not too far, for she will come back.
Alex did as she was told, even taking her hammer into the basement stall with her. When she was finished, she walked naked over to her duffle bag and pulled out her clothing to dress. Her back to the body, she didn’t bother to check to see if he was dead. She was getting very good at her job for her Lord, and knew that she’d ended his sinful life.
Barefoot, she made her way to the shower again and poured the drain cleaner that the Lord had told her to purchase just for this purpose after her work. Then she picked up things that might lead the police to finding her before her work was done. He’d told her several times to be careful of that, for if she was caught now, they’d not let her continue on with her work for him. They would want to put her on a pedestal and whores would fear her.
Tonight she would need to find her a place to sleep, then tomorrow, if the Lord saw fit, Alex would come back here and finish the job. So much to do. But he promised her she’d get to kill the biggest whore of all, Tisha Porter, if she continued to do the good job that she was. Alex was going to make it her mission in life to be the best servant of her Lord that he could find.
~~~
Harlan knew just what they were going to find here. Nothing. There would be no residue from the killer, no weapon left behind, nor would anyone find a single print that they could use. It was like this woman had some sort of special powers to clean herself from every aspect of the crimes she committed. They all knew who it was, but attaching her to any of the murders so far would be impossible in a court of law. He looked over at Melody Harrison as she spoke to one of his officers.
“We were on the phone and I was asking him to bring me my favorite blouse. My husband has been so good about making this thing safe for us. He only stopped by here because I asked him to. My poor husband, David. Whatever will I do without him now? I just don’t know why someone would kill him like this.” She held onto the tissue in her hand like it was a lifeline. “We were talking about where I might have put my blouse, when suddenly I heard this cry of pain from him. I asked him what he’d done, what he’d hit, but there was no answer. He’d been after me for months to get the basement cleaned out. I promised him I would have a huge garage sale right after school started. I told him that we’d use the money from it to have a nice little vacation with the grandkids. Then I could hear it.”
“Hear what?” He asked her again when she only stared at him. “You said you heard it. What was it you heard, Mrs. Harrison? Someone talking, perhaps?”
“No. Just the pounding noise. Like.... He had a power hammer, one of those that just zips the nail into the wall?” Harlan told her what it was. “Yes, an electric nail gun. It sounded like that. Sort of a pop-pop-pop, but much louder.”
She must have realized in that moment what she’d been hearing and burst into loud sobs. He didn’t blame her. He’d seen her husband in the basement. He might have been just as sickened by the sound seeing what the murderer had done to the older man.
His head was gone. Not that it had been removed, no, that might have been easier to take. But it had been crushed in with something hard and heavy. Harlan wondered what sort of strength it might have taken to not just take down a man that size, but to kill him this way too. He was sure that they’d be finding brain and skull fragments for years, if not for as long as the house stood there.
“Sir?” Harlan looked at the officer that had arrived first on the scene. He was still slightly green, but he was upright now and not puking in the yard. “They found something downstairs. Could you come on down and have a look before we move it?”
He’d have to walk by the body again, he knew it. And while he wasn’t the squeamish type, seeing the devastation done to the man was hard for even a seasoned officer like him. Nodding once, he made his way to the basement and around the body to stand in front of the shower. It took him several seconds to see what the man was showing him.
“Is that it?” The officer said that he had no idea, but it did fit what the Porter woman had told them. “Bag it up and then tag it as evidence, and take it in personally to have it looked at. Do not let that out of your sight for any reason.”
“Yes, sir. But there’s something else.” He pointed this time, directing his attention to the bottle on the floor of the shower. It was hidden behind the curtain, and well out of sight of his first walkthrough of the area. “I’m thinking that this is why we never find anything in the house. She takes care of it before she goes.”
They were the first true pieces of evidence they’d had in all this time. Something that might connect Alexandra Grace to the murder spree. He hoped to Christ this was her hammer and bottle of drain cleaner. Even if they found a partial print on either of them, a spot of DNA, he would feel that they were making progress. More than they were now, just cleaning up the dead bodies and chasing their asses. The city was running scared, not having a positive idea who might be doing this.
Again with instructions on not to leave the evidence in the hands of someone else, he sent the officer off. Making his way around the room, Harlan looked at it with fresher eyes. If she left this behind, perhaps she’d done the same with something else, possibly bigger. Holy shit, he thought with a grin, they might have the murder weapon.
It took them an extra five hours to go over the house again. They found evidence that she’d made herself a sandwich as she stood waiting for her victim. The small crumbs, like the hammer, might have gone unnoticed but for the small piece of plastic that stuck from one of the steps.
She’d taken the time to not just make a meal, but to wrap it in the plastic wrap that was in the drawer of the house. They found several prints on the inside handle of the refrigerator. A glass in the sink that had a good set of prints on it as well. Harlan thought that they were hitting a gold mine. But they still had no idea why she was killing the people that she worked with.
Harlan tried to think what would be going through her mind as she stood there, waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her next victim and quietly eating her ham on rye. He wondered if she was naked. It would stand to reason, he supposed. There was no clothing left at the scene that they’d been able to find, nor did any show up in any of the dumpsters. But then she’d been pretty meticulous. Taking what she brought and leaving not one single thing in the house…until now.
By the time he was home, he’d gotten the call on the prints. The prints did not belong to anyone in the household. The police were, at this moment, running them against the ones that had been discovered on the knife at Alex’s house. He shivered whenever he thought of what they’d found at the home of the murderer two months ago.
He was aware that what she’d done to the body had been done postmortem, but it made it no less sickening. The arms and legs had been cut off the torso into what he assumed were manageable pieces for her, then dumped in the trash can on her lot. While there was no real experience in her cutting, it was done with a steady hand, the coroner told him, without hesitation in any of the cuts.
Harlan had since figured out she was looking for her signature. The body of Carl Winter, a deadbeat father of six who had apparently picked Alex up at a bar, had his neck broken. Not just broken, but his entire head had been twisted around so that it faced backward. When they’d found him, it wasn’t easy to determine if he’d had sex or not until they found his DNA in her bed. The condom that he’d worn had been removed and not recovered.
But since then, even with Tisha, she’d been using blunt force trauma to maim and eventually kill. Harlan figured that Alex had decided on a hammer to the head as her mode of dispatching teachers and anyone else in the house. It was easy to carry, he supposed, as well as hide, and she was getting really good with it. The monster that she was becoming would be hard to stop.
He looked up at the notes he used at home. It was just a huge pin board that he’d use when he couldn’t make the dots connect while he was working. The pictures of Tisha were there, all of the teachers that were on a contact sheet, each picture no more than an inch by an inch. But he had no trouble seeing them. He’d been there and knew each and every wound, bloodied place, and cut on each body.
“Alex, what were you thinking?” He’d asked himself that several times over the last months. Six teachers, all of them dead. Two spouses as well, their bodies just as mangled and beaten as their other halves. “Why would you, someone that had been a teacher for more than twenty-five years, never having any issues, do this? You have no reprimands, nothing. Why would you suddenly decide not only to blow a school up, more than likely when it was full of children and teachers, but seemingly want to finish what you started? Were the teachers the intended all along? Will you go for the children next?”
Harlan didn’t think so. When she’d killed the fifth-grade teacher and her husband two weeks ago, there had been children in the house. One of them, a third-grader at the same school, lay sleeping in the other room. He had no idea why, but Harlan thought it was the teachers. But for what reason?
From all accounts, Alex was a nice person if a little abrupt at times. She had a problem with her landlord on occasion, but nothing too serious. Her parents were both dead, no siblings that they could find. But her students from the last year had mentioned that she’d talk to herself. A lot. Of the two or so dozen that had been interviewed, more than half of them said she also faded out, sort of sleeping with her eyes open.
Harlan stared at the woman’s picture that was also her ID photo. If he’d had her as a teacher, he might have been slightly afraid of her, he thought. When asked, none of his own kids had anything nice to say about her either. His son, Harlan Junior, a college student now, had told him that she was nuts. And that had been over ten years ago.
“Do you talk to someone? Do you see things that others don’t? Hear things?” He had no idea. Then he thought about the conversation that Tisha had told him about. The one that she’d had with the woman weeks before all this had happened. The crayons.
Tisha had told him that she’d only been offering Alex some of the items that she’d had donated. The younger woman had solicited the help of friends in higher places, and had more than enough supplies and simply meant to share her bounty. She’d done it every year since she’d been at the school, and all the teachers had taken the supplies. Except for Alex. She never took anything, so Tisha had called her to tell her what she had left.
“She acted as if I had offended her in some way. That I was offering her...I don’t know, like I was trying to pawn off things that were inferior or something. I told her they were new, still in the package.” Harlan asked her then if she’d said anything to her while she’d been in her home. “Yes. She called me a whore.”
Harlan got up and went to his wall. Whore? He thought about the way the women had been killed. The men too that had been in the houses. It was the work of something personal. She’d killed these women because...she believed they were whores.
She was ridding the place, the school, of whores.
The more he thought of that, the more clues seemed to come into place. While the papers knew that the victims had been killed by blunt force trauma to the head, they didn’t know that each of them had also been beaten in their groin region. The abdomen and vagina had been crushed. They thought that Alex had killed them, then stood over them and beaten them between the legs repeatedly. She was destroying them and their sex because they were whores. But why come to that conclusion?
He might not have the answer to that now, but he had a feeling he was on the right track. For whatever reason, and criminals didn’t really have to have a sane reason to do something, Alex was killing these people because she thought of them as whores. He wondered, not for the first time, if this was her first killing spree.