Lucifer's Apostles

Lucifer's Apostles Episode 6

Waking with sweat on her forehead, Maria had a headache. Where was she, what had happened, and why was she naked? She sat up before tugging at the chain bolted to the floor, then tried to slip her hand out of the wrist cuff. She yelled at the top of her voice, “Let me out of here”, accompanied by a long scream. “Help, help me, please help”, she continued.

She was trying her hardest to remember what had happened. The problem was that she felt like most people did when they came out of an anaesthetic. She slowly pieced it together. She drove home from the gym, and a white van startled her, coming into the driveway, and it had headed in her direction. Then nothing until now. She looked around the bare room. Had she been kidn*pped? Why would anyone want to kidnap her?

She yelled, “Help, please anybody, can anybody hear me”? She looked around the room, sizing up the situation. Her bed had been bolted to the floor. There was a bedpan, a bucket, plus two bottles of water. The white walls had no windows. Instead, in the ceiling, there were three skylights. She liked that the sunlight would wake her as soon as the sun rose. There was an air conditioner vent directly opposite her bed and a security camera in the corner of the room. She yelled at the top of her lungs, “Let me outta here, you bastards”.

There was no one rushing through the door to save her. Realising no one could hear her, she knew there would be no police rescue. Undoubtedly, the scoundrel was watching. Why else would there be a camera in the room?

Everybody would say that Maria Vardalos was an intelligent woman. Intelligent women do not get into these situations. Maria had to think this through and be that intelligent woman. Her first decision was to save her throat muscles and stop screaming. The grogginess was fading. That was a start. Unfortunately, her headache was not.

***

The three prisoners, Maria being the exception, were all given their meals, a special treat tonight: hamburgers. No one would enter Maria’s room until the following night. Each woman, excluding the first captive, Debbie, had the same routine. Learning from mistakes, when Debbie had first been fed, The Man had worn her entire first meal. Leave them hungry enough, and they would eat. He did not mind them throwing the food. He did not like cleaning it off the floor or the walls. The worst was when they threw the contents of their bedpans.

The Man had heard Jacko yell, “The new one’s awake, Boss, and she’s gone stir crazy”. He was not sure what that meant. He would have to look it up. He was confident it would not mean what Jacko thought it did. When he looked it up, to his astonishment, he found out that Jacko had been correct. There was a brain more prominent than a peanut in his oversized head.

That being the case, all the women had previously woken up stir-crazy. It was a sight that he did not enjoy watching, although Jacko always seemed to find it amusing. Respecting all women, The Man tried not to use the stun gun unless it was essential. He suspected the others may have used the weapon unnecessarily at times.

Entering Sally’s room last, The Man asked her to wash herself thoroughly. She complied without saying a word. She scrubbed her hair and asked if he had brought in the electric razor so she could use it on her armpits. He told her he had not and would get someone to bring one tomorrow morning.

He chained her to the floor. “I’m sorry for the indignity you suffer, Sally. I’m not proud of myself for that”.

“I’m sure you’ve done worse”, she said.

“You’re right about that”, he replied. There was no anger in his voice. “Jacko won’t be visiting your room alone again”.

“Why are we here?” she asked.

“You’re one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen. You walked into a takeaway food shop one night while I was waiting for an order. In my eyes, you’re more than perfect”, he replied.

Sally looked at him in disbelief, “You’re kidding me, aren’t you”? Tears started running down her cheeks like they had earlier in the day. “You picked me because you thought I was sexy? Have any women ever made it out of here alive? I’m not sure if you should answer that”.

“I can say that every woman in these rooms will leave the house alive. That’s all I’m going to say on the subject, Sally. I could never hurt you. That’s the truth. I know that’s of little consolation. I know you’ll always hate me”. He passed her a tray with a hamburger on it. He knew it would only be lukewarm by now. “Eat this if you can. I thought it might be soft enough for you”.

He turned and left the room before she could ask him any more questions that he had no desire to answer.

***

Opening the front door of her two-bedroom apartment, Katie found Tank hopping from one leg to the other. He had a box full of food in one of his giant hands and a bottle of lemonade in the other. “Sorry, Katie, I need to pee”, he said, screwing up his face.

“Well, come in, hurry up”, she waved him through. “Go straight down the hallway. It is the first door on your left”, her voice followed him into the hallway. She placed the food box onto her kitchen bench, having already set two places on her dining table.

After removing the lids from the containers, she carried them to the table before putting a spoon into each. She then retrieved two glasses from a cupboard and placed them next to the plates she had set. Tank came out, clearly embarrassed, saying, “Sorry about that. I should have gone at the office”.

Katie laughed, a sound she had not made in what seemed like an eternity. “The look on your face when I answered the door was priceless”. Tank smiled at the fact he had made her look happy.

“I got entrees. I thought I couldn’t go wrong there. I wasn’t sure what kind of wine you might like, hence the fact I bought that”, he pointed to the bottle of lemonade on the table.

“It is as close to perfect as you can get”, she said with honesty. “I am not a wine drinker. I thought you knew that”.

“I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever seen you with wine. I’m a reformed drinker, Katie”. He looked down a little, “I wasn’t an alcoholic, although I did drink too heavily. Between drinking and work, let me just say, I put my life on the back burner”.

“I knew that Tank. Everybody that knows you has their suspicions. Unless people been in your position, they should never pass judgement. You have always been a complete gentleman around me”.

“Thanks, Katie, it means a lot. Can we eat this and then talk about the case? I’d like to enjoy the meal and the company”.

She smiled and said, “Of course we can. If you want, we can eat, then watch a movie. The case will still be there tomorrow, not that I am implying you will be”. He smiled as he took a mouthful of food. He knew that it had not been an invitation.

Waiting until he had swallowed the food in his mouth, Tank replied, “We can talk about the case, then watch a movie. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie. Please don’t pick a murder mystery”. They giggled, “I won’t stay too long. I think we both need to try and get a good night’s sleep. I’m tired. You look tired too, Katie”.

They ate their meals, talking about anything except the case. It was a natural conversation. There was no awkwardness. When there was a pause, neither had to try and contemplate something to say. Tank finished eating and wiped his face on a serviette.

“Thanks for that, Katie, the company was exquisite. Now we’re finished, you have my full attention”.

Katie told Tank everything that Ned had relayed to her about Deborah Roberts. “It is unquestionably the same unsub. There is something that I discovered with Janelle Sommerville. I then reread the autopsy report on Juliette Tarver. Both women had strong traces of salt and electrolytes in their system. I believe that shortly before they were executed, they had been given an I.V. drip to give them a higher hydration level. All three women also had traces of Propofol, Ketamine and Etomidate in their system, meaning someone with anaesthetic knowledge made the cocktails to anaesthetise our victims”.

“You think we’re looking at a doctor?” Tank asked.

“Not necessarily. The marks on their arms indicate that the unsub has had medical training. The cannula was placed into the skin on the first attempt, with minimal bruising around the entry area. They may be a doctor, nurse, or paramedic. The unsub cleans the victims’ bodies and applies the make-up in a cool room. The saline drip, hydrating the body and using a cool room can slow down the start of rigor mortis, giving them more time to do the thorough cleanse that they do”.

“How long does it take for rigor mortis to set in?” Tank asked, already knowing the answer yet unable to remember.

“That depends. It takes a little longer if the body is cooler, well-hydrated and has not had excessive movements. That is why the bodies have so many strap and cuff marks on them that the unsub tries to hide. He tries to keep them as still as possible. It can start anywhere between two to six hours. It takes 12 hours to peak, so our unsub lays his victims out well before that. My guess is, and I know you don’t like guesses. The bodies are laid to rest for four hours post-mortem”.

Tank looked at her, a little in awe. Not because of this discovery, all the forensic pathologists would have come to the same conclusion. It was just her demeanour. ‘How she held herself’ was what his father used to say. When he was first informed that she had been appointed the youngest coroner in the district, he was not surprised. Some have said she slept her way to the top. He was not one of those people. Sure, there were a lot of pathologists who had been in their positions for a more extended period and had more experience. You should not employ anyone just because of their expertise in their profession. You hire the best person for the position.