“…There,” there was a pause. “You know where. Where it all began.”
“If you want to say goodbye, come alone. No workers. No police. Or else…” “I understand.” “Good boy.” The line went dead.
Garrett slammed on the brakes. The SUV skidded to a halt in the middle of the road. “Where is it? Where it all began?” Alex asked. Garrett was silent for a few seconds. Then he said: “The hunting cabin.”
“In the woods, about fifteen miles out. My grandfather built it in the sixties. We used to go there when I was a kid. To fish, to hunt. I thought he’d sold it years ago, but…” “But that’s where he did it.” “Yes. It was in the journal.”
“The cabin is on a lake. Deep woods. No neighbors for miles. No one would hear.” Alex pulled out his phone. “We have to call Jenkins. Get a SWAT team out there.”
“No.” Garrett grabbed his arm. “He’ll hurt Macy. You don’t know him. He’s not bluffing.” “And if you go alone? Then what? He’ll kill you both.”
“Maybe. But at least she’ll have a chance. If he sees a siren, she’s dead.” Alex looked at him. This man had covered for a killer for eight years. People had died because of him.
But right now, he was a father willing to die for his kid. “I’m going with you,” Alex said. “He said alone.” “I don’t care. This is my business too.”
“My sister is one of his victims. I have a right to look him in the eye.” Garrett hesitated, then nodded. “Fine, but I only have one weapon. My service pistol. You ever shot?” “In the service.”
“Good.” He reached into the glove box and handed Alex a handgun. “Sig Sauer. Fifteen rounds. Safety is here. Just don’t shoot me by mistake.” Alex took the gun. It was heavy and cold.
“What about you?” “I have a backup.” Garrett opened a hidden compartment and pulled out a small revolver. “A snub-nose. Never thought I’d need it.” The SUV sped off again.
The drive to the cabin took nearly an hour. First on the highway, then onto a dirt logging road. The headlights cut through the darkness, hitting trees and deep ruts. The last few miles, Garrett drove almost by instinct. The road was overgrown, and he was navigating by memory. “Here,” he said finally, killing the engine.
They stepped out. Absolute silence. Just the wind in the pines. An owl hooted in the distance. “The cabin is about a hundred yards that way,” Garrett whispered. “Behind those pines.”
“Let’s move quiet.” They crept through the woods. Twigs snapped underfoot. The air smelled of pine needles and damp earth. Alex gripped the pistol, his palms sweating. After a few minutes, the trees opened up.
The cabin sat in the moonlight. An old log structure with a sagging porch. The windows were lit. A kerosene lamp was burning inside. George Garrett’s black SUV was parked nearby. “Macy!” Jim yelled.
“Macy, are you in there?” The cabin door opened. George Garrett stepped onto the porch. He looked strange, almost formal. A dark overcoat, a white scarf, and a double-barreled shotgun in his hand.
“You came,” he said. “And you brought your friend. I told you: alone.” “Where’s Macy?” “Inside, sleeping. I gave her some Benadryl. I didn’t want her to see this.”
“Let her go. Take me instead.” George laughed. It was a dry, rattling sound. “Why would I want you, Jim? You’re a traitor. A Judas, ready to sell out your own father.” “You’re a monster. You killed fourteen women.”
“I was cleansing the world.” George’s voice rose to a screech, then dropped. “They were sinners, temptresses. I was doing God’s work.” “God’s work?” Alex stepped forward. “You killed my sister.”
“She was 22. She wanted to be an actress. She had a life. What sin did she commit?” George squinted at him. “Morris… Mary’s brother. I remember you. You were just a kid then. Went to school with my son.”
“What sin did she commit?” Alex repeated. “Answer me!” “She tempted me with her youth, her beauty. She looked at me with those eyes. She smiled. They all did.”
“They thought an old man didn’t understand. But I did. I understood everything.” Alex felt a wave of pure rage. This sick old man had taken his sister because she was young and beautiful.
Because she smiled. Because he was a broken man who thought he was a divine tool. “You’re going to spend the rest of your life in a cage,” he said. “No.” George shook his head. “I won’t. I’ve already decided.”
“Tonight is the last night. For me and…” He looked toward the cabin. “And for my granddaughter. A pure soul. Innocent. She’s coming with me to a place where there is no sin.” “You wouldn’t dare!”
Jim lunged forward. George leveled the shotgun. “Stop. One more step and I fire. Then I go back inside to Macy.” Jim froze. “Dad, please. She’s your granddaughter.”
“Your own blood.” “Exactly. That’s why I can’t leave her in this filthy world. She’ll grow up and become a sinner too. Like all of them. Better to take her now. While she’s clean.” Alex realized the old man was completely gone.
You couldn’t reason with madness. He was going to kill that girl if they didn’t stop him. Alex started slowly moving to the side, trying to get a flank. George noticed. “Don’t move, Morris. I’m old, but I can still see. You won’t get a shot off before I take him…”
