Diary of the Pirate Killer (6 page)

All this woman was doing the entire time we were out there was talk about how cruel it was and going on and on about how her dogs never did anything.  Finally Officer Carter told her that there had been close to seventy-five noise complaints on her dogs over the last year.  She tried to say that the man next door just had issues with her until he told her that the complaints had come from five different homes.  She shut up
after that.  That’s what she gets for being an inconsiderate hag.  If she really cared about her dogs, she wouldn’t be leaving them out all night, anyway.  It was just above freezing last night.  If she didn’t want them in the house, she could have at least put them in the garage or something.  How can anyone be so cruel to a living creature?  No wonder they were barking.  They were freezing!  She doesn’t deserve to be a pet owner.

Well, I managed to get in a little time following the new vessel yesterday.  Hopefully he follows a good routine so it won’t be difficult to plan an easy abduction.  I don’t want to have to worry about just following him when the time is right and trying to get him alone without anyone else noticing.  Why can’t it ever be as easy
as it is on TV?  You know, the right person just happens to walk down a dark alley.  Then you just need to snatch them up without any trouble.  Life would be so much easier if that were the case.

2/25/09- Ben actually invited me out for a drink tonight.  It was really nice.  I considered continuing my act, but I decided to give him the night off.  I know how angry it makes him.  As much as I want to keep the show going, I also don’t want him to write me off entirely.  That might actually happen if I take it too far.  If he does, it might mean he would turn the investigation on me even quicker if the real reason is ever revealed.

I actually had a lot of fun.  We chatted a bit with a few other people at the bar, but it was pretty much just the two of us.  It almost felt like it used to.  We joked about things, like the fact that Joy seems to go home with a different man every time we go out or how wound up the chief is right now.  Ben agrees that he is being a bit of an ass about the
case.  He said he was really surprised that he chose not to bring the feds in.  Though he wouldn’t say it, I can tell he’s also thinking that it’s about time we get a new chief.  I’ll make sure that happens before this is all said and done. 

So I tried to convince Ben that he should get out there and meet someone.  He’s dated a little bit here and there, but he hasn’t really been serious with anyone in years.  I know what happened to his
fiancé in college really hangs over him, but it’s about time he moves on.  He just kind of laughed the idea off.  I even tried to get him to go talk to a hot girl who was in the bar, but he wouldn’t go for it.  It’s something I’m really going to need to work on.  When I have Justin back, he’s going to need to have a nice girl to bring to our wedding.  I know Justin wants him to be just as happy as I do.  Maybe his brother can talk some sense on him when he’s back.  Until then, I’m going to do my best to help him find someone.  I just wish I had some single girl friends who I could introduce him to.  The only single girl I hang out with is Joy, and there’s no way I would let that happen.  She’s too loose for him.  He needs a good girl.  Someone who will bring out the best in him without taking advantage.  He’s got a really good heart.  I need to find someone for him who will appreciate it and reciprocate.  It’s too bad he lost his fiancé.  From what Justin said, she really was the perfect girl for him.  He can’t just keep spending his off time with those fish of his.  I can’t have a fish as my maid of honor at our wedding! Haha!

2/27/09- It’s almost time!  I can feel it.  Justin came to me last night in a dream and told me that he was growing stronger.  I’m so glad this is working.  I knew it would.  It won’t be long now before I get him back, even if it is only for a week. 

I did hit a snag with the vessel, though.  The one I’ve been following just isn’t going to work.  I don’t know how to explain it, but he isn’t right.  I started freaking out about it, but I found something in the files.  There is a man I actually testified against who will be release from prison next week.  He’s not the ideal person, but he’s a good choice when it comes to keeping them from detecting any kind of pattern when it comes to the men.  If he’s only been out for a few days, they will assume that they’re just being chosen at random.  As much as I want them to know the reason they are really being picked, it’s much too soon.  For now, I need them to think some man is out there just grabbing guys off of the street at random.

On another note, I went to lunch with Ned today.  It was good to see him.  He’s one of the few people who I can actually be honest with about how much I miss Justin.  There’s no way he could tie the bodies back to me, because he’s not in the department, and I don’t have to worry about it getting out at work.  I definitely should make some more time for him.  It’s really nice to be able to completely be myself with someone.  Even Dr. Gamboa, who I tell almost everything to, doesn’t know my real name.  I didn’t want there to be any chance of it getting back to the department, so I used a fake one.  With everything going on now, I’m actually really glad that I did.  If they ever do start looking at me as a suspect, I know there’s no way they can trace me to him.  They aren’t smart enough to.

3/2/09- Dr. Gamboa said I’m looking much better.  I told him that I’m still taking the antidepressants and that I’m a little nervous about getting off of them.  That seemed to go over pretty well.  Ben left Friday for another conference, but he’s getting back tomorrow.  I’m so excited.  It’s just about time again.  Oh, I can’t wait!

3/4/09- Detective Wilcome has the whole town on alert right now.  Everyone has been called into the station to get ready for the next “victim” to be taken.  He’s also ordered that every officer be out on the streets in hopes of catching the “man responsible” as he attempts to take the next man.  I had to struggle not to laugh in the middle of the meeting.

The good news is the next vessel is being released from prison today! 
I was tempted to drive out and watch, but I knew it would be too much of a risk.  Instead, I’ll just park on their street and keep an eye on the house.  I don’t really like that I’m not going to be able to do the proper amount of surveillance, but I’ll have to deal.  I just hope he doesn’t decide to spend the next several days inside with his wife.  I can’t believe she stuck by him after he was locked up.  It’s not even like it was his first time.  I’m pretty sure this was his second time being sent away since they married.  I love Justin and am willing to stick by him with everything he’s going through now, but that’s completely different.  He was an innocent victim of the department.  He didn’t choose to do something that took him away from me.

I’m going to need to come up with a backup plan in case he doesn’t leave his house.  It’s not like I can just walk up and
knock on the door... or maybe I can.  As long as his wife isn’t home, that is.  Maybe I can tell him I’m one of his neighbors and I heard someone sneaking around my backyard.  Or I could tell him my dog got out and I need help finding him.  That’s a little clique, though.  Or I could tell him that he had some personal property that was left at the station and I need help getting it out of my car.  That might not fly, though.  Oh, I could tell him that I’m a friend of his wives and she lent me something that I was trying to return.  That would work.  Well, it would only work if he didn’t recognize me from court.  Maybe I’ll wear a wig.  Hopefully I won’t have that problem.  I should look back over his records.  I think I saw something about a possession charge.  Maybe he’ll go out to try to score something and I can grab him then.  I really don’t like all of this uncertainty.  While it does have a bit of excitement along with it, I still don’t want to risk being seen by anyone.  I just wish I had a better option to go with.  I know he’s going to be stubborn and strong willed, which will be good for Justin.  I was just hoping it would be as easy as the last three.  I guess a challenge will be good for me, though.  It will show that I’m willing to do anything to get my Justin back.  Maybe that will even help things along.  God will see that it was a mistake taking him, because he was so loved here.  Instead of holding onto him until he is strong enough to break free, maybe he’ll just let him go.  That would be so great.

3/5/09- So I was parked down the street from Ellis’ house for about an hour today before I got called away.  I was right.  He really is the perfect man.  Justin showed me that he was the right choice like he did before.  I was hoping that he would leave, but all he did was go out to mow the lawn.  His wife was out for the majority of the time, though, which gives me hope that she will be out when I need her to be.  By the way I saw him looking at some of the women walking into their house, it shouldn’t be hard to get him to do what I want.  After all, he has been locked up for the last eighteen months.

I ended up getting called away for a mugging near the mall.  Some guy actually tried to rob Detective Matthews’ wife, Katy.  I didn’t know what to expect when I was pulling up, but it wasn’t anything like what I found.  She was relatively alright, but the mugger had to be sent to the hospital.  He was a good deal larger than her, too.  I have to say, I have a lot of respect for her after that.  Detective Matthews was pretty shaken, but he couldn’t seem to have been any prouder of her.  I almost feel bad now about my plan to cause conflict between them in order to keep him distracted.  That doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it, though.  He’s good.  He might actually be the best detective on the task force.  If I don’t do something, he might just catch on.  It doesn’t help that he was so close to Justin and Ben.  If it does come out and the spotlight is on Ben, he won’t just go with it.  I know he’ll look into anything and everything until he finds a better explanation.  Maybe I should try to break the little bond the two of them have.  I could write out the card on the flowers in his hand writing.  If Detective Matthews thinks there’s something going on between his wife and his pal, it might just send him over the edge.  Then he would be more than willing to accept Ben as a suspect.  I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before!

I was going to go back out to the vessel’s house tonight, but I decided against it.  I don’t want anyone to notice me out there.  I’m working the afternoon shift tomorrow, so I’ll head out first thing in the morning.  I’m super anxious... more than I was the last two times.  There is so much uncertainty that I can hardly stand it.  I’ve never been good with dealing with it.  I always like to know what’s going to happen instead of just playing it by ear.  You know, I never really understood that phrase.  What does an ear have to do with anything?

3/6/09- The grab went better that I thought.  I was parked on the street for about an hour before Ellis left his house.  I thought he was going to go for a jog or something, which would have made it really easy to grab him; instead, he just walked down to the mailboxes.  I waited until he was almost there before pulling my car up.  I popped open the trunk and grabbed a piece of paper.  I struck up a casual conversation and told him I was hanging flyers.  Then I ‘accidently’ dropped it and the wind carried it away.  He started after it, but I told him it was alright because I had plenty more.  I left the trunk door open and grabbed another one before walking to the mailbox.  Then I told him I forgot the tape in the trunk and asked if he wouldn’t mind getting it for me.  He looked me up and down with a sickening sort of grin and nodded before walking over.  From there it was so easy.  After making sure no one was around, which wasn’t hard since the mailboxes are pretty hidden from the homes on the street, I injected him and stuffed him in the trunk.  I was so excited that I nearly forgot to leave the black card behind.  After I tucked it into a crack on the box so it wouldn’t blow away, I parked the car as far as I could down the connecting street with the boxes still in view.  Then I waited.  It didn’t take long for the magic to start.  A woman pulled up to check her mail and saw the card before screaming.  Apparently Ellis’ wife began to wonder where he was, because she was only about fifteen feet away by that time.  She screamed too and started looking around and yelling her husband’s name.  I must say, she was actually much prettier than I expected.  She doesn’t look at all the type to be with a man who was in and out of prison.  I left right after that.  While they weren’t paying attention to any cars traveling down the road, I knew the same wouldn't be said for the cops.  Since Wilcome had everyone out, I knew it would only be a matter of moments before someone arrived.  I took the back roads and headed straight for the cabin.  I was actually surprised when I didn’t get a call to go back out to the scene.  I’m guessing Ben is handling it himself.  It’s not like there was much to process since he was grabbed at a mailbox.

This one was a little more difficult to get out of the trunk.  I ended up dropping him down pretty hard on the dolly.  It was even more difficult to get him into the bed.  I’m going to need to figure out a better way to do it.  It would be awesome if I could put in a chute that would slide them from the driveway to the bed in the basement, but that’s a little unreasonable.

Well, I guess I should get started on the second step of the process.  I would rather not have to drug him again, then have to wait until tomorrow before even getting to talk to him.  I would also really like to get it done before I have to go to work.  Hopefully there won’t be any complications this time.

3/7/09- This one is lively.  I wasn’t here when he woke up after the procedure, but he was still fuming when I got back after my shift.  He actually threatened me!  I didn’t know exactly how to react to him.  Part of me just wanted to laugh.  I gave him his dinner and checked his wounds before deciding just to give him his space.  The procedure went very smoothly and his leg looks really good.  In fact, it’s the best job I’ve done so far.  I didn’t get much sleep last night, though.  He was yelling and cursing most of the night.  He finally passed out around three in the morning.  When I went in this morning to change the bandages and serve him breakfast, he seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.  He was still angry, I could see it in his eyes, but he wasn’t yelling anymore.  In fact, he didn’t even talk to me at all.  I really wish I didn’t have to work today, but it would look far too suspicious if I called in.  Now I get to put of a stressed face and pretend that I’m as shaken by this as everyone else.  I’m getting pretty good at pretending, though.  I’ve been hiding what I’ve really been feeling for years now.  I just hope I don’t end up having to stay there all night.

3/8/09- I had a great time talking with Justin today.  He confessed to me that he doesn’t like the fact that his hair is gone now.  He had such beautiful hair before the chemo took it.  He never complained when it started falling out or when I finally had to shave it.  I knew how much he hated to see it go, but he never complained.  He tried to be so strong for me, no matter how he was feeling.  I loved him for that.  I’m glad he is being open with me now, though.

It really is better than I could have ever imagined
having him back.  I know it’s not the same since he’s in a different body, but it’s still amazing.

We talked about so much.  After the vessel finally gave up and let Justin have complete control, he told me how beautiful I was and told me how much he missed me.  He then got really serious and told me that I couldn’t keep doing this.  He said that these men had lives and people who loved them, and he told me it wasn’t right to take them away from their families like he had been taken away from me.  He reached out and took me by the hand and told me how much he missed me, but he said that he didn’t want me to kill these men just to have him back.

I won’t lie, it made me pretty angry.  I really thought he understood it.  We’ve talked about it before, and I was sure that he knew how important this is.  I don’t know why he’s getting cold feet now.  I didn’t feel like arguing with him, so I just walked out.  This isn’t the time for him to be chivalrous.  He has always put everyone in his life above himself.  For once, he needs to think about himself.  He can put others first after I get him back.  He can do everything he needs to do to ease his conscious after the process is complete.  For now, we just need to worry about getting him back.  I’m going to give him a little time to think over everything before I go back in.

3/9/09- I was hoping to be able to sneak away from work for a bit today, but that didn’t happen.  I ended up spending the entire day out in the field.  After that, I had to go straight to my appointment with Dr. Gamboa.  It was seven before I finally made it back to my apartment.  At least the cases were pretty interesting, though.  Well, as far as they go.  The first one was for a guy who broke into a house and got stuck in the bathroom window on his way out.  From the small window of time the homeowner was gone and the amount of destruction, it was pretty obvious there was at least one other person involved.  It took a while for me to collect all of the prints.  From there I had just enough time to log the evidence in at the station before going out to hit and run.  I was actually shocked no one was killed.  A truck plowed into a group of people in someone’s front yard.  He must have been drunk.  Either that or he had it out for someone in the group and intentionally drove off the road to hit them.  There wasn’t much for me to do there aside from collecting paint samples off of the car he sideswiped as he was driving away.  There had to be twenty people in that yard and not a single person managed to get a license plate number.  I think that’s a little ridiculous.  The last case was pretty easy, though it was a big one.  I think it might actually be the first bank robbery in Addison Valley in at least ten years.  I don’t think the guy could have picked a stupider time to do it.  Police presence is substantially higher.  It only took a matter of minutes for them to arrive and start chasing the guy down the block.  He didn’t even have a getaway car.  He ended up ditching the money in an alley, then tried to say they had the wrong guy.  The moron didn’t even wear gloves, so his prints were everywhere.

I stopped by my place to change real
quick before I head out to the cabin.  I’m hoping a full days rest will have been good for Justin.  I can tell he’s definitely stronger this time.  I’m so glad my plan is working.  I don’t know what I would have done if it didn’t.  I couldn’t stand to live the rest of my life without him.  Well, I should be going.  I don’t want to make him wait too long before seeing me.

3/10/09- Justin and I curled up and watched our favorite movie last night.  He still doesn’t have complete control over the vessel, so I had to keep him restrained.  It wasn’t as comfortable as it could have been, but it was nice to just lie in bed with him.  He ended up falling asleep halfway through the movie.  I don’t know who was more tired, Justin or the vessel.  I imagine they were both pretty worn out.  I stayed in bed with him until the movie was over.  I wanted to stay longer, but I knew I couldn’t.  I don’t think I would have been able to control myself.  As much as I want him, as bad as I want to feel him, I can’t.  It may be Justin’s soul, but it’s not him.  I want all of him: his heart, his soul, and his body.  I can’t settle for anything less than that.