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  “Let’s just say I’ve “been around the block” a time or two more than you have, and leave it at that.”

  “Fine by me. Shall we go to your place or mine to get better acquainted?”

  “Since I live in my boss’s house, I better check with him before we go to my place. How about we go to your place, and we can go to mine another time.”

  “Oh, there’s going to be another time?”

  “I sure hope so.”

  Chapter 31

  At work, Ben couldn’t keep his mind off her. As he remembered last night’s session, Ben’s shoulders painfully recalled the effort of every swat with the strap. Even if his arms were getting more muscular, his shoulders still hurt the day after administering a treatment. In spite of that discomfort, he was smiling. When he closed his eyes, he could hear every blow and see the welts blossom. The bruises that developed on her back and the back of her legs were works of art. These images restored his energy.

  When he went to sit by his aunt Jane’s bed and told her about the pleasurable feelings he had from helping the girls get stronger, she said, “Use a thinner strap for the beatings. That will sting more and should draw some blood.”

  He had never done that with any of his previous victims, so this evening’s activities should be very exciting indeed.

  His aunt Jane had urged him to find a girl that could replace her, but she hadn’t told him that the girls could become useless after just a few days. By that time, they were barely able to remain conscious. All the screaming was done, and they could not even stand on their own. When they got that way, there was nothing else to do but slide the blade just above the top most vertebrae, get rid of them, and try again. Maybe by using the thinner strap and making her bleed, the pretty girl he was holding in the warehouse, would become strong enough to be able to withstand his love for her.

  Chapter 32

  The team was on the schedule for the morning briefing, to present their progress.

  Frank said “I covered the Scripps hospitals without finding anything useful. I will start on their clinics today.”

  Karen said, “I was able to cover half of the Kaiser Permanente facilities. No hits yet, but I will see if the other half yields better results.”

  Jerry reported that he had gotten only two hits from his cross referencing of current medical employee’s files with the criteria they identified, but there were still a lot of records left in the database to check.

  The chief looked at Dan and asked, “Carter, do you have anything to add?”

  “Afraid not Chief.

  Chief Gates looked perplexed. He used his “I am not happy” voice and said “look, folks, we know he has another girl. The missing person report came in late yesterday. Her name is Cyndi Marks. She is twenty-two years old and lives alone, five blocks from where she works at the central library downtown. She hasn’t shown up for work in two days now, and no one has seen her during that time. Because she fits the killer’s victim profile, we have to assume that he has her. If that is the case, we only have a couple days left to find this freak. I want you all to think of Cyndi as if she were your daughter, alone, and afraid for her life. Let’s get out there and step it up!”

  Chapter 33

  Annika was waiting for Dan and Benji when they returned home after the morning briefing.

  Benji noted Dan’s smile when he saw her waiting at the front door. “It’s good to see you here bright and early, isn’t it Dan?”

  Dan ignored Benji’s comment. “Good Morning Annika.”

  After Dan stripped and got up on the table, with his caretaker’s help, Benji covered his midsection and said, “I’ll get Annika now and leave you two alone.”

  “No, stay in here while I get my treatment.”

  “Sorry Boss, I have to run some errands if I am going to be back in time to get dinner ready. However, I’ll have my cell phone with me, so you can call me if she tries any funny business.”

  “You know what I mean Benji.”

  “I do, but don’t you think Annika can help you get past your hang-up with women? After all, she is just your physical therapist, so you don’t have to worry about any romantic involvement, right?”

  “Yeah, and don’t think for one minute that you have me fooled Yamamoto.”

  Benji said, “See you later Boss,” as he left the exercise room.

  “Are you ready?” said Annika as she entered.

  “All ready.”

  “Well let’s get started then.”

  Dan lay on his stomach as Annika stood at the head of the massage bed. She bent down and placed her hands on his back and pressed down into the muscles. Dan could feel the warmth of her hands and smell the fresh scent of her clean white uniform.

  He said, “Annika, if you are going to continue as my regular physical therapist, don’t you think we should get to know each other a little better.”

  “Yes Dan. I have been thinking about the same thing. Why don’t you tell me all about Dan Carter?”

  “Nope. I brought it up, so…ladies first. Tell me about your childhood. You must have been a beautiful little girl.”

  “Not much to tell really. I was born in Stockholm, Sweden. If you are waiting to hear what year that was, you can forget it. A lady does not have to reveal her age. In any case, my parents and I emigrated to the U.S. when I was five, so I don’t remember much of Stockholm. When we arrived in the states, my father got a job at UCLA, teaching German, French and Swedish. My mother works as a child advocate for Social Services.

  Both parents are atheists and live a humanistic lifestyle. This means I could follow whatever career path I wanted. I have always gotten pleasure from helping others deal with pain, both physical and emotional, so I obtained my physical therapy license and have taken numerous courses in relaxation modalities. I have never been married and have only had two superficial relationships.”

  “But you are so lovely, it’s hard for me to imagine why no one has claimed you as a partner.”

  “At first, school occupied most of my time. Later, I just didn’t meet anyone I was that interested in.”

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “No, I was an only child.”

  “Ah, that explains the outgoing personality and confidence. Do you see your parents often?”

  “No. They still live in L.A. and I find that the distance between San Diego and there is just right. Far enough between us to be able to live our own lives, but close enough for a visit when I start to miss them. Don’t get me wrong. I love my parents very much, but if we lived close together, I would probably find myself consulting them before making any decisions. If I did that, my life would cease to be my own.

  Okay, enough about me. Let’s talk about Dan. What is your story?”

  “My birthplace was in a small rural community in upstate New York. My childhood wasn’t all that memorable other than one horrible chapter. My older sister was killed by a serial killer when I was eight years old.”

  “Oh Dan, how terrible for you.”

  “It certainly was at the time. I was in therapy until I graduated from high school nine years later. I joined the Navy right after graduation and eventually trained as a Special Forces operative. After completing Seal team training, I served two tours in Afghanistan.

  Rather than return for another tour of futility, I got out of the Navy and went to college. I majored in criminal law but took some courses in psychology as well. I had become intrigued by how the psychopathic mind works and did a study involving incarcerated psychopaths. At that point, I decided I wanted to do whatever I could to get those immoral monsters off the streets, so I dropped out of college and joined the SDPD.”

  “How about your family? Did you have any brothers or sisters other than the sister that died?”

  “No, it was just the two of us.”

  �
��And your folks?”

  “My father was in real estate and was quite wealthy when he died of pancreatic cancer ten years ago. I inherited that wealth when my mother died of an ‘accidental’ overdose two months later.

  I put what I had learned about the real estate business from my father to use and have been very lucky since.”

  “Have you found your work with the SDPD to be as rewarding as you thought it might be?”

  “Oh yes. I went from rookie cop to detective in two years, and since the chief knows my passion for putting serial killers behind bars, he gives me all those cases.”

  “But doesn’t that mean you have to work the most dangerous situations?”

  “Yes, but that’s why I joined the force. I guess I owe a special thanks to the bastard that put me in a wheelchair. If he hadn’t, I would never have met you.”

  Neither of them said anything until the silence became deafening. Annika broke the quiet by asking him about the shooting that left him paralyzed.

  “I’ve never talked about that day to anyone.”

  “Do you think it has been long enough now for you to talk to someone about it? It’s been what…six or seven months since it happened?”

  “Yeah, probably. It’s still a little difficult to think about it though.”

  “I understand, but since you’ve been in therapy, you know that once the pain of a significant trauma eases enough to talk about it, that is the best way to rid it of its emotional power. Although you don’t know me all that much yet, I have the feeling that you trust me enough at this point to confide in me.

  “I do.”

  Dan paused, trying to decide where to start. He finally said, “We were tracking a contract killer who was in San Diego to take out two, ex-mobster, brothers who were in the Witness Protection Program. He killed the eldest, and was about to get the younger one when I got in his way.”

  “Oh yes, I remember reading about that. You pushed the brother into an open grave at the funeral, didn’t you?” Annika said, smiling.

  “No, it was just the pile of dirt next to the open grave, and I saved his life when I did it, but nobody mentions that. From that newspaper article, the killer found out who I was and began following me. As I was leaving my gym from a work-out, he was waiting. I heard the shot and felt my legs go out from under me, the next thing I became aware of, was waking up after surgery on my spine. My legs have been paralyzed since.”

  “Yes, and I know that’s not the only function that was impaired.”

  With this, Dan turned bright red. “That part of the injury bothers me even more than the paralysis. It has taken me six months to begin to feel human again, and I still can’t imagine having a romantic relationship with anyone.”

  “You know detective, they tell me that improvement, and sometimes, full resolution of the paralysis and related symptoms, can occur as long as two years after nerve damage such as yours.”

  “I’m not going to hold my breath for that, and more to the point, I have come to terms with the idea of being alone for the rest of my life.”

  “Why would you do that? There are many men and women out there who have a perfectly beautiful relationship without sex.”

  “Not me. I would not ask any woman to settle for less than a complete man.”

  “So, you are not seeing anyone now, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You never know, Dan, you just might meet someone who will change your mind. I’m sure you realize what a great catch you would be for any girl. You are handsome and rugged in spite of your disability.”

  “Annika, I think it is time for this session to end before you make my head so big I wouldn’t be able to stand up even with fully functional legs.”

  “O.K. handsome, I will see you tomorrow.”

  That evening, Dan thought a great deal about the conversation with Annika. He vacillated between thinking that she was just trying to reassure him and that she might have been “hitting” on him.

  “No! There is no way she could have any interest in a cripple like me. She is beautiful and intelligent and could have any one in San Diego. Hell, she could have a movie star if she set her sights on one. Besides, I can’t get an erection and she knows that.

  Well, she did say that there are couples who get married but don’t have sex.

  Yeah, but I couldn’t deprive a wonderful woman like that of such an important part of a relationship, never mind, of a marriage.

  Nah, she was just being compassionate, and trying to reassure me that I wasn’t gonna be alone forever.

  Wow! Wouldn’t that be something, if she did think that she and I could…”

  Chapter 34

  His aunt had been right about the thinner strap. He did not have to swing as hard to cause the pain he wanted, and each stroke brought out a thin trail of blood.

  Since the blood was released, no bruises appeared, but the sight of the bright red liquid running down her back and legs was even more exciting, He decided at that point, to always use the thinner strap.

  He hoped that this one would prove strong enough to be able to stay with him longer than the others had. She was not only prettier than most of them, but her screams had more of a frightened and helpless quality.

  After administering the twenty five strokes for the day, he turned the blood soaked mattress over. He would have to remember to cover it with plastic in the future. While cleaning her wounds, he gently caressed her body.

  She looked so vulnerable, he had to have sex with her without delay. The numerous cuts on her back and legs made it extremely painful for her, and he was rewarded with more screams.

  After screaming until she was hoarse and could scream no more, she started to believe that she was going to die soon.

  “He really gets off when I scream. I wonder if that’s when he killed the other girls. When they finally just gave up and stopped screaming or if they just couldn’t any more. I pray that I will be able to scream long enough to stay alive tomorrow. Maybe if I don’t drink any water until he gets here and try to hold my screams. No, that will just make him beat me harder, because he needs to hear the screaming. Oh shit! I am going to die tomorrow.”

  When he had finished, he looked at the clock above the door and saw that it had taken an hour to complete his exciting interlude for the night, just like every session in the past. He covered her with the blanket, kissed her forehead and left her alone with her pain and fear once more.

  Chapter 35

  During Dan’s next physical therapy session with Annika, they were discussing his belief that he would never be able to date anyone again, when, all of a sudden, he felt something he had not felt for more than 6 months. There was a faint stirring under the towel. He prayed that it was not enough for her to notice.

  His hopes were shattered when she said, “If you remember, I told you that with your type of injury, some normal functioning could return. I see that might happen for you. Or should I say us?”

  As she moved to the foot of the exercise table, He quickly held the towel down with both hands, so she could not see under it while she flexed his knees.

  “Don’t worry, remember that I am a professional, so I won’t be peeking. Besides, I won’t need too. I’m glad to see nobody important died today.”

  “Wha…What do you mean?”

  Your flag just went from half-staff to full staff.”

  Her comments did nothing to stop the tremor that was building below or the increasing blush above.

  “Don’t worry about it Dan. As a physical therapist, I have seen more than my share of erections. I am just very pleased for you… in fact let me check something else.”

  She then took the bottom of her ball point pen and scraped it along the bottom of his right foot, from his heel, up along the bottom edge to his toes and across. All of his toes on that foot turned downward
in response. She then did the same thing to the other foot, with the same result.

  She looked at him with her eyes wide open and a huge smile on her face.

  “What is it?” Dan said.

  “Your nerve damage is healing!”

  He caught her excitement and said, “How do you know?”

  “That thing I just did to your feet was to test for a ‘Babinski reflex’. A negative test shows an intact neural pathway to your spine and yours was negative. Try to move your right foot or leg.”

  When he did as she directed, his right foot moved about an inch.

  “Now, the other foot.”

  Again, he was able to get the same movement.

  Annika grabbed him around the neck and gave him a huge hug.

  “Oh Dan, I am so happy for you. Tomorrow I am going to have Benji help me get you up on the parallel bars, so you can start rehabilitation of those legs and feet.”

  “Wait a minute Annika. Do you think you and I can get me up there by ourselves? I don’t want anybody but us knowing about this in case I fail.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’m not going to let you fail.”

  “Just the same, I don’t want everyone’s expectations shattered if I do.”

  “Okay. Nobody but you and I will know, although, I don’t know how I am going to contain my happiness.”

  “Just pretend that I would fire you if anyone else were to find out.”

  “If I thought about you firing me, I wouldn’t be able to contain my sadness.”

  “Remember, I said pretend! I’ve become way too dependent on you to even think about firing you.”

  “There you go, making me even happier. I better leave now before I become so happy, I burst.”

  She kissed Dan on the cheek and said, “We start tomorrow, and we will practice every day, so you better come up with an excuse for Benji to account for my being here that often.”

  Chapter 36