turned the knob and pushed the door open, standing as far to the side as I could. No flames came out, and I hurried into the bedroom. Mariel was on the floor—in pieces. Someone had beheaded her, just as they had with her sister. I felt the bile rise up in my throat, but I didn’t have time for that now. I gagged a little and spat in the corner. Vomit would be the least of the problems with this house—if it made it.
I thought about the letter, but if the killer had come here in search of it, either they now possessed it, or they had been fine with destroying it through fire. There was no time for me to search, which had likely been the entire reason for the fire.
I made my way back down the stairs. The rail was now hot to the touch, and I tried to guide myself down the stairs without any assistance. The only thing I knew for sure was that it was down. The rest of my journey was all guesswork.
By now, about every third breath was a cough, racking my upper body more as I made my way through the living room. I could see the flames above me as well as below me. I felt for a second that I was in hell, or that at the very least, this was what hell felt like. I walked quickly to the kitchen, and back out the rear door.
Once outside, I reached for my phone, but realized that it was still in the car. I walked to the street, stopping to cough every few steps. I made it to the car, where Land was still sound asleep. I was glad that he hadn’t seen my performance. I know he would have been pissed to think of me in there without the proper gear. I slid into my seat and grabbed my phone.
Either the smell or the movement woke him up. He looked up to the house where flames now licked the outsides of the windows. Some of them must have burst when I was on the bottom floor. I was glad to have missed it. I was tired of broken glass today.
I dialed 911 for the second time that day and explained the fire and then gave them the address for Mariel’s house. I realized that there was no one else for me to call. Andy Zoz’s phone number had died when she had. Now it would be up to the police to use that number and inform him of his sister-in-law’s death.
I debated driving away, but I’d used my cell phone to make the call, so they already had my information on the 911 call. It would look much worse for me if I fled the scene, much as I wanted to. The sight of another headless corpse was more than I could stand. The scene would not be forgotten quickly—if ever.
Land asked me about Mariel, and I explained the situation down to the beheading. “I’m beginning to think that there are two sets of people at work here. I wish I knew more about what they wanted, and then I could start pinpointing who did what. Right now, it’s just a jumble in my head.”
I nodded. “Well, these two killings are the same person. You can’t convince me that there are two sets of people out there who are chopping the heads off women.”
Land nodded. “It’s not a common murder method that’s for sure. I’ll ask around and find out if anyone has that as a MO. There can’t be too many of them.”
“Then the sniper would be the second group of people involved in this?” I asked, trying to use my brain to shut off the mental images of Mariel.
“Probably, but not 100 percent. They could be the same group, but the supposed sister is likely with one of the groups, and that group likes to use finesse more than butchery. That would likely mean that the drive-by belongs to the same group as the beheader.”
We kept this up until the fire trucks arrived. I stepped out of the car, coughed a few more times and pointed them to the home. They made some attempts to get inside the house, but the fire was too far gone. In the end, we just watched Mariel’s home burn to the ground while the firemen tried to contain the blaze from the neighboring homes.
I tried to keep back far enough from the blaze so that I wouldn’t be noticed by the police, but that
I thought about the letter, but if the killer had come here in search of it, either they now possessed it, or they had been fine with destroying it through fire. There was no time for me to search, which had likely been the entire reason for the fire.
I made my way back down the stairs. The rail was now hot to the touch, and I tried to guide myself down the stairs without any assistance. The only thing I knew for sure was that it was down. The rest of my journey was all guesswork.
By now, about every third breath was a cough, racking my upper body more as I made my way through the living room. I could see the flames above me as well as below me. I felt for a second that I was in hell, or that at the very least, this was what hell felt like. I walked quickly to the kitchen, and back out the rear door.
Once outside, I reached for my phone, but realized that it was still in the car. I walked to the street, stopping to cough every few steps. I made it to the car, where Land was still sound asleep. I was glad that he hadn’t seen my performance. I know he would have been pissed to think of me in there without the proper gear. I slid into my seat and grabbed my phone.
Either the smell or the movement woke him up. He looked up to the house where flames now licked the outsides of the windows. Some of them must have burst when I was on the bottom floor. I was glad to have missed it. I was tired of broken glass today.
I dialed 911 for the second time that day and explained the fire and then gave them the address for Mariel’s house. I realized that there was no one else for me to call. Andy Zoz’s phone number had died when she had. Now it would be up to the police to use that number and inform him of his sister-in-law’s death.
I debated driving away, but I’d used my cell phone to make the call, so they already had my information on the 911 call. It would look much worse for me if I fled the scene, much as I wanted to. The sight of another headless corpse was more than I could stand. The scene would not be forgotten quickly—if ever.
Land asked me about Mariel, and I explained the situation down to the beheading. “I’m beginning to think that there are two sets of people at work here. I wish I knew more about what they wanted, and then I could start pinpointing who did what. Right now, it’s just a jumble in my head.”
I nodded. “Well, these two killings are the same person. You can’t convince me that there are two sets of people out there who are chopping the heads off women.”
Land nodded. “It’s not a common murder method that’s for sure. I’ll ask around and find out if anyone has that as a MO. There can’t be too many of them.”
“Then the sniper would be the second group of people involved in this?” I asked, trying to use my brain to shut off the mental images of Mariel.
“Probably, but not 100 percent. They could be the same group, but the supposed sister is likely with one of the groups, and that group likes to use finesse more than butchery. That would likely mean that the drive-by belongs to the same group as the beheader.”
We kept this up until the fire trucks arrived. I stepped out of the car, coughed a few more times and pointed them to the home. They made some attempts to get inside the house, but the fire was too far gone. In the end, we just watched Mariel’s home burn to the ground while the firemen tried to contain the blaze from the neighboring homes.
I tried to keep back far enough from the blaze so that I wouldn’t be noticed by the police, but that
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