knew Rivka and understood that this was not a hug of affection but an appeal for support. Whatever happened to her had shaken her to the core. Rivka put on a brave face and tried to act normally, but all Elliot saw before him was a frightened little girl. The brashness was gone, replaced by fragility that he didn’t even know existed in her. He sensed her battle to maintain composure while in their clutch, against his every want, he did not question her. He held her tight and gave her the time to get past the moment.
“You OK?” he whispered.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “My muscles are sore, and I’ve got a few scrapes and bruises, but Rene over there says with a full night’s sleep, I’ll be as good as new,” she said tilting her head toward the paramedic.
“You don’t look OK. What about Frank?” asked Elliot as he looked at the beehive of police activity over by a car on the other side of the parking lot. He already knew the answer.
Rivka shook her head and buried it further into his shoulder; Elliot thought she was going to cry. “Frank’s dead,” she managed.
“What happened? “ he said in low, flat voice. This voice was Elliot’s defense mechanism when he needed to detach himself and think logically in times of stress.
“I don’t know. I found him in the car, and it looked like his neck was broken. Before I could even reach for my gun, a man tased me from behind.“
“Did you see him?” he asked in the same monotone voice.
“Yes, he talked to me. He wanted to introduce himself. He said his name was Ogrodnik. I think it was Kulas’s partner. ”
“Not now, Riv. We can go over this later. Have they taken your statement?“
“Not yet.”
“Are you up to it?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Rivka, let’s not tell them anything more than they need to know. You were assaulted and tased, and that was the end of it. You didn’t see who assaulted you. I don’t know whom to trust anymore.”
“I have no problem with that. I just want to get out of here and get back home.”
“Can you drive?”
“I’ll manage. See you back at my place?” she said more as a plea than a question.
“I’ll meet you there.”
Elliot decided he’d not tell the onsite officers that Frank was working for him. He had no stomach for an interview session at the moment.
Chapter 35
Elliot entered the house without knocking and found Rivka sitting on the couch with a freshly brewed pot of tea. He approached her with concern. “You still look pretty shook up, Riv. Can you talk about it?”
Rivka started at the beginning and told him everything she could remember. She had to stop a couple of times but managed to tell the entire story in sequence.
After a moment, Elliot broke the silence. “I want to apologize for dragging you into this. This is not your fight,” he said quietly.
“Elliot, this is my fight,” she shot back stressing the ‘is.' “There’s something else. He said something else,” Rivka squeaked out.
Elliot said nothing and just looked at her.
“He said, he said, ‘if I’d had brought my torch, I’d be tempted to finish the job here and now .'”
The significance of this was lost on Elliot. “Yeah, so… What does that mean?”
“The torch, Elliot! You remember the Stungun Killer. The Stungun Killer never left any evidence. He used a torch on his victims. He didn’t want to leave trace evidence behind, so he burned the hair from the victim’s pubic area after he raped and killed them. This information was never released to the public. The only thing we know about Stungun is that he used the same MO for all his killings and that he was an extremely large man. It fits. Frank was tased and his neck broken, just like the Stungun victims. Elliot, I think the big man is the Stungun Killer!“
“Anyone could have a torch, Riv. I don’t know if being a big man and mentioning a torch makes this guy the Stungun Killer,” he said with more than a
“You OK?” he whispered.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “My muscles are sore, and I’ve got a few scrapes and bruises, but Rene over there says with a full night’s sleep, I’ll be as good as new,” she said tilting her head toward the paramedic.
“You don’t look OK. What about Frank?” asked Elliot as he looked at the beehive of police activity over by a car on the other side of the parking lot. He already knew the answer.
Rivka shook her head and buried it further into his shoulder; Elliot thought she was going to cry. “Frank’s dead,” she managed.
“What happened? “ he said in low, flat voice. This voice was Elliot’s defense mechanism when he needed to detach himself and think logically in times of stress.
“I don’t know. I found him in the car, and it looked like his neck was broken. Before I could even reach for my gun, a man tased me from behind.“
“Did you see him?” he asked in the same monotone voice.
“Yes, he talked to me. He wanted to introduce himself. He said his name was Ogrodnik. I think it was Kulas’s partner. ”
“Not now, Riv. We can go over this later. Have they taken your statement?“
“Not yet.”
“Are you up to it?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Rivka, let’s not tell them anything more than they need to know. You were assaulted and tased, and that was the end of it. You didn’t see who assaulted you. I don’t know whom to trust anymore.”
“I have no problem with that. I just want to get out of here and get back home.”
“Can you drive?”
“I’ll manage. See you back at my place?” she said more as a plea than a question.
“I’ll meet you there.”
Elliot decided he’d not tell the onsite officers that Frank was working for him. He had no stomach for an interview session at the moment.
Chapter 35
Elliot entered the house without knocking and found Rivka sitting on the couch with a freshly brewed pot of tea. He approached her with concern. “You still look pretty shook up, Riv. Can you talk about it?”
Rivka started at the beginning and told him everything she could remember. She had to stop a couple of times but managed to tell the entire story in sequence.
After a moment, Elliot broke the silence. “I want to apologize for dragging you into this. This is not your fight,” he said quietly.
“Elliot, this is my fight,” she shot back stressing the ‘is.' “There’s something else. He said something else,” Rivka squeaked out.
Elliot said nothing and just looked at her.
“He said, he said, ‘if I’d had brought my torch, I’d be tempted to finish the job here and now .'”
The significance of this was lost on Elliot. “Yeah, so… What does that mean?”
“The torch, Elliot! You remember the Stungun Killer. The Stungun Killer never left any evidence. He used a torch on his victims. He didn’t want to leave trace evidence behind, so he burned the hair from the victim’s pubic area after he raped and killed them. This information was never released to the public. The only thing we know about Stungun is that he used the same MO for all his killings and that he was an extremely large man. It fits. Frank was tased and his neck broken, just like the Stungun victims. Elliot, I think the big man is the Stungun Killer!“
“Anyone could have a torch, Riv. I don’t know if being a big man and mentioning a torch makes this guy the Stungun Killer,” he said with more than a
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