Page 86 of Unhinged Kallie

“Okay.”

“Do you remember your mother’s death?”

I swallowed. “Not well, but I know she died in the line of duty.”

“Correct. She was chasing down a man like these other men on my board. Serial killers, rapists, pedophiles, you name it. Your mother would bring me the case files that ran cold on leads.” He held his hand out to the board. “She felt my skills were best suited for…bigger and more imposing prey.”

“You told us about the files. I don’t understand what this has to do with her.” I nodded toward the metal slab.

“I’m getting to that. Your mother was after a fugitive, a serial rapist of minors who had served six years of a twenty-five-year sentence. Additional charges and victims were found, and his prison time would be extended, but then he escaped and killed three guards.”

My dad looked down at Sara-Lee, “How am I doing so far?”

The head strap kept her from nodding, but she licked her lips and tried anyway. I’d learned many things about my dad over the years, and one thing was always the same. He was disciplined, and other than creating different images, he kept his killing to the same pattern and tools. As he bent over to look closer at Sara-Lee, I realized he had tools out that I’d never seen him use. There was a shiny hand saw glinting in the lights. Cutters that looked custom-made and could easily take off fingers or toes, even a nose or ear. Not to mention the sharp metal spike that was easily three feet long and shaped like a javelin. It was Uncle Abel who used whatever tool he could find. I’d seen him shove a broken piece of barn board up someone’s ass and then sledgehammered it into place. He once used an ice cream scoop and pliers to cut off a guy’s ball sac and pretended to eat it with chocolate sauce. My uncle was off the wall, but not my dad. What the hell had this woman done to push him so far as to break out Abel-esque tools?

“Good, I’m glad we agree, Sara-Lee,” he said, using the back of his hand to pet her cheek and wipe away the tears. “I wouldn’t want to misrepresent what happened.”

“Dad, what’s going on,” I asked, my anxiety swirling higher with each passing second.

“Darryl Burton is the man that killed your mother,” he said, and hearing that name out loud felt like a punch in the stomach. “Unbeknownst to your mother, Sara-Lee had a fake online profile and corresponded with Burton when he was behind bars. She fancied herself in love with him and him with her.” My heart pounded harder. “So naturally, she helped him escape and then helped him stay one step ahead of the FBI to avoid capture.”

Dad wandered to the corner and pulled out what looked like black wire. He plugged one end into the wall and fastened it to a loop he had in the ceiling. Pinching open two tiny clamps no bigger than my thumb, he attached each one to Sara-Lee’s nipples, and she screamed as he let go.

“Sara-Lee had been off sick for a few days, and by sick, I mean she left to meet up with Burton and have sex, so she wasn’t in the office when the warrant for his newest hiding spot came through. Of course, she arrived back to work, I’m sure all a glow from her days of getting it on with a child rapist and realized that the FBI was moving in on her lover.”

“Please, stop,” Sara-Lee cried. Her eyes turned in my direction again. “I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. I swear to you, I didn’t.”

“But someone did, didn’t they?” My dad said as he walked over to the wall again and flicked the switch. Her scream was so loud it flowed over my body like a breeze. More agonizing screams came as she flexed against the tight straps holding her in place. Dad turned the switch off, and drool dripped from her mouth as she whimpered like an animal.

I was pretty sure I knew where this story was going, but I couldn’t stop listening.

“Sara-Lee called her lover and warned him that the FBI was coming. He didn’t have time to run like he had all the other times, but he did set a few traps. The basement had hidden doors and passageways which led like a rat’s maze away from the house.” Dad picked up the cutters, and Sara-Lee screamed louder as he wandered toward her toes. I was impressed that my dad stayed so composed with every action.

“Your mother arrived with the rest of the agents and scoured the house, but Burton had scampered down one of his tunnels just as they broke through the door. Your mother found the tunnel. She radioed for backup and took off after Burton. The tunnel was long and opened into an old barn on the property. Your mother was a fast runner and Burton heard her coming and decided to wait rather than get in his truck and make a run for it.”

I held up my hand. “Stop. Just stop.” Tears welled in my eyes. It had been so long since I sat down and thought about my mom or what she went through. It wasn’t that I wanted to forget her because I didn’t, but my pain had numbed over time. I was a child when she died, and I faced everything she missed without her. My dad spent the last twelve years alone because of that man.

Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, making cookies together, or picking me up when I fell. She never saw the love Carter and I shared. She wouldn’t see my wedding day or her grandchildren. All of that was ripped away from us. My mom died in a barn, bleeding out alone because of the actions of one man and this woman.

My dad wrapped me in a hug, and I bawled as I held him tight.

“Shh, Angel. I promise they’ll pay.”

The words took a moment to register, and I stepped back, wiping off my face.

“You mean he’s still out there?”

“Yes.”

“You never caught him?”

My dad’s jaw muscle twitched, but he stared at me. “No, I didn’t.”

“But…how? Why? How could you not focus on him instead of all those people?”

I was angry and wanted to lash out.

“Because I had other priorities, and it wasn’t a file your mother ever brought home to me. It took time to gather all the pieces, but I still didn’t know how Burton knew they were coming.”