Killers Den: Day 7
"Very good job," he said, placing his hands on her waist and surveying her work. "Your cutwork is better than I thought it would be on Number Two. You compensated well for her small movements."
Max nodded, too numb and stunned to move, as he pointed out her cuts along the minor veins and arteries, before her big one to the jugular. I killed her…no, I tortured her. I made it hurt. Three hours of opening her veins.
"You cut through some, as to be expected this early in your training. How did this feel compared to the woman you stabbed to death your first night here?"
You holding Ella, threatening to make her do it if I didn't, she thought numbly, screaming and stabbing…me coldly cutting this woman until she bled out. This is it, she thought, this is who he wants me to be.
"This is the real you, My Love, the one who spent hours planning what she was going to do in here today. The one that planned every little cut of her kill. Look at your work. This is art."
She nodded, as he held her steady. Look, she thought, I did this. His pride and excitement…two innocent women, by my hand. I have to say something. He's waiting for me to say something. "I'm sorry I panicked and cried in the beginning. I know you were disappointed. It won't happen again."
"I was," he said, running his finger along the body, gathering blood with it. "You more than made up for it with this work. Maxine, look at what you accomplished."
She shivered, as he ran his blood covered finger over her lips. Killer, she thought, look what I've done in a week…What am I going to be when he's finished with me?
Sheriff Station: Day 7
"His name is Michael Hunter," Thompson said. "He's a doctor, a surgeon, he's been on sabbatical from Greenbay General for six months. He's from Deer Park, Michigan…His family has a hunting cabin here."
"Where?" Jimmy said, feeling the first spark of hope since the video had come in. She didn't do that in a hunting cabin. "Get the team together."
"Do you want to tell Kenny?"
"No. He doesn't think clearly when it's Max."
Killers Den: Day 7
"I'm fine," Max lied, sitting on her bed in athletic shorts and a tank top. "Really. I just need to…process what I did today."
He sat down on the bed next to her, and cupped her face in his hand. "You need to control your emotions, Maxine. Your breakdown today, while you stifled it quickly, cannot happen again. Do we need to review?"
"I can control them. I need to practice, breathe, focus…I'll do better next time. I know I can do better. I want to do better on Number Three."
He leaned back against the wall, on her twin bed, gesturing her to join him. "What do you want to do to her?"
"Are you teaching me something new first? I'm not supposed to kill her for five days, and the syllabus was all about the lower abdomen before that."
His grin broadened, as he just looked at her. "You have been paying attention."
What is wrong with me, Max thought numbly, I did read ahead, memorized that thing…and I already am thinking about how to do it? This place, this training, it's changing me. "The kidneys might be a good way to start."
Sheriff Station: Day 7
"Burned down?" Kenny said. "Was there…she wasn't in it?"
"It had burned years ago. She wasn't there, Kenny. Michael Hunter, has she ever mentioned him?"
"No. She didn't know him when we had him here. She doesn't know him. Max tells me everything."
"Why would he choose her? It can't be random. I need her schedule, appointment books, everything."
"Our house burned down. We lost all of that," Kenny started. "Damn it, is that why? She had something that would lead us to him? He nearly killed her and Ella right then. Max hasn't ever been to Madison, and not to the hospital. Has he been to Thayer? Did we ever pick him up?"
"We're looking into all of that," Jimmy said, as Kenny sunk onto the couch in his office and buried his head in his hands. "We will find her. Max is pretty smart, she'll fight him."
Not pregnant, he thought, not if he's holding Ella over her. She killed that woman to stop him. Max, the love of my life, we had other options. You didn't have to do this. "She attracts crazies. Look at her history, guys she dated, perps, she's so damn reckless with her life. How could she do this?"
Killers Den: Day 9
"It's pregnancy," Max mumbled, as she threw up again. Not emotional, don't let him believe that. I need to be in control for him. "I'm sorry, just the smell this time. Oh."
He knelt down beside her, and rubbed slow circles on her back. "What can I do?"
Let me go, she thought, let my daughter leave this place. Turn back time so I never came to you, she thought, his hand warm through her shirt. Feeling oddly comforted by his gentle touch and concern, despite her disgust with him. "I'm okay. Really. It happened when I was pregnant with Ella too, I would just smell something and start vomiting. You don't have to look so worried about me."
He sat down beside her, his arm still wrapped around her. Handing her a bottle of water, he gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Of course I'm worried about you. I'm not the monster you want to believe I am."
"You're giving me lessons on how to be a serial killer in some underground bunker. Monster seems fitting most days."
"I enjoy killing. I also enjoy gourmet cooking, golf, and camping," he said. "I'm very much enjoying my time with you."
Max shivered, as he brushed her hair back and drew her close to him. I can't let this happen. He has my daughter. I hate him more for that then making me kill people. Don't forget what he is. "What are you doing?"
"I enjoy my time with you," he repeated. "Are you feeling better?"
Max nodded, her nausea coming from something else now, as she settled back against his chest. "Are we going to train some more?"
"Not today," he smiled. "Keep talking to me, Maxine."
Kenny's Apartment: Day 12
Flipping through the few remains of our life, he thought, the fire took most of our stuff, this lunatic our daughter and Max ran off to him with our unborn kid. I have nothing without them. My wife didn't trust me enough to back her up. To help her. Who did I really marry?
Killers Den: Day 12
Three people, she thought numbly, I've killed three people. He's waiting. Say it. "I want to dissect the kidneys again on Number Four. I can detail it for you. I couldn't stop the bleeding fast enough on the third go around."
"We'll get to Number Four. You did very well on Number Three. Your cutting was much more controlled. How did it make you feel?"
Numb, horrible. "I want to see Ella."
"Now, Maxine," he said, pulling her up so she was facing her. "Ella misses you too, but I don't think you're taking your training seriously. If you want to see her, you need to work with me. I need to see that you're serious about our new life together and your training."
"What do I need to do to see her? I've killed three people. I practice on the torsos in between. My Kill plans are detailed. I'm learning. I'm changing," she said, fighting to keep her voice even. "I'm already thinking about what I want to do to Number Four, Five and Six, and Three is barely cleaned off the table. I'm not the same person you brought here."
"What are you, Maxine?"
"I can't say it yet…it makes it real."
He smiled at that, as he massaged her shoulders on the couch. "That is the problem. You're not accepting the reality of your situation yet. You're not committed yet. Anyone can kill. You're are a killer. You're going to live and breathe what you are. You need to trust the process."
"The process of making me into a serial killer."
"You've killed three people, you are a serial killer, My Love. You just need to accept that."
Sheriff Station: Day 15
"Michael Hunter," Thompson said. "We may have caught something on him."
Harvard medical, Jimmy thought, talented surgeon…bodies left in his wake. Why Max? Why now? Kenny is drinking himself into a coma.
"We followed his medical career, Boston, Miami, Chicago, there was an uptick in the bodies found. It always ended with a sloppy kill, like the one that Max did. He was here, eight years ago, on a hunting trip with his brother and father. Max wrote him a ticket. It's when he bought the cabin and he made the move to Greenbay a few months later. He's been watching her for years. His apartment is under the name Max Hunter."
"Get a warrant."
Killers Den: Day 15
Number Four, Max thought, standing over her bound victim. I can do this. Remember my training. I need to embrace being a serial killer. He needs to see me doing that.
"Please," she begged, causing Max to step back. "Please don't do this."
"You're not gagged," Max said flatly, looking around. Stepping toward the counter, her ankle shackle prevented her from reaching them. "Oh, he didn't gag you."
"You don't always have the benefit of a soundproof operating room, Maxine," he said over the speaker. "Get started."
She looked back at the woman. "I'd prefer if you didn't scream."
She screamed again, fighting against the restraints, as Max turned the scalpel over in her hands, letting her training take over. Serial Killer. Make it hurt.
"I could slit your throat to shut you up," she said, dragging the blade gently across her jugular. "Or sever your vocal cords, but I think I prefer this."
She screamed, as Max gripped her tongue tightly. Squeezing, she stared into the eyes of the woman that wouldn't leave the room alive, and cut her tongue out.
Perfect, he thought, leaning back and watching. She's just perfect.
The Hunter Apartment: Day 15
"This is a mistake," Michael Hunter said. "You're not looking for me."
"You're not the man we brought in," Jimmy said, looking at him. "You don't know her?"
Michael looked at the photograph of Max, curled up on the couch with Ella in happier times. "She's my brother's girlfriend. They're traveling together…I haven't seen him in years or met their daughter. He's supposed to be bringing her to meet the family soon, they're having their second child."
"Have you met her?"
"No. He's supposed to be bringing her to our parent's house for Christmas."
That's six months from now, Jimmy thought, he's already had her for three weeks. "Do you have a way to contact him?"
"Noah?" he said. "He likes to be off the grid."
"Noah Hunter? That's his name?"
"Noah Quinn. We're half brothers. He sent me a package, I haven't opened it. I just got back from a mission trip to India. Hold on."
"Why do you have a fake name on your apartment?"
"I do a lot of work at the free clinic, and well, patients used to come to my door. My landlord agreed to change the name on it. Here."
Jimmy took the padded envelope gingerly. "We need to know if he contacts you. She isn't his girlfriend. She is a pregnant, kidnapped, Deputy. He took her and her daughter three weeks ago."
"Impossible. He's sent pictures of them together for years," Michael argued. "I can show you…Damn it, Noah, what did you do?"
"Tell me about your brother."
Killers Den: Day 15
Max sipped her tea, as he slid dinner in front of her. "This looks good."
"So do you," he teased. "I'm glad you decided to change."
She looked down at one of short swing dresses he liked to see her in. "Thank you."
"I thought you would slice her throat," he commented, as she cut her lamb silently. "What made you go for the tongue?"
Max swallowed her lamb, keeping her emotions and feelings in control. "She would have bled out in minutes. I wanted to see how the heart worked first. Can you pass the mint jelly?"
