Chapter 9: The stupidity of a killer

With just two weeks to go Jamie was knackered. Though she did have more on her plate than many other new mom's-to-be. That thing she did have was a raving lunatic after her fiancée and intent on killing her. Nonetheless she and flack were looking forward to becoming a proper family. They had managed to talk things through properly and were more understanding of the others feelings on the situation. But it was still tough for her, not knowing when flack went to work if he would come back. Or for him if he got home and she was gone or dead on the floor.

It was early Tuesday morning and they were both awake and having breakfast. Flack was off to work and hoped today would be like any other day. He kissed her goodbye and left her smiling on the sofa, believing she would still be there when got home…

Jamie was unpacking some stuff her cousin had sent her for the twins and putting them into the wardrobe. When she was done she closed the wardrobe and turned around to look at the finished nursery. It looked perfect. She and flack had, had to repaint it and replace everything but now it looked better than ever and she looked forward to finally using it. She went into the kitchen and put her dinner on, after all it was nearly six. Flack was pulling a double so he wouldn't be home to the next morning so she was just cooking for herself. Once it was going she picked up the boxes she had unpacked and headed out of the apartment. Locking the door behind her. She would only be ten minutes there wasn't a risk in leaving it on while she nipped downstairs.

Jamie got down to the back of their apartments to chuck the boxes out as she didn't want the boxes cluttering up the apartment. So she had thrown them out. When she got there she saw a van she didn't recognise then not thinking anything of it she opened the bin and threw her boxes into it. She heard a scuffling nose and turned around but didn't see anyone so she reached her hand up to the lid and pulled it down. As she did an arm wrapped itself around her neck and a hand flew over her mouth. She struggled violently. "Get off me!" she cried kicking her legs out trying to kick whoever had their arm round her neck and hand over her mouth. As she struggled, fighting back she started to grow dizzy and her eyes grew heavy. Her body felt heavy and she gave up struggling and fell backwards into the arms of her attacker. He caught her and started dragging her across the concrete and her eyes grew heavy and she grew drowsy. Eventually she gave in and fell into blackness.

When Jamie opened her eyes again she was staring into the eyes of none other than Hayden Jackson. He grinned at her then stepped away from her. She looked down her hands were tied behind her back and her feet were tied to the chair she was sitting in and she could feel a strip of duct tape over mouth so she couldn't scream. She looked at him, his eyes were wild with rage and he was grinning madly. He had a gun in his hand, flacks gun which he had stolen long ago and used to murder three women before killing their babies. Now he intended to do the same to her and she was terrified. But the one thing that overcame that fear was strength, yes she was terrified but she had so much to live for, so much to fight for and that meant she wouldn't give up. "Now" he smirked "I finally have you. You are my prize" he walked over to her and ripped the duct tape off.

"Owww!" she winced "What do you want with me?" he grabbed her face and forced her to look around the room. The walls were covered in pictures of her, pictures of flack, pictures of them together, pictures of Leon Johnson, pictures of Rose.

"I don't want you!" he spat "I want Detective Flack to pay!"

"It wasn't his fault" said Jamie "You were there. You saw what she did!"

"HE DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HER!" he raged before slapping her round the face

"She was going to kill him. She was terrified you idiot!" replied Jamie "She didn't know what to do. She was going to hurt someone. At the time it was the only thing to do!"

"HE KILLED HER!" he yelled into her face, spit spraying her face.

"She shot him!" Jamie looked deep into his wild eyes "She knew what would happen to her!"

"ARE YOU SAYING SHE DESERVED IT? THAT IT WAS HER FAULT?" Roared Hayden

"No" Jamie shook her head "She could've saved herself. If she had talked to him. If she had told him the truth she wouldn't have gone to prison. She would got off because of extenuating circumstances. He would've listened to her."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hayden backing off. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. He held the gun to her stomach "What are extenuating circumstances? Tell me how she would've got off?"

"Your dad beat her up then tried to shoot her so she pulled a gun and shot him in self-defence." Jamie explained out of fear. Her voice was shaking, she was trying to be positive but with a gun pressed into her stomach things could only get worse.

"So he killed an innocent girl?" asked Hayden

"No. she shot Danny then shot him. That doesn't make her innocent." Jamie shook her head, her voice cracking. "If she'd have given herself up before she fired the gun… she would've made a case of self-defence… though you messed that up for her didn't you"

"HOW DARE YOU!" He raged before slapping her round the head with the gun. "I LOVED HER!"

"You cleaned your dads nails so we wouldn't find her DNA and you got rid of the knife he used to cut her cheeks and you got rid of the gun he tried to shoot her with!" said Jamie, realising she didn't have to be scared of him. He was a kid with mental problems and he had nothing on her.

"So what if I did" he sneered "She killed him and I didn't care. I was glad she bumped him off but I couldn't have him look like the bad guy."

"If you loved her you wouldn't have gotten rid of evidence that would've helped build a case of self-defence!" retorted Jamie.

"I didn't know!" snarled Hayden "But he still killed her. He took away the girl I loved!"

"You didn't love her. You were controlling her, beating her. She was terrified of you!" said Jamie "She wanted to get away from you!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" He roared hitting her in the head with the gun again. She cried in pain before retorting.

"She hated you. She didn't love you! She loved your brother!" shouted Jamie "That's why you tampered with my brakes and framed him for it. You found out didn't you!"

"I found they'd been together once. Just before she died. It only happened once but I was mad so yeah I did it and framed him for it!" said Hayden

"You tried to have me off then but I lived didn't I?" she asked

"Of course I did. I thought you'd crash and break your neck and die!" he laughed "But you didn't cark it. So here we are. I'm finally going have you off."

"I didn't do anything to you and neither did Don. He did what he thought was right" said Jamie, trying to buy herself some time. She was praying someone would realise she was missing and call the police. Otherwise she was going to die, have her babies ripped out of her and dumped in a ditch.

"He's a murderer" snarled Hayden "He took her away from me!"

"She was going to leave you anyway. She hated you, she was terrified of you!" said Jamie, having been told about Leon's interview. Though they didn't know if it was the truth they had searched both Leon's and Layla's possessions. They had found two plane tickets to Vegas in her bedroom, her bags were packed. He'd had an envelope full of money and his bags had also been packed. Emails had also backed Leon's story up so it looked like it may have been true.

"No she wasn't!" laughed Hayden.

"Yes she was! She had two plane tickets to Vegas in her suitcase in her bedroom. For her and Leon" said Jamie

"SHE WASN'T LEAVING ME!" Roared Hayden "SHE LOVED ME!"

"She didn't" Jamie shook her head as he grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them tight "Please stop this"

"NO!" he spat in her face. "She loved me. She told me. She wasn't leaving me. She only left me when she died"

"She was running away to Vegas with Leon to have Rose and start a new life" Jamie stuck to her guns, half aware she was antagonizing him. The rage in his eyes was wilder than ever. "They were engaged, they were going to get married and start a life together!"

"No they weren't!" Hayden cried raising from the chair and kicking it across the room. Jamie watched in fear of her life.

"Yes they were" Jamie insisted, if she could push him enough he might flip enough to let her go, it was kind of like reverse psychology. Or he would flip and kill her. "Leon told us everything. When he was arrested after you framed him for tampering with my brakes! He told us that after you hit her he found her in tears and he comforted her. She found comfort in him because he knew what you're like. She tried to leave you but you controlled her didn't you. And when you hit her again and stormed off to get high he found her again crying her heart out and they had slept together. And it was because she trusted him. She trusted him!"

"LIAR!" he roared slapping her again

"You know it's true. They were seeing each other. She felt protected by him. She loved him and he loved her!" Jamie continued "She agreed to marry him! We have the engagement ring in our evidence store. They had plane tickets because they were running away together, they were going to Vegas to live with Leon's uncle, they were going to get married, she was going to have Rose and when they had enough money they were going to get a place of their own. They were going to be happy. She was going to be safe from you!"

"NO SHE WASN'T!" Yelled Hayden "SHE LOVED ME!"

"You can't accept she didn't love you can you. You're so convinced she loved you when for a year she was trying to get away from you to be with your brother because she loved and trusted him!" said Jamie, finally seeing that he might crack and let her go.

"She would never have taken Rose away from me" Hayden calmed slightly

"She was because she knew Rose isn't yours" replied Jamie

"LIAR!" he exploded slapping her so hard her lip started to bleed. "SHE IS MINE… AND BECAUSE OF YOUR BOYFRIEND I'LL NEVER GET TO SEE HER"

"You can't see her because you tampered with evidence and are a murderous raving lunatic!" Jamie spat.

"YOUR BOYFRIEND TOLD LIES TO HER FAMILY AND THEY STOPPED ME FROM SEEING HER!" sneered Hayden "IT'S HIS FAULT. ALL OF THIS IS HIS FAULT!"

"No it's not. He didn't trash your apartment and spray graffiti on the walls. He didn't murder three girls, ripped their babies out of their bodies and stabbed them in the heart! Then sent sick pictures to you! He's not the one who's been sending you death threats, threatening your girlfriend, your unborn baby, your sister is he?!" shouted Jamie "He's not the one who drugged me, kidnapped me and keeps hitting me with his fist or with a gun! YOU DID THAT. ALL OF IT!"

"BITCH!" He exploded hitting her so hard he knocked the chair over causing her to hit her head on the wooden floor and slip back into unconscious…

Elsewhere back at their apartment block her next door neighbour, Brenna, was getting worried. She had heard Jamie leave but she hadn't heard her come back. And she could smell smoke and burning. Concerned she headed to their apartment. She knocked on the door but as she did so the fire alarms sounded for their flat. "JAMIE!" She shouted pulling on the locked door. "DON!" but no one came out. She called the fire brigade then evacuated the building. "What's going on mummy?!" cried her daughter, Kimberly

"There's a fire" explained Brenna

"What about Jamie and Flack?" she asked "Are they inside?"

"I don't know" replied Brenna as they reached the safe point. Brenna took out her phone and called flack. "Don. It's me Brenna"

"Brenna?" he asked

"Listen" she began "There's a fire in your apartment. The doors locked and I have no idea where Jamie is. She went out earlier to put some boxes in the bin but that was ages ago. She just left her dinner on. It's not like her. I don't think she's inside either"

"Shit" Flack cursed, realising Hayden had finally got her "I know who's got her. Thanks" he ended the call abruptly and jumped out of his seat. He grabbed his car keys and rushed home, by the time he got there the fire department had put out the fire and he went inside. "You're lucky no one was inside." Said the lead fire fighter "Thankfully it only got the kitchen"

"So there's definitely no one in here?" asked Flack

"No one" the fire-fighter shook his. Without another word Flack left. He went down to the back of the apartments where Brenna told him Jamie had gone. He noticed there was something small on top of one of the bins so he rushed over. It was the engagement ring he had bought Jamie the week after he'd proposed to her. Underneath it there was a note. "I finally got my prize. Kiss goodbye to your family!" anger burned through Flack's entire body and it made him shake with pure rage. He was going to kill Hayden when he got his hands on him, that he was certain of. "I need the CCTV for back of the apartments!" he raged flashing his badge at the building super.

"Why?" asked the building super, Jack.

"Because my fiancée has been kidnapped. I need the registration of the car he drove off with her in!" raged flack. Jack handed over the CCTV and Flack left. Taking the CCTV, the note and the ring he raced to the lab for help. "Danny listen I need you to track this van" he thrust the disc into Danny's hands.

"Has Hayden got to Jamie?" asked Danny pushing the disc into the computer

"Yes" replied Flack. Danny took down all the cars details then scanned it into the system and brought up cameras from all over the city. They tracked it through countless streets and back alleys they thought it would lead them to direct spot where Jamie had been taken. But then the van drove into an area with virtually no cameras and they lost it. Flack put it out over the radio and worked on his next move. Danny kept going through the cameras looking for the van but nothing showed up. As he did this Flack's mobile started to ring. "Yeah"

"Flack you've got an e-mail… from Hayden Jackson" replied the officer

"Send it to Danny, I'm in the lab" ordered Flack before ending the call. "He's emailed me… Ryan's sending it you."

Moments later the email flashed up on the computer. "Open it" said flack folding his arms, not knowing what he was going to see.

Finally got your pretty little thing and what a beauty she is...

She won't be when I'm done with her though

She's feisty I'll give her that. Got a lot to say for herself. Can see why you like her.

She loves you, she'd defend you to the ends of the earth.

But not for much longer and you will watch as I take her life away from her.

CLICK HERE TO SEE YOUR PRECIOUS GIRLFRIEND

Mac who had been walking past saw the email on the large screen and had come inside. "So Hayden has her?"

"Yes. He's going to kill her mac" replied Flack "And wants me to watch"

"You should click it. We might be able to get a location" said mac. So Danny moved the cursor and clicked the 'click here to see your precious girlfriend'. Moments later an apartment came into focus as did two people; Hayden and Jamie. Flack gulped, there was dried blood on her chin and forehead and she had a black eye. But she was still alive.

Back at the flat Jamie had started to come round. She was sitting up again but this time there was a camera linked up to a laptop. She tried to talk but there was duct tape over mouth. Hayden soon walked into the room gun in hand. "I sent a little email to Detective Flack and told him to say his goodbyes"

Jamie struggled in the chair, trying to break free but it was no use. "You're not leaving. Ever. Because you're going to say goodbye to Detective Flack then I'm going to kill you and he's going to watch knowing he can't help!"

She tried to scream and struggled violently to get free but he just laughed. "I told you, your life is over"

As he spoke a binging noise sounded behind him and he spun round. He bent down to look at the laptop "Request accepted"

"Get ready to say goodbye!" smirked Hayden as the screen changed and the lab appeared along with three people. Jamie could see them clearly, Flack, Mac and Danny.

Flack, Danny and Mac watched as Hayden walked behind her, grabbed her hair, pulled her head back and pressed the gun into her temple. "See what your mistake has done?" Hayden spoke, his voice filled with rage, his eyes wild with insanity.

"LET HER GO. IF YOU WANT TO HURT SOMEONE HURT ME. IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO PUNISH, PUNISH ME. IT'S NOT HER FAULT. SHE DID NOTHING WRONG!" Raged Flack "I SHOT LAYLA NOT HER"

You don't get it do you? That's why have to do this. You took something that was mine. I'm taking something that's yours" Hayden spat before ripping the duct tape off Jamie's mouth. "Say goodbye. SAY IT!"

"I love you" tears spilled down her cheeks "I am not giving up. I'm going to fight with every ounce of strength I have. This is not goodbye"

Before Jamie could say anything else Hayden hit her again and pushed the duct tape back over mouth. "I love you Jamie" said Flack as Hayden walked towards the camera. "It's over for her!" Hayden spat before killing the connection.

Danny had recorded the whole thing so he played it back. "Look" said mac pointing to the screen "That might give us a location"

Danny and Flack worked on the image and managed to pull a location. They managed to name the building and the floor meaning flack could get a couple of officers together to raid the place.

Meanwhile Hayden was preparing to carry out the deadly deed. He stood sharpening his knife in front of Jamie who was trying to untie her hands. She twisted her hands and fiddled with the rope and she soon felt it loosening around her hands. She eventually managed to untie her hands and leaned down to untie her ankles. Finally she was free, she ripped the duct tape off and ran for the door. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" roared Hayden as he spun round on his heel, the gun firmly in his hands.

"NO!" she yelled as his finger tightened on the trigger. "NO!" but it was just too late. He had fired. She fell to the floor clutching her chest where he had just shot her. He walked over to her and looked down at her. "I told you, you aren't leaving." He spat before stamping on her face. He pointed the gun at her again and fired again, hitting her in the chest again.

Moments later they heard footsteps running in their direction. For Hayden it was bad news but for Jamie it was salvation. She was going to make it.

Outside Flack, Danny, Mac and the five other officers were ready to go in. they had their guns loaded and ready to fire. All they had to do was get in. "Three, two, ONE!" without another thought Flack kicked the door in with his foot. The door flew off its hinges and the eight police officers, led by Flack burst inside. Hayden had been ready to fire again and Flack saw this. Without another thought he flew at Hayden and pinned him to the floor. "YOU BASTARD!" he roared before punching him as hard as he possibly could. "YOU DESERVE THIS!"

Four of the officers moved in and took over pinning Hayden down while Flack pulled himself to his feet. "Jamie!" he rushed over to her and pulled her into his arms. She looked into his eyes, her strength fading, and her life slipping away.