Title: Sleepy Hollow
Chapter 11 – The Ninth Gate

For a moment the entire world around her stands still; neither move…neither breathe…neither blink.

"Surprise."

The word rolls off Bill's tongue with smooth slickness….pride but also a hint of agitation.

"It looks as though…you've seen a ghost," he winks as he takes a step closer. "I can assure you…I am very, very real."

"Why did…no…you're…you're dead…I saw you…YOU'RE DEAD!" Donna shouts as she rushes toward him, her fists balled and her mind racing with heated fury. "Why…WHY!" She shouts as she punches him in the chest, Bill stepping back and trying to wrestle her back. "I saw…you…you were dead!" She pauses as she pulls back and looks at him with a flushed face, racing heart and slightly watery eyes. "Why…why did you do it?" She asks simply.

"Because…I could," Bill replies smugly as he pulls a gun and raises it.

His finger pulls back on the trigger, her eyes widening as her right hand goes for her piece. She feels something pierce her neck and her knees falter. Bill walks toward her as her body sags to the ground.

"Bill…" Donna tries once more as Bill hovers over her.

"And you…are my final."

XXXXXXXX

Ed reaches Donna's place, the home looking quietly in place…one light on, her truck still parked out front and no one else around.

However, as soon as he jumps from the cabin of the truck he hears something that is very out of place – Duke barking. He knows if she's in there and she's okay the dog would be at peace…not agitated. "Something's wrong," Ed mutters as he pulls his gun and races up to her front steps.

"Donna!" He calls out as he bangs on the door. But as soon as his thick fist connects with the wooden panels of the front door, he's instantly faced with his second clue that something's wrong – the door moves open a few inches. "Donna!" He shouts once more as he steps into her home; his phone continuing to buzz in his inner pocket. "Donna!" Ed calls out once more as he ignores the persistent calls and races toward the kitchen were Duke was on his leash that was chained to the wall.

"Hey Duke…where is she?" Ed asks almost rhetorically as he turns and then looks back into the living room; his gaze frantic and agitated. The dog somewhat subsides at hearing a familiar voice, but as soon as his voice rises the dog's agitation is back on point."Donna!"

But just as he reaches for his phone he notices something on the floor and hurries toward it, dropping to his knees and feeling his heart sink as he looks at the small smattering of blood. "No…" Ed whispers as his phone finally connects.

"Ed!"

"Spike…" Ed states a bit breathlessly.

"It's Bill." Both state at once as Ed audibly agrees.

"He has Donna…I think…she's been shot," he adds with a grimace as Sam tells him that Sam and Wordy on their way to see him. "They're not here…he's taken her to…we have to get there before something happens. I'm going …Spike get me a heading!"

He doesn't wait to hear Spike's protest as he races back to the dark SUV and then peels away, leaving a spray of damp mud on anything within striking distance.

"Ed…where are you?"

"He's taken her somewhere to kill her Wordy!" Ed snaps in anger as Spike's number appears on his phone and he quickly hangs up with Wordy. "Talk to me Spike!"

"I think…take the exit to…

But before Spike can tell Ed where he should direct the speeding SUV, another number pops up on his screen.

"Spike, it's Donna!" He exclaims as he slams on the breaks, the SUV slides to a screeching halt and he's quick to answer.

It's not a call…just a text…

"What the hell…" Ed mutters as he calls Spike back seconds later. "All it says is 'the ninth gate'. What the hell is that? Spike! It's Donna! I know it is…you need to find this…now!"

"Give me a sec…" Spike's voice trails off as he relays a message from Wordy.

"I know but I'm not turning back!" Ed hisses as he hears Spike's fingers furiously flying over the keys. "Spike!"

"I think I know…I'm sending you the coordinates now."

Ed looks at the GPS mapping pop up on his screen and sharply swerves to the right, his mind praying he'll get there in time. "Hold on Donna…just…hold on," he whispers; his mind praying he'll make it there in time.

XXXXXXXX

"Figured after this long you'd have a million questions," Bill states smugly the two of the walk further into the darkened establishment; Donna's hands ziptied in front and her head still pounding from the mild tranquilizer that Bill had struck her with. Just before the SUV had stopped she was able to send Ed a text and hopes and prays that Spike or someone will be able to figure it out in time.

"Just one…why…"

"Donna…"

"WHY YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH! WHY!" She shouts as she stops suddenly and turns to face him in anger. "Those people…I saw your body. You made me believe…that you were killed and…WHY!"

"You saw a body. You saw what I wanted you to see. The whole time…each kill. Everything was set up exactly as I wanted."

"But…those people…they…what did they ever do to you? Was it them? Or was it me? Because of us?"

"Oh don't flatter yourself that much!" Bill looks at her in contempt. "The first one…Donald Riley…that one was easy…damn bastard. He…double crossed me…he owed me and he thought that he could just walk away and…"

"Donald…what about…I can't believe all this…this is a joke right? You can't…you can't have done…all that," she starts just as he pulls his phone and shows her a picture.

"Recognize it?"

She looks at the photo and then feels her stomach starting to sink….tighten and then lurch. Her eyes lock with the photo that only the killer could have taken and she shakes her head.

"Actually it's me who should be shaking his head…how the hell did you figure it out? You were in retirement and following your daily routine would have been…."

"Wait…what? You…"

"You didn't think you could just run away from all those tormented memories and not have a part of it all come with you? And whose idea was it to bring in the hotshots from Toronto? Greg's…or yours? Or maybe his annoying wife? Damn her and her kiss ass politics!"

"You killed the reporter right? And set up Ryan?"

"It was Marina Parker's fault she brought in a nosey reporter!" Bill shoots back in anger.

"You murdered all those innocent people and then tried…" Donna tries once more.

"Innocent? Trust me they weren't innocent!" Bill interjects with a hiss.

"However you try to justify yourself is wrong! The body…your body…it was checked by…your DNA was ran! It was you!"

"You mean…coroner Miles Wilkens who ran the DNA testing on my corpse right? Very sad how he died."

"No his name…wait…you set that all up. And you let me think that…why? Just because these people owed you money?" She asks with an angry hiss. "If you were that much in debt…I would have helped you out."

Bill offers her a small scoff, his actions making her jaw tighten. "At first…it was necessity. I never told you that…it was from my Vice days…I came away with a few bad habits."

"Gambling."

"That and a few other…well vices, for lack of a better term," Bill replies with a small huff. "As I was saying…at first it was necessity and then…then it was a game. I got addicted to the power…being in control. Of their lives and the investigation. To see how close you all would come…even with the most important of clues you couldn't put it together without my help."

"That's because you knew Rick Lieber wasn't listed anywhere except on one manifest in Joe's Auto shop! He was just a kid…some junkie that you…didn't have time to get. He was your next target," she concludes as he nods in agreement. "Why didn't you just come and talk to me…tell me…let me help you."

"Tell you what? That I killed a guy? That I sawed his head off after I took what he owed me and I felt no remorse! THAT I DIDN'T REGRET IT! THAT I LIKED IT!" Bill shouts as Donna slightly recoils. "The power…in that moment that I had over them…it was liberating…addicting."

"You're delusional…no…you're sick."

Bill just looks at her with an amused expression as he leans in closer; Donna slightly pulling back. "I wanted more…you knew that. From us."

"I didn't want more…you knew that!" She tosses back with a hiss. "Why…after all this time did you come out of hiding? Had you not killed…you missed it didn't you? This goes beyond just. That old man…on Halloween…what did he owe you?"

"His life."

"You're not God!" Donna shouts in contempt. "He was an old man that…what did he owe you?" She asks again.

"I owed him…he was an old friend of my father's and…"

"No…we ran all the connections and…" she at first interjects and then stops as more realizations slam into her emotionally muddled brain.

"My biological father."

"Wait…what? You're not…Bill Kedrick?"

"I was adopted by Graham Heddy. He knew my secret."

"What? But…why didn't you just…leave. Leave the country just…"

"I could have but each time I tried, something always pulled me back. And that was us. The thought of us. I saw how you mourned ….how affected you were and how my demise disrupted your whole life. And much like the deaths…the power I had over them…I had that over you. You quit your job for me. I did that," Bill smiles. "That power over your life," he grins.

Her balled fists rise, hitting him in the jaw and snapping his head back; his lips coming forward and spitting up some bloody saliva as he turns back to her with an evil glare.

"It wasn't love!" Donna fires back angrily. "It was…regret and sorrow and…I cared for you but I didn't love you," she insists, her mind so distraught that he had wanted her to quit her job…wanted her to feel that much pain. Wanted…

"It's all love."

"You're…sick."

"Maybe. But I was the one responsible for you giving up everything you loved!" Bill tosses back with smug satisfaction. "Me! Your job…your home…your life. You gave that all up for me!"

"Never again," Donna whispers as she silently summons whatever energy she has slowly building inside.

"This is the end of the line Donna…you're my last and the circle will be complete."

"NEVER AGAIN!" She shouts as she takes him off guard by charging into his surprised frame. She manages to knock him off his balance, forcing him to stumble backward and allowing her to pull away and charge into the shadows.

"It's over Donna…" Bill starts with an angry hiss. "YOU'RE DEAD!" He shouts as he tears off into the shadows after her.

XXXXXXXX

"I see Bill's SUV!" Ed exclaims excitedly as he stops his SUV, hops out and races toward the entrance. He pauses just before he takes another step, hearing a gunshot ring out, piercing the cool, foggy air and forcing his panic to literally explode. With his own gun already cocked and ready, he charges into the large, darkened warehouse, still praying he gets there in time.

He enters the building and then stops, his brain racing to get his eyes focused and accustomed to the darkness, while his ears concentrate on picking up any kind of sounds that would lead him toward his target. Come on Donna…Bill…damn bastard where are you?

His eyes focus…his ears pick up a sound and his brain just gets his feet in motion.

Silence…but then…breaking glass…shouting…PANIC!

Ed takes off at top speed, racing toward the shooting voices at the far end of the warehouse, his mind trying to get him to slow down for his own safety.

"Donna!"

XXXXXXXX

In the back of her mind's eye and trying to push through the pounding of her rapidly beating heart, Donna thinks she's hearing Ed's voice calling her name but knows she doesn't have time to stop and make sure. But at the same time she does…she wants to stop and tell Bill that he's wrong and this…this is all just a HUGE misunderstanding. Why the hell…

"Donna? Come on now…you know it's gonna end here. It'll end with us."

She leans up against a thick pillar, hearing Bill's taunting voice in the nearing distance and closing her eyes tightly for a few tormented seconds. She tries to swallow – but is unable.

"I am surprised though…thought you always suspected something…that's why…I think you did love me. No matter what you told yourself…but then again…you really didn't know me," Bill's voice rattles on as he takes another step closer; his long, sharp, hunting knife poised and ready – a gun tucked away in his belt just in case it's needed. "Those case's in Vice…"

"You were adopted…did you kill before you became Bill Kedrick?" She interjects before quickly scurries toward another beam, and then another. Pausing before attempting another.

"Will you appreciate the answer if it's the truth?"

"All those people…"

"All of them…I hated them all…and each for different reasons. Even that bitch reporter, that meddling mechanic and the pesky delivery boy Ryan. But trust me…the most satisfying kill will be YOURS!"

Ed reaches the second landing and hears Donna cry out, a short, shrill scream following by an angry curse and then some more shuffling in the other direction.

"Donna!" Ed tries once more; knowing that backup was only now about 5 maybe 10 minutes away.

But…would that be enough time?"

"Ed!" Donna calls out as she finally hears the voice of her salvation; relief dousing her tone.

"Bill Kedrick! NBPD are on their way! It's over! We know you're the killer!"

Of course not everyone's happy to see Ed, as Bill's voice instantly curses Ed's meddling interference. He hears Ed's advancing steps and instantly stops, pivots on his heel and then turns and charges with all his strength into the incoming body.

Donna also stops just as hears Bill curs Ed's name and then the sound of…two bodies colliding. "Ed!" She shouts as she foregoes her path to the third floor and races back to help.

Ed's lips utter a painful grunt as he rounds the corner and looks up just in time to see Bill charging toward him. Bill had used the darkness to his advantage as Ed wasn't even able to get a shot off before his body slams into the hard ground a few meters behind him.

"It's…over!" Ed growls as he tries to keep the knife from piercing anything vital. But with Bill's hand frantically bringing the knife up and down in a maniacal pattern, it's only a matter of time before…

"AHHHH!" Ed's lips cry out as the knife cuts open a slice through the fleshy part of his forearm.

"Told you…you can't win…this!"

"It's over Bill….you're done!" Ed toss back with an angry hiss.

"Maybe for you! Big city … meddler!" Bill shouts as he brings the knife up and then tries to plunge it into Ed's chest. But at the last second Ed brings his knee up and manages to clip Bill in the groin, sending the serrated murder weapon clanging into the ground.

Ed brings his elbow up, trying to keep his gun in play and fires off a shot. It narrowly misses Bill, instead embedding itself into the wall behind him as the two of them continue their struggle on the floor.

Donna finally reaches them and she wastes no time in trying to pull Bill away from Ed so that he has a clear shot and end the fight early – and with the right side winning. But without the full use of her hands, she's only able to grab the end of his jacket and at least get him to dislodge a little.

"Welcome back baby," Bill smiles as he lunges at her with the knife, sending her stumbling backward but allowing Ed to throw himself at Bill and tackle him to the ground.

"Donna….go get…" Ed tries to instruct as his jaw snaps backward courtesy of Bill's balled fist. But she has no intention of leaving Ed with her ex-partner…turned murderer.

"YOU'RE BOTH DEAD!" Bill shouts as he punches at Ed. But Ed is able to counter with his left arm. However, Bill's balled fist comes down on Ed's fresh injury forcing him to cry out in pain; his grip loosening on the handle of the gun. Another stiff blow to his wound and the gun finally springs free.

"Donna! Get the gun!" Ed directs as she squints around the darkness for the gun…her mind telling her ears to look to the right…keep right…get the gun…end the fight…END THE FIGHT!

Bill punches Ed in the stomach while Ed's left hand keeps vise-like grip on Bill's right – the hand with the gun in it.

Ed punches Bill in the jaw while he tries to wrestle the gun away and give Donna the opportunity for a clean shot – both of them wanting to end the game for good.

Both Bill and Ed start to tire from the fight…Donna trying to find a clean shot in the darkness as she hears the sirens starting to near the building.

Help's arrived.

"It's over Bill! Stop the fight and surrender! Now!" Donna shouts as she finally gets a glint of the knife.

But in the few silent seconds that follow, Donna's mind can't anticipate what was to happen next.

Bill hears the sirens and knows that he's done. Getting caught and going to jail is not in his plan so it was now…kill or be killed.

"I have a shot!"

"Take it!" Ed shouts back as he tries to roll out of the way for Donna to take Bill out for good.

Donna raises the gun and prepares to fire.

Bill gets his right hand free and then before any of them can take their next breath, Donna's eyes widen as the knife slowly sails through the air…it's destination confirmed and its trajectory finalized.

She starts to scream…silent at first and then loud…"ED!"

The knife meets its final resting place and Ed's lips cry out in utter terror; the knife plunging into his chest with ferocity.

"Ed!" Donna shouts once more before her fingers pull back on the trigger; Wordy calling out Ed's name in the distance.

Bill gets to his knees and turns to her with an evil smile; a haunting glint in his eye as he pulls the knife out of Ed's chest, a few crimson drops splattering to the dirty ground with impunity.

"Now…it's over," he whispers smugly.

"For you," Donna whispers back as she pulls back on the trigger.

*bang* *bang*

Two shots and his body jerks with each one; the knife clattering to the ground and his lips uttering a final curse in her name.

"I did it…for us."

"Goodbye Bill. Rot in hell!" She shouts as she fires off two more shots; one in the head and one in the heart – both kill shots.

*bang* *bang*

His body slams backward into the ground; the gun drops from her hand; time speeds up.

On the main floor of the warehouse, Sam manages to get the lights turned on and Donna looks up to see Ed's unmoving frame a few feet away, his chest soaked in fresh blood.

"Oh God no…Ed! NO ED!"

A/N: eeks! So happy to hear I surprised you all with the identity of the killer. You got a small glimpse into a bit of Bill's motive and there will be a few more details in the next couple of chapters. But how will Donna fare after hearing all of Bill's tormented confessions? And yikes! Ed! Is he dead? even though dead, did Bill get the last laugh? Please do review before you go and thanks so much!