Time has run out, it's too late, the devil is in control. The clock that was ticking down to the final chapter in Stockman's book of horrific deeds has finally hit zero hour. Again, be warned of abuse of a child.

Dead Ringer

Chapter 37

The Face in the Dream

(FBI - Austin, 9:10 am)

Wylie stretched with fatigue and got up for coffee break. So far he had discovered that most of the people who had used the laptop were only looking for porn. The pages he had uncovered were uniformly disgusting but he had to search each and every bit of web history. Who knew what Stockman had been looking for, if he had used the laptop at all? After chatting with some other agents, he came back to his desk to resume his search. More porn, directions to the border, online orders for food, random searches of CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, it was all typical of travellers pausing for some online stimulation before they left and drove away. Sighing with boredom, he drank his coffee and peeled through more web pages, growing disillusioned with his lack of success. Maybe this was a total waste of time after all.

(Austin City limits - 9:15 am)

Stockman left the last highway crossover and took a sideroad into the country. Over the trees he could still see the taller buildings in Austin's city centre, including the lovely Capitol building, but ahead of him the signs of city living were rapidly disappearing. He was out of his element. Back home in Blanchard County, he knew every major highway in and out of the County, every back road, country lane, path and bike track. Here, he was relying on an online map that may or may not be up to date. He didn't like the feeling of being at the mercy of a computer. 15 minutes later, he searched for the little used road he needed to carry out his plan for Anika Jane.

KiKi was lying still on the back seat, her eyes closed and her thumb in her mouth. She had stopped sucking her thumb more than a year ago, but with all of the stress she was under, she had regressed back to doing what babies did to comfort themselves. If she stayed with this man much longer, she'd start wetting the bed again. She was reverting to more babyish behaviour in an attempt to block out the ugliness and unpredictability surrounding her. The road became bumpy and the car swayed a bit as it left the more manicured road for a country lane. Stockman stopped at one point to make sure he had taken the right road. Out here, it all looked the same. If he was driving right into the arms of a State Trooper sitting on the side of the road with a speed trap, he'd be in handcuffs before he could think. As more side roads were left behind, Stockman had to trust that this hike out into countryside was worth all the trouble. KiKi hoped the man would keep driving and leave her alone, but in another few minutes, the car came to an abrupt stop and her back door was yanked open.

"Get out and don't make a sound" Stockman growled at her, grabbing her by her waist. Anika was pulled across the seat and jumped down onto the grass. She looked at her new surroundings and found herself in a big field of wild grasses, with tall trees all around. She could be anywhere and was disoriented. It was very quiet out here, but she searched to see if more grownups were there too. Maybe one of them might take her to her Mummy and Daddy.

Stockman took her by the hand and started to walk towards a hedge in the distance, ringing the land he had parked on. It was a long walk and Anika stubbornly refused to cooperate. She dragged her feet and pulled back against his hand. She slowed him down and when he yelled at her, she bit his hand. Then she attacked him with her tiny hands, trying to scratch him, but she was nothing compared to him. When she began to scream, Stockman swung around and slapped her hard across her mouth, stunning her into silence. Gradually, as her shock wore off, she began to wail, drawing too much attention to themselves. What if someone was close by and would come and investigate to see what this man was doing to this kid? As her screaming got louder, he pulled a dirty rag out of his pocket and jammed it into her open mouth. Before she could grab it and throw it away, he threw her down on the ground and put his knee into her small back, pinning her down.

"Shut the hell up and do as I say!" Stockman groused, taking a long cord out of his pocket. He pulled Anika's hands behind her back and tied them together. Once he was done, he pulled her back up onto her feet and dragged the silent child forward once again. Now, there was nothing Anika could do to get away from this big angry man. The hedge bordering this large piece of land grew closer, and when they reached it, Stockman pushed Anika to the ground, telling her to sit there and be quiet. Then, he crouched down to study the shimmering water in front of him.

It was show time!

(Jane Household)

Jane lay on the sofa dozing, partially aware of little house noises around him, but mostly asleep. Coming home had been so wonderful, except that Anika wasn't there to give Patrick a big kiss to get better. It was a bittersweet return to the cabin Patrick had built for his little family. Sleep was what the doctor had ordered, so Patrick promised he'd do just that. He could have curled up in his big king-sized bed in the spacious master bedroom he'd built onto the back of the cabin, but he was tired of being alone in a bedroom. The sofa had been a better alternative. Being there in the living room made him feel less like a patient and more like a husband napping while Teresa went about her day. With Anika still in Stockman's clutches, there was nothing ordinary about their days now, but somehow, they had to carry on.

Assured that he would stay put on the sofa, Teresa finally gave in to the need to shop for the first time in days. She planned to pick up some regular supplies and groceries, but wanted to buy all of Anika's favourite treats, just in case she came home soon. She hoped that Patrick was fine by himself for an hour or two. Cho had asked Teresa to stay home and let the FBI corner Stockman and bring Anika home and she had agreed, but with mixed feelings. The hardest thing for her to do was to let someone else search for her baby.

After Teresa left, the sound of birds chirping lulled Patrick into a light nap. His tired body gave in to the need for sleep, but soon, bleak images of despair crowded his dreams, populated by a faceless man in black who dragged Charlotte and Anika by their wrists towards a huge dark, bottomless lake. While his heart rate rose with anxiety, sweat broke out on Jane's forehead and he tossed fitfully against the sofa cushions. He needed someone to rouse him and tell him it was just a dream and it would soon pass, but he was alone with his demons. Angela was nowhere to be seen in the dream, but Charlotte was now a captive of the devil who had Anika. Sisters by birth, they would soon be sisters in death. Patrick grimaced as he tried to reach out to save Anika, knowing it was too late to help his precious Charlotte. The man, who seemed to be superhuman in strength and size, dragged the two children forward, laughing as they struggled against his superior size. As the man advanced towards the water, he paused, turning to look behind himself. Finally, Jane stared into the hard black eyes of Mark Stockman.

KiKi lay on the ground, eyeing her captor with terror. No one had ever played a game as frightening as this with her. Being tied up with scratchy rope and choking on a dirty rag was no fun, and he was a bad bad man to do it to her. She was more angry than teary at the moment, but as soon as he untied her she was going to scream her little head off. Maybe then someone would come and take her back to her mother. Stockman sat on his haunches, staring at the expanse of grass ahead of him. To his left, the murky water surrounded by reeds and long grass waited to receive Anika's warm body. Behind him, the hedge divided the property in two, and above him, the land rose in a gentle slope to a building overlooking the lush countryside. A little Eden, he mused. It looked similar to what Google Earth had shown in an old photo on the internet, but improvements had obviously been made recently.

This was the perfect place to drown a little girl, so appropriate, theatrical and shocking. This was better than his original choice for killing Anika. Lake Travis was so vast, so deep and so hard to monitor, he would have had no problem slipping onto the land to push Anika Jane into the water far away from the most populated areas on the Lake, far away from boaters and nosey homeowners. Yes, Lake Travis was an obvious choice to commit a drowning, but this, this was even better. Where better to drown Patrick Jane's child than on his own land, in his own pond, at the bottom of the hill where his family home stood?

Stockman sat back in the bushes studying the Jane cabin, looking for any sign that he wasn't alone. Soon the front door opened and Agent Teresa Jane left the house and drove away. It would have been so easy to put a bullet into her as she stood beside her car, but if she died, who would be left to mourn the loss of KiKi forever? As for Patrick Jane, now that it was a possibility that he still was alive, Stockman had to made a decision. He could run up to the house and search it or just stick to his original plan. Stockman had to see Jane with his own eyes, and know for sure that he really did survive that harrowing strangulation back at the cement factory. If he was at home, he must be recuperating from his injuries. Should he let him live to suffer the loss of his second child? Would that be the best way to torture him, or should he creep up to the house and put a bullet between Jane's eyes while he was so frail and vulnerable? That way, Teresa would have lost her entire family. Either way, he could decide what to do after he'd held Anika's head under the cold pond water until she choked on her own vomit and breathed her last.

Now that he had the property to himself, Stockman relaxed and cast a critical eye towards the struggling little girl beside him. She had been so nasty to him, biting and scratching at every opportunity, so he had finally bound her little wrists together and put a dirty gag in her mouth. That shut her up. Now she lay on the ground desperately trying to stand, but she couldn't find a way up with her hands tied behind her. Silent wails creased her tear stained face as she feared this scary man more than ever. Whatever game he was playing was too mean, too frightening, and it had gone on far too long. She could see her house atop the soft rise of the land and hoped her Daddy or Mummy would soon come out and find her. She never gave up hoping that they would put a stop to this terrible game. As she saw her mother get into her car and leave, she cried all the harder into her gag with disappointment. Her Mummy wasn't coming for her after all.

Stockman waited until Teresa's car drove out of sight and merged with traffic heading into Austin before he left his hiding place. Now he could finally carry out his plans and be rid of this miserable kid once and for all.

"Stand up KiKi!" he barked, yanking her up by one arm, hurting her once again as her small wrists were pulled against their restraints. She tried to run away but he caught her in an easy two steps. Swatting her backside, he threatened to hit her face again if she didn't listen and obey.

"You stop that right now or your Daddy and Mummy will never come for you, understand me?" he yelled.

Anika stopped pulling away from him and became still. This was the absolute worst thing she could imagine. Could this man keep her parents away from her forever? Staying with him would be so scary! She didn't know why it was so hard for her Mummy to come for her and why this man told her so many bad things, but grown ups knew everything, so she had to be good. Stockman stepped out of the bushes with Anika tight in his grip by the upper arm, pressing large finger sized bruises into her soft flesh. Tears ran down her face in pain as he dragged her forward. He turned away from the house and set his sights on the real point of interest to him. With a smile, he tugged on the child's arm with a harsh, "Come on!"

At the top of the hill in his cosy cabin, unaware of the tragedy unfolding below him by pond, Jane tossed and turned on the sofa, the nightmare scene in his dream getting more and more malevolent. Charlotte cried out to him to come and get her while little Anika clung to her older sister for support. Jane was running running running but never seemed to get any closer to the two girls and the evil man taking them away. Calling out to them, Jane's voice disappeared on the wind, their ears never catching the sound of his voice. Where was Teresa? Why wasn't she there to stop all this? As the girls got closer to the edge of the dark water, a jolt of panic shook Jane out of his sleep and he suddenly sat bolt upright. The unguarded motion sent shards of pain across his middle, but he took deep breaths to handle the discomfort. What had awakened him? Looking around, he could see he was still alone.

Teresa wouldn't be home for a while and he was safe, save for his nightmares. Supposing the dream had frightened him so much that he had to wake up to escape seeing his daughters die in front of him, Patrick stretched and felt grateful to be awake again. He was so so tired of this sleeping torment and its portent of catastrophe. After taking a moment to calm himself, he carefully eased himself over to the edge of the sofa, then stood up unsteadily and decided to walk to the kitchen for a glass of cold water.

A cane had been left leaning against the coffee table, a hint from Teresa to use it and not be so stubborn if walking was painful. Smiling at her obvious ploy, Patrick gratefully grabbed the cane and used it to pull himself up straighter. It did help, he had to admit. He strode off across the living room with even steps, taking his time to reach the kitchen. Every step forward was a step closer to wellness...isn't that what some doctor had once said to him? Cheesy homilies, but it was true. As he poured himself a drink of water he gazed out of the kitchen window and admired the beautiful view. The Jane family had a resident flock of ducks who proudly lived on and ruled the pond at the bottom of the garden. Humans and ducks gave each other respect and room to flourish in this tiny bit of heaven on earth, but today, Jane was surprised to see the ducks all rise up and take flight, swooping and circling the pond, quacking their disapproval over some perceived slight.

Patrick leaned forward carefully to see what had gotten them so upset, but from this vantage point, he could only see one far corner of the pond. Whatever made the ducks angry, it was happening somewhere else on the pond. Finished with his glass of water, he decided to walk to the front door and sit on the verandah, relishing the sun and clean air. Sunshine would speed his recovery much quicker than any days spent in a hard hospital bed.

Down the hill and approaching the pond, Stockman was half dragging, half carrying Anika forward, forcing her to keep up while he strode towards the water's edge.

"Wanna go swimming KiKi?" Stockman laughed, turning to look at his little hostage. KiKi shook her head vigorously, no! She knew it was too cold to splash in the pond now, Daddy had told her only a short time ago. Next spring, when it gets warmer, he had said, then we'll play in the water. She looked at this strange man with confusion. Why did he want to swim now on such a chilly day? Where was his bathing suit? Stockman saw the stubborn resistance in the child's face and a harsh raspy laugh escaped his lips.

"I think you wanna go swimming today, don't ya kid?"

Anika shook her head no again and tried to pull her arm out of Stockman's large fist.

Stockman ignored her attempts to get away and whistled as he walked closer to the bottom of the sloping lawn.

"Can you swim KiKi? Did Daddy teach you how to float yet?" he grinned, pulling her forward until her shoes were dragging across the dry grass. Ahead of them the edge of the pond was ringed by long grasses and bullrushes, home to the family of ducks and frogs. Anika knew that she was not to disturb the ducks, that's what Mummy and Daddy told her all the time when she went barrelling downhill towards the beautiful, shimmering water. Why would this man want to bother her duckies? She was so confused, and now he wanted her to float? What did that even mean?

"Almost there sugar" he said, fishing a cigarette out of his pocket. He stood still for moment to light it while Anika pulled back against his fist in a last ditch attempt to break free and run to her house.

Inside, Patrick was making his way slowly across the wide expanse of the old wooden floors from the kitchen, through the living room, to the front door. He was getting tired but it felt good to be up and moving again. Grasping the cane with one hand , he slowly made his way through the spacious house. When he finally reached the heavy wooden front door, he turned to look out the front window set into it to let in morning light. What he saw made his blood run cold. His nightmare, the one that tormented him time and again every time he fell into a deep sleep, was playing out at the bottom of his own garden. Down the hill, almost at the water's edge, a man was dragging KiKi towards the pond!

Stockman!