Chapter 12: Getting Somewhere
"She killed him," Tony said, "Joe just wanted to help me. He wanted to stop her." Alan, Varava, Wilson and Captain Rousseau all sat in the room with him as he sat there covered up by a thick blanket. He'd been answering their questions for the past hour. He'd detailed everything that Esther had done and was planning to do. Everyone was shocked that this little kid could've survived all of that.
"What happened in the month you were gone?" asked Alan. "We left this place," Tony told him, "She took me out of town. I watched her disguise herself as a little girl. We stayed at a church in another small town. The Reverend there was nice. He said we could stay as long as we liked. Esther said we were runaways and that she needed faith. He kept telling her more about the lord and all along she didn't really care. All she talked about was her old family. About someone named Max. And how Max and me were going to be brother and sister. Then one day the Reverend found her bible with a note of what she was going to do to someone named Kate and Daniel. She came in behind him and…she killed him." Tony broke down into tears, covering his eyes with one hand. Alan took a few tissues and gave them to him as he wiped his eyes off.
"Then we came back here," Tony continued. "Where did you stay with her?" asked Alan. "We stayed at a factory near the forest," Tony said. "The old McClaren Shoe factory," Captain Rousseau said, "is Joe still there, Tony?" He nodded his head slowly. "She's still there too!" Tony sobbed. Everyone went quiet for a moment. Captain Rousseau lifted his radio up and murmured something into it. "Tony, does she know where the Coleman's are?" Alan asked him, "Does she know where they live? Anything about them?" "No, she's looking for you Detective," he replied. "Why me, Tony?" Alan asked him, "Why does she want me too?" "She says you know her too well," Tony told him, "She said she wants to meet you. She found you on the Internet and stayed up late reading about you."
Everyone slowly looked up at Alan and he lost his breath. Alan couldn't believe it. He'd lost a lot of sleep over this case. He wasn't eating right, either. He'd been looking for Leena for weeks, and now she was looking for him. And with what Tony said, she seemed to know a lot about him already.
"You're very brave Tony," Varava said, rubbing his shoulder, "She will not get away with this." "What am I going to do now?" Tony asked him, "I have no family." "Don't worry, it'll be taken care of buddy," said Alan, "right now, we've got to take care of that fever for you." "Okay," Tony told him. He felt overwhelmed right now. He'd thought he'd found satisfaction in escape, but having to relive all he'd been through was a lot to deal with. The medics took Tony away and Alan thought it all over.
The cops sped down the street in a single line to the shoe factory. Alan picked up his radio as they let their sirens blaze and the throttle reach it's fullest. Alan couldn't believe she'd been here and been able to avoid his detection. She wanted his head, along with Kate, Daniel, and Max's. He shook himself and tried not to think about it much, just to concentrate on the moment at hand. But it kept replaying in his head, what if?
Moments later the police had arrived at the shoe factory. Joe Bando was still lying on the floor. Police had searched the building from top to bottom, inside out. They had found the food Esther had bought for Tony. They'd also found the broken chain connected to the heat pipes and the bullet casing of the 357 magnum. The pipe lying on the ground was bent up, which was used to disconnect the chain.
No Esther.
"Why's this happening, doc?" Alan asked Varava. "She always used to tell us she wanted her own family," Varava explained, "Someone who'd accept her. She had trouble belonging her whole life. This Esther character isn't new. And she really grew attached to this Max character." "How'd she escape the Saarne Institute in the first place?" Alan asked. "She was extremely aggressive, especially when kept in her straight jacket," Varava said, "our staff and other patients were always afraid of her. But she used this trick to get out of it. "Yes?" Alan asked after a while. "She dislocated her shoulder and squirmed out," Varava explained, "Only we didn't know that at first. She then tried to seduce one our security detail. When he came into investigate, she beat him to death with his nightstick." "Oh man," Alan said. "She killed 2 other guards and escaped our hospital," Varava concluded, "We haven't heard from her since the family in Estonia was killed."
"Wilson, I want someone posted outside the Coleman residence," Alan said. "McNally, you're up for the job," Wilson said. A young tall cop with a short goatee looked over at them and nodded his head.