Driving to the Pine Barrens takes almost an hour, and darkness starts to fall. The murderer enters the area, taking the path leading to the caves where he can take care of Betsy without anyone hearing him or her moans of pain. He removes the latex from his lips, dropping it into the safe break bottle containing a powerful acid. It hisses, and the latex coagulates into a mass, floating to the surface.
As the man drives into the forest, Betsy doesn't see houses or trailers. She has never seen the area before, but she realizes it's far from her home. Betsy sees the trees. At least, she thinks trees obscure the ramp below ground level. Where are they?
Betsy can't see much farther than her nose. The man leaves her inside the car, knowing she's too weak to move. He lights the torches hanging strategically on the walls. It illuminates the area enough for Betsy to spot the water dripping from the ceiling and another dark vehicle at the opposite end. She's afraid the damp ceiling will cave and bury her alive. Betsy wonders if that's the man's goal.
Staring at the car, Betsy tries to make out the license plate and make and model of the vehicle. There's no way for her to read it, but the colour indicates it's from out of state. The car appears to be a Buick, but the bumper is wrong. She commits every detail to memory on the off chance that she will live through this kidnapping.
After preparing the area where he will do unspeakable things to Betsy, the man returns. She panics when he opens her door. "Nnnn," she cries. Betsy can't form the words begging him to spare her from his plans.
He lifts Betsy from the vehicle, smiling when her arms fall limp at her sides. The man carries her as though she's a rag doll. Her head hangs at an odd angle. Betsy can't move her head to look at anything other than the damp ceiling.
The man carries her to the bed, which he made from twigs, leaves, and fabric scraps. All of which are flammable. He has a gas can at the foot of the bed. Once he finishes his task, he will douse her with gasoline and watch her burn. "Are you ready?" he asks.
Betsy answers, "No. Don't do this."
Laughing, he says, "The drugs are wearing off." He removes a knife from his ankle holster and, with a swift motion, cuts the clothes from neck to crotch. It takes a few more swipes to remove her clothes, leaving her bare on the bed. He grins and strips. Betsy notices the man is ripped. His pecs and abs are impeccable. She briefly forgets about her situation as she stares at his body and the erection, standing straight and ready.
Betsy watches the man pull something over his erection. It's like a condom but oddly different. He pulls on a bodysuit and pushes his penis through the opening at the crotch. The man pulls a tight swimmer's cap over his head, hiding his hair before pulling on latex gloves. She shakes in fear, knowing the man plans to murder her without leaving evidence. Betsy's voice cracks as she asks, "Why?"
"I can't have the one I want. You have to do for now. My beast, the demon possessing me, needs your life force to keep it fed," he explains.
"You can let me go. I won't tell anyone," Betsy cries.
Twigs snap, and the dry leaves crinkle as he straddles her hips. His hands wrap around her neck. Betsy gags and tries to buck him off. She feels her throat swelling as she tries to scream. The man shifts his position and removes his hands from her neck.
He shifts on the bed, moving his knees to rest between her legs. As he shoves inside her, he slices her breasts with the knife. His inner beast roars in delight. Though she is still partially unable to move, she feels the sharp sting as he runs the knife across her breasts a second time.
Blood covers her milky white, perfect skin. She doesn't have a single blemish on her body or face. Betsy moves her hands to push his chest. He laughs at her weak attempt. In another swift movement, the man pulls from her body and ties her hands to the metal stake at the head of the bed. Her legs are too heavy to move. However, the man can't risk her kicking him, so he ties her feet to the other stakes at the foot of the bed.
"Drink," he orders. She takes a sip of the bitter liquid. Every sensation returns in a rush. Betsy realizes the drink is the antidote to the paralytic drug from his lips. She's unable to move her arms and legs. He deftly gags her and wraps the cloth around her head, preventing any noises from escaping as he torments her.
The beast inside wills him to break her fingers and toes, which he does. She's writhing in pain, screaming into the fabric gag as snot leaks from her nose and tears drop from her eyes. He grins and continues the sexual assault component. Whatever the man gave Betsy made everything feel worse. Intense, skin-burning pain nearly makes her pass out. He slaps her face to keep her awake.
"No," Betsy cries against the gag. Betsy begs him to release her, but the words get lost in the fabric. He needs to make her scream and look at him in fear.
The flash of fear enters her eyes and face as he leisurely takes from her body as he tortures, burns, cuts, strangles, punches, breaking more bones; every abusive and painful thought crossing his mind, he does.
Betsy knows the man will eventually kill her. Every pinch felt like red hot pokers pressing against her flesh. Each stab from the dagger makes Betsy pray it will kill her. She begs God to end her life, but the torture continues. The man knows where to stab without her bleeding out on the bed. Once her skin is sticky and red from the bloodshed, he strangles her as he chases his sexual release. His beast roars while he remains silent. He feels the life slipping away as he squeezes her neck so tight that the blood vessels rupture in her eyes. With a final shudder, Betsy looks into his eyes, sees the demon lying within his soul, and dies.
He checks his watch, mentally registering the time of death. The man cuts the rope from her hands and legs before removing the gag. He drops a long wick on her body. Grabbing the gasoline, he douses her body and ensures complete saturation. He ties the end of the twenty-foot wick to her finger and walks away, ensuring it doesn't pull free. The man returns to Betsy's corpse and strips himself bare. He knows the suit will burn to ashes from the hot flame. After dropping the swimmer's cap in the powerful acid, he waits a few minutes to gaze at Betsy's body.
His inner demon relaxes and retreats into its hiding spot deep inside the murderer. The man checks everything, ensuring he isn't leaving identifiable DNA behind. He smiles when the hair from the swimmer's cap dissolves in the acid. After adding the latex blobs to the bed between Betsy's feet, the man adds another wick leading from the bed to the car he drove into the cave. He douses the car's interior with lighter fluid and grins. Everything will burn hot. The man laughs as he finds small amounts of explosives inside the cave, near the car he's leaving behind.
He drives from the cave using the other exit as the flames lick the explosive. His joyous laughter fills the car as he watches the ground cave in, burying Betsy below hundreds of pounds of trees and dirt. It's too far away that nobody will see it. He feels unstoppable. Smoke escapes, but it doesn't bother him since he will be far away before anyone notices.
It's time to see if he can get the curly brunette alone. If the brunette thwarts him again, he will go after Terry Gilman and possibly Joyce Barnhardt, whoever he meets first.
~~~~~~
Ranger, Lester, Bobby, Tank and Ram search Trenton for the murderer. They know he's after Stephanie, though she is blissfully unaware. "Are you sure she doesn't know?" Lester questions when the thought crosses his mind.
"She has the best instincts I have ever seen," Bobby adds.
"I hope he's far away from her. She should be safe if she doesn't escape from her guard," Ranger says, despite knowing she won't leave the protection his men can offer as he hunts the murderer. His phone vibrates. He removes it from his pocket to read the message from Hector. "Babe's safe inside our Rangeman apartment." Everyone visibly relaxes.
They hike through the forest east of the Pine Barrens. "Do you smell that?" Ram asks.
The men stop to scent the air. A gentle northwestern breeze blows the smoke containing the stench of burning flesh, gasoline and leaves. "It's coming from the other side," Ranger says, pointing to the west end of the forest.
"We're entering the Pine Barrens," Tank says, checking his GPS device.
As they head toward the direction of the smoke, the ground rumbles beneath their feet before the sound of the explosion hits their ears. The men freeze in their spots, listening for further sounds of danger.
Ranger calls for backup. He's unwilling to enter an area which may contain more explosives, as he knows that's the sound they heard. It will take time for the emergency crew to arrive with the hazmat and explosives experts from Rangeman.
As Ranger waits for the other responders to arrive, he contacts Stephanie. She answers on the first ring. "Is everyone okay?" she asks, praying Ranger isn't calling her with bad news.
"Babe, everyone's fine. Please stay close to your guard. We have reason to believe the man is in Trenton," Ranger replies.
"Yes, I agree," she says. "The man was at Joe's funeral. I could feel him watching me."
"Can you identify him?" Ranger asks.
"I'm not sure. I'll have Hector retrieve the video feeds, and we'll comb through them," Stephanie replies. "Maybe I can give you a better idea of who you're looking for. But…" Stephanie pauses and waits until her emotions are under control before finishing her thoughts.
When she isn't answering, Ranger asks, "Do you think someone at the funeral led him to Trenton?"
"Yes, and I think that person is Terry Gilman," Stephanie replies. "So far, Joe Morelli, Gino Grizolli and Jerry Gilman, Terry's ex-husband, are dead. All signs point to Terry being the cause of his arrival."
"Jerry died in prison from anaphylaxis," Ranger says.
"He did, but I don't understand how to expose a man in prison to shellfish. I doubt the prison cafeteria serves prawns, crab, lobster or shrimp," Stephanie adds. "The only way to expose Gilman is through a letter, food or sundry parcel from outside. It's too late to call the warden about Gilman's mail and gifts received. If by some chance Gilman received tainted products, the prison would have tossed them by now."
"We can always ask. The warden might have boxed up the items for Terry," Ranger suggests. Stephanie snorts. It's possible, but Stephanie thought it unlikely.
Ranger catches Tank's eye and nods, confirming their suspicions about their target being in Trenton. Tank understands what Ranger is telling him by hearing Ranger's side of the conversation with Stephanie and what message Ranger is sending via ESP.
"You should get back to work. I'm not leaving Rangeman. Dad, Mom and Grandma have a guard at their house," Stephanie says. "Oh. I have to go. Hector has the videos."
"Babe," Ranger replies.
"Yes, Batman. I'll send you an image of the man when we find it," Stephanie says before hanging up.
Ranger chuckles as Stephanie's call drops. He tucks the phone into his pocket and motions for the men to continue toward their destination. Everyone knows to be cautious.