Chapter 16

Sunday, Aug 26, 3:04 am

An hour and a half later Bill left the bar with Sarah in his arms. He had made a diaper of sorts for Karen from his sport coat, and knew it was soaking through already. His eyes almost rolling, he didn't worry about locking up, but carried Karen to his car.

The streets of Syracuse were empty as he shoved her into the backseat of his Cadillac. Closing the door on Karen's foot, he swore as he opened it and shoved her foot in. Slammed the door and hurried around the car.

He was sweating something awful as he slipped behind the wheel of the car. Didn't understand it, the forecast was for a cool evening.

Starting the car, he took off with a squealing of tires from the parking lot.

He could hear Karen moaning in the back seat, and smile. "Good girl. Stay alive. Almost there."

Only a few blocks from work, under the Amtrak train trestle that bordered the west side of Syracuse, Bill stopped and got out. Opened the back door and pulled Karen from the car. He half-carried, half-dragged Karen over next to the cast iron support beam of the trestle, laying her against it, panting heavily. He took the homemade diaper off of her, noting that the bleeding had slowed. He also took her jewelry, the little she wore, and her watch.

Standing straight, Bill mumbled, "Don't go nowhere, sweetheart, be right back."

He turned and jogged back to the driver's seat and leaned in the open door, popping the trunk with one hand as he tossed the items he had taken from Karen in the back seat. Hurried to the back end of the car and reached in.

When he returned, he smiled down at Karen. She was unconscious, mostly, but still alive. His smile stayed strong as he raised the tire iron above his head. "See, they can tell if a person died at a particular spot or not, Karen."

The first strike did the job. Those that followed he did for fun.

Sunday, Aug 26, 9:04 am

Whistling as he scrambled eggs, Bill couldn't keep the smile away from his face. Standing in the kitchen in his robe and boxers (which he rarely wore, only for mornings like this), he whipped the combination in the bowel he held as he looked out the kitchen window, marveling at the morning.

He smiled as he watched the birds flit into the bird house his grandfather had made over 40 years ago. he smiled as he watched the squirrels stop and nibble on the bread he had left outside before starting breakfast for the humans. He smiled as the sun dipped across the garden he was struggling to maintain life to. His smile broadened as he watched the wind caress the willow tree by the creek.

Turning back to the stove, whipping still, he smiled his way across the kitchen. Setting the bowl down, he heard someone enter the kitchen behind him. He looked over his shoulder as he turned the burner on.

Trisha was wearing the same thing she wore yesterday, just in a fashion more unkempt. Meeting Bill's eyes, she smiled... and blushed!