Author: Leslie Agostino (leslieago@netzero.net)
Title: INTO THE SHADOWS -- Part Five
Timeline: This story takes place in the third season shortly after the episode Cliffy
Summary: The Danko’s become
targets of a crazed killer and the rookies race against time to catch him.
Meanwhile, back at the Danko’s apartment Jill was watching Mike, her eyes wide with fear. She had never seen him so angry. Especially with Terry. The two men were closer than brothers since the Academy and even though they had their disagreements, it was never anything like what she had just witnessed.
"Mike?"
He down a few swallows and looked at her. "Yeah?"
Mike felt like a real jerk for what had just happened between him and Terry. He knew Terry was just trying to help, even if his theory was nuts. For Jill to have heard that, it was more than he could take.
Tomorrow, somehow he would find a way to apologize to his best friend, but right now, he had assure Jill everything was going to be okay.
"What you and Terry…"
"It’s a crock, babe, and I really don’t want to talk about it."
"What if he’s right? What if that’s why…"
Suddenly Jill remembered Terry said a name before Mike threw him out.
"Mike, the girl Terry mentioned. Alex, that was her name, right?"
Mike sighed as he took a few more swallows of his beer. Alex was the last person he wanted to talk about right now. If he could hold off just a little while longer.
"Baby," Mike said, as he went over to her and sat down. "We’ll talk about all of this tomorrow and I’ll tell you everything."
"Mike, I have to know. Was the last victim Alex Casey?"
Mike didn’t reply, but from the look on his face, Jill knew the truth.
"She was a blonde," Jill said, her eyes filling with tears. "Why would…" Suddenly realization dawned on her. "Oh, God no."
"Jill?" Mike started to pull her into his arms.
Jill shot to her feet. "You can’t tell me Alex’s murder isn’t my fault. It is. If I had just…"
Mike stood up and pulled her into his arms, as she started to cry. "Jill this is not your fault. None of it."
Jill pulled away angrily. "Don’t patronize me! Up until Alex, he killed brunettes. She died because I refused to talk to him.
"Jill, we don’t know why he killed Alex. We may never know, but you are not to blame."
Jill wasn’t listening to Mike. All she heard was what Alex had told them Toscano had told her. It was her fault. No matter what Mike said, her feeling of guilt wouldn’t go away.
"Jill?" Mike was worried. He had never seen her like this. "Please talk to me."
She looked at him, tears still in her eyes. "I don’t want to talk about this. Not now, tomorrow or ever. I’m going to wake up tomorrow and all of this will be just one big nightmare. Two women I know will be at the hospital, my husband wouldn’t have blown his relationship with his best friends nor would he be at his breaking point. And I won’t feel so damn scared that nothing my husband tries to keep me safe works."
"Jill." Mike reached out to pull her close, but she backed away from him, tears streaming down her face.
Mike dropped his hands to his side, not knowing what to say to her.
"Don’t," she pleaded. "You touch me and then it’s real. This isn’t real, Mike. It can’t be."
Without another word, Jill left the room and headed for the bedroom.
Before Mike could go after her, the telephone rang. Swearing, he picked up the table extension and barked, "What?"
"Did Jill like the pictures?" Toscano asked.
Mike clutched the receiver hard in his hand, wishing it was the freak’s neck. "What the hell do you want, Toscano?"
"Haven’t you figured it out, yet? I thought it was obvious."
"You stay the hell away from my wife or so help, I’ll break you in two."
Toscano smiled to himself. This was just the reaction he was hoping for. "But, the game’s just started and she’s so easy."
"I’m warning you, Toscano."
"Wrong, Danko. I’m in control and this is between you, me and pretty Jill. She’s going to die and if you’re lucky you just might get to watch."
"Not if I find you first, you son-of-a-bitch."
Mike slammed the phone down, picked up his empty beer bottle, which he left on the table and threw it against the door where it shattered into pieces. He picked his other bottle and downed it in one swallow.
Going to the refrigerator, he yanked out another beer and popped it open . All he wanted to do at this moment was get rip roaring drunk. As he started to down his third beer, the doorbell rang.
Cursing again, he went to the door and threw it open. Seeing Ryker standing there, he turned around and headed for the living room, not caring if his superior officer entered or not.
"Where’s Jill?" Ryker asked, as he closed the door behind him.
"In the bedroom. Just so you know, I may not be up to par tomorrow, cause I’m going on a binge. All I want to hear is that you or Taggert brought Toscano down and since I just spoke to him that’s not likely is it? So right now there isn’t anything you have to say that I want to hear."
"Well, you’re gonna hear what I have to say ‘cause I’m not leaving until you do."
Mike rolled his eyes. "I don’t need a lecture, Lieutenant. Want to know what I want? I wanna be able to look my wife in the eyes and tell her that son-of-a-bitch is off the streets and she’s safe. I can’t tell her that, can I? Tonight, I found out there’s not much I can tell her. She’s scared to death and I can’t do a damn thing about it."
"Danko…"
"Tell me something, Lieutenant. How do I get my wife back? Can you answer that one? How do I make her feel safe again?"
"You have another one of those?" Ryker asked, indicating the beer Mike was downing at a rapid pace.
"Help yourself."
Ryker went to the refrigerator. As he pulled out a bottle, he said, "To answer you question, you can start by telling the girl you love her."
"She knows."
Going back into the living room, Ryker sat down in a chair and faced Mike, taking a sip from his beer. Finally, he said, "Does she? Looks to me like you’re feeling more sorry for yourself than for Jill."
"Lieutenant…"
"I’m not done, Danko, so unless you want to drag this out all night, I suggest you shut up, sit down and listen."
Once Mike reluctantly complied, Ryker continued, "You have been blaming yourself for the deaths of three women. What about Jill? The last two were friends of hers, weren’t they? Do you know how she feels about that?"
"She blames herself for Alex’s death. Jill said she should’ve talked to him last night. If she had Alex would still be alive."
"Do you believe that? Is she to blame?"
"Of course not. No one can predict what goes on in that bastard’s mind."
"Have you told her that?"
"I’ve tried, but she won’t listen to me."
"What about you? Did you know who you were dealing with the first time you spoke to the guy?"
"No. But, I knew there was something about the whole scene I didn’t like."
"I’m not talking about the crime scene, Danko. I’m talking about the killer? Was there anything in his demeanor that gave off warning bells?"
"I just got a sense that he was…I don’t know, sir. I just didn’t trust the dude. Call it a sixth sense."
"Was that ‘sense’ something you could’ve handed to the DA?"
Mike frowned. "No, I guess not."
"Then why are you beating yourself up over this? You just said that no one could predict what this beast will do next. Why don’t you follow that advice and stop blaming yourself for something you can not control?"
"Lieutenant, if I hadn’t turned my back on him…"
"We would have the same outcome. Mike, you’re a cop. You did your job. You’re no more responsible for what Toscano’s doing than Jill is or the Army. Less as a matter of fact."
Mike swallowed more beer and looked at Ryker. "What are you talking about?"
"That’s one of the reasons I came over here. Figured it would be easier face to face than over the telephone.
"First, Webster’s theory isn’t as far out as you might think. Satanism is, I’m sorry to say, a growing religion. Cults that follow the black arts are popping up all over the country. What’s unusual about Toscano is, it doesn’t appear as if he belongs to any particular cult. At least according to the F.B.I."
"That’s good to know. If we had to deal with more than one madman…"
"Are you going to hear me out or keep interrupting me?"
"Sorry, sir."
"That’s better. Another thing that sets Toscano apart from other Satanists is sanity. From what I’ve read, if I understand this right, Satanism is the opposite of Catholicism. What the catholic church believes in, Satanism makes fun of. None of the cults the FBI has checked out are into sacrifices. Oh, I’m sure Toscano isn’t the only wacko out there, but the Feds haven’t come across anything similar to what we’re dealing with.
"However, the Army has. In Vietnam, Toscano was suspected of killing five Vietnamese prostitutes. All stabbed, raped and mutilated. Unfortunately, the powers that be couldn’t prove it, so they threw him out."
Mike ran a hand over his face. "I don’t get it. In the Air Force, we got a battery of psychological tests to see if we should even be in the there. Didn’t the Army do the same?"
"Yes, and he passed with flying colors." Mike looked at Ryker in disbelief. Before the younger man could say anything, Ryker continued, "For two years Toscano was a P.O.W. during his third tour. What ever they did to him, it pushed him over the edge. It happens. You’ve been there and you’ve seen it. Maybe nothing like this, but it happens. So Webster wasn’t off the mark.
"The colonial I spoke to nearly choked on whatever he was drinking when I told him what we are dealing with. He was one of the people who suspected Toscano of the killings, but just couldn’t prove it.
"Danko, if anyone’s to blame it’s the Vietcong. Not you, Jill or the Army. Hell, the cults out there aren’t even to blame. Toscano is, in a nutshell, insane. He believes that he will reap the rewards of Satan if he does His bidding. And killing women, in his mind, is doing it. The more he kills, the stronger he becomes or so he believes.
"If he did murder those five prostitutes, than his count is nine. In his mind, he will never be caught because he believes Satan is protecting him."
"He’s just gotten lucky," Mike said, repeating Chris’ earlier remark.
"Exactly and sooner or later, he’s going to make a mistake and we’ll have him."
"Yeah, Lieutenant. Sooner or later. That’s not something Jill can hold on to."
"Well, you tell her to hold onto this. The Army sent us his record. I have the name of someone Toscano listed as next of kin and we have been trying to contact her for the last several hours. Hopefully, she’ll come forward when she hears about these crimes."
"Lieutenant, it’s been four days. Certainly…"
"She could be out of the state, Danko. Give the girl the benefit of the doubt, okay?"
"Yes, sir. Do you think this woman will tell us where we can find Toscano? Or how to stop him?"
"Yeah, I think she will. Danko, we’re getting close. Give that to Jill to hang onto." Ryker rose to his feet. "And while you’re at it, tell the lady you love her. That may be all you both need."
As Ryker headed to the door, Mike said, "Sometimes I worry about Terry."
Looking back at his officer, Ryker said, "Yeah, well right now, he and Owens are worried about you. Let ‘em in. While you’re at it, talk to your wife. She has as much right to know what’s going on as you do. More so, in fact. And give her some credit, will you. She’ll come through this. You both will."
After Ryker left, Mike got up, locked the door and went to check on his wife.
He found Jill lying in bed, her back to him. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he gently rubbed his finger on her cheek.
"I’m sorry, baby," he said, softly. Mike couldn’t tell if she was awake or not.
"I’m not the one you should be apologizing to," Jill said, turning over and taking his hand in hers.
Mike frowned. "I know and he’ll get one tomorrow. Maybe even a couple of six packs, too."
"Why wait? I’m sure he’s still awake."
"I would rather talk to you."
Jill sat up. "Call him, Mike. I can wait."
Mike leaned in and kissed her. "I do love you, babe. I’m sorry I haven’t shown you lately."
"You have. Maybe not in a way I’m used to, but you have."
"How about after I call Terry I make you something to eat?"
"Okay. I’m not hungry, but I’ll try to eat something."
"Fair enough. I’ll be right back."
Mike left the bedroom and went to the kitchen where he picked up the receiver and dialed Terry’s home number.
When it was picked up on the other end, he said, "Hey, man, it’s Mike. I just called…Look, Ryker was here…Yeah, he agrees. Look, Terry, can I get a word in?"
Jill entered the kitchen, wrapped in a bathrobe. As Mike’s arm went around her, she saw him slowly smile and knew everything was going to be okay.
Between the man I love and his best friend, at least, she thought.
"Yeah, Terry, it’s about eating crow," Mike said, rolling his eyes. "Two buckets full if you must know. Yeah, I know. It’s just hard to accept that someone would want to do that to her. She’s okay, I guess." He kissed the top of her head. "Yes, Terry, I’ll talk to her. Good-bye, you pain in my ass."
Mike hung up and looked at Jill, amusement in his eyes. "I’m never gonna hear the end of this."
"So I gather he forgave you?"
"Yeah." He looked at her and brushed the hair behind her shoulders. "What about you? Do you forgive me?"
Jill kissed him passionately. "For what?"
Mike took her hand and led her to the couch. "For not being here when you saw the pictures. For letting Toscano take it this far. Not being able to stop him. For…"
Jill gently pulled Mike’s face down to her and kissed him. "There’s nothing to forgive. Mike, you are not doing this to me and I’m not the only one he’s doing this to. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s doing this to you, too."
Mike ran a hand through his hair. "I know and until tonight, I thought I had a handle on it. I’m sorry I lost my cool. But, it was justified. God, I wish I could wring his neck for what this maniac taken away from you."
He stood up and began to pace as Jill watched him. "I never thought not for one moment, that I could hate someone as much as I hate Toscano.
"When I saw those pictures of us…God, I don’t know. I wanted to do to him what he’s doing to us. The fact that you saw them…" Mike turned and knelt down in front of her. Taking her hand in his, he said, "Baby, it tore my heart out. I just want to kill the son-of-a-bitch. What the hell does that make me?"
"Human, Mike," Jill said, tears in her eyes. "It makes you human."
Mike kissed the inside of her wrist. Getting up, he sat down beside her and said, "I don’t know about that, babe. I mean, if I ever get my hands on him, I honestly don’t know what I would do. That scares the hell out of me. To lose control like I did tonight, I’m amazed I got home in one piece."
Jill wrapped her arms around him and said, "It was justified, Mike. Everyone understands that. Especially me, Terry and everyone else who know you. You had every right…"
"You can’t tell me I didn’t scare you tonight. I saw the look in your eyes after I was through yelling at Terry."
"It wasn’t you, Mike. It was what you two were talking about." Jill shuddered as he pulled her closer to him.
"He’s evil, Mike. There’s no other word to describe him. Has anyone ever come across an animal like him? Has Taggert or Ryker? How do you stop someone who truly believes the devil is protecting him? It’s insane."
Mike kissed the top of her head. Then he turned her to face him so he could look into her eyes. "Do you still believe Alex was killed because you wouldn’t talk to Toscano?"
Jill pulled away. Sitting forward, she said, "It was, Mike. You can’t convince me otherwise. I should’ve spoken to him. No matter how I felt, I should’ve listened to what ever he had to say.
"Alex, God, she didn’t deserve…" Jill looked at Mike, tears silently streaming down her face. "He’s going to kill me, isn’t he? That’s what he wants."
Mike pulled her into his arms and held her as she silently cried. He knew no words were going to take away the fear or the guilt she was feeling right now. He didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t sound lame anyway.
"What does he look like, Mike?" Jill asked, pulling away to look at him. "I want to see his face."
Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumbled sketch. Without a word, he handed it to Jill.
Jill unfolded the picture and stared at Toscano’s likeness. She had seen him somewhere before. Suddenly, recognition dawned on her and she started to shake.
"Baby," Mike said, as he saw the color drain from her face. "You’ve seen him? When?"
"Oh my God, Mike. He was the delivery man."
"Delivery man? What delivery man?"
"The one who gave me the roses yesterday morning. It was him. It was Toscano."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. I saw his face. Mike, it was him, I’ll swear to it."
"Jesus," Mike said, sitting back stunned. "And I was in the shower."
Suddenly a thought dawned on him. Toscano had sent him a message. He could get to Jill anytime he wanted to and there wasn’t a damn thing Mike could do to stop him.
Without a word, he got to his feet and headed for the bedroom. Jill followed him as he went to the closet and took out a suitcase.
Tossing it on the bed, he said, "You’re getting the hell out of here. Tonight. I’ll call Amanda and tell her you’re on your way."
"No."
Mike stared at her. "What do you mean, no?"
"Will you leave with me?"
"No."
"Then I’m not going. I will not leave you."
"Damn it, Jill! Toscano’s not after me! He’s after you! Yesterday he proved how close he could get! I’m not going to let him get that close to you again!"
"You think sending me to my sister’s is going to stop him? The only thing it’ll do is give him three more targets to go after! I won’t put them through that!"
Mike realized Jill was right. For all he knew, that madman could be right outside watching their apartment, just waiting for this opportunity.
He threw the suitcase on the floor and sat on the bed. "What am I suppose to do, Jill? Watch as he slowly takes a piece of you away from me? I can’t do that."
"And I can’t leave you. Mike, I love you and…"
"I can’t protect you, Jill. He’s proven that. I can’t make you feel safe."
Jill went to him. Seeing tears in his eyes, she reached out and brushed them away. "I am safe, Mike. Every time you hold me, I’m safe. As long as you’re in my life, no one can hurt me."
"That’s a crock. Toscano showed up at our door and I was in the damn shower. If he wanted…Jill, you could be dead right now and I wouldn’t have heard a thing. How does that make you feel safe?"
"Mike, the key word is ‘if’. You’re right, if he wanted to kill me then, but he didn’t. He didn’t hate me then. He does now, but now I know what he looks like and I won’t let him get that close again."
"Jill…"
She sat down on the bed beside him. "Mike, look at it this way. As long as I’m in the picture no other woman will die. It’s me he’s focused on now. I want to keep it that way. I don’t want him to destroy another family because of me."
"Alex’s death wasn’t your fault, Jill. What can I do to convince you of that?"
"Nothing. Mike, Alex was a blond. He never would’ve looked at her twice if I had just listened to what he had to say."
"You don’t know that."
"Yes, Mike I do. And I can’t live with another girl’s death on my conscious. If I leave, that’s what’s going to happen and you know it."
Mike closed his eyes. Jill was right, no matter how much he didn’t want to believe it. Toscano would go after another girl. Maybe the next one…
He buried his face in his hands. "God," he muttered, "I hate this." Mike looked at her, tears in his eyes. "I hate what he’s doing to you. No one can hate you this much."
Jill brushed a stray tear from his eyes. "He’s doing it to us, Mike. He’s putting you through as much hell as me. More so, actually."
"How you figure?"
"Look what this is doing to you. It almost destroyed a friendship. I’m amazed Ryker didn’t fire you tonight ‘cause I can only imagine what you said to him."
Mike couldn’t help but smile. "I highly doubt it, baby, but I sure shocked the hell out of Taggert. You should’ve seen the look on his face.
"By the way, Terry’s theory isn’t as wild as I thought. At least that’s what Ryker said when he stopped by."
Jill looked at Mike in surprise. How did she miss him? "Ryker was here?"
"Yeah. Apparently, Toscano’s count is nine." Seeing the look of surprise in her eyes Mike explained, "He’s a suspect in the murder of five Vietnamese prostitutes. Same m.o. as the last victim." Mike couldn’t say Alex’s name without making Jill feel guilty. Or pissing himself off.
"I guess it stems from his years as a P.O.W. The Army booted him out, but couldn’t find enough evidence to charge him with the killings."
"Do we have enough evidence?"
"I don’t know, babe. There’s not enough to nail him for stalking you. We can’t prove it. As for the murders, I’ll have to ask Taggert.
"By the way, he wants to put a tap on the phone. I’ll have to keep that sick bastard talking for two minutes. I don’t want to talk to him for two seconds. I just want to tear his head off."
"I can do it."
"Do what? Tear his head off?"
"Talk to him for two minutes."
"No way. There’s no way you’re listening to anything that freak’s going to say."
"But, Mike."
"No. The dude will talk to me for two minutes. That’s not the problem. The problem is I always feel guilty afterwards. Like I should be out there doing something to stop him."
"Mike, you are doing every thing you can. You listen to him. You put his face out there. What more can you do?"
"I don’t know. That’s the problem."
Jill kissed him. "I love you, Mike. And we will get through this."
Mike looked at her. "You know something?"
"What?"
"I’m worried about you. You’re taking all of this way to calmly. A couple of hours ago you were freaking out. What happened?"
"Talking to you about it helps. As long as I don’t close my eyes, I don’t see them. The victims I mean."
"You were asleep before."
"But Terry and Chris were here and I could hear them talking. Oh, I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I knew I wasn’t alone. Then you came home and I felt safer."
"I’m glad I still make you feel that way."
"Mike, as long as you’re in my life, I will always feel that way."
Mike smiled at her. "I love you, babe."
"I love you too. Remember that."
He kissed her passionately. "I need to ask you something," he said, when they came up for air.
"What?"
"I need to know what Toscano has said to you. Do you remember anything about your conversations with him?"
"Not really. Like I told you, a lot of what he…Wait a minute. He called me the Chosen One and angel. He calls what he’s doing a game. Says he has so much to teach me, but has to perfect his craft before he can…" Jill stopped talking as the full impact of what she was saying hit her.
Seeing the look in Jill’s eyes, Mike began to regret asking her anything.
"What, babe?"
"Terry’s right, Mike. Oh my God, it makes sense now."
Jill buried her face in his chest, as he said, "Jill, what are you talking about?"
She struggled for control as Mike’s arms went around her. Finally Jill looked at him.
"The last thing he said to me last night, before I hung up on him, was he wanted me. Said I would welcome his gift."
"What gift? The roses?"
"Toscano, Mike. He meant I would welcome him. Oh, God. Mike, I can’t do this. I don’t want to talk about this any more."
Mike kissed her. "Okay, baby. We don’t have to."
"Just hold me, Mike. Just hold me."
Suddenly the phone rang, startling both of them. Jill cringed at the sound.
As Mike started to get to his feet, Jill said, "No, Mike, just let it ring. He’ll hang up."
"Jill, it could be Ryker. I have to answer it."
"It could also be…"
"I still have to answer it."
Jill let him go and Mike went to the bedroom extension. Picking up the receiver, he said, "Hello?"
"Hello, Danko," Toscano greeted, cheerfully. "Have you figured it out yet?"
"Figured what out, Toscano? That you’re a sadistic psycho who gets his jollies from terrorizing women like my wife?"
"They weren’t like your sweet Jill. None of them were. She’s pure and innocent, isn’t she, Danko? He likes ‘em that way."
"Who likes them that way, Toscano? Satan? You’re all powerful God? Is that who you’re talking about?"
"So you have figured it out. Pretty smart. I knew I picked the right cop. Just like I picked the perfect sacrifice for my Master."
"In your dreams, Toscano. You are never getting near my wife again."
"Danko, I can take sweet Jill any time I want. However, I need to put her through more Hell first. She hasn’t suffered enough for betraying me. You tell her she should’ve talked to me last night. It would’ve been over by now."
"It’s over, Toscano. Every cop is out there looking for you. Pray they find you before I do. ‘Cause you’re the one who’s gonna suffer. And that’s a promise."
Before Toscano could say anything, Mike hung up. Taking the receiver off the hook, he turned to face Jill.
Seeing the bed empty, Mike left the room. He found Jill in the living room standing in front of the sliding glass door.
Coming up behind her, Mike said, "You okay?"
"No, Mike, I’m not. She turned to face him, tears streaming down her face. "I’m trying, but every time I start to feel eve a small touch of sanity returning, he calls. It’s like he can read my mind or something."
"Jill, he’s a psycho not a psychic. He just has lousy timing."
"When is this going to end? When is the body count going to stop? How many more women have to die before…"
Mike pulled Jill into his arms and held her. He didn’t have any answers to her questions. At the rate this was going, he didn’t think anyone would, but he had to give her something to hold on to.
"Jill," he said, "there’s something I forgot to tell you."
"What?" She looked at him with such fear in her eyes, it tore his heart out.
"It’s nothing like that, baby," Mike promised. "The Army gave Ryker a name we can contact. They’re trying to track her down. We’re hoping she’ll tell us where we can find him."
"Do you think Taggert and Ryker will find him?"
"With her help, yeah. It’s a shot, babe."
Jill looked at him, uncertainty clearly evident in her eyes.
"It’s something, isn’t it, babe?" Mike asked.
"Is it, Mike. Is it something I can believe in? Hope for?"
"Yeah, for now."
"What does Ryker say?"
"He’s the one who told me to tell you. If he believes this woman can help us, you should too."
"Do you believe it?"
"I have to, babe. She’s all we got."
"Then I’ll hang onto that. But, what if…"
"Don’t, babe," Mike reached out, brushed the tears from her eyes. "As Terry always says, have faith."
Jill tried to smile at that, but she failed. Mike pulled her into his arms and held her. "It’s okay, baby. Let it out. It’ll make you feel better."
Just then there was a knock on the front door. Mike felt Jill stiffened, her eyes wide with fear.
"Go to the…" Mike started to say.
"Hey, man," Terry said. "It’s us."
With relief, Jill went to the door to let in their friends.
When Terry saw Jill, he said, "How you doing?"
"Okay, I guess." She led the way to the living room. "Mike, I’m going to bed."
"Aren’t you going to eat something?" he asked, "I’ll reheat the spaghetti."
"You have it. I’m not hungry. Goodnight and please don’t yell. I…I can’t take it anymore."
"There won’t be any yelling," Terry said. "I come in peace."
Jill didn’t bother to say anything
as she left the room.