Doc's Place

Chapter 13 | Part 4

Wednesday, October 10, 1984

One of the young males playfully nips at me. Punish his impertinence by sinking my teeth into his eye socket and almost ripping one ear off his head. He slinks away, chastised, his spirit broken. Watch him, licking his blood from my chops.

When I awaken, Soji tells me that Agent George and Doctor Pete are on their way. Clean up and dress in jeans and a loose tee shirt.

Doctor Pete looks like Peter Coyote; even wears a sports coat and jeans like the actor's role in ET. In fact, although he is a doctor—a criminal psychologist, his name isn't Pete at all. The agents just call him that.

Soji, who trusts Tony George but not the doc, sits between them.

"Well, the setup at the front entrance was blown," says Tony, sitting next to me on the sectional. "We wheeled the mannequin in the wheelchair out to the Buick after your appointment but the sniper's shots knocked its head off, so that little ruse didn't play. Another guy driving a black Caddie slammed into the Buick and bounced off. Crushed the mannequin and the wheelchair. That `75 Electra 225 is built like a damn tank."

"I need that tank back in service."

"We're checking it out. Be available in a week or so."

"The driver talking?"

"Like a myna bird. And you were right. The Caddie driver described the sniper as a young, white male with a slight Midwest accent."

"He spent time out west here too," I tell them. "Maybe learned to shoot somewhere in the Western states."

Doc Pete leans forward and asks, "How did you guess that, Ms. Price?"

Look at him. "Call me Jill. You bring the tape?"

He pulls a portable player from his suit pocket.

"Where she says she tried to take me several times."

Doc Pete obviously has the tape memorized. He fast-forwards to her words and plays it. The sniper's voice, British accent and all, says clearly, "I did try to take you several times. You won't stay still long enough for a trigger pull and you don't telegraph your moves." He stops the tape.

"'Take you' is not a British turn of phrase, is it?" I ask.

Doc Pete shakes his head.

Soji rises to his feet and moves to the kitchen, still listening but apparently satisfied that the doc is not going to assassinate me.

"And `telegraph your moves' is slang from the western United States, I believe."

"Correct on both counts," says Doc Pete. "So you believe she picked up both phrases from her understudy?" Ignore that question as patronizing, and ask, "Did she give us his name and a physical description?"

Tony interjects, "She did and the description matches what the Caddie driver told us but his name turns out to be an alias. Guy probably has a dozen of those in his line of work."

"Lied to her too," I say with admiration. "No honor among assassins."

"Jill?" says Tony.

"Huh?"

"You're staring into space. You got an idea?"

Suddenly, I realize the young girl has joined us. She is sitting on the couch between Tony George and me, hugging her knees. Apparently she is fascinated with Tony because she stares at him. Turning to Doctor Pete, I say, "Play the part where I ask why she didn't just take a shot."

Doc Pete presses a button on the pocket recorder, presses another and then a third.

My voice: "Why not just snap off a shot?"

Shooter: "I couldn't take the chance until I was close enough to hear your voice. I simply ran out of time, you see."

My voice: "You are paid no matter what but take me out before a deadline and you get a bonus."

Shooter: "Not just a bonus. Double, and already deposited. They could withdraw the money at any moment."

My voice: "Any moment? Based on what?"

Shooter: "Something unrelated, a delivery."

"Stop," I tell him.

Doc Pete stops the recording and looks at me.

"What's the delivery?" I ask and wait patiently, looking first at Doc Pete and then at Tony George.

Tony says, "We think we know what it is. Remember the nephew back in New Jersey?"

"Yeah."

"Married, wife's pregnant, full term with twin boys according to the sonogram," says Doctor Pete.

"Have you picked her up yet?"

The girl leans toward Tony, listening to every word.

"Not yet," says Tony. "We're watching her but we can pick her up anytime." When I say nothing, Tony asks, "Jill?"

Look at Tony and the girl. She turns and looks at me now. "Pick her up roughly, as if it's a sloppy kidnapping, hired by me. Shove around a few witnesses. Can you set up a three-way with her, the old man and me?" When Tony nods, I say, "Slap her around a little, show her a big bolo knife and make her scream into the phone. Then I come on and threaten to gut her and mail the fetuses to him in bloody chunks if he doesn't give up the sniper and call off the vendetta. He talks. You guys pick up the sniper."

The two men stare at me for a moment. Tony looks away, rubbing his chin. Doc Pete stands slowly and begins to walk toward the kitchen. He pauses and looks at me, "Were you violated as a child? Perhaps raped by a friend or relative?"

The young girl has been staring at me. Now, her mouth drops open when she hears Doc Pete's question. She stares at him for a moment and then sets her feet on the floor. Turning slowly, she faces me, the question in her eyes.

Look at him, measuring the distance between us. I can hear Tony's voice, calling to me faintly. Actually, the doc is not safe at all. It would hurt but I could vault the couch using my left hand and break his neck with a scissor kick. Suddenly, Soji appears beside the doctor, looking at me, so I relax. Can't get past Soji. It was just a momentary fantasy anyway.

"Jill."

Move only my eyes to look at Tony, my face still turned to the doctor, keeping him in my peripheral vision in case Soji moves and I change my mind.

Slowly, clearly, Tony says, "Doc, straighten this out."

"Why, or this pathological bitch will kill me? Ms. Price, you obviously don't have children but some day you may have. Then you will understand the horror of what you have suggested."

The young girl looks at me, confused and hurt by his words. She looks at me accusingly.

When I raise my eyebrows slightly, Tony says, "Doc, unless you have a death wish, defuse this now."

"Alright, I will," he says, approaching me. Leaning over the back of the couch, he says to my face, "It's a great idea. It will scare the bejesus out of the old man and his nephew. It will force them to cough up the sniper." He stands erect and looks at me, "Oh, by the way? The old man has never gone after your family. I'll tell you why, Ms. Price. This is personal to him. However if those twins were ever harmed, it will be open season on your family."

The girl's eyes are rimmed with tears now. She blinks her eyes and stares at me, seeming to suggest that I should say or do something.

Speaking slowly, I say, "Once you release the nephew, he and his bitch will produce more puppies. That'll keep the old man and the nephew in line for the rest of their lives even if we do have to mail him some bloody pieces."

The girl looks at me with distaste, probably sickened by what I've said.

"Another great idea," says Doc Pete. "Now I know how you were capable of such mayhem and slaughter, all this blood on your hands, without a single emotional affect, Ms. Price. In fact, you thrive on it. I suggest you get some help. I'll wait outside, Agent George." He strides out, closing the door softly.

Look at Tony.

"Hey, you have to admit," he says, "The way you said it is cold."

"Will you set it up?"

"Tonight. I'll call you when we're ready." Looks at me, his face changing slightly, as though he has turned to stone. Soji is still watching me from the other side of the couch.

"Go ahead," I tell Tony. "Ask." His eyes remind me of a predatory lizard. Tony's eyes have become opaque and flat'dead eyes looking at death.

"So it's true? What the doc asked you about being raped as a child?"

The girl looks at Tony for a second and then turns to look at me, blinking back tears, her mouth slightly open. She shakes her head slightly.

Glance at her and then stare into Tony's dead eyes. "Yeah, it's true."

Tears run from the girl's eyes and she drops her head, her shoulders shaking.

"Is that why you didn't kick his head into the corner?"

"No. It's because he's right about my pathology. You guys know it too but you don't talk about it."

He nods, closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them again. The dead, flat look is gone. Seeming almost happy, Tony stands and walks slowly to the door. Opening it, he looks at me for a moment and then leaves.

Close my eyes and consider Tony George. Most of the feds as well as homicide detectives in four states who know I'm a murderous psychopath do not talk about it. However, Agent George enjoys the murder he sees around him. He contemplates it.

Quietly, I sit with the young girl as she sobs silently, refusing to look at me. After a while, I struggle to my feet and move toward the study. Soji stands before me and bows deeply at the waist.

Bow in return.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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Doc's Place Chat
© 2008, Michel Grover.
Chapter 13 | Part 4
Early Spring 2009

Lucia :

Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Jules :

Pretend to gut a pregnant woman. Lord, that's cold.

Carlo :

It's vicious. Stand up and walk away from that girl crying alone on the couch. That's cold.

Amalie :

Benny's right though. Jill goes about her business as her prey reveals his intentions.

Maria :

Jill Price is a sentient predator.

Benny :

The description applies to the entire human race, Maria. I meant that Jill is a natural development of the human as a sentient predator. Usually the prey is an animal, but humans have been preying upon one another for thousands of years. We have here such a situation: one sentient predator preys upon those who prey upon her. Jill is simply better at predatory behavior than anyone around her is. Natural selection favors her and human predators like her to survive and thrive.

Minnie :

By now, Donna probably recruits and employs such predators in SIA.

Raj :

I'm sure that at least one, and probably several are better at it than Jill is—or was.

Bill Jr. :

Back to the thoughts raised by Jules and Carlo: it seems cold, as in without compunction or human feeling, to pretend to gut a pregnant woman or to walk away from a girl crying alone. Is Jill without compunction or human feeling here or is she simply hunting, as some suggest?

Benny :

Your alternatives are not mutually exclusive, Bill.

Bill Jr. :

Obviously, federal agents will not intentionally hurt a woman, pregnant or otherwise. Put it another way: if Jill kidnaps that woman but the old man doesn't cooperate, what are Jill's options?

Maria :

Jill will not harm an innocent pregnant woman.

Carlo :

She has to do something, doesn't she? What might she do?

Maria :

You know better than to suggest such a thing, Carlo. Jill Price does not kill the helpless; she hunts down and kills convicted rapists and murderers.

Benny :

I agree with Maria. Jill does not simply need to kill. She needs to hunt down and kill convicted felons on the street. Fortunately, society provides an endless supply.

Bill Jr. :

It sounds as though you're all saying that she would not make good on her threat to harm the woman, even if the old man refused to cooperate.

Maria :

That is what I'm saying. I don't know what Carlo is saying.

Carlo :

First of all, I agree that Jill does not kill helpless people, okay? I'm simply asking what she'll do if the old man calls her bluff.

Look at it this way, Maria. In poker, you shouldn't bluff what you can't afford to bet because someone might call your bluff. Now, I'll bet that Jill is a damn fine poker player. I'm sure she knows that if you bluff what you can't deliver, then one day you're going to lose because someone will call your bet.

Benny :

Using your poker metaphor, Carlo, Jill has looked at the old man's resources and decided to bluff, not because she's prepared to make good on it but because he can't call her bet. He has emptied his family's resources.

Carlo :

What if other criminals bankroll the old man's hand again so he can call her bluff? Then what does she do? Does she back down?

Benny :

You don't understand, Carlo. The old man has emptied his family—no more sons, grandsons, nephews and so on—none but this one nephew. If he calls Jill's bluff and she makes good, he's out of the gene pool.

Carlo :

Okay, let's follow your reasoning, Benny. She will not and cannot kill the pregnant wife, but the old man does not know that. He does know, however, that if she makes good on her bluff, he still has that nephew to carry on his genetic line.

Benny :

Put your self in his shoes, Carlo. He's in prison and he'll never get out due to ill health. Every time the old man sends an heir or two to kill her, Jill shows up on his turf and kills a dozen of his family and friends. He is certain that if he calls her bluff, she'll keep going until she has utterly wiped his seed from the earth.

To you, this has become an academic exercise—a conceptual debate. To him, he is at the end of his rope—the bitter end.

Remember Jill's objective. She intends to teach the old man a lesson that will reverberate throughout the criminal community—if you come after me or mine, I will come after you and I will not stop until I have obliterated every trace of your existence. Further, I will let you live—alone, afraid and dying—so you will know you are done. Finally, all your associates, your peers, will see what I have done to you.

Besides all that, you're embarrassing your self, Carlo. You're trying to back Jill into a corner and force her to admit either that she would back up her bluff with action or that she would not. Instead, you are backing your self into a corner, just as the old man does. She leaves him a single way out—admit failure and back off. What do you do?

Jules :

Stick a fork in it, Carlo. You're done.

Carlo :

You're right. I am done—obliterated by a 12yr-old. Okay Benny, I concede.

Suze :

You're gutless, Carlo. You had Jill's back to the wall and you're letting her get away. Force her to concede. Stay with it.

Carlo :

And end up like you, Suze? You've exiled yourself to the secondary group where you can read every word with fascination and insert an acerbic comment now and then. When one of us is wrong, we admit it. You, on the other hand, never support anything you say.

Suze :

Screw you. Screw all of you.

Carlo :

Wow, that's a snappy comeback. Guess you showed us, didn't you?

Avani :

That federal agent, Tony George, seems willing to play along with Jill's agenda. For instance, he just nods when Jill says he and the other federal agents know that she is a "pathological bitch," as Doc Pete calls her. Agent George also seems to have his own agenda. When Jill asks if he'll set up the sting on Alphonse Guiccone, the agent simply says he'll call tonight when he's ready. He already has a plan to end this entire 4-month affair. I must say that, although Agent George has questionable morals, his operational efficiency is impressive.

Minnie :

Care to address Jill's confession to Agent George, anyone?

Benny :

We're waiting for Amalie to do that.

Amalie :

I was afraid of that or something like it since learning about the 14yr-old girl that appears to Jill in times of crisis.

Annie :

Aren't you going to ask for details?

Amalie :

Absolutely not. Jill has already told me—us—that it's a process and to give it time. She also prefers that we assemble the details as they slip out. Besides, Mic will tell us the story eventually.

Benny :

Is Amalie right, Jill?

Jill :

Yes

Minnie :

Are we to understand, then, that the girl who appears to Jill in times of crisis is Jill just before she was raped?

Amalie :

I think so.

Minnie :

The girl doesn't talk at all. You were her childhood friend, Susan. Was Jill a quiet child?

Susan :

Yes, although she talked when she had a reason. Jill has always been serious, however.

Minnie :

Did you know that Jill was raped at 14?

Susan :

She told me six months after, but everyone who was close to Jill at that time knew that something had happened because she had withdrawn from all of us and become so violent that most of the kids in school wouldn't go near her.

Maria :

When did it happen, Susan?

Susan :

January 1963, Jill had just turned 14.

Maria :

We already knew that Jill was born in December 1948. We even discussed her signs in Western and Chinese astrology. Can you summarize what happened?

Susan :

Jill and her father were delivering heating fuel to outlying ranches. As they were leaving the Lassiter ranch, the left rear dualy slid off the cattle guard and the truck stalled. The temperature was 30 below with a stiff breeze that dropped the wind chill into the minus 50s. The rancher couldn't use a tractor to pull the truck on to the road at night in that frigid wind. Jill and her father couldn't stay in the truck with the heater running because they had only enough fuel to drive back into town. They walked back to the ranch house where they could get warm, eat supper and stay the night.

Minnie :

What's a dualy and a cattle guard?

Alan :

For hell's sake, Minnie.

Minnie :

I'm sorry. I've never been west of Newark.

Susan :

Trucks that haul heavy loads have dual rear wheels called dualies. A cattle guard is a drive-though gate with parallel rails spaced far enough apart that the hooves of cattle and sheep will fall through. Generally, animals won't step on a cattle guard.

Old man Lassiter's wife had died a year or so earlier, leaving him 4 sons, all older than Jill and pretty rough. Kelly and the old man start drinking after supper and pass out within an hour or so.

Jill fights off the boys as best as she can with a cast-iron stove handle and a knife but they overpower her and take turns raping her all night. They cut her once, beat her pretty badly and threaten her.

In June, she disappears into the woods. Mid-August, a rancher spots smoke from Jill's cooking fire and reports it. When the sheriff and a deputy investigate, Jill puts an arrow through the deputy's jacket. Thinking it might be Jill's kidnappers, they call in the Guard with a helicopter. The pilot spots her but pulls away when Jill puts an arrow into his instrument console. When we hear about it, we know it is Jill because of the arrows and the accuracy so the foreman and I ride out and talk her into coming back to town. She tells me about the rape but she won't let me tell anyone else yet.

In January, Jill finally agrees to tell the high school guidance counselor. He calls in the sheriff, who arrests the boys. To avoid a public trial, the boys and their lawyer work out a deal with the county attorney: the 2 oldest each get 2yrs in prison, one gets 2yrs in juvenile detention and the youngest gets a year of home detention.

Minnie :

You said you knew it was Jill because of the arrows and the accuracy. What does that mean?

Susan :

Jill and I had made several of our own bows a few years before she disappeared into the woods that summer. My father, our foreman and I had already seen her bring down 2 deer, a wolf and several rabbits with that bow. When we heard about the placement of those arrows, we knew it was Jill.

Carlo :

Are all 4 still alive?

Susan :

She didn't kill them if that's what you mean, although she hurt them pretty badly in '71 during a visit to Montana. She was between Air Force tech school and her assignment to Japan.

Carlo :

What did she do?

Susan :

Castrated the oldest 2 and crippled the youngest 2 for life—smashed one's knee. Dislocated the other's shoulder and broke his leg. They told the sheriff that they never got a look at who actually did it. At least they could stop looking over their shoulders. The sheriff figured that, in her mind, Jill had settled the score.

Carlo :

Castrating 2 men is creepy.

Susan :

If she wouldn't have done it, I would. Both men were sexually abusing the daughters of the women who were living with them.

Carlo :

You sound casual about it, Susan. Have you killed anyone?

Susan :

Oh yeah, but I was defending my property against armed men.

Cyril :

More than once, I assume.

Susan :

A woman alone on a Montana ranch? What do you think?

Cyril :

I think I'll drop it.