Too Pretty For The Hills Read online

  ''I take it you’re not such an art enthusiast, then?'' Dora interrupted, trying to change the subject.

  ''I’m afraid not,'' he said, smiling. ''That’s my sister’s husband. She’s the real Mrs. Ziegler. She’s a retired police officer who used to work in Kleineohren PD up until about a year ago.''

  ''So where’s Mr. Ziegler then?''

  ''He left her,'' Kiefer said. Then he paused for a few moments, glancing around the dining room which, for once, was empty. ''They had a little boy, but he died of sunstroke.''

  ''I saw the photos,'' Dora said. ‘‘I’m sorry.’’

  ''Yeah, it was…well, anyway, she quit her job when it happened and her husband bailed on her and she was left alone in that ridiculous hoarder’s museum of a house. But her retirement didn’t last very long once she heard there was a killer on the lose in her own back yard, so to speak. She went to the sheriff’s office and offered to help, you know, unofficially. A couple months later, the feds were called in, and I was one of them. I work for the bureau in Stuttgart. I guess you could say law enforcement runs in the family — our dad was a police officer, too. Anyway, since my sister, whose name really is Erica, by the way, was technically no longer on the force, Mallek wouldn’t have her be part of the undercover operation so I asked him to do me a personal favor. He agreed but only if I took the role of her husband. It’s strange how in a way it’s brought us together again, like in the old days. But that’s beside the point. What matters now is that we catch this wacko. And that is exactly what we’re going to do.''

  Kiefer returned to cleaning his firearm and Dora lapsed once again into her living dream, but the stress hormones rampaging through her woozy system finally snapped her out of it as they were taking her to the garage. The white neon lights on the celling came on with a disquieting flicker.

  Her old friend, the big SUV, was already waiting for her. One of the agents had just finished fueling it up. Paint was scratched off on both sides and there were some rather nasty dents, thought someone had apparently reattached the side mirrors.

  As Dora climbed in, she felt like she was getting into a coffin again, albeit a larger one. Mallek was leaning in and saying something to her. She started listening about half way through.

  ''... Just lure him out and we’ll take him. This is where it ends — where he ends. I promise you that.'' He tried to put on an encouraging smile while fastening Dora’s seatbelt, but even the deputy director was pale and nervous, his jaws working his ubiquitous chewing gum like machines in some factory.

  ''I still think this is a horrible idea,'' Nicolaus piped up from behind. ''Just look at her, sir. She looks like she’s gonna pass out any second.''

  ''I’m fine,'' Dora lied.

  ''You’re doing the right thing,'' Detective Mallek said. ''Here, have some more fruit juice.'' She was thirsty, but took only a few sips for fear of throwing up again.

  ''Just so you know, I’ve had my men take up strategic points in town. Most of them are positioned at your destination. Do you need me to walk you through the route again?''

  ''No.''

  ''Are you sure?''

  ''Yes.''

  She was shaking visibly.

  ''Don’t worry,’’ Mallek said, brushing her hair from her forehead. ‘‘You’re going to do just fine.''

  He reluctantly moved aside so Nicolaus could bid her goodbye.

  ''Well, you’re gonna go through with this, apparently,'' he said with a reproachful glare. ''It’s not too late to turn back, you know. Just say the word and we’ll call this whole thing off.''

  ''I need to do this,'' Dora sighed. ''I owe it to Katja.''

  ''You owe it to her to get yourself killed?''

  ''Please, just shut up.''

  ''We’ll, if I can’t change your mind, I just want you to know there are a bunch of very reliable and selfless men out there who’ll be looking after you every step of the way. And I’ll be one of them.''

  Mallek nodded in as much satisfaction as he could muster and then patted Nicolaus on the back, indicating the romantic soliloquy was over.

  ''I love you, Dora,'' Nicolaus said before standing aside.

  She didn’t look at him once, nor was she sure whether she answered him. Again, time seemed to collapse in on itself, and she suddenly found herself all alone in the dark garage, the only light coming from the dashboard of the car.

  She took a deep breath and then another, but then remembered how one of the agents had warned her about hyperventilation. She reached for the radio and with some difficulty turned it on to distract herself from thinking about what was coming.

  She knew the die had been cast. There was no going back.

  The monster car roared and she put it in gear and closed her eyes as the SUV burst through the portcullis, sending it flying out of its frame.

  She squinted, stunned by how bright the day outside was. It looked like it was afternoon already. She put her foot on the gas and raced through the neighborhood.

  As agreed, she smashed into a mailbox on her next turn, purposely keeping the vehicle in second gear to make as much noise as possible. The streets looked deserted at this point; no ‘townspeople’ nor ‘Gypsies’ to be seen. Dora felt desperate, alone and terrified.

  As planned, two cars suddenly appeared in pursuit, roaring up to the SUV from a side alley, the lead car butting her from behind, just as she was expecting. Without consciously realizing it, she put it in third, despite having been told not to, and two or three streets later she was no longer sure whether all of this was real or staged. The only certainty was the terror she felt.

  Was he out there somewhere watching her, enjoying the show? And if so, was he buying it?

  Absorbed in these thoughts, she managed to completely miss the exit where she was supposed to turn off and instead whirred off down another street. The confusion in her entourage following her was palpable, with both cars noticeably slowing down before resuming pursuit.

  ''Oh shit,'' Dora gasped, realizing the mistake she’d made. ‘‘What do I do now?’’

  She tried to quickly picture the map of where she was and work over the directions she’d been given. The way she was supposed to take consisted of a certain sequence, and by now she should have driven past a large, old house with graffiti of an angel on the front.

  ''Angel, angel,'' she muttered nervously, turning her head wildly and looking for that graffiti while also checking the mirrors to make sure her escort was still with her.

  Thinking she’d glimpsed the house, she took a sudden, screeching left that almost sent her careening off the street.

  The radio was blaring something too loud to be recognizable, and she wanted to reach for it, but she didn’t dare to take her hands off the wheel. She had the gas pedal pressed down as far as it would go. As Mallek had said to her over and over again, it had to look real.

  One of the cars behind her had just smashed into a plastic trash can, when she passed the house with the angel graffiti.

  She was back on track, and the chase continued as scripted, until she glimpsed a small group of people by the side of the road. She couldn’t begin to make out their facial features at that speed, but it seemed to her that one of them looked an awful lot like the very man they were trying to bait. But could it really be him? Could he be so reckless as to be out for a stroll?

  She shifted into fourth gear, and suddenly her entourage had difficulty keeping up.

  Racing through the streets at nearly top speed, she found herself quickly closing in on an embankment which she was supposed to graze with the car slightly while turning left.

  She knew it was this obstacle that her pursuers would crash into and leave her to flee unfollowed. From at that point on, it was to be ‘smooth sailing’ as she only needed to traverse another two hundred yards and turn onto the next street on the right, where she would finally reach her destination and abandon the SUV.

  She was nearly home free.

  She maneuvered the car to achieve a better
angle, but she was going much too fast. She hit the brakes with all her strength and felt the pedal go all the way to the floor. But it was to no avail.

  The SUV careened into the embankment at a sharp angle, sending the car leaping off the ground and turning it upside down. It came back down roof first with a horrible screeching that made Dora feel as if she’d landed on a land mine.

  When she came to her senses a moment later, she was dangling upside down, the seatbelt nearly choking her and an immense pressure in her head.

  She felt something warm oozing out of her nose, dripping on the airbag underneath her head. It was blood. She tried to squirm free, but she couldn’t move.

  She heard the oddly muted sounds of tires screeching and people shouting. The world around her was quickly getting quieter, the throbbing in her head weaker, and her own thoughts more distant and diluted, as if blown away by a cold, dry gust of wind.

  Her last thought before falling unconscious was that she really should have hit the embankment a bit further in.

  31

  ''Who-ho, do they look marvelous! How about we give all of them a big round of applause!''

  ''Them’s my girls all right!''

  ''Henrietta, you must be so proud right now.''

  ''Oh, they remind me of me when I was in grade school attending a local show myself. Gosh, now I’m really gonna cry.''

  ''Let’s give a big hand to Henrietta as well!''

  The reality Dora slowly woke up to seemed surreal. Her body felt as if it had been disassembled and put together again slightly wrongly. When she came to she was lying in a little bed, nearly blinded by the white color shining from everywhere around her. It looked like heaven, but she doubted whether heaven could hurt this much.

  The voices from the TV sounded like they were coming to her through a long tunnel.

  ''Now let’s see you lovely little ladies do another dance!''

  ''Yes, yes, please!''

  Suddenly she heard a more familiar voice. ''Is it just me, or are these shows the most ridiculous thing ever?''

  Nicolaus was sitting by her bed, smiling timidly and holding her hand. ''I thought I lost you.''

  ''Where am I?'' she mumbled.

  ''St. Kristofus Hospital in Kleineohren. You’ve been in a coma for three days. You suffered a brain hemorrhage and nearly died.’’

  ''The vicar ...''

  ''He’s still at large, Dora. I’m sorry.''

  ''So it was all for nothing.''

  Nicolaus rubbed his eyes, discretely wiping away a tear, and cleared his throat. ''Well, for what it’s worth, you’re no longer in Graufirst. We think the vicar is hiding somewhere, probably in the woods. The roads are under continuous surveillance, but just to be safe Mallek assigned me to stay here with you, and there are two more agents surveilling both entrances to the hospital, along with ...''

  ''Just tell me … How bad is it?''

  ''It could be worse. The main thing was the hemorrhaging, but they took care of that. You also suffered a concussion. No broken bones though, luckily. You just need a lot of rest, the doctor says you’ll bounce back. I should go get him, as a matter of fact.''

  Dora tried to sit up.

  ''Easy does it now,’’ Nicolaus said, helping her. ‘‘Don’t strain yourself.''

  ''I’m so thirsty.''

  ''Hold on. Let me get you something to drink.''

  He got up and stretched, then turned and walked out the door. It looked like he had been sitting by the bed for quite some time.

  Dora stared out through a side window. What little she could see of Kleineohren reminded her of her own hometown: grey, cold, heartless factory buildings. Here the natural beauty of Graufirst seemed a million miles away. And that is exactly what she wanted.

  ''We’re taking you and your family to Disneyworld! But as part of the deal you have to take me with you! Ha-ha-ha, I’m just kidding! Or am I? Ha-ha-ha …''

  She was glancing around her bed trying to find something heavy enough to throw at the TV when she heard the door open again. Much to Dora’s surprise, it was Erica Ziegler. Dora could see a gun tucked into a holster behind her belt. The beeping of the heart rate monitor accelerated.

  ''Don’t be alarmed, it’s just me,'' Erica said, holding up two plastic cups of coffee. ''I volunteered to be here along with the other three.''

  Nicolaus entered behind her a moment later, carrying two of those cups himself, both filled with water.

  As Dora drank thirstily, she kept peeking over at Erica, who finally turned down the volume on the TV.

  ''Nasty accident, and such a bad timing,'' she muttered and strolled over to the window, leaning on the radiator and sipping her coffee. ''You’re lucky to be alive.''

  Dora sprayed Nicolaus with a mouthful of water and he sprang up.

  ''What the hell?''

  ''It wasn’t an accident!'' In a heartbeat the memory of the car crash came rushing back to her in full detail. And one detail in particular stood out. ''The brakes didn’t work! I pushed down as hard as I could but the car didn’t slow down!''

  ''What are you saying, Dora?''

  ''I’m telling you! As I was closing in on that embankment, I was trying to decelerate and just bump into it slightly, like I’d been told. Only the brakes failed. That’s why I crashed!''

  Her heart rate went up still further.

  ''You’re sure about this, Dora?'' Nicolaus asked. ''I did mention you’ve suffered a concussion, right?''

  ''I’m one hundred percent certain the brakes didn’t work!''

  Speaking loudly made her head hurt, and her expression made Nicolaus grimace. He looked over at Erica.

  ''Call it in,'' he said.

  Suddenly a voice spoke up in a slow, half-depressed drawl, like a cowboy on Prozac.

  ''Well! I had to see it to believe it!''

  Dora turned her head, a sharp pain shooting down her neck.

  In the doorframe stood a tall man with long grey hair. It was Felix, the sheriff of Graufirst, wearing the same hospital garb as Dora, plus a white gown and rubber flip-flops. He looked as if he’d ridden a kangaroo to hell and back. He was skinny to begin with, but now his skin was literally hanging off him. His eyes were yellow as if he had jaundice, his skin wrinkled and sallow, his emaciated frame supported by a pole with wheels and a bag connected to his body by a tube.

  ''Really?'' Nicolaus muttered angrily. ''Of all the times to get back on your feet, you chose today, now? Really?''

  Felix gave him a poisonous glare then slowly stepped in, followed closely by an annoyed nurse, about twice as heavy as he was, her face dour and her arms crossed.

  ''I was already on my feet yesterday, briefly,'' Felix growled. He looked over at Dora, examining her and shaking his head as if she were in worse condition than he was. ''This little task force of yours delivered all right. It nearly got me killed — although that might be better than the crap I have to deal with now,'' he said, shaking his tube. ''It also put a bunch of your men underground. So congratulations, Mr. Federal Agent, well done.''

  Erica was holding the phone to her ear but didn’t say anything.

  ''Get back to bed, sheriff,'' Nicolaus grunted. ''We don’t have time for this right now.''

  ''Yes, please, sir,'' the nurse piped up wearily. ''Your dialysis is coming up and ...''

  ''I know what’s coming up!'' Felix snorted, his life apparently no longer in danger. ''Fucking stick me in here with no booze, no smokes, no nothing, all because you city boys don’t know shit about real police work!''

  ''Jesus, I’ve never had such a disobedient patient!'' the nurse yelped, grabbing the disgruntled sheriff carefully so as to prevent him from falling.

  ''Get him out of here!'' Nicolaus barked. ''And go get the doctor. Dora’s come to now, and ...''

  ''You’re not taking me anywhere!'' Felix protested, limping towards Dora’s night stand and grabbing it to prevent being dragged away by the nurse. ''Your boss-man Captain What’s-His-Name has kept me in the dark ever since
I got shipped out here, and I demand some answers! Let’s start with what’s going on!''

  Taking advantage of the sudden commotion, Dora reached for Nicolaus’ gun and snatched it from its holster. The nurse started screaming.

  ''For crying out loud, not this again!'' Nicolaus said, rolling his eyes.

  ''Get back!’’ Dora exclaimed, waiving the pistol around like a winning lottery ticket. ‘‘I said get back!''

  ''All right already!'' Nicolaus said, backing off in exasperation.

  ''And you!’’ Dora continued, looking at the nurse. ‘‘Stop your screaming! I can’t think!''

  ''You know Dora, you can’t just pull a gun on us every time something isn’t to your liking.''

  ''Not to my liking, Nicolaus? The whole operations was compromised!''

  ''What the hell you mean by that?'' the grisled sheriff asked, looking back and forth between Dora and the agents. ‘‘Compromised how?''

  Dora didn’t answer but instead pointed the weapon at Erica.

  ''So you came all the way out here to finish the job? Did you need me to be awake to procede with your ritual? Oh, you can stop pretending to make that phone call now.''

  ''I’m sorry?''

  ''Maybe the concussion’s just what I needed for my brain to be able to fit all the pieces together. I finally see now what should have been clear to me much sooner. It was you. You’re the person who’s been raping and killing all these women.''

  A heavy silence ensued, and Erica slowly lowered the telephone.

  ''Dora, now listen,’’ Nicolaus cautiously interjected, ‘‘you’re not making any sense. Nurse, go get the doctor, she’s ...''

  ''Stay where you are!'' Dora shouted, though the nurse hadn’t shown any inclination to follow instructions anyway. ''You know,’’ she said, turning to Erica, ‘‘ever since the day I met you, I knew there was something not quite right. Granted, I feel that way about everyone in your little shit-hole of a town, but you - it was different with you. It’s hard to explain what exactly it was but it was there right from the start!''

  ''Dora, stop this madness!'' Nicolaus barked. ''Give me back my gun!''

  ''No!''

  ''Dora, I’m ordering you to give it back!''