The cabin near Packwood Lake was barely livable. Eugene was used to worse conditions, so he didn't really mind, but it wasn't optimal. Still, he was able to rig up a solar panel and attach it to a small converter inside the cabin, providing him with power for what he'd need. There was no water, but he had a few large jugs he'd bought from a small hardware store in Yakima. They'd do him well for a couple of weeks, if he needed it.
What he planned would take less than that.
He had a small propane stove and some dried soups, crackers and MREs he'd bought years earlier for his use in case he needed to bug-out. There was enough in his locker to last for some time. Whatever he needed he could pick up at the local store in town. For all anyone knew, he was merely a hunter or fisherman out enjoying nature. He looked like them -- hunting cap, camo jacket and jeans. Beard. Sunglasses.
Another good old boy looking to commune with nature for a while.
It felt good to be hunting again.
When he thought the time was ripe, and enough time had passed since he escaped the ambulance, he decided to take them.
He wasn't sure what he wanted to do when he was finally free except get his revenge, but that could wait. He wanted to do it right. He didn't want his life to end in a whimper, but with a great big bang.
That was only fitting for someone as accomplished in death and murder as he was.
He wanted police and criminologists to write about him for years. So he got everything in place, a second getaway vehicle parked in the right place, the cabin ready, and his prey scoped out, their routine mapped, and his planned escape route memorized.
Then, he would strike.
Until then, he laid low, sleeping in the cabin for the night before the big day.
Before dawn the next morning, he sat straight up in bed, his heart pounding. He glanced around the cabin, wondering what had awoken him, but saw nothing was out of place and it was quiet. He laid back down and tried to relax. He was excited in anticipation for the final act of his little drama. It was heightening his senses and making him more alert to any flaws in his plan or danger. His next few moves would require laying a trap for his ultimate prey -- Tess and Michael. He especially wanted to see them both suffer. Eugene knew that Tess would be unable to resist the prospect of meeting Lisa again.
Until then, he had another project to complete.
Eugene parked his bike near the gas station and waited. In about ten minutes, on schedule, Tom Hubbard and his daughter Kira drove up. They were on their way back from school, and had stopped at a 7/11 for some Slurpees, which they did every damned day. Eugene took the opportunity to wait beside the station, keeping his eye out for the security camera, which he'd already scoped out. When Tom and Kira came out of the 7-11, Eugene strode up beside Tom and shoved his gun into Tom's side, the gun still in Eugene's jacket pocket.
"Hey, Tom," he said in a friendly tone. "Good to see you again. How about we both get in the car and you can stop by and talk for a while, okay?"
Eugene pulled the butt of the gun out of the pocket so Tom could see it. On his part, with one hand holding the Slurpee cup and the other holding the keys, there wasn't much Tom could do to respond. He clearly saw the gun pointed at his side. The alarm on his face, the stiffness to his body, told Eugene that Tom was deciding whether to comply or fight.
He decided to comply.
"My daughter’s with me," he said, his voice breaking. "Let her go."
"No, she's coming with us. Tell her to get in the back seat and that you're taking me to see some property," Eugene said lightly, keeping a broad smile on his face. "Smile when you say it."
Tom forced a smile. "Get in the back seat, honey. I'm taking my friend to look at some property. You can come along for the ride and we'll pick up some Popeyes on the way home."
She smiled and got inside, none the wiser that her father was being carjacked.
"Take my money, and please let us go," Tom said when Kira got inside.
"I don't think so. I need your vehicle. Now, if you and Kira want to get out of this alive, you better get inside and drive me where I tell you."
Both Tom and Eugene opened their doors, and got in, Eugene sitting beside him. He removed the gun from his pocket and held it out, pointing at Tom. Then, he put it back in his pocket in case Kira got curious.
"Take 40th Street to the highway," Eugene said, keeping his voice light.
"Where are we going?"
"Drive." Eugene shoved the gun into Tom's side. "Don't get Kira upset."
Kira had her earphones on and was listening to music on her iPod, apparently not at all concerned that one of her dad's friends was along for the ride.
When they merged onto the highway, Kira seemed to perk up.
"Where are we going?" She removed one of her earphones.
"Taking a drive with my friend to look at some property," Tom said, smiling and glancing at her in the rear-view mirror. "We'll be home soon."
She shrugged and put the earbud back into her ear, apparently unconcerned about the detour.
"Good man," Eugene said softly. "Cooperate, and soon this will all be over."
He watched the road, smiling to himself at how well it was going.
They arrived at the secondary road, and Eugene directed Tom to stop on the side next to a clearing. Eugene's van was parked around the bend, out of sight. Eugene gestured to a spot off to the side of the road and Tom drove in and put the vehicle in park.
"I want you to show me the property, like you said."
Eugene got out, the heavy socket wrench in his pocket, the gun in his other pocket, the outline clear enough that Tom wouldn't try anything stupid. Men with children were incredibly compliant, especially if those men thought their child might be hurt.
"What are you doing, Daddy?" Kira asked, pulling one ear bud out.
"Looking at some property this man wants to buy."
"Can I get out? My legs are stiff."
Tom glanced at Eugene, who nodded.
"Sure. Stay by the car," Tom said.
Kira shrugged and got out, walking around to the side of the car, looking up at the trees.
"All I want is the car," Eugene said when he got to Tom's side, trying to put him at ease. "First, I want you to come over here."
"What about my daughter..."
"She'll be fine. Let's go."
Kira stuck her hands in her pockets, glancing around at the forest.
Eugene led Tom into the trees a few feet, beneath the canopy. "Come here," Eugene said to Tom, motioning to a spot by the tree trunk out of view of the road where Kira stood, oblivious to what was happening.
Tom came around the tree trunk, his face pale.
“Give me your cell,” Eugene said.
“Why?”
“Give it to me.”
Tom passed it to Eugene with clear reluctance.
“What’s your passcode?”
The man hesitated. Did he really think it was wise to refuse? Eugene removed his gun from his pocket and that encouraged Tom to cooperate.
“696969,” Tom said, his face reddening. Eugene laughed. Poor bastard obviously didn’t get enough from his wife. Well, he’d never get any again.
Eugene unlocked the phone, checked out the apps, and then slipped it into his other pocket. It would be useful later to send cops on a wild goose chase.
“Go over there,” Eugene said, pointing to another huge tree a few feet away.
Tom turned around and Eugene made sure to clock him a good one with the large socket wrench. Tom went down without so much as an oooomphh.
Standing over by the vehicle, her back to the scene, Kira heard nothing, her headphones blasting music.
Eugene finished Tom off with a few more bashes to the skull. He emerged around the tree and went right to Kira, striking her on the back of the head with enough force to knock her out, but hopefully not enough to outright kill her. She fell to the ground, not even hearing him walk up behind her.
It was almost too easy.
He zip-tied her hands behind her back, then gagged her. He next went to his van and drove it closer, throwing Kira into the back of the van, covering her with a large tarp. Then, he removed her small handbag and placed it beside Tom’s dead body. That would give them all a big hint about why he did it.
He went back to the car and found a full chest of tools and whatever else one might need in case of a breakdown on a distant dirt road. There was even a small container of gasoline, in case he ever ran out. That Tom -- always prepared.
Then, Eugene dumped the gasoline all over the front and back seats, emptying the small container. He threw in a match and stepped back when the gas ignited, the foooom of the explosion satisfying in a way that only a pyro would understand.
When he drove off, the flames were starting to lick at the sides of the interior, the plastic already melting. He heard the crack of an explosion as the windshield shattered. It wouldn't take long before the whole vehicle was engulfed, and the gas tank exploded as well. Dark flames rose above the tree line and so Eugene drove as fast as he could away from the site, down another secondary road and back to the main highway without encountering a single vehicle.
Someone would find the burning vehicle and Tom's corpse with the mangled face. They'd ID the vehicle and Tom, and they'd realize that little Kira was missing.
That would send police and townspeople all in a tizzy -- a paroxysm of revulsion.
Someone took Kira! What kind of monster killed the father and abducted a twelve-year-old girl!
He could imagine the expression on the faces of viewers as they watched the nightly news and heard about the case. How sweet it would be to hear their gasps...
He decided to spend some time in town, sitting at the local coffee shop near his place, so he could listen to the locals talk and exchange their outrage.
But first, he had to take little Kira to his special place – a place no one knew about and that police had never found after they arrested him. About forty-five minutes down an old road, his special place was an abandoned cabin near Conrad Meadows Trailhead. He picked it because it was both remote, and it was accessible, but not too accessible. He'd seen no signs of anyone visiting the place when he found it a few years earlier during one of his scouting missions, searching for places to store his prey. Old and dusty, filled with cobwebs and spiders, it would be good enough for his purposes. He'd already planned it out, and in the back of his vehicle, he had all the equipment and implements he'd need for this little vacation.
He'd stopped at hardware and outfitting stores on his way from Seattle, picking up what he'd need for survival in the woods. He'd been watching his prey for a couple of days while he got things in place.
When he arrived back at the cabin with Kira, he checked her pulse and saw that it was steady. Good. That meant she was still alive and would be more fun than if he'd accidentally killed her.
He didn't mean to kill her -- not yet.
She wouldn't be able to get out of her restraints -- not in the position she was in, lying on her side, her hands zip-tied behind her back, her ankles zip-tied and attached to the bed post.
She was more than a toy for him to pass the time. She was a symbol. She was a lure. She was a way to let them know he was back, and he would continue to taunt them with his superior planning until they found and killed him. He'd escaped their pitiful security systems with an ease that was criminal. All of them should be fired -- the guard who turned the other way when he was beaten, the ambulance driver who'd taken a quick wrong turn and stopped the vehicle, breaking with protocol. The attendant who didn't fasten the restraints properly and left the scalpel in easy access...
They wouldn't be fired, because the whole place was corrupt.
Prison officials and guards were on the take. He'd learned that soon enough once inside. Guards worked with prisoners to bring in drugs. Guards turned a blind eye to interpersonal violence as the prisoners found their place in the prisoner hierarchy based on race and willingness to do violence. Guards who were conveniently away from their posts when men raped other men. Guards who allowed contact between visitors and prisoners, ensuring that drugs and other contraband got inside the prison walls.
He'd learned that quick enough. A fast learner, Eugene had turned it all to his advantage. Plus, he had his own Ace of Spades... His knowledge of the men who partook of John Hammond's little perversion business. He'd parlayed that bit of intelligence into money and freedom.
Now, he had to leave her for a few hours for he wanted to go into town and watch the fun as they discovered that their precious friend and his sweet little daughter were missing and feared abducted by a serial killer on the loose.
Oh, how sweet that would be, sitting amongst them, his beard and shaved head and glasses, his greater bulk and hunter's clothes an excellent disguise so that none of them knew he was right there in their midst.
He checked the cabin once more to make sure everything was secure. Then he left, taking his van and driving down the old dirt road back to the main highway. It was a forty-five-minute drive back to Yakima, and he made sure to obey all traffic rules, so he didn't draw the attention of any eager-beaver highway patrol type. While there was nothing incriminating in his van, he didn't want any contact with officials of any variety while he was outside.
Cops would be on the lookout for anyone matching Eugene's description. Luckily, Eugene no longer matched Eugene's description...
And his fake ID looked pretty damn respectable.
Ted Ridgway.
A good old boy from Tacoma. Down in Yakima looking for real estate to buy. A self-employed entrepreneur. Looking to do a bit of hunting, while he was getting his new business set up.
He wondered how long it would take them to discover he was hiding in plain sight. Knowing the local cops, it would take quite a while because they wouldn't expect him to stay in the same place. Besides, he'd had the brilliant idea of attaching Tom’s cell phone to a truck parked at the local truck stop. It would be driven to wherever the trucker was going -- hopefully out of state. But first, he'd set the alarm system to activate and send a notification once a day. That way, the cell would ping a nearby tower and police would be off on a wild goose chase, looking for the abductor to be on the run with Kira.
They'd never expect that the killer would be right there amongst them and that little Kira was a two-hour drive out of town at a remote cabin near Packwood Lake in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. It was one of his old stomping grounds, not too far from Paradise Hill. He knew the forest and lakes intimately. Hell, he felt right at home...