Even Darker Needs

By Jason Mercier

After losing his best friend, Chris Thorton is a man in a tailspin. Thinking he made the wrong decision when he let a serial killer walk, he is determined to fix the mistake. At any Cost!
After disappearing, Tony resurfaces and wastes little time before killing again. Things get out of control when he is forced to turn to the criminal underground for help.
Is it the end for Tony and Sandy?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781304873248

Book preview

Even Darker Needs

Even Darker Needs

Jason Mercier

Copyright©2014 by Jason Mercier

All rights reserved.

Any reproduction of this work or any part of work is unauthorized.

ISBN: 978-1-304-87324-8

Publisher: Jason Mercier

Distributor: Lulu

Special Thanks

To:

Kathleen Youmans for editing.

Micheal Lewis and Reid Martin for help with cover design and promoting.

Chapter 1

Chris Thorton sat in his home office staring at the papers scattered across the top of his desk.  He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his face.  The scratching that he felt because of the stubble reminded him that he could probably use a shave.  He would try to do that tomorrow if he remembered.  But even as he thought it, he knew he probably wouldn’t bother.  Not that he did not want to, but in the last few months his life had become total chaos.

It started with work.  After the incident involving his long time friend and once partner, Jon Ellis, he was put on administrative leave while the investigation was being carried out.  When the investigation was finished they were not able to determine the exact events without his testimony, so no charges were filed against him.  In the end it still did not help him.  He was forced to take early retirement.

In the weeks and months that followed, things did not get much better.  He was second guessing his decision to let Tony Park walk and soon became so convinced that he would kill again, Chris became obsessed.  He did not know where Tony and Sandy went so he put out calls to friends in law enforcement and scoured the internet news looking for similar murders.  He also knew that the police were looking for Tony as well but he felt he would have a better chance at finding him because he knew Tony better.

At first Nancy, Chris’s wife, tried to overlook his new obsession.  However, because he refused to open up to her about what was going on in his life and why he did not have to go to work anymore, it was not too long before she packed up her bags and left to go stay with her mother.  She still called from time to time to see if he was alright but had no idea how to help him.

Chris blamed Jon for all that had happened to him since Jon’s death.  But deep down when Chris could admit it to himself, he knew that he only had himself to blame.  Chris even dreaded going to sleep at night as he was forced to relive his choice in his dreams often.

Being alone with his thoughts and frustration overwhelming him, Chris swings his arm over his desk sending most of its contents flying.  Papers whirl through the air on the way to the floor.  Pens and paperweights clatter and bounce before rolling into corners.  The sound of glass breaking echos through his empty home as a glass and liquor bottle hit the wall.

He gets up from his chair and walks toward the door not knowing whether he is going to bed or to get a broom to clean his mess when he spots something.  He bends down to pick up what turns out to be a fax from a colleague in New York City.  He scans the paper and knows better than to get his hopes up but still thinks he has found something in New York City.

The fax was from a Detective Burton.  He states that he had not come across anything like what Chris is looking for but that he has heard of something that has some similarities coming from the other side of the border in Toronto, Ontario.  It went on to state that there was mutilation, but that it was on men and women.

Chris looked at his watch and saw that it was near one in the morning.  He wanted to make some calls but figured it would be best if he waited for morning.

Chapter 2

Tony woke before Sandy and left the bedroom so he would not disturb her.  He walked down the hall to the kitchen and started the coffee.  He stood and looked out the window as he waited for the pot to finish.  From the kitchen window he could not see too much but it was better than the view from the living room.

He was looking forward to starting the day.  He and Sandy finally had new identities in place and had managed to have their assets transferred.  They had been trying to make due living in this little apartment and trying to get by with only the money they were able to take with them across the border.  They had wasted no time liquidating their assets and moving all the money out of the reach of the police, but it took longer than they thought it would to get it back.

Neither of them were fooling themselves into thinking that they were just going to settle into a new life right away but they both believed that trying to be as comfortable as they could would help them remain unnoticed.

The coffee finished brewing and Tony poured a large cup and went to sit on the steps to drink it.  He spent many mornings sitting in the sun drinking his coffee watching people walk by.  But people watching was not his only reason for sitting outside.  Tony knew that at any moment, he and Sandy may have to run and he wanted to make sure they had an escape route.

As he looked around, he again felt sure that they had chosen a good neighbourhood to stay in.  It was not a rich place filled with snobbish people always gossiping about each other.  It also was not a slum of a place with lots of drugs in the streets.  It was a nice middle class place that was easy to blend into.  When you looked around you saw that most of the homes were in decent shape and the properties were cared for. 

He is still quietly sipping on his coffee when he hears the screen door open.  He looks over his shoulder as Sandy leans in and gives him a small kiss.

Good morning. she says and has a seat beside him on the step.

Good morning. he replies.  Sleep well?

I slept okay.  A little restless though. she told him. Probably just anxious to get going today.

Tony nodded and continued to drink his coffee.  He watched her as she sipped hers and was pleased to see she was adjusting to their new lives.  Over the first few months they were on the run, they had some close calls with the authorities, which made Sandy nervous but even worse, was that a few times they were recognized and Tony had no choice but to handle it.  Sandy was visibly troubled by the fact that she was tied to even more death.

The truth of it was that Tony felt no real joy in the killings.  It was rushed and it was necessity.  All told he had to dispose of five people for them to get to where they were and it was not until the fourth victim that he decided to enjoy it.  The fourth victim was the first woman he killed since he burned down the apartment.  It was not exactly the way he liked to do it but he did make sure to take the time for her to suffer. 

He did not expect them to tie the new murders to him because the last two were on the Canadian side of the border but he followed the news closely just to be sure.  When the bodies were found and there was no mention of them, he was still relieved. 

He also felt guilty.  Guilty for keeping secrets.  About a month earlier he realized that his darker needs were not just going away.  He tried but eventually gave in and rented a self storage unit near the 400 highway.  He had only used it once so far and was trying to avoid using it again but he knew he could not tell Sandy.

Tony reached over to her and put his arm around her.  He gave her a squeeze and when she looked at him, he told her that they should probably get into the shower so they could get going.

Chapter 3

Having showered and dressed, Sandy walked into a