Yesterday Is Never Gone

By Ilona Salley

Niki is no stranger to horrific personal challenges. As a child, she bravely endured abandonment by her father. While in her teens, she witnessed her mothers murder and the abduction and presumed death of her only sibling. Although her secrets have always been carefully cloaked from others, they have shaped her personality more than she would like to admit. But with a past as terrible as hers, how can Niki ever hope for a bright future?

Years later, Niki is a dedicated profiler in a criminal investigation agency with no idea her life is about to change exponentially. One day, through a quirky twist of fate, she receives startling news that her sister, Inge, is alive. As a driving force compels Niki to search for her, she embarks on a quest that takes her through cities and wilderness on two continents. She encounters difficult decisions, threatening mobsters, near-death experiences, and romance, yet nothing deters her from reaching her goalnot even a gruesome discovery about her father. But Niki is about to discover that things are never what they seem to be.

In this thrilling tale, deception and inner turmoil hamper a young womans journey toward a new reality as she attempts to reconcile her past and find the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532024436

Ilona Salley

Ilona Salley emigrated from Germany to Toronto, Canada, with her family when she was three. Throughout her life, her interests have included squash, skiing, wood carving, literature, art, and languages. Her fascination with architecture and archaeology has led her to travel in search of ancient places and artifacts. After a long career as an educator, she expanded her horizons by teaching in England and China. Now, she spends part of each year in Fort Myers, Florida.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

A stark white bolt of lightning split the night skies, revealing five black forms hidden in the shadows of huge evergreen shrubs, poised, waiting, all attention focused on the house in front of them. Overhead, muted light pulsated eerily through Berlin’s patchy cloud cover.

Slim cedars along the perimeter of the property stood like tall sentinels, whispering warnings as the cold wind whistled by. Shrouding the large yard from prying eyes were hulking clumps of yew, juniper, and dogwood bushes that had been neglected for years and allowed to grow wild, now casting misshapen shadows in the intermittent moonlight.

Nestled among them, almost invisible, was the house, a gloomy home harboring dark and terrifying secrets. And encroaching on it, engulfing it ever more over months and years, vines and other vegetation obscured windows and covered walls, blocking even part of the entranceway. Directly in front of the structure was a yard of sorts—the only open area.

A single slit of light was visible in one windowpane.

Just as rolling thunder rumbled and roared in the distance, fat drops of rain began to splatter on the ground. Nevertheless, the five remained still, a unified dark mass concealed in the heart of the evergreens. All eyes were riveted on the sinister building in front of them while they analyzed the situation, awaiting instructions. Then the leader stepped forward. Immediately, they drew their guns.

Niki sucked in her breath. She was ready.

You two, to the back. The leader pointed to Niki and Wolfgang, and they split from the group, two furtive figures protected by Kevlar vests, moving swiftly and smoothly through the open area.

Suddenly a blinding brightness flooded the whole front yard. Security lights had been triggered. The pair stopped, frozen like startled deer caught in headlights.

A rush of anger swept through Niki. Damn. Elsa set me up again. Made me look like a fool stuck in these lights. She should have figured there would be security.

But there was no turning back. The two rushed to the back while the remainder of the group charged the front door. A few sharp kicks and it splintered with a loud crackling sound before caving in. After trampling over it, the intruders pulled out their flashlights and stormed upstairs.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang battered down the back door with his strong shoulder, and Niki led, her gun held steady with both hands as she had been trained. She slipped through the brightly lit kitchen and opened the first door. Clear, she barked, and she then heard echoes from above. Clear. Clear. Within seconds, all of them regrouped on the main floor in front of what was presumed to be the way to the basement.

Slowly, Elsa turned the knob and pushed. The spine-tingling screech of metal scraping against metal broke the silence; the hinges were rusty and old. She reached inside but could not seem to locate a light switch. At her silent command, they hurried down, light from the flashlights bouncing in all directions until they reached the bottom of the flight of stairs. Methodically, she swept her flashlight from left to right. Nothing.

There, said a voice in the darkness, and a white beam shone on a door almost obscured behind boxes piled high. Quickly they pulled these aside. Wolfgang kicked hard until the hinges ripped from the frame with a sickening sound. A dull thud resounded as the door came crashing to the ground. The group tromped over it with noisy footfalls but stopped short, confronted by darkness. Bright beams of light darted everywhere, all of them finally converging on the wall dead ahead.

No one moved. Only the sound of breathing broke the ominous silence.

Holy shit, exclaimed Niki in a hoarse whisper. Is that what I think it is? She had never seen anything like it. Even the experienced members of the unit stood stock still, unnerved as their brains processed the sight.

Stay here. Elsa approached the display wall. In neat rows, one photo after another of smiling young women stared back at her. Well, the snitch was right. Looks like our man has done this before.

Wolfgang let out a low whistle. I bet these are all murdered girls. This is his form of record keeping.

That way he can revisit each kill. Revulsion dripped from her voice as Elsa ran her flashlight beam over several of the photos. Victimology is easy to decipher. His type is attractive young blondes. The light zeroed in on an object beside the nearest picture.

What the heck is this? She inspected a Ziploc bag stapled to the wall directly beside the photo. They’re everywhere. Each picture has one. Hmm. I can’t really see … With the nose of her gun, she poked at it to get a better view. Oh. Hair. He’s cut a lock of hair from each of them. A trophy. Glancing at the index card posted underneath, she read it aloud.

Tania Schwarz, age 22

secretary at Heinz’s Music Shop

work hours: 9-5 Tuesday to Friday, 10-6 Saturday

lives alone - 55 Wasser Str.

gym workouts - 1034 Linden Str. - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 7-9 p.m.

November 18, 2009

Frankfurt

She spun around and looked at her team. He stalks them, she spat out, her lips sneering in disgust. Neatly tacked around each photo were various newspaper clippings. Silently, she scanned several cards and articles while her unit waited.

Is our victim there? asked Niki. This guy is organized. Are they sorted by date?

Elsa ignored her, but Lisl, the female agent standing beside her, caught on and said to Elsa, Look at the last one. That should be our victim.

You think? Elsa had to kneel in order to see. You’re right, Lisl. It’s her. Now we have her name.

Elsa stood up to look at the first one. September 3, 2006, she said. He’s been killing for over ten years. Her flashlight moved systematically along one row. Almost each murder is in a different German city: Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfurt … and now Berlin.

Jacob, the second male agent, added, No wonder we weren’t onto him. He never stayed in one place.

I bet he waits for them in their homes. Niki’s voice was bold and confident. She had read about a case similar to this one. Where else would he have the privacy that he needs?

No one responded.

Niki went on, Remember that the medical examiner said the victim had been kept for several days. Tortured.

Man, is this killer ever prolific, Jacob said, changing the topic. There are about thirty victims. And now we’ve lost him. There was silence as the impact of the statement hit them all. The perpetrator was free to kill again.

Soon the beams of light explored the rest of the room, eventually resting on a long table off to the right. Wolfgang voiced the thoughts of all. A kill kit. And he’s meticulous. The instruments are spotless and laid out in straight rows.

From what I read in the newspaper clippings, added Elsa, he has no specific MO.

That’ll make it hard to link any new murders to him, Niki concluded.

Elsa ignored Niki again, saying, Let’s go upstairs. Maybe we’ll find some clues to his identity. It seems he lives here. The group waited for Elsa to lead the way. Oh, and Jacob, call the station. Get a crime scene team here right away.

They flicked on all the lights on the main floor before holstering their guns. In the living room, the large TV screen was still on, displaying in six different panes various outside views of the grounds. That’s a feed from the security cameras, said Wolfgang. He was watching us.

And we scared him off. Lisl indicated his half-eaten dinner on the table. It’s still warm.

Niki’s brow furrowed. How did he escape? We were at the back door and the front one simultaneously, seconds after the security light went on. And all the windows are closed. She may as well have been talking to the walls. The others were grouped around Elsa, now busy examining the footage on the video feed.

Slowly, Niki walked through the kitchen and dining room, stopping at the splintered front door lying in the small foyer. It partially concealed yet another door. What do you think? she asked, turning to look at the others. But there was no answer. She pulled the broken pieces of wood aside. Is this a closet? She opened it and flicked the light switch. Oh. Who would have thought?

At the sound of surprise, all heads craned toward Niki. Get back, Elsa growled as she pushed past her into an empty garage. No one told you to open it. With swift strides, she crossed the concrete floor to the other side, where she stood in front of an exit door. She motioned for Jacob to approach. Both drew their guns.

Jacob pushed. It opened a crack, but there was resistance. It’s stuck.

Open it.

He put away his gun and pushed hard until it gave way.

It’s just the overgrown bushes barricading the door from the outside. The killer probably hid in the garage, waiting until he knew we were all inside. Jacob turned and faced his boss. This was his escape route.

Elsa nodded. He’ll be long gone now. She raised her voice, still talking to Jacob. I’m surprised Niki and Wolfgang didn’t see this. They passed right by it on the way to the backyard.

Wolfgang rolled his eyes. Niki spluttered, But it’s covered in bushes. How could we—

Never mind, Elsa retorted. Maybe the tech guys can at least get a footprint in the mud outside. We’re leaving by the front. We’re done for today. Elsa replaced the gun in her holster, gathering the group around her. But as Niki approached, Elsa turned her back ever so slightly, blocking her. No one else seemed to notice, and no one else moved over for her.

Elsa’s an idiot, but the rest aren’t much better, Niki thought, her face clouding over.

Elsa finished with Niki and Wolfgang, you two wait for the tech unit, then grab a cab back to your cars. We meet tomorrow at one to do the profile. On the way out, she added, And don’t poke around at anything to contaminate the scene.

Hmm, Niki snorted aloud. She turned her back and went to the living room to sulk. Wolfgang joined her, and as soon as the door closed, he was on his phone.

The moment the crime scene unit arrived, Niki called a cab. Wolfgang had been sucked up in the world of his phone and was now playing games. When the taxi stopped in the workplace parking lot, Niki jumped out without a word, stuffed her hands into her pockets, and stomped over to her scooter.

Luckily the rain had stopped. She turned the key. The engine purred, and within fifteen minutes, she was home. Right away she changed to pajamas, pulled out some cheese and crackers, and plopped down on the worn sofa, which had been in this apartment forever. It always reminded her of Aunt Maria, whose apartment this had been until a year prior. When her aunt passed away, Niki had inherited it. Now, disheartened by the night’s events, she leaned back and closed her eyes. But her body remained as taut as a drawn bow. She sighed deeply, got up, and walked over to the drawer containing the pot and related paraphernalia. That stupid Elsa, she vented aloud. It’s always the same. She blocks me at every turn. And I thought this would be the perfect job. She heaved another great heavy sigh. I get no respect. I hate it, hate it, hate it. She returned to the sofa and sat, propping her feet on the ottoman, rethinking all that had happened.

She reached for the bong—a work of art with swirls of colorful glass. She opened the pouch of marijuana, and when everything was ready, she took a deep drag, letting her gaze rest on her wiggling toes. Again, she inhaled, and again. Sweet, she muttered as she began to unwind, leaning back with eyes closed.

Slowly, constraints of time and place lost their grip and her mind drifted back to another time, another world—the world of her childhood. For a moment, there was happiness. But within seconds, that fateful night flashed before her. Every detail of it was burned into her memory.

CHAPTER 2

H er mind flashed back in time to more than a decade earlier in her life.

Sleep tight, darlings, Hanna whispered, leaning over to kiss her two children good night. As soft as the touch of butterfly wings, her long blonde hair brushed the girls’ cheeks while a sweet musk scent throbbed from her throat. I won’t be late. I’m just meeting some old friends. Sophie’s upstairs. You can go to her if you need anything. Love you. She smiled, turned, and closed the front door quietly.

Sophie’s tiny row house was situated in the heart of Tallinn, Estonia, a northern ancient medieval city that had made it largely unscathed through the two world wars, despite its proximity to what had been known as Russia and later as the USSR. Upstairs there were only two small bedrooms. Hers was at the back, and Hanna, her best friend, was staying in the other. For the last week, the living room downstairs at the front of the house had served as Hanna’s daughters’ sleeping quarters. They didn’t care; they were happy camped out downstairs. For them it was an adventure—their first vacation ever.

Can you believe it? asked Inge, the younger of the two. We used to live in this house when we were little.

Only for a short time. After our parents broke up. I don’t remember any of it, though, replied Niki. I don’t even remember moving to Berlin to live with our aunt.

Me neither. I was only two. Anyway, I like living with Tante Maria. Inge rolled over, propped her elbow on the bed, and rested her head on her hand.

They whispered and giggled for a long time before finally dozing off.

Niki awoke with a start. It was dark. At first, she could not see anything, and for a moment, she did not know where she was. Her eyes began to focus in the dark. What had woken her? Then she knew. She heard it again. Outside there was harsh shouting—a man’s voice, angry and threatening.

Are you awake? whispered Inge. What is it?

Puzzled, the girls rubbed sleepy eyes. They wrapped themselves in robes and slid their feet into slippers before tiptoeing to the window. Niki pulled back the curtain just a bit so they could peek out.

The ruckus was coming from the other side of the street where a car was parked in darkness. Niki caught sight of motion—what might be the man’s body behind the car. But it was too dark to really see. The yelling began again.

What’s happening?

Shh, don’t make any noise, said Niki with a silencing finger to her lips.

Outside, the man’s voice got louder. You crazy bitch. What the hell are you trying to pull?

There’s someone else there, Niki realized. Squinting, she could make out two forms. The man seemed to be pulling a woman forward from behind the car, and soon, two dark silhouettes were standing in the street where the light was somewhat better. He began shouting again. The woman’s wrist appeared to be held in a tight grasp. She was squirming and struggling to get away.

Niki’s eyes widened as the man’s hand rose. She drew in her breath. He slapped the woman hard across the face—so hard it broke his hold on her. She staggered back with a hand to her cheek and, cringing, raised her other arm in defense.

I’m scared, whimpered Inge.

Gently, Niki pulled her away from the window. Stay here. Don’t look. I’ll tell you what happens. Niki remained hidden behind the curtain and watched.

Suddenly the woman turned and darted straight toward Sophie’s house. Niki sucked in her breath noisily. Her heart began pounding in her chest.

The man caught her again, trapping her against the railing of the small porch in front of Sophie’s place. Although she twisted and struggled violently, she was trapped. Strange moans were coming from her lips.

The man’s hand rose again. Her body stiffened.

The lamppost from the street corner cast shadows, leaving the woman in deep darkness and the man’s face obscured. Niki could see only the whiteness of his teeth as his lips curled back in a silent snarl.

His hand clenched.

The woman clutched the railing tightly as if to brace herself. The huge fist rammed hard into her face. She stumbled back awkwardly into the street.

Into the light.

Niki gasped with horror.

She blinked consciously, furiously, trying to make the scene disappear. But it would not.

The fist rose and struck a second time. The woman’s head snapped right.

Niki moaned. She stopped breathing.

Time slowed.

The long blonde hair swung ever so slowly to the side. Niki watched her mother reel back in slow motion, her head smacking hard on the sharp metal corner of the railing.

There was a sound like the crack of a breaking branch. For an instant, a look of shock registered on Hanna’s face before her body twisted oddly and slumped further, the back of her head striking the cobblestones of the street with a hollow thud. Long golden strands of hair fanned out around her head, shining brightly in the lamplight.

Inge could stand the suspense no longer. She wiggled in beside her motionless sister to peer into the darkness. No. No, she cried out.

But to Niki, the wail seemed distant and surreal.

Inge’s continued laments brought Niki back to reality. She looked about. Where is the man? Has he gone?

Niki took her younger sister by the hand. You have to be brave. We have to go to her. I think she’s knocked out. She needs help. Do you see the man?

Inge shook her head, her eyes wide with fright.

An unnatural creaking sound broke the strained silence as the wooden door gradually swung open. Niki gulped, and the two of them stepped outside. It was strangely quiet, yet the pounding of Niki’s heart roared in her ears and her breathing came in short gasps. Beside her, Inge was sobbing.

The sense of danger enveloped them, sucking the air from their lungs. Fearfully, they stepped forward, each step carefully planned, as if the next one would send them hurtling off a cliff.

Where is the man?

Niki cast her eyes about, searching frantically. At first, she did not see him. But as they inched forward, a hunched dark shadow stirred, growing bigger and bigger until it transformed itself into a huge hulking form that turned to watch at the approaching sound of whimpering and shuffling feet. Menacingly, it loomed above the two small figures. The girls’ eyes went wide. They opened their mouths to scream, but no sound came forth.

They froze.

Though he made no move toward them, Niki stepped back. A tiny squeak of horror now came from her mouth. She pulled Inge safely behind her.

Niki could feel his eyes boring into her and wished it were darker—wished she could be anywhere else, doing anything else but being near him. In the blackness of the night, his face remained hidden, leaving in her mind only the memory of an unidentifiable shadow—a figure of pure evil that would haunt her forever.

They stood immobile for an eternity. Niki’s gaze finally turned to the body of her mother lying so still on the ground. Drawn inexorably to her, the girls moved on, trancelike. With hands still clasped, they stepped forward to the edge of the dark pool blooming around Hanna’s crushed skull.

There Inge let go of Niki’s hand. Standing rigidly, she pushed her shoulders back, both arms pinned straight down against her body. She opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and then screamed and screamed—a sound filled with anguish, tearing through the night.

The man stepped forward. With one swift movement, he plucked the girl from the road and held her as if she were weightless, clamping a hand tightly over her mouth. Lights blinked on in several windows overlooking the street.

He reached for Niki. She stepped back, whirled about, and bolted into the maze of dark and narrow alleys behind the row houses. There, in the center of Old Town, where the worn cobblestone streets and the medieval city wall provided stability and protection, she hid in fear until long after the wailing sirens had stopped.

One police car after another screeched to a halt at the murder scene. Inside, Sophie answered endless questions from a detective. Those were hard blows to her face. Any idea who might have done it?

No. I don’t know. Sophie kept dabbing at her eyes. Hanna was meeting some friends at a bar. Maybe this fellow followed her home.

I don’t dare name him, she thought. He’s dangerous. I know who attacked you, Hanna—the same man you ran away from so many years ago. Why couldn’t you just stay away from him?

And the children are gone. Disappeared, she sobbed. He must have taken them.

The story was plausible. By morning, sensational headlines were splashed across the newspapers, and early TV broadcasts offered up details of a bloody death: a young mother murdered by an unknown assailant, both of her daughters missing, presumably taken by the attacker.

Niki could not stop shivering. She had squatted down here in a nook in the stone wall, hiding in the darkness. A noise startled her—a loud rattle like the lid of a metal garbage can falling. No. Please let it not be him. Her heart began pounding again, the blood roaring like a mighty river in her ears. She shrank back as far as she could, trying to make herself as small as a mouse, and waited breathlessly.

A shuffling sound came from around a corner of the maze. Suddenly two eyes glared at her. But the body appeared small—certainly not a man’s. Whatever it was had not spotted her yet and was shambling forward in her direction. It stopped and sniffed the air.

Niki’s body relaxed as she let out a sigh of relief. The raccoon turned its head to size her up before sauntering off.

Hours passed. The darkness no longer seemed menacing, the misty fingers of dawn finally penetrating the dark alley. She stood up, brushing the dampness and the dirt from her backside and legs, stamping her feet in an effort to get warm.

Where to go? She had never been on her own in this city. She walked forward, unsure of the direction, following one alley into another within the maze. All of a sudden, she came upon the gates. The house is near the gates, inside the walls, she remembered. And she trudged on, a lonely sad figure wrapped in a robe.

Rosy light stretched across the morning sky by the time Niki found her way back to Sophie’s house. The neighborhood was quiet again; the commotion of the night was over. Soon people would start to get ready for work as if nothing had happened.

She knocked timidly. Inside was a rustle of noise, someone peeping out, and then a metallic click, before the door flew open.

Niki, oh, Niki! Sophie cried out, casting furtive glances down the road. She pulled the quivering girl inside, quickly wrapping her in a warm blanket, holding her close, rocking her. Then she drew a deep breath and whispered, Where’s your sister?

The man took her, Niki stammered through chattering teeth.

Sophie gasped, holding the trembling girl at arm’s length to read her eyes. Did you see him? Do you know him? Would you recognize him?

I tried to see his face, but he was in shadows.

A huge sigh escaped Sophie.

We woke up. There was a lot of noise. We went to look outside. A man was arguing with Mutti and punched her in the face. Her head hit the railing. Niki stopped, as if to calm herself. She fell to the ground and never moved again. The