Robert Waggoner - John - The Senior Killer

Back at the house the first thing Brad and Sujin did was take the dogs for a run. It was a rare occasion when both dogs went with them for a run. Billy was put on alert and he watched the hidden cameras faithfully while they were gone. It gave him a chance to smoke while no one was home. He lighted an incense stick to cover the smell of his Marlboro and sat back and enjoyed himself reading a book from the inventory of John.

An hour later they came back and Billy wanted to show something he found in a book he was reading to Brad while Sujin was in the shower. Billy had a book on flowers, but strangely the book was about the Flowers of Washington State. There was one place in the book he showed Brad that was about wild flowers near Mt. Rainier. They got a map out showing towns around the base of the giant volcano. Sujin came out and Brad left to wash the sweat off. Billy looked at the map and saw towns such as Morton, Randle and Mossyrock. Billy thought about how these towns might fit into Senior John’s plan. Two ‘M’s and one ‘R’ made his head ache.

Later having dinner they talked about the flowers and the small towns mentioned in the book as grown in that particular area. Sujin pointed out that whatever grew in that area probably grew in other areas as well. Besides, she told them, ‘M’ and ‘R’ had no place in the message. Billy wasn’t satisfied with that and spent the night on the computer with his friends down south and back east. These computer jockeys no matter the day or time, spent most waking hours trying to outdo the other guy. Billy stayed with it and finally when the sun came up as he smoked outside looking at the cloudy sky with the air much warmer than before, felt a storm coming. And the storm that came was both in the form of a fierce gale force cyclone and the Senior Killer.

Confident in their realm of thinking that he would strike next in an ‘A’ town; he fooled them all by leaving an old lady to not see in the New Year. The call Brad got was from Steve saying a body had been found in Naches, Washington.

After talking to Steve and telling him what he would do, and that sends Nancy on location meeting up with the local authorities and the FBI office in both Seattle and Yakima. His first impression, he told Steve was that this was a diversion and his real sites were still the ‘A’ group of towns. He hung up and called Nancy most likely spoiling her holiday. Never mind, he thought, there was one person in Naches that would never see the light of day again.

Senior killer John, he loved the acronym, set his cruise control at fifty five. A cloud of blowing snow was left in his wake as he made his way to the Tri-Cities. It was New Year’s Eve and little traffic were on the freeway headed east. He flashed back on his successful kill. He’d selected his old man disguise with crutches. The trip down from Wenatchee over the pass with lots of snow, but he didn’t mind as he drove carefully in his four wheel drive SUV. Approaching Naches, which is a very small down west of Yakima he’d remembered a restaurant with a convenience store attached on the south side of the highway. He’d also remembered a lot of locals hung out there drinking coffee and shooting the breeze. He felt lucky that he would find somebody unlucky to meet up with him.

Playing the role of an old man on crutches he entered the cafe about noon. Heads turned but rapidly turned back seeing just another old man of no interest to them. Sitting in a booth was an old lady having lunch all by herself. He noticed she was looking at him as he made his way slowly towards her. He had his best grin on his face and twinkle in his eye as he stopped and said, “Madam, I hate to eat alone and would you be as kind as to let me join you on this nice holiday?”

She made continuous eye contact and said, “Surely, please sit down. Us old folks do get lonely and we hate to eat alone, don’t you agree,” she said politely, but in a croaky voice made from too many years of gossip he thought. Well I’ll fix that he said to himself.

“I’d like a nice bowl of hot soup like you’re having,” he said putting his crutches out of the way against the window that looked out onto the gas station. Her purse, like so many old ladies were sitting on top of the table next to the salt and pepper shakers. He quickly made a plan to take something from her purse as he would give her money to pay the bill and hopefully leave her purse for him to take something and then follow her home to return the dropped item. He hoped she lived alone and with her eating alone on a day before a holiday, the chances were good she did live alone.

He told her he was on his way to Randle to visit his son and see his grandkids. She told him her two girls lived in Yakima and they would come get her tomorrow and spend the holiday at one of her girl’s houses. She had a car, but only drove from her house to town and back. She’d lived in Naches for over forty years. Her husband, long gone was a logger and she told him she was thinking of moving into Yakima and live with one of her children. John listened attentively and after a half hour they were old friends that they both had loneliness in common and grand kids to watch grow up. She sat there quietly while he ate his soup and cheese sandwich. The young girl laid the check on the table and he quickly grabbed it from her too slow reach. She argued but not much as he reached for his wallet and took out some money and said, “Would you be so kind as to take this money and pay the bill?”

She said, “Of course. That is the least I can do as it is probably difficult for you with your crutches to make your way around.” She left leaving her purse on the table. John looked around and nobody was looking his way. He snatched it up and found inside a coin purse and stuck it in his pocket. She came back and sat down and told him she would go home now and it was sure nice visiting with him. She picked up her purse and left the restaurant on her way too big coat to ward off the below freezing temperature of the day. She got into an old car not far from him and once she left slowly pulling onto the highway, he moved like a cat to the door and into his SUV and followed her. She wouldn’t notice anyone following her and so he kept fairly close to her as she headed west out of town.

Her turn signal came on and he slowed down and looked into his mirror seeing no one behind him. An old house stood some two hundred yards off the road all by itself. This is too good, he thought and too easy. He felt a stirring between his legs and that totally confused him. Sex was something he never felt the need for. But now as he felt the blood engorge his penis something strange and different sent a message from his twisted brain to his libido. He watched her go into the house stopping on the porch to sweep off the snow from her boots. He waited a few more minutes and then pulled into her driveway. A fine snow was falling and he knew his tracks would be covered by the time anyone discovered her body.

He pulled up next to her car and took his time getting out. Under his driving gloves he had on a pair of latex surgery gloves. His Marlin spike in its usual holster on his pants leg and now he was so good he didn’t need the hammer anymore. He’d learned just where the tip should be placed and then a powerful upward thrust buried the spike in the soft brain.

She opened the door with a quizzical look on her face as he struggled around his car and up to the three steps to the porch. He stopped on the top and stuck out his hand with the coin purse telling her she dropped it at the restaurant. He found it while getting his crutches and the young girl at the restaurant that served them told him where he could find her to return the item. A big smile came across her face and she invited him in for a cup of coffee. He swept off the snow from his shoes and followed her in closing the door behind him. He took off his heavy coat and laid it on a chair in the small living room. The house was typical of an old lady having lived in it for so many years. Pictures hung on every available place be it a wall or a coffee table and on the TV. He wasn’t interested as she invited him to sit at the kitchen table while she made some instant coffee. While the water was coming to a boil, she asked him what his plan was for the coming year.