Page 45 of Let Her Live

Frank merely cackled.

Jake looked at Fiona, raising an eyebrow. This wasn't what he expected from a serial killer who wanted to eradicate something he hated. Frank was acting like a child with a temper tantrum. But if he was on drugs, that could explain his behavior too.

"So, you wanted to hurt him," Jake said. "Then what?"

"I will eat him, one day," Frank said. "I'll eat him like the rest of my kind. I'm the alpha, and I'll eat them all."

Jake leaned back in his chair. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. These were the ramblings of a true madman.

"He's going to learn," Frank said. "He's going to learn before it's too late."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fiona asked, leaning forward.

"I've almost broke him," Frank said. "He's going to learn that I should have had his head on a goddamn pike. I'll leave so many filthy, rotten corpses on the land, he'll run away, begging to be away from it!"

Jake frowned, still puzzled. But Frank's strange and obscure motives were slowly starting to make sense, at least for the animal killings. "So you wanted to defile his property with these corpses," Jake said. "You realize that you defiled your own in turn, right? That alligator corpse in your trailer was in a heavy state of decay. Breathing that in is not healthy."

Frank just laughed at him. "I'll eat you all, and make you suffer," he said. "They'll all suffer. I just wanted to make it clear that I'm the king, now, and they're all going to learn their place."

Jake leaned back in his chair, unsure of what to say. Frank Barber was slipping into total insanity. No—he'd already arrived and had caused a horrific path of destruction in his wake.

"I'm not worried about me," Frank said. "I'm worried about that wretch's land. I'll make sure it's a dumping ground for all of his enemies. The whole place will be like a graveyard, a cemetery, haunted by the spirits of the dead, brought into the world of the living by their murderer!"

Jake's heart dropped. Frank was clearly disturbed—but this was a whole new level of disturbing.

Jake and Fiona exchanged a look, and he saw the same shock in her eyes that he felt.

"But you've killed off your own property too," Jake said. "You're a murderer, too. That's why you killed those men, right, Frank?"

Frank laughed more. "Squirrels, gators, rabbits—those animals are going to haunt his

"The people, Frank," Jake said sternly. Confessing about the animal killings wasn't enough—he needed Frank to acknowledge that he'd killed the men and tied them to cypress trees. That was why they were really here.

"Nope, animals only," Frank said. He sank in his chair, the spark fading from his eyes as though whatever drug he was on was wearing off. "Ah... I gotta get out of here," he said.

"You're not going anywhere, Frank," Jake said. "Tell me about the men. About the cypress trees."

But Frank's eyes began to flutter shut like he was drifting off into a sudden sleep.

"He's out," Fiona whispered to Jake.

"Damn it," Jake said. He rushed into the hallway of the police station and shouted, "Get a paramedic in here now!"

A paramedic rushed into the room,where Frank Barber was unconscious, slumped in his chair, a smile on his face. The paramedic reached for Frank's wrist.

"He's in a really low state," the paramedic said. "I need to get him to a hospital."

Jake's heart sank. Great, just what they needed. Their obvious suspect was about to be dragged away.

"I need maximum security on him," Jake said. "An officer must be by him at all times."

"I need to take him to the hospital," the paramedic said.

"You can take him, but an officer has to be with you the whole time," Jake said. "And make sure he's chained to the bed."

The paramedic nodded and hauled the limp, unconscious Frank Barber onto a stretcher. He rushed out of the room—Frank was about to be booked into lockup on major charges.

"I can't believe this," Fiona said to Jake as soon as the paramedic was out of the room.

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