Chizmar, Richard - Chasing the Boogeyman by Chizmar Richard

Author:Chizmar, Richard [Chizmar, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781797125008
Amazon: 1797125001
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2021-08-16T23:00:00+00:00

4

A pair of local fishermen discovered Madeline Wilcox’s body beneath Ricker’s Bridge at approximately 8:23 a.m. on Friday, August 12—precisely forty-eight hours after she’d first been listed as a missing person.

As they approached their regular fishing spot, both men initially believed they’d stumbled upon a homeless woman sleeping, or perhaps a drunken college girl passed out. They often found signs of partying under the bridge—empty beer cans and bottles, cigarette butts, the occasional used condom—and they figured the woman was most likely sleeping it off after a particularly wild night. Her back was propped up against the old stone foundation, long legs splayed out in front of her, and her hands rested peacefully atop her stomach. Then, as they drew closer, the men realized it wasn’t a woman at all—it was a teenage girl. Her open eyes were bulging, her neck was swollen and bruised, and she was naked below the waist. She didn’t appear to be breathing. That’s when they ran for help.

Although the media wasn’t able to report many of the official details until the following day’s news cycle—by now, most members of the police department were in no mood to cooperate with journalists, local or otherwise—it didn’t really matter. Word spread like wildfire around the streets of Edgewood.

Madeline Wilcox had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled to death. Investigators had found three deep bite marks scattered across her chest and torso. Like Natasha Gallagher and Kacey Robinson before her, Madeline’s left ear had been severed and her body posed after death. Once again, there was no sign of the missing ear at the crime scene. Red marks circled her wrists and ankles, evidence of ligatures that had been removed. The killer had hidden Madeline Wilcox away, abused and tortured her at his leisure, and then disposed of her body once he was sated.

To make matters worse—if that were possible—the police now knew for certain that the killer was playing games with them. The area surrounding Ricker’s Bridge, including the shadowy confines located beneath its stone arch, had been thoroughly covered by the authorities on two separate occasions. The first time had occurred the morning of Madeline’s disappearance, within hours of her mother’s frantic phone call to 911. The second time had occurred the following afternoon, when nearly two dozen police cadets had been trucked in from the academy in downtown Baltimore to aid in the search.

Both times the area had been deemed clear, which could only mean one thing. At some point, the killer had doubled back and purposely dumped the body beneath the bridge to send police a very clear message: I’m watching your every move and I’m smarter than all of you.

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