"With each step I took the sea of petals brushed against my ankles. I laughed from the tickling they gave me as they waved in the fall breeze. I clutched a variety of different shapes and sizes until I felt I had collected the perfect amount for my aunt. It seemed a shame to pick them, but I knew she would love them.
"The man waited patiently for me to finish and return to the woods. As we began to walk back into the woods he once again offered me his hand, happily I took it. I was so pleased with flowers that I couldn't stop gazing at them. I never saw the hammer before he embedded it into my skull.
"When I awoke, I remember thinking why did I go to sleep in the forest? I was lying on my back and looking up into the sky. The sky was not as bright as I remembered it. It was then that began to notice feeling a very strange warm sensation between my legs. I tried to move my head, but it felt too heavy to move. I looked down and could see my shirt had been ripped open and I saw red as if someone had spilled paint on me. It wasn't until I kept seeing my bare foot raise up and down in a rapid motion did I realize the man was taking away my innocence. My arms were flat on the ground above my head. I did not know what to do. I tried to speak, but could not. Suddenly he began moving faster until his grunts became moans. During this time he never looked at me and did not know I was watching him. His body tensed and his head jerked up and his eyes locked with mine. His face was the same color as the smearing on my torn blouse. When I saw his face I discovered it was not paint. He bared his teeth and they dripped with my blood. I heard him cry out and then I felt his release inside of me.
"He slowly lowered his body on mine and began to laugh until his laughter became uncontrollable weeping. The last thing I felt and saw was the claw of the hammer being jerked from my head."
Tears streamed down Shelton's face. The story had been overwhelming for her. James was certain it had forced his captain to remember her own nightmare in the schoolyard.
"Why didn't he kill you?" asked James.
"I believe he thought I was already dead. When he struck me with the hammer it placed me into a type of coma. I could not respond, but I was aware of everything he was doing to me."
"Then what happened?"
"The next morning a member of the militia was on patrol. He left the path to relieve himself when he saw my body. He called to his comrade that he had found something in the woods. His comrade joined him and they very quickly discovered that I was not dead. They carried me into the village and contacted their commanding officials. They were able to tell by the savagery that had been done to my body and skull, that I had been a victim of the Rostov Ripper."
"How many murders had been attributed to him by this time?" asked Shelton.
"34," said Stasya in a matter of fact tone.
"How long did you remain in the coma?" asked James.
"I remained in a coma for eight months. Under different circumstances the Soviet government would have let me die."
"Why?" asked Shelton.
"There is no use for a 13–year-old Russian girl left for dead in the woods. Unless she is the victim of the most wanted serial killer in the Soviet Union. When the KGB learned I was a victim of this murderer, they took charge over me. The militia was then removed from the case. I was the only known victim to have survived an attack by Andrei Chikatilo and they wanted to keep it secret. I was placed in a military hospital reserved for only generals and diplomats. When I regained consciousness I came to understand why the KGB worked so diligently to keep me alive. I was pregnant."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Pregnant
Both James and Shelton could not believe what they were hearing, but listened in astonishment as Stasya continued.
"Not only had I survived an attack by this monster, but I was also carrying his seed."
"Did you have the child?" asked Shelton.
"Yes."
James suddenly felt sick to his stomach but he knew he had to speak his thoughts. "The sisters— Tarista and Devonia—they're your daughters, aren't they?"
"Yes, Inspector James they are."
The statement hung in the air as only silence filled the room. For several moments no one spoke. James stood up and walked back to the front of interview room seven, staring at the twins. They too stared back at him. He turned back to Stasya. "So just exactly what are we doing here, Commander?" he asked.
"I am trying to help you understand what you are dealing with Inspector."
"So help me understand."
"You cannot apply traditional interviews procedures with them. You must be prepared before you make any attempt to speak."
"Prepared in what way? They're criminals, nothing more."
"That is untrue and you know it Inspector. To walk inside that room with either of them unprepared would be the biggest mistake of your life."
"Then what would you have me do? Douse them with holy water?"
"Evil doesn't fear such superstitious rituals of sacrament," she said with a steadfast conviction as she slammed the King James Bible down on the table. "But all evil trembles at the word of God."
Silence filled the room again as James ran his hand through his hair. He was exhausted and frustrated, but for the first time since the Carlyle murder, it seemed questions might finally begin to get answered. He slowly made his way back to the table, taking the seat next to Shelton.
"I don't believe in God," said James.
"You will by time you leave here today."
"You make it sounds like Inspector James is about to meet the devil times two," said Shelton.
Stasya smirked at Shelton. "Make no mistake Captain Shelton, Inspector James, the evil that sits inside those two rooms is a very old evil."
"What do you mean old evil?" inquired Shelton.
"I mean, it goes all the way back to the book of Genesis."
James shook his head, "You can't expect me to believe any of this angel and demons bullshit. It's not real. The fact of the matter is some people do very bad things. Evil is a label we slap on it. We invent God and the Devil so that somehow it all makes sense and that life isn't that random."
"Why do you deny the facts witnessed by your eyes? You don't remember being dragged through hell? You don't remember the faceless man forging the nails that would crucify our Lord? Or the black winged angel who presented the Roman soldier with the Spear of Destiny?" said Stasya as her voice grew louder, causing her to stand up. James stood in response to her obvious rise in escalating frustration with him. He backed away as she approached him and grabbed him by the arm.
"What are you doing?" he shouted.
"You are going to lie to me and tell me you do not remember room 1219 full of dead film stars watching that man rape the love of your youth Julie Anne Jackson?" screamed Stasya as she pushed James closer and closer to the glass of interview station seven. "And you don't remember Kritzler? The endless line of Jewish girls? Edmund Frayker? Nazi's? The man in White? Kirkland being led away into the darkness by the girl?" she screamed as she spun James like a top and slammed his face into the two-way glass and pointed at Tarista. "OR HER RAPING YOU?"
Stasya was now in a fit of uncontrolled anger. Tarista and Devonia began to both scream, shout and laugh at James as they violently jerked at their restraints. Shelton stepped in and pushed Stasya away from James. "ENOUGH!"
Stasya backed away and composed herself as Shelton checked on James. "You okay, Tommy?" James nodded he was. "Okay, let's everyone chill out," demanded Shelton. Stasya quickly nodded in agreement.
"Forgive me, Inspector James. I don't know how I lost control over myself," apologized Stasya.