Case #5 - Phantom of the Mall




CHAPTER ONE

Katie Spencer and her best friend, Stacey Campbell, strode into the lavish
Dolcé shoe store located in the new Colonial Center Shopping Mall just on the
outskirts of town. Since the grand opening three month ago (in November), the
Colonial Mall has become the place to go. Almost three years in development,
it replaced the aging Empire Mall down in the city, which had seen a lot of
decay and crime over the past ten years or so.

However, not long after its opening, there had been a series of isolated
incidents regarding vandalism. Nothing extreme, just more of a nuisance than
anything. The police were sure that it was the work of kids, and were
confident that they would put a stop to it soon. But there were those in the
mall that say it was actually the work of someone else, someone lurking in the
shadows, a phantom if you will. The media, always on the lookout for something
out of the ordinary to report, sensationalized the whole absurd claim, calling
the supposed mysterious figure as, "The Phantom of the Mall."

Katie too had dismissed those ridiculous allegations, preferring to side with
the police on their more plausible theory.

"I can't believe you need to get another pair of shoes for your already
immense stock," Katie said to Stacey as they browsed through the varied styles
of feminine footwear.

"Katie, a girl can never have enough shoes, I would think that even you should
know that, of course I've seen your taste in fashion," Stacey replied.

"Hey, I can be feminine ... when I want to be. It's just I don't see the logic
in having to acquire so much articles of clothing. When will you ever find the
time to wear them all?"

"Katie, must I have to teach you everything about what it means to be a
stylish teenage girl?" she said playfully.

Looking around, Katie spotted a brown leather penny loafer that would actually
go great with her school uniform. She looked at the sole and gasped at the
price marked""$75! She slowly placed it back and headed over to where Stacey
was now sitting.

A moment later, the store clerk arrived, carrying a white shoebox. He placed
it down next to Stacey's now bare feet and opened it for her. Stacey pulled
out a glittering white ankle strap sandal with a towering 5-1/2" stiletto
heel. "These will go perfect with my gown for the pageant; you can't imagine
how hard it is to find white shoes in the winter." The mall is hosting this
year's annual Winter Pageant this Saturday as part of the mall's yearlong
opening celebration. Stacey's mom had designed an exquisite white strapless
satin gown using a decorative snowflake as its main motif.

"You know Stace, as much as you adore wearing high heels as often as you do,
especially at your age, your feet are going to pay for it greatly in the long
run," Katie spoke as Stacey placed the elegant shoes on her small feet and
fastened the straps. She stood up and began walking so effortlessly in them
despite the soaring heels. After strolling around the small store, she stopped
in front of Katie, pulling up her faded jeans above her ankles. "Well, what do
you think?"

"I still don't know how you can easily walk in those uncomfortable shoes,"
Katie replied, conjuring up her own awful experience in wearing high
stiletto-heeled shoes. "But they really do look great on you though."

Stacey smiled at Katie's sincere comment. "Thanks, and besides, I know Martin
will approve of them as well. He totally loves it when I wear high heels for
him." Martin Chambers, the "Zorro" costumed boy from last year's Halloween
party that instantly melted Stacey's heart. The two of them had practically
become an inseparable pair since then, and just a few days ago on Valentine's
Day; they had now become an official 'steady' couple. Katie was very happy for
her friend, hoping though that she won't get too caught up in the whole
romance bit, but there was something about Martin that bothered her, something
in the way that he comes across in the few times she actually met him ...

Stacey sat back down and began taking off the sandals. "Speaking of boys, I'm
still looking forward to meeting your man, Jake. When he gets out we can
finally double date."

Double dating with Stacey, that'll be interesting ... Just then, a loud scream
was heard outside the shoe store. Katie immediately ran out to investigate it.
Stacey, still with one sandal on, called out to her. "Hey, wait for me to get
this off first!"

Katie didn't hear her friend as she raced to where the scream originated from.
Up ahead at a clothing store, she noticed a person lying on the floor.
Entering the store, Katie saw that it was a woman unconscious; a small pool of
blood oozed from her head. She then looked up and gasped as she saw something
that startled her; a dead raccoon hanging from the ceiling by its neck, and a
note attached with a simple message:

GET OUT!

CHAPTER TWO

The woman at the store had apparently fainted from seeing that revolting prank
and struck her head on one of the metal clothing racks. Fortunately it was
just a minor injury when she was taken to the hospital. That still didn't sit
very well with Katie as these childish acts of vandalism have now gotten
someone hurt, and she was now determined to get to the bottom of this.

Katie went to the juvenile detention center to meet with Jake. If anyone would
know about the local gang scene in town, it was him. Even though this visit
was primarily business, Katie was still looking very forward to see him. As
she anxiously waited in the small meeting room, her stomach felt a bit queasy.
So this is what butterflies in the stomach feels like ... 

The door opened and Jake Perry stepped in with a correctional officer right
behind him. "You have ten minutes," he said plainly, and closed the door,
leaving the two of them alone in the room. They instantly rushed to each other
and kissed very passionately. "Oh Jake, I missed you so much," Katie whispered
as she held onto him tight. "Me too," he replied back.

They then let go of each other and sat down at the table. "How've you been
doing so far?" she asked. Jake tried to smile. "Okay, it's not as bad as they
said it was. They let us watch TV, and I saw you getting that medal from the
President. That was very brave what you did on that train," he said with such
sincerity in his voice. Katie smiled, "Thanks. I know we're on the clock now,
so I need to ask you for a favor."

Jake got up from his seat, looking a bit agitated. "So, it's just information
you want, not just to see how I'm doing?" Katie too got up. "No, it's not like
that at all. I really do care about your stay here, and I think about you all
the time. It's just that you know the local gangs, and I need to speak to them
on some reports regarding vandalism at the new mall."

His expression now changed to that of concern, for her. "You want to meet with
the guys I hung out with?" Katie nodded 'yes'. "Ordinarily I would say 'no
way', but after hearing about you going toe-to-toe with a bunch of armed
terrorists, I guess handling a gang of kids should be a piece of cake for
you." Katie grinned at that remark. "Then will you help me?"

Jake took off a leather band from his wrist and gave it to her. "Go to the old
train station and ask for Mike Pulaski. Tell him I sent you." Katie looked at
the wristband and saw some kind of ornate design on it, probably their symbol.
She hugged him again. "Thank you, I really do appreciate it."

"You just be careful. Mike is a good guy, but I'm not 100% sure about some of
the others." He then kissed her softly on the lips. Just then, the
correctional officer entered. "Times up, Perry."

Katie let go him and smiled again, "I promise I'll be careful."

"I'll see you in a couple of months. I'm still waiting for that date." He then
waved bye to her as the officer escorted him out of the room.

Katie's eyes welled up with tears as she stood there all alone. I'm still
waiting for that date too ...

CHAPTER THREE

The next day after school, Katie rode the bus over to where the old train
station resided. It had been abandoned since as long as she could remember,
and even though it had been slated for demolition several times in the past,
for some reason it still remained. There had been recent talk in the community
to actually restore it for historical preservation.

Walking towards the dilapidated structure gave Katie a foreboding feeling. She
began to question whether going in there alone was such a good idea after all.
Shards of broken glass crunched under the soles of her black maryjane shoes.
Still wearing her uniform was also something that may not have been a good
idea. Should she need to run, her shoes were not the best for traction,
especially with the hazardous terrain she was now traversing. But she had no
choice in manner, with the sun setting early this time of the year, coming
here directly from school was her only option, unless she wished to meet with
a gang of possibly dangerous boys in the dark.

With each careful step she took, Katie cursed at herself for not thinking of
bringing along her sneakers. She did, however, bring her mini-tape recorder
tucked away in her purse, in the off chance of getting a confession.

As she approached the front entrance, Katie's nostrils picked up a scent of
something burning. With the temperature outside hovering at around 25 degrees,
a small fire would be a good idea to keep warm out here. She quietly walked
inside the spacious room of the station, and saw that the place was littered
with all kinds of garbage and debris. Katie then heard some voices close by
and proceeded cautiously to them.

Katie entered into another room and stopped for a moment, she had a strange
feeling like she was being watched. Looking behind her she saw nothing. As she
turned back forward, she rammed face first into someone. Katie let out an
involuntary shriek, as she saw a boy no more than her age standing in front of
her.

"Well, look at what we have here. Got lost on your way back home, schoolgirl?"

Katie started to slowly back away from him, but was suddenly grabbed and
lifted off her feet from behind by another boy. "Ahhh ... Let me go!" Katie
screamed, struggling furiously with him as he pinned her arms to her sides.
"Man, it looks like we got a wild one here!" he said as he held onto her fast.
As the other boy approached her, Katie quickly raised up her legs and kicked
him hard in his stomach, throwing him into a pile of debris close by. She then
immediately snapped her back and head-butted the boy that seized her. He
released his grip on her as he held his nose in pain.

Katie instantly ran back in the direction she came from, deciding to abandon
this lead all together. As she approached the exit, four more boys suddenly
appeared out of nowhere, blocking it. Her shoes skidded along the old hardwood
floor as she came to a stop. She quickly turned back, but noticed the two boys
she had already encountered, impeding the other way out as well. Katie
frantically searched around the room for another escape route, but to her fear
she could not find one""she was trapped!

"Listen, I don't want any trouble!" she spoke with a slight tremble in her
voice. "I was sent here by Jake Perry to see Mike Pulaski!" One of the four
guarding the exit, a large-built guy with tousled brown hair, began to
approach her. Katie held her ground as she readied herself for whatever might
happen next. He stopped just short of her. "I'm Mike," he then took a good
look at her. "How do you know Jake?"

"I-I was the one that got his sentence reduced," she stammered a little,
handing him the wristband.

Taking it, he looked at it carefully. "You're his new girl?" Even though it
was dimly lit inside, Katie could still see his eyes widen in obvious
surprise. "I must say you're definitely not what I was expecting. Jake must be
getting a little soft on us now, picking some Catholic schoolgirl." The other
boys began to laugh out loud.

"It just so happens that my name is Katie Spencer!" she shouted over the
laughter.

The room instantly fell silent. "Wait a second, the Katie Spencer that was
responsible for helping in getting Big Tony and his son sent to prison?" She
nodded affirmatively to him.

One of the other boys then approached her. "Hold on here," he said and took a
good look at her as well. "It is you! The girl that got that medal from the
President for stopping those terrorists, I saw her on TV!" Everyone then start
coming over to her, offering their apologies and congratulations. Katie smiled
as it felt really good to have a famous reputation now.

Katie was surprised at how friendly the boys really were; they were just
trying to scare her. She also quickly learned that none of them, or any other
boys they knew for that matter, had anything to do with the vandalism that was
plaguing the mall. Mike even informed her that they actually liked the new
mall and wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to it.

Upon leaving, Mike told her that a friend of Jake's was a friend to him, and
that if she needed any help in catching this vandal to just ask.

CHAPTER FOUR

Convinced of what the boys had told her that they were in no way involved with
the mysterious events at the new mall, Katie had then made her way over to the
police station, which was only a ten-minute walk from the old train station.
Finding out what the police have learned so far would be very helpful in
solving this case.

Stepping inside the large brick building, Katie was greeted by the desk
sergeant. "Why hello there Katie, what brings you down here on this chilly
afternoon?" he said cheerfully.

"Hello, Sergeant O'Malley, nice to see you again. Is Sergeant Ferguson in?"

"Hold on, I'll get him for you," he said and began picking up the phone.

"Oh, that's quite all right, I know where his desk is," she said, and walked
into the main room of desks filled with people walking all around. A couple of
the officers gave Katie a smile or a nod as she made her way to Ferguson's
desk. Arriving there, she noticed that he was not there. So she sat down in
the chair next to it, and waited patiently for him to return.

"Miss Spencer, I do hope you have a good reason for coming here?" a voice
called out from behind her that she instantly recognized""just great ...
Detective McGruder!

Katie slowly turned around to see him standing over her with an annoyed look
on his face. "I was just ... " she began to say.

"She's here because I asked her to," the gruff voice of Sgt. Ferguson spoke as
he approached them and sat down at his desk. "My apologies," McGruder said in
a mock tone, giving Katie a sneer as he strolled off.

When he was far enough from hearing range, Katie exhaled, "Thanks for coming
to my rescue."

"Anytime, particularly where that jerk is concerned." McGruder was obviously
not well-liked at the station as well. "Can I assume that this isn't a social
call?"

"If it's alright, I like to see any information you have on those reports of
vandalism at the Colonial Mall." Ferguson eyed her while Katie gave him a
pleading look in her eyes. He shook his head. "Okay, I'll be right back," he
said quietly and left.

Not long after, Police Chief Patrick Larson walked by and stopped at her.
"Katie Spencer, I just want to extend my congratulations on a job well done
for what you had done for our country." Katie smiled back, "Thanks, Chief
Larson."

He then turned away from her. "Everyone, let's give this young lady a round of
applause for help keeping this country safe and secure!" The sound of
thunderous applause and whistles erupted throughout the spacious room""even
McGruder reluctantly joined in. Katie sank down in her seat in total
embarrassment. "Be sure to tell your father that I said hello," he said to her
then left.

Ferguson had just returned, carrying a couple of folders with him. "So, how
does it feel to be a celebrity?"

"To tell you the truth it actually has its ups and downs," she replied.

"Come on, we'll talk in one of the interrogation rooms," he said, and led
Katie to one that was empty. After shutting the door, Ferguson sat across from
Katie and opened the folders. "Why do I get the feeling that someday you're
going to cost me my badge?"

"Well, look at it this way, you can get that condo you always wanted in Myrtle
Beach that much sooner, and pursue your golf game," she spoke as pleasant as
she could.

Ferguson began to lay out the contents of the folders in front of Katie as she
viewed them with intense scrutiny. "As you can see there isn't very much to
look at. Our only explanation at this point is some kids having a sick sense
of fun."

"I don't think that's the case here. I was able to confirm that none of the
gang of kids was responsible for these acts." Ferguson looked at her for a
moment, wondering how she came to that conclusion. "I have my 'sources' too,"
she replied to his silent comment. "Anyway, the one thing that bothers me
about some of these acts of vandalism, is that if I'm reading this right, were
apparently occurred while the mall was closed for the night. And according to
these reports, no evidence of breaking or entering of any kind was discovered,
so how could it have happened?"

Ferguson too looked at the reports and nodded his head as he came to the same
conclusion Katie did. "I must say Katie you have a very sharp eye. The
detective who's handling this case certainly has some more explaining to do.
I'll be sure to relay this to his boss." He placed the papers back into the
folders and got up. "Thanks again for your help on this, Katie. But please
promise me you're not going to pursue this investigation, let the police
handle it, okay?"

"I promise," Katie said with her hand raised, but had her other one behind her
back with her fingers crossed ...

CHAPTER FIVE

Katie returned to the mall right away after dinner, eager to hopefully uncover
some truth to those baffling incidents. She told her father that she needed to
buy something instead of saying, "Daddy, I have to go to the mall to try and
catch some crazy vandal running loose there." That most certainly would not
sit well with him. Katie really hated having to lie to her father, he did
teach her better than that, but it was often necessary in order to pursue a
mystery when one presented itself to her.

Arriving there shortly before closing, Katie first went back to the clothing
store where that cruel raccoon prank occurred. The bloodstain on the
light-shaded carpeted floor was still visible despite the best efforts at
cleaning it up completely; they'll have to replace the entire carpet. Looking
up at the ceiling to where she remembered that vile creature hung, Katie
noticed an air conditioning vent there. She recalled the statement the injured
woman gave that the raccoon appeared suddenly out of nowhere. Katie thought as
she gazed at the ventilator cover. There's now way that someone could've
climbed up and planted it without being seen, so that means it must've came
from above!

Excited by that speculation, Katie sought after one of the maintenance workers
there and inquired about the air duct system. He informed her that the ducts
were too small for a person to crawl through; however, they were large enough
to drag a dead raccoon through. After speaking with him, Katie began to think.
She was leaning on the likely possibility that the mysterious saboteur was in
fact one of the maintenance employees. It did make perfect sense, they would
have a knowledgeable layout of the inner workings of the mall, plus they would
also be able to gain access without breaking in or out.

Of course that was all theory, for Katie to crack this case before the police
do; she was going to need some hard evidence. Going to where the workers
convened would be the best place to start. Unfortunately, that was located in
the basement level of the mall and was restricted only to authorize personnel,
of course that never stopped Katie before. She found one of the entrances
leading to the basement, but as suspected, it was locked. As she stood there
figuring what her next would be, a voice over the speakers announced that the
mall was closing in fifteen minutes. Katie thought it best to leave anyway, as
she would be able to come up some kind of plan to gain access by tomorrow.

When she exited the mall, she proceeded to the bus stop. On her way there,
Katie caught a shadow pass by the corner of her eye. She turned and thought
that she saw a person move swiftly in the cold night. Katie turned and decided
to follow the shadowy figure. Over at one side of the mall, under one of the
streetlights, Katie caught a good glimpse of the mysterious stranger. It was
definitely a man by the size of him, and he was dressed rather peculiar, all
in black with what looked like a cape extending down to his knees. She
couldn't get a look at his face as his back was facing her, so Katie quietly
walked closer to him.

A small clanging sound was heard as Katie accidentally kicked a soda can that
was lying on the ground, which startled him. He quickly ran from the light and
back into the darkness. No longer concerned about being subtle anymore, Katie
quickly gave chase. Being that he was bigger than her, plus with the head
start he already had, Katie was losing him in the pursuit. She could see that
he rounded a corner towards the back end of the mall. Arriving there quickly
enough, Katie saw no sign of him!

The loading dock area was wide open, so there weren't any places someone could
hide; it was like he vanished into thin air. Katie headed over to the one of
the truck ramps and stopped to catch her breath. She had a very puzzled look
on her face as she still saw no trace of him. Okay, just what in the heck is
going on here? ...

CHAPTER SIX

By the time morning arrived, Katie abandoned her original plan on getting to
the basement of the mall, since she couldn't come up with an idea on sneaking
in without being noticed anyway, and decided instead to investigate that
mysterious person she encountered last night. She was starting to believe that
maybe those sightings of a 'phantom' running around the mall were in fact
true. Well, who ever that guy was he's sure good at hiding.

Katie remembered that today is the Winter Pageant and that she volunteered to
help with the show. Since she needed to be at the mall by 11 AM for the setup
of the stage, Katie left the house a little early to allow herself enough time
to conduct her investigation first.

Arriving at the mall by bus, Katie headed straight back to the loading dock
where she lost that stranger just hours ago. With the sun shining brightly
now, Katie could see the layout much better. Moving closer to the building,
she spotted something of interest that she didn't notice before""a manhole
cover. Crouching right over it, Katie could see faint scratches on the
pavement indicating that it had been moved. Could our mystery man be entering
the mall through here?

With the dock deserted at the moment, Katie attempted to pry open the cover,
but it wouldn't budge. She then recalled that you need a special metal rod
that fits into the small hole in order to open it. Not wanting to give up,
Katie searched around to try and find a suitable substitute for opening the
cover. Lying on the dead grass nearby was a small branch that had fallen next
to a large oak tree. She picked it up and noticed that is was sturdy enough.
Taking it back to the cover, Katie inserted the broken end through the hole.
It wouldn't fit in smoothly so she had to wedge it through until it was in far
enough. Using all her strength, Katie pulled on the branch and managed to just
open it. Using her hands, she squeezed her slender fingers through the narrow
opening and was able to push the cover completely off.

The hole led down to a passageway. Katie then took hold of the metal ladder
and began climbing down. When she was just below the opening, she grabbed the
cover and closed it behind her, plunging her small world in darkness ...

CHAPTER SEVEN

After traveling about a hundred feet through the underground passageway, Katie
finally reached a door and opened it. She could see that she was in the
basement, where she planned on going in the first place. Walking along the
lighted corridor, she heard some voices approaching in her direction!

Katie gasped as she tried to figure out what to do, if they saw her she would
be in big trouble, and could forget about helping with the pageant. Thinking
quickly she dashed into a nearby supply closet and shut the door quietly.

Standing tensely inside the darkened room, Katie could hear two men walking
by. They were talking about how cute the teenage girls were that visited the
mall, and judging by the tone of their voices, they sounded like they could be
old enough to be their fathers. Katie's stomach turned at hearing that. The
perverted fantasies of grown men ... 

While Katie waited until the coast was clear, she heard a faint noise.
Listening more carefully, she definitely heard sounds of something moving from
above. Katie reached the wall for a light switch and turned it on. She looked
up and noticed the ceiling was comprised of drop panels. Behind her was a tall
metal shelf that extended almost up to the ceiling and that gave Katie an
idea. She climbed the tall structure all the way to the top and reached out
with her arm to pop open one of the panels. She then lifted her small frame
through the ceiling and onto a metal girder.

Looking all around, Katie saw air ducts, pipes of all sizes, and row after row
of girders just like the one she now stood on. She then heard the noise again
in the distance, and placed the ceiling panel back before heading over to it.
Katie had to crouch down a bit in the confined space as she carefully made her
way along the narrow girder. She used one of the air ducts that ran along
beside her to maintain her balance so she wouldn't fall through the faux
ceiling.

Katie couldn't help but be enthralled by the inner workings of a building such
as this, the amount of planning and work that went into the construction of
it. It was like a whole other world in here. Katie realized that this is how
the vandal was able to move around without being spotted, she suspected that
all the levels of the mall had trails similar to this.

She heard yet another noise and it sounded like that it came from a large
metallic structure up ahead. Upon reaching it, she noticed a hatch-type door
and opened it. Katie stuck her head through and felt heat as she assumed that
the boiler room was close by. Looking down from where she was, Katie saw a
ladder attached to the wall leading to the floor. She crawled through the
hatch feet first and carefully climbed down.

The noises were now coming from behind a door nearby that was ajar. Proceeding
with utmost caution, she stepped very softly to the door and peered inside.
Katie couldn't see much of anything, so she gently opened the door and quietly
walked through. There were pipes overhead and she squatted underneath them as
she entered into what appeared to be some kind of storage room. Katie
immediately saw a figure sitting down over in one corner with his back to her;
she could tell right away it was that man from last night.

Suddenly, he stood up and turned around as he sensed her presence. Getting a
good look at his face, Katie's jaw dropped at what she saw; the right side was
completely deformed like it had been burned to the bone. He looked back at her
with a frightening glare. Katie stepped back in utter fear and turned to run
out, but unfortunately she struck her head on one of the pipes with a bone
bruising CLANG! The last thing she remembered was seeing stars flashing ...

CHAPTER EIGHT

Darkness gave way to light, and images began to come into focus as Katie woke
up. Her head ached as if someone was pounding on it with a hammer. As she
regained full consciousness, Katie could tell that she was lying on her back.
Looking around, she suddenly saw "him" kneeling right next her. Instantly, she
lifted herself up and attempted to move away from him, but realized she
couldn't. Katie quickly discovered that she was bound hand and foot with duct
tape. Regardless of her situation she still tried to slither away as panic now
came over her.

He reached out for her and Katie let out the loudest scream she had ever
uttered. The man immediately clamped one of his large hands over her mouth,
stifling her piercing cry for help. "No screaming!" he spoke with a raspy
tone. Katie looked at him with terrified eyes at his absolutely grotesque
features and nodded her head indicating that she understood him. He then
slowly released his hand from her quivering lips""Katie remained silent.
"Good," he spoke again and sat back down, lowering his face from her.

Katie calmed down and fidgeted at her bound wrists behind her back. Seeing
that, he looked back at her. "Sorry for tying you up like that, but it was
necessary to keep you under control."

"Could you please release me now, I promise I won't run off again," she
pleaded with him.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, I can't take that chance. Not when I'm so
close now."

Katie looked puzzled, "So close for what?"

He rose up and walked over towards the other end of the room. Katie kept her
gaze on him and spotted a cot with a box full of food and bottles of water
next to it. He actually lives here? Looking on the wall facing her, she saw a
bunch of newspaper clippings that were displayed on it. Katie squinted her
eyes as she read them. They were news reports about a fire that broke out at
some house. The cause of the fire was by an apparent electrical short; a
family of four died in the blaze. One of the clippings showed a picture of the
family that was killed: mother, father, and two adorable looking little girls.
Katie looked carefully at it and to her shock she noticed that the father in
the pic was in fact her captor!

She whipped her back at the misshapen figure approaching back at her. He saw
the look of surprise on her face and realized that she figured it out. "So,
now you know the truth," he spoke remorsefully, and sat down beside her. Katie
could see a tear form in his one good brown eye; she began to feel regret for
him now. "I'm very sorry for your loss," she said softly.

His expression suddenly changed to that of anger. "What do you know of loss?!"

"I know enough! My mother died from breast cancer," she shot back with
conviction in her voice.

His face softened up a bit at her response. "I'm sorry for saying that, it's
just that my family was murdered senselessly."

"Murdered? But the clipping said that the fire was caused by accident," she
said all confused.

He laughed at her statement. "No my dear, it was no accident, the people who
built this damn mall were the ones responsible."

Now Katie looked even more perplexed, "I don't understand?..."

The man then sat down next to her. Katie gave him her full attention as he
spoke. "About four years ago some development company was buying out houses
all over this area to make room this glorious mall you see here, but I
wouldn't sell. My home had been in my family for five generations, too many
memories there. Anyway, they gave me such a generous offer, but it wasn't
about the money. You can't put a price tag on someone's heritage. My house was
the only left, and they couldn't throw me out legally. But then one night I
came home late from work, and to my horror I saw my house up in flames. I
rushed in to see if my wife and kids were still inside. I did manage to find
them, but it was too late ... they were already dead."

Katie looked all choked up at his sad monologue. After a long pause he then
continued, "I tried to get myself out, but the roof collapsed over me. I
thought I was dead, but somehow by some miracle, I survived ... only to look
like this!!" he screamed, pointing at his monstrous face. "My family was all
that I had, and since everyone assumed that I was dead also, I've been biding
my time, waiting until I can make those murderers pay and avenge my family."

During his speech, Katie quickly scanned the family pic again to find his name
posted on it""Thomas Bentley. "Thomas, seeking revenge isn't going to bring
your family back. Look, I know some people in the police force, if it truly
was arson that caused the fire; I can arrange to get the case reopened. Let
the justice system bring those who were responsible for your family's tragic
death to pay for their crimes."

Thomas got up again and paced around restlessly. He then shook his head, "No,
they would never find the proof, nothing would be changed, but I can still do
something. At first I tried to coerce the other stores to leave in order to
hurt the mall's business, but that didn't seem to work. However, something
better has now come to my attention to enact my revenge."

"What are you planning on doing?" Katie asked not knowing if she wanted to
hear the answer.

"For the first time since the grand opening all of the heads of the mall are
going to be here for that Winter Pageant. I'm going to arrange a little
'accident' that will ensure none of them will survive even if it means
sacrificing some innocent people in the process."

Katie reacted to that statement with alarm. "Thomas, please don't do this, my
family and friends are going to be there! I know you're a good man deep down.
You've been through such a traumatic experience and your hurting inside. But
if you kill those people then you'll be as much of a monster as they are."

He looked at her desolately, as he ripped off a strip of duct tape and then
approached her. Realizing what that was for, Katie talked fast, "Look, it's
still not too late to back ou ... mmmmmppphhh!" Thomas pressed the silver tape
smoothly over Katie's lips, sealing them shut. "I'm very sorry, but I must do
what needs to be done, I won't rest until they're all dead now."

"Hhhhmmmm Mmmmm Mmm," Katie mumbled wordlessly at him through the tape gag.

Thomas went back to the cot and grabbed his black cape, putting it on his
shoulders. He then placed a white mask over his deformed face. Katie stared at
him as he was practically a spitting image of the Phantom of the Opera from
the famous Broadway play. He's sure taking this 'phantom' image seriously ...

"When it's all over, I'll be sure to let someone know that you're down here,"
and with that Thomas Bentley, the Phantom of the Mall, disappeared through the
exit, leaving Katie all alone bound, gagged, and at the moment completely
helpless to stop him.

CHAPTER NINE

In the makeshift backstage of the pageant, Stacey had just finished clasping
on her lucky silver anklet then stood up from her seat, letting the shimmering
white snowflake gown she wore cascade almost to the floor. She gazed at
herself in the full-length mirror as she adjusted a snowflake ribbon in her
hair, which was done up in a stylish coif, while her mother, Lynda, looked
upon her daughter with absolute joy. "You my dear are going to be hands down
the loveliest contestant today," she said and kissed Stacey on the cheek.
"Thank you so much again for the dress, mom. I've never seen anything so
gorgeous as this," Stacey replied as she almost broke down in tears and hugged
her mom.

Just then, Charles Spencer entered the small, curtained-off room. "I'm sorry
for intruding ladies, but has either one of you seen Katie yet?" His tone
sounded troubled even though he tried his best to conceal it.

"I'm sorry, Charles, but we haven't seen her since we got here. I know that
she had volunteered to help setup the stage, but for some reason she didn't
show," Lynda replied back as she too was concerned.

"Thanks," he muttered softly. "You look very beautiful, Stacey," he spoke up
kindly.

"Thank you, Dr. Spencer. And I really wouldn't worry about Katie; she probably
got tied up somewhere at the moment."

Back down in the storage room, Katie continued to struggle feverishly against
the firmness of the duct tape, but it wouldn't budge. Man, tape sure holds
differently than rope, there's no way I'm going break through this ... Looking
around the sparse room, Katie tried to find something she could use to cut
through the strong tape. Not seeing much where she was, Katie rolled herself
over at the other end of the room to where the cot rested.

Looking into the box of food, Katie saw something of interest""a glass jar of
pickles. Grabbing it out of the box with her bound hands, Katie smashed the
jar against the metal floor; the pungent odor of pickle juice tingled her
nostrils. She looked behind her as she carefully picked up one of the larger
shards of glass, and positioned the pointed end at the tape binding her
wrists. Moving her fingers gently as not to accidentally cut herself, Katie
began to slowly saw through the fabric tape.

After what seemed like an eternity, Katie could feel the tape loosen a bit. A
couple more passes with the glass, she broke her hands free of the tape! She
instantly ripped the sticky piece of tape from her mouth and worked on freeing
her bound ankles. Once that was done, Katie stood up and headed for the door,
being mindful of the pipes this time. She could imagine the bruise she must
have on her forehead.

Opening the heavy door, Katie bolted out and headed straight for the pageant
before the Phantom would very likely claim the lives of dozens of people!

CHAPTER TEN

The sounds of music playing was heard as Katie reached the main level of the
mall, which meant the pageant had already started. Katie knew full well that
she was no match for the massive phantom, as she was going to need some help
in stopping him.

The main rotunda of the mall was decorated like some magical winter
wonderland, complete with a huge snowflake sculpture hanging in the center.
Katie kept to the sidelines of the festivities, eyeing the people that were
present. She knew that Thomas wouldn't be there among them, most likely
instead hiding someplace close by. Katie spotted her father and Karen sitting
near the front row enjoying the show. As much as she would love to be sitting
next to them at this moment, she kept her distance for confronting her father
was the last thing she needed right now.

There were a few security guards standing alert. She contemplated on asking
them for help, but would they even believe that some masked maniac was about
to commit mass murder? Most likely not. Ironic that even though their function
was to the well being of the patrons of the mall, their role was now
considered useless.

"Hey, Katie Spencer!" a voice called out from behind her. Katie spun around on
the ball of her foot and saw Mike Pulaski standing there. "Ouch ... what
happened to your forehead?" he asked all concerned as he noticed the large
bruise on her head. "It's a long story ... " she replied as it still felt
sore, then looked a bit surprised at his presence. "I must say I never
would've expected to find you here."

He gave her a quizzical look. "What's wrong with me being here?"

"Not to sound stereotypical, but you don't strike me as the kind of guy who
would attend a social gathering such as this."

He then smirked back at her. "I see ... the big tough gang man too macho to be
associated with 'sappy' things. For your information, and this is strictly
kept between us, I happen to have a sensitive side to me."

Katie felt embarrassed. "I'm very sorry for judging you like that, I had no
right."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I guess I had it coming what with my bad reputation
and all. Besides, I really came here for that," he pointed to the stage and
Katie turned to see Stacey making her grand entrance. Katie paused for a
moment while she marveled at how stunning Stacey looked in that fanciful gown.
If it weren't for the fact that she was petite, Stacey definitely had the
potential to be a supermodel.

She happened to notice Mike gazing at her like some silly love-struck boy.
"Man, I tell you, could you find a more beautiful girl than her?"

"I hate to burst your bubble there, but she's currently involved with
someone."

"Well, I would've expected that, a girl of that babe caliber should be. Lucky
dude whoever he is ... "

Katie's eyes twinkled as she came up with an idea. "Mike, remember when you
told that if I needed help in catching that vandal to just ask?"

"Yeah sure," he replied.

"Well, I'm asking for your help now."

Mike looked torn between the secret object of his desire and his solemn word,
which anyone that knew him would tell you that he regarded it very highly.
"Okay, the show's just starting anyway. What do you need me to do?"

"We need to talk in private first," she said, and led Mike away from the
crowd. When they were far enough, she spoke, "Do you recall hearing about
those crazy reports of some phantom running around loose in this mall?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, and if you ask me it sounds like some publicity stunt to
sell more newspapers."

"Well, it's true, and I've seen him. Mike, he's going to kill people here at
the pageant if he's not stopped."

Katie then noticed Mike's attention suddenly drifting upwards. "What's that?"
he asked pointing up.

Turning her head, Katie gasped as she saw a figure in black crawling on one of
the overhead beams. "It's him!" she exclaimed. Seeing where he was headed,
Katie figured out how he was going to commit his plan; the enormous snowflake
hanging precariously over the large crowd of people!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Katie watched in horror as the Phantom made his way slowly but surely towards
the cable that tethered the gigantic snowflake. "We got to warn those people
to safety!" she said and turned to where Mike stood only to see him running
off towards the stairway. "Where are you going!?" she asked.

"I'm going to try and stop him, or at least hold him off until the police
arrive!" he yelled back as he took off on the stairs two at a time. Katie
instead ran back to the pageant at top speed.

The host for the pageant stepped up to the stage holding a microphone. "Now,
let's give a round of applause to all our lovely contestants here!" he
announced. The thunderous sound of clapping resonated throughout the large
open space as Katie trudged her way through the crowd of people and headed
towards the stage. Reaching it, she pushed the host aside and grabbed the
microphone from his hand. "Hey, just what do you think you're doing?" he said
to her perturbed.

"Attention, I need everyone to evacuate the area immediately in a clam and
orderly manner!" her voice blared through the speakers positioned around the
stage. Katie saw her father standing up looking at her with a blank stare on
his face. Suddenly, a woman's shriek was then heard. "Look, it's the Phantom!"
she yelled, pointing up. Everyone looked up as well and then began to flee the
area in a panicked state.

Before Charles Spencer could get to his daughter, people rushing out overran
him. Katie saw that as an opportunity to make a break for it. She noticed
Stacey standing close by with a confused look on her face. "Katie, what's
going on?" she asked. "I'll explain later, just please get off this stage
right now," Katie replied and rushed off towards the nearest stairwell.

"RRRRRROOOOOOWWWWWW!!!" a voice echoed throughout the entire rotunda. Katie
paused and noticed that it came from Thomas as he was no doubt enraged that
his maniacal plot had now failed. She continued on her trek up to the third
level.

Racing up to the top, Katie looked down over the railing and saw to her relief
that the entire seating area was now deserted of people. Looking back up she
could see Thomas kneeling over the cable with an axe in his hand. Making his
way towards him was Mike crawling on the same beam.

"Thomas! Please come down, it's over!" Katie shouted out to him in an effort
to divert his attention away from Mike who was sneaking up behind him. Thomas
took off the mask and glared at Katie with a look of both anger and betrayal.
The sounds of police sirens were soon heard outside approaching rapidly. "You
ruined everything!" he yelled back at Katie.

"I'm sorry, really. But I can't let you take innocent lives, even if some of
them weren't so innocent." Katie saw that Mike was almost upon him. Thomas
seemed to notice her look and turned around, swinging the axe at Mike. He
nearly lost his balance as the sharp blade missed his chest by mere inches.
Thomas rushed at him and Mike began to back away to distance himself from that
dreaded axe. Thomas swung the axe again, and Mike managed to avoid it by
moving his torso to the left. Unfortunately he extended himself out a little
too much and tipped over the side of the beam. The sounds of shrieking cries
were heard as Mike began to plummet. But as good fortune would have it, he
barely grabbed hold of the bottom of the beam and dangled perilously fifty
feet up in the air!

Thomas then went over to finish him off. "Thomas, please stop! You're not a
killer, you were a loving father and husband!" Katie screamed at him. He
turned around seeing the scared look on her face; he stopped as he regained
his senses and crawled back over to the cable. The sounds of policemen stormed
into the mall, and quickly took positions at firing at the Phantom if
necessary. "You up there!" the head officer shouted, "Come on down and give
yourself up!" A couple of officers along with some security guards began
climbing up some stairs as they went about to rescue Mike.

"Corporate heads of the mall, hear me!" he yelled out to the watching crowd,
"You murdered my family, and you tried to kill me! Since I can't take your
lives, then I will take your mall!" He then chopped repeatedly at the thick
cable with the axe. A gunshot was heard as an officer opened fire. "Hold your
fire, there's other people up there," the head officer said. The metal cable
began to screech and break apart. Thomas reached down and grabbed it, then
looked over to Katie and gave her a tranquil smile. A moment later the cable
snapped and the immense weight of the snowflake dragged him off the beam.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Katie screamed as the snowflake with Thomas came crashing
down with a deafening roar. The whole rotunda was engulfed in white dust.

The mall stood eerily quiet as the dust slowly settled. The entire pageant
layout was completely obliterated along with most of the rotunda floor.

The soft sounds of sobbing were then heard as Katie quietly wept.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The snow outside gleamed a tint of muted orange against the setting sun. It
had fallen last night and was still very light and fluffy as Katie walked
through it across the vast expanse of the Pine Grove cemetery. Counting the
rows of snow-covered headstones, Katie found the one she was looking for and
proceeded over to it.

During her short stint as a junior detective, bringing the bad guys to justice
seemed very cut and dry, but now her perception of catching crooks had been
forever altered as Katie witnessed first hand that what was considered
criminal behavior wasn't quite so black and white anymore. The human soul was
definitely a complex issue.

She soon stopped in front of a headstone and stared at it. It read simply:
"Bentley". The names of all four family members were engraved on it. Since no
actual bodies were discovered in the fiery blaze, one plot was dug for
interment. However, a second burial was now added as Thomas had finally joined
his family.

Katie bent down and placed the small bouquet of flowers she was holding to the
foot of the headstone. "Hi, it's Katie again. I just wanted to inform you of
good news that someone from the mall had come forward about the truth of the
fire. The police have reopened the case and the D.A. is planning on indicting
the owners of the mall on a range of charges that should get them lengthy
prison terms."

A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped at it. "Now you can truly rest in
peace with your family. Farewell ... Thomas Bentley."