Page 76 of Girl, Undone
‘Anything at his office?’
Ella let the papers slip through her fingers.‘A lot.Tanner’s our guy, no question.He’s been documenting the details of every murder, and it’s all written like some psychology textbook.The guy is out of his mind.’
There was a moment of silence.‘What?’
‘I’ll explain later, but we need to find out where he is.’
‘Hold up, I’m driving back.I got two guys here watching his house in case he comes home.’
‘He’s still in Cedarburg because the janitor here saw him earlier.He can’t be too far away – but where?’
Ripley’s deep breaths crackled down the line.‘He’s documenting everything, you say?’
‘Everything, from the pre-abduction M.O.to the killing methods.These pages can secure four life sentences.’
‘Anything about a fifth victim in there?Plans, notes, anything?’
Ella madly rifled through Maxwell Tanner's papers.Each page she turned sent her deeper into the maelstrom of Tanner's bizarre psyche.She pressed a palm to her forehead in a moment of overwhelming frustration, because what if she was too late?What if, even now, Tanner was enacting his most heinous experiment yet?The idea that another victim might be suffering, that she might be powerless to stop it, clawed at her with talons of panic.
‘I don’t know.I’m reading the ramblings of a deluded monster.’
‘But nothing is accidental with this guy,’ Ripley said.‘He doesn’t act on impulse, he plans everything in advance.Whatever he’s doing, it’s premeditated.’
Ella flipped to the final pages of the manuscript.
‘You’re right, it’s just…’ she trailed off as she caught sight of something.Something that made her blood heat up to infernal levels.‘Oh, Jesus.’
‘What?I’m doing ninety down the freeway.I’ll be there in ten.’
There, in printed text, was an overview of Maxwell’s Tanner's grand design.
Three quarters of it had been crossed out.
And only one section remained.
In the concluding segment of my extensive study, I intend to explore the quintessential fear of heights.This primal dread, ingrained deeply within the human psyche, offers a unique vantage point from which to scrutinize the intersection of physiological response and psychological torment.
The experiment will methodically evaluate the subject's reaction when confronted with the imminent threat of a precipitous fall.The subject will be positioned at a significant elevation, secured only minimally to instill a profound sense of vulnerability.The anticipation of the fall, rather than the fall itself, will serve as the primary stimulus.
The selection of the subject for this final experiment will be based on a demonstrated acute phobia of heights, ensuring that the induced fear is not merely theoretical but deeply personal and palpable.It is my hypothesis that the fear of heights, when amplified to its zenith, can induce a state of psychological disarray that transcends conventional fear, touching upon the very essence of human survival instinct.
‘Heights,’ Ella shouted.‘He’s testing someone with a fear of heights.’
‘That’s what it says?’
‘Right here.That’s his final experiment.’
‘Shit, where could he do that?Elevator?Mountain?’
Ella stood frozen, as if nails had been driven through her feet.Her mind spun wildly, trying to thread threading through every conceivable lead and bit of evidence she’d gathered, trying to conjure a face, a name, anyone who could be the final victim in Maxwell's series.And where in Cedarburg could he exploit such a fear to its fullest?A bridge?A tall building under construction?An abandoned tower?
‘No mountains around here.Wisconsin is flat.An elevator would need to be indoors.He couldn’t drag a body up to the top of a building.’
Her thoughts raced — not just where, but who?Who had Maxwell been observing in secret, someone possibly hidden in plain sight, their fear of heights known only to him?
No.All of Maxwell’s victims were from the therapy group.
Then, like a torchlight finding its path in the dark, a memory of her first session at the therapy group emerged.
