Page 39 of Everything She Feared

A photo of Belyayev’s uncle appears.

“Let’s begin at the beginning,” Sonya says, “starting with Chikatilo’s life, then take us through the case history.”

For the next hour Belyayev gives an account of how Chikatilo came to be, his career as a teacher, then clerk, along with his evolution into a serial killer of more than fifty known victims. The professor discusses how Chikatilo thrived as a murderer under the old Soviet system for more than a decade. Finally a five-year investigation led to his capture, trial and death sentence. He was executed with a bullet to the back of his head at a military prison in western Russia in 1994 and buried in an unmarked grave.

The professor discusses the case with Shane and Sonya while taking questions texted to the show from its worldwide audience. The episode winds down with the hosts thanking Belyayev, who logs off.

“That was fantastic,” Sonya says.

“Incredible case. We were so fortunate to have Professor Belyayev as our guest. He was excellent.”

“Now, a few notes about future episodes before we sign off,” Sonya says. “In one of our upcoming segments, we’ll take a deep dive into the case of Herman and Magda Vryker. They were a husband-and-wife team responsible for several murders in 1994 and 1995 across Montana, Idaho and Washington.”

“In this case, the bodies of their victims were never found,” Shane says. “I’ll let Sonya give you some details.”

“In prison, Magda changed her story about knowing the locations of the victims. She served her time and, after her release with no further conditions, remained silent before disappearing off the grid. Our guest will be Beatrice Clearfield with the social media groupThe Hunters—Finding Magda. In the time since Magda’s release the group has dedicated itself to seeking justice by tracking her and posting information on where she may be and what she’s doing. This horrible case has left the anguished families desperate to find the remains of their loved ones while fearing Magda gamed the system and is now smarter and out there possibly killing again under a new identity.”

“You won’t want to miss it,” Shane says.

“Finally, friends, if there are cases you want us to consider for the show, or there’s information you think needs to be shared, you know how to reach us. That’s our show for this week.”

The same opening music plays against the empty city streets at night as the screen fades to black.

17

Seattle, Washington

Bacon sputtered inthe pan the morning after Anna’s funeral.

Sara hadn’t slept well.

Her thoughts continued pinballing from Anna’s death, to Katie, to the necklace, and the worry knotted her stomach.

None of it’s real. None of it’s true.

Standing at the stove in her robe, she took a breath, tried to relax and sort things out. Katie hadn’t come down for breakfast yet. Turning to the fridge for eggs, Sara spotted the note on her calendar for the mission.

Helping at the mission.

The mission.

Seeking refuge from the fears tormenting her, Sara reached for her tablet. She played an older video of Katie, with her, at the mission.

Katie was smiling at the mission’s guests. “Welcome,” she said while assisting families. She carried trays of food for smaller children to their family’s table. “Would you like me to get you anything else?” Katie asked them, then brought them napkins, utensils and drinks. The children liked Katie and she was totally dedicated to being there.

Seeing Katie embody her family’s spirit of giving warmed Sara, especially the moment when Katie went to a little girl who was sitting with her dad. The girl appeared sad and wasn’t eating.

“What’s wrong?” Katie asked her.

The little girl whispered in Katie’s ear. Katie patted her hand and went to Mr. Yang, the mission’s manager. He went into the storage room filled with donated items and came back with a doll. He gave it to Katie, who gave it to the little girl.

“She’s your dolly now,” Katie told the little girl, comforting her. “She loves you.”

Katie and the girl smiled at the camera.

The video ended, leaving Sara to think,Was this really Katie?Her smile in the video now seemed a little too sweet.

A chair scraped on the floor behind Sara.

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