Evil Guardian
by Dr. Scott Bonn
Evil Guardian
by Dr. Scott Bonn
This novel is based on a true story.
Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
ISBN-13: 9781729466971
Copyright and Published
by RJ Parker Publishing
Published in United States of America
Acknowledgments
It is with great thanks to my friend, RJ Parker, for publishing this book. I also want to thank the editor, proofreaders, cover artist and support staff for helping me with this project.
I must thank my incredible wife, Maxine, for your inspiration and love.
Finally, I thank all of my friends, colleagues and followers around the globe for your support. It means everything to me!
Aeternum Designs (Book Cover)
Proofreaders: Bettye McKee, Robyn MacEachern, Kathi Garcia, Ron Steed, Sanda Miller, Lee Husemann, Linda Bergeron
AUDIOBOOKS at RJ Parker Publishing
http://rjparkerpublishing.com/audiobooks.html
Our collection of CRIMES CANADA books on Amazon.
http://www.crimescanada.com/
TRUE CRIME Books by RJ Parker Publishing on Amazon.
http://rjpp.ca/TRUECRIME-RJPP-BOOKS
ACTION / FICTION Books by Bernard DeLeo on Amazon.
http://bit.ly/BERNARD-DELEO-BOOKS
RJ Parker Publishing
Follow on BOOKBUB
Copyrights
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written authorization from RJ Parker Publishing. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 4
Chapter One 10
Chapter Two 12
Chapter Three 17
Chapter Four 20
Chapter Five 25
Chapter Six 31
Chapter Seven 32
Chapter Eight 34
Chapter Nine 37
Chapter Ten 38
Chapter Eleven 43
Chapter Twelve 45
Chapter Thirteen 50
Chapter Fourteen 53
Chapter Fifteen 58
Chapter Sixteen 63
Chapter Seventeen 65
Chapter Eighteen 68
Chapter Nineteen 73
Chapter Twenty 76
Chapter Twenty One 78
Chapter Twenty Two 81
Chapter Twenty Three 84
Chapter Twenty Four 87
Chapter Twenty Five 95
Chapter Twenty Six 100
Chapter Twenty Seven 108
Chapter Twenty Eight 111
Chapter Twenty Nine 116
Chapter Thirty 123
Chapter Thirty One 127
Chapter Thirty Two 132
Chapter Thirty Three 134
Chapter Thirty Four 137
Chapter Thirty Five 142
Chapter Thirty Six 144
Chapter Thirty Seven 147
Chapter Thirty Eight 151
Chapter Thirty Nine 153
Chapter Forty 154
Chapter Forty One 157
Chapter Forty Two 160
Chapter Forty Three 165
Chapter Forty Four 170
Chapter Forty Five 172
Chapter Forty Six 175
Chapter Forty Seven 179
Chapter Forty Eight 180
Chapter Forty Nine 182
Chapter Fifty 184
Chapter Fifty One 189
Chapter Fifty Two 190
Chapter Fifty Three 196
Chapter Fifty Four 198
Chapter Fifty Five 201
Chapter Fifty Six 203
Chapter Fifty Seven 205
Chapter Fifty Eight 206
Chapter Fifty Nine 209
Chapter Sixty 211
Chapter Sixty One 215
Chapter Sixty Two 220
Chapter Sixty Three 225
Chapter Sixty Four 228
Chapter Sixty Five 230
Chapter Sixty Six 233
Chapter Sixty Seven 237
Chapter Sixty Eight 239
Chapter Sixty Nine 242
Chapter Seventy 246
Chapter Seventy One 248
Chapter Seventy Two 249
Chapter Seventy Three 254
Epilogue 261
About the Author 263
Charles Lundquist is chaplain at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Westchester County, New York, located forty-five miles northwest of Manhattan. He is also a serial killer who preys on teenage girls. Lundquist is a cold-blooded psychopath who calls his murderous alter ego the guardian because he believes that he is serving God and protecting innocent females from evil by killing them. Ironically, he loves to kill and his lust for blood is insatiable.
When New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton realizes that a serial killer is on the loose in Manhattan, he assigns homicide captain James Pritchard to lead the manhunt. Pritchard is a talented but troubled detective who is dealing with the deaths of his wife and teenage daughter—killed by a drunken driver.
The hunt for the guardian quickly becomes a personal obsession for Pritchard. Joining him in his quest to find the guardian is a brilliant and attractive FBI special agent named Julia Cassidy. Cassidy, too, becomes obsessed with stopping the guardian, and she and Pritchard quickly form a powerful, intimate bond.
By the time that the guardian has claimed his fifth victim, the city of New York is in a state of complete panic. Making matters worse, the killer is taunting James Pritchard in letters he sends to the news media; daring the homicide captain to catch him. Pritchard and Cassidy become desperate in their investigation due to the absence of leads. They recognize that they are facing an adversary unlike any other they have ever encountered.
The guardian is cunning, meticulous, arrogant, compulsive, unremorseful, and he will never stop killing.
Chapter One
It is sunset on Friday in New York City. It is the first day of October. There is no breeze, the weather is unseasonably warm and the sky is cloudless. It is an ideal day to be outdoors. A beautiful, burnt-orange sun sinks slowly into the Hudson River as fifteen-year-old Melissa Stein walks north alone on Riverside Drive. She is headed home from school to her family’s brownstone apartment located at 98th Street and Riverside Drive in Manhattan.
It is 6:38 pm. Melissa is returning from an after-school play rehearsal. A bright, outgoing and popular teenager, she attends the prestigious Dwight School located on Central Park West at 89th Street.
Normally, Melissa would have gotten a ride home from the mother of her best friend, Brenda Goodman, but the play rehearsal ran quite late and she missed her ride. Today was the final dress rehearsal for the school’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” and Melissa is playing Juliet. The theater teacher who is directing the play told her after dress rehearsal that he is very pleased with her work. He said that she has great potential if she continues to work hard. Playing Juliet is her first leading role, and she is excited beyond words.
The five-foot-six young beauty walks home in the flickering twilight. Her long auburn hair flows over her ivory white shoulders, her blue eyes shine, and she smiles radiantly.
“What an awesome day this has been,” she says to herself.
As Melissa reaches 93rd Street on Riverside Drive, it is the time of day when the light is ending and t
he darkness is beginning. The dark shadows that are being cast off by the trees and buildings seem surreal to her, but the ambiguity of night mixing with day cannot affect her cheerful mood as she continues on her journey home. Every shadow she encounters appears like an apparition in the diffuse light and near darkness.
The strange mix of day and night has an almost hypnotic effect on Melissa while she strolls northward. Subconsciously, she knows that things viewed in the twilight can seem like a dream. What she cannot possibly know, however, is that she is about to experience a living nightmare.
Suddenly, from out of the shadows, springs a powerful, six-foot-two man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt. He seizes Melissa from behind in a python-like grip without making a sound. Before she can even react, a sharp blow from a blackjack to the right side of her head renders her unconscious at once.
Melissa’s assailant has been patient and meticulous, so there are no witnesses to her abduction and no evidence left behind at the scene for anyone to find. In one silent moment, she has vanished into thin air without a trace.
Chapter Two
Approximately thirty minutes after her abduction, Melissa Stein awakens to find herself bound, gagged and lying on the floor in a very dimly lit, abandoned building in Harlem, on the upper west side of Manhattan. Although she is only one mile north of the safety of her home and family, she might as well be one million miles away.
She is terrified, shaking uncontrollably and feeling faint. While lying on her left side on the floor, she struggles to move her hands and feet, but the nylon ligatures that bind her will not budge. Her hands are locked in handcuffs behind her back. She can barely see herself in the darkness.
With some effort, she is able to rise up into a sitting position. Sweat and tears are running down her face and across the tape that covers her mouth. Her heart is pounding wildly and she feels sick to her stomach. Despite her terrible discomfort and fear, she is trying to acclimate herself to her surroundings. Her vision is blurry, and the only light in the room is coming from a single candle that is standing in a holder placed just a few feet away from her on the floor. What little she can see is obscured by elongated shadows.
“What is this horrible place? Why am I here?!” she screams silently to herself. Her heart is pounding so hard that she feels as if her chest might explode.
She hears footsteps approaching in the darkness. She can faintly see that it is the figure of a tall man coming toward her. He is shrouded in shadows. As he emerges from the darkness, the man slowly sits down, cross-legged, directly in front of her.
In the candlelight, Melissa can see that he has short, dark brown hair and regular features. He has no sign of scars or facial hair. He looks quite ordinary. In the dim light, his hooded sweatshirt and pants appear to be either black or navy blue in color. He produces a large knife with a jagged edge and places it on the floor next to him.
Melissa is hysterical at the sight of the man with a knife in front of her. She moans and whimpers through the tape on her mouth, but to no avail. The man sitting two feet away from her does not react or respond to her pitiful sounds. Instead, he sits in silence and observes her. For several minutes that seem like hours to Melissa, the man remains motionless and speechless. He seems to be transfixed as he continues to look at her.
Then, he casually closes his eyes and bows his head. Melissa cannot fathom what this man wants from her or what he is doing. As he sits before her with his head bowed and eyes closed, it seems to Melissa almost as if he is praying.
Melissa continues to whimper and struggle for a few more minutes while her abductor maintains his silent meditation. Finally, after what feels like a horrible eternity to Melissa, he opens his eyes and calmly speaks to her.
In a deep, monotone voice, he says, “There is no reason to be frightened, Melissa. The world is very dangerous and frightening, but I am not. There is no reason for you to worry. I am going to save you from this terrible world before it takes away your sweet innocence. I am the guardian. I am here on a mission to take you home. You can trust me. I am here to save you, my dear. Can you understand that?”
The tape on Melissa’s mouth would make it impossible for her to respond to his question even if she was not too frozen with fear to do so. All she can do in response to his query is cry and moan. This man who calls himself the guardian does not really expect or even want a reply from her. His words are simply part of a murderous ritual that he has performed twice before with teenage girls.
He enjoys the sight of Melissa struggling in the flickering candle light. It excites him sexually to watch her sitting before him terrified, sobbing and helpless. It thrills him to have her completely under his control in the privacy of his secret domain. He feels his heart pounding inside his chest and an erection growing inside his pants as he gently wipes the tears away from Melissa’s eyes.
He smiles at her and says, “It is okay. There is nothing to fear. The guardian is with you.”
She struggles and tries unsuccessfully to pull away from him.
A euphoric rush of adrenaline surges through him as he explores every inch of Melissa’s lovely, young body with his eyes. He wants her and he needs her. He has an uncontrollable hedonistic need for her blood and her body. He must have her. A lust for her is growing stronger and stronger inside him. It becomes more powerful by the moment until it is all consuming. He is insane with the need to taste her skin and penetrate her body.
As the hunger and lust overwhelm him, a voice inside his head demands, “It is time. Take her now!”
The guardian stands up. Outwardly, he composes himself. Once again, he speaks directly to Melissa.
In a flat and monotone voice, he says, “My child, the time has come for the guardian to take you home. There is nothing at all to fear. This sacred moment has been ordained. Let it be.”
Suddenly, he pounces on Melissa and knocks her down violently with a hard right-handed punch to her chin. Bleeding from the mouth and semi-conscious, she ends up on the floor, lying flat on her back.
The guardian is on his knees and straddling her while sitting on her stomach. He clutches her around the neck in an iron grip with both hands and begins to strangle her. An extremely strong man, he is fixated on breaking her neck with his bare hands. He is completely obsessed and lost in the moment. That is to say, the guardian is in his killing zone.
Although Melissa is still dazed from the blow to her chin, her terror is beyond any comprehension. Unable to breathe, she is moaning and in terrible pain. She squirms and shrieks loudly, but her situation is hopeless. No one can hear her whimpering and no one can help her. She wriggles and moans with ebbing strength as the guardian steadily and methodically chokes the life out of her.
After nearly thirty seconds of strangulation, Melissa’s muscles are beginning to relax. She is dying. Her world is growing darker and more silent with each passing moment. The guardian watches her with a serene smile as he methodically continues to squeeze her neck with great strength and terrible purpose.
He feels the erection inside his pants growing and getting harder. Melissa’s eyes that were once bright blue are now fading away. The life of this sweet, young girl is quickly coming to a horrible and premature end.
The guardian obsessively squeezes Melissa’s neck and seems to be in an orgasmic trance as he watches her dying beneath him. The moment he has longed for is about to arrive. He can feel it and it enthralls him.
As the last glimmer of light and life flickers out in Melissa’s eyes, the guardian proclaims, “Thy will be done.”
He lies down next to her dead body and rests for a moment, but he is not finished with her just yet. He is obsessed with a desire to have sexual intercourse with her corpse. Nothing else in the world will satisfy him.
He climbs back on top of her and pulls down her
tights, unties her feet and spreads her legs. Then, just as he has done in recent weeks with two other innocent young girls, the guardian completes his horrible ritual with Melissa by performing an act of necrophilia on her lifeless body.
Internal forces that he does not understand compel the guardian to engage repeatedly in murder and post mortem sex with his victims. In between victims, he fantasizes about murder and necrophilia for days or even weeks before committing the acts again.
After finishing with Melissa, he lays down next to her dead body once again. He finally has relief from the awful cravings of his bloodlust. He is satisfied and content for now.
The guardian’s pathology is such that his hedonistic hunger subsides immediately after taking a life, but his satisfaction is short lived. His terrible cravings soon return, and they grow stronger over time.
The guardian’s murderous compulsions are a chronic itch that he cannot ignore and must eventually scratch. Stated differently, he is like a heroin addict who is powerless over his use of the opiate drug. In that sense, the guardian’s lust for murder and necrophilia are narcotics that have complete and utter control over him. Once his terrible cravings begin, it is only a matter of time before they become insatiable—undeniable—and he must kill again.
Chapter Three
The real name of the guardian is Charles Lundquist. He is thirty-five years of age, single, well educated, tall, athletic, very responsible and serious in demeanor. He has a soft-spoken and personable manner.
Lundquist was born and raised in a loving, upper middle class home in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York, by his father, Paul, who is a medical doctor, and his mother, Jean, who is an elementary school teacher. His parents still reside in the same West Village apartment on Hudson Street in which he was raised. He has an older sister, Susan, who is married with two children. She, her husband, Bob Gunderson, and their two daughters, April and Cindy, live in Hartford, Connecticut.