After punching Charmaine’s body a couple of more times, Steven angled the tip of the knife over the sensitive part of .  He turned it one way then the other trying to decide the best way to kill her.  His blood was pumping and he had never felt this excited before.  The buzzing of the doorbell halted his further movements.  With a muttered oath he quickly picked up Charmaine’s unconscious form and carried her into his bedroom where he threw her unceremoniously onto the bed.  Without a thought he dropped the knife onto his desk and straightened out his clothes.  Raking his hand through his rumpled hair he peered through the peephole to see who the uninvited guest was.  To his utter annoyance it was Kenneth.  He placed his hand on the knob of the door but did not turn it, “What do you want?” he asked cautiously.

“I need to talk to you quick,” Kenneth panted anxiously.  “The girl that survived identified you!”  He tried to turn the knob on his side but it wouldn’t budge.  “Open the door so we can talk about how we can cover up for you.”

Irritated by the intrusion and yet knowing that Kenneth only means well, Steven unlocked the door.  The moment he opened the door, the door was swung back with such force that Steven toppled to the floor.  He scrambled to his feet but Bosco was fast and had a tight grip on his arm before he can make an escape.  Still, Steven would not go down without a fight.  He flailed his arms and kicked out his legs wildly, hitting anyone who was within contact of him.  The ferocity of his rampage shocked all in the room.  Bosco and Natalie continued to struggle with Steven, as they tried to push him to the floor.

Raymond quickly went down the hall to find Charmaine and was relieved when he found her in the first room on a bed.  She was lying on her stomach with her head turned from him.  He kneeled down beside her and swiftly undid the ties and turned her over.  The sight of her battered face enraged him.  With utmost care he cupped her face and fighting back his tears whispered, “Charmaine, can you hear me?”

Charmaine flinched but ever so slowly she opened her eyes.  Tears welled in her eyes and slipped out when she saw who it was.  “Ray,” she moaned and the pain throbbing from every part of her body took over and she moaned again squeezing her eyes tightly shut as if that would take it away.

“Ssshhh,” Raymond said softly as he gently touched the bruises on her face.  He was not used to seeing this weakness in her.  To him, Charmaine was unbeatable, tough and nothing or no one could ever bring her down.  Now looking at her crumpled form, a heaviness lodged in his heart and he wanted so badly to take all her pain away.  With that thought in mind, he stood up mechanically and purposely left her and the room towards the man who have done this to her.

Bosco and Natalie were still wrestling with Steven, crashing all over the place breaking furniture and vases.  Raymond clenched his fists and with a roar barged straight at Steven, catching Steven by surprise.  The impact of his body against Steven’s took him off balance as they both fell with Raymond falling on top of Steven.

“Get off of me!” Steven shrieked.  His face was no longer of the shy and gentle man that they have known and liked.  In its place, was a ’s face, a killer’s face, an evil face.  A stranger to them.

Raymond held him down with his weight and with a free hand struck at Steven, over and over.  “You hurt her!  Why?!  Why?!”

In answer, Steven only laughed.  The cold hollow sound echoed throughout the apartment.

Bosco and Natalie quickly jumped on Steven’s arms and despite all the commotion from Steven, they managed to handcuff him.

Now that Steven has been subdued, the three of them let out a loud sigh of relief.  Bosco turned to Natalie, “Call back-up.  Tell them that we have finally caught our serial killer.”

Natalie smiled brightly and saluted, “Yes sir!”

Raymond hurried back into the bedroom where Charmaine was.  Her eyes were closed and her breathing was ragged and coarse.  She had gone pale beneath the bluish purple of her bruises.  “Charmaine?” he said her name achingly.  She made no movement and was as still as death.  “Charmaine?” he cried her name urgently and slipped an arm beneath her shoulders.  He had her half lying against him when he saw the pool of blood on the bed.  He touched her backside and felt a sticky wetness.  “No!” he screamed.

Bosco crouched down beside Raymond and looked worriedly at Charmaine’s lifeless face.  “The ambulance is speeding over.  Madame Sheh will pull through it.  She’s taken more than this.”  He placed a comforting hand on Raymond’s shoulder and fighting back his own tears whispered, “Yes, I know our Madame will get through this.”

The ambulance arrived minutes later and they hurried in to check on the wounded Charmaine.  “She’s bleeding a lot, we have to take her in now,” one of them said and his partner nodded.  They lifted her onto the gurney and left as quickly as they came.

Raymond was a step behind them when he noticed Kenneth sitting in a corner with his head hung low.  He said to Bosco, “Go with Charmaine to the hospital and help me look over her until I get there.”  Bosco cast a brief glance at Kenneth and rushed after the paramedics.

Kenneth heard rather than saw Raymond approach.  “I’m sorry for what happened.”

“You have been protecting Steven all this time, why?” Raymond demanded.

Kenneth’s tears rolled down his face and he wiped at them with the back of his hand.  “He’s my brother.  He’s all the family I have.”

Raymond was stunned by the news.  “All this time that I’ve known you, you never mentioned anything about a brother.  You kept it from me and I thought we were the best of friends.”

Kenneth finally looked up at Raymond and in a quiet voice said, “How can I tell you that I have a psychopath as my brother?  At times, I wish he wasn’t even my brother but I don’t have that choice!  But I do have a choice in friends and whether you believe it or not Ray, I value our friendship a lot more than my relationship with my brother.”

Raymond didn’t say a word.  After a long stretch of silence, he turned and headed for the door.

“Ray,” Kenneth called out to him, “Can you forgive me?”

Raymond stopped at the door but didn’t turn back to look at Kenneth.  “If anything happens to Charmaine you’re to blame.”  With those parting words, he left.