Death by 19

Ok I’m here. I’ve written the note, now all that’s left is…the step. My last step, the end to it all. Should I really go through with this? Do I really WANT to go through with this? I see no other option, no other solution. I just hope Jim understands.1

That was the day, July 7th 1916, that Jennifer Mayler took her final step. That step was off the Woolworth Building. Since being completed in 1913, and being the tallest building in New York City let alone the world, it seemed like the best place. Even though she was ending her life at the mere age of 33, and leaving her sixteen and twelve year old daughters motherless, she was so overwhelmed with guilt that she didn’t have the mind to think rationally. So, torn between two loves, Jennifer felt compelled to do what she did on that fateful day. 2

When James Mayler, chief of the New York City Police Department, went to investigate, all he had heard about it was some woman had either jumped or was pushed off the Woolworth Building. He had no idea that the death he was about to investigate would be the death of his own wife.3

As James and his fellow officers arrived at the scene, they naturally encountered an immense group of people standing around the corpse, at a distance though of course. When they made their way through the crowd they came upon a horrific site. The woman hit what looked like face first, for you could not tell who the woman was because her face was all broken and distorted. They figured they would go to the top of the building where she jumped or was pushed. 4

When they got to the roof of the building, they began looking for clues that would indicate any sense of foul play. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.5

“Well, looks like we got just a crazy woman suicide here, boys.” James said. 6

All the officers laughed except one who was reading a piece of paper he had found. His expression as he read the letter was that of shock and unbelief. James noticed this and asked, 7

“Hey Bill, whatcha got there?”8

Bill just stood there like a statue, not sure if he wanted to give up the letter.9

“Bill? BILL! Snap out of it and hand me whatever that is,” James said starting to get impatient.10

Again Bill didn’t move, didn’t even respond by looking up. His eyes stayed fixed on the paper.11

“BILL!!!!!!!” James shouted.12

“Bill, do what the man said,”13

“Yea, you wanna get the chief mad or something?”14

“It’s too late for that,”15

“Give him the paper,” commented the other officers.16

Chief Mayler was getting tired of asking and of the effect this was having on everyone else. So James went up to Bill and snatched the letter from his hands with a frustrated jerk. As he read the note his expression saddened, and by the time he had finished reading his eyes were filled with tears and he felt like he was going to be sick.17

The note read as follows:18

My Dearest James,19

Guilt is an overwhelming burden to bear. I can’t face you and see the disappointment and disgust in your eyes. So I take this cowardly way out. I never meant for it to go this far, but I am weak and loneliness can be so hard. It was just a simple flirtation at first.20

Oh James, please, please forgive me! Please! 21

                         Your Loving Wife,22

Jennifer23

That day was forever scarred in the memory of James and his two daughters, Lisa and Melissa. Now James was left with the burden of trying to comfort his two girls at the loss of their mother, but also while trying to cope with it himself. At that point in his life James was convinced that he had seen the coldest thing life could do. Unfortunately, he was wrong.24

In the year of 1919, nearly three years after Jennifer died, another tragedy hit the Mayler family. It was April 2nd 1919, Lisa’s 19th birthday.  The plan was perfect. Lisa’s boyfriend would take her out and distract her for the day while Melissa and some of Lisa’s friends got everything ready for the party. The party would be at 8 p.m. because James would get off work at 7 p.m. Lisa would come home to a house full of her closest friends and family wishing her a happy birthday. 25

As it neared 8 o’ clock, everyone found a place to hide while Melissa shut off all the lights. Everyone was excited and couldn’t wait to see the look on Lisa’s face. They waited and waited. When 8:15 rolled around and Lisa and her boyfriend still hadn’t showed up, everyone started to get suspicious. Then they heard a knock on the door, and everyone perked up again. Everyone except James, because being chief of police and all, he knew Lisa wouldn’t be knocking on the door of her own house. So he rose and took a peek out the window. He was surprised at whom he saw standing there: his best friend and fellow officer Dan West. 26

James started to walk toward the door.27

“Dad! Get down! You want her to see you?!” Melissa said in an agitated hushed voice.28

“It’s not her,” James simply said, and continued to walk to the door.29

When James opened the door, he shook hands and hugged a nervous Dan West. After their greetings James could tell he was a bit uneasy.30

“What’s wrong Dan?”31

“Uh, well, I…….um……..” Dan didn’t know how he was going to say what he had to say.32

“Dan, come on, just tell me whatever it is.”33

Dan took a deep breath, “Well, um, it’s about your daughter, Lisa.”34

“Oh good, where is she? She’s missing her surprise birthday party.”35

“Well that’s the thing James. Um, I’m sorry, but………she’s dead.”36

James couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “Dead?!?! Wha…what do you mean….dead?”37

“We…we found her body…..behind the old…”38

“Take me to her.” James interrupted.39

“Uh, really James I don’t think you want to…”40

“TAKE ME TO HER!!” James yelled on the verge of tears.41

Melissa came to the door. “Dad, what’s wrong?”42

James reeled back his tears. “Nothing, Sweetheart, go back inside and tell everyone to go home….I’ll……I’ll explain later.” He started to walk toward the police car Dan had driven there.43

“But Dad…”44

“Just do as I say, ok? Everything will be alright. I’ll be back soon.”45

Dan drove James to the crime scene: the alleyway behind the old abandoned warehouse. Nobody knows what the warehouse was ever used for except prank ghost sightings. Now it had become a witness to the murder of James’ oldest daughter. 46

When they came upon the body in the alleyway, James looked away and tried to keep himself from being sick. He had flashbacks of how he felt when he read the note from his wife’s suicide. He forced himself to look at his daughter’s lifeless body. There she laid a bloodied corpse on the ground. The blood was coming from her neck which had been slit. She was lying on her back, her head resting on its side with the eyes wide open. James bent down and looked into those eyes, hoping that maybe if he stared enough she would come back to him. A single tear streamed down his face.47

“What have you found so far?” James asked, letting the policeman in him take over.48

“Nothing. I told the men not to touch anything until I came back, in case you wanted to see the body first,” Dan answered. 49

“Mmmm,” James murmured. He was so overwhelmed he felt like he had lost all emotion. He knew he had to treat this just like any other crime scene, no emotional strings attached. He had to be tough, thorough, and clear-minded in order to get Lisa’s killer behind bars.  50

“Hand me a flashlight.”51

“James, I don’t really think you should be investigating this. You’re too close.”52

“I want to be on this case, so I’m going to be on this case. Anyone who has a problem with that can resign right now,” James said with a flare of anger.53

“Ok,” Dan said with a little hesitation about it all. He handed James a flashlight.54

James took the flashlight and clicked it on. He started sweeping the body with the beam of light looking for something, anything that would help solve this murder. Dan was looking as well, though he kept his distance from James. They stayed there scanning the body for about 20 minutes finding nothing. Just as they were about to give up, something caught James’s eye. In Lisa’s right hand he saw the edge of a piece of paper. With the aid of his handkerchief and with some assistance from his partner he removed the folded sheet of paper. Again James had flashbacks from his wife’s suicide, but he shook them off knowing he had to read whatever was written on the paper. 55

He unfolded the paper to reveal a poem. Not just an ordinary poem, but a love poem. The poem read:56

“Oh my Love in your sweet 19th year,57

You look just like your mother, when she was still here58

With your hair a golden blonde and your eyes a deep blue59

I’m sorry my love, but tonight I must kill you”60

James grit his teeth and almost threw the paper down. How on earth could someone be so sick, so twisted, so……he didn’t even want to think about it. He handed the paper to Dan who in turn read it, and had compassion for James. James just stood there seething over the whole ordeal. He was filled with rage at whoever had done this; but since they didn’t know who the culprit was yet, his anger centered on someone he did know: Lisa’s boyfriend.61

James snapped his head in Dan’s direction and said in a voice that reminded one of a volcano about to erupt, “Where’s Aaron?”62

“He’s over there by that police car being taken care of, but James don’t….”63

It was too late for an explanation as far as James was concerned. He marched over to where Aaron was and immediately started questioning him. 64

“Who did this?! Who killed my daughter?!? And where were YOU?!?!” James shouted. Before Aaron could answer he was nearly a foot off the ground, back slammed against the police car, with an enraged father gripping him by his collar and shouting at him. 65

The two officers who were talking with Aaron beforehand tried to pull James off and get Aaron down, but James was determined to get some answers. It took 4-5 officers to finally free Aaron from James’s hold. Aaron dropped down to the ground holding the back of his head, which was bleeding a little. The officers restrained James until he calmed down. Dan came up to James and said, “What I was going to say back there, before you stormed off, was NOT to go busting his chops. We’ve already interviewed him. He says that him and Lisa were on their way to the house, but stopped in this alleyway. Aaron was going to give her a present alone; you know the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. Well, all he remembers is that suddenly he gets knocked out with a blow to the back of the head, and when he wakes up he sees Lisa lying there in a pool of blood. He said when he saw that Lisa was dead; he went screaming to the nearest house and called us. When we found him, he was in tears.”66

“Well we know you can take him off the suspect list,” James commented.67

“Why? What evidence clears him?”68

“The poem says, ‘You look just like your mother when she was still here.’ Meaning whoever killed my daughter had at least a somewhat personal relationship with my wife. Aaron and Lisa started dating 8 months ago. He doesn’t even know what happened to Jennifer, and it is very unlikely he knows what she even looks like because I don’t keep pictures of her in plain sight cause they remind me of, well, you know.”69

“Yea, well I guess your right,” Dan said, and the conversation ended there.70

The whole NYPD worked on the case for months, but nothing came up. The case was made up of dead ends and false hopes. Even though James never wanted to give up on the case, the world kept on moving. Lisa’s case was never solved.71

Now in the present year of 1922, all James had left now was his 18 year old daughter, Melissa. Life had been hard on her. Losing her mother at the age of twelve, and three years later losing her big sister at the age of 15 made life cruel. But somehow she still managed to keep that beautiful smile of hers. Some days that smile was the only thing that kept James going, and for that he was grateful.72

Melissa was one to roll with the crowd. She was caught up in all the newest fads. All her dresses now were cut off at her knees and the waist of her skirts came down lower. She even got a bob haircut. She was also really into books and music. She had read This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald whom was among her favorite authors. She listened to whatever music was popular, and at the time, the popular music was jazz music.73

It seemed like the world was just booming. Everyone was happy; everyone was having a great time. Life couldn’t be better. That is, life couldn’t be better for everyone else. James thought life could be better and should be better for him and his little girl. Two of the people he held dear to his heart shouldn’t have been stolen away from him. Every night James would lay awake in his bed wondering if everything was his fault, that maybe if he had done something different Jennifer and Lisa would be alive today. Maybe if he didn’t spend so much time at the office, he wouldn’t be lying in bed alone tonight. Maybe if HE had taken Lisa out for the day instead of Aaron, she would be safe and sound in her bed right now. Every night he would beat himself up over his loss. All he knew was that he still had his little girl, Melissa, and he was determined not to let anything happen to her. 74

James always wakes up at 5:30 every morning, just out of habitual repetition. James sat up in his bed and grumbled to himself, “Uuuhhhh, another Monday.” Monday November 7, 1922, to be exact. James got out of bed, took a hot shower, and made his way to the kitchen. While walking down the hallway, he stopped to peek in on his daughter. He eased the bedroom door open just enough to see her. A smile crept across James’ face as he gazed upon how beautiful his daughter had become. With that joy to start his day, he returned the door to its slightly cracked position, and continued to the kitchen.75

After breakfast, James got into his car and headed off to work. James always arrived promptly at 6:45 a.m. Since none of the other officers were to show up for work until around 7:30, he would have some time to himself. He hung his hat and overcoat on the coat hanger and sat at his desk. How many years he had sat at this desk, and still it would give him a somewhat sense of power. He open the bottom left drawer of his desk. He always kept this drawer locked so he used a small key to open it. 76

The first thing James saw upon opening the drawer was his old Bible. He was a strong Christian and used to read this Bible everyday before he started his work day, but that was before he’d lost Jennifer and Lisa. Now he didn’t see any reason to keep reading it. He picked up the Bible and threw it aside onto his desk, laughing at himself for ever reading it in the first place. 77

Underneath the Bible was a photograph. There was none other to match it. James took the picture in both hands and leaned back in his chair. The picture displayed him and his wife together on their honeymoon. It was one of the good memories James still had of Jennifer; but he still couldn’t look at her face and not imagine the distorted face of the corpse he saw that horrible day. He shook that image from his mind, but when that image left, the words of her suicide note started to torment him. “Oh James, please, please forgive me! Please!” “AAAAAHHHH!!!!” James stood up and threw the picture across the room. He fell back into his chair, eyes filled with tears. As he leaned on his desk he saw the Bible again. His hands tightened into fists which he slammed on the desk as he stood up again.78

“YOU! You did this!” James shouted pointing his finger and looking towards the ceiling.79

“What did I do?!? What did I do wrong?? I was a good Christian, I really was. Reading my Bible everyday, going to church on Sunday, I even shared my faith with some of my co-officers, and how do you repay me?!?!? By taking away my wife?!? Taking away my oldest daughter?!? Why?!?!? WHY!!!!!” James fell to his knees and began to cry so hard, Dan West, who had just come in could hear him outside James’ office door.80

Dan cracked the door open. “James? Is that you?”81

James pulled in his tears and tried to cough them off.82

“James, what’s wrong? Is everything alright?” Dan asked with great concern.83

James wiped his eyes and coughed a little. “Yea…..mmhmmm……everything’s fine.” 84

Dan saw the Bible on the desk. He too was a Christian and that was one of the reasons he and James were best friends. He knew James had been sliding away from God as well. He surmised that that was the source of James’ tears. 85

It was 7:25, so more officers would be showing up soon. Dan walked a little ways from the desk and picked up the picture that James had thrown earlier. He handed it to James without a word. James took the picture and put it back in its place in the drawer. Dan picked up the Bible off the desk and started to hand it to James, but refused it.86

“I don’t need that anymore,” James said.87

“Well, keep it just in case. Sometime in the near future you will need it.”88

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?” James said, taking it as a threat.89

“Just keep it,” Dan ended the conversation there, and he walked out of the room as the work day was about to begin. 90

At around 7:50 a.m., with the day hardly started yet, James got a phone call. A homicide had taken place. James really did not want to deal with death today, but he at least had to go to be seen and to supervise. So he took Dan, and 2 other officers with him to the crime scene. 91

A young woman had been murdered in her bedroom. The girl had been killed during the night, but the parents were out working. Her name was Carrie Norwell. She was 19 years of age, had brown hair and blue eyes. She was found lying on her bed in a pool of blood coming from her slit throat. 92

As the officers entered the room, the fist thing that caught their eyes was not the body, but a sign on the wall. Right above the girl’s bed on the wall was the number 19 written with the girl’s blood. James, Dan, and the other two policemen just stood there for a second, either sickened by the sign or trying to figure out what was meant by it. 93

James snapped out of it first “Ok, guys there a lot more to investigate then just…..that….so get to work.”94

The officers started scanning the room for clues. They examined everything in the room except the general area where the body lay. When they found nothing, they all centered on the bed and the girls body. Still they found nothing, except…….a folded piece of paper in Carrie’s right hand. The other two officers carefully removed the paper, and gave it to Dan West. He opened it. “Oh, my gosh……” Dan’s face went pale. 95

“What? What is it? What does it say?” James asked anxiously.96

“It…..it’s a poem……..a……..a love poem…” Dan said hesitantly.97

“WHAT?!? Give me that,” James said with disbelief in his voice.98

Indeed it was in fact a love poem and this it what it said:99

“My Love, you’re the reflection of pure innocence, 100

    With your soft silhouette in your white flowing dress, 101

    They didn’t catch me three years before,102

    But don’t worry, my Love, you’re the first of four.”103

James couldn’t help but be startled by this note. Thoughts started to invade his mind. “They didn’t catch me three years before”?? There was only one homicide in the last three years that involved a love poem to the victim, and that was………no……no, it can’t be……can it? Is the person who killed this girl the same psycho who killed my precious Lisa?!?!  It couldn’t be. There wasn’t a 19 written anywhere around the crime scene………was there? James looked at Dan.104

“Tell me this isn’t true,” James said with desperation in his eyes.105

Dan knew what James was thinking, for the very same thing had crossed his mind. He didn’t want to rattle James anymore than what he already was. 106

“James, I can’t really tell you if it’s true or not, but whichever it is, we’ll solve this case and get this guy behind bars, alright?” 107

James took a deep breath and answered with a simple, “Ok.”108

That night when James came home from work, he was greeted at the door with a delightful Melissa. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before he even got inside. Once inside, she took his coat and hat and sat him down at the dining room table. A few moments later, Melissa brought out of the kitchen a plate with steak, cooked just the way her father liked it, mashed potatoes, and some vegetables. She placed it in front of him, then went back and got her own plate.109

“Wow, what’s all this for?” James asked.110

“Just for being the wonderful, loving father that you are, of course,” Melissa said with a big plastered smile.111

“Really….”112

“Well, and the fact that my birthday is in 12 days,” Melissa added nonchalantly.113

“Ah, so you figured you’d butter me up, before hand is that it?”114

“Why, Father, I can’t believe you would even think such a thing.” 115

“How old are you going to be again?? 8? 9?” James asked teasingly.116

“Nineteen, Dad, get it right,”117

“Oh yea…..” and now with fake emotion he said, “My little girl’s growing up.” James pretended to break down in tears.118

“Oh my gosh, Dad, I wish you would cut that out. Yes, I am growing up, and would you stop calling me your LITTLE GIRL.”119

James just laughed it off and they both started to eat. Yes, it was true that Melissa was growing up, but to him she was still his little girl and she always would be. She was all he had left now, and even though she was just being good cause of her birthday coming up, he still enjoyed seeing her radiant happiness. 120

James headed to bed around 10:30 p.m. Melissa was in her room reading her F. Scott Fitzgerald books again. He poked his head in to say goodnight and headed off to his own bed. He sat on the edge of his bed just spacing out for a moment. He reached over and opened the nightstand drawer. Inside the drawer lay the Bible that he and Jennifer would always read from before they went to sleep. He hadn’t touched that Bible in a little over 6 years because of the memories it brought back. He slid the drawer shut and crawled under the covers. Tomorrow he would have to face that case that reminded him of Lisa’s and he was not looking forward to it.121

The next morning James went through his usual routine and arrived at work at 6:45 a.m. What was not usual, was that he was met there by his friend Dan West, and the two other officers who were with him investigating the homicide last night. They were all waiting outside his office.122

Feeling a little agitated at being cheated out of his time alone, James asked, “Well, what is all this about?”123

“James, I’m afraid we have some bad news,” Dan answered him.124

“What bad news?”125

“Well, I found out that Mike and Vic here, leaked last night’s case to the New York Times Newspaper,”126

“WHAT?!?!?!” 127

Mike and Vic cringed where they stood. 128

“What did you tell them?!” James asked forcefully. 129

“We…..we just told them that we found a love letter to the victim, and that it might have some connection with an unsolved case from three years back,” Mike said.130

“How do you know it might have a connection? Huh? Speak!”131

“Once word got around the department about the case, other officers brought Lisa’s case up, and you know how information travels in here, Chief,” Dan answered, knowing Mike and Vic wouldn’t want to answer James again.132

“You two are off the case,” James said.133

Mike and Vic started to object but Dan quickly quieted them and pushed them off to do paper work.134

“They say their nicknaming the killer the ‘Love Letter Slasher’” Dan commented.135

“Well good, now that he has his name he’ll want to make his fame bigger by killing more people. Just great.”136

Two days passed and nothing new turned up. No leads, no evidence, just a promise that there would be three more victims. James was still thinking of the possibility that this same killer could have been Lisa’s killer three years ago. Three years ago. 137

On Friday, the 11th, another slaying happened. A 19 year old girl by the name of Patricia Jones was killed in her house. She was found in her bathroom on the floor wearing a bathrobe. Everything was the same except the room. She was an attractive girl with brown hair and blue eyes. Her throat had been slit, and again there was a “19” written in blood on the wall. Also in her right hand another love poem was found. This poem read:138

“My Love, your beauty is beyond compare,139

With your soft, red lips and your brown silk hair,140

In four days time I’ll kill my third love,141

       But three, my dear, is still not enough.”142

Again there were no leads, no evidence. The only thing was the pattern. They knew he would go after a 19 year-old girl, who had brown hair and blue eyes. They knew they couldn’t protect every single girl who fit that profile. It was simply impossible. They had no idea if he had any connection with the victims either. All the killer needed to know about them was that they were 19. One thing that was puzzling is why did he write the 19 in blood on the wall. The police would find out the age of the victim quick enough without him telling them. James found this to be suspicious, and he pondered it over and over in his head with no answer. 143

Three days passed, and on the 15th just as the “Love Letter Slasher” had promised, another girl was murdered. But this wasn’t just any girl. This was the daughter of John F. Hylan, the Mayor of New York City at that time. Elisha Hylan did fit the description: nineteen, brown hair, blue eyes. Again the “scenery” was different. Since being the mayor’s daughter and all, she lived in a secure home so the killer got her outside in a dark alleyway. This brought back major memories of Lisa’s murder. Her throat was slashed just like the others and also just like the others a bloody “19” was written on the wall beside where she lay. It was routine now to open the right hand and remove the love poem. It read:144

“My Love, you’re radiant against the moonlit sky,145

      You even looked beautiful when you started to cry,146

      On November 19th I will strike again,147

      And then my killings will come to an end.”148

James knew he was running out of time. One more victim and then he would be gone, out of reach. He still couldn’t help but think that this guy was Lisa’s killer as well. Lisa had her throat slashed, Lisa was nineteen, but then again there was no “19” on the wall, and the focus was on girls who had brown hair and blue eyes. Lisa had BLONDE hair and blue eyes. He couldn’t deal with this, he had to go home and rest.149

When he got home, Melissa rushed up to him all excited. She hugged him tightly then put on her best puppy dog face.150

“Ok what do you want,” James asked.151

“Would it be alright if me and some friends went out Friday night for my birthday???”152

“Well….I don’t know….”153

“Oh please Daddy, pretty pretty please!!”154

“Well alright, but only because it’s your birthday,”155

“Oh yay! I’m going to call my friends and tell them what a wonderful person you are,” Melissa says as she hugs her father. 156

James laughs at his daughter’s excitement. He eats dinner and goes upstairs to go to bed. He doesn’t even think about anything because he is so tired. He hits the pillow and instantly falls asleep.157

Wednesday and Thursday pass without any leads or new evidence concerning the “Love Letter Slasher” case. Friday night comes and James is working late at the office. He knows that if he doesn’t find out anything new tonight, tomorrow there will a fourth and final victim. Somehow James just knows that this is Lisa’s killer resurfaced. He just knows it. 158

Ten o’clock rolls around and James is feeling stressed and tired, but he knows he has to keep going; he has to give beyond what he is able to give. As James continues to find nothing, he turns to the picture of his wife for comfort, inspiration, something. As he opens the desk drawer, he again finds the Bible. He picks up the Bible and holds it in his hands for a while, just staring at it. He looks up at the ceiling and back down at the Bible. He shrugs his shoulders and says to himself, Why not, I’ve tried everything else. 159

As James opens the Bible, it falls open to a picture that was never there in the past. He picks up the picture and sees himself, his wife and their two daughters. Everyone was there, and everyone was happy. This brought a tear to James’s eye. Jennifer looked lovely as usual, and Lisa took after her mother in that beauty. James found it funny that even though Melissa took after him, she still managed to come out just as lovely. With her brown hair and her sparkling blue eyes and……….wait……..brown hair, blue eyes……..the profile! That struck a cord in his mind so clear it could not be ignored. What’s the connection though? How is it like Lisa’s? Oh my gosh, Lisa was killed on her nineteenth birthday…………Melissa is turning nineteen tomorrow…………SHE’S THE FOURTH VICTIM!!!!!!! That information hit James like a ton of bricks. He had to go find Melissa to know she was safe. Before he rushed off he looked at the open Bible and saw a verse highlighted there. It said, “For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” “Well, let’s hope so,” James said to himself aloud. He rushed out the door in search of Melissa.160

He went home thinking she would have left him some sort of note telling him where she went, or when she would be back. When he got home he found nothing of the sort. Starting to panic, he calls his friend Dan West. 161

Dan answers the phone, “Hello?162

“Dan? This is James.”163

“James? Hey buddy what’s up? Are you still at the office?”164

“No I’m at home. Look, I don’t have much time to explain but can you meet me at the station as soon as you can?”165

“Well, sure James but what’s…..”166

“Good. I’ll see you in a couple minutes.” James hung up the phone. He rushed to his car and sped to the police station.167

Dan met with James and listened to his whole theory of how Melissa is the next victim and that this murderer is the same guy who killed Lisa when she was nineteen. Dan listened with shock and disgust. The puzzle was all coming together now. Dan and James were interrupted by a group of teenage girls knocking wildly on the doors of the station. When James opened the doors, he was bombarded by screaming, crying girls. He got them all to quiet down, and had one tell him what was wrong. 168

One girl with short red hair by the name of Rebecca told the story.169

“Ok so, Rebecca, what’s wrong?” James calmly asked.170

“One of our friends has been kidnapped,” she whined.171

“What is your friend’s name?”172

“Melissa Mayler,”173

That was not pleasant news to the chief. 174

“What? What did you say?”175

“Melissa Mayler,” Rebecca repeated.176

“Uh, James maybe I should take over from here,” Dan said.177

“Tell me exactly what happened,” James said ignoring Dan.178

“Well, we were all just hanging out, dancing with some guys, you know, girl stuff. Well this really cute guy came up to us and asked Melissa if she wanted to dance. Well, of course, she said ye. It made all of us jealous of her. Well, she went off with him to dance, and we didn’t really pay much attention to them because there were still other guys coming up to us and dancing with us, so yea. But after about an hour or so, Kelsey back there asked where Melissa was. When we all asked each other, we all said we saw her last, dancing with that cute guy…um…Trevor I think his name was.” She looked around to get confirmation from the girls. “Yea, that’s it Trevor. Well, we looked everywhere for her and didn’t see her. That’s when we started freaking out and we ran here to get help.”179

“And you have no idea where this Trevor character would have taken her?”180

“No,” Rebecca answered regretfully.181

James got up and reached for his coat and hat.182

“Where are you going?” Dan asked.183

“To find my daughter, before that psycho kills her,”184

That shocked the girls and made them start to cry and scream again.185

“James, you just need to go home and rest,”186

“GO HOME AND REST?!?!? My daughter is out there and she’ll be dead sometime tomorrow if I don’t find her.”187

“Yes, but how exactly do you expect to find her? If you went out there now it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. James, I’m begging you just go home, the best thing you could do for your daughter right now is pray for her.”188

James let out a sigh, “I guess you’re right.”189

So, James went home. He didn’t bother going to bed, he knew he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight. He sat in the living room and desperately prayed to God to keep his youngest daughter alive. James was willing to give up anything to have Melissa in his arms right now, even his own life. He promised God he would start going to church again, he promised he would read and pray everyday, just keep his baby safe. 190

The next morning James was awakened by a knock on the door. It was Dan West, but James could tell he didn’t have good news. He remembered the last time he met Dan at this door, with the news that Lisa was dead.191

“Is she dead?” James asked right out.192

“I don’t think so. We got this down at the station this morning.”193

Dan produced a note. James was sick and tired of these little notes. He wanted to shred it up, burn it, and be rid of it. Instead he asked Dan to read because he could not bear reading it himself.194

Dan read it aloud, 195

“My love will die like her sister and mother,196

My love will have a death that is like no other,197

My first true love was stolen from me,198

Now my pain and suffering you will see.”199

“…like her sister and mother.”  James thought to himself. 200

“I know where it will take place,” James said.201

“Really?!? Where??” Dan said with a glimmer of hope.202

“The same place her mother died…….the top of the Woolworth Building.”203

James, Dan, and the whole NYPD rushed to the Woolworth Building. James led a troop up to the top of the building. When they opened the door to the roof, there stood Melissa in the arms of the “Love Letter Slasher” also known as Trevor. Trevor held a knife to her throat, but was pleased to see his company had arrived.204

“Freeze!” James shouted raising his gun.205

“Oh, I think you should be the one freezing, seeing your daughter with a knife held against her throat. You know, if you make me jerk my arm the wrong way, YOU would be the cause of Melissa’s death not me; but you’re used to causing pain to those you love, aren’t you,” Trevor said. 206

“Shut up!” James yelled with tears behind his eyes.207

“Daddy, help me!” Melissa whimpered as she felt the knife against her skin. 208

“Daddy can’t help you now. He’s too late, just like he was too late for Lisa.” Trevor said. “Put your gun down, Mayler, and have your officers do the same or I’ll cut her and throw her off this building faster than you can blink.”209

“Do what he says,” James said reluctantly. Everyone put their guns on the ground.210

“How does it feel, James? You’re about to see someone you love die, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”211

“Why are you doing this?” James asked with tears in his eyes.212

“Because, Mayler, you ruined it. You ruined everything! She was mine, she loved me, but you were in the way, she didn’t want to leave you, and because of that she threw herself off this very building!” Now Trevor’s eyes were leaking tears. “You stole her from me, so I stole Lisa from you, and now I’m going to steal Melissa as well. So you can feel the pain I felt and still feel everyday.”213

“You! You were the one she was having an affair with.” 214

“IT WAS NOT AN AFFAIR!!! She loved me, and I loved her.” Trevor pressed the knife against Melissa’s skin.215

“DADDY!!!” Melissa cried out in pain.216

“Don’t! Please! She’s all I have left! Please don’t kill her!!!!!” James pleaded.217

“It’s too late for that,” Trevor said. Trevor pulled the knife around to the side of Melissa’s neck about to slit her throat, but right when he was going to pull it, his arm froze.218

“Hey, what the heck’s going on?” Trevor said looking confused.219

James and all the other officers couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Trevor’s arm was frozen in mid-air. Trevor pulled and tugged at his own arm trying to get it to move, but it wouldn’t budge. 220

“What is the deal!!!!?” Trevor said, getting very frustrated about not being able to move his own arm.221

James came back to the realization of his daughter being in danger. James picked up his gun, shot Trevor in the shoulder, and pulled Melissa away from him all in a single instant. Officers jumped on him and took him down. James held Melissa close, and they both started to cry. Neither of them said a word, they were just happy to have each other.222

The next morning James picked up the New York Times. In bold letters on the front page was “Love Letter Slasher caught in attempted murder.” In the article was an interview with the “Love Letter Slasher” a.k.a. Trevor Shay. What caught James’s eye was this statement: “When I went to pull the knife, to slash that girl’s throat, my arm just froze in mid-air. It’s funny, but, I actually felt something like two hands of someone much bigger and stronger than me on my arm, preventing me from carrying out the kill that was the main purpose, the one with the most meaning.” James knew that wasn’t a coincidence. He had trusted God and God came through.223

Melissa is now 21 and happily engaged to her fiancé, Isaac Reese. She has put the event of her 19th birthday behind her and thinks nothing of it, except that she is grateful to have both a heavenly and earthly father that love and watch out for her. Yes, soon she wouldn’t be a Mayler anymore, and her father would give her away. Even though her last name will change and she won’t be living in his house anymore, she will still always be his little girl. 224