The Alphabet Killer Page #4

Ken:

I guess Carl Tanner's off the hook.

Meg, what have you

come up with so far?

Any connections to the other girls?

Melissa and Wendy both attended

St. Michael's Church.

- And Carla?

- She lived in Greece.

Too far a drive

from Rochester for them.

Hmm.

Any other commonalities?

Nothing with all three.

Melissa and Wendy

took gymnastics at the same studio.

Different years, different teachers.

Ken:

Check it out. What else?

Harper:

Carla and Melissa were both asthmatic.

They had different doctors

but we're checking to see

if they used the same lab.

And Wendy and Melissa had both visited

the aquarium in the last year.

It's a stretch.

That's all you got?

All right.

Follow everything.

And I want some results, people.

All right?

I'd rather not have to tell

another parent in this community

that their child has been murdered

if you don't mind.

- There's been another killing.

- Richard:
Oh Lord.

That's not why I'm calling.

What do you mean?

I'm hallucinating, Richard.

And I get these bouts

where my hands are shaking

all over the place even though

I stopped taking the pills.

It's the worst of both worlds.

And I'm afraid people

are starting to notice.

Well, you know, starting

and stopping your medication

can be significantly worse

than not taking anything at all.

And the stress isn't good, Megan.

You're relapsing,

that's what's happening.

Man on radio:
We think this guy here

is the Alphabet Killer.

Richard:

You know why.

Man on radio:

Victim's name is Elizabeth Eckers. EE.

- Richard, hang on one second.

- Sure.

The suspect is holding

her hostage in the attic

- inside the residence at 216...

- Hello, are you there?

- I'm sorry, I've got to call you back.

- He's armed and considered dangerous.

Officer:

Move those cars to the side.

Baker.

- What's the story?

- Hey, Megan.

Guy's a volunteer at the firehouse,

name of Len Schaefer.

He's got a history of mental illness.

He's got two hostages up there

in his room, his mother and a girl.

Suspect allegedly

tried to rape the girl.

She locked herself in the bathroom

and called 911.

- How old is she?

- 19. College student.

for the Alphabet Killings?

Yeah, girls name is Elizabeth Eckers.

- Len Schaefer?

- Yeah, that's his name.

- Baker, hold this.

- What are you doing?

You can't go in there, Megan.

Officer:

Wait wait! Get back!

Hold on.

Get back here.

Len?

Hey, it's cool.

I'm not carrying a gun.

I'm coming up, okay?

Len:

Stay the f*** away!

Listen, my name is Megan.

I'm not armed.

I'll tell you, those cops out there

have got some crazy ideas.

I'm just here to help.

I'm coming upstairs

so I can talk to you, okay?

I just want to talk to you.

Len, I'm gonna come up.

Please don't shoot me.

Hey, Len.

Don't move.

Mrs. Schaefer, Elizabeth.

What's the story?

Beth called the f***ing cops and now

they think I killed those girls.

He tried to rape me.

I went to the bathroom

because he was...

You said you were getting a condom.

You know what happens

when you drink.

Shut up, Mom.

Len, those cops outside

have a lot of ideas.

I didn't kill those girls.

That's obvious.

What we need to do is make sure

this gets cleared up

without anyone getting hurt.

Do you know what

they're calling this out there?

A hostage situation.

- Oh, Len.

- Those f***ing bastards.

Megan:

You know what I see?

An argument.

Does that make sense?

Yes.

And what do you think, Elizabeth?

He tried to rape me!

Which I guess led to an argument.

Megan:
See?

Now, Len,

she needs to go.

She's gonna lie about me.

And you'll have the chance

to explain that if you let her go

and everyone sees that you

don't mean to hurt anyone.

This was an argument.

I didn't do anything wrong.

I didn't do anything.

Good.

We're good.

I just don't like it when

everyone's mad at me.

Megan:

Elizabeth, you can get up now.

Officer:

Go go go go.

- What do people call you?

- Um, Beth.

- Not Elizabeth?

- No. Never.

I'm so sorry, Mrs. Schaefer.

- Get the board.

- Mrs. Schaefer?

Here, we've got it.

Get the defibrillator.

He agreed to let Elizabeth leave.

He put the gun down on the television

and he stepped towards the window.

He said, "I just don't like it

when everyone's mad at me. "

And then he was shot.

Did he pick the gun back up

before moving to the window?

No, the gun was on the television

when he was shot.

Sorry, got here as soon as I could.

Megan, a word.

Megan:

The gun was on the table.

Ken:
Yeah? Well, there are

a half dozen cops who say

that Schaefer was making

a threatening gesture with it.

Well, they're lying.

They escalated the conflict.

That guy was not the killer.

He could barely tie his own f***ing shoes.

Oh, and that makes him innocent?

Elizabeth was 19 years old,

for Christ's sakes.

And do you know what he called her?

Beth.

No one even called her Elizabeth.

Meg. Meg.

The DNA tests came back.

The cat hair that was in his house

was a positive match.

It was positive.

That doesn't make sense.

The gun was on the table, Ken.

That's the truth.

Listen, Len Schaefer kept that girl

hostage for two hours at gunpoint.

He was ranting and dangerous.

The cop who fired saw

an opening and took it.

I'd have done the same thing.

So would you.

It was a righteous shooting, okay?

Now you want to contest

the fine points, go ahead.

You'll lose.

There'll be a hearing into

your conduct in the matter.

Oh yeah.

And the board will find

that you were delusional,

that you disobeyed an order

and you endangered lives.

And you'll be fired

and I'll be censured

and most likely demoted

for putting you on the case.

This whole thing has been

embarrassing enough, Megan.

But it makes no sense.

Do you know what everyone calls her?

Beth.

You told me that already.

Now where was the gun, Meg?

Norcross on TV:

Good evening.

We believe that the man who the press

labeled as the Alphabet Killer

was shot and killed this evening.

Suspect's name was Len Schaefer.

He was an employee of

the Webster Fire Department.

He may have been using

a fireman's uniform

to lure his victims into his vehicle.

When the police arrived

on the scene this evening

he was holding

a young lady at gunpoint,

a young lady who had

double initials in her name.

Suspect was allegedly trying

to rape the young lady

when the police intervened.

He brandished a weapon at the officers.

The officers shot and killed him.

The young lady suffered no injuries.

She's recovering well.

We're still gathering evidence,

but I think it's safe to say

that this dark chapter in our community's

history is coming to an end.

Are there any questions?

Oh!

I wanted to catch you

before you left.

- Mmm.

- You okay?

Hey, Megan...

I wanted to say it was actually

nice working with you.

I'm sorry it ended this way.

No, it's all right.

I've still got my job

in the records department.

For now.

You don't think Len Schaefer

committed those murders, do you?

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