man coming. I chased after the girl and grabbed her hand
'Angrily the girl jerked away from me and slapped me across the face. I tried to calm her, but she began to pull my hair and scratch at me. The two of us fell to the ground and began to roll back and forth on each other. My own fear was becoming more than I could bear for I knew any moment, Chikatilo would find the two of us. I could not face him again. I had nightmare after nightmare over the years of him finding me and finish killing me. I struggled with the girl on the ground trying to get her to see the monster was nearly upon us. She only continued to fight with me. My fear began to turn into anger and now I began to fight back. Our legs twisted as we writhed together.
'We fought wildly, yanking hair, biting each other, hitting anywhere we could hit one another. I rolled on top of the girl and pulled the hammer from my coat. Pinning her down with my knees I began to pound the claw of the hammer into her face and chest. Over and over I hit her. When she stopped moving I leaned down and savagely bit her face.
My anger began to subside and my breathing began to slow. I looked down and saw the lifeless body of the girl under me. I stood and gathered my things and made my way to the clearing at the edge of the woods. In the distance was a well. There was blood on my hands and face and I needed to clean them. I washed quickly in the well water and a policeman approached me and asked me for my papers. I nervously gave him my identification papers. He turned to me and said, 'Citizen Chikatilo, what were you doing in the woods?'
I stared at him with shock and was only able to mutter the words,
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Devil's Business
James and Shelton watched Stasya sob uncontrollably. Shelton moved from one side of the table to other and sat down next to her. She placed her motherly arms around the woman and embraced her, letting her shed the bitter tears that had been held back for so long. Both Shelton and James understood why she felt she could not have told the story again if she stopped.
After several moments, Stasya pulled herself together, wiping her tears from her face. 'Forgive me,' she apologized.
'It's okay, we understand,' reassured James as he spoke softly to her.
'Thank you, both of you. This is the only other time I had ever spoken of this. The last time was with the KGB.'
'So this time instead of being in place of his victim, you were him,' enquired James.
'Yes that is correct. We had a name, but I didn't know the location. The KGB followed up on Chikatilo and learned he had been arrested once before as a suspect and let go for lack of evidence.
'On November 13, a hunter found the mutilated body of 22-year-old, Sveta Korostik near Donleskhoz Station. The following day the police began watching Chikatilo. Over the next six days they observed him at train stations attempting to talk to young children or teenaged girls. Then on November 20, he was arrested for suspicious behavior and was interrogated for the next nine days without result.
'On November 30, 1990, I was called to meet with my superiors and Dr. Aleksandr Bukhanovsky. Dr. Bukhanovsky was a psychiatrist who, back in 1985, had written a profile of the killer. It was arranged that the doctor would read the profile to Chikatilo to see if there would be any type of reaction. He showed none until I was brought into the room. There, after many nightmares and having given birth to his twin daughters, did I face the devil eye to eye. Instantly, he began to scream and beg I be taken away. Without hesitation he confessed and I was returned home.
'When the KGB brought me back to the detention center, we found Tarista and Devonia in courtyard where the children were allowed to play with the pets. My daughters were happily singing and playing surrounded by dead animals. The two of them had either strangled, stabbed, or bludgeoned every single animal to death. It was only then did I realize this nightmare was far from over.'
The three of them looked back towards the interrogation rooms. From the conference table they could see Tarista and Devonia talking to each other. The sight gave Shelton the chills.
'What happened to them after that?' asked James.
'The KGB took them away. The following year the Soviet Union collapsed and your government began immediate assistance. The KGB shared with the FBI how I had helped them solve the Rostov Case and a gesture in diplomatic good will I was given the opportunity to leave the Soviet Union and join the FBI.'
'You didn't care about being separated from the girls?' James asked.
'No. Whatever had been passed along to me from Chikatilo had been magnified in them. They were monsters like their father. I was glad to be free of them.'
'They were children, Commander. How can you call them monsters?' asked Shelton.
Stasya sighed heavily and answered in a tone that was matter of fact. 'You want proof?'
Both James and Shelton nodded together as Stasya slid the 'Eyes Only' file across the table. James took it and opened it.
'What am I looking for?'
'The fingerprint card,' she said pointing. James flipped through the file until he came to identical official FBI fingerprinting cards.
'Okay, now what?'
'Do you see the date?' she asked.
James looked and saw the date was February 14, 1994. 'Valentine's Day.'
'Do you not see that they were fingerprinted at the age of seven?' asked Stasya.
'That's not uncommon, Commander. Quite often we fingerprint children who come into custody from Child Protective Services. In fact, we even print them when they are born.'
'Valentine's Day is the day Chikatilo was executed Inspector. That very same day I learned the two of them tortured and murdered their nanny.'
'Okay, I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to tell me,' said James.
Frustrated, Stasya grabbed the file and retrieved a stack of cards that were secured by a thick elastic rubber band. Quickly she pulled it free and let the cards spill across the table in front of Shelton and James.
'Why so many?' asked Shelton.
'Jesus, are you telling me this is the number of times they have killed or been arrested?' asked James.
'Both, but that's not my point. I want you to take this first card and run it through the system,' said Stasya.
James, Shelton and Stasya rose from the table and crossed the hall to a command center. The room was windowless and filled with identification equipment. Stasya pointed James to the card processor. He slid the card that was marked with the names Tarista and Devonia Baranova. Within seconds the result was printed out.
James picked it up and gave a puzzled look.
'Who the hell are Albert and Alfred Stratton?' asked James.
'They were twin brothers who were executed for murder.'
'When?'
'1905. It was the first time fingerprints were used as evidence to convict someone for murder,' said Stasya as she watched Shelton and James stare at the card with complete confusion. 'Are you telling me when you run their fingerprints you get the prints of the Stratton Brothers?' asked James.
Stasya didn't answer, she only handed him another card. Reluctantly, James took and processed it. Within seconds the report printed. James read the name aloud, 'Ronny and Reggie Kray?'
'Murderers from London's East End in the late sixties.' James ran another card. Shelton read the printout, 'Dara and Derek Hume.'
'Twin brother and sister from New Zealand who murdered their entire family and buried their dead bodies in the garden path of their country home in late 1950's.'
