A Killer's Watch (29 page)

“It appears that we have a visitor.” Standing, he smiled
down at Aubrey. “Feel free to scream, if you like. You are in the basement of
this home, far away from the front door, and the room is soundproof. Just
remember how easily I can get to your family, to your daughter, if you do
anything that displeases me.”

With that, he left.

Aubrey released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding,
and considered everything Graham told her. She didn’t doubt for a second that
he would follow through with his threat to harm her family. The thought of him
getting his hands on her daughter made her physically ill.

~~~

“Hello,” Graham pasted on his best smile as he opened the
door. He’d taken a moment to apply his disguise before greeting the visitor.
“May I help you?”

The middle-aged woman held a cake plate in one hand and a
basket in the other. The basket was covered, but Graham could see the edge of
several jars peeking from beneath the tea towel.

“Hello, I’m Glenda Hawks, from down the road. Thought I’d
drop by to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Smiling, Glenda apparently
expected to be invited in.

“How do you do, I’m Ronald Barberry. How nice of you to drop
by. Won’t you come in?” Stepping aside, Graham prepared to spend a few minutes
with the interfering cow, in hopes that it would appease her curiosity, as well
as that of others of her kind.

“Why, I don’t mind if I do.” Glenda held the cake out to
Graham. “These are for you and your family. I know how difficult moving day can
be, so I thought I’d pop over with a few treats. Is Mrs. Barberry home? I’d
love to meet her.”

“Thank you, this is very kind.” Graham placed the cake plate
on the foyer table, and the basket on the floor. “I’m afraid that my wife is
not here, yet. We had some loose ends to tie up in Oregon, so she stayed
behind. Please, come in and sit down.”

“Oh my, I’ve heard that Oregon is lovely, but I’ve never
been. What brings you to Nebraska, Mr. Barberry?”

Graham smiled warmly as he launched into his cover story. He
knew that it would raise more suspicions if he avoided the neighbors, so he
prepared himself well, in advance of the move. If Glenda Hawks could tell that
his hair and mustache were fakes, she was very good at hiding it. She appeared
enthralled, as he weaved the story of his mythical life, with his imaginary
wife.

~~~

“Finally, it’s the new list from Anna,” Jeri dropped the
chicken leg she was holding to read the text. “It’s hard to believe this many
people paid cash for properties in one county.”

“Still, it cuts the original list by half, so it’s worth
it,” Ethan read over her shoulder.

“It was good of her to separate the properties by location,”
Jeri told him, helping to clean up the debris from their impromptu picnic.
“I’ll touch base with Monique and Chloe, make sure that they have the revised
version.”

“The first property on the list is only a few miles from
here.” Ethan peered at the map on his phone.

“That works. Let’s go find us a psychopath.”

~~~

Aubrey fought back tears as she thought of her family,
missing her, worried for her, needing her. No matter what Graham said, she
would never give up hope that she would see them again.

Graham had been gone a long time, long enough for her to
envision a way out of this mess. She would have to gain his trust, quickly.
Once she was free, she could escape, find a phone, warn the police to protect
her family.

It would be so much easier if she could disable Graham, use
his phone. But how? He had at least a hundred pounds on her. Knocking him out
would be difficult, at best. But not impossible.

He said they would live as man and wife. More than likely,
that meant that she would prepare his meals. She could poison him. Surely he
would have stocked the place with cleaning supplies. Anything with bleach in it
would do the trick.

Without warning, the door to the room opened. He wasn’t
kidding about the room being soundproof, she hadn’t heard him approach.

“Did you miss me?” he asked, jovially.

“Would you like me to lie and say that I did?” she shot
back.

Graham ignored her remark. Spinning his lies to the nosy neighbor
had put him in a wonderful mood. His story had been so convincing, that he’d
become caught up in it. Now, standing in the same room as his one true love, he
felt the powerful enough to turn the lies into truth.

“I would like for you to accept that we are together now. I
would like for you to remember how wonderful it was between us, before. It can
be that way again, only this time it can be so much better.”

“It’s hard to accept anything when you’ve got me tied to a
bed like a sex slave. Is that what I am to you, Graham? A sex slave?”

“Heavens, no.” Graham’s expression was one of distaste.

“You said that we would live as man and wife. Is this how
you treat your wife? Trussed up to a bed, without so much as a blanket for
cover?”

“No, of course not.” Graham could see where she was going
with her argument. As it suited his purposes exactly, he let her continue.

“Then why am I still in this windowless room, with no way to
so much as go to the bathroom? You’ve explained to me that my family’s lives
depend on my cooperation. I believe you. I will not try to escape, Graham.
Please, unshackle me, and I will prove to you that I am willing to work with
you. We can begin with dinner. I assume you have food in the house? Let me cook
for you, as a good wife would.”

Graham stared down at her, amazed that she had come around
so quickly to his way of thinking. Obviously, she still held out hope for an
escape, who wouldn’t? But another look at her family would go a long way toward
cementing the threat against them.

“Dinner sounds lovely, thank you. First, I’d like to show
you something.”

It had taken time to find out who was keeping her children,
but thanks to a conversation between Aubrey’s husband and mother, Graham had
learned that the kids were with friends. Currently, they were out of the loop,
didn’t even know that their mother was missing. With a few keystrokes, he’d
infiltrated the friend’s computer network. He could now show Aubrey her little
brats, courtesy of a laptop in the family room.

Graham pressed several buttons on the television remote,
switching the input from her family, to the new set up. In a matter of moments,
Aubrey could see her daughter, and her son, sitting on a sofa in a room she
knew as well as her own.

“That’s Rita’s house, how did you...?” Her voice caught as
she watched Jessie rise, and walk across the room. Her beautiful daughter was
well, and appeared happy, protected from the truth.

She couldn’t stop the tears then if she tried, which she
didn’t. Seeing her children brought everything home, the ugliness that was
Graham Grant, and his plans for their apparently limited future.

“It’s so easy, my dear. Don’t you understand that I can find
your family, get to them whenever I so desire?”

“Yes, I understand.” Aubrey’s spoke quietly, her thoughts of
escape temporarily derailed.

“Good. I’ll take you up on the offer of dinner, now. But
first, we’ll arrange one simple precaution.” Graham walked to the cabinet on
the opposite side of the room. She couldn’t see what he removed, until he came
to stand beside her.

The collar looked like something a dog would wear, only
wider. Spikes, sharp and ugly, lined one side. A large chain draped from a ring
attached to the center of the contraption, to a smaller wrist band.

“Raise your head, so I can put this around your neck. You
will never be far from me, sweet Aubrey. I’ve been told that the spikes can be
quite painful, deadly even, if you try and pull away from me.”

“I won’t do that, Graham.” Trying to keep the fear from
showing through, Aubrey used her most subservient tone of voice.

“Of course you won’t. Now then, let’s remove those pesky
shackles from your wrists and ankles. I have a lovely peignoir for you to wear,
when you are upstairs. Several, in fact. I do hope they meet with your
approval.”

~~~

“Three down, how many to go?” Ethan asked as they walked to
the car.

“Six. The next one’s about twenty minutes away.”

“That’s a short distance in this county. It’s unusual to see
so much flat, undeveloped land. Everything is out in the open.”

“That’s what happens when you grow crops, I suppose. Pretty
soon, all of this land will be thick with corn, wheat, soybeans, whatever else
they grow around here.”

“I’m sure it will look different, then, but it will still be
flat. There’s no cover, he can see us coming too easily.”

“I don’t like it, either. But we can’t very well go in hot,
unless we’re positive that the house belongs to Grant. We have no choice but to
march right up to the front door, and hope that someone is there to answer.”

“Seeing the kids playing outside of the first two properties
was a stroke of luck, I suppose. But we were much too exposed on the second
two. It’s the same for Chloe and Monique. Grant could open fire on any of us,
without warning. This is not an ideal situation.”

“Good thing we’re wearing these handy-dandy vests, then. If
he shoots, and manages to hit one of us, the bullets will bounce right off.”
Jeri grinned at Ethan’s expression.

“Not exactly, as you well know. And what if he shoots us in
the head? We should be wearing helmets, like SWAT.”

“And scare some unsuspecting family to death, showing up at
their house? I don’t think so.” Jeri shook her head. “You’re right, this isn’t
ideal, but it’s the best we can do to find Aubrey, under the circumstances.”

~~~

“It’s a lovely kitchen.” Aubrey moved awkwardly, in no small
part due to the spiked collar encircling her neck. Her muscles were also stiff
from so many hours of inactivity.

“I’m so glad that you think so.”

Graham stood directly behind her, so close that she could
feel his body heat. The six-foot length of chain stretching from her collar to
his wrist band clinked together whenever they moved.

“What would you like for me to prepare?” Aubrey glanced
around carefully, looking for anything she might use to knock him out. She
hadn’t counted on being leashed to him like a dog, but she would deal with that
when, and if, she managed to disable him.

“Something simple, I think. We’ve both had a trying day.”

“I can check the pantry for soup, if you like. And we can
have a salad, if you have the ingredients.”

“That will do, for tonight. You’ll find everything you need
in the pantry, and in the refrigerator. Pots and pans are in the drawer by the
stove, and the dishes are in the cabinet beside the sink. I’ll sit here and
watch, while you work.” Graham positioned himself at the breakfast table, after
moving it closer to the center of the kitchen.

“I’ll make the salad first.” Aubrey held onto the chain as
she moved, trying to keep it from pulling on the collar. The spikes had not yet
pierced her skin, but she could feel them digging into her neck.

“I hope that the collar is not too uncomfortable. It will
only be necessary until you prove that you intend to behave.”

“I told you, I will not try to escape. I love my family too
much to put them in danger, Graham.” Aubrey spoke softly as she removed
lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers from the fridge. 

“You always were smart,” Graham nodded approvingly.

“I need a cutting board, and a knife,” Aubrey told him,
opening drawers as she searched.

“I’m sure you will find what you need.” Graham was
unconcerned about her having a knife, he could easily overpower her with one
swift tug on the chain.

“I’ll wash the veggies, then sit at the table with you to
make the salad.” The butcher knife Aubrey held was too large to use on a salad,
but it was the perfect size to put Graham out of commission. If she could only
get close enough to sink it into his chest.

Before this moment, Aubrey would not have thought herself
capable of killing another human being. But now, with her life, and her
family’s lives, on the line, she didn’t give it a second thought.

This must be what they mean by survival instinct, she
reasoned, running water over the lettuce. I’ll have to catch him off-guard, but
I’ll only have one chance to do it.

God, she prayed, give me the strength I need to get out of
this mess, please
.
Her silent prayer went
unnoticed, as she had her back to Graham. He didn’t see her close her eyes,
didn’t see her make the sign of a cross, quickly, over her chest. The fact that
she wasn’t Catholic didn’t matter, making the cross felt right. After all, she
was asking God to help her kill someone.

No, she corrected, I’m asking God to help me save myself,
and my family, the only way I see possible.

“I didn’t realize that cleaning vegetables could take so
long,” Graham’s droll comment broke into her thoughts.

“Almost finished,” Aubrey replied, reaching for the carrots.

“I must say, this is quite a different experience for me,”
Graham smiled to himself. “I’ve never watched anyone prepare food before,
unless you count the time that your daughter brought her laptop into the
kitchen. You were making some kind of pasta, I believe. Perhaps you’ll make the
same for me.”

Aubrey felt anxiety wash over her at Graham’s casual remark.
Knowing that he watched her family, intruded on their private time together,
gave her shudders from head to toe.

“Do you remember what kind of pasta?” Aubrey struggled to
keep the conversation civil. It was wholly in her best interests to make Graham
believe that she was resigned to their arrangement.

“No, but I can review the footage, let you know.”