Devil's Demise (19 page)

“It would be hard to put it into words but the last 20 minutes was something else. I didn’t want it to happen, but I couldn’t have stopped that.”

Taylor leant into Fran and kissed her softly on the forehead, then on the mouth and they shared the warmth of each other one more time before Taylor pressed the button to free the lift and it carried on up to her floor. She exited and glanced back at Fran with fond affection, her mouth curled up with the thought of the exhilarating sex they had just shared.

Fran watched Taylor’s lithe body walk confidently away from her and stop at the door to her room. She turned and smiled at her but guilt made her go into her room and shut the door without extending an invite to share her bed for the night. Fran sighed as she leant back in the lift but she could still feel the physical effects of what had just happened to her and she smiled into herself warmly. She went straight to her own room as she did not want any of her team to notice that her neck was significantly red and that she looked a little dishevelled. Knowing them, questions would be asked and the last thing she wanted was finger-pointing in the office where Kay also worked; that would be a little too awkward to face and she really didn’t mean to harm Kay in any way; she was just drawn to Taylor and couldn’t help herself.

Taylor sat down on the end of the bed, her head in her hands. She took several deep breaths before going to look at herself in the mirror.
What are you doing? Why can’t you just leave things alone? I think I love Kay and I can still do that. What is wrong with me?
She took a deep breath and stood up, slipping out of her clothes and getting into bed, the scent of Fran still heavy on her skin. Her heart fluttered and she knew that the encounter was a little more than it should have been. Fran’s scent still sent waves of excitement and pleasure through her body. Her eyes closed and she imagined hearing the soft moans that escaped Fran’s lips as she made love to her, their kisses intense. Taylor sighed, rolled her eyes and turned over and went to sleep, her mind tormented at her ability to screw things up, because she was weak when it came to beautiful women and Fran was beautiful.

John sat down against a tree, his presence hidden from the
prying eyes of those he stalked, but he could see the log cabin from where he sat. His mind swirled with thoughts of Susan, thoughts that would send chills down the spine of any person. He was imagining their next encounter and how he would torture them both, Andrew first for soiling his bride and taking what was rightfully his. His mind was so twisted now that he actually believed that Susan was his property and she was his to do with as he pleased, for him to rule over. Normal thoughts were long gone from the mind of the psychotic killer, now so depraved and unfeeling he was a danger to anyone and anything that crossed his path.

The sun came up and there was a buzz in the hotel as the team gathered at 6.30 am for breakfast. All were eager to get on with the day and chatted amongst themselves about the next lead they had to follow up. Taylor was last to appear, not through lateness but because she had been in a conference call with the top table. Everyone that was anyone had an input in the investigation, and the team's progress or lack of it was hot on the agenda. On arrival at breakfast, Taylor apologised to her colleagues for being later than she had said they were to be there. Polite hellos and a little jibe or two followed but the mood of the team remained relaxed.

Taylor looked over at Fran. Their eyes met and only they felt the familiarity and fondness that their eyes passed to one another. There was no embarrassment or expectation, just a mutual attraction and the thoughts of their private rendezvous the night before in the lift. They all finished up their full English breakfast, with a bit of black pudding and haggis to add a little bit of Scots to it, retrieved their kit bags and moved off to their next area for investigation.

John opened his eyes, blinking in the sun that shone brightly through the trees and onto his rugged unshaven face. He found it hard to focus on anything. The sun dazzled him and his vision was blurred. He was aware that he wasn't alone anymore and that there was something there in front of him but his eyes were still not working properly yet. He felt no reason to be afraid. He focused harder and there she was, two tiny little feet in front of him, a little girl was right there playing with twigs, talking away to herself, not at all bothered that he was just sitting there in the middle of nowhere against a tree. Unlike the wild animals that could sense the danger, she could not! John didn't move and discreetly looked around him for any parents that may be close by. It was still early and he was a bit uneasy that a child was out there alone, his human side re-emerging from within his twisted soul, worried about what might happen to such a young child on her own. His evil didn't and had never focused on children and he felt no feelings of ill will towards her; he almost cared about her welfare, instead of worrying that she had obviously seen him and where he was. She stopped muttering to herself and looked straight up at him and spoke.

“What you doing here? Are you playing with twigs like me too?”

John was taken aback at the child's lack or fear and her warmth towards him. He almost felt human, totally relaxed in her company, his murderous thoughts far from his mind as he leant forward to speak to the girl.

“I am. These are great twigs here, aren't they?” He picked up a handful, jiggling them in his huge hands. The little girl moved closer to him and John handed his twigs over to her. He was aware that he didn't want anyone to know he was there and that this little girl could turn out to be a problem for him. The little girl said, “Thank you,” and started to move away.

John whispered to her, “Come here a minute,” and the little girl stopped and paused.

John wondered if it was now he was going to have to take some kind of action to silence her. He thought,
this is when she'll remember the talk about strangers and the trouble she'll be in.

He was wrong; she turned back and said, “Do you want your twigs back?”

He replied, “No, but I've got a secret that you've got to keep.
Come here so I can whisper.”

John's eyes lost focus. They rolled back in his head, his thoughts twisting from right and wrong: his saviour or her young life. She walked closer, totally innocent and unaware of the monster she approached, her wavy blonde hair on her shoulders, her pretty clothes so neat and clean. She was now right beside him and she bent down to allow him to whisper in her ear.

John took a deep breath and knew he was making a huge mistake by letting her live, but he said, “You can't tell anyone I'm here. I'm a police man and I'm on a secret mission and you're now my little helper, but you can't tell anyone you've seen me because that will ruin my cover. Can you do that - pretend I'm not here - please?”

“Yeesss, I can do that. Can I go now? Mummy will be looking for me.”

“Of course you can,” he said, as the little girl moved away from him without a care in the world. She skipped as she left the cover of the trees and headed up the grassy area and out of sight.

John's heart was pounding. He didn't want to be caught and the last chance to stop her leaving was now gone, but killing a small child was not his thing and was very wrong in his twisted reasoning and logic. If he had killed her though, there would have been a major search of the area to find her. He would have been caught unless he left and then he would miss out on the opportunity to have his final party with Susan and Andrew. He'd just have to sit it out and hope that she did as he had asked her to do.

Taylor sat in the front of the van aware of Fran's gaze that was aimed in her direction. Her face flushed in a subtle way, only noticed by Fran. A slight smile came over Taylor's face and Fran looked at her long enough to let Taylor feel her desire and be reminded a little of the previous night's tingling sensation. There were true feelings in Fran's eyes, and a little too in the look that was returned, which could only mean trouble for Taylor.

Susan came out onto the veranda of the cabin, stretched her
arms and made noises of someone that had slept well and loved well, as she shook out all of her stiffness. John watched her as she winced at full stretch as if she felt a pain from one of her internal injuries. John smiled at this, taking the credit for all the pain he had caused and that still hurt her now, and possibly for the rest of her life, although that wouldn't be for long if he got his way. His smirk was short lived as Andrew came out and put his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. John could see his lips say I love you to her before she turned round to fully embrace Andrew face to face. The grinding of John's teeth was lucky not to be heard by them, it was so loud and forceful and only a short distance away.

The little girl got to her mummy's car and was helped up onto her booster seat. She hadn't been away long but had been out of sight long enough for her mum to tell her that she shouldn't go anywhere without her mummy or an adult because there were bad people out there and that mummies worried. The little girl sat back in her seat and looked at the floor, avoiding her mother's gaze. Her mum saw this but just put it down to her getting a telling off and feeling guilty for going away. She didn't think anything more of her daughter's furtive behaviour.

John's heart was pounding through his chest with rage, excitement and apprehension over what would happen next. He watched Susan as Andrew led her back into the cabin. John's blood was at boiling point. His head told him to wait and his heart told him to act now when he had the chance. He moved slowly round the side of the cabin watching where he placed his feet this time, careful not to make any noise. The seclusion of the cabin allowed the privacy that Susan and Andrew craved, and the privacy that John craved that little bit more. His mind floated back to the little girl. Why were they here? What had brought them to here of all places?
I haven't seen anyone else since I've been here and then out of nowhere a little girl is close enough to speak to. Do they have a cabin here? Where are they from? Shit!
He raised his head up enough to look through the window and watched Andrew as he lay gently on top of Susan, their kisses soft and tender, a loving union which sent glass through John's head. He felt heat rise within him and had to fight to contain his rage and deal with the situation logically, making sure he didn't mess up his plans through frustration and anger.

“There was a man in the woods this morning mummy,” the little girl said under her breath.

“What's that you said, sweetheart?”

“Nothing mummy. I was just talking to my dolly”

“Okay, do you need a drink or anything?”

“No thanks mummy.”

The little girl put her head forward, the guilt of not telling her mummy the truth weighing heavy on her tiny little shoulders but she didn't say another word as they got onto the motorway and headed back home to Edinburgh.

Susan moaned as Andrew's mouth released her nipple, his kisses lowering, his mouth and tongue loving Susan intimately, her gasps of pleasure encouraging Andrew to intensify his touch, his caress focused; focused on letting Susan release her desire. Her orgasm spiralled through her body, pulsing over and over, Andrew's desire purely for his lover's pleasure. Only when she gripped his hair and whispered I want you to fuck me did he allow himself any physical pleasure, although the excitement of pleasuring Susan had already left him in a euphoric state, almost climatic. He was still able to hold off long enough, however, until his rhythmical thrusts and carefully placed hands brought Susan to a deeper, longer and more satisfying climax than the last one. They held on to each other, their love making always charged with desperation, physical release and mental relaxation, although a hint of fear was always present and the pain, the pain from John Brennan's attack, was a constant reminder of his ownership of her, a sensation she felt would be with her for the rest of her living days.

John tried the handle of the back door; he couldn't believe his luck after all he'd put her through - it opened. There was a silent swish of the door as he entered the kitchen at the rear of the cabin. He heard Susan moaning in the bedroom, and it wasn't pain she was feeling; his heart pounded with uncontrollable rage as he passed through the hallway, his eyes narrowing as he strained to see through the space between the frame and the door as he stared into the bedroom. He watched. He was aroused and insanely jealous at the same time, his head spinning with what to do next and when to do it. He breathed out harder than he thought, a faint noise escaped into the air. Susan's body went completely rigid, she couldn't breathe with terror, a really familiar
terror. Andrew felt her body change instantly but he had not heard John's sigh, a sound that Susan could never forget. John watched and realised his mistake as Andrew stopped making love to Susan. She pushed Andrew up and her voice shrieked in a hideous wail, “He's here! He's fucking in here!”

John moved swiftly round the door way, his teeth bared with his tongue gripped between them as he moved towards the bed. Andrew, naked and totally vulnerable launched himself off the bed and ran full force towards him with his shoulder down, straight at John. He screamed at Susan to get out and run. Susan hesitated but fear dominated her senses and she shoved open the small window, grabbing at some clothes and throwing herself out head first with no concern for where and how she would land, her only focus was to escape. She was crying loudly. She couldn't bear to be in the same room as him; her skin crawled with fear, as she got up, bruised, but unharmed, naked with bare feet.

Andrew's momentum had managed to knock John off his feet and onto the floor but he had not foreseen the power that was to follow as John gripped his neck and tightened his arm round it. His eyes felt like they were bulging out of his head as John's powerful forearm began to crush his windpipe. Andrew scrabbled at John's arms, tearing, gouging, gripping, all to no avail; John's strength was not a force to be reckoned with and he was not going to yield easily. He was slowly killing Andrew. Andrew fought as hard as he could but then, against all instinct to fight, he decided to change his tactic. Risking everything, he made himself go limp, allowing the full power of John to take over. Andrew's heart raced and his head spun with the lack of oxygen as he faked unconsciousness, which was now slowly becoming reality. Had he made a fatal mistake and helped John kill him?

Susan's bare feet crashed through the ferns and cruel cutting foliage, her legs running as fast as they could carry her. She could barely breathe as the pain of the undergrowth cut into her feet, legs, face and body and the fatigue of her sprint set in quickly, her body still pretty broken from John's last assault. She had to slow down before she expired. She paused for a second and pulled on Andrew's shirt, her pants and a sock, which was all she had been able to grab. She had no shoes and nothing for warmth or protection. Luckily the shirt was a nondescript, dull colour that would not be easily spotted in the woods and undergrowth if she
had to hide later, which she knew she would have to do if she wanted to survive; she'd have to. Her heart sank as the realisation of her escape may well have cost Andrew his life, a life that he had put on the line to save the woman he loved. Blood seeped through the shirt's fabric from the many small cuts already covering her scarred body but she felt no pain as adrenaline pumped through her like a raging river, her desire to live overwhelming.

The area where they were was very remote with miles between lodges, roads and civilisation. Their choice of venue for their escape had become the worst they could have made, especially as they had brought what they were escaping from with them. Susan started to run again, with no idea of where to go. She only knew she had to get as far away from there as she could. Her eyes were wide like a scared animal but her will to survive was unparalleled. She would not be beaten by him; she would take her own life first if she had to.

Taylor lifted her phone to her ear, the Inspector was wanting an update. She leant back a little as she began to explain the next site they were going to check out, Findlay letting her know about further possible sightings and leads that had to be checked out. She turned sideways deliberately to look at Fran, who was already watching her, her eyes focused on Taylor's mouth. Her beautiful mouth was moving round the words with elegant finesse. She spoke with a majestic sensuality, effortlessly teasing anyone who wanted to watch. Her tongue would glide over her lips unintentionally and for anyone that liked her, this was a very seductive and alluring act. She looked at Fran, her eyes softly closing as she remembered the night before, the pleasure taken and given was still arousing them both. The swirl of desire was there for only these two to feel.