Fragrance of Revenge (29 page)

Chapter 90

I was very uncomfortable on the bed in my condition. Several people were dead, and I might be her next target. She was flipping the straight razor open and then pushing it closed on the mattress. It was much too close for my comfort.

Chris was sitting in a bedroom chair and just watching Alexis read passages out of Melanie’s diary. I could tell he was getting impatient with Alexis’ proximity to me and how she was reacting to her sister’s entries. If Alexis didn’t kill me, I’m sure Chris would love to take me off her hands.

“Alexis, I thought we were going to punish Scott for trying to escape.”

“I’m enjoying my sister’s entries and it is starting to get interesting. She’s out of the nut-house. Everyone thought she had resolved her issues, but she promised her psychiatrist that she would continue to sleep with him if he got her released. I can’t believe we both went down that same path. You heard what she did to him, and the authorities thought the boat blew up by accident.”

Alexis looked over to me, and I was not at all happy with where she was looking especially with the straight razor so close.

“Chris, listen to this entry. ‘Yesterday the four of us cemented plans to have each of our tormentors kidnapped and brought to the warehouse. It was going to be costly to have each one kidnapped, but it would be worth it. We decided to pay the Calumet gang to kidnap each one. They would deposit each one down the coal chute. We were concerned the gang would find us to be a better target and rape us instead. However, the money was a great incentive and would help them buy more guns.”

She flipped back a few pages. “I think I missed something.” She put the razor on the bed and tried to find whatever she was looking for. “Here it is.”

She picked up the razor again. ‘Bob Sullivan came over while my parents were gone for the weekend. It was just like the other weekends. I had just turned sixteen. I fell asleep after we made love and when he woke me up we weren’t alone. Three of his friends were in my bedroom. They tied me up and raped me all weekend. Bob threatened me when they finally left and told me if I told anyone, he would get my younger sister and they would rape her.’

She flipped ahead a few pages. ‘I continue to try to avoid Bob, but he makes rude comments to me. I could kill him.’

She flipped ahead. ‘Today I tried to burn down the house next door with Bob in it. They told me that I had gone too far and I was being committed to the asylum for observation.’

Another flip of pages. ‘We had our first prisoner last night. All four of us are getting revenge for what Paul Maloney had done to one of my friends. It was exciting to strip him and hang him upside down. We were all naked and cleaning him in the shower with our brushes and the ice-cold water. He was covered in coal dust and we were very happy to clean every inch of his body. The most exciting part was when the guillotine cut the rest of his body apart. She had already taken the best parts. Seeing his head, hands and feet along with his best parts in the trophy case caused me to almost wet myself.’

“I’m not going to read anymore of this out loud.” She read pages and pages and it was only going to be a short period when she finally saw my name in Melanie’s diary. “Holy shit…you were one of my sister’s captives. Chris, Scott was one of my twin sister’s captives.” I watched her excited look as she read entry after entry.

“Wouldn’t you know it…my other sister almost saved your ass? She busted in the door, but Melanie got the best of her and tied her up too. You were rescued by some people on a task force, but Melanie says she jumped in the freezing water. She obviously survived.”

Chris was now sitting beside her on the bed and Alexis couldn’t control herself and was skipping all over the diary now. “Chris, listen to this. ‘I managed to get plastic surgery in England and didn’t pay a dime. My surgeon loved my body and changed my look to make me even more attractive. He served his purpose and I cut his manhood off and put the parts in a large jar in his office. He wasn’t going to be using them any longer.’”

She flipped to more pages. ‘It was hard work and hot work in Bermuda and it took about a year to complete but the rooms are finally constructed. Now, all I have to do is to stock them with some attractive men. With my assets it shouldn’t be hard to do.’

“Chris my sister was worse than I ever imagined.” She flipped to more entries. ‘I enjoy making the rounds to the men downstairs. They try their best to resist my attention, but my naked body and my focused attention to their bodies always gets me the results I’m looking for.’

“Holy shit…listen to this. ‘Scott has come for a visit and I’m finally whole again. He tries harder than all the others but I’ve showed him what can happen to him if he doesn’t obey me. I carved an arrow into his lower body and I could tell he was worried I was going to cut those other parts off. He wouldn’t be much use to me, if those were gone.’

She closed the diary and jumped onto the bed and wound up sitting on my thighs. “All of this could be a novel, or even a couple. Did you like what she did to you and your body?”

I didn’t answer and paid an awful price. “Okay, Chris…he’s not cooperating. Why don’t you take out some of your frustrations and make him regret he tried to escape…not once, but twice. If you need any help, just let me know.” She climbed off my body and Chris came to the bottom of the bed.

It was bad enough having Alexis all excited about what she was reading, but I didn’t like Chris’ expression or what I saw in his hand. I also saw the look in Alexis’ eyes and she looked exactly like her sister Melanie when she was going to kill me.

*.*.*

I tried to think of Mercedes while he used the belt and the electric cord on my body. I was beyond feeling the pain and just prayed that Mercedes would be safe. I could feel myself losing my will to stay alive. Alexis’ urgings were getting further and further away like she was in a tunnel.

At one point I looked over and Alexis looked like the emotion of the day had caught up to her. I saw her eyes watering and wondered what she was thinking. However she wasn’t going to let anyone see her cry and Chris was hell bent on leather.

This was how it was going to end. I hoped if she was going to use the razor that I would be out of it.

There wasn’t any new pain but I could hear the sound of the belt on my body. However, it stopped suddenly. They must have been looking to see if I had passed out.

“Alexis, I just saw someone look in the garage out back.” I heard his bare feet on the floor. “Shit, shit…it looks like the guy might be a cop. He doesn’t have a uniform, but he moves like a cop. He’s going over to the bulkhead. We need to leave.”

“Chris I don’t think we’re going anywhere. Let’s just kill Scott and make a stand here.”

“What about using him as a shield?”

“Alexis I just wanted you and you deserved your father’s money. Let’s make a run for it and take Scott with us. He might be a good bargaining chip for later.”

“Okay, why not. I ran across something in my father’s files we might be able to use. Untie Scott and let’s get dressed and out of here.”

Chapter 91

Her plane finally landed in Boston and it was getting close to midnight. It had been a long day and she really wanted a hot bath and a good night’s sleep, but more importantly, a safe Scott would be better than anything.

She was trying to decide where she was headed right now. She needed to reach her father before she did anything else.

“Mercedes!” Mike yelled to her as she was headed away from baggage claim.

“Mike.” She felt strange putting her hand out to shake hands, but he came up to her and hugged her.

“Welcome home Mercedes. You must be pretty tired.”

“I am, but I feel relieved now that I’ve landed.”

She watched him take her suitcase and he had his arm around her waist and was moving her toward some seats.

“Mike, some thing has happened…hasn’t it?”

“Mercy, we need to talk. Please, let’s sit down here.”

“Oh Mike, please don’t tell me Scott is hurt or dead.”

“I’m sorry Mercedes, but it involves your parents.”

“My
parents
?”

“Yes…they both passed away this morning.”

“That can’t be…I talked to my father this morning.”

“Did he tell you anything at that time?”

“Yes he told me Melanie had a twin sister Alexis, and she was one of the abductors who took Scott.”

“Well they went to your parents’ house and as best we can tell, your mom had a heart attack, most likely when she saw what she thought was Melanie’s ghost. Your father looks like he either fell or was pushed through the banister and died in the fall.”

She closed her eyes and tried to get her arms around what she just heard.
Please God don’t let the only other person I love be dead too.
She took a deep breath and asked, “What about Scott?”

“As best we can tell he is alive and was there with Alexis and a caregiver by the name of Chris Sullivan. They managed to get away, but we have every town in Mass looking for their car. Mercedes, I’m really sorry about your parents.”

“Thank you Mike. There was a plot to kidnap me when I landed in Boston, but I managed to deal with the man on the plane who was involved. However, he killed an unsuspecting stewardess. That is why we were diverted to the Miami airport. The same group kidnapped my partner, Ralph Reynolds, but he was rescued.”

“We know about Ralph. Paddy has been in contact with Richard Damelio’s brother Robert in Venezuela. He was the angel you and Ralph needed. He was working with the Venezuelan military trying to find the missing kidnapped citizens. They raided all of the addresses Richard had in his files and we don’t have the final count of the number of people rescued but it is staggering. They also captured many of the gang.”

“By any chance, did you happen to hear a Captain Chavez’s name mentioned?”

“He wasn’t immediately captured, but one of the men captured made an arrangement and told the authorities he was leaving on a plane bound for Boston. They tried to arrest him, but he and two other men were killed in a shootout at the airport.”

“That is too bad, but good riddance. I would have enjoyed testifying against that slimy piece of shit.”

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

“I can’t do anything for my parents at this point, but maybe I can do something for Scott. Mike, I gave an informal resignation to my boss. I’m not going to work for the FBI any longer, effective immediately.”

“Do you want a job?”

“Mike…I really want a family. Finding Scott is critical to that direction. How can I help?”

Chapter 92

He was headed to the Brattle Street office and Mercedes looked like she could use a good night’s sleep. He let her rest her eyes as he made the thirty minute trip.

“Mercy we’re here.”

“This used to be home when I was on the task force.”

“It can be again if you want to work for Paddy.”

“I’ll give it some thought, but I really want to enjoy settling down with Scott and hopefully raising a family.”

“Let’s go inside. You know you can do all of that. I need to keep Scott away from future investigations, and having you at the office here, might just provide that result.”

“Mike, this is the third time one of my sisters has him hostage. I sure hope he is going to be as lucky as he was the last time, but I’m really worried. My sister has nothing to lose at this point. I’m sure she would like nothing more than to hurt me by killing Scott, or killing both of us.”

They entered the old colonial building and were greeted with the smell of fresh brewed coffee. “Paddy, look who is here.”

“Mercedes welcome. I’m so sorry about your parents. Are you okay?”

“I’ve had a very trying few days, but I’m okay…tired, but okay. I need right now to do everything I possibly can to save Scott’s butt, so I can pound the shit out of him.”

“I think you could really do that too.”

“Paddy, any news? Mike asked.

“I have the coffee in the conference room. Why don’t we go in there and discuss what we have, and what we should do next.”

The coffee tasted very good, and he noticed Mercedes finished her cup immediately, and poured another.

Paddy got up and went over to the blackboard. “I made some notes, but let me explain. After the unit spotted your dad’s car in the garage and the bulkhead clasp broken, he reported he thought they might be in the house. Many of the lights were on. We dispatched many cars to the scene, but when they got inside, the abductors and Scott were gone.”

He continued. “They found your mother in the master bedroom and confirmed she died of a heart attack. Your father died from a fall from the upstairs balcony. Neither one of them suffered from what we can tell. There were traces of blood on the master bedroom bed, but nothing life-threatening. They found electric cords, one with the end cut which might have been used to torture Scott.”

“What condition was the house in?” Mercedes asked.

“It was obvious they were looking for valuables, and found the safe, but never got into it. We found a page from your sister Melanie’s diary. It was about you and her sailing on your grandfather’s boat. It looks like it might have been ripped out in a rage, most likely by Alexis.”

“What kind of car were they driving?” she asked.

“They are in a ’63 Pontiac Tempest…gold in color. However, the thing that all of us are surprised at is that with all the towns on alert, there hasn’t been one sighting of their car. We can’t figure that out, unless by chance they changed vehicles.”

“Anything missing?” Mercedes asked.

“Well the diary is missing and something from the top of the desk, but we don’t know what it was. Any idea?”

“My dad kept a neat office. What side of the desk are we talking about?”

“The right side, why? Do you think you know what it was?”

“Was his address book there?”

“I don’t know. Let me make a phone call.” Paddy left the conference room.

“Mercedes are you hanging in there?”

“Yes and no. Scott and I had words a few days ago about him going to see Maggie dance.”

“Yes, Scott told me.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. He was frustrated one night and went to watch her dance. Why?”

“Nothing else?”

“If you mean did he spend any time with her privately…absolutely not.”

“Then I guess his other bad news was about him doing the investigation.”

“What do you mean other bad news?”

He saw her let out a deep breath. “No, it was just Scott’s way of not lying to me, but I took it the wrong way.”

Paddy came back in the conference room. “Paul confirmed there was no address book on the desk or anywhere in the office.”

“What are you thinking Mercedes?”

“I think I know where they might be headed. One of the pictures on the piano was of our New Hampshire camp.”

“Do you know the address?”

“Yes, but better. I know how to get there and some other potential info if that is where they went.”