My Heart Belongs To You: A Psycho Thriller (17 page)

The small copse that Hanson had selected to park
,
occupied an elevated position above the compound giving him a perfect view down onto the large stone built main house
which
acted as a
hub
for the surrounding
four smaller outbuildings and what was clearly a stable block.  His
two-hour
study had shown him that while the setup looked impressive, strong and formidable, it was in fact
,
all show.  At least
,
it was to Hanson’s trained eye.  His study showed a blind spot where the CCTV
cameras
back and forth swing
,
left a narrow corridor
unguarded,
where a man could slip through unseen by hidden eyes tucked away in some dark room.  There was also the fact that during his study
,
he had only seen one lone guard patrolling the inside perimeter.  Patrolling was probably
misleading,
as that would suggest some kind of diligence and alertness, two descriptions clearly alien to the slouching stroll he had witnessed by the overweight youth with the wires trailing from his ears
,
indicating an iPod or something similar.  From his
study,
he guessed there were upwards of six men within the compound
,
but it could easily be more.

Hanson watched the last stubborn rays of gold slip behind the horizon to the west and started down towards the back boundary of the compound
.
It
was
there
that he would make his entry. 
There
he would sli
p through the narrow corridor, then he would have
his opportunity
to
ask Frank Boyce certain questions
,
p
olitely
and
quietly.  If he failed to answer
,
politeness would be aborted
.
Mr. Jekyll would take over and try a different
tactic
.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Stephanie rubbed her head trying to ease the tension that was causing the pain behind
her eyes.  She walked back and forth in front of the long white board that was now so full of scribbles and notations pl
aced by
Myers
and
Turner
that
i
t resembled a subway wall.  She was frustrated that she had not been able to find the thread, the link that she knew was so very important to John.  She wanted to please her brother
, because
he did so much for her.  She stopped
,
suddenly a single word
sprang
into her mind. ‘
Finger
,
’ she whispered.

‘Finger?’ asked Jane
,
coming up behind her
.
‘
Is
there something that you’ve found?’

Stephanie’s head lifted for a fleeting second to look at Jane and then up to the white board.  ‘I… I’m not sure, but…’ she stroked her temple
,
her deep frown a reflection of a turmoil within a brain not wired like other peoples.  She had read each of the police reports on Cupid’s victims
.
She
could pick out from memory any one word from any line on any page of any paragraph, yet she was finding it impossible to get her brain to view and correlate the information she had taken in
with
a different format, to sift out the link she knew in her gut was there.

Jane led her by the arm to the sitting area, ‘
You
need to take a break
,
Stephanie.’

‘But John’s waiting and… and Tom’s in trouble and…’

‘And
you need to step back for a moment
,
’ cut in Jane
,
who could clearly see that John’s sister was becoming extremely anxious.  ‘Why don’t you let me get you a cup of tea
?
’

Step
h
anie’s tight features relaxed.  She liked tea, tea and biscuits, three biscuits, not two or four
,
but three.  She remembered that was how many her mum always gave her
,
but her mum was dead now.

Jane noted Step
h
anie checking her watch, ‘I know it’s not twelve o’clock Stephanie
,
but… let’s just make an exception
,
shall we?’  Jane watched her inner struggle, ‘I’m sure John would say it was
okay
.’

Stephanie actually smiled a
t the mention of her brother
.
Jane could see she was winning her over.

‘Well, I
…I
suppose it will be alright
,
Jane.’

Jane guided her to a seat, patting her on the knee as she eased down
.
‘
Just
relax for a while
,
Steph
.
You’ll
feel much better, trust me.’  As she was about to turn and head for the refreshment area
,
Stephanie suddenly grabbed her hand and began rubbing her wedding ring.   ‘What is it
,
Steph?’

She waited as John’s sister closed her eyes
,
her grip tight on her hand
,
her fingers
,
stroking her wedding ring.  ‘Fingers
,
Jane, it’s the fingers.’

‘What about the fingers, what is it
,
Steph?’

The troubled savant shook her head
,
her eyes still tightly closed.  ‘I… I don’t know but… I know it’s the link, I think it’s what John needs.’

…………
………………………………………………………………………………

Adam felt a warm glow inside as he drove away from the airfield.  It was generated as much by the man’s wild thrashing as he washed down the woman, as the stroking of her body.  Adam didn’t like the man Tom.  He wasn’t like the others who were all reduced to blubbering wrecks
.
No,
Tom was defiant, even aggressive and Adam took that as a challenge to his control. 
However, she
was truly
beautiful;
the temptation to take her was great
,
but not a
s great as the fear of Cupid t
hat quashed those urges.  He’d seen the man go to work on six couples and done so in such a way that still sent shivers through him
.
The
way he shut out the screams and the pleading as he went about the coupling
,
as he called it
,
was terrible to watch and so Adam didn’t.  He remained close by
,
but could not bring himself to look.  He knew that his employer was insane
,
but he didn’t care
.
The
man had saved his life, given him confidence,
and treated
him as a friend when he never had any.  So once a year
,
he wo
uld do what was asked of him
,
and then
shut it out until that day came again
.
Valentine’s Day, the day for all lovers over the world to give their hearts to
each
other.  Cupid had let slip one night after too many drinks that he would never love again
.
That
the woman he had hoped would be his partner in life had broken his own heart
,
but on Valentine’s evening seven year
s
ago
,
she had told him that their relationship was over,
and
that she wanted to be free.  Cupid had raged that she would never be free,
and
that she would never give her heart to another.  Adam remembered that he had nodded at what he th
ought were the right moments
,
and then
shook his head when appropriate.  Since that
night,
his employer had not mentioned the woman again and Adam
did not feel inclined to ask
.
To
do so would
risk seeing t
he temper that had unnerved him
flare again.

Adam wasn’t looking forward to 7 p.m. the following day
,
but nonetheless
,
he wo
uld do what was asked of him
,
then revert to the
simple
daily chores set him by his employer, driving him when asked, collecting merchandise and many other tasks that did not really tax him too much.  The most enjoyable thing he looked forward to was the daily workout at the gym that he and his employer never missed
.
Well
apart from the period leading up to Valentine’s night each year
, that is
.  There they were equal, brothers bonded in pushing their bodies to excessive limits and beyond as they sought the unreachable goal of sculptured perfection.

The mobile phone beeped into life
,
dragging his mind away from the thoughts of Cupid and the events that would be taking place the following evening.  The music from the radio ceased as the mobile, to which it was married, took control of the in
-
car speakers.  Adam knew before any voice floated out
whom
it would be
.
He
o
nly had one number logged in
.
Only
one person ever called him for
Adam had no friends, no family that he knew of.
Cupid had become his friend and his family
, all
rolled into one.

‘Yes Sir.’

‘Adam, have you purified?’

Adam smiled, ‘
Our
couple
is
clean
,
Sir.’

‘And the liquid?’

‘In
its
place in the fridge.’

‘I
want you to return tomorrow at 2
p.m. to
check them.  I will arrive at 4
p.m. for the ceremony.’

Check them
,
thought Adam, read as sluice them down again.  He leered as he drove, one would b
e sluiced,
and one
would be sponged. 
‘I will be there at 2
.’

‘Your loyalty on my quest
,
means a lot to me.’

Adams chest swelled at the comment, ‘I owe you everything
,
Sir.’

‘You’re a good ma
n.
I will see you at the coupling.’

The line went dead and the music refilled the
car’s
interior.  A good man
,
thought Adam
.
He
could not in all honesty say the same thing about Cupid.  He was strong and determined, frighteningl
y single
-
minded on his quest,
generous to a fault with Adam
,
but a good
man.
  No, that was not a description he could give to him.  He did have a description for him
,
but one
that
he would never use in front of him
, because
Adam belie
ved he was the devil
himself.
Adam had
also
done his deal, si
gned his name by association with Cupid
.
So
whatever the price, whatever the
consequences
, he was prepared to pay.  He began to whistle softly as he drove
at
the thought of tomorrow’s sponge bath filling his mind
and
making him tingle
,
but the greater pleasure was the thought of Tom screaming
,
as he went ab
out his chore with diligence
,
paying attention to every inch of the
woman.

Chapter S
even
teen