Scent of Gardenia (Scott Tucker Series) (29 page)

“I’m
sure you will enjoy your excursion. I dive with you, unless you would rather
dive alone. Do you have the address of my dive shop?”

“I have
the address. See you at nine. Do you take Traveler’s Checks?”

She
laughed softly. “I like all forms of money…and yes, I take them.” She paused,
asking, “Oh, I should have asked you, do you want to go to a special dive
location, or the one I usually take people to?”

Mike
wasn’t really planning on an actual dive, but answered, “You’re choice, I’m
sure, will be fine.”

“Then, I
will see you and your friends at nine. Good-bye.”

Mike
headed quickly back to the cab. “Well, I booked her for a dive at nine
tomorrow. So we should be able to get inside her house at that time.”

Mercedes
asked, “Did she sound like she suspected anything?”

Mike was
concerned about her detecting his Bostonian accent but answered, “She picked up
on my accent, and I told her I was from Boston. However, I don’t think she
suspects anything.”

Chapter
72

Margaret
thought about that phone call. There’s too much of a coincidence between her
new guests; Holly and Scott, and this Mike Miller. She was going to have some
fun
.
She checked her looks in the bathroom mirror, satisfied with how she looked.
Now,
do I see Holly or Scott?

A few
minutes later she stood at Scott’s cell door, watching his eyes looking at her.
It was hard for her not to go in and put him through some special treatment,
but she had decided it would be interesting to visit with Holly.

She went
to Holly’s cell, waiting for Holly to see her standing at her cell door. Holly
seemed to be asleep. Margaret was tired of waiting for her to react, so entered
her cell. She studied her body.

Her
naked body reminded her of when the other women had the men at the warehouse in
Boston. They were all naked due to the cold shower they forced on the men.
There was no sense getting their clothes soaked, and it was more sensual that
way. She recalled the men hanging from the rolling rack, while they showered
their bodies with water hoses and paddles. She liked looking at the men’s
bodies, but also liked seeing her friends’ bodies as well.

Holly’s
eyes popped open. Margaret watched her eyes scanning. “Yes, Holly I’ve dressed
for the occasion, or better said…’undressed’ for it.” She saw Holly’s slight
movement, smiling at her. It’s okay Holly, I’m not going to hurt you…well, I’m
not going to hurt you too much…but that depends on Scott next door.”

“Scott.”
Margaret yelled. Scott didn’t answer, so she yelled again, “Scott, answer me,
or I will have to hurt Holly here.”

“What?”
I answered. “What do you want?”

“That’s
better Scott. I don’t like being ignored. I need you to answer some questions
for me, and you know the rules about quick answers and truthful ones.” She
reached out and squeezed one of Holly’s nipples. Holly cried out in pain.

“Stop!”
Scott yelled. “Ask me what you want, but stop hurting
her.”

She
kissed the spot she squeezed, and Holly turned her head. “That’s better Scott.
Now here’s what I want to know, and remember the rules.” There was no answer.
“Do you know someone by the name of Mike Miller?”

I couldn’t
think fast enough, and didn’t respond. I heard Holly cry out much louder.

“Why?”

I heard
her cry out even louder and longer. “Yes, yes I know a Mike Miller. Please stop
hurting her, give me a chance to answer.”

“Scott,
you have to answer me when I ask the questions. You delay, and she suffers.”
Margaret yelled from the other room, “Do we understand each other?”

“Yes.”

“Much
better Scott, right Holly?” Margaret was entertaining herself, and really
didn’t care if Holly answered her or not. She was getting to like this new
variation.

I was
concerned that there were no other questions, and suspected what might have
been happening. “I know a Mike Miller. Why do you ask?” There was no answer,
and now I was getting very concerned. I heard chains rattling, but Holly wasn’t
crying out. “Please don’t hurt her; I’m the one you want.”

“Shut
up Scott!”
Margaret yelled.

I waited
and waited. I was afraid to do anything that might cause any harm to Holly. I
tried to comprehend whether it was better to be the one suffering or waiting. I
strained to listen for any clue as to what was happening. Finally—

“That
was very well done, Scott. Right, Holly?”

There
was no answer.

“Okay
Scott, let’s try this one more time. I will remind you about the rules one last
time.” The chains started to rattle next door. “So Scott, who is Mike Miller?”

I
answered quickly, “He works in our office, and he’s a detective.”

“Is he
here to find Holly?”

“Yes.”

“Is that
why you’re here too?”

“Yes.”

“That’s
a
lie
Scott.” Holly let out an awful scream. “You’re
here
to
fulfill my fantasy…isn’t that correct?”

“Yes.” I
answered reluctantly. There was a muffled scream.

“Did you
answer me Scott, I can’t hear you?”

“Yes,” I
yelled. I could hear Holly whimpering. There was some other noise but I
couldn’t detect what it was.

“Jules,
are you listening to all of this?” Margaret asked.

Holly
cried out so loudly; that someone outside would have heard.

“Jules,
are you listening now?”

“Yes,
leave her alone you bitch. If you want someone to hurt, try me…you’re not fit
to be called a human being. You would rather be with me, and you know it. Leave
her alone.”

There
was a loud rattling of chains, and I couldn’t tell if it was Jules’ or Holly’s.
Holly’s loud and continuous screams answered the question. Then things went
quiet for a few seconds.

“You’re
right Jules; I would rather be with you. However, I need you to understand how
much pain I can dish out to this lovely woman, if you aren’t responsive to my
needs. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I
understand,” Jules immediately responded. “Now leave her alone.”

“Scott,
do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Nils,
do you also?”

“Yes.”

Paul was
still recovering from his recent ordeal. Why bother him. Margaret had already
mapped out her strategy for tomorrow, and she knew what she was about to do
tonight. She bent over Holly and licked the tears away. “Thanks Holly, I really
enjoyed that. Did you?”

Holly
didn’t answer her, and Margaret lost her temper and slapped her repeatedly.
“Did you?”

“No.”

“That’s
a good girl. I like a fast truthful answer.” Margaret slipped off the bed and
headed to the cell door.
She had much to think about now. She remembered
Mike Miller’s name. He was with the group that saved Scott and Mercedes, causing
her to execute her backup plan. She knew who he was before getting answers from
Scott, but she wanted to see if Scott was trained yet or not. Holly was just a
tool…or maybe, if she was honest with herself, something a little more. She had
the men right where she wanted them…I couldn’t have planned this any better. Now,
I need to make a phone call, and then who will be first when I return?

Tomorrow,
I may have another redhead to add to my gathering. The big question is—what
will Scott do to protect her? Maybe Holly needs to check out the inside of a
dive cage very soon. Decisions…I just love them.

Chapter
73

Margaret
waved to me as she walked by my cell. I was sorry she had mistreated Holly.
Neither Jules, nor I, wanted Holly to be hurt. I wondered if Margaret was out
of ear shot.

“Holly,
are you okay?”

“I’ll be
fine,” she answered quickly. “There’s no permanent damage, but I would sure
like to meet her under different circumstances—it wouldn’t be pretty. What do
you think she’s going to do now that she knows Mike’s here?”

“I don’t
know how she found out, unless that phone ringing was Mike on the line. We
better be quiet, she’s liable to hear us.”

Jules
broke the silence that followed. “Holly, I’m sorry you’re in this situation.”

Holly
replied, “I’m the one who got you into this situation. If we get out of here,
I’ll make it up to you.”

“We’ll
get out…somehow,” Jules replied.

*.*.*

We
stopped talking waiting for the crazy one to come back. I couldn’t help
thinking about Mercedes.
Now that Margaret knew who Mike was, would he and
Mercedes be caught in a trap? If Mercedes was in Holly’s cell, what would I do
to protect her? Does it matter? We’re probably not going to make it out of here
alive anyway. So, what does Mike have planned?

I
closed my eyes, remembered being stranded with Mercedes in the cabin. I
recalled being faithful to Lisa, but it was the toughest thing I ever had to
do. I felt sorry for Mercedes, she looked so strong and in control, but on the
inside she was just the opposite. Then the first night we actually spent
together…it was incredible…she was incredible. I could feel my heart pumping
just thinking about her now.

Please
God, don’t let anything happen to her. I continued that into a prayer for her
life, and offered myself in her place. I knew if I got out of here what I
wanted to do with the rest of my life. Maybe that’s what happens when you see
the end near…this is the second time I was facing my end.

“Hi
Scott, a penny for your thoughts?” Margaret asked, as she entered my cell.

I didn’t
answer her because it was none of her business.
I thought of the coin, Mrs.
Abbott gave me, wondering how in the hell was I going to make this a ‘heads up’
kind of day.
I never saw her hand move, but felt my stomach turn. I tried
to catch my breath, and then felt another low blow.

“Scott,
I’m not a fighter…I’m a lover. I would much rather put those parts to better
use. Now, I’m asking you again…what are you thinking about?”

I forced
out an answer, “I’m trying to think of a way to get out of here.”

“Now,
that’s my Scott. A nice quick, honest answer. However, you can forget about
getting out of here—well, not alive anyway. With any luck, that will be weeks,
if not months. The timing depends on many things, but mostly your behavior.”
She kissed my recently tender parts. “I think you could use some time to
recover, and there are other ways I can entertain myself.”

She
leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I want you to think of this while I’m
across the hall…if you are not one-hundred percent a lover when I come
back…well, Holly will have some very unfortunate permanent scars because of it.
Let’s just say she won’t be that attractive in bed anymore.” She moved her head.
“Besides Scott, you know I get my way sooner or later…why fight it. Remember,
you hold her fate in your hands…while I hold yours.”

I
wasn’t going to give her the benefit of crying out, but she could easily tell I
was in pain.

“Scott,
I’ve waited years for your return. I can wait a few more hours to fulfill my
fantasy. It will just heighten the experience when it happens. Let me make
things perfectly clear to you. Your survival depends upon your behavior…the two
men who I killed right here, and one in this very bed, either forgot the
importance of that equation, or they didn’t care any longer. You don’t have
just yourself to worry about, so give that some thought when I come back. I
know you will miss me…I want you to miss me for the right reasons.”

She
finally left. It was cool in the room, but the sweat was running down the sides
of my face.
She’s not inclined to kill me, but she will if the mood strikes
her. I believe she is capable of not only killing me, but carrying out her
threats on Holly. Some of the early studies of victim behavior were coming back
to me. I knew I wanted to survive. I didn’t want Holly to suffer needlessly for
something that was going to happen eventually. I had to get into survival mode,
which was my best hope of living and protecting Holly.

It
wasn’t long before I heard noises coming from one of the other cells. She’s
like a farmer milking all of his cows. However, the problem I shared with the
others is that she didn’t know when there wasn’t any more to give.

Mercedes
mentioned she had a split personality—maybe there’s a way to provoke the
change.

Chapter
74

Holly
tried to block the noises coming from the other cells. Margaret was making her
rounds. She was with Jules for what seemed like two hours. Then Nils for over
an hour, and now she entered Scott’s cell.

Holly
had expected some amount of yelling during the various visits, but strangely
things were relatively quiet. A few times she heard Margaret loudly mention her
name, asking if they indeed wanted her to suffer. So far, Margaret had not
entered her cell.
There’s good and bad news involved with that.

She
could hear Margaret’s voice, but couldn’t make out what she was saying to
Scott. She could only imagine what she had done with Jules, Nils and now Scott.
She had heard about Nymphomaniacs. Margaret must be one of them.
You
would think she would stop after a while, but she just kept going and going.
She
needed to be stopped. She had to think of a way to stop Margaret before someone
was killed. Is there anything worse…if there was; she believed Margaret might
either know it, or discover it?

*.*.*

Holly
didn’t want to think about what happened, what was happening, and what would
happen next. She had to think of a way to overpower this crazy person. She
replayed Margaret’s routine. There was nothing that helped her think about a
way to overpower her. Maybe if she played along with her, she might undo some
of her chains.
Wait, that’s it.

If Margaret
takes her outside again she would have an opportunity to overpower her when
she’s undoing her existing chains and putting on the handcuffs. She pictured
the steps Margaret used to make the switch. There was one point where only one
of her wrists was restrained to the wall cuff, with the other placed in the
handcuff. If she could wrap her arm around Margaret, maybe she could choke her
and get the key. It was worth a shot, what would the penalty be? It was
probably nothing more than she was going to dish out eventually anyway.

It had
to be the middle of the night, as she was getting very sleepy. She felt
exhausted, which really surprised her. However, without much food, combined
with the stress of this situation and not knowing what to expect next, she
could understand why it was hard to keep her eyes open. It was like a bad
nightmare, but only in reverse…she wasn’t waking up.

The
noise from next door seemed so far in the distance. She could still hear
Margaret’s and Scott’s voices but it was like background noise. Her eyes were
closing, and she kept fighting to stay awake.

*.*.*

She woke
from the nightmare. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, but judging
from how wet she was and how cold, she must have been out for hours. The dream
seemed so real and she tried to remember if it was Margaret, or somebody else,
who was doing these things to her.

She
faintly remembered some of the attacks, looked down across her body and saw red
welts, which hadn’t been there earlier.
Was it a dream, or did these things
actually happen to her. She strained her memory to recall the details, but
everything was so disjointed.
Her mouth was very dry. She needed something
to drink. Her lips were sticking together, and so dry and even wetting them
didn’t help. There was a bad taste in her mouth…
was I drugged with
something? She closed her eyes again, searching her memory for the facts.

She
did a mental check of her other body parts to see if there was any pain, or any
changes she could detect. It was like she didn’t have the right senses to
evaluate things.
She started to panic.
What
the hell really happened to me?
She strained to see if there was any blood,
but she didn’t see any. Her wet body made the cool air feel even colder. Then
she tried to hear any noise from the other cells.

There
wasn’t any. She was afraid to call out to Jules or anyone else. She could feel
her lips starting to tremble, and she couldn’t stop them.
Holly, you have to
maintain your strength if you’re going to overpower Margaret.
Her eyes kept
closing. It was a struggle to keep her lids open.