The Many (25 page)

26

Karl was completely destroyed. The video had ended a few minutes ago, but the images and sounds were still playing in his head. Closing his eyes hadn’t helped. He couldn’t block his ears from Stacey’s moans of pleasure, and the constant slapping of flesh. The masked men remained silent throughout, going about their work with ruthless efficiency.

So now he knew.
There was no satisfaction – not the slightest feeling of closure. It was worse than anything he’d imagined. It wasn’t just the chemical side effects that had affected Stacey’s mind – it was the memory of what she’d done. The guilt and self-loathing she must’ve felt. Allowing those freaks to fuck her like a dog. And pretending as if she loved every minute of it…

“She was one of the first.”

Karl looked up. Leach was standing in the doorway, towering in a long black overcoat, his gray hair almost reaching the top of the frame. One pupil fixed on Karl, the other floated in the corner of his eye, like it had lost its mooring. An aura of glowering tension surrounded him.

“It’s disgusting, of course,” Leach said. “I suggested artificial insemination, but they insisted on having their pleasure. They’re just animals, underneath it all.”

“You fucking asshole,”
Karl hummed into his gag.

Leach stepped inside the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He stood a foot from Karl’s chair, glaring down from his great height. In his “I’m not the enemy, boy. You think I enjoy having my talents manipulated to make porn movies? This is not how I imagined my future.”

Karl locked his gaze, hoping Leach could see the hatred burning in his eyes.

“Save me your outrage,” Leach said. “I’ve been a prisoner for over a year –
I’m
the one you should be feeling sorry for. The indignities I’ve suffered. The terrible things they’ve made me do…” He frowned. “Are you not following me, boy?”

Karl growled and shook his head.

“It’s
them
,” Leach said, gesturing angrily towards the TV screen. “The old families that run everything – from the sewers and the back alleys, to Wall Street and the fucking White House. They leave no fingerprints, but they’re always lurking in the shadows – pulling strings, greasing palms, making people disappear. At first I thought they were my saviors. Breaking me out of prison and hiding me here. They said it was only temporary. But then they put me to work. Forcing me to create powerful new drugs. Making the girls insatiable, to the point they’d fuck a horse if I put one in the room with them. Hypnotherapy was supposed to help them forget. But of course, they suffered from flashbacks. It was a flawed process from the start…”

Leach paused, perhaps noticing Karl’s confused expression. He spread his long arms wide. “
Breeding
, that’s what this grubby experiment is all about. The old families have controlled the masses for centuries, but the weight of numbers has become overwhelming. The rats and mice are no longer dying off as nature intended. They’re being kept on life support by welfare and immigration, encouraged to reproduce beyond their means. And the old families can’t keep up. They can only impregnate their wives and mistresses so many times. Cheap whores aren’t the answer – they don’t want their precious progeny raised by filth. And they certainly don’t want the hassle of raising more children themselves. So they devised a plan to spread their seed through the middle classes.”

He frowned, looking down at his shoes. “I can see how the math works. If each of them fucks fifty women a year, maybe ten will have successful pregnancies. Hypnotherapy eliminates the possibility of abortion, so hundreds of these children will be born and raised in a respectable environment. When they turn eighteen, they’ll be tapped on the shoulder and told they’re descended from greatness. They’ll be placed in the best colleges, fast-tracked into the most influential positions. The old families’ grip on power will be secured.” Leach looked up, checking Karl’s reaction. “It makes me sick – such arrogance. To believe their genes are somehow superior is an insult to science.”

Karl breathed heavily through his nose, waiting for Leach to continue. There was a small part of him that thought Leach was about to let him go.
Why else was he still alive?

“I’m just a slave,” Leach said, his lips curling in irritation. “Only blood relatives can join their exclusive club. That’s what Doctor Reynolds and Maxine don’t understand – they think they’re higher up the food chain because they’re holding me captive. Locking me in every night. Never letting me out of their sight. But we’re all being used. As soon as we’ve performed our little tasks, we’ll be eliminated.”

Karl screamed into his gag, hoping Leach would understand the meaning.
Let’s fight the fuckers! Let’s fight them together!

Leach’s response was a deep chuckle. He shook his head. “Oh no, boy. We’re not going to join forces. But you
are
going to help me disappear.” He checked his watch before continuing. “I can see you’re still confused, so let me fill you in on a few details. She’s been here before, you know.
The girl.
When her mother told Maxine she’d had her tubes tied, Maxine was put in an awkward position. A family member from New York was flying in especially, and she knew better than to disappoint him. Luckily, the girl’s mother said she had seventeen-year-old daughter at home. The member from New York was more than happy with the last-minute replacement. If I remember correctly, he took his time with her. He even got the mother involved…” A lazy grin threatened to spread over Leach’s face, but he gave a small grunt of admonishment, resetting his jaw. “Anyway, I could tell there was something special about this girl. She carried out my instructions more willingly than the others. So before she left, instead of wiping her memory clean, I ordered her to return as soon as possible. After the way she’d performed, I was hopeful she’d find her way back. But when she failed to show up in the weeks that followed, I assumed my plan had failed. In repressing the shame of her sexual acts, she’d also erased my final order. The window of opportunity had closed.”

Leach paused, his eyes glistening. “But then you came along. You made quite a nuisance of yourself – crying rape to anyone who’d listen, harassing Doctor Reynolds in public. The families wanted you silenced, but they were wary of rousing suspicion, especially after the shit-storm you’d kicked up. So they asked for my help. Imagine my delight when I discovered you’d teamed up with the girl! From there, it was relatively easy. I convinced Doctor Reynolds and Maxine that you were helping the girl to remember, and I needed both of you here for reprogramming. Then I left a few crumbs of information with your detective. I knew you’d follow the trail. Linking my name to the doctor and Maxine. Signing the girl up to Sweet Violets. The one hiccup came when Maxine invited you back to her apartment. She didn’t realize I was only interested in the girl. So I moved slowly that night, allowing you to escape. Your actions from that point were completely predictable. So thank you, boy. Thank you for bringing her back to me.”

Karl’s head was teaming with questions –
Who were the old families? Where did they come from? And what the fuck was up with their masks?
But there was one question that screamed louder than the rest.

What did Leach have in store for Dawn?

Leach stepped closer, grabbing Karl by the throat. “You just watch that screen, boy. Watch that screen and remember every detail. And when the old families find you, you tell them exactly what I did. And tell them they’d better not come after me, or I’ll do the same to them, and their wives, and their fucking children. You fucking tell them, boy!”

Leach’s pale eyes were popping out of his skull, and his lips were pulled hard against his teeth. He was trying to show how fearsome he could be, but the sweat beading on his forehead betrayed his true emotion.
He was terrified.

Perhaps he saw the penny drop in Karl’s eyes, because Leach abruptly removed his hand from Karl throat, his face regaining its icy menace. “You just keep your eyes open, boy. I believe your friend is almost ready.”

Leach turned towards the black window and made a gesture with his hand. After a moment, the TV blinked on. Karl’s stomach dropped. It was the same room, but this time, Dawn was bound and gagged in a chair, a faint light pooled over her. She was gazing calmly up at the camera. 

Karl shook against the straitjacket’s restraints, the rage bursting out of him. He screamed into the gag, calling Leach every name he could think of. Threatening to hunt him down and kill him; swearing he wouldn’t rest until he was dead.

Leach had one hand on the door. “Save your strength, boy. You’ll need it when they come for you.”

He left the room and closed the door behind him. Karl yelled after him – a final burst of vitriol. But Leach wasn’t coming back. Karl’s heart pounded in his ears. He looked back at the TV screen. Dawn was smiling underneath her gag, her eyes shiny and clear. Karl groaned. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

27

McElroy was driving along North Hill Road, growing steadily more despondent about his chances of finding Leach’s cabin, when he noticed what looked like a clump of brown hair at the side of the road. He pulled over, bracing himself for the worst.
Had they dumped the bodies already?
His head filled with grisly thoughts as he approached the clump of hair. He frowned, bending down for a closer look. It was just a wig. His mind ticked over
. A wig?

He couldn’t see a house nearby, but when McElroy returned to his car, he crawled along at ten miles an hour, sensing he was close. After a few hundred meters, he spotted a darker patch in the grassy lining of the woods. Aiming his headlights at the black hole, he drove between two maple trees and onto a narrow strip of dirt winding up the hill. The road got pretty rough, but he could see lights poking through the trees, encouraging him to press on.

He eventually reached a stone entrance gate, the dirt turning to gravel. McElroy turned off his headlights and proceeded slowly down a long driveway. Set at the end of the driveway was a large, two-story, square-logged home with deep balconies on the second floor. Despite the log cabin style, the place looked new and luxurious. The woods had been shoved back to accommodate an expansive front lawn.

Three cars were parked outside. He recognized the plates on Karl’s Civic, and Dr. Reynolds black Jag. McElroy felt his blood speeding through his veins.
He’d found it.

He cut the engine and considered what he was dealing with. There were lights on inside, but all the shades were drawn. By his reckoning, there were three perps inside – Leach, Dr. Reynolds and Maxine. One too many for comfort, but with the element of surprise in his favor, he was confident he could handle the situation.

He removed his Swiss army knife from the glove box. Then he got out of the car and made his way to the parking area. Crouching down beside Karl’s Civic, he punctured and cut the front tires. He did the same to the other two vehicles. It wasn’t easy work, but he figured it was worth the effort, especially if he had to make a quick escape. When the air stopped hissing, he back-tracked to the edge of the woods and started slowly creeping around the perimeter of the property. He was looking for a back entrance, or an open window. A way he could get into the house unnoticed.

Passing the side of the house, he cringed as a security light blinked on. He kept very still, hearing the sound of high heels clattering over a hard floor. A door creaked open, and fresh light spread across the back yard
.
He held his breath for a moment. Then he craned his neck to peek around the corner of the house.

Maxine was standing in the back doorway, wearing a black dress and knee-high boots, two hands clenching a pistol. McElroy waited, expecting her to go back inside. But she stayed there for a count of twenty, then forty.

McElroy cursed under his breath. Maxine was standing guard; she wasn’t going anywhere. But he couldn’t think of a better way in. If he tried the front of the house, he’d likely trigger another security light. And he’d already hesitated too long. If he wanted to save Karl and Dawn, he had to make a move,
now
.

Gritting his teeth, he took a long step into the light. “Police, put the gun down!” he barked, pointing his barrel at Maxine’s head.

Maxine’s arms swung around. “Who’s that?” she said, struggling to steady her aim.

“Put the gun down,
now!
” McElroy said, holding his ground. “Or I will shoot you where you stand.”

Maxine stared at him, her pistol wavering. McElroy was about fifty feet away, and he estimated her chances of hitting him were low. She looked like she’d never fired a gun before.

“If you’re really a cop, you won’t shoot,” Maxine said.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” McElroy said. He disengaged the safety and walked up to Maxine, taking aim at her forehead. “Cops shoot people all the time. Especially people carrying weapons.”

Maxine’s eyes locked on the barrel of McElroy’s gun. Only twenty feet separated them now, but her trembling hands suggested she was still unsure of her aim. Slowly, she lowered her arms.

“Drop it,” McElroy ordered.

Maxine bent down as much as her knee-length black skirt would allow, gently placing the pistol on the grass. As she straightened, confidence crept back into her eyes. She set her hands on her hips. “What now, officer?”

“Stay there,” McElroy said, moving swiftly towards her. He spun her around with a mind to cuffing her, but then his hands froze, his thoughts shifting. He glanced over her shoulder into the kitchen.

“Step inside,” he said. “
Quietly
. If you shout or scream, I’ll fucking brain you.”

He tapped the butt of his gun on Maxine’s head so she could feel its weight. She flinched, hunching her shoulders.

“All right,”
she said irritably.

McElroy followed her into a bright, spacious kitchen that smelled like cleaning products. The butcher-block counters were bare; the floors sparkled with polish. It reminded McElroy of a showroom kitchen.

He jabbed his gun barrel into Maxine’s back, letting her know he was still there. “Okay, where are they?”

“Who, exactly?” Maxine replied, half-turning her head.

“Leach and Doctor Reynolds.”

“I’m not sure. You could try…” Maxine didn’t finish her thought, alerted by the sound of footsteps marching through the house. “Watch out! He’s got a...”

McElroy smashed his gun into the back of Maxine’s head. She let out a small groan, and then collapsed in a heap on the wooden flooring. McElroy peered into the main hall, bracing himself for an attack. But there were no more footsteps. The house was silent.

With one eye on the doorway, McElroy grabbed Maxine’s arm and dragged her unconscious body over to the oven. Then he got out his handcuffs, attaching one bracelet to her left wrist and the other to the oven door.
One down.

McElroy hurried out of the kitchen and into the main hall, doing a quick 360. No lights in the living room, front door wide open, stairs going up, stairs going down, back to the kitchen.
Fuck.
Had they already left the house?

He was about to move to the front door when he paused, tilting his head to the side. He could hear something. They sounded like muffled cries, coming from upstairs.

McElroy bounded up the stairs, no longer worried about keeping quiet. The cries grew louder as he reached the second floor, pulling his eyes toward a door at the end of the hallway.

Christ – was Leach inside, torturing one of the kids?

He ran to the door and shouted, “This is Detective Walter McElroy. I’m coming in so if you don’t want to get shot, lie face down on the floor with your hands on your head.”

McElroy held his breath, his heart beating wildly. The cries had stopped. Keeping his feet in the hallway, he reached out and pushed open the door.