A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama (14 page)

She
grinned and ran her finger along the blade.
And
it’s razor sharp too. It won’t take much to cut right into his flesh. I want
him to bleed and suffer. He can bleed out like a pig at the slaughter house. If
he knew about my plan to kill him all along, then all I can do is play the
part. He thinks I’m terrified and isolated. Well he is so wrong. Maria can
watch her father die. Then I will have to figure out what to do with his poor
little girl.
Tammy peeked outside to see Maria yelling for her father.
That’s it, make him come out to rescue you.
Plead for your father, you little shit.
Tammy lit up a cigarette and took a
long drag while keeping her eye on the front porch.

Thirty
minutes passed with still no sign of anyone else outside. Tammy kept peering
out the window while fidgeting in the armchair.
Where in the hell is he? What is taking him so damn long to do
something?
Finally, she stood up and flicked her cigarette to the floor.
I guess I need to up the stakes some.
Obviously, Stephen wants to play hard to get. I’ll have to really get his damn
attention. Fine by me, darling, let’s find out how strong you really are.

Tammy
set the Chloroform bottle and towel in front of the door and grabbed the
hunting knife. Then she opened the front door to check on Maria. She quickly
surveyed the area outside looking for any sign of movement. “Where’s that
father of yours and why the hell doesn’t he come to help you?”

Maria
tried to move her head but couldn’t. Her cheeks and lips were frigid, and her
throat ached from breathing in the ice cold air. She spoke in a whiny tone, her
teeth chattering as she turned her eyes towards Tammy. “I don’t know, Tammy!
It’s so cold outside. My hands and head are freezing, and my arms hurt. I
really need to move them. I can’t stay like this any longer. Please Tammy, get
me out of here!”

Tammy
looked up ahead at the winding mountain road with a blank stare. She marveled
at the way that it ripped right through the dense pine tree forest like a razor
sharp scalpel cutting into flesh. She knew at this moment that her inner
strength would guide her to do whatever was necessary and that she could
overcome any obstacle. “Maria, I have to do what I have to do.” She took the
roll of duct tape, ripped a large piece off, bent down, and slapped it over
Maria’s mouth. Maria squealed through the tape. Then Tammy took the sides of
the tape and stuck them over the edge of the vice. Next, she pulled the rope
around Maria’s legs even tighter, using all her strength, so that the rope dug
mercilessly into her legs. Finally, she started to tighten the vice. Maria
tried to scream but her mouth was taped shut. Tammy turned the vice until it
had flattened Maria’s ears and pressed harder against the sides of her head.

“All
right, Stephen, get your ass over here! Maria is hurting really bad. I know you
are hiding and noticing everything. You don’t fucking intimidate me!” Tammy
shouted out into the still, cold air. “If I don’t see you come out, I am going
to torture Maria until she bleeds. I just might have to kill your little girl.
Do you fucking hear me?” Tammy slowly ran the blade of the hunting knife along
Maria’s neck and scalp. Maria’s heart pounded through her chest, and the sweat
running down the sides of her pasty white face had frozen. Tammy took a few
steps forward and looked up and around on either side of the cabin. She saw
only trees covered in snow and large icicles hanging from the rooftop. She
shouted again at the top of her lungs. “Stephen, where are you? Get your ass
over here now. Maria is in pain and it’s about to get fucking worse. You got
that?”

Tammy
walked behind Maria’s head and knelt down ignoring the muffled sounds the girl
made. She grabbed the handle on the vice as tight as she could. She felt a rush
of adrenaline at the thought of killing Maria to punish Stephen.
Killing this little spoiled brat would be so
much fun. I really, really want to. I can’t let anyone leave this fucking cabin
alive. But I have to find her father first.
She took a deep breath, stood
up again, and shouted one more time. “Ok, Stephen, you better damn well listen
to me! You’ve done got five fucking minutes to show yourself or I’m gonna make
her eyes pop out of her head until it squashes like a damn tomato.” She waited
a few moments and then was suddenly startled, stumbling back a few steps into
the living room. A thunderous crashing sound came from inside the cabin. It was
as though part of the cabin roof had fallen down into one of the rooms. She
went inside, hunting knife in hand, and slammed the front door. She didn’t
notice Maria reaching down into her back pocket.

THIRTEEN

Tammy stood in the living
room panting, her eyes darting in every direction.
What in the hell could have made a noise like that?
She took a
quick look into the small bathroom and the kitchen and found nothing out of
place. Then she checked both bedrooms before opening the door to the den. She
went inside and stopped abruptly. The cinder block had come falling down from
the top of the window sill, smashed onto the floor, and broken into several
pieces. The window was wide open with a gust of air blowing in.
How could that have fallen? There is no way
that the damn wind coulda done that. That block was secure on the top of the
ledge and it was hard to open that window. Did he just open the window from
outside but not try to come inside?

Tammy
went over to the window and peered outside as best she could. She saw only
snow-covered trees and a few hanging icicles. She pushed a chair in front of
the window and stood on it to get a better look. Then she put her hands on the
ledge to keep her balance, stretched her head outside, and looked up towards
the rooftop. At the moment that her head went out the window, two hands wearing
workman’s gloves reached out from the rooftop, and threw another cinder block
right down at Tammy’s head. She acted swiftly pulling her head back inside. But
the cinder block crashed against the ledge and part of it hit her left hand as
she was trying to pull herself back into the den.

She
shrieked in pain and continued to bellow. The block had smashed her hand
against the brick ledge and possibly broken it. The pain was so intense that
she fell to the floor in agony, curling up into a ball. Tammy bit her bottom
lip while tears streamed down her face. She wiped her eyes, looked up again at
the window and shouted. “Goddam you Stephen, you son of a bitch! I’m gonna
fucking kill you! You don’t know who you are messing with, do you hear me? Stay
right where you are, you bastard, I will be coming to get you.”

***

Although her hands were
bound, Maria was able to move them behind her back. Having done gymnastics for
years, she was extremely flexible, and could pop her shoulder out of its socket
if needed. She stretched and twisted with her arms until her fingers were close
to the back left pocket of her pants and finally she was able to feel inside.
Her fingertips touched a small razor blade.

Maria
wedged the razor between two fingertips inside the pocket, slowly slid it out,
and held it firmly between her fingers and her thumb. She turned her wrist
awkwardly so that the razor was touching the ropes that tied her. Then she
began to move the blade back and forth to cut through the rope. She did not
want to cut herself and was trying to be careful, but the pain in her head from
the vice was becoming unbearable, and her teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

The
blade was sharp and in just a few minutes Maria was able to cut through the
ropes. Not being able to see what she was doing, the blade slipped several
times, cutting her wrists. She freed her hands and then she was able to untie
her legs, and using both hands on one handle at a time, she released the vice
that held her head.

***

Tammy
heaved in some big gulps of air trying to calm down. She sat down on the sofa
bed, rocking back and forth with her hand between her legs. She tried to move
some fingers but couldn’t. She examined the hand and saw that it was bruised,
bloody, and somewhat mangled. Her heart was pumping as she felt a rage that she
had never known before.
That damn bastard
is out on the rooftop and coming after me. I am gonna fucking kill him. Who in
the hell does he think he is, hunting me down like a wild animal. This is an
all out war.

Tammy
balled her other hand into a fist while grinding her teeth against each other.
The pain shot up her arm and she knew that she needed to slow down the
swelling. She put the hunting knife in her back pocket. Then she ran into the
master bedroom, opened the window, and grabbed a large icicle hanging from the
roof. She let out a piercing howl while opening her hand just enough to put
part of the icicle in it. With tears streaming down her face and panting
heavily, she wrapped the hand up with a towel. She bent down on her knees and
took some deep breaths.
Stay calm, Tammy,
you’re a tough girl. This is a game of survival. I’ve gotta try and get to
Stephen before he gets to me.

Then
she went into the kitchen and looked up again at the window. It was too small
for someone to come through inside the cabin.
There’s an overhang outside covering that window. He couldn’t possibly
crawl around that overhang and try to come in through there. I can try to look
outside and see if he is somewhere on that side of the roof. At least then he
can’t surprise me again without me knowing where the hell he is.
Tammy
slowly opened the window and bent her head to glance outside. Suddenly she
heard footsteps on the rooftop, moving away from the spot where she was.

Son of a bitch, he is moving around up
there like a spider. I would love to throw that son of a bitch right off of the
rooftop. But I can’t go out there with one hand messed up like this. And what
if he gets inside the cabin – how will I defend myself now? How am I gonna get
to Stephen? Come on Tammy, think – think! He’s gotta play on my damn terms. He
is controlling everything and I need to get the situation in my favor. I’m just
gonna have to use the one thing that he loves most. Maria.

Tammy
walked slowly to the front door. She cracked it open just a bit and peeked
outside. The chair was lying on its side. The ropes, board, and vice were on
the ground, and there was no sign of Maria. Tammy took a gulp of air and opened
the door wider to examine the ropes. They looked like they had been cut
through. She looked around on either side of the front porch. Maria was nowhere
to be found. “Stephen, you goddam S.O.B., where is she? What did you do with
her?” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Who do you take me for? You don’t
know who you are messing with, you damn bastard.”

Tammy
panted as she went back inside the cabin, closing and locking the front door.
He’s done gotten Maria too and screwed up
all of my plans. It’s like he’s always two steps ahead of me. This has gotten
completely out of hand. I need some help from that guy Darnell – shit, I don’t
even have a way to contact him. I guess I need to call Tom. He’ll know what to
do.
She grabbed the prepaid phone and called Tom Murphy. The phone rang and
rang but there was no answer, and it finally went to voice mail. “Tom, can you
hear me? I need help!” Tammy panted heavily while trying to calm herself down.
“Darnell came here and talked to me, and we know Stephen is outside the cabin
trying to get in and kill me. He’s totally onto us, do you understand? He knows
all about our plan and we have to get rid of him. There ain’t nobody else out
here, Tom. Please, call Darnell and have him come back to the cabin. Stephen
has done attacked me and hurt me. I need help and can’t do this all alone! The
police are on their way over here and if they find Stephen then we are all in
big trouble. I’m not going to jail on account of that bastard. Please, Tom, it’s
an emergency!”

***

Maria made her way slowly
along the left side of the cabin, her feet sinking into the snow with each
step. Once she was out of sight of the front walkway, she sat down on the snow
to catch her breath. Her wrists were bleeding a bit from where she had cut
through the rope with a razor blade. She put her arms into the snow to soothe
the cuts. Then she turned her head around and looked up, seeing the window to
her bedroom that she had left unlocked. It was a good five feet above the level
of the snow. She stood up and reached out as best she could trying to open the
window. She was only able to open it a few inches.

I gotta jump up there to get the window
open more. But there is so little room to hold onto and I’m not tall enough.
Maria
knew that she needed something to stand on. She started to walk back towards
the front porch for the chair, but stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of
footsteps coming from the rooftop. She gasped while trying to breathe very
quietly so that nobody would hear her. She took some of the snow around her and
started to make a pile just in front of the wall below the window to her
bedroom. She kept scooping up the snow while pausing now and then to look up
and be sure that nobody was there.

When
the pile of snow was high enough, Maria stood on top of it and opened the
window wider. She held her breath and grabbed onto the window sill. With all
her might, she jumped and started to pull herself inside. Her legs were kicking
and feet kept slipping on the ice-covered wall. Keeping a firm grasp on the
window ledge, she got her head inside and bent one of her legs to help keep her
balance. She was climbing inside through the window when a hand in an old
leather glove reached down and grabbed her by the foot. Maria screamed and
kicked her feet wildly. The hand finally let go and she slid herself inside the
window, falling hard to the floor. She jumped up to close and lock the window,
and then lay down on the bed breathing heavily.

***

Tammy put the prepaid phone
in her bedroom and went into the small bathroom. Her heart was pumping and her
hand throbbed from even more pain. The ice had melted from the inside of her
broken hand and the towel was soaking wet. She unwrapped the towel and plunged
her hand into the sink of freezing water, relishing the relief it provided. After
a short while the pain eased and she gingerly patted her hand dry with a clean
towel. She opened the medicine cabinet and took some cotton balls, and more of
the gauze wrap. She put the cotton inside the hand, and squeezed her fingers
around it while bellowing in pain. Finally, she wrapped the gauze around the
hand several times and secured it with safety pins.

Tammy
went back into the living room and noticed that the door to Maria’s room was
closed. She went to open it and found that it had been locked from the inside.
So she must have gotten back into her room.
Did someone help her? How could she have gotten out of the vice by herself?
Does she think that her room is safe from me now? I can get inside with the
skeleton key anyways if I need to. It’s gonna be dang hard to talk to Maria
now. Stephen knows she is here and must be counting on the fact that I won’t
kill her. How can he be so goddam arrogant? But why wouldn’t I kill her? After
all, this is life or fucking death. If I can’t use Maria to get to Stephen then
what I am gonna do?

She
sat down near the fireplace, resting her injured hand on her leg and letting
out a big sigh. Tammy ran her other hand through her hair. Her head was
pounding and she was having trouble keeping her thoughts straight.
Well hell,
I can’t go outside again, it’s just too damn risky. If I get to Maria
again, what the hell am I gonna do with her? I need a way to get Stephen. I
need to have that bastard be the one fearing for his damn life, not me!
Her
fingers on her right hand shook as she lit a cigarette. Tammy closed her eyes
and held a mouthful of smoke in as long as she could. Intense pain shot through
her head. She let out the smoke, and buried her face in her hands. A vicious
migraine had taken over. She had the feeling that she was trapped – both inside
her mind and body. It took her back to when she was ten, and taking swimming
classes at the local YWCA…

***

“Tammy, take the center lane
please. Do two laps of the crawl and two laps of back stroke.” Tammy nodded at
the instructor. Then she dove into the pool and started swimming. She saw that
in the lane next to her was Karen – a tall, slim girl who seemed to fly through
the water. Karen had been told that she would have a bright future with the
junior high school swim team.

Tammy
was a good swimmer and could swim faster than most of the other girls. But not
faster than Karen – nobody could beat her in a race. Tammy hated coming in second
in anything. She swam as fast as she could, taking in big gulps of air, and
blowing it out rapidly between strokes. Her legs kicked fiercely, and she tried
not to check on what was happening in the lane next to her, so she could focus
on her arm movements.

After
the first two laps of the crawl, Tammy pushed herself off of the wall in the
pool, and flipped over onto her back. She took a peek at Karen and saw that she
was only a few feet ahead of Tammy. Tammy pushed her arms back as hard as she
could, flying behind her head, keeping them stretched out and then tucked in
close to her sides with each stroke. As she turned for the last lap, she saw
that she was not gaining any ground on Karen and felt a rush of anger.

Tammy
tried to push herself harder, and started to lose the integrity of her strokes.
Some water splashed up into her face, and she blew air out of her nose to keep
from inhaling it in. Frustrated and kicking more wildly, she finally pushed too
hard, and gulped in a big mouthful of water. Tammy had to stop just short of
completing the final lap, coughing profusely. She saw Karen get out of the pool
smiling at her, seeming to mock her. Tammy had a scowl on her face that would
make a clown cry.

After
swim class was finished, Tammy was changing into her clothes in the locker
room. Karen slipped out of her swimsuit and started to dry off. The floor was
wet and slippery. Tammy knelt down behind a bench near one of the lockers, just
out of Karen’s line of sight. As Karen came walking around the corner near the
locker, Tammy hurled the bench out into the walkway. Karen hit her knee against
the wood, and then slipped on the wet floor, falling and smacking her head
against the tile. As Karen lay crying in pain, Tammy stood over her with a
cruel look on her face, like a vulture hovering over its prey.