Fragrance of Revenge (12 page)

Chapter 28

She had no way to protect herself. When the men with hoods over their heads smashed the car window, they quickly dragged her out, covered her head with a hood, put her hands behind her back and cuffed her.

She was going to scream for help, but realized there was a gun being held against the back of her head. She was dragged a short distance and then thrown in the back of a van. Several men climbed in with her and slammed the van doors. They were talking in Spanish, laughing and pulling at her clothes. She heard her shirt rip as it was pulled off her. Then she felt someone grab her bra straps and she kicked out.

Someone up front yelled something to the men and then yelled again. Slowly the person removed his hands from her bra straps but she was being fondled. The same voice yelled out again, and the man next to her let her go. He said something in her ear, and although she didn’t understand what he said, knew it couldn’t be good.

Mercedes felt the cool air on her almost naked chest and realized the cool air was also on her thighs. There was no way she could pull her skirt down and just kept her legs tightly closed.
She now knew what Scott must have felt like being held a prisoner by her sister. She wondered if she would ever see Scott again.

She could tell by the whispers the men were enjoying her condition. Periodically, one would whisper something and the others would laugh. She felt a hand slide up the inside of her thigh and a finger slide into the top of her bra cup. She knew it was dark in the back of the van and the men were being careful not to be discovered.

She was about to scream at what was happening, but felt the gun barrel press against her head again. If this was bad, she knew it would only get worse. If these were the same men who killed one woman being held, they had nothing to lose.

She was not going to let them know she was crying.
Strange she thought to herself, all my adult life my features were an asset…now, it is obvious they are a liability. There were only two ways she would get out of this alive. The police would find a way to rescue her, or Ralph might.

She felt the hand grab the crotch of her panties and heard the sound as they ripped away. The next thing she felt was the back of a knife sliding between her breasts and then lift off her to cut her bra off. The cool air against her body told her they could now see what only Scott ever saw.

For some strange reason she was thinking of Scott going to see Maggie perform. Her mind was reeling, she remembered putting the small towel on in the cabin, which she removed to give Scott his unwrapped Christmas present.

She was trying to ignore what they were doing, but she was sobbing now. Then the vehicle came to a sudden stop, and the luxury of hands no longer touching her body. The metal click of the doors opening signaled the men to drag her from the van. She felt the only thing still covering her nakedness, what was left of her skirt, and her bra hanging in two pieces from her shoulders.

The rough wood hurt her bare feet. Despite all of the confusing banter, she heard the waves hitting the shore and then the heavy metal door clunk open, and smelled the moisture laden air. She was being taken to a building on the waterfront.

“Help me,” she screamed. For a brief instant she felt something hit the back of her head, then sharp pain, and then a sense she was falling.

Chapter 29

“Mike, I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said.

“I could say that about you too, Scott. Are you going to give this charade up now?”

“Thanks for helping get me out.”

“You, my man, are very lucky that Paul was there. You could have been locked up for quite a while.”

“You’re right, but can we get out of here now?”

“Let’s go get a coffee and talk about some things.”

I could tell it wasn’t a suggestion.

We were on our second refill when Mike finally brought up what I was doing tonight. “Scott, what the hell were you doing?”

I took a deep breath before answering. “I wanted to see if I could get a look at the care facility and the people who worked there.”

“Okay, so what did you discover?”

“Actually, not much.” Then I remembered the license plate numbers. “I did write down two plate numbers.” I reached for the paper and handed it to Mike. “One of these was a Cadillac and the other for a Pontiac.”

“I see that. What do you want with these plate numbers?”

“Well, do you think you can run a plate search and find out who owns these vehicles?”

“I could, but why? What is going on?”

“One of these cars might be the guy who is blackmailing Stephen.”

Mike looked at the numbers. “Okay Scott. I think it’s now time for us to help you with this case…in fact, I think it is time we took over this case.”

I started to open my mouth.

“Scott, you’re not trained to do this shit. You’re going to get in trouble, if not killed.”

I thought about what he said, and part of me wanted to give up this investigation. However, it wouldn’t be fair to Stephen to drop it, and certainly not acceptable to turn it over to Mike. “How about I keep you informed about what I’m doing?”

“Scott, this whole thing is getting out of control. You have no idea what you might be getting into. Okay, let’s say you continue with this…what is your next step?”

“Does that mean you will run the plates for me?”

“Regardless of who is doing the investigation, the plates are a good starting point. So, yes, I will run the plate numbers for you. What are you going to do next?”

“Well, the next money pickup is scheduled for tonight. I plan on being there.”

Chapter 30

He stood at the entry to the room which was a hotbed of passion just a few hours ago. He wanted Alexis to be with him for the entire holiday weekend. However, she was complaining of cramps from her period.

All he had now were the memories and the Polaroid pictures. The pictures she took of him were missing. She took them with her. He really didn’t want to see them, especially the last two shots she took.

He went through the pictures he had taken of her. She was an incredible sight. Even though the pictures were black and white, the contrast of her white body against the black sheets immediately caused his body to react. He could tell his breathing was rushed and he adjusted himself. The absence of pubic hair brought the memory of her shaving him, and his fear she could do so much more damage.

The ropes were calling to him. A few minutes later he was naked on the bed. His ankles were tied by the ropes and one wrist was. He had one free hand and was studying each photo. He recalled being totally tied up and Alexis in control.

The welts were just faint red marks now, but he remembered each strike. It was painful then, but grand now. The interesting thing was the look in her eyes when she was delivering the blows. She got very much into it, and at one point he feared she would cause some permanent damage to his special parts.

Her twin sister had kidnapped men, tortured them and killed some of them. Even though he knew Alexis for all these years, was she capable of doing those things?

He thought about what she had done to him and he couldn’t help himself and recreated those scenes.

Chapter 31

It was after midnight. He had completed all of his nightly duties and couldn’t wait any longer to visit with Alexis.

He opened her bedroom door and the only light in the area was the bathroom light. She wasn’t in the bathroom. He silently crept into her bedroom area. Even in the limited light he could see her pure white body lying on her back on the bed. She had the black bra and bikini panties on. She was sound asleep.

He wanted her awake, but all in good time. He was now standing beside her bed committing her image to his memory. She was gorgeous. He strained to see through the flimsy material and as his eyes adjusted her white breasts made the dark bra disappear. He wondered if his heavy breathing would wake her.

He looked at the junction of her thighs and the small material covering her special part. Once again the material seemed to disappear and he could make out the light covering of hair beneath it. He was getting excited.

Her face is what he wanted to see next. However, it was hard to remove his eyes from the beauty only inches away. He wanted to reach out and feel her body. Instead he slowly traced his eyes up across her stomach, her navel, her breasts and then her face.

At the same time he noticed her eyes were staring at him, her hand grabbed him through his pants. “That was exciting for me, and I can tell it was for you too.” She squeezed him hard.

It took his breath away. He was shocked she had been awake all this time.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come. You’re late. I almost thought you might have decided not to come. However, I can tell you are glad you did.” She was still holding him tightly. “Am I hurting you?”

He took a deep breath. “No, not really.”

She squeezed him even harder and he yelled out.

“Shush. You will wake the neighbors.” She let go of him and he took another deep breath.

“Take your clothes off,” she commanded.

He hesitated, and felt immediate pain.

“Time is a wasting. Now, take your clothes off.”

Less than a minute later he had his clothes off and more than he was standing.

He watched her quickly swing her legs over the side of the bed so they were on either side of his legs. “Did I hurt you?”

He looked down and saw her staring between his legs.

“Yes…a little.”

“Poor baby.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “Did that take the pain away?”

“No, not really.”

“What do you want Chris?” He didn’t answer her. “Do you want to see my body?”

“Yes.”

The bedside lamp went on. He felt so stark naked.

“
That,
is so much better.” She reached out to him with two hands and he heard his breath escape. He felt her breath against his body. “Okay, now you can leave.” She let go of him and then moved to lie on the bed.

He was crushed and just stood there.

“I said leave. Go
now
or I will scream.”

“You were going to show me your body.”

“I changed my mind. Now leave.”

“Please. What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I made a mistake allowing you to come in my room.”

“But, you wanted me too.”

“I can see you are upset. Touch yourself.”

He hesitated.

“You are making the same mistake. If I tell you to do something…you are to do it without thinking about it. Now,
touch
yourself.”

He put his hand around himself.

“If I ask you something, you also have to give me an honest response without any hesitation. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Do you like the feel of your hand?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. I’ll give you a reward.” She reached behind her and unhooked her bra and very slowly lifted it off her breasts to expose them to him. “You like?”

“Yes.”

“I can see that.

He followed her next instructions and watched her eyes follow what he was doing.

She slid back onto the bed again. “Good boy. You deserve another reward. Take my panties off.”

He reached and started to take them off in a rush.

“No. I want you to take them off without your hands.”

He tried to remove them as instructed, but she purposely made it difficult for him. Her scent was intoxicating.

“Yes, there’s another surprise.” She reached for him. “Remove it the same way.”

He realized he never had control of this meeting, but if he had, he would have lost it at this point.

Chapter 32

When I got to my apartment I still had a strange feeling and wanted desperately to hear from Mercedes. I think something happened, but I have no way to reach her. I said a silent prayer and truly hoped my senses were tricking me, but somehow I knew differently.

I was worried about Mercedes. She was upset with me, but it wasn’t exactly Ralph I was worried about.

I had no way to contact her, and I wasn’t sure she would be calling me anytime soon. She thinks I might have spent time with Maggie, and I did, but not the way she thinks.

Recalling our previous phone call, I should not have played a game with her, telling her I had bad news and bad news. I’m not at all surprised she hung up on me. Now, I wish I could hear her voice, even if she was yelling at me.
How the hell am I ever going to live with the danger she faces on some of the FBI cases?

My phone rang and I rushed to answer it. “Hello.”

“Hi Scott, it’s me.”

“Oh, hi Mike.”

“Well, that is not the response I anticipated.”

“I’m sorry Mike. I thought it might be Mercy calling back.”

“I take it you still haven’t heard from her?”

“No, and I’m starting to feel uncomfortable. She is in a foreign country where women are missing and turning up dead.”

“She is trained and she’s not alone. You might be feeling your own vulnerable situation.”

“I might be, but not having a way to contact her or anyone in her group, gives me a helpless feeling.”

“I understand Scott…maybe better than you do. Look, I ran the plates and have some information to share. You ready?”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“Well the Cadillac is registered to a Dr. Samuel Adler who lives in Chestnut Hill. The Pontiac is registered to a Christopher Sullivan who lives in Jamaica Plain.”

“Do you have addresses?”

“Yes, but I’m not giving them to you.”

“Not even the Pontiac one?”

“Especially, not that one. Look Scott, I would like to help you, but you have to let me.”

“I know you really want to help, and I would love the company. However, I just don’t feel right betraying a confidence.”

“Yes, but you already gave me enough to know it involves Stephen.”

“I told you I would keep you informed. I am planning to go to the drop site tonight.”

“Alright Mr. Detective, how about you tell me the location of the drop site?”

“I don’t see any harm in that. It is the Dudley Street elevated train station.”

“Thanks Scott. Please be careful, but if you change your mind on things, please let me know. I would be glad to assist. You know that.”

“I know Mike. You are a good friend. Talk with you soon.”

“Thanks, bye.”

*.*.*

As soon as I hung up the phone, I pulled the Boston Area white page telephone directory, and looked up Christopher Sullivan. There were three, but only one listed in Jamaica Plain. I wrote the address down and decided to take a ride.

Twenty minutes later I was parked down a few doors from the address. Even though it was close to 2 AM, the street was well lit. The address was a three story duplex with six apartments. The three mailboxes on each side of the front doors told the story. It wasn’t important right now which floor Christopher lived on. However, this address might not be important at all, but it might come in handy.

After waiting several minutes, I decided that if a police car were to come by and spot my car, or me, it would be hard to explain being at this location after being picked up at the other address.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to take a ride past the care facility. I wasn’t planning on stopping, but I wanted to see if the Pontiac was still there.

*.*.*

Twenty minutes later I drove to the care facility in Belmont. The only car in the parking lot was the gold Pontiac. I went past the facility and turned at the next intersection and came back to get a better look at the parking lot.

The Pontiac was in the exact position it was in earlier last night. As I cruised past the building I noticed the same light on, in the room I assumed was Stephen’s daughter’s room. It is the middle of the night, why is her light on? Maybe she needs to sleep with the light on.

I resisted the temptation to park and walk back to the facility to see if I could hear anything. It was too dangerous for me to be seen in this area, let alone be parked or worse, to be found on the grounds of the facility.

I stepped on the gas and headed back to my apartment. However, the light on in that room reminded me of the single light in my cell while being held captive by Melanie. Now she had a twin sister. Could my nightmare be a sign there is more to fear?

The lack of sleep was getting the best of me. I needed to get a good night’s sleep.

Minutes later I was in my own bed, which still felt strange after being in Mercedes’ for many nights. I thought I could drift right off to sleep, but I was thinking about Mercedes and whether she was indeed safe. I was also wondering whether Alexis would pick up where Melanie left off. I closed my eyes and unconsciously felt the arrow scar.