Nadine nodded and proceeded cautiously.
Though their footsteps were light, the stairs creaked as they moved across them. Terror was swelling in Nadine’s throat, unsure when and if he would jump out at them, guns blazing presumably. This wasn’t in his plan. Wasn’t part of the script. If he was here then no doubt they would see him at his very worst…
“Mmmmm…”
Nadine glanced back at Taylor.
Taylor nodded. Motioned to the room on the left.
They finished ascending the stairs and quietly moved in the indicated direction. The bedroom door was slightly ajar. Nadine peered through it and saw a figure tied to the bed inside.
But the other half of the room was still hidden.
Nadine’s grip on the gun tightened. Then a sound from behind caught her off guard.
DONG… DONG… DONG… DONG…
Nadine’s vision fractured. She slid down to her knees.
DONG… DONG… DONG…
Taylor grabbed her arm and ripped her back up to her feet.
DONG… DONG…
Nadine winced.
DONG…
She saw the door was opening from the other side.
DONG
Taylor put her foot into the door and fired off two rounds into the empty space before them.
They both watched in terror as the wind carried the door back further.
Right to left. Right to left. Right to left.
The girl was alive and screaming for help from the bed.
But her kidnapper wasn’t here.
CHAPTER 40
They were burning incense in another part of the house. There was music with chanting. Rose sat across the floor from Rupert, who seemed to have gone into a trance. Simon had that effect on people. He knew how to zero in. Create a sense of calm.
He remained with them in the study, his shadow lurking in the peripherals. Rose could tell he wasn’t happy she and Rupert were here. Of course she couldn’t blame him, but… His behavior was oddly passive-aggressive. She couldn’t quite gage how upset he was at her. It could very well have been that his annoyance was only mild. And some of it was show.
Then again, he might be harboring an inner rage.
“Knock, knock,” Samantha said dryly from the doorway. “Your tea.”
“Put it on the ground with them,” Simon directed.
Samantha walked slowly into the room, and set the tray down between Rose and Rupert. Rose noticed there were only two cups.
“Thank you, Samantha,” Simon said. “I will be with you and the others shortly.”
She turned and left the room.
“Please,” Simon said, edging nearer. “Help yourselves.”
“I don’t drink ‘tea’,” Rupert muttered. “Do you have any coffee?”
“This is a very special tea,” Simon explained. “It will open up your core. We will be able to receive advice more easily.”
Rose picked up the teapot and began to pour each of them a cup.
“Go on,” she said, urging Rupert to drink.
“I’d rather not,” he said.
Rose looked up towards Simon.
He was leaning against the desk.
“If you don’t drink it, then my wife will be offended,” he said.
Rupert pressed his lips together. Picked up the cup.
Let the steam hit his mouth.
“Do you mean Rose or the other one?” Rupert asked.
Simon left his place by the desk and walked through them, stepping over the tea tray.
He shut the door to the study.
Then turned. “Drink it. Now.”
Again Rupert hesitated. He lifted the cup towards his lips.
Rose saw Simon make a silent motion with his hand.
Rupert began drinking the tea.
Rose resumed drinking hers.
Simon came over and sat on the floor with them. “An evil person or persons has brought the three of us together tonight. This force, this entity has been operating within close vicinity to each of you for some time. Your sister is extremely close to them. But she is safe at the moment. There are things that are covered. The truth is not yet clear.”
Rupert looked down at his cup.
Rose began to feel drowsy.
“I’m told, tonight marks the end of something,” Simon continued. “A final confrontation or battle that needs to be fought. For too long these … people … these … creatures of the night… For too long they have operated undetected. Wait…”
He turned to Rose.
She could hardly see him, her eyes kept closing.
“You have been betrayed,” Simon whispered. “By someone close to you.”
Rupert slumped over.
Unconscious.
“No…” Rose said, trying to regain her senses. “What is happening…?”
“Don’t worry,” Simon said. “I will keep you safe…”
CHAPTER 41
Nadine stood at the bedroom window while Taylor saw to the girl. She looked outside and saw there was a dark car sitting parked at the back of it. No one inside. She wondered if…
“Thank you,” Elsie said spluttering. “Are you the police?”
“Yes,” Taylor asserted. “Are you okay? How are you feeling? What did he do to you?”
Elsie shook her head. “I was walking home … And then he came up from behind. Gave me a good solid whack –”
“Did he hurt you? Rape you?”
“No. Not yet. I think he was going to though. He just – he was only just in here –”
“How long ago?” Nadine asked, turning.
Elsie seemed put off by the question. “I don’t know.”
“Five minutes? Ten minutes? Half an hour?”
“Just go easy on her, okay,” Taylor advised.
Nadine took her by the arm and moved her away from the bed. “There’s a car outside,” she whispered.
Taylor went to the window to look.
“Do you know if he’s still here?” Nadine asked.
Elsie swallowed. “I have no idea.”
“I’ll check the other rooms,” Nadine said. “And downstairs.”
“Well, what about –” Taylor began.
“You stay here. Keep her safe. I’ll just be two minutes.”
Nadine stepped out the doorway, gun in hand.
Back on the landing now. No sign or sound or anything inside the house apart from the ugly grandfather clock downstairs. Nadine went to the right and opened the bedroom there. Turned the light on.
His bedroom.
A glass of whiskey sitting by the bed.
An ashtray.
Nadine put her fingers into it.
Still warm.
BANG!
A sound from downstairs.
“Shit!” Nadine cursed.
She ran past Taylor peering out on the landing.
“Is he –?” she began.
YES, Nadine mouthed. STAY THERE.
She hurried down the stairs, holding her gun out in front of her.
Creak, creak, creak, creak.
She landed at the bottom.
If he was still here, then he knew exactly where she was.
Fuck.
She slid along the wall till she reached the door to the washroom. She pushed it open slightly and waved her gun about the dark inside.
Frantically, she caught a glimpse of light on her left.
The light was on in the kitchen.
She stood by the door it, trying to get a grip on her breathing.
And then she could hear him.
His feet obscured the light beneath the door.
CHAPTER 42
“DON’T MOVE!” Taylor’s voice shouted from another part of the house. It sounded like she’d found her way downstairs.
Nadine took a step away from the kitchen door.
She saw the shadow shuffle underneath.
“DROP IT!” Taylor screeched.
“It’s okay,” a familiar v
oice said in reply. “It’s only me.”
Nadine’s eyes squinted. She heard Taylor moving through the kitchen.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Taylor demanded.
Nadine couldn’t stand it anymore. She pulled back the door.
Both she and Taylor had their weapons pointed at the man in the centre.
He turned in Nadine’s direction, seemingly startled. “Oh. Hey, Nadine.”
She feigned disbelief. “Justin. What the hell…?”
Taylor grabbed up his gun that was on the floor and then began to pat him down.
“Left leg,” Justin said.
She took hold of his backup. Tucked it in her jacket.
“Do you care to explain yourself?” Nadine asked.
“What?” Justin murmured. “Oh. I was tracking the GPS in your phone. Sal sent me a message, asking me to look in on you. Said you might be in danger.”
“Let’s see the message,” Taylor said.
“Yeah, it’s on my phone. In my pants.”
Taylor ripped it out. “Your code.”
“1, 2, 0, 3.”
Justin looked to Nadine. “Will you lower that thing? I don’t want to get shot by accident.”
Nadine lowered the gun.
“Thank you.”
“Okay…” Taylor mumbled. “I see Sal’s message. But – how – we didn’t –”
“What?” Justin asked.
“We didn’t hear your car,” Nadine said.
“Are you kidding me?” Justin spluttered. “With the storm raging outside? No wonder!”
“Do you know where the fuck you are?” Taylor shouted at him.
Justin shook his head.
“This is where the girl was being held.”
“What girl?”
Taylor exhaled.
“I’m serious,” Justin said. “Does someone want to fill me in what the fuck’s going on?”
Nadine holstered her weapon. “You’re such an idiot. We almost shot you.”
“You know I could be in bed right now,” Justin said. “I need the fucking sleep. I have to be up at bloody six tomorrow –”
“Save it,” Taylor said handing him his gun back.
“Oh well. Okay.”
Justin bent down to retrieve his other weapon.
“Are we sure this house is otherwise secure?” Taylor asked.
“There’s a couple of rooms to go through still,” Nadine answered.
“Can you guys handle that? I should really be getting back to Elsie.”
“Who?” Justin asked.
“Yeah sure,” Nadine said.
Taylor hurried by them.
Justin glanced in Nadine’s direction. “Here we are then. Alone at last.”
“Not exactly how you saw the night panning out hey?”
Justin gave a small chuckle. “I don’t know. Having you fall for me was always a long shot I suppose.”
“You have no idea,” Nadine said smiling.
CHAPTER 43
That tension was still in the air. Nadine stared at Justin watching to see what his next move would be. What he would say and how he would say it. His thoughts were as visible as if he was speaking them out loud. Some people just weren’t that good at pretending.
They gave themselves away.
“You’re alright though,” he was saying, still hovering about the kitchen. “You’re fine. You’re not in any danger.”
Nadine didn’t reply.
“Of course you are. I don’t know what Sal was thinking. You can handle yourself. You were always good at that. Even the physical stuff, right? You could probably beat me up.”
“It’s not looking good for you,” Nadine said.
“No? It isn’t?”
“Not good at all.”
“Oh,” Justin gushed. “And – and why isn’t it looking good for me? Do you not ‘like’ me anymore?”
“I never liked you.”
Nadine backed away into the washroom behind her.
Justin was still in the kitchen. “Never liked me? That sounds – that sounds like a taunt.”
“Do you feel taunted?”
The fake amusement in his eyes started to dim.
Nadine felt her focus zoning in.
“Look, I get it,” Justin said. “My proposal was a leap too far. And now you’ve gone off me. So fucking what. You think I care? You think I’ll cry about it? You’re fucking interchangeable. I can switch you with anyone else.”
He took a step towards her.
She licked the underneath of her front teeth.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “That wasn’t nice of me to say.”
“No, keep going. I insist.”
“I’ll just stop now.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
Justin looked at her, confused. Laughter escaped his chest.
“You’re a hard one to figure out,” he said. “You always were. That’s why I liked you. I thought you might have liked me too. That I’d be your shoulder to cry on.”
“I don’t cry,” Nadine said.
“Everyone cries,” Justin said, taking another step towards her.
Nadine took another step back.
Her body was engulfed in darkness.
“Children cry,” Nadine said. “Little boys and little girls.”
“You see?” Justin said. “Shandling’s right about you. You’re unhinged, Nadine. You’re not connected with what’s going on.”
He took another step towards her. He was in the doorway now.
She took another step back.
“You’re the one who’s not connected,” Nadine whispered.
“Are you hiding something from me?” Justin grinned. “I wonder what it could be. I wonder … if it’s anything like what I’m hiding from you…”
Justin took another step, bringing himself into the shadows.
As the dark-light stretched across his face, the rings around his eyes were set ablaze.
Blue paint.
Glow-in-the-dark, blue paint.
Making his eyes glow.
Showing him for what he truly was.
“You’re in another decade, Justin.”
He moved towards her slowly. “What’s that?”
Nadine raised her gun at him. Pulled the trigger.
Click, click, click.
She blinked. “Oh shit.”
Fuck you, Taylor!
CHAPTER 44
Upstairs, Taylor was standing in the bedroom doorway, watching over Elsie who was still sitting on the bed. “It’s okay,” Taylor assured her. “We won’t be here for much longer. My partner’s just checking the rest of the house and then we’ll be heading out to the car.”
“Your name isn’t Nadine, is it?” Elsie replied.
“No, I’m Taylor. My partner is Nadine. Why?”
“He mentioned her name.”
Taylor stepped into the room. “He did?”
Elsie nodded. “He said there’s a present for her under the bed.”
“Really?”
“I’m too afraid to see what it is.”
“That’s okay,” Taylor said. “You can stand up. Go over there. I’ll check it out. See if there’s anything down there.”
Elsie nodded. She stood up and went to the wall.
Taylor got down on her knees and peered underneath the bed.
There was a rectangular shaped object in the centre.
“Taylor, help me!”
Nadine’s voice.
Downstairs.
Taylor stood back up.
“Over there,” she said motioning for Elsie to move to the corner.
She hurried back through the bedroom doorway and out across the landing.
Nadine and Justin were right of the stairs, a meter away from the front door. Nadine was on her knees while Justin was standing over her.
With a gun to her head.
“What the fuck,” Taylor spluttered.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Justin spouted. “I thought you fancied yourself quite the detective.”
“Justin, what the fuck are you doing?”
“You never shut up about Nadine, Shandling. Always – Nadine’s crazy. Nadine’s a loose cannon. Nadine’s going to go berserk one day and shoot up the precinct. Meanwhile, I’m just sitting there. Laughing at you. It was such a surreal experience to be your confidant.”
Taylor shifted across the landing. “I’m coming down.”
“No. Stay where you are please. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do with you yet.”
Taylor stopped at the top of the stairs. She leaned against the railing. “If you would just explain what is happening then I’ll be able to have an appropriate response.”
“What is happening,” Justin muttered. “What do you think is happening, Shandling?”
Taylor shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Well. How can I make it clearer for you?” He raised his head sharply. “I’m going to have to request a trade.”
“A trade? For what?”
“You get Nadine back. I get the girl.”
“The girl?” Taylor spluttered. “You mean – the sixteen-year-old?”
“I thought she was younger. Blast. Well… I suppose she’ll have to do. She’s still a virgin, isn’t she? Ask her.”
“I hope you’re joking, Justin. I seriously –”
“He’s not joking!” Nadine shouted. “He’s working with those sickened freaks –”
Justin whacked her over the side of the head, causing Nadine to collapse.
“I didn’t mean to ramble,” Justin said after a moment. “Let’s not drag this out any longer than we have to. Nadine for the girl. Yes or no. The wrong answer and I’ll shoot her right now.”
Nadine looked up, quivering from the floor.
Taylor swallowed a heartbeat in her throat. “Uh…”
“YES OR NO!” Justin shouted stepping on top of Nadine.
The front door slowly opened behind him.
Sal was standing there with a shotgun.
“No,” Sal said and shot him.
CHAPTER 45
Taylor looked to her right and saw Elsie had appeared against the railing with her. “That’s him,” Elsie said pointing to Justin. “He’s the one who kidnapped me.”
Icy Stares (Guess The Killer Book 1) Page 9