by Dale Mayer
“I wasn’t hurting them,” Kenneth said. “Not at all. I was capturing them, so they could live forever in their paintings and in me.”
“But you killed them,” she said quietly. “How was that capturing them?”
“Evil,” said that other voice which Richard struggled to identify. Heath? And then it hit him. That ugly dark energy he had seen wrapped around Cayce’s ankles that night not long ago. It was close to but not exactly the same broken black energy of the homeless man called Halo.
Was he Heath? Brother to Kenneth?
God. It wasn’t hard to see it now, because the darkness wasn’t necessarily coming from the closed-off windows but from the energy coming from the man bending over Cayce, who was lying on the floor of a room off the kitchen. The second man was curled nearby on the kitchen floor, whispering in a singsong voice, “Good boy. Bad boy.”
That confirmed Halo’s identity, and, after what Kenneth had just explained, might even explain the nightmare that had damaged Heath’s childhood. Obviously Kenneth was equally damaged.
Richard crept closer, and when Kenneth straightened and stepped away from Cayce, Richard jumped forward. “Hands up,” he said.
The man in front of them froze. Halo’s voice rose in a high-pitched song, repeating the same phrase over and over again, adding to the din.
Then Kenneth looked at Richard, dropped to his knees, and held a needle against Cayce’s throat. “Don’t come any closer.”
Chapter 26
Cayce couldn’t believe Kenneth was behind all this madness and couldn’t believe what he’d done, but her gaze landed on one of the paintings against the wall. Hard to not recognize it, as she’d last seen it at the masterpiece party where she’d painted the van Gogh on Elena. Cayce’s eyes filled as she recognized the image and the skin.
But something else was here that neither Kenneth nor Heath could see.
And Cayce could use it right now.
She closed her eyes, hearing the men argue, and reached out with her energy to the painting on the wall. She hadn’t been joking when she’d told Richard about the energy of the model being important to Cayce. And blending Cayce’s energy with her model’s to make the painting come alive.
Just then Richard said, “Oh, I’ll come closer,” he said to Kenneth. “Then I’ll beat the living shit out of you for touching her.”
“You can’t touch me,” he said, in a weird singsong voice. “I’m full of light. Full of people. It’s much, much better,” he said. “I can show you exactly how good it was.” He looked at the detectives, beaming. “My latest paintings prove it.”
“What is it I’m supposed to look at?” Cayce asked, as Kenneth pulled her into a sitting position, then up onto her feet.
“Let me show you,” he said, “but don’t you cops come any closer.” He wrapped an arm around her neck and, still clutching a needle there, dragged her off to the side of the room, while Richard watched helplessly. Kenneth turned on a small table light. “Look,” he said. “Look. I made it.”
And Richard stared in shock because there was Naomi, her carved-up corpse off to one side and a piece missing from her painted body on the other side. It was hung up near the painting that had been taken from Elena.
“See? I did exactly as you did. Aren’t they perfect?”
Cayce, in a calm, yet sad voice, said, “You did. Elena loved you so much.” Her stomach contents started to climb up into her throat. Nothing was joyous or beautiful at all about what had happened to Naomi’s body. Or to Elena’s masterpiece, which was completely unrecognizable. Instead, Cayce could see the energy of demons as they crawled from the center of Naomi’s skin, the flesh already rotting and decaying. What his human-skin canvases were intended to be wasn’t even visible. Madness had completely taken over Kenneth.
“I know,” he said proudly. “And now Elena’s with me always. That’s why I sent you a piece. So she’d be with you too.”
Cayce closed her eyes, as tears dripped down her cheeks. Then resolutely, determinedly, she stretched out her energy, blending with the bits and pieces of Elena’s energy still left on poor Elena’s masterpiece. Not much there to work with but all objects were energy. Even pieces that had been taken from people who were light themselves. She could hear Heath in the background, as he slipped further away into his own darkness. Meanwhile Kenneth was explaining in that earnest voice of his how he was bringing more light into people’s lives with his work and how Cayce would help him do so much better once they were all together.
She took a deep breath, and she sucked in all the energy she could reach for around her—whether good energy or bad—from the bits left of Elena and Naomi, whatever Heath had too. Then, feeling the energetic power build and grow as she reached for Kenneth, Cayce pulled his energy into her space and away from him. Feeling the power surge into her, … through her.
Let it go right through. Keep pulling, but release it out the other side, Stefan whispered, calm and steady in her head. This needs to happen, but you don’t need this energy. It’s too dark. Too ugly. You need to let it go. Think of a paintbrush, and stroke that energy forward to go around you and to carry on out behind you. Let it all go. Release Elena’s energy, keeping just your memories of her. Release your ex-fiancé. Release Elena’s stepfather, … all those ugly and painful memories. Let them go and the people with it. Most of all, let go of Kenneth and Halo. … They are broken souls. You need to walk free.
The energy pressure built higher and higher inside her. Stefan was helping her, pulling energy—or maybe blocking her from pulling energy?
I’m only protecting the other two in the room. Pull, he urged, pull harder …
She could see Richard’s beloved face in front of her and heard Kenneth’s screams in her head.
Pull hard, then let go, Stefan ordered.
She could feel someone else joining her efforts but not with the pulling …
Dr. Maddy whispered, I’m helping you to let go. This will kill you if you don’t. The brothers are already gone. We need to save you now. Release all this old energy. All the pain. Release the energy from these evil men …
Blindly aware of Kenneth doing some midair dance beside her and Richard moving closer, his hands out to help, … she reached back.
Reach for a future, Dr. Maddy said encouragingly. Let go of the past.
And, with that, she let the tainted energy swoop on past, and she stepped forward, disconnecting from all that had been, collapsing into Richard’s arms.
*
She’ll be okay now, Stefan said quietly. And I realized the connection I was feeling. It was Halo. He was in treatment at one of Dr. Maddy’s centers, where she had asked for my help. He showed such initial progress that the foster care system pulled him out against our wishes. He was a broken soul back then and has declined so much since then. The brothers are both at peace now. Richard, look after Cayce. Stefan’s voice faded from his mind.
Richard cradled Cayce into his arms. “God, I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered, sending an emotional thanks to Stefan.
She sobbed quietly against his shirt. “You cut it damn close,” she whispered.
He kissed her, holding her face close, and kissed her once more. “I made it though,” he said. “That’s what counts.”
She gave him a wistful smile and whispered, “You’re right.” She looked down at Kenneth, then around at Heath. “Are they dead?”
Andy stood over Kenneth, studying the macabre sight of his severely dehydrated body. “This will be fun for the coroner to decipher.” He looked over at her. “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” she answered, not prepared to explain what just happened. As far as she cared, these two dead men could be declared as unexplained causes of death. Something for the medical experts to talk about for years to come. As long as they didn’t try to discuss it with her, she’d be fine.
“Both men are dead. Same dehydration,” Andy said in confusion. “I don’t know what just happened here, but
I’m glad whatever the hell happened didn’t affect us. And what the hell are these?” Andy said, motioning at the stretched skin canvases behind them.
“It was Kenneth’s attempt to recreate my work,” she said.
Andy looked at her, looked at these pieces, and said, “They don’t deserve to be anywhere near your work. These are awful and disgusting, the product of a crazed mind.”
“Exactly,” she said. “But, for him, this was a success. Because he did what he thought he could do. So, if nothing else, he died a happy man.”
“And that’s too damn bad,” Richard said beside her. “Because all these people didn’t.”
As she turned to take in the whole room, her skin paled as she stared at the number of canvases laid out in front of her. “Oh, my God,” she said. “How many people did he kill?”
“I don’t know,” Richard said. “It’ll take us a long time to find out.” He pulled her into his arms again. “But that’s not your problem tonight.” He looked over at Andy. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us.” Just as the backup units began to fill the apartment, Richard’s phone rang. “First, you need to tell Frankie that it’s all okay.”
She took the phone from him and answered it. “Frankie, I’m fine.”
“Oh, my God,” he screamed into the phone. “What happened?”
“Let’s just say I came very close to becoming a permanent masterpiece,” she whispered. “I’m exhausted but okay. Richard saved me by the stroke of death.”
“My God,” Frankie said, his trembling evident through the phone.
“Listen. Go home. Take your girlfriend with you, and enjoy life for a day or two. I’ll contact you in a few days.”
Taking the phone back, Richard said, “Frankie, Andy will get cut you all lose over there as soon as we can. There will be plenty of follow-up to do, but sit tight, and we’ll process everybody out of there.”
“Thank you,” Frankie said, “for—you know.”
“I know.”
Andy was off to the side, already on the phone, issuing instructions.
“Can I go home now?” Cayce asked, her whole body shaking.
“Yes, you can.”
She walked over and reached out a trembling finger against the piece that held the masterpiece that was once Elena. “I want that piece,” she said, “to bury with Elena.”
“And you can have it,” Richard said. “I just don’t know how long it will take to get it all processed.”
She swallowed, visibly upset, and nodded. “Please, please just take me home.”
He hesitated a moment. “I’ll take you home, but I can’t stay.”
“Of course not,” she said, her voice thick. “But that’s okay, I understand.”
“Do you?” His voice held doubt because he’d been in plenty of relationships where they hadn’t understood, not at all.
She stroked his cheek gently and said, “I do understand. And, if you can handle me and my crazy painting hours, I can handle you and your crazy cop hours.”
He reached over, and, in the tenderest moment that he’d ever offered to anyone, he kissed her with all his heart. “I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
“Good,” she said. “And, whenever that is, I’ll be waiting.”
Chapter 27
Cayce heard Richard come in, but she was half asleep. She could see that the room had some light coming in around the curtains and realized what a long night he’d had. When he slid into her bed and wrapped his arms around her, she murmured something to him, but his warm voice against her ear whispered, “Sleep.” And she drifted back under.
When she awoke a second time, she saw him beside her, crashed, dark rings under his eyes, and she realized what a terrible toll the last several days had taken on him. As she tried to sneak out of bed and not disturb him, his arm slid over her, tucked her up against him, and nudged her closer.
She immediately turned over, slid her arm across his chest, and whispered, “I didn’t want to wake you. You’re exhausted.”
He smiled, but his eyes remained closed. “I am,” he said, “but it’s over. We’re here. We’re together, and there’s an awful lot we have to be thankful for.”
She lay her head on his shoulder and whispered, “Thank you for that.”
“I didn’t do anything,” he said, “nothing more than my job.”
She gently pinched his skin.
“Ouch,” he said. “What was that for?”
“Just wondering if that means, whenever someone is threatened, you’ll feel the need to move into their beds.”
He chuckled, the sound bubbling up through his chest. “Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just my job.”
“I should hope not.”
He rolled over, suddenly pinning her beneath him on the bed. His eyes were open and a deep, deep blazing blue as he stared down into hers. “That we have shared a bed over these recent days,” he said, “you have no idea how grateful I am that you’re still alive and here with me now.”
She smiled up at him cheerily. “Oh, I think I do,” she said. “I’m pretty grateful about it myself.” She reached up and kissed him gently. “Do you think it could be our time now?”
“Absolutely,” he said, kissing her gently. “We’ve had a pretty rough go of it.”
“Yes, we have,” she said, as she kissed him again. “Do you have to be anywhere?”
“No,” he said, “not right now. What time is it?”
Just then her phone rang. She quickly snagged her phone, took a look, and gasped.
He looked at the phone with her and said, “What am I looking at?”
She scrolled down to read a text.
I’m terrified to send this, but Bellamy said I had to.
It was a picture of a room with multiple paintings.
She zoomed in and looked closer. “Amazing.”
“I don’t get it,” Richard said, curious at her reaction.
“It’s Frankie’s work,” she said gently. At that, her heart warmed as she thought about him. “He used to paint very differently from this, and then he had a car accident and ended up with a brain injury, and he could never quite get it again. So he’s been very frustrated and angry.”
“What is this then?”
“He finally tried to do something different. He let his hand take care of his heart, and this is the result.”
“Wow,” he said.
Awkwardly holding the phone, she quickly sent back a text. Amazing, Frankie. So proud of you. I’ll be happy to take a closer look, but it won’t be today. She sent it, tossed her phone on the night table. With a happy sigh she returned her attention to Richard. “Now that is something that really makes me happy.”
“You’re close to him, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “He’s been a confidant for a couple years now.”
Richard gently kissed her on the cheek and nose. “A lot of people are in your life, aren’t there?”
She slid her hands to his cheekbones, gently stroking the strong bones under his eyes. “That doesn’t mean my life is full,” she said. “There’s plenty of room for one more, right here beside me.”
He smiled down at her, and she was entranced by the insecurities she could see peeking through his gaze. She asked him, “Don’t you ever feel that you aren’t good enough or that you don’t belong.”
“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” he joked.
She slipped her finger down to his mouth to stop him from talking. “Because I can see it,” she said. “Remember that one thing that I do as I paint? When I paint, I see other people. I see inside people.”
“I need to ask you a few questions,” he admitted.
“I know. There will be lots of questions for all of us for a long time,” she said.
“The luminescence, the light.”
“It took me a long time to perfect that,” she said, “but the answer is so damn simple.” She slid her arm up around his neck. “We can talk about that late
r too.”
He lowered his head and kissed her deeply, her body completely melting underneath him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. She was just so grateful to be alive and to have him in her life.
His hand stroked her breast, and he lowered his head to take the nipple into his mouth, suckling, and she cried out, her body arching under his attentions. When he did the same for the second one, she was already shuddering and quaking at his touch. After all, these past several days had seemed like one long foreplay session. Plus it had been a long time for her. And the fact that being with Richard was so special and so new, just made it all that more poignant.
Her skin was supersensitive, her heart already melting, and her belly, well, everything south of her navel was more than ready for his attention.
He slid a hand over her hip, down her thigh, across her knee, to her calf, only to slide up the inside of her calf and thigh. But to completely miss the tiny triangle of curls that she left there.
When he wouldn’t go there, she whispered, “You’re a tease.”
He chuckled. “Maybe,” he said. “But I want to make sure that you’re ready for me.”
“Are you kidding?” she said. “I’ve been ready for days.”
“I know,” he said, “and I’m sorry. I didn’t want to drag it out, but I also didn’t want to cross a line that would compromise the case.”
She reached out, pulling him up to her, and said, “I knew that, and I understood.”
He kissed her again and again. “Not many would,” he whispered.
“I do,” she said.
“You have the parameters of your work, and I have the parameters of my work,” he said. “It is what it is on both counts.”
“Got it,” she said, kissing him on his lips, on his neck, on those incredible cheekbones. “It feels so damn special to be here with you right now,” she said. “I just feel so thankful to be alive.”