Deceptions

by Dana Mansfield

  His contractor had also been in the house over the summer as Jack had the terra cotta tile that ran through the kitchen, laundry room, half bath, front hall and formal living room replaced with a gorgeous walnut wood floor. What about the exterminator? The lawn guys? The kids’ piano teacher or Leo’s tutor? These were all people Jack trusted but if enough money was waved in front of them during the current economic downturn, he presumed even the most loyal could have been bought. When she first broached the subject, he agreed with Penny that whoever the Employer was had inside information and it was certainly looking like that.

  A new anger boiled within him. One thing he learned quickly being a public figure was you had to be cautious of who you trusted. Jack had always been careful with whom he let interact with aspects of both his personal and professional lives. Those who were allowed in his house came with solid references, background checks, and passed Jack’s gut about being trustworthy. They never gave him reason to wonder if they had ulterior motives. Someone he trusted, however, gravely sold him, Penny, and his family out.

  How the journal came to be in William’s possession was not the only question he had from having to watch Penny’s torture. First, there was the basic question as to why the information needed to be known. If the Employer wanted to ruin him in the public eye by selling the information to the tabloids, kidnapping him seemed to be a bit of an overkill. The only thing Jack figured out was that the Employer, in his complete madness, needed to know for his or her own sick reasons.

  The other questions that ran through his mind had no answers. Those questions had to do with a person named Beck. When William wasn’t torturing Penny for information about the weekend at the cabin, he was trying to force her to tell him about someone by the name of Beck. Jack had no idea who this person was but it was most definitely someone Penny knew and her reaction whenever William said his name told Jack that it was not someone she wanted to talk about.

  And she refused, at least in the videos he was forced to watch. There were many days, especially over the last couple weeks, which were absent according to the time codes on the videos. What had taken place on the unknown days? Were those days about this person named Beck?

  Jack did learn a few things about Penny he had not known before such as what her mother was like. He felt a new guilt. Jack would have preferred to learn this new background information from Penny herself. She was very private about her life before they met and her mother was part of that period she would not speak of and what he did know, she told him with great reluctance. And honestly, what she did share wasn’t much. She asked him never to ask about her childhood and he promised he wouldn’t and kept that promise. Jack wondered, however, if this person named Beck was from that time period also. He vowed not to ask her, though. Jack would keep his promise. Penny had already been through too much and the last thing she needed was questions from him. Jack was worried, though. Her reaction to the name Beck was extreme and often heartbreaking for him to watch. Whoever Beck was, the memories haunted Penny.

  Penny stirred a couple hours after Jack was locked in the small closet-like room that made the other basement cell feel like a five-star resort. It was a colder space with a lower ceiling and dusty air that caused Jack to cough periodically.

  “Penny?” he called her name after she stirred. He was surprised his voice shook but it was in reaction to what he watched and how bad Penny looked now. Even though she was breathing, she looked dead and it was tearing at his soul. Her eyes were slow to open; they were swollen so she had to work at it. “Penny?” Jack repeated. Her brown eyes were droopy but they stayed open. Then he got a closer look at her eyes. Her pupils were large, dark saucers and milky. Jack had a bad feeling about what he was seeing.

  Penny’s lips were dry and cracked and she struggled just to lick them. Her eyes were unfocused. Over and over she tried to lick her cracked lips. She was thirsty.

  “Would you like some water?” he asked her and she nodded her head as a child might. This demeanor he saw on the video – the seemingly regression from strong woman to innocent child – caught him off guard the first time he saw it and now that he was observing it in person, it did nothing good for his already hurting heart. Although he knew the demeanor was drug induced, it was still hard to witness and he wondered if he would see the strong woman back again.

  Jack picked up the bottle of water and opened it but wasn’t sure if she could even sit up or should. The way she was laying hid most of what was meant not to be seen and Jack was afraid he would upset her by forcing her up.

  “A few sips from the cap,” he offered, “just until you feel well enough to sit up.” She nodded and he was careful as he dribbled several drops into the small cap and then put it to her lips. She sipped and he repeated the process several times until she refused any more.

  “Thank you,” she replied in a childlike voice as a tear ran from her right eye. Her voice was so rough and barely audible. “Jack?”

  “Yes, Penelope?”

  “I… I can’t see you,” she said in a whisper and Jack’s stomach churned. “They used Red directly on my eyes. They blinded me. I can’t see.” Penny began shaking and Jack did his best to put his arms around her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry they hurt you in so many ways.”

  “I’m the one that should be sorry,” she cried. “I told; I had to. It hurt so much and I had to tell. I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t be strong,” she wept. “I couldn’t be strong.” She became inconsolable and Jack did his best to calm her while being chained. “I didn’t want to tell him.” Penny’s voice was very, very rough. “It hurt so badly, Jack. It was just too much. I couldn’t fight it. I tried to be quiet as long as possible.”

  “I know, Penny. I know,” he said and touched her cheek. “I am so sorry for what you went through.”

  “You know?” she asked, shocked. “How do you know?”

  “They had a camera and the only way they would let me see you again is if I watched what they did to you,” he explained, his voice low to control the emotion that was filling him up. “They tortured you.”

  “You know?” Penny repeated. Her battered face morphed from pain to worry and fear. “You saw everything?” It took a moment or two but Jack figured out her worry.

  “I know they forced you to talk about our weekend at the cabin,” he said. “That is what they made me watch.” Penny wilted and took several shallow breaths, closing her eyes.

  “My secret is still safe,” she whispered and appeared utterly relieved. “You don’t know about him.”

  * * *

  Chapter 29

  Jack and Penny were let out of the small cell and returned to the larger one. William carried Penny only because Jack did not have the strength to do so even though William removed the shackles that bound him. He was surprised that William was gentle with Penny as he laid her down on the mattress. Jack helped slip a t-shirt on Penny and he was relieved that she had something to cover herself. This helped ease Penny also.

  For the next hour or so, Jack looked on as Vivienne attended to Penny. She started an IV for fluids and injected medicines into it that she explained would help her breathe, slow her heart rate down and try and even it out. There were a couple pills – one for her blood pressure and then an antibiotic – but no pain medication. Finally, Vivienne asked the men to step out of the room. She needed to examine Penny for damage caused by Landon.

  Jack allowed William to guide him out of the room and sit him down in the heavy wooden chair. Jack was not bound to it. A muted anger rushed him.

  “Why? Why did you have to rape her?”

  “It was the Employer, Jack,” William said in an almost apologetic tone. “The Employer wanted the information. We’re professionals; we used all our best tools. The Employer did not care if one of those tools was rape.” Jack couldn’t believe what the maniac was saying.

  “Why did the Employer even care what happened between Penny and I that weekend?�
�� he asked.

  “That is a question that you’ll be able to ask the Employer in person,” William replied. “Now that the Employer has the information, the Employer is planning to visit you soon.”

  . . .

  Vivienne sedated Penny so the afternoon was quiet for Jack. He made sure the blanket they were given was tucked around Penny and then he sat and stared at the brick wall opposite him. The Employer… After so many months, the maniac behind their pain and humiliation would finally show his cowardly face.

  Jack was torn. He wanted the Employer to be revealed yet at the same time, he was fearful. Would their treatment be better or worse? He had a bad feeling that better probably wasn’t in the cards. Jack vowed to himself, however, he would try as hard as possible to talk the Employer into letting them go. Or, at least, releasing Penny. She needed the attention of a doctor who didn’t get her thrills from hurting innocent people.

  He pulled his legs up, crossed his arms on his knees, and rested his chin. The light behind the painted over window was beginning to dim as the day began its slow end. The last few hours had been so… Confusing? Horrific? Jack wasn’t sure but he hoped that when the Employer showed up, the dozens of questions in his mind would be answered. Until then, all he could do was wait and he let his focus slip as he stared at the window.

  “Jack?” Penny’s pained voice interrupted his blurry mind and he forced himself to focus. Penny was in bad shape and needed him. She no longer could see. He put his thoughts on the Employer’s visit on hold.

  “I am here, moy laskoyy drug?” he said and touched her cheek. She jumped at his touch. “I will never hurt you,” he reassured Penny.

  “I know,” she said and nodded. “It’s just…” Her childlike voice shook as a few tears fell down her battered face. Jack wanted to try and change the subject.

  “Is there anything I can get for you?” he asked.

  “Bathroom,” she replied. There was worry and slight panic in both her face and voice.

  “We just have a bucket but I will help you,” he explained. Although he brought the bucket to her, it was difficult to get her up into a position where she could relieve herself with her once again battered knees. Jack positioned her over the bucket and Penny cried as she urinated. When he went to wipe her, she sobbed harder and he hid his shock when he saw there was a smear of blood on the toilet paper. Landon had been brutal with her and more than once.

  Jack held her until her cries diminished. He went to lean her back down on the mattress but she stopped him.

  “Sit up,” she said.

  “Are you sure? You need to rest.”

  “Yes.”

  Jack helped her find a comfortable position and then tucked the blanket around her. Penny looked at him with her sightless gaze.

  “How long has it been?” she asked. “The days, sometimes I couldn’t tell them apart.”

  “About five weeks,” Jack replied. “A long time.” Penny nodded and closed her eyes.

  “It took so long. I tried to not tell them. I didn’t want to.”

  “I know, Penny. And we do not have to talk about it,” he said but Penny, despite being in terrible shape, was stubborn and not to be deterred. She was still Penny, after all.

  “I don’t know how they got your journal; they must have stolen it. You wrote in it, not much, about when we went to the cabin. The last time we went when it was just you and me. They wanted to know everything that happened that weekend but I didn’t want to tell them.”

  “Why? It was not worth the hell you have been through.” That weekend, always on the forefront of his mind since it happened, was a turning point for him. It wasn’t about being unfaithful; it was about following his heart. Shame and embarrassment crossed Penny’s face.

  “It was worth it to me,” she wept. “That weekend meant so much to me. It was between you and me. You made me feel so normal that weekend. I was trying to protect us; trying to protect you. Not just the public you but the private you. It was none of their business.”

  “It is over now,” he said and hugged her, making sure his embrace was gentle. “That weekend… it meant a lot to me also and I understand why you wanted to keep it to yourself.” Jack broke the embrace and held Penny’s face in his hands. “There is so much I want to share with you about how that weekend made me feel. Your words that weekend helped me see what I was unwilling to see – my marriage was over. Since the accident, as we worked together to heal both ourselves and the kids, I began to feel something different towards you, more than just friendship. Then you told me the same thing and I saw, Penny, because of your words. I saw my marriage was in shambles and I was in love with you. What we did was so beautiful and I want us to survive this hell so we can move forward together.

  “I want, I need, the ability to explore what we shared together at the cabin. When we get out of this hell, and we will because we have to, I want to see what there is for us as something more than just friends and employer and employee. I know there is something more for us. Right now that small hope, that hope for love, is the only thing keeping me going.” Jack was emotional and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

  “I want to have that hope, too,” Penny said in such a quiet voice.

  “Then let us have that together and we have to hold onto it, Penny,” Jack said with force. “We have to. It is all we have; we are all we have in this hell. I do not know how long this is going to last or how we are going to get out of here but we have got to hold on to that small piece of hope. Promise me, Penny,” he said and held her face tightly. “Promise me you will not give up. Obeshchay mne.”[20]

  “I promise, Ivan,” she cried. “I promise not to give up. You can’t either. Now you promise me.”

  “I promise, Penelope.” Jack then did something spontaneous; something they both needed at that very moment. He leaned in close and gave Penny a kiss straight on the lips. When he broke it off, they both wept for a few moments, their foreheads touching. “We have got to get through this.”

  Jack held Penny until the door opened and William entered with a tray with Vivienne following him. Jack was given the usual boiled chicken breast/potato/broccoli while Penny was brought toast and two protein shakes. There were four bottles of water on the tray also. Vivienne changed out Penny’s IV and then focused on her heart.

  “How is it?” William asked.

  “It could be better. She’s out of imminent danger but needs rest before…” Vivienne let her words trail off and she exchanged a knowing look with William. It gave Jack an unsettled feeling. Something was up; he wondered if it was a reference to the Employer’s visit. Jack hadn’t told Penny yet about that.

  “Good,” replied William and left with Vivienne.

  “What’s going on?” Penny asked like a child after the door shut. Jack found himself not wanting to tell her but knew it would be wrong to keep the information from her.

  “The Employer is coming to see us.”

  Her face was blank at first. Then, she started shaking and tears shimmered in her eyes.

  “I’m scared, Jack.”

  “You are not the only one,” he admitted and pulled her into his arms.

  * * *

  Chapter 30

  Each day, Penny’s physical injuries healed bit by bit but there was no visit from the Employer yet. Over a month of torture not only took their toll on Penny physically but also mentally. She had flashbacks to the torture and there were moments where fear gripped her to the point where Jack had to hold her tight to calm her down enough to keep her breathing and heart rate under control. Other times she was mute despite wanting to talk. And her demeanor, it was just so childlike and it was hard for Jack to witness this. Vivienne examined her several times each day and although she finally removed the IV, there were several medications she gave Penny for the cardiac and breathing problems.

  “When is the Employer coming?” she often asked when she could talk but Jack had no answer nor did he inquire with William. It was that f
ear of the unknown that kept him from asking.

  But two weeks after Jack and Penny’s reunion, the announcement came. “The Employer has arrived but you will both need to be bound,” William explained. “For your own safety along with Penny’s,” he clarified. It probably was a good thing as Jack might not be able to hold himself back from wrapping his hands around the Employer’s throat and trying to kill the maniac.

  Jack was ordered to the heavy chair in the basement room. He was selfish and his worry for himself increased as Landon was very specific on how he bound his left arm to the chair. Where his right arm was forearm down with the thick restraint closed securely over his wrist, his left arm was placed with his forearm up so the tattooed names of his children were exposed. It was déjà vu.

  William carried Penny and set her down on the cement floor next to the chair, then proceeded to handcuff her to the leg of it. He didn’t bring along the blanket and within a few minutes of William and the others disappearing back upstairs, she was shivering from the chill of the basement. Or fear. Likely, it was both.

  Penny wilted against the chair, still shaking. “How are you doing?” Jack asked. She just shook her head with a sad and fearful face. He could not agree with her more. The door at the top of the stairs opened and Jack’s heart raced as it never had before and he had to force himself to breathe. William appeared with his three thugs.