Twisted Hunger

by Marilyn Campbell

  “Their father’s role in the story was basically one of passive non-resistance. Regardless of what cruelties his wife inflicted on Teddy, or how hard she pushed Abraham, he let her run the show, except in one area—the boys’ education. And that turned out to be what had the most influence on their future.” Obviously upset by what had happened to those boys, she began pacing back and forth as she continued.

  “He insisted his boys be exposed to all the people of the world, not just the Americans and Brits. And not just exposed to them, mind you, he wanted his boys to befriend them and learn about their unusual cultures.

  “You see, the State Department had sent their father to New Zealand, and he actually encouraged Teddy and Abraham to associate with the native children whose parents worked menial jobs in the area. He practically handed his children over to those savages. For some superstitious reason, they welcomed the little white boys into their tribe then introduced them to their primitive religious beliefs and rituals.”

  Teddy suddenly grasped Vivian’s arm and whispered in her ear. At first she seemed prepared to argue, then she turned and stared at Ellery for several seconds. “Teddy, genius that he is, just realized something. I turned off the electricity in here before, so how did you know about the eyes…” She slowly scanned the room and noticed the mirrored closet doors were open.

  Vivian hurried into the secret room and returned carrying the flashlight Ellery had dropped. Handing it to Teddy, she noted, “Very ingenious. I should have considered the fact that a woman who is afraid of the dark and enclosed spaces might carry a light in her purse.”

  She guessed at Ellery’s question. “Yes, we knew that also. People can be very informative when urged to talk by a man who could soon be their superior. So where were we?

  “Oh yes. You were trying to convince me that some secret group is out to ruin our Abraham. We both know that no one suspected him of any foul deeds except that detective and someone who sent him a letter from Sacramento.

  “Teddy already took care of that big hunk of chocolate, but he wasn’t absolutely certain about the identity of that acquaintance. He told me that the detective’s Sacramento contact signed his letter with the drawing of a winged insect, like a wasp or a hornet. Then, like an answer from the gods, he heard a sports reporter on the news mention the New Orleans Hornets—along with the fact that they were formerly based in Charlotte.

  “To be certain we had the right man, I decided to pay him a personal visit, but he wasn’t in his motel room, and there wasn’t a single thing there to suggest he was in Sacramento to obtain incriminating evidence against the senator. Our only choice was to turn to the woman he was spending so much time with for confirmation. So tell me, Ellery, the fly in our soup is your friend Lucas Madigan, isn’t it?”

  Ellery felt a slight tingle in her lips, like when a dentist’s Novocain shot begins to wear off. She told herself to remain completely immobile and to keep her voice sounding strained so that Vivian would not know the drug was wearing off. “No… he… wants… me… not…”

  “Oh you poor deluded girl. Abraham told me that was the cover he was using. He also told me when he called this morning that you were quite smitten with your new suitor. But even intelligent women like you and me are sometimes fooled by men. Under the circumstances, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind calling and asking him to join us here.”

  “Went… back… to… Charlotte.”

  Teddy bashed the steel flashlight down on Ellery’s left wrist, and the bone cracked audibly. He chuckled at the squeaking sound that erupted from Ellery’s throat and the tears that leaked from her eyes.

  “I thought you were more intelligent than that,” he said in a nasty tone. “She just told you she spoke to her husband after he talked to you. You had said Madigan was going back east tonight. But Abe had the feeling you were lying about that. Either way, we know he’s still around town right now. The question is where? I already tried the motel and your apartment. Where is he?”

  Ellery could barely think past the excruciating pain in her wrist. At least she wanted to blink away the tears and had the feeling that she could if she concentrated hard enough, but Vivian was watching her intently. “Don’…know.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Teddy stated flatly. “Nor do I believe you were completely unaware of his true purpose for being here. Does he work with the detective, or is he a friend of his? Was he the one who convinced you to take the job in the senator’s office? What made him suspect Abraham of being The Eye Doctor? Who else has he told about this preposterous theory of his?”

  Ellery decided to switch tactics. “Not… Luke. Me.”

  “Another obvious lie,” Teddy countered sharply. “Prevarication is clearly one of your worst habits. Either you’re incredibly stupid, or you really don’t know the answers to our questions and are trying to protect Madigan out of some misguided loyalty. I suspect it’s the latter.

  “There’s only one thing left to do. When the drug wears off enough for you to speak clearly, we’ll try this again. If you refuse to call Madigan then, I will take a pair of pliers and rip off your fingernails, one by one, until you make the call and say exactly what I tell you to. And just to make sure you’re in a cooperative mood when we return, we’re going to leave you alone for a while again… without your flashlight. All you’ll have is your fears and thoughts of how we might force you to cooperate with us.”

  Ellery’s eyelids raised a fraction before she could stop the telltale movement.

  “Hmmm,” Teddy murmured, noticing the reflex and checking his watch. “I thought it would take more time to wear off. It’s just as well. We’ll be back in an hour. Or perhaps we’ll wait ‘til tomorrow… give your Mr. Madigan some time to worry about where you are, and give you plenty of time to shed your disagreeable habit of lying. How long do you suppose it will take to turn you into a whimpering child who would do anything to be let out of a dark room filled with horrors?”

  Vivian’s gaze again traveled down Ellery’s body. “I can’t help but wonder what else you could be coerced into doing for us with the right inducement.”

  Ellery slammed the door shut on the image that Vivian’s words created. More important was that she felt a muscle in her finger twitch awake. Any second now, she could regain the ability to move and, hopefully, attack. She had to find a way to keep them from leaving for a few more minutes.

  “I… wrote… letter… to… F…B… I…telling… all.”

  Teddy laughed aloud. “You must watch a lot of movies to think that I’d fall for that old trick. But even if you had written such a letter, no one would believe it. Everyone loves Abraham. Haven’t you heard? They think he’s perfect.”

  Unable to think of any other way to delay them, Ellery helplessly watched Vivian pick up her purse, walk to the door and press one side of it. There was a soft click and the door swiveled opened.

  “I’ll be right out,” Teddy told Vivian. “There’s one more thing I want to say to our guest. Alone.” As soon as Vivian was out of earshot, he knelt down beside Ellery and leaned close. “It didn’t have to be this way you know. I wanted to let you in on the family secrets slowly… after you and I got to know each other better.”

  He stroked the cheek he had bruised. “I could have loved you.” His hands covered her breasts and kneaded them. “Honored you.” He slid his hands to her hips. “Cherished you above all other women. Even Vivian. I would not have allowed her to use you the way she wants to.”

  Ellery noted the softening in his expression and wondered if she could take advantage of it. “My… wrist. Please…”

  He looked at the damage he had caused then came to some sort of decision. With no warning, he shoved her skirt up to her waist and pulled her pantyhose down.

  Ellery clenched her jaw against the expected violation of her body. Her muscles were coming back to life but not enough to stop him.

  “You shouldn’t have lied to me about canceling our date. But I might have forgiven that i
f you hadn’t given yourself to Madigan the very next night. That was unforgivable and you deserve to be punished. However, I had not meant to break any bones.”

  To her complete surprise, he tightly wrapped the pantyhose around her hand, wrist and forearm, creating a flexible cast. “I was pre-med,” he explained simply.

  Satisfied with his handiwork, his gaze drifted to her exposed crotch. He brushed his fingers back and forth over her pubic hair. “Shall I tell you one of the fantasies Vivian has about you?”

  “No.”

  He laughed. “She wants to make a sandwich. She has this extra-large dildo that she likes to strap on to pretend to be a man. While she’s ramming that thing into your cunt from the front, I’ll be fucking your ass from behind. And just so you’re fully prepared, you should know I’m considerably larger than an average man. I expect it will be rather painful since both of us now have reason to see you in a submissive position. We considered acting that one out right away, but Vivian wants you to be fully functional and able to participate. You see, I saw you with Madigan that night out in the parking lot, so I know you’re as hot as—”

  “Teddy!” Vivian called. “I’m tired of waiting.”

  “She has so little patience,” he said, rising to his feet. “Try to keep that wrist elevated,” he said as he exited.

  A moment later, she was again in total darkness.

  Ellery’s heart welcomed the fear-induced rush of adrenaline and picked up its pace. She felt the familiar panic building, but she was able to hold it at bay with the knowledge that she had seen how to open the door. She also knew that she had just experienced a fright much worse than being alone and trapped in the dark.

  Focusing all her mental energy into physical movement, she only managed to fall off the couch and bruise her shoulder. She lay on the cold tile, helpless and aching all over, but confident that it was only temporary. Even the pain radiating up her arm from her wrist could be tolerated as long as she knew she would soon be free and could get help.

  She had no doubt that Vivian and Teddy were as unbalanced as the senator. But she had also found the proof Luke and Brevowski had been looking for to end The Eye Doctor’s reign of terror, as well as Abraham Jones’ political career.

  As soon as she thought their names, she wondered if either of them were on their way yet. She still wasn’t absolutely certain what her fate would be once her assignment was completed, but whatever Brevowski and friends planned couldn’t be as bad as what Teddy and Vivian had in mind for her.

  As for Luke, she had to assume he had listened to her message by now, tried to call several times and gotten worried when she didn’t answer. She hadn’t told him exactly where she was going, so she hoped that would prevent him from racing here and walking into the same trap she had. But, considering his motivation, omitting the specifics may not have been enough to stop him.

  She drew in a slow, deep breath and was enormously relieved that her diaphragm was almost working normally again. Concentrating on her breathing also helped to counter her claustrophobia.

  Keep your mind busy, Ellie. It won’t be much longer.

  What about the senator? Would he make an appearance at all or did he intend to leave her disposition to his brother? That’s what it sounded like he had done with other witnesses or bothersome loose ends.

  Confident that her escape would be forthcoming as soon as she gathered enough strength to reach the door, she almost wished Vivian had revealed more about her husband’s “needs”. She had referred to New Zealand natives and rituals, but Ellery couldn’t help but be morbidly curious to learn the entire explanation of why Abraham had killed those specific people and why he had preserved their eyes.

  Minute by minute she felt the paralysis leaving her muscles, and as it did, she occupied her mind by planning a variety of strategies to sneak away. If she was forced to, she could overpower Vivian, even with only one good arm. She would have little chance against Teddy, though. If only she had some of Diane’s fighting skills. But the reality was, slipping away from her captors unseen was her best option for survival.

  Finally, Ellery had the power to stand up, though she was nowhere near being back to normal. She was horribly nauseous, whether from the drug, the injury to her head or the searing pain in her wrist, she couldn’t tell.

  For several more minutes, she remained in one place and stretched her muscles until she felt that her mind and body were somewhat in sync again. Struggling against her fear of the dark with every ounce of her being, she made her way to the door and mentally prepared herself to do whatever she must to escape.

  She pressed against the edge of the door as she had seen Vivian do. She heard a click and prepared to escape the instant it sprung open, but nothing happened. Again she pressed and heard the click, and again the door remained sealed.

  Like another blow to her head, it hit her—the spring lock was somehow connected to the power source! Furiously, she kicked at the door, as though it were responsible for her predicament.

  All her positive thinking had been a waste of time! No wonder the woman hadn’t worried about letting her see how to get out. She had teased her with it, dangled the possibility of escape before her, knowing Ellery would go for it the moment she could move and knowing the attempt would be futile.

  Ellery thought she heard laughter on the other side of the door. “You bitch!” she shouted. “You fucking insane bitch! I’ll see you and your lunatic husband and his fruitcake brother all in hell before I’m through with you!” Ellery heard nothing in response, but it made her feel slightly better to have screamed a few obscenities.

  With her expectations of escape wiped out in an instant, the nausea and pain overwhelmed her, allowing the old fears to take control of her mind, making her want to curl into a fetal ball and disappear into a safe place.

  No! she scolded herself. I can’t give up. As long as I’m alive, I have a chance of getting out of here. Brevowski will come if I just hold on long enough.

  She knew she wouldn’t be falling apart so quickly if she had her flashlight, but—

  Suddenly she realized that she had seen partially burned candles in that awful room. All she needed was to find matches or a lighter. She felt more grounded now that she had something specific to do. Blindly, yet methodically, she opened one drawer, the cupboard above and the cabinet below, discovering the contents of each by touch.

  The whole time she searched, she prayed that she wouldn’t come across anything as gruesome as what she had seen in the altar room. She learned where they kept the dishes and silverware, the soap and hand towels. In one cupboard, she found a shelf of identical, leather-bound books that felt like a set of ledgers or journals.

  When she was about halfway along the kitchen counter, she found several lighters in a drawer with other miscellaneous items. Hurriedly, she flicked one on and nearly collapsed with relief when the space before her eyes was illuminated.

  As difficult as that had been, the next step was much harder. She had to go fetch the candles from the altar.

  Screwing up her courage, she reentered the unholy chamber. As quickly as possible, she gathered up every candle. She started to leave then grabbed the knife as well. Keeping her gaze averted from the grisly collection on the back wall, she hurried out of the room.

  As a precaution, Ellery hid all the lighters and candles but one under the couch. If she used them sparingly, she figured she would have enough to hold off her panic for quite a long time.

  She wasn’t at all certain she could actually use the knife on another person, even in self-defense, but they wouldn’t know that, and the threat alone might accomplish her release. If nothing else, her having possession of The Eye Doctor’s valued weapon might be enough to buy her some time.

  The nausea had subsided somewhat, but the headache and wrist pain were nearly unbearable. She took several more aspirin and followed them with some antacid.

  Now, to keep her mind busy until one of them chose to visit her again… or
she was rescued. Remembering the books she had felt in the one cupboard, she wondered if they might be worth examining.

  With the thick candle in hand, she opened the cupboard door and found that they were journals, as she had guessed. On the spine of each were dates, sometimes a single year, sometimes a longer period, as on the first volume.

  Recalling Abraham Jones’ birth date, it looked like he had kept a written account since he was eleven years old. Perhaps her morbid curiosity could be satisfied after all.

  She withdrew the first book and carefully opened it near the candle’s flame. The writing was clearly that of a child, but the sentences seemed to have been composed by someone much more mature.

  We sailed from New Zealand today. Mother is relieved. She hated our years there, and I was not overly fond of the weather or the insects, but I will miss my friends. Mother gave me a set of journals to write in to occupy my time during the long voyage to Panama. She says that someday I will be the President of the United States and people will want to read about my life. I wish she would stop saying things like that. Sometimes it scares me so much I throw up. If only I was more like Teddy. He’s not afraid of anything, not even her, and he’s so much smarter than I am. He’s the one who should become President, not me. But he swears it will be okay. He’s going to help me.

  He backtracked then, to his birth in Paris, and Ellery skimmed over a summary of memories from his early childhood, including the family’s move to New Zealand. About three-quarters of the way through the journal, her eyes slowed their swift perusal when she spotted his first reference to a tribe of savages he’d met when he was eight years old.

  As Vivian had claimed, her father-in-law had encouraged his sons to get to know the locals and learn as much as they could about their culture. Although Ellery had the uneasy feeling that she was not going to like what she was about to read, that morbid curiosity urged her to keep on.

  The first time we were invited to one of their high ceremonies, a thief was put to death. Had he been a totally worthless person, his whole body would have been given to the bonfire, but he had been a very fast runner. So his legs were only roasted until they were edible. I remember being repulsed by the savages at first, but Father had instructed me to take advantage of every opportunity to learn about their culture, so I ate with them.