Twisted Hunger

by Marilyn Campbell

  Dear God, Ellery thought. The savages were cannibals, and the Jones brothers had eaten human flesh like it was a homework project.

  I thought their belief that a person could acquire another’s abilities or talents by eating the body part that ruled them was stupid. But then I beat the fastest boy in school in a race the next day, and I knew they weren’t as stupid as they looked.

  Ellery went back to scanning the pages as he related details of different ceremonies and rituals they had attended. Although they continued to participate, neither brother ever acquired a taste for human flesh. By the time they were leaving New Zealand, Teddy had come to the conclusion that must have led to their murderous activities in the years that followed. Based on several books he had read, he convinced Abraham that the natives had one major flaw in their belief.

  Abilities and talents may be associated with particular body parts, but Teddy had deduced that it would be far more efficient to claim the victim’s entire soul at the moment of death.

  And since the eyes were considered the window to the soul…

  When she closed the first book, Ellery’s mind was so polluted with disturbing images that she had almost completely forgotten about her pain and her situation. The amount of melted candle wax on the counter let her know time had passed, but she had no idea how much.

  It was clear that Abraham idolized his older brother and would have done anything he told him to. Had Teddy used Abraham’s adoration to manipulate him as the years went by? She recalled their daily consultations and the one argument she’d overheard. Was it possible that Teddy was the brain behind Abraham’s outward charm?

  Rather than being satisfied, her curiosity was hungry for more explanation. What spurred them to act when they did? How were the victims chosen? Vivian and Teddy obviously had an intimate relationship. Did Abraham know about that, or did they keep certain information from him as part of “protecting” him?

  The multitude of questions kept her skimming one journal after another. She remained standing at the counter to help her stay alert. It was vital that she be prepared to act the instant the door was opened again.

  Chapter 23

  Brevowski hung up the phone, but Sam Erikson’s words were still echoing in his head.

  “You’ve been working too hard, Carl. Take a vacation. Someplace far away from there, a place with lots of people. In fact, you should leave immediately.”

  In other words, set up an alibi quick. Jones’ house was about to be blown down and Erikson didn’t want anyone to be able to follow the trail of blame to the Big Bad Wolf through someone who worked for him.

  Brevowski had told his employer that Ellery was inspecting the Sausalito residence today, and hopefully, she would find some solid evidence they could use. Rather than being pleased with the progress, Erikson ordered him to take an immediate vacation.

  After all these years, he finally had a chance to see The Eye Doctor brought to justice and he was being pulled off the case. Why?

  The answer came with a little cold political analysis. Erikson and his backers had decided a clean kill was less of a risk than a trial by jury on national television. And he was to get out of the way to make sure none of the blood splashed on him.

  Knowing Erikson as he did, Brevowski had no doubt the future president had arranged for such a contingency plan well in advance. He also knew there were only a few assassins in the world who could be trusted with such a high-profile job. In this case, he was quite certain that Erikson would have tapped the professional he had used before.

  Casper.

  No one seemed to know what Casper looked like. It was said that the assassin’s physical appearance, gender and race changed from one job to another. The only thing Brevowski knew for sure was that it was Casper’s modus operandi to infiltrate the circle of the target before making the hit. So who did that point to?

  An image popped into his head of Diane Oliver fighting off the gang of punks and he realized she was the most likely candidate. The next instant he kicked himself for not checking her out more thoroughly.

  Whether or not he was right about Oliver, where did any of this leave Ellery? The answer to that one made him uncomfortable, but he understood their rationale. Brevowski glanced at his watch. According to the conversation between Ellery and the senator that he’d listened in on first thing this morning, she was supposed to have met with the caterer in Sausalito at one. It was now past three. Surely, if she’d found something interesting, she would have called him by now.

  Unless they’d already taken her out of the game.

  He knew this sort of thing went with the territory he’d willingly entered, but this was an elimination he couldn’t go along with so easily.

  * * *

  Luke checked his cell phone again, willing it to ring. He hadn’t heard from Ellery or Maria. He had reached Sausalito without incident but then had to stop and wait. He had just decided to go to the courthouse and check public records for a property tax statement in the senator’s name, when the phone finally rang. The caller ID showed it was coming from Ellery’s phone.

  “Ellery! Where the hell are you?”

  “Mr. Madigan?” a woman’s voice asked sweetly.

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “Vivian Jones. Senator Jones’ wife. Perhaps you remember me from the banquet.”

  Why would Mrs. Jones be calling me from Ellery’s phone? Luke forced himself to stay calm. “Yes, of course. Although I’m surprised you remember me. Uh, I see that you’re calling me from Ellery’s phone. Is something wrong?”

  “Oh my. Isn’t technology incredible? I just love being able to see who’s calling me when the phone rings. But in answer to your question, I’m afraid there’s been an accident. Ellery and I were having a meeting with the caterer at our Sausalito house and she slipped on the stairs. It’s nothing serious. Our personal physician has already seen to her. But he gave her something that’s made her drowsy and she shouldn’t drive herself home. I would take her myself but I wasn’t planning on returning today. I’m afraid I took the liberty of looking in her cell phone for a number of a friend who might pick her up. I saw this number had called several times today and, well… anyway, could you possibly come up here and drive her home?”

  He knew it was all a lie, but it seemed to suggest that Ellery was still alive at least. He assumed he would be walking into a trap but what they didn’t know is how quickly he would get there. That had to be enough of an edge because he had nothing else going for him… except, of course, for the borrowed gun. He wrote down the directions and told her he would be there in a couple hours.

  * * *

  Vivian turned to Teddy and smiled. “He’s on his way.”

  “What a sly girl you are. Getting her to call him was going to be difficult to say the least. So do you want to go play with her while we wait?”

  She gave that some thought. “Actually, that last round in the hot tub took the edge off. Anyway, I’ve been thinking it would be ever so much more fun if we had an adoring audience… say, someone who will be here in a couple hours.”

  He nodded. “Whatever you wish, my love. A little extra time in the dark will probably make her that much more agreeable.”

  * * *

  Ellery closed the last of Jones’ journals. All her questions had been answered. She and Luke had come quite close with some of their suppositions, but they never would have guessed the entire story.

  While reading Abraham Jones’ private thoughts, she found herself both horrified and perversely fascinated by the twisted logic. Although Abraham never seemed to see it that way, Ellery had no doubt that Teddy was insanely jealous of the doting attention his brother received from their mother. Between the written lines, Ellery guessed that Teddy had worked very hard to undermine whatever confidence Abraham had, repeatedly proving to him that his older brother was the only one whose advice he could trust.

  Teddy continuously reinforced the theory that Abraham needed the primitive ceremo
nies and ritualistic sacrifices in order to reach the heights their mother had aspired for him. He even took on the job of getting rid of witnesses or nosy investigators when Abraham’s sacrificial killings weren’t as perfect as they should have been. And in the process, Teddy kept Abraham dependent and in an inferior position to him.

  Ellery also deduced that, apart from controlling Abraham, Teddy thoroughly enjoyed the game of murder—planning the strategies, wearing disguises and being smart enough to get away with it. He seemed to be one of those people who were completely without conscience.

  While Abraham studied political science, Teddy was a pre-med student. Not that he had any interest in becoming a doctor. It was during that time that Teddy found the perfect ceremonial knife for Abraham’s primary tool and showed him how to use it on the first two victims.

  As Luke had guessed, each of the murders occurred while Abraham was preparing to move up the ladder. Each of the victims was selected first by their proximity to where he happened to be at the time, and second, because he or she possessed some quality, skill or knowledge that he believed he lacked. Through the Latin construction worker’s eyes, he gained machismo and a sense of what it was like to be a blue-collar worker. The black female who worked in a nursing home enhanced his empathy for the problems of blacks, women and the elderly, all in one.

  After the first few entries, it became clear that every one of the murders occurred after Mother Jones had criticized some flaw she found in Abraham, or pointed out some area of weakness that needed addressing. His feelings for her ranged from loathing to worship. And every time she offered her advice, he turned to Teddy for his.

  She hadn’t kept count, but it seemed that he had recorded quite a few more sacrifices than the FBI knew about.

  Although he had not yet written an account of Brandon’s murder, there was a page explaining how and why he had chosen him. Apparently, he had taken Neuman’s eyes to acquire a better taste in apparel, but he believed he also picked up some of his homosexual tendencies in the process. With Brandon, he had expected to recharge his flagging sexual prowess with his wife, as well as gain the television star’s instincts in front of a camera and enough charisma to rival the late John Kennedy.

  Jones had noted that he respected Diane Oliver’s professional abilities, but believed his method of improving his image was much more effective.

  What was almost as shocking to Ellery, however, were the passages about Vivian. Abraham believed she was the perfect wife. The only time she annoyed him was when she took too many pills or drank to excess. Her voracious sexual appetite was only a minor inconvenience that Teddy was happy to help alleviate.

  And thus, another dark secret was kept contained in the family by Teddy’s ever-generous nature.

  Ellery put the last journal back in the cupboard. She didn’t know if it was all the trauma her body had endured or the fact that the burning candle had used up too much of the room’s oxygen, but she was so sleepy she didn’t think she could remain standing upright much longer. Even the pain in her head and wrist was no longer enough to keep her awake.

  It seemed to her that they were following through on the threat to leave her in solitary confinement until tomorrow. If she didn’t get some rest between now and then, she wouldn’t have the strength to run away if an opportunity arose.

  With that in mind, she figured out a way to take a nap, yet stay on guard. If she sat on the floor with her back against the door, she would be awakened the instant it opened. To help overcome all her fears when she awoke, she set a candle, lighter and the knife on the floor next to her.

  No matter how deeply she slept, the next time the door opened, she would be prepared to escape.

  * * *

  Diane had never had a job get this complicated. It was no longer an interesting challenge—it was a fucking obstacle course.

  When she arrived at Jones’ office for her daily appointment, she learned that Ellery had shown up for work but then drove to the Sausalito residence. As she was leaving, she overheard the senator telling someone to cancel all the rest of his appointments for the day because he had to get to that same house to deal with a problem there. It had sounded like the perfect opportunity to take care of business. Breaking into the big house and having a look around was also incredibly easy.

  Then came the complications.

  Instead of finding her two targets, Diane found Jones’ wife and brother in the wine cellar, going at each other like two animals in heat. From what she overheard, they had big plans for Ellery, the least of which was using her as bait to get Madigan there. The possibility of having her third target brought to her so conveniently made Diane decide to simply hang around until the whole gang was rounded up for her.

  She already knew the senator was expected shortly, but Ellery’s whereabouts were still a mystery to her.

  Although she wasn’t being paid to take out the extra two parties, her only choice seemed to be to make it a family package deal. Maybe use the Manson family massacre as inspiration.

  When the senator finally arrived, Diane heard them tell him that Ellery had been put in his Sacred Chamber, but Diane hadn’t seen any place in the house that would warrant that description. Then they had sent him upstairs to his bedroom to take a nap, so that he’d be refreshed when everything was ready.

  Diane was considerably surprised when he followed their instruction without saying a word about what they were obviously doing before he got there.

  After reading the information about The Eye Doctor that Ellery had in her apartment, that behavior didn’t seem to fit. There were obviously some pieces missing from that information, but that really wasn’t her problem.

  * * *

  Luke drove slowly past the Jones residence. There were no cars in the driveway, but there was a three-car garage that could be hiding Ellery’s and the senator’s cars. It didn’t matter to him that he had no absolute proof that Ellery was in that house and in danger. After what had happened to Terrell, he was ninety-nine-point-nine percent positive that Jones had tricked her into going there with the intention of eliminating her as a threat.

  His intuition told him Jones’ judgment day had finally arrived, but identifying The Eye Doctor was no longer his first priority. All he could think about was rescuing Ellery from his clutches.

  During the high-speed drive to Sausalito, he constantly had to force back the nightmarish images that kept popping into his head. He had to believe Ellery was still alive and safe.

  He had no plan, no idea of what he was going to do. He only knew that he was prepared to commit murder if it came down to it.

  However, because there was that one-tenth of one percent chance that he was wrong, he had not called the police, and he decided against driving the car through a sliding glass door with his gun blazing. He considered parking the car a block away and trying to find a way to sneak into the house. But then he got an image of a suspicious neighbor calling the police on him. Finally, he simply parked the car in the driveway, walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Perhaps the element of surprise would be enough.

  Vivian Jones was quite shocked to see him. “Mr. Madigan! How did you get here so quickly?” She looked at the car in the driveway. “Does that vehicle have wings?”

  “I guess I may have broken a few speed limits to get here.”

  Her expression let him know she wasn’t buying that, but she quickly forced a welcoming smile and invited him in.

  “Where’s Ellery? Is she all right?” he asked, trying to keep his composure.

  “She’s fine,” Teddy stated in a tight voice as he walked into the foyer. “I’ll take you to her.”

  Luke recognized the senator’s brother, but it took him a second to realize he was standing tall and speaking clearly. He didn’t understand what that meant, but he was certain it wasn’t good. Unfortunately, his apprehension showed.

  “Relax,” Teddy continued in a more pleasant voice as he inched a bit closer. “Ellery is resting. Just
come with me.”

  Luke’s entire body told him that he and Ellery were both in serious trouble. Doing the only thing that came to mind, Luke yanked Vivian in front of him, whipped out the gun and pressed it against her neck. “One more step and I’ll kill her. Where are Ellery and the senator?”

  Teddy smiled. There wasn’t a hint of menace in his expression, nor did he seem at all concerned about the gun in Luke’s hand. “Don’t worry about Ellery. As I said, she is resting. As to my brother, well, coincidentally, he is resting as well.”

  “Where are they?” Luke repeated sharply. “I came here prepared to pull this trigger, and it doesn’t matter to me how many bullets I have to use to get Ellery away from him.”

  Teddy’s eyes took on an evil glint. “And if you persist in threatening my sister-in-law, you will never see Ellery again. I believe we have what is known as a Mexican standoff. How would you suggest we resolve it?”

  Luke felt perspiration oozing from his palm around the grip of the gun. He was desperate enough to shoot both of them if he had to, but that wouldn’t ensure his finding Ellery. “There is only one solution. You bring Ellery to me or tell me where she is, and we walk away.”

  “No harm, no foul?” Teddy asked sarcastically. “Are you implying that if I turn Ellery over to you, you won’t continue with your foolish notion about my brother being The Eye Doctor?”

  “Abraham Jones is The Eye Doctor. And there are others who suspect it besides me. But I’m willing to destroy all the evidence I’ve uncovered in exchange for Ellery.”

  Vivian thought his offer was quite humorous. “I think he means it, Teddy. He does seem to be a trustworthy young man. Perhaps you should agree to his terms.”