by Cathryn Fox
“Figured what out, Karl? Tell me what I so foolishly couldn’t see.”
“From the beginning,” Karl said, glancing over at Greg and then back at Cameron. “You have a right to know and understand. You aren’t going anywhere. Once you come to understand fully, then you will accept what Greg is offering.”
Cameron’s chest heaved heavily. She caught her breath. This was a never-ending nightmare.
“What do I need to understand?”
“That the whole thing was a setup from the beginning. You see, Greg needed you. I needed Greg. So, logically, I brought us all together. I looked you up, Cameron. It was a stroke of luck for me that you hadn’t married yet. Thankfully. It would have made it a worse situation. I had it bad enough keeping him focused as it was. He needed you.”
Confusion rained down on Cameron. Nothing was making sense.
Karl smiled, as if reading her mind. “I need to back up. Greg and I have always stayed in touch, even after he left Hull. He always helped me when I asked. The guy…the guy, Cam, is one fucking genius. At first, it was computer hacking. Think about it, Cam. Is anything really safe on the Internet?”
Cameron didn’t dare glance over at Greg. She could feel his eyes glaring at her.
“You need to understand Greg. He has had only one dream…a family. I promised to help him obtain his objective, and he helps me with my business. You see, he already tried once. He tried to create a family while he was in Virginia. It didn’t work out.
“Let’s just say, Greg realized his mistake. The woman he chose already had a son…she didn’t react well to the situation. It got out of hand…then, well, it was a mistake.”
“She didn’t truly care for me. She was being nice. She didn’t love me,” Greg rambled. “It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t want to do it, but she forced me. She told me I was a monster nobody could love…”
“Greg, come back to the present. It doesn’t matter. You have Cameron. Remember. It’s who you always wanted,” Karl said.
Cameron was surprised by Greg’s reaction to Karl. He seemed to obey everything Karl said.
“Why me?”
“Because you were the only pretty girl who was nice to him. Your mother had him over for dinner once…he came to Boston for you. I helped him. It wasn’t by accident I ran into you after your engagement. It wasn’t an accident that Matthew dumped you. It wasn’t Matthew who had your furniture and belongings removed, causing you financial strain.”
“What did you do?”
“Wasn’t hard, really. A few doctored photos and Matthew was no more. Figured as much as he proclaimed he was in love with you, he couldn’t risk a scandal and having his mother turn her back on him. Once he dumped you, it was relatively easy to maneuver you into accepting us as roommates. It worked. Greg calmed.”
“You’re not making any sense. You did all that to have me for a roommate…”
“That’s what I’m saying. Everything was running smoothly until you went and decided to get your own place. Really, it’s your fault because Greg began having issues again.”
Cameron looked over at Greg. Oh, my God! It was at the times of the killings. He began killing because I was moving out! Her hand covered her mouth, trying to desperately contain her horror.
“I know,” Karl said. “How do you think I felt? He was getting out of control, especially after he lost it trying to set up Zach.”
“He was draining Cameron. He was always looking to her for money, doing his homework…”
“Greg, don’t go getting upset now. Everything worked out, didn’t it? Just like I said.”
Greg nodded. “Tell her…tell her about our new home.”
“New home?”
“Oh, not down here in the basement. You should see upstairs. Greg has had it fixed up real nice. You are sitting in the middle of ten acres. There is only one way in and out. You’ll like it, except it’s a fortress of sorts.”
Cameron’s stomach knotted. She couldn’t believe the words he was saying. Her whole life…the last few years…
“Why, Karl? Why would you help him do such a thing?”
Karl’s expression changed. He smiled. “The oldest reason in the book. Greed. I told you, Greg’s a computer genius. We have a little business venture. We dabble in all sorts of online activities…not many legal, I’m afraid. Ever heard of the Magellan Voyage website? It’s been quite lucrative. He’s my business partner, and I have to protect my interest.”
“Business?”
“You are so dense sometimes, Cam. We sell illegal drugs…all sorts. Have for years. Greg set up a brilliant series of computer programs for my business, totally impossible to trace. He also has a handle on the drug production. Think we are approaching almost a billion dollars in revenue.
“Do you understand now? You are the link Greg needs and I need Greg. So I will make Greg happy. Any more questions?”
Cameron threw up.
Chapter Nineteen
Darren sped down the Mass Pike toward Fitchburg. He glanced over at Brophy, who was talking on the phone. For the last three days, he had combed through hundreds of real estate agencies. He had given out pictures of Mobley and the farmhouse, made calls, faxed, and had driven over three states. He had gotten the pictures of Mobley from Zach, pictures of Mobley in the background behind Cameron, staring at her longingly, eerily foreboding.
Important, though, because it was of a younger Mobley. His hair was longer and parted to the side. Unlike the picture smeared across the television, his eyes weren’t wide with a wild look in them…no, here he looked normal.
Darren had gotten a call late in the afternoon. An agent from western Massachusetts thought she remembered selling a similar looking house two or three years ago. Yesterday, it was an agent in Coventry, Rhode Island. Darren had spent the day on a dead end, but this afternoon the news was more promising. The agent mentioned she remembered the buyer…a college student wanting to buy a place for his mother.
Centrello told Brophy to go…
Brophy ended his call. “Dunn said to let him know if it’s promising. He will pull up a satellite view of the place. He’ll pull together a team if needed…”
“He’s appeasing you. He thinks we’re on a wild goose chase. He’s not—”
“Don’t think so, Darren. He has his hands tied. Remember he’s the one who allowed us access to Dr. Schafer. He’s there if we need him, and hopefully we will.”
Darren grimaced, irritated, but he was irritated with the whole world. He turned down a busy street and then into Homestead Realty. He took the last spot available.
Schafer had left earlier in the week. He returned back to Virginia, specifically back to Mansfield, trying to find another clue to Mobley’s whereabouts.
Schafer left with a dire warning. “Tread carefully, men. Mobley is a time bomb waiting to go off. If he gets a hint you are close, I can only guess what he will do. There is no profile that will help determine his next move,” Dr. Schafer said before he left. “That’s what makes it so difficult. He’s fighting his own demons within and trying to create his own utopia.”
Darren was under no illusions, but he held hope. She had to be alive…she had to be. He refused to consider he would be too late. She was in the hands of a madman…her life hanging by a thread if she was still alive…
Darren walked into the office. He held his ID in hand and introduced himself, “ADA Kennedy. I have an appointment with a Gloria Flanagan.”
A pleasant middle-aged woman rounded the corner of the reception desk with a huge brilliant smile. “Come on in, Mr. Kennedy…and…
“Detective Brophy, ma’am.”
“Come with me, gentlemen. I’m Gloria Flanagan. I spent the afternoon pulling up papers on the property. I have all the information back at my desk.”
She motioned for them to take a seat. She picked up a file with a real estate posting and handed it to Brophy. Brophy glanced at it and gave it to Darren.
“When Doug, my manager, asked u
s if we had any clients who had been interested in a place similar to your picture, I immediately thought about the old Gavelis’ place. A historic stone country farmhouse. It had been restored. Quite lovely, I might add,” she began. She licked her fingertips as she flipped through a pile of papers. She pulled a picture out. “Here. I found this one. Don’t you think it looks comparable?”
Darren’s heart raced. It looked similar…
“Who bought it?” Brophy asked, laying down a picture of Mobley. “Does this look like the guy?”
“Why, yes.” She nodded in agreement. “Now that I look at it closer, he looks like the guy on the news. I thought there was something about the guy. Is this him? Do you think it could be?”
“Look, ma’am, we are checking out any information at this point. At the moment, we need a name.”
“Oh, of course. A Joshua Hoffman bought it a little over three years ago. He said he was a recent college graduate wanting a place for his mother. He seemed committed to his mother’s happiness. He talked constantly about everything she had done for him growing up. Paid cash.”
“What can you tell us about the guy? The place? The address? How far away is it?”
She grimaced. “He was looking for a particular house. It took awhile, over a year before I found something acceptable. It was farther from Fitchburg than he originally wanted, but when he saw it, he fell in love with it.”
“It says here it is over ten acres. An old farm house with a barn.”
She nodded. “He requested it be secluded. To be honest, I was relieved when he finally made the decision to buy it. I held my breath until his friend gave his approval.”
“His friend?”
“Best friend, I believe. Mr. Hoffman seemed to rely heavily on his opinion.”
There was a moment of silence, during which Brophy searched for a picture on his camera to show Gloria. He held it up for her.
“Yes, that looks like him.”
Darren’s heart jumped in this throat. It was Karl Neslund.
Days merged together. Cameron lost track of time. She ached, not her body but her soul. Her spirit was gone.
With Karl’s appearance, her treatment had improved greatly. Karl brought her clothes that fit. She felt a sense of normalcy she hadn’t had since her imprisonment. She was allowed to join the two upstairs for dinners and the majority of the day. At night, she was kept under lock and key in her prison.
Though, her room had changed; it was no longer bare. She had a new bed with coordinating comforter, sheets, and pillows similar to her old ones in her apartment. The two brought in a desk with books. She had a semblance of a wardrobe.
Karl looked at her back. He told her it seemed to have healed, but warned her if she didn’t do as Greg wanted, he wouldn’t stand in the way of any punishment Greg deemed she needed. The thought alone frightened her.
She comprehended the message Karl had sent her. He stood between her and the deranged madman. She only needed to comply with his wishes and he would keep the madman from her. So she spent her time cooking and cleaning, but she never forgot she was a prisoner. Each room had a latch to attach her shackle. She was never free to roam at will.
The house itself was startling to Cameron. She had assumed it to be a rundown old shell of someone’s former habitation. To the contrary, it was the utmost of luxury on the inside. Not overly large, but the rooms were filled with the latest technology.
Each room was monitored by a series of cameras. There was a computer room that she wasn’t allowed to enter. Greg spent most of his time in the room. Karl went back and forth, but she was never left alone while she was upstairs.
The house was isolated. Karl made certain she understood the full extent of her captivity, and the hopelessness of her situation.
“The sooner you accept that there is no chance for escape, the better for everyone.”
But she couldn’t accept that this was going to be her life. For that matter, she doubted this was the life Karl wanted. No, she didn’t trust him, not now. He had manipulated her life…he had manipulated Greg…a madman. He had an alternate purpose. It bothered her because she didn’t know what he had in mind. She was caught in a waking nightmare.
She laid in the dark…contemplating…trying to come up with some plan…something to get her out of this madhouse.
A sudden noise disturbed her thoughts. The light came on first. Then she heard the dead bolt turn and the door opened wide. It was Karl.
He looked relaxed, dressed in sweats, his hair wet. He looked as though he had just come out of the shower. Immediately, he smiled at her like a mischievous child.
She couldn’t contain her relief, but still her body trembled. She had thought it was Greg with a harsh reminder of the danger she was in.
“It’s just me, Cam.”
She swung her legs off the bed. The chain jerked her leg.
“Wait a sec. I’ve got it.”
To her surprise, Karl bent down and unlocked the chain. She felt a weight had been lifted from her. She was freed. For a brief moment, she only stared at her former friend. What was he doing? One thing she was certain of: he wasn’t letting her go.
Karl massaged her ankle. “Give it a moment.”
She recoiled back on the bed, pulling her leg underneath her. “Don’t touch me.”
“Calm yourself, Cam. You have to know I don’t want to hurt you. I only want to talk for a moment. To come to an understanding between us.”
“I understand perfectly. You used me to calm Greg. He’s sick, Karl. Sick. He can’t help what he does…you can. It’s you who’s responsible for all those deaths. You!”
“Don’t be so quick to judge. You’re not so innocent. You realized Greg had a crush on you…you were flattered. Don’t lie. You enjoyed having someone to worship you from afar. You teased him, Cam.”
“I never…” She groped for words. “I would never. I cared about him…you. I thought you were my friends…I’ve been such a fool…”
Her voice trailed off.
“I don’t know if I would use the word fool…naïve at times, perhaps. Truly, naïve.”
A silence ensued…an eerie silence. Slowly, comprehension crept through her. Karl was down here for a reason. A different type of fear gripped her. Don’t panic. Think. Think. She edged back to the wall.
“This will never work, Karl. You have to know that. Greg is unstable. Whatever you have in mind won’t change that.”
“You know exactly what I have in mind with you, but just to let you know, you’re wrong. I have everything under control.”
Karl reached down and pulled off his sweatshirt. He slung it over his shoulder. He reached for her. She dodged him, but he was quicker.
“Don’t fight me, Cam. You have to know this was inevitable. I mean, I could have had you anytime while we were living together. I bided my time. I knew this time would come. Relax. I told you I don’t want to hurt you.”
Cameron twisted one way and then another to no avail. “Let me go or I’ll tell Greg,” she said in a low tone. “I may be naïve, but I’m not stupid. You don’t want to be involved in this mess.” She shook her head. “It’s what you’re doing now. Biding your time. You must need Greg for something…one more thing…then you’ll be gone.”
He slapped her, hard. She fell back. Pushing back on her arms, she looked up to see Karl towering over her. It was useless to fight, but her instincts demanded the attempt.
He reached down and grabbed her, pulling her up to his face. She screamed.
“Shut the fuck up, Cameron. Do you understand? Do you? Say that to Greg and you’ll regret it. I promise.”
“Don’t do this, Karl. Don’t. Let me go…I’ll give you enough time to get away before I say anything. Please…”
He smirked. “My beautiful Cameron. Forbidden fruit. You don’t know how hard it’s been at times—so close yet so unattainable. Almost virginal, but not quite. Not quite.”
“Don’t…Karl…please, let me go.”
>
“I can’t do that, Cameron.” He threw her down on the bed and stood beside her for a long moment. “You threaten me…you? What if I told, Cameron? What if I told Greg about your Mr. Kennedy?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come now, Cameron. You haven’t pieced together that I’m the link Greg wants to use to make his family. He can’t, you understand…having been castrated. Did you know that? Must have been horrific, the abuse he suffered. No wonder he’s madder than hell.”
It wasn’t Karl’s speech about Greg’s mental status that sent panic through every nerve she had…make his family. She pressed, “Darren? What has Darren got to do with any of this?”
Karl laughed. He leaned over her and whispered, “Greg has been planning for you to bear his child for quite a while. You can’t conceive if you’re on the pill…”
Trepidation filled her. She caught her breath. “I was on the pill…”
“You don’t listen well. I told you that Greg oversaw drug production. You don’t think he wanted to wait for you to conceive, do you? He replaced your supply for over a year with sugar pills. Now do you understand?”
His ominous question resounded in her head. Her heart palpitated; her mind raced back to her time with Darren.
“Now.” He sank down on the mattress. “Listen, carefully, before you start any little scene here, Cam. Gregory boy has been waiting for you to get your period. You realize you have been here for almost three weeks? I told him he must be off…but Cam, you didn’t have unprotected sex with your district attorney, did you now? Because if you did…and if you’re already pregnant, he’ll kill you…ruining his family with your slut behavior.”
Cameron froze. Karl read her; his smile widened. “Now lay back down. Myself, I couldn’t be happier. Don’t want my DNA connected to anything close to you or Gregory boy. I’ll fuck you—Greg can have his baby, I can have your body, and you can live.”