by E. E. Borton
“Good morning, sexy!” yelled Abby to Chief at the dock. “You, too, Evan!”
“What light through yonder window breaks?” yelled up Chief. “It is the east and Abby is the sun!”
“That may be the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me!” replied Abby, moving to the next room.
“Really, Chief?” said Evan. “Shakespeare?”
“Fuck off, turd,” replied Chief. “Women love that shit. I’ve got a ton of ‘em. Besides, I just made a pretty lady’s day. You made a box.”
Abby finished her assignment in half the time it took Kate. She didn’t wait for the next order and bounded down the stairs. When they finished, every window and door in the house was wide open and welcoming the new day. Kate stood in the doorway leading to the backyard. She looked out to see her men working hard to make her world safe again. She closed her eyes and took a step into freedom. With the sun on her face, her first thoughts were of Caleb and Paul.
“Are you okay?” asked Abby, panting and joining her on the patio.
“I just miss my boys,” replied Kate.
“I know you do,” said Abby, reaching out for her. “But they’re both very happy for you right now. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
“I was never afraid of him, Abby. I was only afraid of what he would do to you or someone else. But after today, he won’t hurt anybody again.”
Chief stopped working when his phone alerted him to visitors at the front gate. He sent a message to Grey that he would send Evan with the golf cart. Grey replied that it wasn’t necessary. He’d already remotely opened the iron gates.
The vehicles pulled up to the front of the house and parked along the stone driveway. Each person getting out of the cars had a personal invitation to be a part of the last phase of Kate’s plan for Diego. A few of the visitors smiled when they saw the front door to the fortress wide open. The other faces were somber.
Sheriff Doyle and his daughter, Melissa, were the first to be greeted by Kate and Abby at the door. “I am so happy to meet you, Melissa,” said Kate, giving her a hug.
“I owe you my life,” said Melissa. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” said Kate. “But you also need to thank the man behind you. His name is Ramon. He’s our friend who led us to you.”
Both Sheriff Doyle and Melissa turned to thank Ramon. He graciously accepted their handshakes and hugs. He smiled at Kate with a silent acknowledgment, thanking her for not revealing his relationship to Diego.
Ramon walked up to Kate, reached down and took her hand. He turned her palm upward. He held a closed fist and a compassionate stare for a moment before dropping her wedding ring into her hand. As soon as it touched her skin, her eyes glassed over. After another silent thank you, Ramon turned and followed the sheriff and Melissa inside.
The somber faces belonged to Dr. Singer and his children. There would be no happy reunion with their mom. They were there to see justice served to the man who took her from them. They were all pleased the creature downstairs would get what he deserved. Not one argued or judged their father for his participation in Kate’s vengeance. They all knew the justice system would fail to punish him with the same severity of his crimes.
Evan finished the crate as the families talked together in the living room. He stood it upright and secured it to the hand truck that would be used to wheel him to the boat. He rolled it into the side entrance that led him to the room where Diego and Grey were sitting.
He stopped in his tracks when he entered the room. It was the first time he saw the results of Dr. Singers hard work. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Diego, who couldn’t take his eye off the crate.
“I told you to call me before you came in, Evan,” said Grey, standing between them.
“I forgot,” said Evan. “Holy shit! Is he alive?”
“I’m sure he wishes he wasn’t, but yes.”
Grey reached over to the table and picked up a hood and pair of scissors. He placed it over Diego’s head and then cut out a single eye hole. He adjusted it so he could see, but nobody else would be subjected to his horrific appearance. Grey wanted to make sure he could watch as everyone gathered to send him on his journey.
Evan helped Grey get Diego to his feet. They could both feel him tense against their grasp, but there was no fight left in him. They pinned him inside the crate to where he couldn’t move a muscle. They opened the panel Evan built into the box that would only reveal his hooded face. The device worked well as they moved him out of the room and into the backyard. Everyone was gathered at the boat dock as they approached.
“How’s my patient today?” asked Dr. Singer, winking.
His eldest son walked up to the killer. “Our mom is waiting for you on the other side. She’ll be whole and beautiful again. It’ll be the last beautiful thing you see before you’re sent to hell.”
Melissa was the next to face her abductor. “I beat you. The thought of this day is what kept me strong. It makes me happy knowing you’ll be burning soon.”
Abby tried to move forward, but Kate grabbed her arm, holding her back. “I don’t want him any closer to you. He doesn’t deserve to look at your pretty face.”
“I agree,” said Chief. “But I’ll let him look at mine.” He walked up to Diego, putting his face inches from the black hood. “Look around you, shitbag. Do you see the irony? There are twelve people standing here – a true jury of your peers. This is the way it should always be. The victims should decide the punishment. Take comfort in knowing it was a unanimous decision, and there’s no doubt you need to be removed from the earth. We’re just making sure it’s done proper in a slow and painful way. I’m very glad I can be a part of that. Bon voyage, turd.”
Grey took the handles and rolled Diego onto the deck. Kate followed. Evan untied the moorings and the engines roared to life. Grey eased the large craft away from the dock. The jury stood along the pier and watched as the boat disappeared around lands’ end.
It would take them hours to reach the edge of the two-mile deep Florida Canyon where Paul had ended his pain. She knew he’d still be there, waiting for her to bring Diego to him. Their timing was perfect. Grey killed the engines as they arrived at sunset.
Kate looked over the side as Grey prepared their cargo. The water around her was as smooth as glass, and she could see her reflection. Kate’s heart began to ache, knowing her husband was lying at the bottom of two miles of ocean. The urge to slip quietly under the surface and be reunited with her family was powerful. Grey noticed her staring into the deep blue. “I’ll do this, Kate. I have no problem sinking this piece of shit.”
“Thank you, but, no,” said Kate, turning around. “Help me with my gear.”
Grey stared at her for a moment before picking up the vest and helping Kate fasten the straps. He checked the tank, regulator, and gauges – and then he checked them again. When he was satisfied everything was in working order, he handed her a small emergency bottle. It contained five minutes of air.
Grey grabbed Diego by the buoyancy vest he forced onto him and stood him up on the stern of the boat. He removed his hood and made sure his handless arms were secured behind him. He checked the straps binding his ankles together and inflated the vest to full capacity.
“This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it’s gonna hurt me,” said Grey, landing a jaw breaking upper cut. The punch sent Diego into an uncontrollable back-flip as he impacted the Gulf of Mexico. The vest brought him upright to the surface.
Diego started to moan as the salt water flooded his open eye socket. He writhed in pain as the stinging liquid electrified the exposed nerves on his skinless face. A few seconds later, Grey heard Kate hit the water.
“Hold up, Kate. I need to put on my gear.”
Ignoring his command, Kate went for Diego. She opened the release valve on his vest and pulled him under. Grey was confused for a few seconds, but then the clarity sent him scrambling to put on his tank. An experienced diver, it took him th
irty-seconds to adjust the last strap. As soon as he put the regulator in his mouth, he started tearing off his gear. Kate had released the air in his tank during the two-hour journey. With only his flippers and a mask, Grey went over the side.
He saw the shadowy mass of Kate and Diego in the distance. Also an experienced diver, Kate knew Grey wouldn’t reach them in time. She looked back once at Grey, and then continued to push Diego down into the darkness.
When Grey was forced to the surface after burning through the single breath in his lungs, Kate reached down on her ankle for the knife. She brought the blade up to Diego’s lips and slashed through the sutures. She jammed the regulator of the emergency air bottle into his mouth and felt him take a deep breath.
After the first, his subsequent breaths were short and labored. Without the protective layer of skin, the pressure at that depth was forcing the salt water deeper into his wounds. Kate knew the pain was excruciating. She stared into his face as they slowly descended from the weights in his vest pulling them toward the bottom.
She stopped their descent when she reached the maximum depth her body could take. Suspended in their silent world, Kate continued to stare coldly at Diego. She was waiting for the first twitch.
Holding on to his vest with a tight grip, Kate felt him jerk, trying to pull more oxygen from the depleted tank. She ripped it out of his mouth and watched his eye grow wider. She pulled him in closer as his body began to violently shake. He was dying in agony as his lungs filled with salt water.
Kate replayed the moment in her mind when Diego slit Caleb’s throat and ended her son’s beautiful life. When the shaking stopped, she pushed his lifeless body away from her. His dead eye was still looking at her as he hovered at arm’s length. She reached for the valve, and the last air bubbles escaped from his vest. She stayed motionless as his body disappeared into the black.
46
Suffer, Inc.
GREY TORE THROUGH EVERY COMPARTMENT on the boat, looking for a full tank. When none was found, he stood defeated on the open space on the back of the boat. He shifted his gaze from his watch to the water when he knew she was out of air. He understood why she wanted to be with her family, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from screaming at the water and breaking down in tears.
After ten minutes of standing in wait, Grey turned and walked to the console. As he reached for the ignition, he heard a noise behind him. When he turned, the other flipper vaulted over the side. His instincts directed his hand to the gun nestled in the back of his belt.
“A little help, please?” said Kate, bobbing out of sight behind the boat.
Grey tripped as he bolted for the stern. He recovered to see her holding up her vest. He slung it onto the deck and then reached down for her. He came close to dislocating her shoulder pulling her onboard. Grey held her in a tight embrace.
“I wasn’t gone that long,” said Kate, unable to inhale.
“Shut up,” said Grey, grabbing her shoulders. “You emptied my tank and you were down there forever. I though you…do you have any idea what you did to me? How in the hell was I going to explain that to Abby? To your parents? What the fuck is going on in your head, Kate? And no bullshit. Talk to me!”
She took his hand and sat him on the bench seat along the bulkhead. Kate saw the panic and sadness in Grey’s eyes. Tears filled her own as she turned away to watch the sun sink below the horizon.
“I knew it would end up like this,” said Kate. “Just you and me. I knew you would be my knight.”
“Being your knight sucks,” said Grey.
“I’m sorry I sabotaged your gear; I’m sorry I scared you, Grey. But I needed to know.”
“Know what?”
“That I could live without them.”
“Well, I’m glad you figured it out.”
“I don’t want to lie to you. Let’s just take it day by day.”
“Are we good for at least tonight?”
“Yes,” said Kate, smiling through her tears. “Let’s go home.”
*****
Kate kept her promise to Abby and stood on the steps leading up to the Municipal Center in South Miami. She stared at the corkboard announcing the meeting for Victims of Violent Crime. She turned to see Abby pulling away from the curb and waved. It had been two weeks since she sent Diego to the bottom of the Gulf.
Kate took a moment to think about the people who had risked their lives to save hers. She knew her sister was excited about leaving in three days for a two-week vacation in Mexico with Grey. He was still in Atlanta getting his house ready to put on the market; Chief returned to Sugar Loaf to appear in court for a case he’d closed before he quit the force. He planned on returning to Miami after the verdict; Evan was in Orlando helping his crew prepare a soundstage to start filming a new movie. He also planned on returning after Abby and Grey’s vacation.
She smiled, thinking about all the excuses they gave her for coming back. Kate knew the real reason was to keep an eye on her. Some days were better than others. She was still struggling to find reasons to carry on without her boys.
Walking into the meeting, she saw several faces turn to welcome the new arrival. Smiles erupted, but all of them seemed to be forced. She took a seat next to a woman holding a photograph of a young girl. The woman looked at Kate, but then returned to the picture.
An elderly woman standing behind a podium started the discussion. A brief history of her experiences was followed by two more testimonials. All of them were women; all of them were heartbreaking. At the end of the third story, the woman sitting beside Kate stood and walked to the podium. She looked to be the same age as Abby.
The young woman introduced herself as Claire. She was a battered wife who lost her daughter to the man had she married, who relentlessly raped and beat her. Claire talked about how the marriage started as a fairy tale, but dissolved into a nightmare. She went to the police once, but was silenced by her husband’s law firm. He was a well-known and respected criminal attorney in Ft. Lauderdale.
She broke down in tears, speaking about how he gained sole custody of their daughter. He did it by getting her arrested for drug possession with intent to distribute. She believed the private investigators for the firm planted the drugs in her car. During the custody hearings, he paraded several men in front of the judge who testified they paid her for sex. With her head lowered to the group, Claire said she would gladly take the beatings if it meant she could still be with her little girl.
When Claire finished and returned to her seat, Kate looked around at the other faces in the room. They were all defeated; they were all thinking about their own hopeless situations and how the system failed them. In that meeting, Kate found her purpose.
“Excuse me, Claire,” said Kate as the meeting adjourned. “I don’t mean to bother you, but can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” said Claire.
“What would you be willing to do to get your daughter back?”
“Anything,” answered Claire without hesitating. “I would do anything to get her back.”
“My name is Kate Freeman. I can help you.”