The Darkness Within

by Deorre, Iris

  ‘What about me?’ asked the other twin.

  ‘I will get you whatever you want.’

  ‘Even a unicorn?’

  ‘Sorry darling, I can’t get that.’ He took him into his arms and gave her a kiss. ‘You know I can’t, you silly pumpkin.’ He tickled him.

  ‘Yes you can,’ he giggled.

  ‘No I can’t.’

  ‘Okay, come on. Let daddy get ready for his important meeting,’ said his wife as she took them away.

  ‘Thanks honey. I’ll just jump into the shower.’

  She left him to get on with it. Half an hour later he was almost ready to go.

  ‘Good luck tonight,’ his wife kissed him.

  ‘I think it’s a done deal.’ He fiddled with his tie.

  ‘Well if it is, it’s good for all of us.’

  ‘Yes, it is.’ He took her into his arms and gave her a hug. ‘I love you.’

  ‘I love you too honey. Everything will be great.’

  ‘Yes it will be.’ He pulled back. ‘I think I better go. I don’t want to be late.’ He gave her one last kiss.

  ‘See you later tonight honey.’

  ‘Yes honey.’ He made his way to the car.

  ****

  Freya had changed three times. She felt nervous. It would be a long time since she’d seen Lewis. She wasn’t even sure she’d be even able to face him, but she had to do this. She had to see the fear and pain in his eyes. She wanted him to know just how much he’d hurt her.

  She settled on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. Dressing up really wasn’t necessary. She had to just be herself and see where it took her. Freya felt satisfied but nervous. She didn’t know what to expect or how she would feel once she saw the man who had forced himself on her.

  Ten minutes later the bell rang. She took one last sniff of coke and then headed for what life had planned for her.

  ****

  Lewis arrived at the restaurant only to discover, Ferguson had changed the venue.

  ‘Sir, I’ve been informed by my boss that he’d like to meet you a more private place. He’s asked that I take you to him. If you’re okay with it I will take you to him.’

  Nothing suspicious occurred to Lewis. All he saw were pound signs. He just wanted to close the deal as soon as possible.

  ‘That’s fine. As long as I get back to my car.’

  ‘Don’t worry sir, I’ll make sure you do. My boss is a great host. He makes sure everyone gets what they want.’

  ‘I like the sound of that.’

  ‘Please, follow me.’ The driver guided him to the waiting jeep. Lewis felt like a VIP, little did he know it would be the end of him.

  The driver opened the door and he got in. He was certain the sale was a done deal. All he had to do was show up. It was the way the rich lived. They wanted things their way and that was the way it was.

  ‘Thank you. I feel very special,’ he said as he slid into the car.

  Kevin shut the door and headed for the driver’s seat. He knew that his boss had plans for the man in the car. He may have not known what, but he knew it wouldn’t be a happy ending. Lewis studied his files happily while the journey proceeded.

  ‘Mr Banks said you should help yourself to the champagne,’ said Kevin.

  Lewis noticed the bottle on ice and the glass beside it.

  ‘First class service,’ he said but Kevin didn’t respond. ‘I guess I’ll help myself to a glass. One glass won’t hurt.’ He poured himself a glass of bubbly. Little did he know that the drink had been injected with GHB. It would take effect while they travelled.

  *****

  Freya eased into the back seat of the car and the journey began. It wasn’t Kevin, the driver she was used to. Ferguson had another driver pick Freya up since Kevin was unavailable. The journey was done in deep thought. She didn’t know what to think and yet there was some sort of expectation. She knew that Lewis would die that night and she unashamedly wanted it to happen.

  The car came to a stop forty minutes later in a dark and dingy place. There were a few abandoned warehouses and that was it. The door opened and he was standing right there, his hand held out.

  ‘Hi,’ he smiled.

  ‘Hi,’ she smiled back.

  There was a sudden sound of a bottle rattling and this made her jump.

  ‘It’s okay it’s a cat.’

  ‘Ah.’ She was still nervous, not about the cat but all of tonight.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ He’d picked up on her nerves.

  ‘Nervous, but at the same time I want this to happen.’

  ‘It will. You’ll be fine as soon as it’s over. Come let’s go inside.’

  They walked into one of the warehouses. There was a portable light on a fold up table, a chair and a black bag beside it. Freya knelt beside it and opened it. There was rope, a knife, a hammer and other things that could cause serious bodily harm. She looked up at him with a questioned look.

  ‘You don’t have to be here you know that.’

  ‘I want to be. I have to be. I just wondered what you were going to do to him. How are you going to kill him?’

  ‘It all depends. It will depend on mood, what he’s like and what you want.’

  ‘I just want him dead.’

  He nodded and then brought her close to him. ‘It will be over soon.’ He rubbed her back.

  ‘I can’t wait for it so we can move to the next one.’

  ‘And we will. It will take a little bit of time, but you won’t have to wait for too long. I promise.’

  She nodded. There was a sound of a car pulling up outside. She froze. ‘Is he here?’

  ‘Yes. Wait here and I’ll see.’ He left her standing in the middle of the empty warehouse.

  ****

  ‘Where…where am I?’ Lewis felt drowsy and came in and out of consciousness.

  ‘You’re where you’re supposed to be.’ Kevin opened the door.

  ‘I’ll take it from here Kevin.’ Ferguson pulled Lewis out of the car and dragged him towards the warehouse.

  ‘What’s going on? What are you doing to me? I…’ His legs went numb and he just made it to the seat.

  ‘Tie him up,’ Ferguson said to Freya.

  At first she didn’t move. It was frightening to see Lewis again.

  ‘It’s okay darling. He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him.’ He reassured her. ‘Now tie him up while I hold him to stop him from falling. The rope is in the bag.’

  As if waking from a dream she quickly pulled the rope from the bag and began the task of tying Lewis arms and legs.

  ‘That’s good, keep going.’ He encouraged.

  The more she tied him up, the more she realised he could no longer hurt her. The more she began to feel a rush of adrenaline. It would be over soon. That was all she had to tell herself.

  ‘Right, let’s make sure the ropes are tight enough.’ He did a little fiddling just to make sure they were secure. ‘Right. Done.’ He stood back.

  ‘What now?’ she asked.

  ‘We wait a little while and then we wake him up.’

  Freya watched as Lewis woke up and went back to sleep. He was in and out of it, mumbling stuff. His vision wasn’t clear, but he could smell a dampness around him and only just make out the two figures standing in the distance. He had no idea who the other person was.

  Freya began to pace impatiently. She wanted this to start now and couldn’t calm her nerves, she was close to taking the cocaine in her bag. But she wanted to be fully aware of her surroundings when it happened.

  ‘Okay, let’s see if he’ll wake up.’ He placed a solution under Lewis’s nose and he came to. ‘Welcome back.’

  ‘Where…’ He tried to set his hands free. ‘Where the hell am I? What are you doing to me!’

  ‘You’re in a warehouse. Today is the day you say goodbye to this earth.’

  ‘What…Why are you doing this to me. I thought you wanted a car. I don’t understand.’ He was out of breath.

  ‘He’s
doing it for me.’ She stepped into the light so he could see her. ‘Do you remember me?’

  He squinted trying to make out her face.

  ‘I’m sure I was unforgettable. Do you remember pinning me down to the bed while you pleasured yourself?’

  ‘What are you talking about? I don’t know who you are.’

  Rage erupted through her body. She walked towards him and slapped him across the face. ‘How dare you!’ Tears built up in her eyes. ‘How dare you make a fool of me.’ She slapped him again, and again.

  ‘I don’t.’

  ‘Look at me!’ she screamed.

  He looked up at her face and there was the sudden recognition which she caught, but he soon tried to hide it.

  ‘You know what you did, you bastard!’

  ‘I…’

  There was another sting across his face. He shut his mouth and looked over at Ferguson.

  ‘Whatever you’re planning you won’t get away with this. You won’t.’

  ‘I always do. And now you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.’ He pulled out the extra rope and began to wrap it around his hands ready to put it around Lewis’s neck.

  ‘Wait!’ she said and then advanced towards the bag and pulled out the knife.

  ‘What the fuck are you doing! You can’t do this. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I did to you. I was young, I didn’t know what I was doing. Please don’t hurt me.’

  ‘That’s what I pleaded. I asked you not to hurt me, but you went along with your friends. You hurt me over and over again. I said stop, but you didn’t listen.’ A tear drizzled down her cheek.

  ‘You’re not a killer. Please don’t do this. I have children and a wife. Please.’ He began to cry.

  ‘No you look at me.’ She lifted his head. ‘You don’t get to ask for forgiveness. Not now, not ever.’ She ran the tip of the knife down the side of his cheek. ‘You don’t get to ask for forgiveness.’

  Ferguson wasn’t sure what to do. He watched hoping that she would let him take control again, but it didn’t seem likely, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

  ‘You hurt me.’ The knife went into his chest. It shocked both her and Lewis. She pulled it out and the blood began to ooze from the wound. Emotions had over taken her, it was as if something had taken over her body because now she was jabbing the knife in and out of him. The blood splattered all over her clothes and face. She wanted to stop, but couldn’t. Her mind had gone back to the evening of the rape and all she could see was their horrible bodies on top of her one at a time. Repeatedly she stabbed into the body, and now he’d gone limb. There was not a single movement from him and he’d been stabbed at least twenty times.

  ‘He’s dead,’ Ferguson said softly.

  Freya couldn’t hear him. The knife kept jabbing into the body as if she were being controlled by a remote control. This time he stepped a little closer to her and touched her shoulders gently.

  ‘It’s okay. He’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore.’

  As if the remote control button had been stopped, she suddenly stopped.

  ‘It’s over.’ He turned her so she was facing him. ‘It’s over.’ He wiped away the blood that had splattered onto her face. ‘He’ll never touch you again.’

  She looked up at him and instead of tears he saw the joy on her face. Ferguson knew what that felt like. She’d finally crossed over into his world. She’d never be the same again.

  ‘You feel it don’t you?’ he asked.

  She nodded. ‘I feel as though I’ve had a shot of cocaine. I feel alive.’

  ‘And you will continue to feel that way until you need your next fix.’

  ‘My next fix?’

  ‘Yes. You will want to do it again.’

  ‘Is that how you feel?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And what do you do?’

  ‘I go through the paper and see who’s been up to no good. I find those not deserving of life and get rid of them.’

  ‘How is it you don’t get caught?’

  ‘I have a great team of people who clean up after me. It’s amazing what money can do.’

  She took it all in and then for a moment looked over at Lewis’s lifeless body.

  ‘Come, let’s get you home.’

  There was a sound of a car pulling up.

  ‘Who’s that?’ she asked worried.

  ‘My clean up team. I told them to give us an hour. They’re right on time.’

  The men walked in with suitcases. They asked no questions and made no remarks. Everything was being dealt with and all Ferguson had to do was walk away.

  ‘Let’s go.’ He encouraged.

  They walked out to the waiting car. Kevin held the door opened and they slid in. Once they were back at Freya’s place and Kevin had driven off she asked. ‘What about Kevin? Won’t he expose you?’

  ‘I trust him with my life. He will never betray me.’

  ‘You’re sure about that?’

  ‘Yep. Now let’s get you clean.’ He pulled her into the house and they headed straight for the downstairs bathroom. He turned on the power shower, then began to undress her.

  ‘I’ll get rid of these clothes.’ He put them to one side. He too undressed then led her to the shower. He pulled her under the jet of water and began to wash away the blood that had dried on her face. She shut her eyes and felt his hands on her face. Freya was still on a high. His body next to hers made her want to do even more. He wet her hair and began to wash it gently. Freya enjoyed the gentle massage he gave her scalp. He turned her so that her back was facing him and tilted her head back and washed out the soap. Periodically he leaned in to kiss her neck.

  ‘There all nice and clean.’ He turned her back to face him. He smiled gentle, lifted her face and their lips touched. His hand began to venture down her delicious body and he caressed every part of her. Freya gave into the touches and it wasn’t long before he lifted her from the shower and carried her wet body upstairs to the bedroom. He lay her on the bed, and smiled.

  ‘Hi,’ he said.

  ‘Hello.’ She smiled back.

  ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Great. You?’

  ‘Better being with you.’ He lowered and kissed her.

  Each kiss heated their bodies until they surrendered to the beauty of their desire. Freya was taken in, and in her mind her therapy had just begun. She was in love, but she was in love with a monster.

  Chapter Eleven

  Detective Murphy pressed on the doorbell and waited. A woman with swollen eyes opened. There were shouts ‘daddy,’ from two little children.

  ‘It’s not daddy darlings.’ She knew that because daddy never rang the doorbell. What if he never came back? Her stomach clenched with fear. She had a bad feeling about it all, it wasn’t like Lewis not to come home or not call to let her know that he was alright.

  ‘Mrs Carr?’ said the detective.

  She nodded.

  ‘I’m detective Murphy and this is my partner Roy who is working with me.’

  ‘Is there something the matter? Is my husband dead?’ She’d called the police to report her husband missing and a detective showed up.

  ‘We don’t know yet. Can we come in?’

  She nodded as she widened the door. Mrs Carr led them to the living-room with two little children in tow.

  ‘Please have a seat.’

  They sat. ‘Sorry to have to do it this way, but we think that your husband’s disappearance is connected to a few other disappearances.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ She didn’t like the sound of that. That meant that her husband was part of something deeper than what she thought.

  ‘I’ve been investigating the disappearances in the area. The thing I don’t understand is that your husband doesn’t seem to fit the profile, and yet we think or we’re thinking it might be the same person.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well most of these men who have disappeared have a criminal record of some sort. They’v
e done something in their past or are still doing something bad. The person, involved seems to think he’s doing some sort of service getting rid of bad people.’

  ‘So my husband is… will you excuse me. I’ll just go and put something on the television upstairs for the kids.’ She didn’t want them listening to this no matter how young they were, and how unaware they seemed.

  ‘Yes sure.’

  She disappeared for a while, and returned to listen to what they had to say.

  ‘Do you…’ She sucked in a deep breath. ‘Think my husband is dead.’

  He didn’t want to say it, but if it was the same man they were hunting, it was quite possible.

  ‘I don’t know yet. He might be. Let’s not jump to conclusions.’

  ‘Oh god.’ Her eyes clouded with tears.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said the detective. ‘We need to catch this man before anyone else gets hurt.’

  She nodded.

  ‘Could you tell us what happened. When was the last time you saw him and where was he going?’

  ‘He had a deal. A deal with a prominent business man.’

  ‘Do have a name?’

  ‘No I don’t tend to ask. He works with so many of them.’

  ‘We’ll get that from his place of work.’

  She nodded. She just wanted her husband to come home.

  ‘I notice two cars outside. Do you have another car? Did he take another car?’

  ‘Yes he has two cars.’

  ‘I see.’ The detective made notes on his iPad. ‘Do you have a name or make of the car’

  ‘Yes.’ She gave details of the other car, Lewis had used.

  ‘Did he call at all during the time he was away?’

  ‘No. He tends to call if he’s running late, but I didn’t get anything.’

  ‘Okay. We’re going to have to follow the trail of the car. Don’t worry, we’ll find out what happened to your husband.’ The detective couldn’t really promise that because none of the bodies of the missing people had ever been found. They always came to a dead end. Perhaps this would be the first time they find a lead.

  ‘Was your husband active on Facebook?’

  ‘Yes. For work mainly, but he kept in touch with friends.’

  ‘Great. We’ll looking into that too.’

  There were only a few more questions and then they left her to get on with her life.