Belladonna Dreams

by Hadena James

  “Cain, I need you focused,” Gabriel whispered to me.

  “I am sorry, but I smell dead flesh and I do not know why or where it is coming from,” I whispered in return. Once you’ve smelled a dead body, you never forget it. With my nose, the smell was easier to detect, but harder to ignore than most other smells.

  “I don’t smell it,” Gabriel answered.

  “Maybe it is my imagination,” I shrugged and picked up my pace. We were following the director of the asylum to an unknown crisis situation. Gabriel hadn’t gotten many details, but since they requested us, I was guessing they had a multiple murderer in custody who was misbehaving.

  “I doubt it,” Gabriel sighed. “Maybe she’s killed someone already and you are smelling that.”

  “Who?”

  “Helena Jones,” Gabriel answered.

  “Who is Helena Jones?”

  “I don’t know,” Gabriel gave me a look that said he wasn’t entirely sure why we were here either. Hostage negotiation really wasn’t in our repertoire. We were more shoot first, ask questions later, kind of people.

  “Maybe you should have asked,” I suggested.

  “I did and the director told me that all would be revealed in good time.”

  “How very Zen of him,” I snarked.

  We turned a corner and the smell of decay was suddenly filling my nostrils. Instinctively, I reached for the peppermint balm, but didn’t find any in my pockets. My brain flashed up a picture of it sitting on the table in my hotel room, next to the Mountain Dew I hadn’t gotten to open this morning. I had left the hotel in a hurry to face a hostage situation, not a dead body.

  After turning another corner, we came to a squadron of police officers and FBI agents. The FBI looked at us with frowns. The police kind of shuffled their feet. These were not good signs.

  “US Marshals’ Service, SCTU, I’m Gabriel Henders. I was told we were requested,” Gabriel introduced himself to the FBI agent wearing the most expensive looking suit and the deepest frown lines. It was usually easy to figure out who was in charge.

  “Marshal Henders, I’m glad you could join us, because I’ll be damned if I know what to make of the situation,” the FBI agent said.

  “What is the situation?” Gabriel asked.

  “Helena Jones was admitted here about six years ago, it was voluntary, but she never left. Her family began visiting a few years ago, twice a month. From what I was told, Helena has always been a good patient and welcoming of her family. Yesterday, when they arrived the visit was pleasant, like always, and then something set Helena off. She killed two patients, grabbed her sister and started dragging her into one of the rooms. Her brother went willingly. She broke the door and we can’t get it unlocked. About four hours ago, she started screaming for US Marshal Aislinn Cain.”

  “Why me?” I asked, puzzled.

  “I was kind of hoping you’d tell me that,” he answered.

  “I do not know a Helena Jones.” I shrugged.

  “That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know you,” Xavier whispered.

  “Well, her brother is a former SCTU member, Alejandro Gui. She’s taken him and their sister, Maria Smith, hostage. Do you know her now?” He asked me.

  “No, and I honestly do not know Gui that well. He left shortly after I started because of an accident that disabled him,” I answered. There was a wheelchair near the door. The door was a big, heavy metal door with electronic locks. The exterior lock looked as though someone had set it on fire. “How’d she lock the doors?”

  “We don’t know,” the FBI agent asked. “It looked like that when we arrived. I can’t confirm it, but I think the orderlies might have accidentally shorted out the lock. I think she had something shoved in the door and they tried to force it.”

  “Can we see into the room?” Gabriel asked.

  “Yes, it has video surveillance,” the agent led Gabriel to a bank of computers. I followed. Alejandro was sitting on the bed. A woman whom I guessed was Maria sat next to him. Another woman paced and held a Taser. I was willing to bet that was Helena. In the waist band of her housecoat there was a large hunting knife. I noticed a second door in the room.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “It’s a bathroom,” the agent answered.

  “Have you been recording this?” Gabriel asked. His face turned a little darker than normal. I was guessing he had the same thought I did.

  “Yes.”

  “I want to see the entire recorded feed,” Gabriel said. Fiona sat down at one of the computers, her fingers working the keyboard as if by magic. The video began to rewind. Maria and Helena had both gone to the bathroom twice before Alejandro moved. To the surprise of Gabriel and Fiona, Alejandro stood up and walked to the bathroom. He had a small limp, but he was able to stand up and walk. “Reece!” Gabriel shouted for Xavier. I took a step back, letting the good doctor into my spot. The three of them watched it again.

  “I’ll be damned,” Xavier mumbled.

  “Not for that,” I smugly grinned at him.

  “He might only be capable of walking short distances,” Xavier pointed out.

  “Oh please, he is barely limping. If he walked a long distance, the limp would probably become more pronounced, but short distances and it is barely noticeable. He’s been practicing,” I snipped at Xavier. “I told you if I could do it, he could do it.”

  “Do they know there is a camera in there?” Gabriel stopped us from bickering any longer.

  “Helena does for sure. I can’t imagine the others don’t know it, but they also haven’t acknowledged it,” the FBI agent told us.

  “How has she been communicating?” Gabriel asked.

  “The intercom on the door.” The FBI agent pointed at a small box next to the door.

  Within a few moments of him pointing it out, it buzzed to life. There was static for a second and then screaming. Since we had the video feed, we knew it was Helena doing the screaming. I sighed.

  “Any suggestions?” I asked Gabriel over the high-pitched screeching.

  “She sounds crazy,” Gabriel shrugged.

  “Actually, she is crazy,” Lucas joined us. He had a manila folder in his hand. There was a big red tab on the side of it. “But not crazy like you think. She seems to have had some kind of mental breakdown and it has been accompanied by visions.”

  “Visions of what?” I asked.

  “A screaming woman, tied to a bed, while the house burns down around her,” Lucas pursed his lips. “However, this woman, who is never named, was chosen by God to die like that. She considers herself an instrument that God uses. It didn’t match any real house fires, but I would say it could be linked to the house fire of the witness that said Anita left with a tall man. The visions started about the time Gavin died. Actually, she told the counselor that the first vision happened the week before Gavin died.” Lucas looked up. “I think she might be the missing link we’ve been searching for. I think she killed Gavin because she witnessed him committing one of the murders and then she killed the witnesses so no one would know about it.”

  “But Gavin’s dead and I didn’t imagine being attacked on the street,” I told Lucas.

  “No, attacking you wasn’t Gavin or Helena, by process of elimination that leaves Alejandro and Maria, but looking at Maria, I don’t think she’s big enough to be the culprit. Her hands aren’t large enough to go around your throat.” Lucas said as the screaming stopped and the intercom went dead. We all looked at the computer screens. Helena was back to pacing. Maria and Alejandro were still sitting on the bed. If the screaming fazed them, they didn’t let their reactions be seen.

  “Okay, I think I know what to say to her,” I sighed. “We need to work on that lock though. I am not sure we want Alejandro and her alone together after I say what I am going to say.”

  “Suggestions?” The FBI agent looked at me.

  “I am not a locksmith or good with electronics. I have trouble figuring out my smartphone.” I frowned at him.
r />   Twenty-Eight

  It took someone with a torch to get the lock open. We didn’t open the door. Instead, Lucas positioned himself outside of it. I pulled up a chair next to the intercom. Taking a breath, I pushed the talk button.

  “This is US Marshal Aislinn Cain. I was told you wanted to speak with me. We have unlocked the door. I would prefer to talk to you face to face than over an intercom.” I let go of the button.

  “No,” came the hissing static reply. I considered that for a moment. I knew she had a knife and a Taser. There was little I could do to disarm her, but I wasn’t going to keep pushing the stupid intercom button to talk. I didn’t even like the communicators I occasionally had to wear for work.

  I pushed the chair away and moved in front of the door. I sat down on the cold tiles, crossing my legs under me. In theory, people sitting on floors were less threatening. I nodded to Lucas and he pushed the door open, while Gabriel jammed a rod in it to keep it there.

  “Helena, I just want to talk. I am not entirely sure why you asked for me, but I am here,” I answered, trying to sound reassuring. I didn’t look at Maria or Alejandro.

  “You ruined my brother’s life.” Helena’s voice held no malice, despite the accusation.

  “Did I?” I asked her.

  “Yes, he can’t,” she paused, seeming to think about her words very carefully. After a handful of silent minutes, she sat down on the floor, across from me, with the doorframe between us.

  “He can’t what?” I asked her.

  “He claims he can’t walk because of you,” she finally said, her face scrunched together.

  “Yet, we both know that he can walk. It is confusing, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Helena sighed. “I asked for you because I wanted to see if you were really the terrible person that my brother thinks you are.”

  “I am not a good person, Helena, I admit that. But it is what makes me good at my job.”

  “I failed,” Helena answered. “People fail all the time. It’s what makes us human. I don’t think you fail very often though. You don’t seem like the type that accepts failure.”

  I had no answer for that. I had failed plenty of times, but I wasn’t following her train of thought yet, so I didn’t know what exactly she meant when she said I hadn’t failed, but she had.

  “Helena, why did you take your siblings hostage?” I decided to change the subject.

  “I didn’t. I took Maria to save her from him. I saw the look in his eyes. I saw that same look before. He wanted to kill her. Not in the sense that you say you want to kill someone because they have made you mad, but in a real sense. Like killing her for real will make him feel better. She’s dating. That’s always been a problem. She mentioned it and he got that look, so I tried to save her, but I failed.”

  “No you did not, Maria is still alive,” I said.

  “No, she isn’t.” Helena looked at her sister. Maria moved, a small gesture, stretching out her hand to Helena. A tear fell down Helena’s cheek. “She’ll leave here and he’ll get her. Just like Gavin got that poor girl at the club. I saw him leave with her. I followed. He did horrible things to her, and then he buried her in a grave that he had already dug. It was too much. I knew then that I had failed too.”

  “You fucking liar!” Alejandro roared. Helena jumped at the sound. Alejandro was on his feet, moving towards her. “Gavin didn’t kill anyone. It was that bastard he was watching for the DEA.”

  In one swift motion, he grabbed hold of his sister’s hair and yanked her to her feet. I leaped to mine, but I was too slow. Lucas was already in the room. He grabbed Alejandro by his long hair, jerking the taller man’s head backwards. His fist landed a blow against Alejandro’s ribs hard enough to make him release Helena. Gabriel was also in the room. He grabbed Helena, bringing her out of the room. Xavier grabbed Maria.

  I watched. The moment it looked like Lucas might require help, I would wade into the melee. However, this was the fight that Lucas wanted. I could see the bloodlust on his face.

  Alejandro yanked his own hair out, jerking himself free of Lucas. He punched the blond giant in the face. Lucas responded with his own punch, landing it on Alejandro’s cheek. They looked like Titans beating the shit out of each other. Blood was starting to flow from their faces as they landed punch after punch.

  “Get in there,” Xavier said to me.

  “Not yet,” I answered.

  “God damn it!” He started to move forward, but I grabbed his arm.

  “Lucas has wanted this fight for a while, so let him have it.” I pulled Xavier back. He didn’t look happy, but he wasn’t going to argue with me. Now we both watched the Titans land blows. They would be bruised later. Lucas would hurt more than Alejandro would. As I watched Alejandro hit Lucas again, I saw them. Scratches lined Alejandro’s hands. I had scratched the hand that had held me by the throat, but I had only gotten make-up under my nails. They had been long enough to tear at the skin below, but the latex and make-up had shoved the DNA out. Plus, I’d been tripping on LSD so there was no telling what else I had done to my fingers during that time.

  I flicked out the baton and walked into the room. Lucas stumbled just a little. I drew back and brought the steel weapon down upon the flesh of Alejandro’s thigh. It swished as it cut through the air. The large man lost his balance and fell to his knees.

  He swung at me, his fist catching my cheek. I swung the baton again, but with less control and force. My face felt like I had rammed it into a brick wall. A second punch landed on my shoulder. My hand spasmed and I dropped the baton. I kicked but only caught air. My head hurt as it bounced off the floor. I stared at the ceiling. Alejandro’s face came into view. He was literally foaming at the mouth. I closed my eyes, unwilling to watch whatever he had in store for me.

  Nothing happened. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. Lucas was standing over me, blood dripping from his mouth and nose.

  “Did we win?” I asked.

  “I had it under control before you decided to be a hero.” He wiped at the blood with his sleeve.

  “Look at his right hand,” I said. “It was not about being a hero.”

  “Scratches, so what?”

  “So, I scratched my attacking clown, but only on the hand that held my throat. I would bet a few donuts that those scratches will be from me.”

  “There’s no way to prove it. The DNA was degraded by the time we got around to doing scrapings,” Xavier said.

  “True, but I think if you talk to Helena and Maria, they can fill in the missing parts of the story.” I careened my head back to look at the two women. “Helena did all this because she thought Alejandro was going to kill Maria.”

  “Why do you think that?” Xavier asked.

  “She said she had failed. I was not sure what she meant at first, then Alejandro became enraged and it clicked. She had failed to stop Gavin from killing Anita and she was certain that Alejandro was going to kill Maria when they left. He had that look.”

  “I’m impressed that you understood that.” Fiona offered me a hand. I took it. Alejandro lay on the floor beside where I had been. His chest still rose and fell, meaning he wasn’t dead. It was kind of a pity really. He deserved death. “Now, we have to prove that he murdered those other women.”

  “Yep,” I said.

  The Fortress

  Eric sat at a table. His eyes stared at his grandfather, but his mind was elsewhere. Patterson was chattering on about some nonsense that didn’t matter to Eric, which was usually the case. He found Patterson tiresome. The fact that they shared DNA was the only reason Eric put up with him. They were nothing alike. Eric hadn’t killed for the love of killing; he’d done it for justice, plain and simple. Patterson had killed for the enjoyment of killing. The fact that he had meted out some justice in the process didn’t make them the same.

  Unlike his sister or his grandfather, killing bothered Eric. He had nightmares about it. However, he had talked a big game, and now, it was time to put his mon
ey where his mouth was, so to speak. The Fortress grapevine was full of gossip regarding one Alejandro Gui, former SCTU member. They had found enough evidence in his house to put him away as a serial killer.

  Eric had dealt with Gui in the past and he didn’t like the man. Worse, Eric did like Aislinn, and Gui didn’t. He could wait and kill both Nick and Alejandro Gui, when Gui arrived, but he wasn’t sure he had it in him. He could enlist the help of Patterson, but that made him feel ill. His only real solution was to kill Nick the Bomber now and deal with Gui when the time came.

  He finished his container of milk and stood up to go scrape his tray. For this, he would spend time in solitary confinement, which wasn’t such a bad thing. At least, he’d get a break from Patterson and his inane chattering. He walked back over to his table and sat back down, a new plan forming.

  “Grandfather,” Eric interrupted whatever monologue Patterson was delivering.

  “What?” Patterson looked at him.

  “Have you ever heard of Alejandro Gui?”

  “I’ve had dealings with him in the past, mostly because of your sister. He busted down her hotel room door once, and I wanted to kill him for that.”

  “You are going to get your chance,” Eric said. “I’ve decided Nick has lived long enough on the government dollar. I promised to kill him, so it’s time to do it. However, there is a good chance that while I’m in solitary, they will bring Alejandro Gui into the Fortress. Nick the Bomber hurt Aislinn, and he deserves to pay, but Alejandro would do much worse to her, given the chance.”