by Gen Griffin
“Scream all you want to, Trisha.” Curtis had blood running out of the bite wound on his hand. It was dripping all over the cruiser's steering wheel. “No one is going to come looking for you.”
“Nellie betrayed me,” Trish practically spat the words at him.
“She's always loved me,” Curtis replied. “I gave her a diamond necklace and a grand in cash in exchange for her bringing you to me. She was more than happy to help me out.”
“I hate her,” Trish whispered.
“I love her,” Curtis said. “She's a good girl. Maybe when all this is over, Nellie and I will be able to work something out between the two of us. She likes money and I plan on having a hell of a lot of it to spend.”
“Why are you doing this?” Trish demanded. “Why won't you just leave?”
“You ruined my life. Do you really think I'm going to let you walk away happy?” Curtis asked. The roads that were passing by them were familiar, but not what Trish had expected. Curtis wasn't taking her towards the interstate. He was driving towards the far west side of Possum Creek.
“You ruined your own life,” Trish said. “You've lied to everyone who has ever trusted you. You lied to me. You lied to your bosses. You lied to your clients. All you are is a liar.”
Curtis sighed. “Seven years of college got me nothing. I owe out over a hundred thousand dollars of student loan debt and I have nothing to show for it. I tried to live an honest life. It didn't work. I failed the damn state bar test, Trish. Without that law license, all my hard work was for nothing. All that debt doesn't just evaporate because the education failed me. I still owe every penny I borrowed to get my law degree.”
“The student loans are the least of your problems,” Trish said. “You murdered my grandfather.”
“He was already on his deathbed,” Curtis replied.
“You shot a cop. Probably two cops, since you're driving this car. What did you do to Kerry?”
“Don't you worry about Kerry,” Curtis told her. “He's a hell of a lot better off than you are right now.”
“You don't want to hurt me.”
“You're right. I don't. But I don't have a choice. Now shut up and let me drive. We don't have anything else to talk about. At one point in all this, I thought I was going to be able to get you to see reason but now I see there isn't any hope for salvaging our relationship. You've let your new boy toy convince you that shy, fat girls still get to live happily ever after.”
“David will kill you,” Trish whispered. “I'm not kidding.”
“I know all about your precious David,” Curtis replied. “He's a small-town bad boy with no criminal record. His reputation is nothing more than old rumors, a heavy hand with a tattoo gun and one scaredy-cat sheriff's deputy with a grudge. David isn't smart enough or tough enough to save you from me.”
Trish bit her lip. Arguing with Curtis wasn't getting her anywhere. She began looking around the inside of the car for anything she could use as a weapon. She was going to have to escape from Curtis if she wanted to survive the day.
Chapter 51
“Hey sexy.” A slender girl in a skimpy black dress was sitting on the bench outside the funeral home. “Is the service over?”
David scanned the parking lot for any signs of Trish. The truck was empty. He couldn't see any sign of her. “Not yet.”
“You bailing out early?” The girl on the bench had a rhinestone encrusted e-cigarette in her right hand. Her skin was the color of caramel and she was displaying a lot of it. Far too much skin for a funeral.
“No. I'm looking for my fiance.” David scowled at the empty parking lot. There wasn't a soul in sight. Nothing was even blowing in the breeze. The entire day seemed to have stood still.
The girl stretched her long legs out, putting them on display for his benefit. The gesture was lost on him. “No one else is out here except for me,” she said. “My name is Nellie. What's yours?”
David stopped cold. “You're Nellie?”
“I am,” she pursed her lips into a pretty pout. “What's your name?”
“Where's Trish?” David asked.
“I haven't seen her.” Nellie's big brown eyes practically shone with innocence. David wasn't buying the act.
“Look, I already know that she was talking to you earlier. She went to the bathroom with you right before the memorial service and she never came back. You have about three seconds to tell me where she is.”
“She's busy. She had to go talk to someone. It couldn't wait.” Nellie licked her bright red lips and gave him a sexy smile. “Do you like my dress?”
“You know, I normally like looking at tits but yours seem a little out of place here. You do know that this is a funeral, not a strip club?” David couldn't think of anyone that Trish could possibly have needed to go talk to who wasn't already at the funeral.
Nellie stood up so that they were facing one another head on. Her breasts were close to falling out of her dress. She had a heavy gold necklace hanging around her neck. The stones in the necklace were shining brightly in the sunlight. She glanced down at her boobs and then back at David. “For a funeral, there are an awful lot of hot guys here. Why be boring when I can be the star of the show?”
“Because the 'show' is the memorial service for a dead 74 year old man?” David wasn't impressed.
“You're not a nice guy, are you?” Nellie licked her lips. “That's good. I don't like nice guys. They're too passive in bed.”
“You don't have any manners, do you?” David countered.
“God, you're hot.” Nellie stepped into his personal space so that her ski-jump nose was only an inch or two from his chest. She inhaled deeply. “I love your cologne. What do you say you and I go find an empty room to duck into?”
“I don't sleep with sluts, sorry.” David glared down at her and waited for her to back away from him. She didn't move.
“David!” Cal came walking around the side of the building. He was holding Trish's green purse in one hand. “I found her purse outside the back door of the funeral home. She's gone.”
The entire world slowed down in front of David for a split second. Trish wouldn't have left her purse behind. He looked back down at Nellie. She put her hand on his chest. She was smiling up at him through bright eyes. Her diamond necklace caught the sunlight and shimmered brightly against her tanned skin.
The necklace was familiar. Too familiar. It matched the giant diamond ring that had fallen out of Trish's box spring the first time they'd ever had sex. The same diamond ring that Trish had been wearing as an engagement ring until Curtis had stolen it out of their house.
Fuck. Nellie was wearing one of the necklaces that had been stolen out of the house. He caught her hand in his.
“Oh baby,” she grinned at him.
David twisted her wrist around her back so fast that she barely had time to cry out in pain. “Tell me where Trish is or I'll break your arm.”
“David?” Cal closed the distance between them at a jog. “Dude, what are you doing?”
“Where is Trish?” David kept his attention fully focused on Nellie.
“Ow. You're hurting me. Let me go.”
“You're wearing stolen jewelry, sweetheart. I know where it came from and who you got it from. Where is Trish?”
“She went with her husband,” Nellie hissed the words at him. “They're going to work things out. Let me go.”
“You tricked her, didn't you?” David knew Trish would never have willingly gone to meet Curtis.
Nellie kicked him in the shin with a high heeled shoe. It stung but he didn't let her go. “I did her a favor.”
“David-.” Cal reached to pull Nellie loose from his grip.
“She gave Trish to Curtis,” David said numbly. “Take her from me before I break her fucking neck.”
“She did what?” Cal did a double take and then looked doubtfully at Nellie. “Please tell me he's wrong.”
“You're not even cute enough to bother lying to,” Nellie said to
Cal as David released her. She looked Cal straight in the eyes and smiled. “I told Trish that I forgot my purse in the viewing room and asked her to walk with me to get it. Curtis was waiting for her when we got there. They went somewhere more private so they could talk. Your buddy here is really overreacting. I think they're going to work out their problems. Trish has nothing without Curtis. He's the best thing that ever happened to her.”
“He tried to kill her,” Cal said.
“She'll get over it,” Nellie replied. “Trish is very forgiving.”
“Where did he take her?” David demanded.
“How should I know?” Nellie shrugged. “Better yet, why would I care? Curtis gave me a thousand bucks for bringing her to him. I got what I wanted.”
David had to ball his fists at his side to keep from striking out. He'd been raised that men didn't hit girls and up until now he'd never particularly wanted to.
“You gave Trish to Curtis and you have no idea where he took her.” Cal shook his head at Nellie in disgust. “Did you at least happen to notice what he drove away in?”
“You mean the car?”
“The car. What kind of a car is he driving?” Cal asked. “We can get an APB put out for it. Curtis is a wanted fugitive.”
Nellie smiled at him. “The APB isn't going to help you. The cops here don't believe he hurt Trish. They know she's lying.”
“What?” David frowned at her. “Our local sheriff's department issued the warrants on Curtis.”
“If that were true, the cops wouldn't be helping him prove his innocence.” Nellie jerked her arm free of Cal's grip. “I talked to the Officer on the case yesterday. He told me all the charges were being dropped against Curtis.”
“What officer did you talk to?” Cal asked.
“Um, the guy with the girl's name. Carrie? Kerry?” Nellie smirked at them. “Curtis has been staying with him while they work on getting the charges dropped. He's innocent.”
Cal looked over at David. “Is now a bad time to say I told you so?”
“You can rub being right in my face after we go get Trish,” David said. “Go tell Addy what she just told us. I'm going to go break Kerry's miserable neck and rescue my fiance.”
“How about I call him while we're on the way to Kerry's house?” Cal suggested. “I don't think this is going to be a one person rescue mission.”
“You're making a mistake,” Nellie said. She reached for David's arm. “Trish wants Curtis back. Trust me. You'd have more fun if you stayed here with me.”
David pulled Nellie into his chest and stared down into her eyes with the coldest glare he could manage. “If he hurts her, I'll kill you.”
“Say it like you mean it,” she taunted him.
“He does mean it.” Cal jerked Nellie back away from David before he lost control. “If I were you, I'd be gone before we get back.”
“If I were you, I'd lose a hundred pounds and maybe look into some hair dye. You're a little young to be going gray, aren't you?” Nellie poked Cal in the chest.
Cal swallowed but he didn't raise to the taunt. They had more important problems to deal with than Nellie's acid tongue and easily bought morals.
Chapter 52
“I hate you. I hate you and I hope-.” Kick. “You.” Kick. “Die.” Kick. Trish kicked her feet as hard as she could into Curtis's stomach and groin as he carried her across the yard of a massive brick house that she'd never seen before in her life.
“Shut up, Patricia.” Curtis was sweating heavily from the effort of carrying her, but he was managing it. She kicked him again.
“Stop. Kicking. Me.”
She kicked him even harder.
Curtis cursed.
She kept kicking. It was really the only thing she could do. He'd pinned her good arm down and her broken arm wasn't mobile enough to do her any real good.
Curtis lugged her up the stairs, staggering so badly that Trish wondered if they weren't going to take a tumble right back down. He shoved his way into a bedroom and flung her down hard on the bed. Trish let out an oomph as she landed badly. A horrible shot of pain went through her broken arm and brought tears to her eyes. Trish buried her face into the comforter so she didn't have to look into Curtis's beady eyes.
He grabbed hold of her legs and began ripping her shoes off of her feet. He threw the wedges as hard as he could into a nearby window. The glass cracked when the first shoe hit it and shattered as the second connected. Glass rained down on the floor beside the bed. He held his hands out wide and sneered down at her. “Kick me again, bitch.”
Trish considered her options and then kicked him squarely in the nuts with both of her bare feet.
Curtis let out an oomph! He lunged for her but she rolled. She fell off the bed and landed on the hardwood floor with a thump. Broken glass cut into her skin through the thin fabric of her dress. As Curtis reached for her again, she stared deep into his hate-filled blue eyes and randomly remembered the self-defense for women class she'd taken one afternoon at the college for extra credit. The instructor had been pretty graphic in explaining quick and dirty tricks that a woman could use to fend off a much larger attacker. Without taking any time to consider the possible repercussions of her actions, Trish jammed her thumb straight into Curtis's right eye and pressed down as hard as she could.
Curtis let out a wounded yowl and struck out at her. Her head hit the bed frame hard. His legs were right in front of hers, so she kicked him again. Curtis stumbled backwards, tripped over an old-fashioned heater that was bolted into the wall beside the bed and fell out the second story window with a scream.
Trish stared at the broken window in total shock.
“Did that just happen?” She asked the empty room. She got painfully to her feet, trying and failing to avoid the broken glass that was covering the floor. She walked carefully to the broken window and looked down. Curtis was laying bleeding on the grass below. He wasn't moving.
Trish swallowed a lump in her throat and sent up a silent prayer that he wasn't dead. The jagged bone that was sticking up through the skin of his right leg made it obvious he wouldn't be coming back upstairs to attack her again. She picked up her shoes and shook the broken glass out of them before she walked out of the room and began searching the massive house for a land-line phone.
Chapter 53
Kerry woke up in the pitch dark. His head was throbbing and any attempts at movement resulted in shooting pain that ran down the back of his neck. He tried to sit up and failed. He tried to move his shoulders and hit what felt like a padded wall. He tried to turn over and discovered that the space he was in was too tight even for that. He tried to see, but it was too dark.
He was in some kind of a box. A long, shallow box with soft, padded sides. A casket. Kerry's heart jumped into his throat. He pushed as hard as he could against the roof of his prison. He couldn't make it budge.
He vaguely remembered helping Curtis pull Grover Shallowman's body out of his coffin. He didn't remember anything after that, but he didn't have to be a genius to fill in the blanks between his last memory and his current situation. Curtis had knocked him out and tossed him into Grover's coffin. He was probably still sitting on a table in the funeral home. Curtis must have put a lock on the handles of the coffin.
“Hey! Hey!” Kerry yelled at the top of his lungs. “Hey! Help! I'm trapped in here! Help!”
He banged on the roof of the casket until his hands went numb. He was starting to sweat. It was hot inside the coffin. Really hot. He supposed no one really worried about ventilation in a coffin. Not like the dead cared how hard it was to breathe in their final resting place.
He held his breath and tried to listen for noises from the outside that would indicate someone had heard his screams and was coming to his rescue. He strained his ears trying to listen, but the only sound he heard was the blood rushing through his own veins.
He beat on the coffin lid again. Surely someone would hear him soon. After all, there was no way they would have buried
the coffin without checking who was inside, would they?
The thought made Kerry's blood run cold. He began screaming at the top of his lungs. He kept screaming until his voice went hoarse.
No one came.
Chapter 54
“Help me,” Curtis wheezed. His eyes were open but his left eye was glazed over and the right one was bleeding in its socket.
Trish stood over him, unsure of what to say. “I called an ambulance.” The sound of sirens was echoing in the distance. She'd found a land line phone in the kitchen. She'd also managed to find an electric bill with the property's address on it, which had hopefully expedited the emergency response. Trish didn't want Curtis to die despite the nightmare he'd put her through.
“You're lying.” Curtis choked and several small drops of blood rolled out of the corner of his mouth.
“No. I'm not. I called them.” She knelt down on the grass several feet away from him. “Just stay calm. Focus on breathing. You're going to be okay.”
Curtis moaned. “You bitch. You shoved me out a window.”
Trish didn't want to argue with him. The sirens were coming closer. The sound of a big engine approaching made her look up just in time to see her own truck take the turn into the circular driveway so hard that it jumped the curb and plowed through a hedge. David jumped out of the driver's side of the truck and sprinted towards her.
“Are you okay?” David was by her side before Cal had even finished getting out of the truck. He scooped her up into his arms and pulled her further away from Curtis. His dark green eyes were churning with fear.
Trish flung herself against his chest and buried her face in his shoulder. “Oh god, David. I'm okay but I think Curtis is hurt really bad. He fell out the window.”
Curtis moaned loudly from behind them.
“Screw Curtis.” David cupped her chin in his hands. “You're bleeding. You have glass all over you.” He picked a small shard of glass from above her cheek. It was tiny but she felt a small trickle of blood run down her skin after he removed it.