“Oh yeah, I can’t wait to hear this. I’m all ears.”
“I have discussed this with Sherry already, so this is entirely up to you,” he began, looking to her for approval. “Since I will be making a ridiculous sum of money in my new position and your visitation will be so drastically altered, we are willing to have papers drawn up to reduce your child support by half.”
“Are you trying to buy me off?” Tom was outraged.
“No, but we figured that with the extra money, you could afford to come out to Vegas and see your children whenever you could get away,” Sherry replied through a lopsided smile.
“We don’t want to keep you from them. That truly isn’t what this is all about. I give you my word that any time you want to come see them, you’re welcome at our house,” Dan added.
Tom sat in silence, taking everything in. He wanted to fight, but he knew it was no use. He didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. She had sole custody of his children and there was nothing he could do about it.
“How long do I have until—” Tom couldn’t force the words out of his mouth.
“We won’t be moving until well into the summer,” Dan assured him.
“Until then you can see them every weekend if you want to,” Sherry offered.
“That’s mighty nice of you.” Tom’s cell phone began to ring.
He growled in protest but answered it anyway. “What?” He barked into the phone.
Dan and Sherry looked at him intently, only hearing half the conversation.
“Sheila McCrae? That was ballsy. What do you mean different? No, no— Thanks, Anna. I’ll be right there. Don’t let those clods touch anything else until I arrive.”
A look of concern washed over Sherry’s face. “Bad news?”
“Yeah, I guess this conversation is over,” he said, rising from his chair. “Oh, and Dan—”
“Yeah?”
“Go ahead and have those papers drawn up. I’ll sign them whenever they are ready.”
I don’t see any trips to Vegas in my near future, but I bet the extra money could go a long way towards getting a decent lawyer to make sure I get to see my kids.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I am standing at the scene of a grizzly double homicide. We are at the home of the Sheila McCrae, director of our very own Fox22 News. She and Tina Garza were the victims of an act so horrendous, words alone can’t describe it...
“Kyle!” Nina shouted in the direction of the kitchen. “I want you to see this.”
“Hang on a minute, I’m making some coffee,” he yelled back.
“You and your damn coffee.” She snorted. “Just get your butt in here. I put a lot of effort into making this happen so quickly.”
“What’s so important that it can’t wait until I finish making a pot?”
“They are talking about you on the television. They are about to unveil the new you.”
Kyle trotted into the living room and dove into his chair. “Turn it up, I can barely hear it.”
“You can turn it up if you want to, but if you just sit still I think you will find that it is plenty loud enough.”
As you can see, the bodies have been brutalized to the point they are almost unrecognizable. It appears as if someone has used some sort of instrument to extract their insides.
“Hey!” Kyle sat up on the edge of his chair. “That’s not how we left them. What gives?”
“Uh oh, it looks like Mr. Sampson is in a bit of trouble.” Nina giggled as she watched the police barge into the room.
“They didn’t say anything about me,” he said in a voice filled with disappointment.
“He didn’t have a chance. The police broke up the interview before he could say much of anything. Those pictures were worth a thousand words, though.”
It appears we have lost the feed. Fortunately, we had an opportunity to speak with Mark Sampson before he began his broadcast. It is unclear at this point whether or not this is an isolated incident, but all signs point to a NEW threat befalling our fair city. Even as we struggle to apprehend The Puppeteer, this new menace—
“New threat?” Kyle was outraged. “I am neither a threat nor a menace. I am an artist. Why can’t they see that?”
“They obviously suffer from shortsightedness, lover.”
“How can they say I didn’t have a hand in this new Dance?”
“They are the media, not investigators. Once your detectives are on the scene, it shouldn’t take them long to see the similarities.”
“These people make me sick,” he snarled. “All of our hard work and how are we repaid? With name calling and misrepresentation, that’s how.”
“They will come around. You’ll see.”
“They should be thanking me for what I’ve done,” he scoffed. “I’ve made them appreciate what it means to be alive.”
I know at least one other person that should be appreciative. She thought of Mark Sampson.
“They should all be appreciative. I give them beauty and meaning. For once in their pathetic little lives, everything they used to fret over seems trivial.” Kyle didn’t realize he had picked her thoughts from the air.
“I promise you, before it is all said and done, they will understand what you given them, lover.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said after a heavy sigh. “It’s just hard on me when they always try to make me out to be some monster. I’m not a bad guy once you get to know me.”
“Of course, you’re not, lover.”
“There was a time when…”
“When?” Nina prompted when she realized he wasn’t going to continue.
“When I bought into their stereotypes. I actually thought what I was doing was wrong, but I just— I just— I couldn’t help myself,” he finally managed.
“Now you see your actions for what they really are, and more importantly you recognized the beauty of The Dance.”
“What a long strange trip it’s been.” He laughed.
“You’re not going to start singing to me again are you?”
“I might. Music is good for the soul. It unleashes the creativity of nearly everyone it touches. You, of all people, should know that.”
“Creativity isn’t necessarily a word I would use, but my music definitely unleashes something,” Nina added with a knowing grin.
Kyle forced a laugh and pushed out of his chair. “What did you mean when you said you worked so hard for this?”
“I told Mark Sampson to go look for the bodies.”
“Why would you do that? They still haven’t found all of the others yet.”
“I have my reasons,” she answered evasively.
“Yeah,” he let out a long breath. “You always do.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m beat. I think I’m gonna go lay down for a bit.”
“But it’s barely after noon,” she protested. “You just started a pot of coffee.”
“So, when I’m tired…” Kyle stopped to look at her quizzically. “When do you sleep?”
Nina stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging slightly open. She willed herself to shield her thoughts as she debated her best course of action. Would he understand if I told him never? Would he try to mimic me? The results of letting a transient become sleep-deprived could be disastrous.
“Yoo-hoo,” Kyle called out. “You still with me?”
“Hmm?” Nina looked up at him. “Oh, I get rest when I need it. You have to admit that with as much as you sleep, it would be easy for you not to notice when I did.”
“I don’t sleep that much. Besides, even if I did, I must need it.”
His response confused her. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Everybody knows that the body only sleeps as much as it has to in order to recuperate.”
“Well in that case.” Nina rose to give him a kiss. “It’s off to bed with you.”
“Care to join me?”
“No, I think I will take the opportunity
to catch up on a few things.”
“Okay,” He kissed her on the forehead. “I love you.”
“And I love you more than you will ever know.” She squeezed his hand as she spoke. “Sweet dreams, lover.”
*****
Kyle squirmed in his bed, tossing and turning as he struggled to find a deep, dreamless sleep. He knew if he couldn’t clear his thoughts, they would soon become dreams. His dreams scared him; they always had.
His conversation with Nina earlier had stirred up old memories, old feelings. Faces came and went, frozen in various states of expression: joy, sorrow, pain and fear.
So many faces—did I really spend time with all of them? Eventually he succumbed to the draw of the images.
He found himself sitting in the quad at his old university. It was the start of his third year of Pre-med and he was a good halfway through it. The crisp autumn air made him pull the collar of his jacket up over his ears.
“Hey Kyle, are you going to the party over at the Sigma house tonight?” Lonnie asked, plopping down beside him.
“I’m not a Sigma,” he replied with a puzzled look.
“That doesn’t matter, silly.” Her giggle was intoxicating. “If anyone asks, tell them that I invited you.”
The breeze carried the scent of her perfume. He breathed it in hungrily. He didn’t know why, but something about the way those coeds smelled sent shivers throughout his body. It was more than lust; he had bedded his fair share of young women, but that was entirely different feeling than just being close to them. His mind was troubled after his first time, having discovered the chase gave him more of a thrill than the actual act itself. He really didn’t see what the big deal was with sex. It felt good, but it rarely left him feeling sated. He often wondered if it was the same for everyone.
“Hello,” Lonnie said, shaking him from his musings. “You seem like you’re a million miles away.”
“Sorry,” he shrugged. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind today.”
“So, are you coming?”
“Can we go together this time?”
They had seen each other for weeks, but she had yet to go on an actual date with him. They always met at parties or at the quad. At first, he thought she was ashamed to be seen with him, but that belied reason. There she was, spending time with him where everyone could see them. She didn’t ignore him at parties, though her time with him was by no means exclusive. She liked to jump from crowd to crowd as if she were afraid she might miss something better if she stayed in one place for too long.
“Kyle, don’t start that again. Can’t we just enjoy what we have right now?” Her voice dripped with exasperation.
“Sure,” Kyle agreed with a nod. “Can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”
“Okay, I’ll see you tonight.”
The buildings and people faded from around him and he found himself leaning against a wall. He sipped from a small red plastic cup, while surveying the roomful of partygoers.
“Hey, when did you get here?” Lonnie popped out of the crowd with a beaming smile for him.
“I haven’t been here long. Are you having fun?”
She stepped in close to him, standing on her tippy-toes as she reached for his head. Pulling him closer to her face, she began to kiss his neck. She let her lips travel up close to his ear before whispering, “not as much fun as I could be having. Do you want to sneak upstairs?”
He wore a sheepish grin on his face as he let her lead them through the crowd. It didn’t take long for her to find a secluded spot on the second floor.
She started pulling his clothes off with a force he had never seen her display before. She was hungry for him. Her sense of urgency was contagious. Kyle found that he enjoyed the roughness of her touch. He lifted her naked body into the air so she could straddle him where he stood.
She gasped in a mixture of pleasure and surprise as he entered her with a strong thrust. Their limbs moved and bounced as they strove to make their bodies feel the fever of their minds.
Kyle lost his balance and stumbled forward, ramming her back against a shelf on the wall. Tiny glass figurines filled the shelf, some of which shattered on impact. She screamed out in pain when the shards pierced her flesh.
The sound of her voice flowed through Kyle’s mind like a tidal wave, sending spasms of pleasure coursing through his body. He placed one hand on the back of her hip to steady her and looped the other between her arm and chest so he could grip her shoulder from behind.
She grimaced in pain. “Stop it! I’m hurt.”
Kyle grunted, but continued to ram away. The more she squirmed, the more savage his thrusts became.
God damn it, scream for me again, he urged her silently. She began to whimper as blood poured down her back.
“Please—” she started to plead, but stopped when he slammed her against the glass again. “You’re hurting me, Kyle.”
He could feel the power building in his limbs. He had never felt so in control of anything in his entire life. A new scent reached his nostrils. It mixed with her perfume and the smell of fresh blood, accenting the concoction. It was the most wonderful smell he had ever encountered.
That’s crazy. You can’t really smell fear, can you? What else would you call it? He argued with himself.
“Help me!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.
That’s my girl.
The door behind him flew open and a man he had never seen before came rushing into the room. He leapt into the air, intending to jump on Kyle’s back, but Kyle caught him by the shirt mid-pounce and slammed him against the wall next to Lonnie. He screamed as the glass shards worked their magic on his flesh. His screams, mixed with Lonnie’s, echoed in Kyle’s ears. The two voices merged as one briefly as the passed each other in intensity. What a beautiful song that would make. Kyle couldn’t believe the effect it had on him.
It was enough to send him over the edge. His climax was so intense, his knees buckled, dropping all three of them to the floor. He released his grip on them as he lay there trying to make sense of what he just felt. The would-be knight in shining armor fled without a word.
“You’re a fucking animal!” Lonnie cried, gathering her clothes with shaking hands.
“You weren’t so bad yourself,” he said without looking at her.
The images blurred again and the world moved around him. When the spinning stopped, he was standing in front of a pay phone. How long had it been since he spoke to her? She wouldn’t return his calls. She wouldn’t see him no matter how much he begged.
I need to feel her again. Why can’t she see that? He grasped the extent of her resolve when a couple of jocks showed up at his dorm room. It was only after they lay bloodied and bruised at his feet that he learned she had paid them to come rough him up. Word spread fast across the campus. No one wanted anything to do with him. His feelings of isolation grew as even his instructors requested he drop their classes.
He heard rumors that the only reason he wasn’t in jail was because Lonnie refused to press charges. She didn’t want the world to know what had happened to her. Besides, it’s not like I’m the one who cut her. For all I knew, she was enjoying it.
Months passed and his desire blocked out nearly every other thought from his mind. He had to drop out of school, not that he would have been able to concentrate on his studies even if he hadn’t been ostracized. Some part of him told him he needed to move on with his life, but the sound of those lovely screams always drowned out the tiny voice of reason.
He moved to Tulsa, hoping the distance would help him forget her, but it didn’t help. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the look on her face, heard the ringing of her voice mixed with the stranger’s, and smelled that sickly sweet aroma of fear.
Then it happened. He was shopping at the mall when he saw her stepping out of a clothing store. He stopped breathing, as he watched her walk away.
Did she not see me? She didn’t even say hi.
He followed her, but
not close enough to give her cause for alarm. He could feel his heartbeat quicken as he weaved his way through the crowd, ducking out of sight if she turned in his direction. The hunt was on.
He followed her to the parking lot, trying to keep out of sight. His size worked against him. He knew she would recognize him instantly and he wasn’t ready for that yet.
It must be fate.
He laughed to himself when he watched her enter a car just a few spaces down from his own. He closed the gap to his car at a sprint. He needed to be behind his tinted windows before she backed her out of the space.
He followed her along the busy streets, staying a couple of cars behind her. His whole body was trembling as he thought about ways to make her scream. The glass had worked before, but he needed something he could have more control over.
Control, that’s the key to make this a success, isn’t it? I need to think of a way to be in complete control of the situation. If I am in control I can make it last. I can make her FEAR last. Oh, how I’ve missed that smell. The fear will lead to the screams. The screams are her fear being realized. Can she smell it too? Does she even know she wants to play with me?
The ache in his jaw made him realize he was grinding his teeth. At long last, she turned into an apartment complex. He watched patiently while she gathered her bags and made her way to one of the doors. A woman met her half way, giving her a quick kiss before helping her carry the bags.
She has a lover. This is meant to be. One scream was powerful, but two… now, two is perfect. I’m gonna need supplies. Tonight, Lonnie is going to dance for me one more time.
Kyle looked at himself in the rear view mirror as he replayed the last thought over in his mind. Dance— The Dance— Yeah, I like the sound of that.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“What am I doing here?” Tom asked as he stomped across the bedroom.
Anna rolled her eyes at him before returning her attention to the bodies. “Investigating a double homicide.”
“Don’t you think we have enough on our plate without taking this on too?”
The Dance Page 19