The Haunts of Cruelty

by R. G. Ryan

  I asked, “And you’re sure that’s where the signal came from?”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Look, uh…what was your name again?”

  “Jake Moriarity.”

  “Right…Jake. Imagine you’re standing on earth, and you’ve got a laser shooting up toward the sky and the laser connects with a satellite. Now you’ve got a straight line from the satellite to that spot on earth.”

  “So, you’re saying that as far as location goes, this is pretty much infallible?”

  Another eye roll.

  “Nothing is infallible! I’m just saying when that call was placed, it came from right there.”

  “Where nothing exists.”

  “Correct.”

  Redfern said, “I wonder how old that shot is?”

  William checked his watch.

  “About ten minutes.”

  “You took it?”

  “Yeah. I just accessed equipment that was in the right location and snapped a quick shot,” he answered with a shrug of his shoulders as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

  “Well, so much for that theory,” Redfern replied.

  “What theory is that?” I asked.

  “That something had been built out there since Google Earth captured that image.”

  “Google Earth!” William spat out the term as if it were a piece of bad meat stuck in his mouth. “Primitive technology! Can’t be trusted.”

  I held out my hand.

  “Can I see that?”

  William passed the tablet over to me.

  Peering closely at the image, I asked, “Is there anything you can do to enhance the clarity?”

  He stared at it for a few seconds and then replied, “Absolutely! Give me a minute.”

  As he trotted off Redfern looked a question at me.

  I said in reply, “I’m wondering if there are any overhangs, canyons, gulley’s, shadows, anything really, where a vehicle could hide. This is a two dimensional image after all.” Laying the tablet flat on the table, I continued, “If you look at this area right here, the angle of the sun is creating long shadows. I just want to know if they are concealing anything.”

  “Now that you mention it, so do I.”

  William returned with his laptop.

  “Okay, let’s see what we can do.”

  His fingers started flying over the keyboard in a truly impressive display of technological prowess.

  After a couple of minutes, he spun the computer around and asked, “Is that better?”

  Redfern and I leaned in. Though still far from clear, you could now see a small structure of some sort tucked away within a box canyon.

  “William,” Redfern pronounced, “You’re a genius.”

  “Yeah?” he replied. “Tell that to HR. I could use a raise.”

  I said, “That’s where he took her.”

  “You can’t be sure of that, Jake!” Redfern replied.

  I met his gaze.

  “Yeah, I can. She’s there…wherever there is.” I glanced at my watch.

  6:45 p.m.

  “How long will it take us to fly out there?”

  Redfern looked at William who said, “Uh, okay…let’s see.”

  He performed a few quick calculations on his cell phone.

  “That’s probably fifty miles or so from Vegas. And…the chopper’s cruising speed is one ninety-five, give or take. So, calculate distance divided by speed…call it…approximately thirty minutes flight time.”

  I said, “That’s going to put us there close to seven-thirty. It won’t be full dark, but the sun will have definitely gone down.”

  Redfern wagged his head from side-to-side as if pondering.

  “Dark will be better for an insertion.”

  “Yeah, it will. So, how about it?”

  He stared at me for a few seconds without speaking and then dialed a number on his phone.

  “Terry? Kick the tires and light the fires in that chopper. We’re going on a little excursion.” After disconnecting the call, he stood and hollered, “Gather ‘round, fellas.”

  The other agents in the room stopped what they were doing and moved closer to our position.

  He said, “We have some new information on the possible location of the kidnapper. It’s remote, so we’re going to fly out and look over the area. If it looks promising, we’re going to do a drop and let Jake go in alone.”

  Agent Steward hollered, “Now, hang on, Gerry. This is my territory. I’m the one who decides what does and doesn’t happen.”

  Redfern just smiled and dialed a number into his phone.

  After a few seconds he said, “Yeah. It was like you said. I think he wants to talk to you.”

  He handed his phone over to Steward who barked a curt, “Who’s this?”

  I watched as his face took on the color of modeling clay.

  “Yes sir. No problem. Thank-you for the clarification.”

  He terminated the call and handed the phone back to Redfern.

  “Apparently Assistant Director In Charge, Zack Hastings, has signed off on the operation. That’s good enough for me.”

  In an aside to me, Redfern whispered, “FBI agents—especially ADIC’s—are never completely out of touch. I briefed Zack on the situation with Cassie. He’s the one who authorized me to use whatever resources are necessary to insure her safe return.” He chuckled, “Apparently he’s got a soft spot for your niece.”

  “And who doesn’t?” I replied with a smile. “Over the years, he’s become a close friend of our little family.”

  “Now that we have that cleared up,” Redfern continued, turning his attention back to the room. “As I was saying, we are going to do a discrete drop with Jake Moriarity who will then go in solo and attempt an extraction.”

  To my total surprise, I heard Andy Steward saying, “Forgive my initial attitude. It’s just been one of those days. If anyone can get this done, it’s Jake Moriarity. His reputation is second to none. I want you to know that moving forward, my guys will cooperate fully with anything you need from us. Let’s go get that young lady and bring her home.”

  I said, “Thank-you for that, Andy. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

  He nodded his head slowly.

  “I have a daughter her age, Jake. I’d hate to think of Susan in that situation.”

  Redfern looked around the room.

  “Any questions?”

  There were none.

  “Okay, let’s do this.”

  As we walked from the room and down the hall leading to the parking lot and the waiting chopper, I found myself wishing that I knew what “this” was.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Hey!” Paul Morgan yelled.

  Hearing no answer he tried again, this time as loudly as he was able given the restrictions imposed on his throat by the collar.

  “HEY! We gotta’ talk! You hear me? I know you can hear me.”

  The door to the bedroom opened and Cassie stood framed in the entry.

  “You bellowed?” she said sarcastically.

  “Feeling powerful?”

  “What do you want, Paul?”

  Eddie stood behind her peering cautiously around her shoulder.

  “I see you got your little shadow with you,” Morgan said when he noticed Eddie. He pierced her with a wicked gaze, “When I get through with you—“

  “In case you haven’t noticed,” Cassie said, cutting him off. “You are in no position to be making threats.”

  Eddie stepped around Cassie and added, “Yeah, you’re in no position…”

  Morgan lunged at her.

  “Shut-up, you little bitch!”

  Before he could get to her, he reached the limit of the rope that had been attached to the shock collar and was jerked violently backward onto the bed. The force from the collar against his windpipe left him gasping for air.

  Still no ef
fect from the drug! How the hell long was that supposed to take?

  Eddie, who had screamed and darted behind Cassie, now came back into the room where she stood quivering with emotion and glaring at Paul.

  She looked at Cassie, pleading, “Cassie, I’m begging you. Let me have the remote control for five minutes, that’s all I ask. I won’t kill him, I promise.”

  “Eddie, we’ve already talked about this and you know I can’t do that. Even if he does deserve it I can’t let you purposely torture him.”

  “That’s not torture. Torture is what he did to you, Muriel and me for all those years. Torture is having your life totally controlled by that monster. It’s having him use your body for every sick, twisted thing he could come up with; keeping you so strung out on drugs that you don’t even remember your own name—beating you when you don’t put out enough or sometimes just for fun and filming it.”

  Morgan managed to cough out, “That’s bullshit and you know it!” He rolled over onto his side to face the women, an evil smile creasing his face. “You loved every minute of it or else you wouldn’t have stayed with me all those years.”

  Eddie screamed in reply, “I stayed because you told me you’d kill me if I ever tried to leave, you sick bastard!”

  She ran crying from the room, brushing by Cassie who turned to watch her exit.

  “Kids today.” Morgan’s voice was still wheezy. “You give them everything and in return all you get is ingratitude.”

  Cassie turned back to face him, still leaning against the doorframe.

  “What? You got somethin’ on your mind, Princess?” he said defiantly.

  “I want to know where the car keys are,” Cassie replied calmly and directly.

  He rolled over onto his back laughing until a coughing fit caused him to stop.

  Cassie repeated her request, “Paul, where are the keys?”

  From his back he turned his head to look at her, “Do I look that dumb? Why would I tell you that?”

  “Because if you don’t I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

  “Ooh, I’m so scared.”

  “And while you’re at it, tell me the code for your SatPhone.”

  “Man, you just don’t get it, do you?”

  “There’s nothing to get, Paul, except that you’re there and I’m here and from where I stand it looks like I’m in control. And since I’m in control I am going to get out of here one way or another.” She paused for a few seconds. “Now, we can do this nice…or we can do it dirty. I really don’t care any more.”

  “Don’t threaten me, bitch.”

  “Call it whatever you want. I’m giving you fair warning that I will get out of here and get my life back. And, just so you know, if you use that word with me again, I will make you intimately acquainted with the shock collar you’re wearing.”

  He stared at her without speaking for a few seconds and then said confidently, “You can’t get out of here without my cooperation.”

  “Really? And why is that.”

  “Have you looked outside?”

  “So we’re in the desert, so what? Lots of people live in the desert these days.”

  “Not in this part of the desert. How many cars have you noticed going by the house?”

  Cassie felt as if somehow she were losing control of the conversation.

  “What does that have to do with—“

  “How many cars have you heard passing by the house?” he repeated patiently.

  Cassie was forced to admit to herself that she wasn’t aware of a single car having passed.

  He smiled triumphantly.

  “You haven’t heard any, have you?”

  “Big deal, so this isn’t a well traveled road.”

  “Now you’re starting to get it. It isn’t well traveled. In fact, it isn’t traveled at all because, technically, there is no ‘road’. That’s why I picked this place. That goat trail out front doesn’t exist on any maps.” He paused for a moment as if waiting for that knowledge to sink in. “Know how far it is to civilization?”

  If he was waiting for Cassie to respond, she wasn’t going to give him any satisfaction.

  “It’s thirty miles if you know where you’re going. Otherwise, you could wander around out here until you die and never find anything.”

  Cassie glared at him, grim-faced.

  “But, when you went for food, you weren’t gone long enough to travel thirty miles each direction.”

  He waved off her statement.

  “I didn’t go for ‘food.’ That’s just what I told you guys. I already had the food. I went to take care of something else.”

  “What?” she queried.

  “It’s none of your damn business!” Morgan growled. “But, if you must know…I just needed some time to myself to think through some things.”

  “You mean like how you plan to keep living after Jake gets his hands on you?”

  Morgan scoffed, “He’s not gonna get his hands on me because there’s no way he can find me. Okay?”

  Cassie smiled and said, “That’s right, I forget you’ve only met him once. Although I can see by those nasty scars that he left a lasting impression.”

  “You shut up about that!”

  “Yeah, you see, if you knew Jake, you’d know that there’s no place on earth you can hide from him. He can find anybody, anywhere, any time. And he’s coming for you, Paulie.”

  “Stop calling me that!”

  “So, save yourself a lot of grief and give me the car keys and code to the SatPhone.”

  “I already told you,” he replied petulantly. “That’s not gonna happen. You’re going to have to walk out of here.” He paused and added, “Oh, and that sore ankle you’ve been trying to hide from me? Nice try, but no cigar. How far do you think you can make it on that, sweetheart?”

  He started to laugh.

  “Shut-up!” Cassie felt a crack beginning to form in her cool.

  “Shut-up, shut-up,” he mocked and laughed harder.

  Cassie zapped him just enough to get the laughing to stop before stepping back and closing the door forcefully.

  She looked over at Eddie who was slouched on the sofa.

  “I think we may be facing more of a challenge here than we counted on.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  By the time the chopper was prepped for flight and we had talked through an initial strategy for insertion, it was almost 7:00 p.m.

  We were just lifting off when my cell phone rang.

  It was Michael.

  Before I could even answer I heard him shouting, “Jake, you’re not going to believe what I have to tell you.”

  “All right, Mike. What’s going on?”

  “He was at my house!”

  “Who?” I replied in confusion.

  Michael literally shouted, “Him! Paul Morgan! I didn’t recognize him. I mean I only saw him that one time, but I’ve never forgotten his eyes. They were, well weird. That’s what I was trying to put together when we were looking at the image from the security camera.”

  “He was at your house?” I repeated incredulously.

  “Yeah, see—damn, this is really messing me up thinking about it—anyway, a couple of weeks ago this architectural magazine called and said they wanted to interview me and feature my house on the cover and so I figured, sure, why not. I even checked them out to make sure it wasn’t a scam. They said a photographer would come by in a day or two and do the shoot. This guy calls and I didn’t really think anything about it at the time—I mean, why should I, right? So he comes over and photographs the house inside and out. I remember Cassie saying once that Paul Morgan had kind of long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and a full beard. But this guy’s hair was short and blonde and he wore a goatee…just like the guy in the video. Oh, and he had a lot of facial scars, which I didn’t remember either Cassie or Muriel detailing in their descriptions of him.”

  As shocking
as the information was, it was totally in keeping with what I knew of Morgan’s resourcefulness.

  “But that’s not the worst of it,” Michael continued.

  “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “The guy was smooth,” he said with a laugh devoid of all humor. “Really, really smooth, man. He chatted me up something fierce. Before he left I, uh…well, I had basically told him where Cassie lives.”

  “Oh, Michael!” I said more loudly than was appropriate.

  “I know! But, like I said, the guy was smooth. He said something about having seen a piece on my engagement on TV and congratulated me. In the moment I sort of blurted out that Cassie lived in a condo up the coast a few blocks from my place. He told me that he had photographed a bunch of coastal properties for the magazine and wondered if her place had been one he’d shot before. And, dammit, I just came right out and told him where it was. He said he knew it well and that the complex was one of his favorites, or something like that. I mean, Jake…I sold her out! I told that monster exactly how to find her!”

  This last part was said around a sob that would not be denied.

  “Mikey, you are a good and trusting person, but you were up against a master manipulator. There is no way you could’ve known it was Paul Morgan. I know this probably sounds hollow and insufficient right now, but it’s not going to do anyone any good for you to beat yourself up over it. All it will do is deplete your emotional resources, and I have a feeling we’re going to need all the reserves we can access before this is over.”

  I could hear him draw a deep breath before replying, “I know you’re right. But I was taken in so easily. I mean I’m not a stupid or naive man. How can anyone be that good?”

  How, indeed?

  “It’s a fair question, Mike,” I said, “and one I posed many, many times when I was trying to figure out how a man like that was able to fool a person as smart and intuitive as Cassie. For the record…I never came up with any answers.”

  “Well, if…you know…if things take a tragic turn, I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive myself for being so dense.”

  “Listen, the only ‘tragic turn’ that’s going to take place is when Paul Morgan realizes that at our former meeting I was taking it easy on him.”