A Bought Bride

by Agnes Alexander

  He handed her a MacDonald’s coffee with one hand and a bag with the other. “I hope you like sausage.” His eyes were wide and questioning.

  “I can make do.” She took the coffee, set it on the cot beside her then removed the biscuit. “I hope you asked for cream and sugar. I like both.”

  He nodded. “I thought you might, so I got both.”

  “Good.” She moved to the bed and sat down. “Why are you not eating?”

  “I ate on the way back.”

  She looked at him and noted he seemed to be getting some of his swagger back. This wasn’t a good sign. She didn’t want him to lose his fear of her. She put her biscuit on the bed beside her and took a drink of coffee. When she sat it aside she stared at him. For a minute she didn’t move her body, but she did wrinkle her brow as she stared.

  “What are you looking at?” He frowned back.

  She didn’t say anything until he looked as if he was going to come toward her. “Someone in your family upset a friend of mine.”

  He stopped and his eyes got bigger.

  “A man I think,” she went on with her eyes half closed.

  He looked shocked. Jillian knew she was hitting a nerve. She decided to go one more time. “An older man, I believe.”

  “My grandfather wasn’t thinking. It was an oversight.”

  She stared at him. “He was not wise.”

  “Don’t punish me for something my grandfather did. He didn’t mean not to wipe his feet or take off his hat.”

  Jillian almost laughed and he stared at her. She decided it would be best not to hide the fact that it tickled her. She decided to turn it on him. “Isn’t it funny the way people’s stupidity can ruin their lives? It makes me laugh at them.” He looked frightened. She added, “Your grandfather did a stupid thing and he paid for it. My advice to you is not to do a stupid thing.”

  “I won’t. I promise. Just don’t put a hex on me.”

  “I’ll think about it.” She sat back, picked up her biscuit and began to eat. All the time she kept her eyes on him. “You’d better be careful.”

  He nodded and backed to the door.

  “Where do you plan to go?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to stay here.”

  “Stop.”

  He stood as still as possible. “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Have you ever killed anyone before?”

  “Yes. But I didn’t mean to this time. She made me mad.”

  “Oh? How can it be that you didn’t mean to kill?”

  “She wanted to…she didn’t do what I wanted.”

  “Is that a reason to kill someone?”

  “Probably not.” He was shaking.

  “Why do you want to kill me?” She squinted at him to make him think she was reading his mind.

  “I’ll not kill you. I promise.” His voice was high pitched and terrified.

  “Why do you want to rape me?”

  He looked confused, but stammered, “I wanted you because you’re beautiful, but I’m not going to rape you. I know you’d put a curse on me if I did. I promise I won’t rape you.”

  “Good. I’m glad you changed your mind about attacking me. You would be sorry if you did. A man must never try to rape a woman like me. It’s not a good thing.” Casually, she nibbled on her biscuit.

  “What do you mean?” he stammered.

  She made herself laugh. “Once a man wanted to rape me. It angered me so that I made it fall off. It slid down and out his pants’ leg. I laughed and he cried.”

  He looked terrified. “I won’t rape you,” he mumbled. “I swear by all that’s holy. Please believe me.”

  She changed the subject and in an abrupt voice asked, “Are you going to let me go home?”

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “Soon.”

  There was a long pause then she said in an even voice, “Very well, you may go.”

  He flew out the door.

  Jillian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She hoped he would let her go soon, because she knew she couldn’t keep up this voodoo business much longer. He might see through her act and this man was a confessed killer. He could be volatile and turn on her at any moment. Maybe she’d try to get him to tell her who he’d killed, then she’d insist he let her go. She wished she really did know how to put a hex on him. Why didn’t she pay more attention to that sort of thing when she was in New Orleans a few years ago?

  * * * *

  “Well, Quinton, I’ve been doing some snooping.” John joined Quinton on the patio after lunch. Marilyn was somewhere in the house.

  “What have you found out?”

  “The police think the same person killed both Maddie and Norman Blackburn.”

  “What makes them think so?”

  John sat in one of the wicker chairs facing Quinton. “Both victims were beaten in the same way. They think the killer has some kind of fetish about the way he kills. He knocks his victims out, strangles them then beats the crap out of them after they’re dead.”

  Quinton frowned. “Sounds demented.”

  “I’m sure he is.”

  “You keep saying he. Do they know the killer is a man?”

  “They do. I think they’ve come to realize Jillian wasn’t strong enough to kill a person in this way.”

  “Of course she isn’t.” Quinton looked upward. “Where could she be, John?”

  “They’ll find her, my friend.”

  “The balcony above is the one off our bedroom. That’s where I planned to meet her.” He gave a sad chuckle. “There was a bottle of wine sitting in the melted ice on the table. She’d put it there for us.”

  “You’ll get to share that bottle of wine yet.”

  “If she’ll have me back.” He glanced at his friend. “At least you and Marilyn are on the right track.”

  John grinned. “Can you believe it? After twenty-five years, I’m falling in love with my wife.”

  “I’m sure you always loved her, John.”

  “Maybe part of me did, but I married her for her old man’s money. She knew that, but she married me anyway. It was her way of thumbing her nose at the Ivy League graduates her parents threw at her. Her father thought that a man had to graduate from Harvard or Yale to be worth anything.” He chuckled. “When you hired me, his firm tried several times to buy mine. It’s fun to turn up my nose at them.”

  “And to think I hired you because you were barely hanging on to your practice.” He shook his head. “Of course it wasn’t out of the goodness of my heart, either. I knew you were a damn good lawyer and it was my way of showing my father I could go against the team he’d always counted on and still make money. His old law firm was too conservative.”

  “And look at us now. I have a firm where Harvard and Yale graduates beg me for jobs and you run a powerful business. We’re the envied, hated and sometimes loved by a lot of our peers, as well as the younger generation.”

  “I know. We’ve had our share of all of it. The money, the women and the excitement. We’ve impressed a lot of people, but now there’s only one person I want to impress.”

  John grinned. “I never dreamed when we interviewed that nice, shy, woman in Greensboro you’d end up in love with her.”

  “It was far from my mind, too. After our first dinner, I thought she’d be nice to have around, but I was anxious to get back to Maddie and the wild sex she offered. Then the morning I picked Jillian up to go to the airport, I noticed she was prettier than the day before and on the plane Gilda couldn’t hide her jealously. She saw Jillian as competition, though she was several years older.”

  “Where is Gilda now?”

  “She’s engaged to my pilot’s cousin.”

  “Does he know about you and Gilda?”

  “I’m sure the pilot does because Gilda and I used to keep the bedroom hopping, even on short flights. I don’t know if he’s said anything to his cousin or not, but I doubt it. They don’t get along. Anyway, Gilda has turned in her
notice and plans to settle down in Oklahoma.”

  “Are you going to miss her?”

  Without hesitation Quinton said, “No. I realized when Jillian and I were on our way back from Las Vegas that Gilda was just like all the others to me. A good romp in the bedroom and that was it.” He glanced at his friend. “I’ve not been a very nice person, John. I’ve used a lot of women, many of whom probably thought they loved me, and without a second thought I’ve tossed them aside just like an old suit of clothes. I can’t even remember most of their names.”

  “You don’t have to tell me this. You know I arranged for many of them when you traveled. Of course I arranged some for myself so I’m right there with you on the nice man scale.” John shrugged. “Neither of us deserves a second chance, but thank God it looks like we’ve got it. Why don’t we make a pact not to blow it this time. It could be our last chance.”

  “One more chance with Jillian is all I ask.”

  Chapter 31

  Jillian ate half the hamburger Stan brought her that afternoon. “It’s about time you brought my lunch. It’s almost two o’clock.”

  “I’m sorry. It was later than I thought. Please forgive me.” He looked nervous. “I hope you like it, but if you don’t, I’ll go get you something else.”

  She ignored his statement. “Have you been in contact with my husband?” She glared at him.

  “I called him this morning,” he muttered. “I told him to give me some money.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he wanted to talk to you.”

  “I want to talk to him.”

  “I’m sure you do, but…”

  “I want to talk to my husband right now.”

  “I’m sorry, but you know I can’t do that.”

  Abruptly she stood and threw the rest of the sandwich at him then pointed her finger toward his head. “I cast the demons…”

  “No!” he screamed. “I’ll let you call him. Here.” He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. “See. You can call.”

  She sat down without taking her eyes off him. She hoped she was giving him an evil glare.

  It must have been because he said, “Do you want me to dial it? I’ll do that for you.”

  “I can do that myself.” She grabbed the phone and punched in the house number.

  As soon as it was answered, she said, “Melba, this is Mrs. Kincade. Is my husband there?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Yes, Ma’am. Hold on.” She ran toward the patio with the portable phone in her hand. “Mr. Kincade, it’s your wife!”

  Quinton got up so fast he toppled the chair. He grabbed the phone and blurted, “Jillian, darling, is it really you?”

  “It’s me, Quinton.” Her voice was calm and unemotional.

  The police came running out and coaxed Quinton inside.

  “Are you all right? Has he hurt you?”

  “He wouldn’t dare.”

  Quinton didn’t understand why she was so calm and using a flat voice. “Do you know where you are?”

  “No, but it’s a cement room. There’s…”

  He heard a man say, “Don’t tell him that.”

  There was a silence then she went on, saying, “As I was saying, there’s a toilet and a sink in the corner. I have a cot. It’s not a very nice place, Quinton. I feel like I’m in jail.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “He knows my power. He doesn’t want to fall under a spell as his island ancestors have done before him.”

  John frowned and muttered, “What the hell is she talking about?”

  “What’s going on?” Marilyn came into the room.

  John put his arm around her and whispered, “Jillian called Quinton, but she’s talking foolish. Maybe she’s drugged.”

  Marilyn pulled away and walked up to Quinton. “Let me talk to her.”

  “Darling, Marilyn wants to talk to you. Don’t hang up when you’re through. I want to talk to you some more.”

  “Let me tell him.” Jillian turned to Stan. “I’m going to talk with Mrs. Von Cannon now then I’ll talk to my husband again.”

  “You can’t talk to everyone.”

  “I’m going to talk to Mrs. Von Cannon then I’m going to talk to my husband again,” she repeated.

  “Okay, okay. Please don’t point at me.”

  “Hi, Jillian. Sounds like you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine, but he told me he killed another woman. I don’t think he’ll try anything with me. I’ll get him if he does.” Jillian sighed. “I’m getting tired of this place. I want to come home soon. If I don’t…”

  The man in the background said, “You can go soon. How about tonight? Would you like to go tonight?”

  “Maybe sooner,” Jillian said.

  “Maybe so,” the man said.

  Marilyn said, “I see you’re handling him okay. You’re on speaker phone; can you give us some clues to where you might be?”

  “As I said, it feels like I’m in jail. The windows are high and I can’t see out, but the light does come in. There’s a sink and a commode in the corner.” She said each word slowly and precisely. “I get tired of sitting on this cot and I stand against the wall sometimes. It gives me a chance to think of all the island magic. I’m trying to decide which spell I’ll use on him.”

  “No!” the man screamed.

  “I think I caught the clue. Can you tell us anything else to lead us to you?”

  “I won’t be too hard on him. He brought me a biscuit from Macdonald’s for breakfast. The lunch was from Wendy’s. I’m going to send him to a convenience store to get aspirin. I’m getting a headache. I get vicious when I have a headache.” She looked at Stan again. “Is there a convenience store nearby?”

  “I’m not going to tell you that?”

  “Wait a minute, Marilyn. I need two hands for this.”

  “Okay. There’s one across from Burger King.” He was screaming.

  “Is it far?”

  “No.”

  “How far?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’d better know.”

  “About six blocks.”

  “Thank you. Now go get my aspirin.”

  “I can’t leave you here with the phone.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want you calling everyone.”

  “You can either take me home this minute or you can go get my medicine or you can lose your manhood. Which do you want to do?”

  The door slammed.

  Marilyn gasped. “Did he actually leave you there alone with the phone?”

  “Maybe.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Wait. I didn’t hear him leave. I’m at the door now.” Jillian raised her voice. “I can throw a spell through the door if I have to. It’s a little harder, but it works.” She heard him run away. “He’s gone, Marilyn. Let me speak to Quinton.”

  Quinton grabbed the phone. “Darling, what’s going on?”

  “Oh, Quinton, I’ve never been so scared.”

  “They’re plotting a map from your description. They think you may be in the old abandoned prison camp on the north side of town. We’re going to find you Jillian.”

  “I know you will.”

  “Jillian, I… Wait a minute, darling.” He turned to the police officers. “Take this off speaker. I want to have a private conversation with my wife.”

  “Sir, we can’t. She might say something…”

  “You’re damn right, and what she’ll say is for my ears only. Now take it off speaker.”

  “But, Sir…”

  “If you refuse to take it off, get all the damn mess out of my house this instant.”

  John butted in. “I think you should honor Mr. Kincade’s wishes.”

  The officer was seething, but he walked over and flipped a button.

  “Go outside and talk to Jillian, Quinton. Marilyn and I will stay here to be sure they don’t turn the thing back on.”

  “Thanks.” Qu
inton went out the door. “We’re alone now, my love,” he said into the phone.

  “Oh, Quinton. I love…”

  “Don’t say it yet. Those are words we want to share tonight when we’re alone in our bed.”

  “Or on our glider?”

  “Wouldn’t you be afraid there?”

  “Not when I’m with you.”

  “Oh, Jillian, when I got to the balcony and you weren’t there, I thought I’d die.”

  “I thought he’d rape then kill me, but I hit on the idea of pretending I could cast spells. He’s afraid of voodoo and he thinks I’m a witch.”

  The door rattled.

  “Quinton, he’s coming back. I’ll be home by tonight.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  Chapter 32

  “We’ve got to get out of here.” Stan shouted. “A policeman saw me at the store.”

  “Did you get my aspirin?”

  “Damn it, Jillian. I didn’t have time. Let’s go.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve got to get away from here. They might figure out who I am and where I have you stashed.”

  “I want to go home.”

  “I can’t let you go home.”

  She sat down on the bed. “Then I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Jillian, please come on.”

  “You go. Because you’ve been nice to me, I promise to give you time to get away before I walk out of here and call my husband. I’m not going anywhere else with you. I’m getting tired of you telling me what to do.”

  “I have to tell you what to do. They can’t see us together.”

  “I’ll go only on the condition that you drop me at my home on the way out of town.”

  “I can’t…”

  She had another idea. “Then I’ll give you something that will keep you safe from charms and spells for the rest of your life.”

  His eyes got big. “What is it?”

  “It’s a sacred rock. I never go anywhere without one.”

  “You didn’t have a rock when I brought you here.”

  “Oh, yes, I did. See.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out the sliver of cement.

  “It looks like cement to me.”

  “It’s supposed to. That’s why it’s sacred. To the human eye it looks like a piece of cement, but a trained person knows it’s the most powerful stone in the world. It has made hurricanes turn directions. It has made poor men wealthy.” She lowered her voice and whispered. “It can be used to make the dead walk again.”