Don't Read After Dark: Keep the lights on while reading these! (A McCray Horror Collection)

by McCray, Carolyn

  As Evie tied Papa’s hands, Andrew clapped. “Oh, I wish I had some popcorn!”

  * * *

  Jake strode through the storage area’s parking lot, looking for unit number seventeen. It was at the end of the row. And large. It must have been at least ten feet by ten feet. That was a lot of storage. Exactly what did Mr. Woldham have in there?

  He pulled out his lockpick kit and made short work out of the padlock.

  People thought the thicker the bolt, the safer the lock was, when really it was the complexity of the locking mechanism. Jake was rewarded with a soft click as he unlocked the padlock. He pulled the padlock out of the metal eyelets. He grabbed the storage unit’s handle and jerked upward.

  The metal rattled as it rose. He swung his flashlight forward, illuminating the inside of the storage unit. The empty storage unit. Not just empty, but completely cleaned out. There wasn’t even a speck of dust or grime on the floor.

  “No!” Jake yelled out. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t have found Starvin’ Marvin’s secret lair only to come up empty-handed. This is how his life was going. For years, now. Just when he thought he might actually move forward, boom, he’d hit another roadblock. He could just imagine what his lieutenant would make of this. “I told you so,” would not even cover it. Could everyone else be right? Was Jake tilting at serial killer windmills?

  “No,” he moaned, knowing that no matter how much he complained, this storage unit wasn’t going to fill with evidence, or even a single clue.

  Well, maybe one clue. There were distinct tire tracks leading up to and away from the unit. He snapped several pictures of them, then sent them to Brad. He followed that up with a phone call.

  “It’s empty here,” Jake informed the tech.

  “Oh, dude, so sorry,” Brad answered.

  “Yeah, but I do have another set of tire tracks,” Jake explained. “Call me if anything pops.”

  “Where are you going now?”

  “For a consultation,” Jake answered.

  “Huh?” Brad said.

  Jake really didn’t have time to explain. “Just call me when you get something.

  He snapped his phone off and headed back to his car.

  The night was still young.

  CHAPTER 14

  Evie used her fragment to try and dislodge Papa’s collar. The metal jangled under the cloth strips, triggering another shock of voltage. They had wrapped the collar in cloth strips, but even so, Papa was still getting zapped.

  “I’m sorry,” Evie said as Papa’s jaws clenched in pain. “I’m so sorry.”

  Once the zapping stopped, Papa leaned into Evie.

  “We can stop,” she suggested, worried that Papa’s dedication might be fading with each passing zap.

  “No, no,” Papa said, panting a bit. “If we’re going to do this, we must do so quickly, before the ‘Zard can formulate a response.”

  Evie tried again, but again, the collar discharged, causing Papa’s body to arch with electricity.

  “Darion told you it wouldn’t be easy,” Andrew commented, as he was wont to do.

  “Yeah, well,” Evie countered, glaring at her old cellmate, Darion. “It’s been hours, and I’m still feeling pretty clean.”

  It felt good to say, but how much further on her quest for to escape was she, really? Darion seemed unfazed by Papa or her plight.

  “Let me try to cut it,” Evie said. Until now, she’d just held the insulated handle she had made to her metal fragment. To cut it meant she would need to hold the collar as well while she cut.

  “No,” Papa said, shaking his head. “No, dear. You’ll get hurt.”

  “Not if I finish quickly enough.”

  Besides, if Papa was willing to get zapped for their escape, should she be any less brave? She certainly had busted the men’s chops for not having the fortitude to see an escape all the way through.

  Finally, Papa nodded. “We might as well try.”

  Evie braced herself for the shock as he grabbed the metal collar. She tried as quickly as she could to saw through the wires, but the collar crackled with electricity. Her hand flew back as the metal fragment went flying across the cell.

  * * *

  Jake followed the woman down the hallway. She knocked twice at a door that announced “Keep out, or else.”

  “Enter,” the answer came.

  The woman opened the door on the teen’s bedroom. He was set up in a rocking gamer chair, playing his game on his sixty inch screen.

  “Tom, it’s the fuzz.”

  “It’s okay, Mom,” Tom answered.

  Tom waved Jake in as the woman lingered at the door as if worried about leaving Jake alone with her son.

  “He doesn’t answer to the man,” Tom reassured her.

  As Jake sat down in a gamer chair next to Tom, the woman closed the door.

  “Dawg, grab a controller and jump in.”

  Jake picked up a steering wheel controller and jumped into the game. They were racing at over two hundred miles per hour. The speakers, right at ear level, transmitted every scream of the transmission in Tom’s immersive gaming system.

  “Well, you were right on,” Jake informed the teen. “I figured out that the game is Master level serial killer.”

  “So kind of like a cross between Max Payne and Manhunt?” Tom asked.

  Jake nodded as he avoided a head-on collision with another car. He played, but his heart and mind certainly weren’t in it. He fell back into sixth position.

  “I’ve seen that look before,” Tom commented. “Thinking that the game isn’t worth finishing?”

  Jake shrugged. “Yeah, I am starting to feel like poor Herbie on his wheel. It’s just that… well… if it wasn’t for…”

  Tom nodded. “Ah, the princess.”

  “Yeah, the princess,” Jake admitted. He hated to admit that Evie had become the reason he was moving forward. Not to avenge Starvin’ Marvin’s other victims.

  “Show me a picture,” Tom asked.

  Jake got out his phone and brought up the photo of Evie with a bulldog puppy. It was perhaps her cutest.

  “A little to the left,” Tom said, still zigging and zagging to stay in first place. Jake made the adjustment. “Oh yeah,” Tom said appreciatively. “You are going to have to slay a few dragons for that.”

  Yes, he would.

  Jake’s phone rang, but he could barely hear it over the game’s noise. He turned his chair’s speakers off as he answered the phone.

  “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”

  Tom nodded as Jake answered. “Detective Braut.”

  “Are you at the river?” Brad asked.

  “No, why would I be—”

  “Dude, haven’t you heard?” Brad demanded. “They found a floater. Twenties. Female. Brunette.”

  Jake felt his heart drop into his belly. It couldn’t be.

  “Where? Exactly?”

  “Texting you a map right now,” Brad said.

  Jake waited until it came through. He hit “get directions” as he rose.

  “Sorry, Tom. I’ve got to jet.”

  “Bad news?” Tom asked.

  “Possibly game over.”

  * * *

  Andrew watched as Evie shook her hand out.

  “How’s that grand fucking escape going for ya?” Back asked.

  Evie walked over and picked up the fragment. “Damn it,” she mumbled, then looked up. “When’s lunch?”

  “Oh, we don’t get lunch. But dinner shouldn’t be too long.”

  “Great, just great,” Evie grumbled.

  “Guess you should have taken that bacon when you had the chance,” Door commented, accurately.

  “Andrew?” Evie asked. “Got any more of those cupcakes?”

  “Sorry,” Andrew said, showing his empty hands.

  “You had like ten of them,” Evie said.

  “Hey,” Andrew protested. “I’ve got a fast metabolism.” Besides, he didn’t see anyone else out there during the free-fo
r-all risking their lives to salvage the cupcakes. In the dungeon, it definitely was finders keepers.

  “God, I’m starving,” Evie said.

  Oh, Papa got that glint in his eye. “Bad choice of words!” Andrew shouted, but it was too late. Evie turned toward Papa, but the big man was already on the move. He leapt from his chair, then slammed into Evie, crushing her up against the bars. He outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. Her metal fragment flew from her hand, landing on the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Evie demanded of Papa.

  “Oh, I’ve been watching you,” Papa answered.

  Papa leaned down, grabbing the metal fragment. He then maneuvered the fragment to cut through his restraints. Once his hands were free, he stroked down Evie’s side, narrowly missing her full breasts. Evie squirmed, trying to fight him off, but the sheer weight difference didn’t let her budge an inch.

  “Don’t worry, dear. I won’t molest you. I need your body perfect for the transformation.”

  “You bastard,” Evie cursed then spat.

  “Such language,” Papa chided. “But I will purify you, don’t you worry.”

  Andrew couldn’t hear what Evie said, but she whispered something. Clearly, Papa didn’t hear either, as he leaned in. “What?”

  Evie whispered again, drawing Papa in even closer. This time, though, she bit his lip, drawing blood. If she thought that would dislodge Papa, she clearly forgot how many zaps Papa took to gain her trust.

  The guy was in it for the long game.

  Evie lashed out with a kick that got Papa to let go enough for her to dart from his weighty embrace. But how far could she get? Papa’s cell was locked again. She climbed up on the cot.

  “Child, it is time,” Papa announced, then lunged.

  Evie grabbed his collar, zapping them both. Papa had enough wherewithal to jerk the mattress out from under her. Evie went flying backward and landed hard. Papa rushed her, pinning her again. He banged her head against the wall over and over again.

  “Just remember that you made me do this.”

  Evie looked to Darion, who shrugged. “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.”

  Andrew wasn’t sure if she heard him, though. She looked pretty unconscious at this point.

  Stage one complete. Andrew could hardly wait for Starvin’ Marvin’s next stage. Again, Andrew really, really missed his popcorn.

  * * *

  Jake skidded his car to a stop, jumped out, and slid his way down the riverbank. There were only two uniformed cops guarding the crime scene. They hadn’t even had a chance to throw up crime tape yet.

  “Hey!” one of them protested as Jake charged toward the body.

  “Let me see her,” Jake said.

  The uniformed officer blocked his path though. “The coroner hasn’t cleared the body yet.”

  “Get out of my way,” Jake demanded. Clearly, they did not know everything he’d been through today. A stupid rule of protocol was not going to get in his way.

  He just charged past the cop and sank to his knees in the mud next to the body. She was the right height, weight and hair color. With a shaky hand, Jake reached out and grabbed the body’s shoulder and rolled her over. Hair covered the victim’s face.

  Tenderly, Jake swiped the strands away from her face.

  It wasn’t Evie! Like a bolt of lightning, the realization that this body was not Evie shot through Jake. Then relief flooded his body. He hadn’t realized how worried he’d been until this moment.

  “Oh thank God,” Jake muttered. Plus, the woman’s neck had been slashed, certainly not Starvin’ Marvin’s MO.

  He grabbed his phone and speed-dialed Brad. “It’s not her!”

  “Then you are going to love this news,” Brad said. “The tire tracks from the storage unit match the ones from the alley.”

  Jake rose and began the steep climb back up the river’s bank. “But that doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Hey!” the uniformed cop shouted. “Where are you going?”

  Jake waved him off. “It’s okay. We’re good.”

  “Aren’t you going to wait for the coroner?” the cop asked.

  “Naw. She’s not my vic,” Jake explained.

  “But she’s been murdered, right?” the cop challenged.

  “Not my perp either!” Jake shouted back as he crested the bank. “Sorry,” he explained. “Strict four-day work week!”

  He got to his car and turned his attention back to Brad. “Fill me in.”

  * * *

  Evie’s head felt like a split-open cantaloupe—if, you know, vegetables had feelings. Her vision was blurry, and for some reason her arms were aching like she’d done a thousand reps.

  Worse, someone’s hands were rubbing her down with what felt like bacon grease.

  She startled fully awake to find herself strung up by her wrists while Papa was in her face, slathering her with bacon grease. She strained against her ties.

  “Child, child, child,” Papa cooed to her. “You must let me anoint you, lest your skin dry and crack during your metamorphosis.”

  “What are you talking about?” Evie demanded.

  “I need to see your soul, dear,” Papa explained, as if he was telling a fairy tale to a small child.

  “You’re crazy,” Evie spat.

  Papa tsked. “Give you five, six days without sustenance, and all that hides your essence will be melted away. Then I will see your true face.”

  “Darion!” Evie cried.

  “Oh, what?” Door teased. “Now, he’s your go-to guy?”

  “Darion,” Evie begged. “Please, please. You’ve got to help me.”

  However, Darion didn’t even acknowledge her plea.

  “I think I’ll let Papa have his fun with you for a few fucking days, then we’ll get to my kind of fun, puta.”

  “No,” Evie sobbed.

  CHAPTER 15

  Jake inched the car forward, searching the surrounding warehouses as he spoke into his phone. “Brad, are you sure it is this block of Juniper?”

  “Yes, for the tenth time,” Brad said. “This is the area where I lost track of the traffic cam images of the van.”

  “I don’t see anything but closed businesses.”

  “I’m telling you,” Brad said. “This whole thinking-outside-the-radar really works!”

  Jake was glad that Brad was all pumped. However, that didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t find a lead anywhere around.

  “Still, Brad, there aren’t any lights on anywhere around.”

  “That’s the point,” Brad emphasized, for no apparent reason. “At this time of the night, there shouldn’t be hardly any energy usage. But damn,” Brad said, taking a breath. “This block is showing a huge spike in power consumption.”

  Jake continued down the block. The area seemed completely dark and deserted.

  “You are almost right on top of it,” Brad announced.

  Jake pulled to the curb and hit his head on the steering wheel.

  “What’s wrong?” Brad asked in his ear.

  Jake looked up to the sign on the building. “It is Thurman’s Ice Manufacturer,” Jake explained. “It’s an ice plant.”

  “Oh gawd,” Brad sighed. “Of course. They’d need energy to keep the ice frozen…I’m so sorry, Jake. I really thought I’d found a causative link.”

  Jake took in a deep breath. “It’s alright,” he said. “We tried.”

  Then he realized that it was dark, really dark. “Crap, what time is it?”

  “Seven thirty,” Brad responded.

  Crappity, crappity, crap. He had a date tonight with Candace.

  “Brad, look, I’ve got to get going, and you should go home and get some much deserved rest.”

  It sounded like Brad yawned from the other end. “There’s always tomorrow, Jake.”

  “Yeah, tomorrow,” Jake said as he started the car and put it into gear.

  * * *

  Evie tried not to look down or feel her skin. Or,
more accurately, her lard-covered skin. Even though Papa hadn’t done anything sexual to her, she still felt violated.

  Maybe it had taken a little more than ten minutes, but Darion’s words were ringing true. Papa was the worst.

  Then the metal door opened and Igor limped in, pushing the door cart with dinner. Evie’s mouth watered just thinking about it.

  “I’m sorry, dearest,” Papa cooed. “But there won’t be any food for you…ever.”

  “Igor!” Evie shouted. “Look at me! Look straight ahead.”

  Of course, the caretaker didn’t look straight ahead, or even at her. Instead, he spooned dinner into bowls. It smelled delicious. Even Darion was up, awaiting his portion.

  “Damn, Darion,” Back said. “You must be fucking hungry.”

  Andrew started clapping. “Oh, oh, oh, it’s stew! Oh, the ‘Zard always puts such big chunks of potatoes in, and the meat is so ‘melt in your mouth!’”

  “Please, please, please, Igor,” Evie begged, sobbing, trying not to smell the bacon grease coating her body.

  It didn’t matter, though. Igor just plodded along, passing out dinner. He came to Darion’s cell and leaned over to shove the dish into the slot when Darion charged the door, slamming it into Igor.

  The caretaker reeled back, nearly falling over backward.

  “Darion!” Evie screamed as Igor’s foot nearly lifted off the ground.

  Darion dove for Igor’s leg, his collar chattering as it went off. Luckily, Igor fell toward Door and the rapist caught him, holding up his weight.

  “Hold him up,” Darion encouraged.

  “He’s freakin’ heavy,” Door panted, as he got zapped, as well.

  Still, Igor struggled. Evie had to strain to keep herself turned toward the action. It was only a matter of time before Igor’s foot came up and it was all over in a fiery explosion.

  Then Andrew dove down, sliding his skinny arms through the bars, grabbing Igor’s foot and planting it firmly on the ground.

  “Got it!”

  Darion handed Andrew a wad of the cloth strips. “Tie him down.”

  “On it, boss.”

  Darion then started ladling stew out of the pot. He tried to hand one to Andrew.

  “Oh, no. Thanks, but the cupcakes spoiled my appetite.”