by Meryl Sawyer
They’d instructed the pilot to drop them off some distance from the house and not to fly anywhere near it. They didn’t want to alert Garrison. The chopper touched down, spooking a flock of birds that exploded out of the mangroves into the afternoon sky.
They hopped out and waved the pilot away. The chopper rose upward, leaving a swirl of dust in its wake. The put on their backpacks and ran through the thicket toward Garrison’s house.
“THIS IS MY LAB,” Garrison said, and there was no mistaking the pride in his voice.
The room had been converted from a four-car garage. It appeared to be as up-to-date as Holbrook Pharmaceuticals. Several computers lined the counter. One screen was running, numbers scrolling down with amazing speed. In one corner was a stainless-steel vat the size and shape of a bathtub. A faintly metallic smell hung in the air.
“I’m running a computer trial on a sea fungus I discovered,” he told Madison when he saw her looking at the computer. “It’s a fungus that could kill cancer in humans.”
“What about that bat saliva? Were you making it up?”
He smiled. Why hadn’t she detected the evil lurking behind his smile? “No, but you don’t know shit about science. You aren’t qualified to head a foundation. The saliva is already in advanced trials in Germany. It should be on the market next year.”
“Your father said neither you nor Savannah wanted to run the foundation.”
“The bastard never asked me.” Pure venom dripped from every word. “He assumed I wanted to continue with my own work. I do, but I intend to head that foundation. The prick wants to hand the foundation over to a half sibling who turns out not even to be related to him?” He shook his fist in her face. “Know how that makes me feel?”
“Why not just kill him? What on earth did you gain by killing innocent people?”
Again the twisted smile. “I like watching dear old Dad die day by day. Hope springs eternal, you know. He hoped you would be able to save him. Know what he told me? The old fart thought he saw himself in you. He was oh, so positive you were his child. I actually thought I had the biggest thrill when you told him that you weren’t his child. I believed it was better than killing you. Then you went after the job.”
“I swear I didn’t.” She barely recognized her own desperate voice.
“Doesn’t matter. Know what I learned about myself?”
She couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to know but if she stood a chance of surviving, she had to stall for as long as possible. She had absolute faith that Paul would figure this out and come after her. “What did you learn?”
He touched her chin with his index finger. “I enjoy killing. It’s a high that makes sex seem ordinary. Devising different ways of murdering people to elude the police gives me a major charge.”
Oh my God! She could only imagine what he had in store for her.
He nudged Madison forward. “Here’s what I wanted to show you. A very promising experiment.”
She took baby steps but soon she was standing in front of the stainless-steel tub. The metallic smell was wafting up from the red liquid. Beneath the surface was a stainless-steel mesh net. Her skin crawled as she looked at it. There was a piece of something submerged, just visible on the stainless netting.
“This is an enzyme made from the red tide. My discovery. It’s one hundred times more powerful than any man-made acid.” He pointed to the small black piece on the net. “Yesterday that was a hundred-and-twenty-pound German shepherd. Great dog. Adopted him from the pound.”
Her stomach, already churning with anxiety, heaved. She saw a dog like Aspen in the vat of something more powerful than—she wasn’t up on acids—lye. Tears stung her eyes until the vat swam through her field of vision.
“In another hour there will be nothing left. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Amazing thing about Neptune’s Treasure Chest, it keeps on surprising me. This solution dissolves everything—even teeth. There won’t be one trace of you left for your beloved Paul to find.”
Madison gagged on her own bile and brought her bound hands up to her face. She couldn’t imagine a more horrible death. Drowning in acid, then dissolving. Why hadn’t she told Paul she loved him when she had the chance? All the things she should have said streamed through her mind.
“The only things I’ve discovered that the red tide acid doesn’t destroy are stainless steel and Vaseline. Some things take time for it to dissolve, but it loves to eat people. Takes no time at all.”
“You don’t think I’m just getting in there, do you?”
“Of course not. I’m going to dose you with more chloroform and put you in the vat myself. I put you in the SUV, then hauled you into the house. No problem. But first I have to put on a full hazmat suit in case you splash. One drop of that acid will burn a hole in my clothes, my skin.”
Holding raw panic in check, she said, “Could I leave a message on my mother’s answering machine? I want to say goodbye and tell her how much I love her.”
His cackling laugh split the air. “You really think I’m stupid. You call your mommy from my phone. Later the police can hit star sixty-nine and get back to my phone.”
“No, no. I’m not underestimating you one bit. My cell phone is in my purse in the bedroom. I would use it. I would call the guesthouse and leave a message on that machine. She’d get it later.” Her voice cracked. “After I’m gone.”
He gazed at her with a sardonic expression that sent another chilling wave of panic through her. Madison knew she was minutes from an unbelievably gruesome death.
“Please let me call her,” she begged in a pathetic voice. “If you knew you were going to die, isn’t there someone you would want to say goodbye to?”
He shrugged. “Not really.”
“I love my mother. She suffered through my father’s death from cancer. She just came home. I haven’t seen—”
“All right! Shut your fucking mouth.” He grabbed her arm so hard that she almost cried out, but stopped herself in time. She had to make this one last call.
They trudged down to the bedroom. Garrison found her purse and pulled out the cell phone. He switched it on, saying, “What’s the number? I don’t know the guesthouse number.”
Madison told him the number. She’d been hoping he’d let her dial. She planned to call Paul’s cell and pretend she was speaking to her mother. She was going to get in Big Pine Key so he would know where to look. Not that she wouldn’t be half-dissolved when he arrived, but she didn’t want the bastard to get away with killing her.
Garrison handed Madison the ringing phone. Using both bound hands, she held it up to her ear. It kicked over to voice mail. “Mom, it’s me. I want to tell you—”
Ding-dong! The doorbell rang.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
What is a flashbang?
GARRISON STARED at her in astonishment. “Nobody comes here except UPS.”
Madison bolted through the small bedroom, tossing the phone to the floor. She streaked down the hall screaming, “Help! Help! Help!”
She heard the thundering footfalls of Garrison’s stylish loafers just steps behind her. She kept screeching, praying whoever was at the door would realize something terrible was happening. He grabbed her from behind just as she reached the living room. She felt the sharp blade of the pocket knife at her throat.
“Shut up or I’ll kill you this second.”
Whump! Whump! Someone was trying to break down a wood door that appeared to be very solid. Whump! This time the sturdy door cracked. Whump! Another whack and the door split open, showering splinters onto the floor and bringing in bright sunlight.
Paul tumbled into the room, almost fell, but righted himself. His revolver was aimed directly at them. Relief hit Madison physically. Her knees almost buckled and scalding tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t imagine how Paul had found her, but bless him, he had.
“You’re dead, Holbrook. You sick fuck.”
“She dies first unless you put down the gun.” Garrison’s calm voice re
vealed no sign of fear.
Despite the knife pricking her jugular, Madison began to speak. “I love you, Paul. Not just for finding me. I should have told you before. If he kills me, I just want you to know—”
“Oh, pul-leeze. Cut the bullshit.” Garrison waved the knife. “Put the gun down. You have two sec—”
Instead of following Garrison’s order, Paul put his free hand over his eyes. A half second later a boom like a deafening clap of thunder rocked the room. With it a blinding flash of light as bright as the sun exploded through the room. Garrison released her. Madison couldn’t see a thing and her ears were ringing, but she charged forward, knowing she had to get away from that lunatic.
She stumbled over the coffee table but Paul caught her in his arms. “It’s okay, honey. You’ll be able to see in about ten seconds.”
“What was that?” She assumed he had the gun trained on Garrison, who must not be able to see, either.
“A flashbang. It’s a type of a grenade, but when it explodes, it doesn’t release deadly shrapnel. A loud noise and lots of bright light distract and confuse people without hurting them.”
She felt him kiss her cheek, then heard him say, “Don’t move, you pervert. We’ve got two guns trained on you.”
“We’d love an excuse to kill you.”
Madison recognized Mike Tanner’s voice. Her vision was clearing a little. It was like looking through gauze, but she could see Garrison at the far end of the room. Mike was standing in the kitchen doorway. He must have come in through the back door and tossed the flashbang into the living room. She’d heard of them, of course, but experiencing one was quite different.
Garrison turned and dashed down the hallway, running in a zigzag pattern. Paul and his father fired simultaneously but missed. Madison knew even the most highly trained sharp shooter only had a fifty-fifty chance of hitting someone when they ran erratically. The men charged after him.
Madison almost slumped into the nearest chair, then realized they were heading for the garage where the corrosive acid was. She sprinted behind them, yelling, “Stop! Stop! Don’t get near the vat with the red water in it.”
She wasn’t sure they realized the danger. They were still chasing Garrison. She charged after them, her vision clearing, shouting at the top of her lungs. “The red stuff is acid. Stop! Paul, stop!”
They halted at the entrance to the lab. She ran up behind them. Garrison paused in front of the tank. “I choose my destiny. I’m not like my father, waiting around to see if someone can save him.”
“We’ll get you help,” Madison cried, although she couldn’t imagine what could be done for such a deranged person or why she was trying to rescue someone who’d been determined to kill her.
“Forget it,” Garrison said bitterly. “We’ll end this my way.”
He plunged into the vat of acid. A big splash sent a wave of water over the side and droplets shot into the air. The red liquid landed on the tile floor and instantly began burning into the tile. The plastered walls were already pocked from the droplets. The vat itself appeared to be boiling. Bubbles churned across the surface.
“He’s dead.” Madison barely heard her own voice over the ringing in her ears. She wanted Garrison dead; he deserved it. But watching another human being die left sourness in the pit of her stomach.
“Holy shit!” Mike said. “What is that stuff?”
“An enzyme Garrison discovered in red tide. Don’t get anywhere near it. We’ll need a hazmat team. Maybe we should call the FBI or some agency that is really experienced in hazardous materials. From what Garrison told me, the only thing this acid doesn’t dissolve completely is stainless steel and Vaseline.”
“I would rather have shot him,” Paul said, “than have to watch this.”
“Garrison brought me all the way out here to dissolve my body and not leave a trace of me.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” He pulled her into his arms and gazed down at her with tenderness and love in his eyes.
“Why are we standing here?” Madison asked. “Let’s go outside.”
“Good idea.” Paul handed his father the gun he was holding, then put his arm around her and led her down the hall and through the smashed door.
Outside, she held up her hands so he could use his pocketknife to cut the duct tape around her wrists. “How did you find me?”
“Thanks goes to Trey Williams. He had the smarts to send the poisoned candy to the FBI lab with a priority order. By noon we knew the poison came from a rare blue-ringed octopus. It clicked. Who else but Garrison?”
“Did he say why?” Mike wanted to know.
“He hates—hated—his father. He blamed him for stealing his surgical-glue idea.”
“Obviously, he was severely unbalanced,” Paul said, then ripped the tape from her wrists. “Sorry, I know it hurts.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple. Children need to feel loved. Wyatt is a good person in many ways but when he was younger, I don’t think he was a great father. His work was more important than his family. Savannah’s mother loved her and they related to each other because they were females. I think Garrison was odd man out and it began eating at his psyche years ago, when he was a child.”
“I agree. Feeling loved is important, but it’s not the only determining factor,” Paul said, and Madison knew he was thinking of his own childhood. “I think this guy was more than a little off.”
Madison rubbed her raw wrists. “Believe me, I don’t think there is a simple explanation. One thing I know for sure. I was really glad to see you. I thought my life was just minutes from being over when the doorbell rang.”
“Thank my father. We came in as a team. I knew he was going to toss a flashbang.”
“Thank you,” she told Paul’s father and the older man smiled.
“I was happy to help,” he responded. “We couldn’t wait for the authorities or a search warrant. We had to do this ourselves. We knew time was critical. Hired a helicopter and flew down here as fast as possible.”
“Speaking of the authorities, we’d better call Trey. Tell him to alert the FBI to see about their hazmat team,” Paul said. “Since Madison was kidnapped, they can be called in. I think we’re going to need them.”
While Mike used his cell phone to call, Paul and Madison walked over to the shade of a gumbo-limbo tree. She was jittery now; even Paul’s strong arm around her didn’t help.
“Do you have any water?” she asked. Her throat was parched and her tongue still felt swollen. She hoped the ringing in her ears would soon go away.
“Sure. I dropped my backpack by the front door. Stay here. I’ll get it.”
He returned with a heavy backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. She took it from him and opened it. The water was warm but she didn’t mind. It soothed her throat and tongue, but her nerves still jangled.
“What’s in there?” she asked, then finished the bottle.
“Knives, ropes, guns, pepper spray, another flashbang, screwdrivers, pliers, hammer, lock pick. Stuff my father packed. We didn’t know what we’d need when we got here.”
“You rang the doorbell. That startled him. Garrison was not expecting it. He said that only delivery men came here.”
Paul grinned, the smile that she loved so much. “My father’s idea. Get Garrison to the front door while Dad used a lock pick on the back door. I heard you screaming and busted down the door as quickly as I could. I thought he was killing you.”
“I didn’t know who was at the door, but I wanted whoever it was to know I was in trouble.”
“You have a real good set of lungs,” he said with a smile. “I came running once before. Remember?”
“I do.” She recalled how shocked she’d been to find Erin’s body. “Garrison admitted he killed Erin.”
“I’m sorry, honey. He was the worst killer I’ve ever encountered. I knew what he was capable of from his other murders. I was out of my mind with fear for you.” He rubbed his shoulder. “It’s going to be sor
e. That was one hard door to bust through.”
“You managed, and I’m so grateful. He was going to slit my throat any second.” She felt better after drinking the water. “I should call my mother.”
Paul took his cell off the clip on his belt and gave it to her. She dialed her mother’s cell but Jessica didn’t answer. Voice mail came on. “Mom, the killer’s dead. I’m with Paul. I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”
“You love me, too.” He kissed her mouth, caressing her lips more than anything. It wasn’t a sexual kiss. It was meant to reassure her. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but it doesn’t matter. We were meant for each other. You’re going to have to marry me.”
“Why, are you pregnant?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “You know, your sense of humor is one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place.”
“I don’t know how I can joke at a time like this.”
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “Cops often joke at crime scenes. Relieves the tension, cuts the stress.”
A car drove up to the house and a good-looking man not yet thirty jumped out. Paul introduced her to Trey Williams, then said he was going to take him inside.
“You’re not going to believe this. It’s one for the books.”
Paul was right, she decided. This was one for the books. She just hoped it didn’t destroy Wyatt Holbrook. She genuinely liked the man. To have your son do something like this would be positively devastating.
Garrison had a brilliant mind but he was delusional. How had that happened? she wondered. Could it have been prevented? Maybe, she silently conceded. A more nurturing childhood might have changed things.
She had to admit Wyatt—for all the good he’d done and intended to do—wasn’t always at his best with his children. He was often rude to Savannah when all she seemed to want was to please him. Madison knew she shouldn’t be sorry for Garrison, but she couldn’t help feeling that a valuable life had been lost. He could have made a major contribution to society instead of taking innocent lives just to pay back an uncaring father.