by Frank Cereo
“No problem, enjoy your stay in North Carolina.” Trooper Edwards says as he walks back to his car.
I put my wallet back in my rear pocket. I make sure my safety belt is buckled. I turn on my signal light and proceed to merge into traffic. I look into my rearview mirror while Trooper Edwards is finishing up entering the stop into his daily log.
“They’re not on to me yet.” I say as I drive south towards South Carolina.
I drive the entire morning and into the afternoon. By two in the afternoon I am driving through Jacksonville, Florida. I am only about a half an hour away from St. Augustine. I stop for a quick lunch and to fuel up again. This time there are no altercations and no police. When I reach St. Augustine, I check into a motel and go to a garage to get my brake light fixed. Upon getting back to the motel I grab a light dinner and then it’s time to plan my next kill.
Tom Prior lives right on the Atlantic Ocean. How many people did he have to step on and ruin so he could live so high on the hog. I take a drive along the beach front property and find his house. I am amazed how the rich live. I park the car at the public beach and take a walk on the beach. I aimlessly walk down the beach and on the backside of his house. I can see an in ground pool with a hot tub off to the right. There are a few people on the back patio drinking while Tom is on the grill. It smells like steak as the wind is blowing towards the ocean. The wind carries the conversation and I am appalled at what they are talking about. The voices sound like there are more woman than men on the patio. They are giggling about sexual escapades that are going to happen after dinner. I know the man is a womanizer but I didn’t know to what extent. I make myself look busy by looking down at the sand looking for sea shells. I watch as Tom is groping the girl’s right on the patio. Then I notice he sees my down by the water.
“Hey you, get the hell out of here. This is private property.” Tom yells at me.
I know he hasn’t recognized me so I wave like I understand. I walk back towards the public beach where I find my car. I can see there is about an hour or so until sunset. I make my way over to a Denny’s where I order a burger and fries with a chocolate milkshake. I am on the quiet side so I don’t draw attention from anyone. After dinner I head back to my room for a quick power nap.
Chapter 13 – Tommy Two Face
All of a sudden, I am startled by my alarm on my cell phone going off. I look at the clock on the nightstand and it reads 10 PM. I get up and take a pee before washing my face with cold water. I look in the mirror and see the image of psychopathic killer. Eyes of death and a face that shows no remorse or forgiveness. I look harder at the image and it’s staring back at me. I can see the pleas of a man fighting to survive but I ignore those pleas. I go back into the bedroom and dress in shorts and a t-shirt. I don’t want to be conspicuous to the public especially in the warmth of Florida. When I leave my room I have a small bag containing my black overalls, sneakers and knitted hat. I lock the door to my room and drive down to the shore. I park my car in a parking lot on the side of a bar. The place is mobbed because it is a Friday night. The music is loud as I quickly change into my overalls. I remain in the car until the coast is clear and then I make my move. I get out of the car and grab my goody bag out of the trunk. I use the darkness as an ally and I stay away from well lighted areas. I cross the boulevard and walk onto the public beach. My eyes are scanning the entire area for bystanders that may identify me. I walk at a quick pace as I make my way to the shoreline.
“Nice jogging outfit.” A young adult says as he runs towards me on the beach.
“Yes it is. No better way to sweat out the calories.” I reply in a low voice.
I make it look like I am jogging. Tom’s house is about a half mile north of the public beach. There are a few people wandering around with their feet in the water but most of them are lovers and they are not paying any attention to me. When I reach Tom’s house the party is in full swing. The music is loud and they are dancing on the patio. They are having too much fun to even notice me as I move towards the house. There is one thing in my favor and that’s the tall grass in-between Tom’s house and the beach. I make my move and run towards the high grass. I find a spot and that’s where I will lay low until the time is right. The spot I land in is perfect because they cannot see me but I can see them. My goal is for most if not all the people to go home before Tom and I have one last conversation. As I spy on the party, I count seven people in all. Two males of which Tom is one and five hot females all dressed in lingerie. I sit and wait in the tall grass as it passes midnight. My legs are starting to cramp up from sitting in one position. Then I hear the other male say something.
“Hey Tommy boy another great party but Sharon and I are heading home.” The male says.
“That goes for Lois and me too.” A female says.
I sit back and wait as they start departing. I listen for the car doors to open and close. Then I listen to the car starting up and driving off. I can also hear Tommy and the other two girls getting a little friendly in the hot tub. When the second car drives away I get up from my hiding place. The first thing I do is stretch out. Then I make my way along the wooden walkway from the house to the beach. I climb up the five steps and open the gate and walk right onto Tom’s concrete patio. I look over and I can see Tom and the two girls in the hot tub. The brunet is riding Tom like she is at the rodeo. The Blonde girl is making out with Tom. The music is playing loud that they don’t even hear me walking towards them. I guess the water running through the jets is deafening especially when you’re involved in a vigorous game of intercourse. I walk right up to the hot tub and no moves out of their compromising positions. I just stand there and watch them for about two minutes and Tom is in Never-Never Land. Then I notice the girl riding Tom is the old Safety Manger from my business unit.
“You go girl,” Tom moans in ecstasy.
“Oh Tom, oh Tom,” The brunet moans as she moves up and down on Tom.
“Isn’t this just mind blowing? Hello Tom, hello Erin, and hello blonde” I say as my voice startles all three of them.
“What, who the hell are you and what are you doing on my property?” Tom says like a big man as he stands up.
“You know who I am and the reason why I’m here is to settle a score.” I say as I pull out my hand gun.
“I know you?” Tom says nervously.
“Yes you do and do you remember what you said to me when you let me go. Do you?” I yell in his face.
“No, I can’t remember what I said?” Tom stutters.
“You told me it was time for a change and I wasn’t the right fit.” I reply as I put the silencer on my handgun.
“Please it was only a business decision. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Tom pleads.
“It wasn’t a business decision it was a sexual decision because I see my replacement riding your cock in your hot tub.” I say with decisiveness.
“Freddy, you don’t have to do this.” Erin pleads.
“Erin where is your husband?” I say laughingly.
“He is back in New York with the kids.” Erin replies in shame.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha,” I laugh out loud.
“I don’t know what is going on here but I think this is between the three of you.” The blonde girl says as she steps out of the hot tub.
“You’re not going anywhere honey.” I say to the blonde girl.
“I am not getting,” The blonde girl says as she turns around to face me.
Before she can finish the sentence I pull the trigger and put a slug into her forehead. The bullet passes right through her head. I can see the red mist spatter onto the concrete patio as her body flings over. The blonde girl falls onto her back with her eyes wide open. A pool of blood quickly encircles her head for she was dead before she hit the patio.
“Oh my god you killed her in cold blood.” Erin says as she starts to cry.
“We’ve only just begun and I wasn’t expecting you to be here.” I say to Erin.
“You can�
��t kill me I have children at home.” Erin says while crying.
“You should have thought about them before you decided to fuck around with this asshole. Now get the hell out of the hot tub” I say as I shake my head.
“No, you’re not going to tell me what to do.” Erin says.
“You don’t seem to understand, I don’t care where I kill you!” I say while pointing the gun at her.
“Do what he says Erin, he is obviously not playing with a full deck.” Tom says as he wraps a towel around himself.
“You should listen to what the man says. By the way by looking at his little pecker he really can’t be providing you with any pleasure.” I say followed by laugh.
“Fuck you,” Erin says.
“No fuck you. You whore.” I say as I lift the hand gun up.
“Please don’t shoot me. I will give you anything you want. You can fuck me or I will give you a blow job. Whatever you want I will perform.” Erin says with concern.
“You just don’t turn me on.” I reply as I aim the gun at her left breast.
I look at Erin’s face and I see the frightened look of someone that is about to die. I wasted no time and fired the first shot onto her left breast. Erin falls backwards into the hot tub as the water begins to turn red. She flops around as she tries to get out of the hot tub. Then I fire the second slug and I hit her right breast. The splashing stops as Erin sinks to the bottom of the hot tub. The hot tub is now completely red, colored by Erin’s blood. I can see her face through the light in the water. Her eyes are wide open with a look of horror embedded in them. I look over at Tom and he is standing there with eyes and mouth wide open.
“I guess you know I mean business.” I say to Tom.
“I have all kinds of money. How much do you want?” Tom says as he backs up.
“All the money in the world isn’t going to buy your life back. You are going to have deal with the devil because for some reason you think walking on people and ruining their lives is a way to get to the top. When I’m done with you, you’re going to sink to the bottom of hell.” I say as Tom turns to run towards the walk that leads to the ocean.
I fire the gun and hit Tom in the back of his right thigh. He yells and screams while he falls to the patio.
“Please don’t kill me.” Tom yells.
I am so glad we are by the ocean because the crashing waves drown out his yells.
“Oh Tom, you’re not going to be as lucky as the ladies because I am going to torture your ass.” I say as I grab Tom by the wounded leg.
I drag Tom into the house where I drop him on the kitchen floor. I look at the path I dragged him on and I can see the blood trail from the door through the living room into the kitchen. I grab a kitchen chair and sit Tom in the chair. I tie his wrists down with duct tape and the same with his ankles.
“Please, if you let me go I won’t tell the police.” Tom says in despair.
“Either way you’re not going to tell the police anything.” I say.
With Tom tied down I open up my bag and pull out a hammer and a box of three inch nails.
“What, what are you going to do?” Tom asks nervously.
“You already tried to run away once. This will keep you in one place.” I say.
I put the first nail in the middle of his right foot. I drive it clean through on the first hit. Tom yells and screams in pain as I did the same to his left foot.
“How does that feel?” I ask sarcastically.
“Fuck you, you’re an asshole.” Tom says as he winces in pain.
“If you think that hurts wait until you see what I do next.” I say as I get back down by his feet.
I start with the little toe on his right foot. I lifted the hammer above my head and with all my strength I smashed it with the ball of the hammer. The toe splattered against the hard wood floor. Tom yells and screams for help as I line up the next toe and obliterated that one. Tom continues squirming in the chair and tries to get loose. One by one I went from left to right destroying each toe one at a time. When I reach the small toe on his left foot, Tom was close to passing out.
“And this little piggy cried wee wee wee.” I say as I smash his last toe.
“You fucking bastard I hope they kill you like the pig you are.” Tom yells hysterically.
“I hope so too because I have nothing to go home to. Mark my words every one of you high society fucks will get to hell before me. I will bet my life on that.” I reply.
I get up and walk over and grab a beer out of Tom’s refrigerator. I turn the bottle cap and take a deep long swig.
“Wow you would not think that torturing someone would make you so thirsty.” I say before I take a second swig of beer.
I start to look through Tom’s kitchen cabinets until I find the spice cabinet. There I find the salt shaker. I look over at Tom and he is out of it. I take the top off the salt shaker and pour the salt all over his destroyed toes.
“Ah shit, god that burns. You bastard you fucking son of a bitch.” Tom yells as the salt burns and brings him back to reality.
“Let’s see what should we do next?” I say as I pull out a pair of pliers and a mouth prop.
“Oh no, no way fucking you’re going to get that in my mouth.” Tom says.
“Watch me,” I reply.
I try to get the mouth prop inside Tom’s mouth but he fights me all the way. So I have to use some force by punching Tom square in the face two times. The second hit knocks him out cold. Then I put the mouth prop inside his mouth. This is a dentist instrument that keeps your mouth open so the dentist can work. What makes this even more fun is I am using a pair of pliers to get the teeth out. I am going to make this as painful as I can. The first tooth I latch onto is the left central incisor. Once I have a good grip I slowly pull and push the pliers. I can hear the bones in Toms upper jaw breaking until I tear the tooth out. This brings Tom back again as he tries to turn his head from side to side and stop me from getting the next tooth. So I push his head back with my left hand and grasp the right central incisor. It takes me a couple minutes to get this one out, but I manage. Tom has blood dripping down his chin and onto his chest. Tom is in and out throughout the entire procedure. By three in the morning I have extracted all 32 teeth. Tom is unconscious from all the pain he has endured throughout the night.
“I think this might wake him up?” I ask myself as I pour salt into his mouth.
“Ahh, ahh, ahh,” Tom yells as he whips his head from side to side.
“No more pretty teeth Tom, They’re all on the kitchen floor.” I say sarcastically.
Tom tries to say something but he mumbles because the mouth prop is still in place.
“Here let me help you with that.” I say as I pull out the mouth prop.
“You basthturd wait tiwll I get my hands on you” Tom tries to say as he cannot pronounce any words without his teeth.
“Hard time talking! I wouldn’t get used to it because it’s only temporary. You’re not going to need your teeth where you’re going.” I say.
“Fuck you,” Tom replies.
“Well it’s getting late and with all the fun I’m having here I am really getting tired. I guess it’s time for us to say our goodbyes.” I say as I clean off all my tools.
As I clean my tools off, I put them in my bag. Tom is fighting to get free but the tape is too tight. Upon completion of cleanup it almost a half an hour later.
“Well I have to be going.” I say to Tom as I start to walk towards the back door.
“Fuck you,” Tom says again.
“Oh I almost forgot, I need to kill you.” I say as I pull out my handgun.
Tom looks at me thinking he was going to survive this ordeal. I wanted him to think that but it was never part of my plan. I walked right up to Tom and look into his eyes. I put the gun back and set my bag on the table. I unzip the bag and pull out a small sledge hammer. The hammer has a massive head for smashing walls and demolishing things but its handle is the size of a regular hammer.
“This is going to hurt you more than it going to hurt me.” I say as I lift the hammer over my head.
Tom closes his eyes expecting the end of his life but I smash his right arm at the wrist. Tom yells out in severe pain. I match the left wrist followed by the upper arms on both sides. I look down at Tom and I can see the fight is gone. His eyes are closing as death nears. That’s when I decide it’s time to end this.
“Don’t forget to pay the ferry man Tom.” I say as I lift the hammer up over my head.
I swing the hammer down with all the force I can muster. I hit the top of his skull. Tom’s skull implodes upon impact sending flesh, brains and blood everywhere. The entire kitchen is showered including me. What’s left of Tom’s head slouches off to his left. I calmly walk over to the sink and wash off the hammer. I put the hammer in my bag and quietly walk out the back door. I walk down the beach towards my car. I drive back to my room where I strip down and put my dirty clothes into a bag. I take a shower and lay down to nap just as my cell phone starts to ring. I look at the screen and the unidentified number is calling me again just after I killed again. Against my better judgment I answer the call.
“Who are you and why won’t you leave me alone.” I say.
“Freddy is that you?” The woman asks.
“Who is this?” I yell into the phone.
“Freddy you need to come home now.” The woman says.
“Why do you want me to come home?” I ask
“The kids need and miss their father. Freddy are you there, can you hear me?” The woman rambles on.
“I can hear you and don’t you remember you walked out on me.” I say.
“Freddy, Freddy, Freddy, Freddy.” The woman says continuously as her voice fads away and the call hangs up.
“Hello, hello are you still there?” I ask but there is no answer.
I hang up my cell phone and look at the clock. The time is nearing five in the morning and I have a few more hours to sleep. In the morning I am checking out and heading to Houston. I set the alarm for nine thirty as I close my eyes. I can’t figure out who this woman is and why she is calling me. I don’t think she knows where I am and what I am up too. She has got to be a friend of my wife’s and they are playing a practical joke on me. I will straighten this out when I get home in a week or so. I still have some unfinished business in Houston Texas that I need to take care of.