“Bad weekend, huh? Since you didn’t call, I supposed the man you had in custody wasn’t the Avenger?”
“Nope. It was another false lead, just like all the rest of them. Hi, Cindi. Did you girls have fun?”
“We had a ball. What do you think about my hair?”
Dan looked to Andrea for help. It looked the same as it did the last time he saw her. “It looks great, Cindi. The highlights really brighten up your face.” He mouthed a “thank you” back to Andrea for her previous assistance.
“I can’t believe you noticed. Brian will never get it. Andi’s right, you are wonderful. You don’t think she did too much, do you?”
“I think you look perfect.”
“Out of the way, Andi, I’m taking him home with me,” Cindi joked.
“Sorry, he’s already taken,” she teased back. “Your outfits look great. You’re going to have a ball next weekend. Tell Brian we said hi and I’ll see you in the morning.”
Cindi honked as she drove away.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Andrea whispered.
“For me? You do?”
“Yes, I do. I hope you like it.”
“From the sound of your voice, I think I’ll love it. Let’s get these bags inside.”
“Greedy, aren’t you?”
“Just missing you, Andi. I didn’t realize how much I had come to depend on you. Your instincts have always been right on.”
“Not too much, or you would have caught him by now. Don’t worry, Dan. This, too, shall pass.”
“Hopefully, I’ll get the Avenger before that happens.” Dan noticed the Victoria’s Secret bag as they deposited Andrea’s possessions on her bed.
She picked it up and smiled, then slid her tongue over her lips. “I’ll be back in a minute. Why don’t you pour us a drink?”
Dan moaned. Images of Andrea dressed, or undressed, in various outfits cavorted through his mind. When it became clear she wasn’t going to move until he left, he pleaded, “Can’t I watch?”
“Oh, you’re going to watch all right. I just want it perfect for you. Out.”
“You are perfect.”
“Sorry, Dan, flattery won’t help you now. But it will postpone your surprise.”
Dan grumbled as he went to the kitchen to pour them both a drink. Damn, that woman drove him crazy! He’d never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her. Was it real? Or was she filling the void he desperately needed to fill right now? She was definitely the one bright spot in his life. With this Avenger case taking much of his energies, it was nice to have someone to come home to at night. Come home to, Dan repeated. It sounded so nice. Could he make it work this time? Could he make it work with Andi? He needed to catch this Avenger and put him away, so he’d be able to concentrate on their relationship before it slipped through his fingers.
“I hope this sinful creation takes that horrible scowl off your face,” a soft voice whispered, as Andrea—clad in a skimpy red satin and black lace teddy—leaned seductively against the bedroom door jam.
“Oh, God, Andi. You’re beautiful.”
“Come here, Dan. Show me how much you missed me,” she coaxed. Her emerald eyes sparkled with the same fiery desire that rosed her cheeks and coursed through her veins. “My how you’ve changed me, Lieutenant Mallory; I’ve never been this bold or brazen or confident in my life. I need you and I want you. Now. Here. Tonight. Forever. I got into this sexy garb, so it’s up to you to get me out of it.”
No sooner were those words spoken than Dan was standing before her, his blue gaze undressing her before his hands did so. His love and lust dazed mind voiced, No matter what happens tonight or who calls, nothing and nobody will pull me away from you. He made love to her as if it were the first, last, and forever time.
Monday morning, August 20th
“They found Greene’s dog at the pound,” Mory told Dan as he sat down at his desk, his good and relaxed mood noticeable. “I called them ten days ago and asked them to notify us if a dog matching his description was turned in. He was dropped off unharmed this morning. Guess we shouldn’t waste our time looking for clues on him after this length of time. Too bad he wasn’t found sooner. The dogcatcher picked him up as a stray. He didn’t have an ID collar.”
Tracy Daniels knocked on the door just then to alert the officers to her presence. “I just came by to check on the program. How’s it working for you?”
“We haven’t entered the latest names yet. We were kinda busy over the weekend,” Dan told her
“I know.” At the questioning look Dan sent her, Tracy responded, “Evelyn Binder goes to my church. It didn’t take long for the gossip about his affair and visit to the jailhouse to spread throughout the congregation.”
“Oh,” was all Dan said.
“Do you have any more names or information you’d like me to enter? Maybe this time it will turn up something new,” Tracy offered.
“Sure. Mory, can you give Tracy the additional names we want added? I’m heading over to the District Attorney’s office to search back a few more years. Maybe this revenge is older than we thought. Maybe it’s more recent, and the case was just recently dismissed. If I can find the case that triggered this Avenger, I can find him and anyone who’s associated with him.”
“Sure,” Mory responded. “We can handle this, can’t we, Tracy? Tracy? Are you okay? You’re as white as a sheet. Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just felt a little dizzy there for a minute. My blood sugar must be low or something. I’m suddenly not feeling so well.” Of course not, her mind screamed. What if they found out about her? She’d lose all her credibility and more. She wouldn’t be allowed to work with the sheriff’s department or on this case. Damn! She couldn’t let that happen.
“Maybe you should go rest for a while and come back later,” Mory was saying.
“Just let me grab a coke and crackers and then I’ll be fine. There’s a machine down the hallway, isn’t there?”
“Let me get them for you,” Dan offered.
“I can handle it,” Tracy snapped, more sharper than she intended. “Sorry, Lieutenant. This blood sugar is just a hassle and I get aggravated when people try to baby me about it. One of those childhood scars we all carry. I guess.”
“No problem. If you feel you’re up to it, you can work with Mory while I’m gone. Maybe you’ll have the Avenger’s name highlighted by the time I get back.”
“Let’s hope so,” Tracy mumbled as she exited the office.
Dan dialed the number for the District Attorney’s office and asked for Andrea. “I know this is another long shot, but I think the case might be older, or maybe more recent, than what we’ve been focusing on. Can I come look at the files for the last four years, and any that are pending right now? I know that’s a lot to ask at last minute, but is that possible? I want to find a case that stands out from the rest, maybe look at the ones where the female victims were murdered. The Avenger has to be in there somewhere.”
“I can get the girls to start pulling files, but I won’t be here this afternoon.”
“What’s going on this afternoon?’
“Well, once a year, as much as I hate it, I have to go to the doctor. If I don’t, I can’t get that prescription refilled, the one that guarantees I don’t have any little Andi’s running around nine months later. But I’ll see what I can do before I leave. Those for the last three years where the victims were murdered haven’t been filed away yet, because we’re working on them now. You can pick those up anytime. The rest should be ready by tomorrow or the next day.”
“I’ve got less than two weeks until September first. I want to have this Avenger behind bars soon. I’ll give you a call this evening and see how your visit went. Maybe we can get some dinner tonight and go over the files later at your place. You might be able to help point me in the right direction.”
“Sounds fine to me, Dan. I’ll call you after I get home and showered.”
“See you t
onight, Andi.”
“Bye, Dan.”
Chapter Nineteen
Monday afternoon, August 20th
The last thing Alan McCleary remembered was lying down to take a nap. Had Mother come back from the grave to punish him for being bad? His head pounded and he couldn’t think straight. He slowly opened his eyes. Oh my God, I’m blind! Was his first thought. But he realized something was secured around his head and something was stuffed into his mouth, nearly cutting off his air supply. Maybe that was why he was so confused, not enough oxygen was getting to his head. When he tried to move his hand toward the place that was sending shock waves to his brain, Alan felt the ropes that bound him to the bed. Then he grasped he was naked, and deathly fear set in.
Mother had tortured him many times when he had done something she didn’t like, and she had been brutal in her punishments. He hadn’t been able to consummate a relationship with a female because of his childhood nightmares. Until Tippi. She had been different. When he took her out, he got an erection for the first time. But Tippi hadn’t wanted to do anything on their first date. That had pissed him off because he feared it might be his last erection if he failed to use it. He had pleaded with her, tried to romance her into submission, even promised to marry her, but nothing had worked on that selfish and stubborn bitch. She had been as mean and tormenting as his mother was. Just kept telling him “no” over and over. Threatening him to “behave”. Ordering him to take her home. Swearing she was going to call the police. About to scream for help. About to deny him needed sex. Salvation from denial and torment. She had made him angry, so angry. He had to force her to succumb to his wishes. Just as Mother had always forced him to do her bidding.
He hadn’t meant to hurt Tippi, but she had driven him crazy and wild with her refusals and fighting. She was to blame for what he did, not him. Then, Mother had forced him to move to Augusta with her. That was when he met Glenda and gotten his second erection. But Glenda wouldn’t obey him either. She had forced him to punish her like he had punished Tippi. That time, the police had come and hauled him away to jail. The doctors, his lawyer and the judge had said he was crazy. They had put him in a mental hospital. At first, he had loved it there where he was safe from Mother. He had told them about all of the bad things Mother had done to him since birth. But he never told anyone about Tippi.
Tippi, he had never forgotten her. He had needed and wanted her again. Locked in the cage in the basement. Ready to appease all his dark desires. Ready to feed his great hunger for her. Until she was all used up.
He had learned to fool the doctors and tests so he could get out and find Tippi. Doctor Pickett had believed his mind was healed when he released him from the institution last week. Dr. Pickett had been wrong. Duped. The bad dreams were back worse than ever. They seemed so real this time, especially those involving the execution of his Mother and revenge on Glenda.
Alan quaked in terror as the harsh and frigid voice whispered behind him. It wasn’t Mother trying to scare and harm him. It was that Avenger he had read and heard about since his release.
“Alan, you are a very bad man. You must be punished for the brutal and wicked things you’ve done. You didn’t learn anything in that crazy house. Did you? You copped an insanity plea and escaped justice. But you aren’t crazy. You’re just pure evil. Your daddy was the devil himself. And your mother was a demon. You are their spawn. Your sister is lucky she escaped this madness long ago. You’ll join them in Hell for the sins you’ve committed. But I must make sure you’re punished here on Earth. You didn’t really think you’d get away with what you did to Tippi, did you? Yeah, I guess you did, since the courts and hospital turned you loose. But thwarted Justice has a friend on her side: Me.”
Alan heard the belt lash out before it struck his back. The sounds sent his thoughts reeling back in time. Three. Four. Five. Six. Finally he stopped counting and just let his mind wander to the safe place. The place where he washed himself in Mother’s blood. The place where he bathed in Tippi’s and Glenda’s blood. He had discovered Glenda’s address. He would beat and slay her soon. He had to be careful. He must not get caught again. But he didn’t know Tippi’s location. He would search for it and her later. He would—
“No tears, Alan? Doesn’t this hurt? Not for a tough guy like you. You’re used to this, right? Did Tippi cry when you whipped her? Did she beg you to stop? You didn’t listen to her, did you, Alan? You just continued to assault her while she lay helpless. Just like you did to poor Glenda. Are you listening to what I’m saying? Alan, you’re not answering me. That really pisses me off, you bastard. Maybe you can’t hear me with the cloth over your ears. Let’s see if I can fix that.”
The Avenger took the t-shirt from around Alan’s head, leaving the gag in place to keep him silent for a while longer. The captive’s eyes remained shut. “Can you hear me better now, Alan?” The Avenger grabbed his left ear. “I asked you a question, devil spawn, can you hear me now?” When Alan still didn’t respond, a sharp hunting knife was used to slice off the ear that was grasped between gloved fingers. Blood spurted from the wound as the Avenger repeated the previous question, “Can you hear me now, Alan? You’d better answer me or I’ll take the other one, too. Hopefully, I got the right one this time, the one that wasn’t working earlier.”
Alan nodded as tears coursed down his face. He tried to stop them, but he couldn’t. Mother had always gotten angrier every time he cried, so he had learned early on to stem the flow until he reached the privacy of his own room. If she heard the sobs through the door, Mother would come back to give him “something to cry about”. Tippi and Glenda hadn’t been able to stem the fear that had coursed through them when they saw his penis grow larger and larger. At first he had been shocked and terrified to watch his cock return to life and grow rapidly. Then, he was pleased and excited. He was aroused. It ached for pleasure, not pain. It demanded revenge on a woman. But never his sister. She was lucky she escaped before the worst horrors began. Mother had whipped him on his private parts when she saw the engorged member. Tippi and Glenda had screamed their terror. He had given them something to make them really scream, just as Mother had done to him.
“Did Tippi cry when you sliced off her ear? The doctors told her they couldn’t replace it. Not that it would matter much to her anyway. She’s comatose now because of what you did to her. She hasn’t spoken since she saw herself in the mirror in the hospital. You’ve spent time in a crazy hospital. Now you’re out. But Tippi is still incapacitated and most likely will remain there until the end of her natural life. You remember Tippi, don’t you, Alan? She was the girl you attacked and mutilated in Atlanta five years ago, the one you brutalized before Glenda. You didn’t get caught for that crime because Tippi went into a coma and couldn’t expose you to the police. When I read what you did to Glenda, I knew who had hurt my sweet Tippi. They should have executed you, but you fooled them. While you took a little vacation at that hospital, I waited here for your release so I could punish you. Remember Tippi now?”
Alan convulsed at the sound of his first love’s name, but refused to open his eyes to face the wrath of his new Mother. Tippi had been the first one who had made him feel like a man. Mother had stripped that from him with her repeated humiliations. Tippi had restored him, and this vile creature dared to say her name? Now that he was out, he had planned to find her. They would kill themselves as Romeo and Juliet had. They’d send a message to everyone that they really loved each other and wanted to be together forever. He shouldn’t have hurt Tippi, only Glenda.
The belt struck again. And again. Over and over it made fresh lacerations over the previous ones. Deeper and deeper the leather bit into his flesh until he cried out in agony.
“Did Tippi cry when you whipped her? Did she beg for mercy? Beg you to stop? She didn’t need you to stop any more than I need to stop. But, I must, for now. I want you to be awake for the rest of our time together. You are Pure Evil, Alan. I am Necessary Evil. I am Justice. I am Revenge.
For Glenda. For Tippi. I am the Preventor and Protector. You will never injure another woman. Or Tippi again.”
He heard the Avenger move behind him and felt tacky fingers roughly grab the spongy flesh on his rear end. Without warning, something was pushed inside of him. He experienced searing pain as the object moved in and out with vicious force and speed. His muscles throbbed in the same rhythm as the man’s weapon attacked his anus. Fingers grasped handfuls of his red hair and jerked until his head was pulled back so far he feared it would snap off. But the onslaught didn’t stop. More strands were yanked out as the rectal ride continued without mercy or hesitation.
“Did she cry when you pulled out most of her hair? Tippi had such beautiful, long blond hair. All the girls envied her growing up. All the boys wanted to date her. But no one wants to see her now. The sight of her own reflection put her in a catatonic state.” The Avenger clenched another handful of hair and tugged until it came out in a large clump. When Alan was nearly bald, his brutalizer finally released the semen into his rectum and stepped back.
Alan had wished his mother dead many times, but his revenge had been suppressed by his fear of her. No longer. She had died while he was locked away in the institution. She could not keep him from doing what he must for him and Tippi to seek their eternal peace together. Even with the scars from their loving, the marks of his possession, the marks that were supposed to keep any other man from stealing her from him, she was beautiful. She was the first woman who had seen his erect cock, besides Mother. She was the only woman for him, not Glenda. He must have her or go crazy.
The Avenger walked around to Alan’s head and leaned forward to whisper, “Look at me, Alan. Look at me. I am your real judge, jury and executioner.”
The nearly bald man turned his head toward the left, but intense pain shot through him as he rubbed against the place where his ear had been. Turning toward the right, he made crying sounds to let the new Mother know he couldn’t do that.
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