Host

by Robin Cook

  With a wash rag soaked in the cold water pressed against her mouth, Lynn pushed past Darko back out into the hall, turning off the light as she did. All the while she maintained a nonchalance she didn’t feel. The man had a feral smell of perspiration and tobacco that she found particularly repulsive. Darko didn’t try to stop her and seemed flustered that she went back into the study. They faced each other in the middle of the room.

  “Where would you like to sit?” Lynn asked, as if Darko had come by on a social visit.

  With a suddenness that took Lynn’s breath away, Darko grabbed the lapels of her bathrobe and yanked her face within inches of his, practically lifting her off her feet. She now could smell his heated cigarette breath as well as his body odor.

  “Enough of this shit,” Darko snapped with uncamouflaged anger. Then with an impressive shove, he propelled her backward onto the couch facing the fireplace. Her head hit hard against the back of the sofa. Had it not, she would have experienced whiplash.

  “That’s it!” Darko snarled. “No more games.”

  “Whatever you say,” Lynn said, cowering. She’d been shocked at how strong the man was, strong and vicious. Her nascent confidence of somehow controlling the situation and possibly being able to flee vanished in a new sense of helpless terror.

  “Now, listen, bitch!” Darko snapped. He was still holding the gun and was now using it to gesture in the air in a way that Lynn found particularly unnerving, since she could see that his finger was on the trigger. He leaned forward, crowding her space. Again she could smell and feel his hot, fetid cigarette breath.

  In a vain attempt to protect herself, Lynn pushed back into the couch and pulled the bathrobe tighter. Then she wrapped her arms around her torso, hugging herself.

  “You and your friend have pissed off a lot of people in high places,” Darko snarled. “It has to stop, completely stop, otherwise we will kill both of you.”

  There was a pause, although Darko did not lean back. He remained with his masked face inches from hers. He continued to stare at Lynn with his dark eyes as if daring her to either contradict him or move and give him a reason to shoot her on the spot. Lynn held her breath. She was frozen in place.

  “You understand what I am saying?” Darko questioned with somewhat less intensity. Then, after a short pause, he added with renewed venom, “Talk to me!” He slapped her again, causing her ears to ring all over.

  Lynn righted herself and nodded but couldn’t speak. She couldn’t take her eyes off the man’s yellow teeth, which were bunched together at all angles in his lower jaw. She was terrified he would hit her again, maybe even pistol-whip her with the gun he was still brandishing.

  “Not so cocky now,” Darko snarled. “Talk or I’ll shoot you!” He leaned back and slowly raised the gun to the point where Lynn could look directly into the barrel at the tip of the silencer.

  “What do you want me to say?” Lynn squeaked.

  “I want you to tell me you understand.”

  “Yes,” Lynn managed. “I understand.”

  “What are you doing in this house?”

  “Mr. Vandermeer and I were friends,” Lynn said in a shaky voice. “He gave me a key. Some of my things are here.”

  At that moment Pep reappeared, causing Darko to jump and briefly aim the gun at the animal. The cat nonchalantly made her way over to the club chair where she had been earlier and jumped onto it.

  “So you and Mr. Vandermeer were lovers?” Darko said, turning his attention back to Lynn. He lowered the gun.

  “Yes.” Lynn was relieved not to be staring into the gun barrel.

  “Okay,” Darko said. “Lovers or not, I don’t give a fuck, but from now on, you leave the investigation of his anesthesia problem to the hospital authorities. Let it drop. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  Darko straightened up. He then walked over to the desk, giving Lynn a moment of relative respite. He used the index finger of his free right hand to move some of the anesthesia segments around. “What is this?” Darko demanded. “Was this part of Vandermeer’s anesthesia record you cut up?”

  Lynn nodded again. A new fear gripped her, sending a shiver down her spine. What if this intruder found out what she had so recently discovered? As significant as she thought it was, especially now that she was being told to stop her investigations by this hoodlum, would he then kill her rather than just warn her?

  “Get over here!” Darko demanded.

  Reluctantly Lynn got to her feet. She momentarily felt dizzy but made it over to the desk.

  “What the hell were you doing cutting it up into pieces?”

  Lynn hesitated, her mind in high gear. She knew she had to talk or the man might strike her again. But she didn’t want to tell the truth. Instead she started to describe how the anesthesia machine monitored the patient’s vital signs, going into details that she either knew or made up on the spot. For more than five minutes she produced a word salad that would have made a true schizophrenic proud, never getting around to why she had resorted to scissors.

  “All right, all right!” Darko yelled. “Shut the fuck up!” He gave her a forceful shove that sent her stumbling back to the couch. She sat down and again hugged herself and crossed her legs in a vain attempt to feel protected. She saw him look at his watch. Wondering why, she glanced up at the clock on the mantel. It was past midnight. Was he expecting someone else to come?

  “All right, let’s review,” Darko said. “You and your friend are going to go back to being full-time medical students, am I right?”

  Lynn nodded, though she didn’t know how Michael was going to respond to threats of violence by this lowlife.

  “I warn you that if you don’t, we will kill both of you. You tell that to your friend.”

  Lynn nodded. She would tell him, all right.

  “Say it!”

  “Yes!”

  “Now let me add to the consequence of noncompliance.”

  All of a sudden Lynn recognized the man’s accent. It was Russian. Now that she had identified it, she didn’t know why she hadn’t earlier but assumed it was because of her terror. The accent wasn’t heavy, and the man was very fluent in English.

  “I know about your family. I know where your mother, Naomi, lives, and I know where your two sisters, Brynn and Jill, are going to college. I also know all about your friend’s family. If you don’t follow my orders, we will kill them all. I have killed many people in my life and a few more means nothing to me. Do we have an understanding?”

  The blood drained from Lynn’s face. She believed this blackguard implicitly. Up until that moment the idea that her family and Michael’s could be at risk from her actions had not even occurred to her. Now, suddenly, she knew differently, and saw the whole affair in a much more dangerous context.

  “Needless to say, the same consequence will result if you say anything to the police. In fact, if you tell anyone about our meeting other than your involved friend, you and everyone I named will be killed. Is that perfectly clear?”

  Lynn nodded. She wasn’t sure she could speak.

  “And one more thing,” Darko said. “After we are finished, I want you to leave this house and not come back.”

  “Why?” Lynn asked, finding her voice.

  “You are not in a position to ask questions,” Darko said. “Just do it.”

  “But I need to feed the cat,” Lynn said. She pointed to the sleeping pet.

  With a sidelong glance, Darko raised the pistol in his hand, aimed, and fired. There was a concussive hiss, and Pep’s body jolted. The cat raised her head briefly before collapsing.

  “Feeding the cat is no longer a requirement,” Darko said.

  Lynn’s lower jaw had dropped open. She couldn’t believe that this goon had just shot the cat.

  “Enough!” Darko said. “Time for fun.” He confidently laid t
he pistol on the desk before walking back toward the sofa. About three feet away he stopped. “Now I want you to take off that bathrobe.”

  A jolt went through Lynn’s body. This awful episode was not over. Afraid he would hit her again if she didn’t comply, she slowly untied the belt and then slipped her arms out of the robe, letting it puddle around her waist so that it still covered the lower half of her body. As she did this, she kept her eyes glued to the leering eyes of the intruder, fearing the worst. The man was disturbingly unpredictable, with lightning-fast reflexes and overwhelming strength, and she worried he would explode at any second if he sensed any resistance whatsoever. As a consequence she felt totally helpless, which was a new feeling for her. In the past, when she had pondered what she would do in a circumstance of potential sexual assault like she was now facing, she had thought that her own strength, athleticism, and years of kickboxing lessons would help. Now she no longer entertained the delusion. The man had her completely cowed, and it was apparent he knew, as he was secure enough to have to put the gun down.

  “All the way!” Darko commanded, arms akimbo.

  Lynn reluctantly opened the robe across her lap and pulled it aside. She was now completely naked. Despite the ski mask, she could tell the despicable man was smiling.

  “Now,” Darko said. “I want you to give me head!”

  36.

  Wednesday, April 8, 12:07 A.M.

  With a feeling of overwhelming disgust, Lynn tensed her muscles to move forward off the couch with the intent of getting to her knees. All sorts of things were flashing through her mind, such as making a mad dash for the gun or butting the man in the groin with her head or even biting off the tip of his penis, but she knew she would do nothing, out of pure fear for her life.

  Suddenly a high, piercing scream shattered the silence, making Lynn think she was about to jump out of her skin. She blinked by reflex and raised her arms to fend off a blow, but she wasn’t hit. Instead the intruder shot forward and plowed into her, crushing her against the back of the couch. The man’s arms had shot out on either side of Lynn to break his fall. A grunt of air escaped from his mouth.

  For a few seconds Lynn couldn’t move or even breathe for the sheer weight of the writhing mass bearing down on her. In the next instant she realized she was being pressed against the back of the couch by two men, not one, and there was a mad scramble for dominance. Someone had rushed into the room and tackled the intruder.

  Darko, too, had been caught from behind totally by surprise. With his extensive training and combat experience he knew that he was dealing with someone his own size or even larger. Using his honed martial arts skills, he was able to break the hold the attacker had around his chest as he and his attacker rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor. In the next second he was on his feet, but so was the attacker, who came at him again. This time the attacker had him face-to-face in a bear hug, and with his legs pumping, he drove Darko back against the wall of the room. Darko could now see that he was right. The man was bigger and more muscular. And he was black. But there was a good side: it was apparent the man was untrained in martial arts, as he was relying only on his body mass and strength.

  To Lynn’s shock, it was Michael! Oblivious to her nakedness, Lynn leaped from the couch and rushed for the desk. She had never handled a gun, but didn’t care. Reaching the desk, she snapped up the pistol with both hands, slipping her right index finger into the trigger guard. Spinning around, she pointed the gun at the two struggling men and ran over to a point several paces away.

  “Stop!” Lynn shouted.

  The men ignored her. They were momentarily locked in an embrace and strained against each other. Michael had Darko’s arms pinned to his sides.

  “Stop!” Lynn shouted yet again. To get their attention she fired the gun, unprepared and surprised by its recoil. She had aimed at a framed print hanging on the wall and had scored a direct hit. The combination of the suppressed sound of the gun and the tinkle of the shattered glass made the men pause. Michael let go of his hold on Darko.

  Darko responded like the professional he was. He delivered a sharp karate blow to Michael and in the next instant disarmed Lynn with a fearsome kick. His foot hit the pistol with such force that the gun shot up and glanced off the ceiling. It ended up near the fireplace with a clatter, snapping off the silencer. In the next instant Darko was gone.

  It had all happened so fast that for a second both Lynn and Michael were too stunned to move or even talk. They merely stared at each other. Michael was the first to recover, and he flew out of the room in pursuit. Lynn was momentarily frozen in place, holding her numbed hand with the other.

  Within seconds Michael was back. “He’s gone,” he said breathlessly. Lynn threw herself at him, sobbing in relief. The fact that she was naked didn’t even occur to her.

  “Hold off, girl!” Michael said. He pulled Lynn’s arms from around his neck and immediately went for the gun. As he did so, Lynn went for the bathrobe that was crumbled in a heap on the couch.

  Michael snatched up the gun and checked the magazine. There were still plenty of rounds available. He unscrewed the broken portion of the silencer and tossed it aside. He could tell the gun was operable.

  Lynn rushed over and again enveloped him in an embrace. For a full minute she just held on to him and again cried. After what she had been through, she thought Michael was heaven sent. A miracle.

  “It’s okay,” Michael soothed. His heart was pounding in his chest. His breathing was returning to a semblance of normal.

  Finally Lynn leaned back so that she could look Michael in the eye. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you,” she repeated. “How did you know I was in trouble?”

  “I didn’t,” Michael admitted. “But I wasn’t willing to take the risk to let you stay here alone. You were really stressed out on the phone. I called you right back as soon as I got rid of Vlad, but your phone immediately went to voice mail. Considering how stressed out you sounded, I suppose I thought the worst, like maybe you’d do something to yourself. I don’t know. I didn’t agonize. I ran over to the hospital and jumped in a cab.”

  “Thank God you did. But how did you know to come storming in here?”

  “That was easy. When I got to the front door, I could see someone busted in.”

  “That asshole was about to rape me!” Lynn said angrily, fighting back more tears. “You were in the nick of time.”

  “Do you have any idea who he is?”

  “I don’t! I couldn’t see his face under that mask. But I can tell you one thing that might not be a surprise. He had a goddamned Russian accent.”

  “Why would that not surprise me?” Michael asked. He was confused.

  “Wait till I tell you why he came in here and scared the hell out of me. But first let’s get the fuck out of here in case he or any of his buddies come back. I imagine he is pretty pissed at you for interrupting his fantasy, the prick. He was going to make me give him a blow job.”

  “We are not going to call the police?”

  “Hell no!” Lynn said. “This is all a lot bigger than a breaking-and-entering or even rape. I have a lot to tell you, but first, let me get my clothes. Come with me! I don’t want to be alone. And bring the gun.”

  Lynn rushed back to the master bath, where she’d left her things, and dressed rapidly.

  Michael followed close behind. He kept hold of the gun dangling at his side. “If we don’t report this, we might be considered accessories after the fact,” he said. “I just want you to know. And this gun might be hot.”

  “At this point I couldn’t care less,” Lynn said. Then, as she slipped on her shoes, she added: “Did you see Carl’s poor cat in the club chair?”

  “No, why?”

  “The bastard shot the cat for no reason,” Lynn said. “He killed the poor thing!”

  “Probably to intimidate you.”

 
“Well, it worked. The guy’s a narcissistic sociopath, loud and clear, that much I can tell you. He bragged about how many people he has killed.”

  “Should I call a taxi?”

  “No! I don’t want to wait around for a cab. We’ll take Carl’s Cherokee. I’ll get it back here in a day or so. But before we leave I want to put the study back together and get the poor cat out of the house. There shouldn’t be any evidence of a struggle. And what about the front door?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “How bad is it? Will it close?”

  “It’s off one of its hinges and the jamb is split near the striker plate,” Michael said, “but I think we can get it to close.”

  “It just has to look okay,” Lynn said.

  “Wait a sec,” Michael added. For the first time he noticed Lynn’s lip laceration and the welt on her cheek. “He hurt you, the bastard. Let me see!”

  Lynn waved him off. “It’s nothing. Let’s clean up the place and get the hell out of here!”

  37.

  Wednesday, April 8, 12:37 A.M.

  Michael and Lynn lost little time getting out of the house. Dealing with the study had been easy. They picked up the broken glass, doctored the bullet hole in the print so that it wasn’t visible except up close, and righted the frame on the wall. After a short discussion, they put Pep in a double trash bag with the idea of finding a garbage can or a Dumpster to get rid of it. Lynn was squeamish about the choice but couldn’t think of anything else in the press of time. The front door had been more of a challenge, but with Lynn pulling from the inside and Michael pushing from the outside, they got it back into its jamb and secure. It was literally wedged into place. Lynn had to use the back door to get out. They met up at the garage.

  With Lynn feeling shaky from her ordeal, she was happy to take Michael up on his offer to drive. Several blocks away at a construction site, they found a convenient Dumpster. At the last minute the gun and the broken silencer went into the trash bag with the cat. They were relieved to have gotten rid of it all.