The Maze

by Catherine Coulter

  Hannah didn’t even have time to ready herself before Erasmus hit her hard on the head with the butt of Lacey’s SIG. Lacey knew she’d lost it. Otherwise she would have forced herself to be silent.

  “I’ll enjoy cutting her throat,” Erasmus said, standing over an unconscious Hannah. She was drawn up in the fetal position. There was a trickle of blood from her nose.

  “So you will kill her,” Lacey said, and smiled at Marlin. “I’m not going into your maze. There’s no reason to. She isn’t leverage. You’re going to kill her too. You heard your sweet daddy.”

  Erasmus raised his hand to strike her, but Marlin grabbed his wrist. “Marty’s mine. I’ll handle her. Lookee here, Pa, a little druggie. You want to take care of her?”

  A young black girl, dressed in ragged filthy jeans and an old Washington Redskins jersey, with holes in the elbows, was crouched by the door of the warehouse, her eyes huge, knowing she was in the wrong place and knowing too there was nothing she could do about it. Erasmus walked to the girl, took her by the neck, and shook her like a chicken. Lacey heard the girl’s neck snap. It was unbearable. She closed her eyes but not before she saw Erasmus toss the girl aside like so much garbage.

  “I’ll see if there are any more scum inside,” Erasmus said and slid through the narrow opening into the huge derelict building. The area was godforsaken, bleak, an air of complete hopelessness about it. All the buildings had been abandoned by people who had just given up. All were in various stages of dilapidation. There were old tires lying about, cardboard boxes stacked carefully together to cover a homeless person. It was the nation’s capital and it looked like the remains of Bosnian cities Lacey had seen on TV a while back.

  Marlin took her chin in his palm and forced her face up. “Guess what, Marty?”

  “My name’s Lacey.”

  “No, you’re Marty to me. That was how you came on to me in Boston. That’s how you’ll go out. Guess what I found?”

  She just stared at him mutely.

  He pulled her Lady Colt out of his pocket. “I remembered this little number. This is the gun you shot me with in Boston. You were hoping I’d forget, weren’t you? You wanted to blast me again, didn’t you? Well you aren’t going to do anything now. I win, Marty. I win everything.”

  “You won’t win a thing, you slug. I’m not going to walk into your maze.”

  “What if I promise you that I’ll let her go?”

  She laughed. “Your daddy’s the one who’s going to kill her, Marlin, not you.”

  “All right, then. I have another idea.” Marlin twisted her chin, then slapped her. “Come on, Marty, Show Time.”

  Erasmus came out of the warehouse, dragging a ragged old man by his filthy jacket collar. “Just one, Marlin—this poor old bastard. He’s gone to his reward. I bet he’d thank me for releasing him if he had any breath left.”

  Erasmus lowered the old man to the rotted wooden planks outside the warehouse, then kicked him next to a stack of tires. “Take your girlie, Marlin, and have her walk the walk. I want to get out of this damned city. It’s unfriendly, you know? And just look around you. People ain’t got no pride here. Ain’t nothing but devastation. Don’t our government have any pride in their capital?”

  Marlin smiled down at Lacey, raised the .44 Magnum, and brought it down on the side of her head. She was hurled into blackness before she hit the ground.

  “Now, I’ve got to do this just so,” Marlin said to his father as he leaned down over Hannah. “Yes, just so. I can’t wait to see her face when she finally comes to the center of the maze, when she finally comes to me.”

  Four local police cars cruised in silently, all of them parked a good block from the warehouse. Men and women quietly emerged from the cars, Lewis Jacobs bringing them to where Savich had just arrived in a taxi, a tall middle-aged black man next to him.

  “Jimmy Maitland will be here soon, along with about fifteen Special Agents,” Savich said quietly. “Now, here’s what we’re going to do.”

  • • •

  Lacey awoke slowly, nausea thick in the back of her throat, her head pounding. She tried to raise her head, just a bit, but the dizziness brought her down. She closed her eyes. Marlin had struck her with a gun over her left ear, the bastard. Harder this time than in Boston. He’d probably laughed when she was unconscious at his feet. She lay there silently, waiting, swallowing convulsively, praying that Dillon had found her message, but knowing in her gut that she had to depend on herself, not on some rescue. Where was Hannah?

  It was deathly silent in the huge gloomy warehouse, except for the sound of an occasional scurrying rat. The air was thick and smelled faintly rotten, as if things had died here and just been left where they’d fallen. Her nausea increased. She swallowed, willing herself not to vomit. There was a small pool of light in front of her, thanks to Marlin.

  There was also a ball of string.

  Think, dammit, think. He had her gun, both her guns. She looked around very slowly, wondering if he or Erasmus could see her. There was nothing she could see to use as a weapon, nothing at all.

  Except the string. She came up slowly onto her knees. She still felt light-headed, but the dizziness was better. Just a few more moments. At least he’d removed the ropes from her hands and feet. At least she was free.

  She heard Marlin’s eerie voice coming from out of the darkness. “Hey, you’re awake. Good. It took you long enough, but my daddy said I was just too excited to be patient. Marty, listen to this.”

  Hannah’s scream ripped through the silence.

  “I’ve got her here, Marty, at the center of the maze. This was just a little demonstration. Don’t panic on me. I just hurt her a little bit. She must have a real low threshold of pain to scream when I just jerked her arm up. Now, if you don’t get here, she won’t be quite whole really soon. You start moving now or I’ll start cutting off her fingers, then her nose, then her toes. Hey, that rhymes. I’m good. Now, I’ll work up from there, Marty, and you’ll get to hear her scream every time I take my knife to her. I won’t cut her tongue out until last. You’ll hear everything I do to her. Too, if she just gargles when I cut her, that wouldn’t be any fun.”

  She stood up, the string in her hand. “I’m coming, Marlin. Don’t hurt her. You promise?”

  There was silence. She knew he was talking to Erasmus. Good, they were together. She didn’t have to worry about Erasmus watching her from a different vantage point.

  “She’ll be fine as long as I know you’re on your way. Move, Marty. That’s right. I can see you now.”

  But he couldn’t, at least not all of the time, just at those intervals where he’d managed to place mirrors. She began wrapping the string around her hand. No, this wouldn’t do it. She had to double the string and knot it every couple of inches. She redid it as she walked, clumsy at first, gaining in proficiency and speed as she tied it again and again. She was nearly to the beginning of the maze and the string would run out. She prayed she’d have enough.

  “I’m coming, Marlin. Don’t touch Hannah.”

  “I’m not hurting her now, Marty, just keep walking toward my voice. That’s right. You using the string, Marty? That’s part of the game, you’ve got to use the string.”

  “I’m using the string.”

  “Good. You’re a smart little bitch, aren’t you?”

  She drew a deep breath, then called out, “Oh yes, Marlin, you fucking little bastard, I’m so smart I’m going to kill you. Count on it. And no one will miss you. Everyone will be glad you’re in hell where you belong.” She stepped into the maze.

  “Don’t you talk to my boy like that, gal, or I’ll take a whack at you myself after he’s through.”

  She heard them talking but couldn’t make out any words.

  Marlin said, “I just told my daddy I was right. Yes, I was right all along. You have a dirty mouth. He heard that bad word you said. You deserve my kind of punishment.” He laughed, a full, deep laugh, but there was something in it, someth
ing that sounded vaguely like fear. Was that really fear she heard? She’d hurt him once, surely he hadn’t forgotten that, but she couldn’t imagine why he’d be even faintly afraid now. She was alone. She didn’t have a weapon. Still, she had no other options. She decided to push. “Remember how it felt to have a bullet in your gut, Marlin? Remember all those tubes and needles they stuck into you at the hospital? You even had one in your cock. You remember that? Remember how you just lay there whimpering, all gray in the face? You looked so pathetic. You looked like a beat-up little boy. I looked at you and I was really glad I’d shot you. I hoped you’d die, but you didn’t. You’ll die this time, Marlin. You’re a crazy fucker, you know that?”

  “I’ll pay you back for that, Marty.”

  “You little bastard, you couldn’t pay back anything. You’re a coward, Marlin, and you’re afraid of me. Aren’t you? I can hear it in your voice. It’s shaking. You’re worthless, Marlin, you’re nothing but a loser.”

  “No!” He was heaving now, she could hear him, heaving from rage. “I’ll kill you, Marty, and I’ll enjoy every minute of it. You deserve to die, more than any of the others.”

  “Let me take her out, boy.”

  “No! She’s mine, and this one too. I want both of them. You know this other one cusses all the time. Yes, I want both of them. Just you wait and see how well I slice them up. You’ll be proud of me, Pa.”

  He was screaming and pleading with his father, both at the same time. He was really close to the edge. “I’m the best slicer in the world, not you! I’m the best!”

  Lacey walked very quietly, the knotted string wrapped around her hand. He’d built the maze very well. She hit two dead ends and had to retrace her steps.

  She called out, “Marlin, it looks like you finally learned how to build a proper maze. I just hit the second dead end. Too bad you’re so fucking stupid that your daddy didn’t teach you how to build a really good maze way back when you were young. It took you long enough to learn, didn’t it, you pathetic little fucker?”

  “Damn you, bitch, shut up! Don’t you talk like that! I know you’re doing it on purpose to make me mad, to try to make me lose control, but I won’t. I know you don’t talk like that all the time. Do you? Damn you, bitch, answer me.”

  “That’s right, you little jerk. It’s all just for you, Marlin, you miserable stupid fuck.”

  “Damn you, shut up!”

  His voice was trembling. She could imagine him nearly frothing at the mouth with rage. Good.

  Her voice rang out cold and calm. “Why the fuck should I?”

  “I’ll kill you now, Marty. I’ve got my Magnum right here, all ready to go. You walk faster or Hannah’s going to lose her pinky finger.”

  “I’m coming, Marlin. I told you I would. Unlike you, I keep my word. Only a coward would hurt her and you’ve been swearing to me you aren’t a coward, right?”

  He was breathing really hard now. She was close enough to hear his rage, nearly taste it. It smelled sweet, coppery, like human blood. “No, I won’t hurt her. Not yet anyway. You’re first, Marty, just you. I want you, then I just might be satisfied.”

  She walked into a narrow pool of light. She carefully held the string at her side. “Where’s your daddy, Marlin? Is he lurking around one of the corners of the maze? He’s a coward too. You got it all from that precious father of yours, didn’t you?”

  “I ain’t lurking no place, girlie,” Erasmus shouted out. “I’m just letting my boy do what will make him happy. You just do what he wants, and I won’t skin you.”

  “Did you skin your wife, Erasmus? After you slit her throat or before?”

  “Ain’t none of your business, girlie. You just come along now, you hear me? I want to get out of this place, it ain’t comfortable. It makes my skin crawl.”

  “Yes, I hear you.” He was on her left, some thirty feet away. Marlin was only about ten to twelve feet away, at about ten o’clock. Imagine anything making Erasmus’s skin crawl.

  She’d wrapped about six lengths of string around her hand. String, she thought. All she had was a handful of string to take out two killers with three guns. She loosened the string, making it into a large enough circle so she could loop it over Marlin’s head. No, it had to be even bigger. It took time.

  She felt the bile of terror in her throat and swallowed. She couldn’t, wouldn’t give up until he killed her. She thought of Dillon. He’d go nuts if Marlin killed her.

  He’d already had one woman he loved leave him.

  She wasn’t about to let Marlin kill her.

  36

  THE LIGHT was steady now, becoming brighter with each step she took. It was from a narrow beam of light that he’d strung some eight feet overhead. She was nearly to the center of the maze now. She heard Hannah moan. She heard Marlin’s breathing. Hannah moaned louder. The moans weren’t from pain. Hannah was giving her directions. Yes, both she and Marlin were at about ten o’clock. She could picture him standing there over Hannah, the Magnum in his hand, a big smile on his face. Waiting for her. He couldn’t wait. Where was Erasmus? Had he moved at all?

  “Hannah? Can you hear me? Are you all right?”

  “I’m all right, Sherlock.” Then she moaned again, a nice lusty moan. “The bastard just kicked me.”

  “Hang in there, please, just hang in there.”

  And she knew that Hannah was thinking frantically. She knew whatever she tried, Hannah would help her if she could.

  There was no sound now except for Marlin’s jerky deep breathing.

  Had Dillon found her message? Had he even gone to her house yet? Of course he had. She swallowed. Nearly there. Nearly to Marlin.

  She walked into bright light, two spotlights shining directly into her face. She shaded her eyes with her right hand. In her left hand was the string, ready now, if only he didn’t see it, if only she had time and opportunity.

  “Hello, Marty,” he said, nearly gasping with pleasure. “You’re here.”

  He was standing beside Hannah, his chest puffed out, looking very proud of himself. He looked happy. His eyes were dead and glittered. He was grinning at her.

  She grinned back at him. “Hi, you little fucker. How’s tricks? Have you killed any more women since you escaped from that madhouse in Boston?”

  He lurched, as if she’d gut-punched him. “It wasn’t a madhouse!”

  “Sure it was. It was the state madhouse.”

  “I was just there to talk to some shrinks, nothing else. I was just visiting for a little while.”

  “If that judge hadn’t been such an idiot, they’d have you right now in a padded cell. You know what else? They’d shackle your legs together and walk you right out of your padded cell to the electric chair. Then they’d fry you. It will still happen, Marlin. Can you imagine the pain, Marlin?”

  “Damn you, shut up! Be quiet! Show some respect for me. I won, damn you, I won! Not you. You’re just standing there, nothing going for you this time. I’m the big winner. You’re nothing, Marty, nothing at all.”

  “That’s right, Marlin, you’ve won. Even though you haven’t had any women walk to the center of your maze since your escape, you’ve still managed to kill very dangerous and very heavily armed homeless people and teenagers. That’s real big of you, Marlin. Real manly. You make me puke.”

  “No, that was my Pa!”

  “Same difference. You’re his very image.”

  He was panting now, trying to hold himself back, and she pushed harder. “You know what, Marlin? I once thought you were pretty good-looking. You know what you look like now? You look like you’re ready to drip saliva from your mouth. Is that true? Are you ready to froth at the mouth, Marlin? I’ve never seen a sorrier excuse for a man in my life.”

  He snapped. He ran at her, the knife raised. Hannah jerked from her left to her right side, whipped up her bound legs and tripped him. He went sprawling, sliding on his stomach almost to Lacey’s feet. She was on him in an instant, looping the thick knotted string arou
nd his throat. She had her knee in the small of his back, pulling back on the string, bringing his face off the wooden floor. She knew it was cutting deep into his neck.

  “Hannah, where’s his gun?”

  “Hannah can’t get it, Marty.”

  She turned slowly to see Erasmus holding Hannah’s head back at an impossible angle. He had her hair wrapped around his left hand. His right hand held a twelve-inch hunting knife to her throat. “Let my boy go, Marty.”

  “I will if you release Hannah. Now, Erasmus.”

  He shook his head slowly. The knife point punched into Hannah’s skin. A drop of blood welled up and trickled down to disappear into her running top. Lacey saw no fear on her face, what she saw was some kind of message in her eyes. What?

  “You release him real slow, Marty, or the knife goes all the way in.”

  “The knife goes all the way in, Erasmus, and your sweet boy here is dead.” She twisted the string. Marlin gurgled. His face was darkening. She jerked back his head so his daddy could see him. He thrashed with his arms and legs, but he couldn’t dislodge her.

  Erasmus screamed, “You bitch! Loosen the knot! You’re choking him, he’s turning blue!”

  Suddenly, Hannah sent her elbow back with all her strength into Erasmus’s stomach.

  He yelled, loosened his grip just a bit, just enough so Hannah could roll away from him and that hunting knife.

  There was a single shot, loud and hot in the heavy silent air. Erasmus took the bullet in the middle of his forehead. He stared toward Lacey, surprise widening his eyes even in his own death. Slowly, so very slowly, he fell forward. Hannah rolled out of his way. He landed on his face. They heard his nose break, loud and obscene in the silence.

  “Pa! Damn you, you killed my pa!”

  Marlin jerked back, grabbed Lacey’s wrists and pulled her over his head. She landed on her back, winded. Marlin was on her, sitting on her chest, leaning into her face, his knife right under her nose.