Mare's Nest

by Larry Darter

  "There will be a road on the left coming up. Turn on the road when we get there. A few minutes later the road appeared, and I turned the ute onto the road and kept driving. The road narrowed and became rougher with thick trees and underbrush on both sides. After a little less than 2 miles, we came to a clearing and a weathered wood frame hut.

  "Stop here and turn off the ignition," Morton said.

  I stopped the ute and turned off the engine.

  "Now give me the key," Morton said. I handed it to him. He pocketed it.

  "What now?" I said.

  "I'm getting out, but you stay in the truck until I tell you to get out," Morton said.

  Morton opened the door and walked around the front of the ute to my open window.

  "Twist your body until your back is to me," Morton said. "Then put the palms of your hands on the roof of the truck and keep them there. I did, hoping to avoid him bashing me on the head again.

  Once I was in position, Morton put a scarf or something, over my eyes. I could feel him knotting it at the back of my head. Unable to see now, my position became more precarious.

  "You can take your hands off the roof," Morton said. "Now take your clothes off, all your clothes."

  "I won't," I said. Rage was starting to build in me, along with a bit of panic. "You're mad if you think I will."

  "Listen to me, O'Sullivan," Morton said. His voice was menacing. "The clothes are coming off. You can take them off yourself, or I'm going to drag you out of the truck and beat you senseless. Then I'll take them off myself."

  I felt conflicted. The interior of the ute and the blindfold restricted movement. It was unlikely I could mount an effective attack on Morton without getting shot or bashed. But I wasn't keen to disrobe for him. Morton spoke again.

  "I'm only taking your clothes to make escape more difficult," Morton said. "Don't flatter yourself, O'Sullivan. I don't intend to rape you. Cooperate and save yourself a beating."

  I decided to cooperate for the time being. Another head injury wasn't something I was keen to experience. Cooperating with Morton now meant he wouldn't hurt me yet. That allowed me something of a chance to fight back and escape later. I pulled the singlet I was wearing off over my head. I kicked off the trainers I was wearing and shimmied out of the cargo pants. Then I sat still.

  "The underwear too," Morton said. "Take them off, or I'll cut them off."

  Swallowing hard, I tried to maintain control. With reluctance, I removed my bra and then the undies.

  "Very good, O'Sullivan," Morton said. "You saved us both a lot of trouble. Now get on your knees in the seat facing the window and extend your hands out with your wrists together."

  Now he's going to bind my wrists. I'd gone along with him thus far. So, I got my knees under me and used my hands to find the window. I extended my hands with my wrists touching. I wanted to give the appearance of compliance. But now I intended to gain a bit of an edge for later. I closed my hands in fists with my knuckles pointed toward the sound of Morton's voice. I pressed my fingers together. I pulled my elbows to my sides and kept my wrists as close to my stomach as I could without appearing to resist. I felt rope on my wrists. Morton made several wraps around my wrists and then tied off the rope. Morton made the rope tight and the binding secure, but the way I had presented my wrists created a gap between them. Later, when I relaxed the rope would be a bit looser than Morton intended. I hoped that would make me able to free my hands.

  "Very good, O'Sullivan," Morton said. He sounded satisfied. "See how much better it is when you're cooperative. Now you can get out of the truck. We're going to go into the house and have a talk."

  I heard the door of the ute opening. Morton took me by the upper arm and hauled me out of the ute onto my feet. I wasn't a prude by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I felt mortified at being bound and nude in the presence of Morton. There was the rancid taste of bile in my throat. At the moment I was at his mercy and had never felt so helpless. I felt dirt under my bare feet as he pushed me forward.

  "Take a step up," Morton said. When I did, I felt the surface under my feet change from dirt to rough wood. After several steps, Morton yanked my arm bringing me to full stop. I heard a key going into a lock and then heard the squeak of old hinges as a door opened. Morton tugged on my arm, and I stumbled a bit, tripping over the door threshold. Morton's grip on my arm kept me upright. Even with the blindfold, I knew we were inside the hut I'd seen earlier. I sensed we were no longer in sunlight. Morton guided me forward a few more steps. He pulled me to a stop and then let go of my arm.

  "Stand there," he said. I sensed him moving away. I heard something scrape across the wooden floor and then a creaking sound. Morton had sat down on a chair. It seemed I was to remain standing.

  "Now we can have that talk," Morton said.

  "Why did you kill Kathleen and Allison?" I said.

  "I didn't have any choice. If I had released them, they were going to go to the police. They were going to say I kidnapped Allison for the ransom, that is was all my idea. They were going to say Allison managed to escape, but then I showed up at their house and kidnapped them both. It would have been my word against that of two rich bitches. Who do you think the police would have believed? I'd have lost the money, and I wasn't going to let that happen."

  "It's only a matter of time before the police get you," I said. "You're a murderer. They will never stop looking for you."

  "I have a plan for that," Morton said. "That's what I need you for, O'Sullivan."

  "Me?" I said. "You think holding me hostage will dissuade the police?"

  Morton laughed. "That's not the plan at all. I need someone else for the murders. That's where you come in, O'Sullivan."

  "Me?" I said. "How do you propose to shift the blame to me?"

  "Easy," Morton said. "You're going to write out a confession for the police. You're going to tell them you killed Allison and Kathleen for the ransom money. The police will have to take your word for it. Everyone is dead now that knows the story except for you and me."

  In spite of my predicament, I laughed out loud. "You are mad, Morton. Not everyone is dead. Ken is still alive, and I know he was in on the scheme."

  "You're right, O'Sullivan. Almost everyone then, but I have time to take care of Ken. And, yes he was in on it. Ken and I have known each other a long time. He is the one who recruited me to help Allison pull off the fake kidnapping."

  "The other thing is that I'd never write out the bloody confession for you, rat bastard."

  "I'm going to change your mind and you will, O'Sullivan," Morton said. "I saw you and your new friend at the hotel. I've seen her before. She's a pilot. Jackie something isn't it?"

  "She isn't involved in this, Morton," I said. "I only hired her to fly me here to look for you."

  "Then I'm sure you don't want Jackie to get hurt," Morton said. "As a little encouragement, in a few minutes, I'm going back to town to snatch Jackie from the hotel. I'm going to bring her here. Then you are going to write that confession. If you refuse, I'm going to take off your blindfold. Then I'm going to hurt Jackie while you watch until you decide to cooperate."

  "You're filth, Morton," I said, utter filth."

  "Sticks and stones, O'Sullivan, sticks and stones," Morton said. "You think I give a damn what your opinion of me is?"

  "Say I write out the confession," I said. "What then? Will you leave Jackie alone? Will you let us go?"

  "None of that matters," Morton said. "All you need to know is this, O'Sullivan. If you don't write the confession, I'll kill your friend while you watch. And, I'll drag it out as long as possible so that she suffers. Then when I'm finished with Jackie, I'll do the same to you. If I don't get off the hook for the first two murders, a couple more won't make any difference."

  I knew two things. I'd write the bloody confession before I'd allow Morton to hurt Jackie. But, I couldn't give in yet. I also knew he intended to kill us both after I wrote it. It didn't take much imagination. I reckoned he woul
d shoot me in the head and stage it to look like a suicide. He'd leave the gun with my body that he used to kill the Shaw women with for the police to find. The police might believe it. They would keep pursuing Morton and arrest him if they found him. But, the confession might be enough to get him off. He would dump Jackie's body somewhere on the island where no one would find her. Even if I wrote the confession out now, he'd still go after Jackie because he didn't know how much she knew about all this."

  "I won't write any confession, Morton," I said. "It seems you will have to carry out your threats."

  "You'll change your mind when I get back with Jackie," Morton said. "But, first I've got to make sure you will still be here when we arrive."

  I heard the chair creaking again as Morton stood up. I sensed him walking behind me. I felt another bit of rope sliding between my wrists. The rat bastard pressed his body tight against my bum while he worked. It became clear that he was tying more rope to that on my wrists. Once he finished, he stepped away from me. I heard the sound of rope dragged across something. My wrists went up above my head. Morton pulled on the rope hoisting my body upwards until I was standing on my toes. Then the hoisting stopped, and I heard Morton working with the rope, tying if off I expected.

  "There that should hold you until I return with Jackie," Morton said. "I'm afraid it will be a little uncomfortable for you. Better hope I'm not gone long."

  "Piss off," I said.

  Morton laughed again. "A bitch to the last. But you know O'Sullivan, I have to admit you have a great body. I'm a little turned on looking at you."

  "Fuck off, you perverted bastard," I said.

  Morton laughed again. I'm leaving. I'll be back in about an hour with Jackie, then I'll give you the chance to write that confession. If you don't, then we'll all have a little fun."

  I heard Morton's footsteps on the wooden floor. The door opened and then slammed shut. I heard the ute start up outside and the sound of the tyres on dirt as it drove away. He had left me in a bit of a mess.

  Chapter 26

  MY ARMS AND SHOULDERS were already fatigued to the point of pain. I was feeling more self-loathing. Why had I stripped without a fight instead of making Morton knock me unconscious? But there was no time for a pity party. I had act. I had to free myself now before the fatigue became worse and rendered me helpless.

  I felt there had been enough slack to allow me to slip my hands out of the rope before Morton had hoisted me up. But now the rope around my wrists was in a bind, and too tight for me to slip my hands out. I first had to remove that bind before I'd be able to do anything else. I grabbed hold of the rope suspended from the ceiling. I hoped I'd be able to climb the rope until I could grasp the beam or whatever Morton had suspended it from above me. With my wrists tied, I was only able to get the thumbs and a couple of fingers of each hand around the rope. I gripped the rope as hard as I could and tried to lift myself up.

  Progress was scant at best. It seemed I was moving up only a millimeter at a time. But, the bind on the rope around my wrists was starting to lessen a bit. As the bind relaxed, I was able to move up the rope a bit further with each new grip. I kept going. After what seemed like an eternity, my fingertips touched rough wood. I reckoned the ceiling must be the open type with exposed beams. I wanted to try and grab hold of the beam. If I could only pull myself up, and get on top of the beam, I was sure I'd be able to slip my hands out of the rope. But, I couldn't work out how to let go of the rope to do it without falling back down.

  As I clung to the rope the fatigue and pain in my arms and shoulders got worse and worse. I knew I couldn't hang here much longer. Then I lost my grip and fell.

  The next minute I was on the floor moaning. My knees hurt like hell. I must have landed on them. I was laying on my right side on the floor. As the pain subsided, I realized my hands were free. Falling a meter or more must have been enough force to snatch my hands out of the rope. Things hadn't gone as planned, but I had sorted it. I was free. I reached up and pulled the blindfold off.

  The interior of the hut was dusty and a mess. Someone must have abandoned it before Morton moved in. I pushed myself up off the floor with care. My knees still hurt. When I was on my feet, I looked down and saw I'd scraped both when I fell. Both were bleeding a bit. But, I found I could walk and walking seemed to help a bit. The interior of the hut was one open room. There was a small bed in one corner with sheets and a blanket on it. There was an ancient cook stove in what served as the kitchen area. There were cardboard boxes stacked along one wall. I saw something familiar on the floor next to the bed. I went for a closer look. It was the backpack that Morton had taken from me in my hotel room. I picked it up. It was empty now. Where was the money? Was it with him in the ute?

  After opening several of the boxes, I accepted the money wasn't in any of them. Some held books, some clothing, and some other personal belongings. The boxes I surmised had been here when Morton arrived, not stuff he had brought with him. I looked about for a weapon. There were no knives in the kitchen, and none of the handguns from the backpack Morton had taken off me. There was an ancient wardrobe against one wall. I looked in all the drawers which were empty except the bottom one. It contained an old claw hammer with a wooden handle. That it seemed was as close to a weapon as I'd get.

  At the back of the hut, there was another door. I walked to it and found it locked. I turned the lock and opened the door. In back I saw a worn dirt footpath. It led into thick stands of trees and underbrush like that I'd seen on the side of the road when I'd driven Morton here. The footpath disappeared after entering the trees. I walked down the cement steps and followed the footpath. It made twists and turns through the bush whenever it encountered large trees. I followed it for about twenty or thirty meters. Something off the right side of the footpath caught my eye. I walked toward it and found a spot of freshly turned dirt. Did Morton bury the money here? The diggings bore further investigation. But, not now. It would have to wait. I followed the footpath back to the hut.

  Back inside, I went to one of the boxes I'd opened and searched before. I'd found some fishing equipment in it. I was already organizing a plan, and there was something in the box that I wanted. I pulled out two spools of monofilament line. One spool was bright orange line. The other was a light blue line. It was near transparent. I started back towards the door with the fishing line, intent on visiting the footpath again. But, I stopped. I heard a vehicle. The engine was getting louder which told me it was approaching. Was Morton returning already? Had I gone unconscious after the fall? It seemed Morton hadn't been gone for more than a quarter hour. I didn't have the time to put my plan into action. I'd have to change the plan.

  I hurried over to a kitchen bench, dropped the fishing line on it, and picked up the hammer I'd found. I hurried back to the front door. I put my back to the wall to the side of it, the side where the door would conceal me from view when Morton opened it. I glanced at the back door. Good, I had left it open.

  Morton would see I was no longer hanging where he left me the instant he opened the front door. Then he would see the open back door and assume I'd done a runner. With luck, he would hurry through the front door towards the back, and I'd have my chance with the hammer. My stomach was in knots when I heard the ute stop out front and the engine switch off. I held my breath. I heard footsteps on the wooden porch. I watched the doorknob turning. It seemed Morton hadn't locked it when he left earlier. The door started to open. It swung open then, but not far enough to touch me where I stood behind it. Morton didn't seem to be in a rush at all. He must see I was no longer suspended from the ceiling beam and the open back door. But for a long while, there was no movement at all. Then I saw it.

  The gun came into view from behind the open door. I could see the hand gripping it, but nothing more. I decided to wait until Morton's wrist appeared and then I would bash it with the hammer. With luck it would break the wrist and Morton would drop the gun. With luck, I'd be able to snatch it up from the floor before the shock
wore off. I raised the hammer over my head, ready to bring it down with all the force I could muster. I waited ready to pounce. The wrist appeared, and I started my downward swing. But, then I noticed something odd. The wrist. It wasn't a man's wrist. It had registered only a fraction of a second before I'd struck. Then a woman came into view from behind the door. It was Jackie.

  "Jackie it's me!" I said. Jackie whirled toward me with the gun pointed at my chest. Only afterward did I realize how close I'd come to her shooting me. She was as frightened as I was when I shouted. Then she recognized me.

  "T. J. what the hell?" Jackie said. "Why are you naked?"

  I reached out and grabbed her in a hug, stifling a sob. "My god, I'm so happy to see you."

  We embraced for several moments. I struggled to regain my composure, and Jackie struggled as much to recover from the fright I'd given her. After several minutes we let go of each other.

  "Morton made me strip before tying me up," I said. "He reckoned it less likely I'd do a runner while nude. My clothes are in the ute he's driving. For fuck's sake, Jackie. How did you find me?"

  "He didn't think you would run away while naked? He must have never seen one of those slasher movies. Anyway, I remembered something I wanted to tell you after we split up to go to our rooms," Jackie said. "I was on my way to your room when I saw you come out your door with a man behind you. I didn't have a good look at him, but I feared it was Morton, so I stayed hidden behind a corner. I watched you both walking away. I could tell by your body language something was wrong. Once you reached the parking lot at the side of the hotel, I moved that way. Then I got a good look at the man's face when he got in the Toyota on the passenger side. I recognized Morton, and I saw the gun."

  "Did you follow us?" I said.

  "Yes. I ran back to your room and found the Jeep keys. I then ran to where we had left it. I took off the direction I'd seen you drive away in. When I got to the edge of town, I could tell from the dust clouds that you had continued straight on the road and I followed. I stayed well back so I wouldn't tip Morton off that I was following. I didn't have to see the truck, I had only to follow the dust cloud."