by Laura DeLuca
“Oh no, my dear. Unfortunately, there’s no escaping for you. Not this time.”
Rebecca flinched away from him, terrified. Her mind was whirling, but it was hard to think when her head was pounding and that damn music kept playing. She desperately wracked her brain for some way to escape. She even considered trying to make it to the window, but she wasn’t sure she could survive the three-story drop to the cement below. The one thing she wouldn’t even let herself think about was what the two lunatics planned to do with her.
“Speaking of Justyn,” Livy said casually, completely ignoring her efforts to get to the door. “I’ll need your phone, Becca, dear. Justyn’s class will be ending soon, and we wouldn’t want him getting home too early. It would ruin all my fun.”
Rebecca shook her head. “No way. You can do what you want to me, but there’s no way you’re going to hurt Justyn!”
Livy rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be so stupid, Becca. I don’t want to hurt Justyn. I just don’t want him interrupting our little game.”
Rebecca shook her head again, more empathetically, and backed into the corner by the dresser. She had no idea what game Livy was planning, but she’d be damned if she was going to be a docile, willing participant. Livy only took her maneuvering as more proof of her weakness and grunted in annoyance and disgust.
“Ugh, you are so pathetic!” She turned to the man in the mask. “Get the phone. I can see it in her pocket.”
The man nodded and crept closer to Rebecca’s corner. As she watched his slow, agile approach, she was instantly brought back to that day in the woods. The same mindless panic started to surface and that same almost animal-like instinct to survive. The dark mask loomed over her, leering. His cold eyes watched her, and he must have recognized the determined look on her face. He didn’t wait for her to fight back. He knew better. He pulled out his knife and placed it against her throat before she had time to think of any type of defense.
“Why not do what Miss Clairoux suggests and give her the phone?” he whispered. “Why make things any more difficult…or painful than they need to be?”
He yanked her hair so hard that she cried out. Sobbing, feeling the blade pricking her skin, Rebecca gave in. Maybe it was for the best. As awful as it would be for Justyn to come home and find her lifeless body, it would be even worse if they killed him too. For Rebecca, that would be a fate far worse than her own death. So with trembling fingers, she pulled her phone from her back pocket and held it out to them. Livy immediately ripped it from her hand and flipped it open.
“Now, let’s see,” Livy pondered aloud. “I can’t have you call him, all whiny and babbling. He’d pick up something was wrong right away. Thank goodness for technology. Anyone can send a text message. It worked well enough when I stole Frankie’s phone and sent you that little note today. I bet you never even doubted for a minute that it was really Justyn. It should work just as well with him, don’t you think? Especially when it’s coming from your own phone. What do you think about this?”
She pressed a few buttons, then, smiling at her handiwork, held the phone up for Rebecca to see what she had written.
Starving! Grab us some burgers from White Castle? Please?
“What do you think, Becca? White Castle is all the way on the other side of town. It’ll take him at least another hour to get there and back on his bike.” She sneered. “But we all know Justyn can’t deny his little sweetheart anything. That extra hour will give us more than enough time to finish what I started.”
“Justyn won’t be tricked by your lies, Livy! He would never…”
Rebecca stopped herself before she said more. Livy might have just sent Justyn a warning, but Rebecca couldn’t give that away. She had to let her think she held all the cards. Livy wore a confident, cocky sneer as she shut down the phone, making it impossible for Justyn to get through if he tried to call back. She wasn’t worried at all that her plan might backfire, and it was better if it stayed that way. Rebecca forced herself to silence and clutched the ammonite pendant Justyn had given her against her heart. If it truly bound them as he said, maybe he would sense she was in trouble.
“Get her out of that corner,” Livy ordered. “We have work to do.”
Again, the man followed her demands wordlessly, and Rebecca had to wonder what power Livy held over him. He yanked Rebecca up from the ground and tried to pull her from the relative safety of her corner, but he had to move the knife away from her throat to do it. That gave Rebecca a little more freedom to fight his grip on her. He grunted with disgust at her lame struggles and finally jabbed her in the side with his blade. The more she squirmed, the more the point of the knife pressed into her skin. She had no choice but to allow him to pull her to her feet.
“There now,” he said, almost gently. “That’s a good girl.”
For the first time, the man’s voice lost the gruff edge, as though he knew it was no longer necessary for pretenses. Rebecca froze in her spot. She wasn’t sure where, but she had heard those exact same words, in that exact same condescending inflection before. There was no doubt left in her mind that she knew this man from somewhere outside the night in the woods when he had attacked her so viciously. The thought infuriated her, but also filled her with an unexpected burst of courage. She allowed him to guide her effortlessly to Livy, but her compliance lulled him into a false sense of security. When he least expected it, she reached out her hand, and with all the experience of a modern-day Christine, pulled the ski mask away from the monster’s face.
Despite her previous bravery, when she saw him for the first time, her knees started to buckle. The angry frown that greeted her wasn’t the face she had ever expected to find behind the mask. Not the cocky Chad or the falsely accused Quinn. Not any of the cast members. Not a student at all. This was the one man she had never once suspected. The horror washed over her in waves when the full extent of his betrayal truly hit her. It made Rebecca feel physically ill. This was a man meant to guide and instruct, not maim and destroy.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Professor Carter.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Damn it all, Livinia! She’s seen my face!”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Livy told him casually. “She won’t live long enough to tell anyone.”
Rebecca, still clinging to the mask, glanced from one deranged face to the next. She couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening. It was appalling enough discovering the identity of her attacker. But rapist or not, why would Professor Carter get involved in Livy’s crazy obsession with Justyn? It was obvious from the frazzled look on his face that he didn’t want to be there. Yet, Livy was pulling his strings as if he were her own sadistic marionette.
“What do you want me to do with her?” he asked with a disgruntled huff.
Despite his lack of enthusiasm, his hold on Rebecca’s arm never weakened. Even if she wasn’t still in a state of shock, she would never have been able to break free.
“Bring her over here to the bed,” Livy commanded.
Professor Carter yanked her arm roughly as he dragged her across the room. Finally, Rebecca recovered enough of her sensibilities to fight back. The idea of him violating her on the bed she shared with Justyn was just too awful. Yet, the more she tried to struggle, the tighter his viselike grip became. Every time she moved, he jabbed her ribs with the point of the knife, but she still thrashed out with all her strength, ignoring the stinging pain. She dropped the mask and tried to hit him, to kick his legs out from under him, anything to get away. However, all her struggles were in vain. He was just too strong.
Processer Carter grunted with aggravation when she stomped on his toe, but it didn’t slow him down. Rebecca tried again to scream, but he covered her mouth and nudged her even harder with the knife. Finally, frustrated, he twisted her arm so hard behind her back she was sure it was going to snap. The pain brought her to her knees and tears to her eyes. That was all the advantage he needed to overwhelm her. He lifted her up wit
h just one arm and threw her onto the bed, pinning her down. Rebecca shuddered beneath him, expecting a replay of the woods. However, once he had her incapacitated, he didn’t seem interested in her at all. He was more intent on watching Livy. She had discarded her Sweeney Todd wig, but she looked no less disturbing. She was still dressed in Justyn’s clothes and had her real hair pulled back tight in a hair net. The glint of insanity in her eyes was clear even in the candlelight.
“What are you going to do with me?” Rebecca managed to choke out once the professor removed his hand from her mouth.
Livy rolled her dark eyes. “Didn’t I tell you this already? We’re going to have our own private showing of Demon Barber. Well, at least my favorite part of it.”
“Livinia, really.” Professor Carter sounded exasperated. “Must you be so cruel? Let’s just finish this and stop playing these silly games. This is inhumane!”
Rebecca flinched. If he was feeling squeamish about whatever Livy had planned, it had to be terrible. After all, he had done some horrendous things himself. Livy seemed apt to agree with that sentiment. She raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“Oh, I’m the cruel one? It’s your fault we’re in this predicament. If you hadn’t let her get away the first time, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“That wasn’t my fault!” Professor Carter exclaimed. “I tried to tell you it would never work. She isn’t my type. You can’t expect just any girl to—”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Livy interrupted. “Yes, I know you have a thing for blondes, Daddy. But, really, would it have killed you to use your imagination just once?”
Rebecca suddenly snapped to attention. As dreadful as it was, Rebecca was almost grateful for the insane banter. It was buying her more time to think. She had hardly been listening to what they were saying, because she was desperately trying to find some kind of weapon or weakness she could take advantage of. But there was one word that caught her attention. The music was blaring so loudly, at first she thought maybe she had misheard.
“He’s … he’s your f-father?” Rebecca stuttered.
Livy turned away from her argument with Professor Carter and looked at Rebecca as though she had forgotten she was there. “Why, yes, Becca,” she said sarcastically. “Meet Daddy dearest.”
“Oh my God.” Rebecca said, appalled. So that was how this deranged duo had formed. Apparently, insanity was hereditary. “And you knew. You knew he was hurting all those girls, and you just … just let him get away with it?”
Livy snorted. “Don’t you dare get all righteous with me, you pathetic little nit! I had my reasons for keeping my mouth shut. I needed him around. He made sure I got a scholarship and gave me the lead in every play. If I had turned him in, all of that would have just gone away. Besides, it turned out that Daddy’s little hobby was the perfect way to help me get Justyn all to myself.”
“And no one at the school realized….”
“The college has no idea that Livinia is my daughter, Miss Hope,” Professor Carter explained. “No one does.”
“That’s right, Becca. It’s a big secret. Shhhh! We wouldn’t want any scandalous bastard child to impede the reputation of the great professor. ” Livy’s voice dripped with obvious disdain, and the way she glared at her father revealed there was no love lost between them. “You see, Daddy has always had a taste for pretty little blondes, even twenty years ago when he was the one in college. The problem is, not many pretty ladies could get past the pock-marked cheeks and the uptight attitude. It doesn’t exactly scream Prince Charming.”
Professor Carter shut his eyes. “Livinia, please … don’t do this. Not again.”
“What’s the matter, Daddy? Does the truth hurt? I bet it doesn’t hurt as much as those scars you give to all those pretty girls. You just have to make them as ugly as you are, don’t you?” Livy spat. When Professor Carter only shook his head in defeat, she smiled and turned back to Rebecca. “Back when they were in college together, my mother wanted nothing to do with him. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer—thus, my less–than-immaculate conception. My mother, being the devout little churchgoer she was, gave birth to me despite the fact that I was a reminder of everything she hated. Oh, trust me, she tried her best to cut the evil out of me.” She lifted her scarred arms, but still seemed almost detached from the story. “When that didn’t work, she settled for cutting herself. I wound up with her sister, who hated me even more than she did. Luckily though, my mother left behind a little note telling me who my daddy was. I found him just in time to cash-in on his position at the college.”
“God, Livinia, you know I would have taken you away from all that had I known you existed! You must believe that!”
Professor Carter sounded almost desperate to convince her. In any other circumstances, Rebecca might have pitied him, because there was only hatred in her eyes when Livy looked at her father.
“Oh, save me the fatherly pep talks!” Livy spat. “It’s a little late for that now. I know how you really feel about me! Having your long-lost daughter show up on your doorstep was so terrible, it sent you right back to your old ways. It’s what the cops call a stressor, Becca. That’s me, Daddy’s little stressor. Right after I told him who I was, he went out and started attacking those girls!”
“If I didn’t love you, do you think I’d be here right now?” Professor Carter pleaded.
“You’re here to save your own sorry ass!” Livy told him through clenched teeth. “Now, shut up and hold her down while I get out my … props, for lack of a better word.”
Professor Carter obliged by pushing Rebecca forward. He slid behind her and pinned her arms to her side, making it nearly impossible for her to move. Whenever she tried to fight him or cry out, he pricked her side with his blade. Already, blood was sneaking through her sweater, though as of yet, the cuts were superficial. She had no idea when or if he would decide to finish her off. It would have been easy enough, but he didn’t seem interested in killing her. Apparently, that was Livy’s job. One she was looking forward to. Professor Carter just seemed nervous and out of his element.
“This is insanity!” he mumbled as he shifted his weight on the bed. “We’re going to get caught!”
“Oh, now you’re worried about getting caught?” Livy huffed. “You weren’t worried when you let Becca escape. You weren’t worried when you crashed the frat party because you just had to have pretty little Megan. Even after I arranged for you to have the perfect scapegoat for your crimes, you still couldn’t control yourself. The cops were ready to close the case and declare Scott the culprit, but nooooo. You just had to have another girl and ruin my plans again! You’re always ruining everything!”
“Oh God, you … you killed Scott?” Rebecca cried.
Listening to them was getting to be a little too much to take. She wished the loud music would drown out their voices, but it didn’t. Rebecca couldn’t help herself anymore. She started to sob. Any small speck of hope she had that the pair of them might not be able to cross the line to murder was diminished. They had already crossed that line. One more body wasn’t going to make any difference. Yet Professor Carter still seemed ill at ease, and Rebecca couldn’t help but hope there was some way she could use that to her advantage.
“Scott didn’t give me any choice!” Livy declared, turning her rage onto Rebecca. “He overheard us talking and figured out Crater Face was my father. He wanted to blackmail us into giving him all the leads. I knew if he kept poking his nose around my business, he would eventually figure out the rest. We couldn’t have that, could we? Daddy has access to all the lockers in the theater, so I snuck in and laced his coke with a little something … extra. It’s not like that stuff wasn’t going to kill him eventually anyway.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Since he was dead already and not worried about his reputation, I planted the confession. Of course, Daddy’s master key is also how he managed to betray me and leave that little warming for Justyn on opening night!”
“Dear God, Livinia,
what do you expect from me?” Professor Carter declared. “It’s been hard enough having that boy’s death on my conscience. I thought if I could scare her away, it wouldn’t have to come to this! I’m not a murderer, for Christ’s sake.”
“Not a murderer?” Rebecca scoffed. She wished she could turn just so she could spit in his face. “No, you’re just a filthy rapist! Do you really think you’re any better than your twisted daughter, you demented bas—”
Livy silenced Rebecca’s outrage with a quick backhand across her cheek. It made her eyes water, but she refused to cry out. Instead, she returned Livy’s heated gaze with the same intensity for all that she was trapped and helpless. It didn’t seem to make any difference. Livy smiled as she admired the handprint she’d left on Rebecca’s check.
“I have wanted to do that for so long,” Livy admitted. “But enough with the preliminaries. Our real-life play has been going on long enough. It’s about time for the big finale. So, what do you say, Becca?” She pulled a bottle of pills from the pocket of Justyn’s sweatpants and shook it like a maraca. “Are you ready to play Lucy one last time?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Wh-what are you going to do to me?” Rebecca asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Livy shook the pill bottle again. “Sleeping pills,” she explained. “Of course, in the play, Lucy screws-up her suicide attempt. I don’t doubt that you’d find some way to mess things up too. I mean, after all, the two of you have so much in common. But that’s why we’re here. We’ll make sure there are no mishaps.”
“You’re crazy!” Rebecca shouted. She tried again to pull free from Professor Carter, but his grip was firm and unbreakable. “You’ll never get me to swallow those pills! Never!”
Livy grinned at her as she unscrewed the cap. “Oh, yes, I will, Becca. Like I said before, no one is going to ruin my show. This is my best and most stunning performance to date—a real modern-day version of Demon Barber. It didn’t start out that way, of course. It’s kind of a funny story, actually. The first time I snuck in here, that damn bird just wouldn’t shut up. It just kept tweeting and twittering and calling out, ‘Becca, Becca’. So annoying! So I broke its stupid little neck.”
