by C. M. Sutter
“Yes, ma’am.” Mandy wrung her hands in her lap.
“Is there something you need to say before John gets here?”
“No, Mama, nothing.”
“All right, then. The plan is the same as with David except we tie John to a chair after I knock him senseless. Larry will come out and watch the show, and when the fun is over, they’ll both die. Mariah, turn the TV off. It’s time to take our places in the workshop. I’m sure Larry has other things on his mind, anyway. Remember, Mandy, come straight into the workshop with John.”
Mandy nodded and sat to wait. Alice looked back as she and Mariah crossed the driveway. She saw Mandy with her arm draped over the back of the couch and the sheers pulled to the side. Her eyes were fixated on the long driveway.
“Sit at your daddy’s workbench,” Alice said to Mariah as she browsed the selection of hammers. “Here’s something different.” She held up a hammer with one end that resembled a spike. “This one looks like fun. Do you have that duct tape handy, honey?”
“Yes, Mama, I’m all ready to go. I wish I looked prettier, though, damn Mandy. Why did she have to bash my face in?”
“First off, no cursing or I’ll add to your injuries. Mandy jumped you because you were taunting her. You deserved it, didn’t you?”
“I guess so.” Mariah leaped from the seat she had taken at the workbench. “I hear a car coming.”
Alice spread the slats on the blinds and peeked through. “Yes, sir, here he comes. It’s show time. Get back to your chair and look like you’re doing something. I’m going to wait in the storage room. Make idle conversation with John and Mandy when they come in, then I’ll take over a few minutes later.”
Alice watched as Mandy came out of the house and approached the car. The driver’s door opened, and Mandy stood in the way, blocking Alice’s view. Finally, a man exited, took Mandy’s hand, and approached the workshop.
“Turn the radio on, Mariah, and act like you’re busy. They’re heading this way.”
Mariah reached above her head and turned the knob on the grime-coated radio sitting on the shelf. She did the same with the volume knob then quickly sat down.
The door opened, and Mandy and John entered.
“John, this is my twin, Mariah. She’s an artist and had a run-in with something that fell off the shelf the other day. Forgive the way she looks—she’s normally pretty.”
Mariah glared but extended her hand to shake John’s. A noise sounded at their backs. Alice grunted as she came out of the storage room, carrying a large box.
“And this is my mama, Alice.”
“Please, let me get that box for you. It looks heavy.”
“Well, aren’t you the gentleman?” Alice said as she allowed John to take the box from her hands. As he turned to set the box on the workbench, Alice pulled the hammer out of her waistband and swung. John dropped to his knees and grabbed the back of his head. He looked at his bloody hand, bewildered and wobbling. Alice whacked him in the skull again, and he slumped forward.
“Either he’s a tough nut to crack or I’m losing my edge.” She grinned and dropped the hammer to the floor. “Let’s get him on that chair, girls. Put a drop cloth under him first. I don’t want to get Daddy’s chair stained with blood.”
Once John was propped up, Mariah wound the duct tape around him and the chair. His arms were bound to his sides, and his legs that hung limply were taped to the chair legs.
“What are you going to do to him, Mama?” Mandy asked.
Alice pondered her choices. “We’re definitely carving his forehead like Larry’s, but I think John will get his tongue cut out too. Everything we do, girls, is a message. It’s up to the law to figure it out. Mariah, run in the house and get that Dremel tool. I forgot to bring it out here.”
“Okay.” Mariah giggled with obvious anticipation and took off out the door.
Alice mulled over the tools on the back wall. “So, we need a pliers to hold his tongue still and a sharp knife.”
The sound that nearly exploded in her ears caught Alice off guard. Everything she held spilled across the floor. She spun to see Mandy holding Dean’s revolver, still pointed at John with faint ribbons of smoke floating up from the barrel.
“What did you do?” Alice screeched with anger when she saw the dime-sized hole through John’s forehead.
“I saved him from your slow torture. You’d kill him anyway, but now you can’t enjoy it.”
The workshop door burst open so hard, the knob indented the drywall behind it. Mariah, with the carving tool clutched in her hand, screamed at the sight of John. His head had been thrown back against the chair he was taped to. The back of his head was gone, and most of the contents were spilled out on the floor behind him.
“What happened?”
“Your sister took it upon herself to kill him.” Alice picked up the hammer and threw it fast and hard—nearly hitting Mandy.
“Larry is dead next to the table, Mama. The chair is lying on its side, and the noose strangled him.”
“Is that your work too?” Alice sneered at Mandy. “And where did you find your daddy’s pistol? Is that what you were doing out here earlier—hiding the gun?”
The glare on Mandy’s face showed her disgust. “I’m not taking part in this anymore. We aren’t a team or a family, so leave me alone. I’m going to my bedroom.”
Alice and Mariah watched as Mandy retreated to the house with the revolver still gripped in her hand.
“Now what?” Mariah asked. A frown spread across her face.
Alice tore open John’s shirt. “Now we continue without her.”
Chapter 30
After dropping Jack’s car off and taking him home, I drove the ten minutes to the condo and turned into Ashbury Woods. I did a double take when I saw Amber walking the neighborhood several blocks from our house. Checking my rearview mirror first, I honked, cranked the wheel, and pulled over. As I powered down the passenger window, she crossed the sidewalk, stepped off the curb, and headed toward my car.
“What the hell, Amber? It’s too hot out here for a stroll around the neighborhood.”
She leaned down to the opened window and looked in. Immediately I saw her puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“I can’t find Spaz. I got home a few hours ago from school, and he’s nowhere.”
“How can that even be possible? The doors are locked when we’re gone. You’ve searched the whole house?”
She reached through the open window and grabbed a tissue out of the glove box, then nodded as she blew her nose.
“Get in. We’re searching the house again.”
Amber climbed in, and I drove the three short blocks to my house. My head was swimming as I recounted my every step and movement that morning when I left for work. Jack had called as I backed out of the garage. Did I close the door to the kitchen tightly? Could Spaz have sneaked out while I sat in the driveway, digging through my purse for my phone? Amber left before me. Did she close the door tight? Did I even see Spaz that morning? I pulled into the driveway and pressed the button on the garage door opener. The door lifted, and I pulled in.
“Did you check the basement too?” I asked as we entered the house.
“I checked everywhere, Jade. He isn’t here.”
Between both of us, we searched every inch of the house—no Spaz. I hated to think it could have been me that didn’t close the door between the kitchen and the garage, but it probably was. My mind had been scatterbrained lately with everything going on, but the last thing I’d want to do was break my sister’s heart.
“Do you think it’s possible that he sneaked past one of us when we left this morning?”
“I guess so, but he’s never tried that before. Why would he even want to? It’s hot outside.”
I chuckled. “He’s a cat, Amber. They don’t think like we do, and they’re tough. All we can do is put food and water on the deck. He’ll come back. I just hope w
e don’t attract raccoons instead.”
Amber sat quietly most of the evening in a sullen funk. I felt horrible about Spaz, but there was nothing either of us could do but wait. I sat across from her on the recliner and organized my to-do list for tomorrow. The list continued to grow as I added tasks needed to catch this killer or killers. The first thing on my agenda was to contact Mr. Crane at the apartment complex. We had to gain access to that video feed in the morning, and with the time difference, it would be mid-afternoon in England. They would have had ample time to respond to Mr. Crane’s request for permission to allow us access to the tape.
I set my legal pad of notes on the end table and pulled the wooden handle on the side of the recliner. The chair’s footrest folded, the back came up, and I stood and walked into the kitchen. I kept the wineglasses above the stove. Someday, I’d buy an antique credenza or something similar to keep my nice stemware in, but for now the kitchen cabinet was good enough. I pulled out two glasses and set them on the counter. The small twelve-bottle wine rack had four bottles remaining in it. I decided on a Cabernet since the white hadn’t been chilled yet. I placed a bottle of Riesling in the refrigerator for another time. With the corkscrew knife, I sliced the foil seal, pulled it off, and sank the corkscrew into the cork. With a few turns and a pull, I popped it off. I poured two glasses and carried them to the living room.
“Here you go, Sis. You look like you need a glass of wine. I promise you, Spaz will be back. I’ve heard people say their cats stay out for days and then return home as if it were nothing.”
“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better, but it isn’t working. Spaz isn’t a feral cat. He’s been declawed, and he doesn’t know how to hunt.”
“That’s why we’re putting food out for him. He’ll come home, and then we have to be more attentive so he doesn’t get out again.”
Amber nodded and sipped her wine.
Chapter 31
“That should do it,” Alice said as she slapped her hands together. She and Mariah stood over the corpses and admired the work they had done during the last few hours. Earlier, they had pulled Larry out of the house and dragged him to the workshop. He lay over the top of John’s body.
Mariah giggled. “Look at us, Mama, we’re a bloody mess.”
Alice looked at her hands and clothing. “Humph…I guess we are. Go ahead and shower and change your clothes. I have to think of the perfect place for these two. I want the world to see our handiwork. It’s our finest so far, and it’s sending a message to all the men out there who like to stray. I bet the owner of Unhappilyhitched Inc. will shut down his dating site before long. Men will be too scared to go on it, and they should be.”
Alice sat in the workshop and waited as Mariah cleaned up. She wanted the men to be found in a public place, but that might prove difficult. She wasn’t ready to be caught—there was still so much to do. Alice thought hard—she needed to find a spot where plenty of people would see the men but a location without cameras. The perfect place popped into her head as she jumped off the chair and wiped her hands with a shop rag. Pressing a few keys on her cell phone, Alice conducted an online search.
“I couldn’t have thought of a better place. It will shame these men and send a message throughout the community that these acts won’t be tolerated.”
Alice turned when she heard the door open. Mariah was back and cleaned up.
“Wait here. I’ll shower and be right back. I have the perfect place for both of these disgusting men. God will be so pleased with us. Find something to wrap these two in. I don’t want to dirty up our clean clothes.”
“Okay, Mama. Should I back the truck up to the door?”
“Yes, honey, I’d appreciate it. Well, looky there.” Alice pointed at the second-story window. A light was on in the twins’ bedroom. Alice saw Mandy pull back when she realized that she had been seen. “Your sister is watching us. I bet she’s jealous that she isn’t a part of our plans anymore.”
“Too bad for her. She can just keep watching.” Mariah gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and yelled upward to the partially opened window. “There you go, Mandy. You can be all alone, just like you wanted. Mama and I don’t care about you anymore, and we don’t need you, either.”
They heard the window slam shut, and the room went dark.
Later that night, Alice pulled out of the driveway, the headlights bouncing with each rut. Mariah sat in the passenger seat and flipped through the stations on the radio, hoping to find some lively music. Both men were wrapped in burlap from a roll Mariah had found on a shelf in the storage room. They were nude inside the nubby cloth and lay in the back of the truck under the tonneau cover.
Alice took the back roads into North Bend. She remembered how to find St. John’s Church. The family had attended several times in the past when the church held holiday services. The public was always welcome, according to the weekly newspaper ads they ran. St. John’s was the largest church in North Bend, and because they were having a members’ function in the morning, many people would witness the bodies sitting on the benches at the front entrance. As Alice recalled, large maple trees covered the grounds of the church. Throughout the summer months, the main entryway was cloaked in shade. Cement benches sat at either side of the granite steps with life-sized marble angels flanking the wooden double doors.
Alice circled the block several times once they arrived at St. John’s. The massive stone structure with its tall steeple stood on the corner of Highland and Silverbrook Avenues. Several driveways led into the large complex with its three connecting buildings. In addition to the enormous church itself, the facility held an elementary and high school as well as an administrative building. Alice needed to park in the most convenient driveway nearest the front entrance, yet the one best hidden under the cover of darkness. Without Mandy’s help, she and Mariah would have to drag two men, and their mission would take some time.
“It looks good to me, Mama. I don’t see a soul anywhere.”
“We have to be quick, Mariah. I can’t have you whining about how much these men weigh. We’ll drag them one at a time. You’ll take an arm, and I’ll grab one too. Larry will be left in the bushes until we get John near the front, then we’ll set both of them up on the benches and get the heck out of Dodge.”
Mariah grinned. “You said heck, Mama.”
“It’s not the same as saying hell. Okay, looks like the coast is clear. I’m pulling into the deliveries parking lot where there aren’t any streetlights. We’ll check the distance to the entrance first and find a good hiding spot for Larry, then we’ll come back and get started.”
“Oh, goody.” Mariah’s fingers gripped the truck’s door handle before Alice came to a full stop.
“Hold your horses. I don’t need you getting hurt before we even begin.”
Alice killed the engine, and the headlights went dark. They sat silent for a moment, their ears perked for nearby sounds. The night was dead still.
“Okay, let’s go, and keep quiet.”
Alice and Mariah crept out of the truck and followed the sidewalk around to the front of the church. The distant corner streetlight created just enough of a dim glow for them to see the pathway, but under the tree cover, they were well hidden.
“This should do nicely.” Alice pointed at a row of hedges. They could stash Larry behind them temporarily. They continued forward and followed the sidewalk until it curved left at the main entrance to the church. It looked just as Alice remembered. A cement bench sat on either side of the sidewalk, and a pair of angels stood at the doors of the holy establishment. Alice grinned widely. “I wish we could see the faces of the people that come across them in the morning. I’m sure it will be priceless. Let’s get Larry.”
Back at the truck, Alice opened the tailgate and reached in. “Give me a hand pulling him forward. When we get him out, we’ll drag him on the lawn. There won’t be as much friction.”
They pulled the first wrapped body toward them and plac
ed him on the lawn.
“How do we know it’s Larry?”
“It doesn’t really matter. They’re both going on the benches. Let’s get this one behind the hedges. Unwrap his arms so we can drag him.”
Mariah did as she was told. “It’s Larry, Mama,” Mariah said happily. “He has more hair than John does.”
Alice jerked her head toward the hedges, and they pulled the corpse the hundred feet and left him. They went back to the truck and got John.
“Okay, let’s take a breather for a minute. Those two were heavy,” Alice said as she filled her lungs with the warm nighttime air.
They sat on the lawn under several large trees, hidden from view. Two wrapped corpses lay five feet away.
“We have to unwrap them and prop them in a sitting position.”
“Won’t they just slide off the benches?” Mariah asked.
“Not if we hang their arms behind the benches. They’re already getting stiff, and by morning they’ll be stuck in that position.”
Mariah pouted.
“What’s wrong, sweet pea?” Alice whispered.
“I wanted them to look the same, like twins, but Mandy screwed that all up.”
“Don’t you worry about a thing. The message is the same on both of them. Everyone will understand that these men, literally sitting on God’s doorstep, betrayed their families, just like Daddy did.”
“Is Daddy in hell?”
“Of course he is, honey. It’s where those kind of men belong. Let’s finish this up and go home.”
They unrolled the burlap and exposed both naked men. The bodies were cut, carved, shot, and strangled. They propped Larry up on the right bench and John on the left. Their nearly stiff arms were forced behind the bench backs in order to keep them sitting upright, and their legs were bent at the knees. They would remain just how they were seated. With a final look of approval, Alice and Mariah gathered the burlap, threw it into the back of the truck, and drove home.
Chapter 32
