“I will…later. After we’ve made the phone calls and then found Jamie.”
“The phone calls? Who else are we calling, other than Jacob?”
“Jazzy.”
“Genny, you don’t think that she—”
“No, of course Jazzy isn’t the one torturing Jamie. But somehow this is going to hurt her. It’s going to cause her great pain and threaten her life. Don’t ask me how I know, I just know.”
“That’s good enough for me. And it’ll be good enough for Jacob and for Jazzy.” He scooted across to the edge of the bed and sat there, then glanced back at her. “I’ll get the phone, call Jacob, and then let you talk to him. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Dallas reached over onto the nightstand and picked up the telephone receiver. He dialed Jacob’s home number, then waited for the sheriff to pick up.
“Butler here,” Jacob growled in a sleepy voice.
“Sorry to wake you,” Dallas said.
“It’s okay. I was half awake anyway. What’s wrong?”
“Genny had another vision about Jamie Upton. This time she’s certain that this mystery woman is torturing Jamie, either right at this very minute or within the hour.”
“Let me talk to her.”
Genny wriggled her fingers in a give-me-the-phone gesture.
“Yeah, sure. She wants to talk to you.” Dallas handed her the phone.
“Jacob, she’s insane. Totally insane. But she’s clever. Devious. And she hates Jamie passionately. I can feel her hatred. It’s thick and smothering and totally black. She doesn’t just want to kill him, she wants him to suffer unmercifully before he dies.”
“You have any idea where they are?”
“They’re on the mountain, but not near. You need to call Sally and get the bloodhounds. Bring them here and Dallas and I will go with you. I’m almost certain that I can lead them in the right direction.”
“We’ll have to contact the Uptons in order to get a piece of Jamie’s clothing,” Jacob told her. “How the hell do I explain this to Big Jim?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just do it and do it quickly. We don’t have any time to waste.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes, twenty-five at most. Have Dallas call Sally and tell her to meet us at the Upton Farm. That’ll save us some time.”
“All right. We’ll take care of the phone calls. I’ll even have Dallas phone Big Jim.” Genny paused, then looked at Dallas before she finished her telephone conversation with a startling revelation. “Jacob, she’s done this sort of thing before. Jamie isn’t the first person she’s tortured to death. And—and he won’t be the last one.”
“My God!”
“Hurry. Please, hurry.”
Dallas saw how weak Genny was when the phone slipped from her fingers and landed on the rumpled covers. He lifted the receiver and replaced it on the stand.
“I have to call Jazzy,” Genny told him. “Use your cell phone to call Sally and tell her to meet us with Peter and Paul over at the Uptons as soon as possible. Then call the Upton Farm and ask to speak to Big Jim. Tell him we suspect Jamie’s been kidnapped and we’re putting Sally’s bloodhounds on the trail. If he doesn’t want to cooperate, tell him exactly what I saw in my vision.”
Chapter 10
She stood over her handiwork and smiled with great satisfaction. Jamie’s eyelids had been fluttering and he’d even tried to open his eyes, so it was only a matter of time before he awoke and realized his predicament. She walked around him, from his head along his body to his feet. He was heavier than he looked, and it had required all her strength to maneuver him into position. It hadn’t taken the drug in the wine very long to render him helpless. His limp body had been as pliable as putty, cooperating fully as she laid him out on the wooden floor, spread-eagled. While she’d pounded the heavy metal spikes in to the floor alongside each arm and leg, he hadn’t even moved.
Kneeling alongside him, she tested the thick leather straps that bound his wrists and ankles to the metal spikes. Then she loosened the gag in his mouth. Sometimes she derived more pleasure from a man realizing he couldn’t speak, but with Jamie, she decided that she preferred to hear him beg and plead and scream. And he would scream. She removed the cloth gag.
Her hand skimmed his body from neck to navel. A perfect male specimen, a young man in his prime. But beneath all that exterior perfection existed a vile, cruel monster who preyed on women, making them promises he never intended to keep, breaking their hearts and destroying their lives. She intended to make him pay for his many sins—unforgivable sins. Everyone who knew Jamie Upton realized he didn’t deserve to live. The world would certainly be a better place without him.
And her baby would be safe.
Jamie groaned. She rose from her knees, adjusted the plastic gloves she wore and picked up the curve-tipped iron poker. Jamie opened his eyes and closed them several times. He’s coming around, she told herself. Get ready to greet him in a special way. She walked to the fireplace, where she’d kept the blaze burning for the past few hours. As she stuck the poker into the fire to heat it, she heard Jamie grunt and call out to her.
“Hey, what the hell’s going on?”
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. “I thought you’d never wake up, darling. I’ve been waiting for you to open your eyes so we could have a lot more fun.”
“What?” He struggled against his bondage. “Hey, I didn’t agree to anything quite this kinky. What did you do, drug me?”
“Yes, something like that,” she told him, as she removed the poker from the fireplace and walked toward him, naked as the day she was born. Except for the protective gloves of course. She didn’t want to leave behind any fingerprints.
Jamie’s hazel eyes widened when she stood over him, the red-hot poker in her hand. “Hey, baby doll, I’m not into the slave part of rough S and M. This isn’t my thing at all. I like to occasionally give a little pain, but, heck”— he laughed nervously—“what you’ve got in mind could scar a guy for life.”
She loved the fact that he still wasn’t quite certain about her motives. He probably thought she was teasing him, titillating him, yet a part of him was just a little scared at the prospect of her branding him. She lowered the poker until it was almost touching the center of his chest. He looked up at her, real fear in his eyes. She let the tip of the poker barely touch him. He yelped in pain.
“Damn it, that hurt.” He struggled against the leather ties that bound him. “Come on. Enough of this shit. Get on top and fuck me or untie me. I told you I’m not—”
She let the poker reply for her as she slid the hot edge down his body, from his chest to just below his navel. He screamed as the heat seared his flesh with thirddegree burns.
With tears filling his eyes as the pain radiated through him, Jamie cried out, “What the hell’s the matter with you? Are you crazy?” He tried his best to break free, but quickly realized struggling was useless.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you like the way I play, lover boy?”
Before he could respond, she carried the poker back to the fireplace to reheat it, then bent over the hearth and picked up a large, sharp butcher knife. When she turned and showed Jamie what she held in her hand, he cringed, every muscle in his body stiffening with fear.
“You’re fucking insane, you bitch! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me go now. Otherwise you’re going to regret the day you were born.”
She knelt beside him and brushed his damp hair away from his face. “Oh, such a bad, bad boy. And so spoiled. Do you think your silly threat scares me? You’re the one who should be afraid.” She ran the tip of the butcher knife down his right cheek, just barely opening the skin. Blood oozed from the fresh wound. Jamie whimpered. “Such a pretty boy. The girls just love that handsome face, don’t they?” While he continued struggling uselessly, she slid the knife down his left cheek so that he’d have matching scars.
“O
kay, okay,” he shouted. “Enough. Whatever it is you want, you’ve got it. Just tell me what you want from me.”
“I thought that would be obvious.” She hovered the knife over his chin. “I want you to suffer the way you’ve made so many others suffer.” Laughter bubbled up inside her. “No, that’s not true. Actually, I want you to suffer far more.”
“What others?” he asked. “Who have I made suffer? I’ve never done something like this to anyone. Not ever.”
She nipped his chin with the knife. “Physical torture is the only thing you understand, because someone has to have a heart and a soul to suffer mentally and emotionally. And we both know that you don’t have either a heart or a soul.”
“Don’t do this. Whatever it is you think I’ve done wrong, however you think I might have hurt you, I’m sorry. Just let me go and I swear I’ll make it up to you. Whatever you want, you—”
“I’m getting exactly what I want right now. You’re begging. You’re scared. And you’re suffering.” She reached down and cupped his scrotum in her hand. “But the fun has only just begun.”
While Dallas drove toward the Upton Farm, Genny tried once again to call Jazzy. She’d been trying on and off for the past twenty minutes, but no one had answered. She’d just contacted the phone company and was assured the line was in proper working order and suggested that the phone might be disconnected at the source.
Damn! Jazzy was in the habit of occasionally unplugging her phones when she didn’t want her sleep disturbed. But why this morning of all mornings? If Genny had time, she’d go into town and wake Jazzy, but time was of the essence if they wanted to save Jamie’s life. Genny could sense his life force beginning to drain from him.
“No luck?” Dallas asked.
“No. She’s taken the phone off the hook again.”
“Since Jacob has called in his deputies and I’ve got every available man on my force joining forces with Jacob’s guys, I don’t have anybody who can check on her. Why don’t you call Caleb and see if he’ll go over and let Jazzy know what’s going on?”
“Good idea, but I don’t know his phone number and all the Cherokee Cabin Rental numbers are unlisted. I’ll have to wait until someone’s in the office to get the number.”
“It’s not going to hurt to wait,” Dallas said. “After all, maybe by the time you reach Jazzy, we’ll have found Jamie and have his would-be killer behind bars.”
“If only I could believe that…”
Dallas made a sharp turn as he kept the SUV on the road going down the mountain. “Are you picking up on something you haven’t told me about?”
Genny shivered. “I’m getting strange vibes. Like I told you, I’m sensing Jamie’s life force draining away. If we don’t find him soon, he’ll die.”
Ten minutes later, they stopped at the open gates in front of the driveway at the Upton Farm. The roadway was lined with vehicles and Big Jim Upton stood beside Jacob’s Dodge Ram, which blocked the drive. Sally stood by the truck bed, where she’d already placed Peter and Paul. Jacob waved at Genny and Dallas as they pulled to a stop behind his truck.
Dallas got out, rounded the hood, and reached the passenger door of their SUV in time to help Genny onto the ground. “If I see you’re getting too tired or if you get sucked into the darkness too deep, I’m taking you home. Understand?”
“Yes, Dallas, I understand.” She loved him for being so protective.
Side by side, they approached Jacob and Big Jim. When they drew closer, Genny saw the strain on Jim Upton’s face. Jamie had put his grandfather through hell for years, but the old man still cared about his only grandchild.
“We’re all set,” Jacob said. “Big Jim provided us with a pair of Jamie’s socks. The ones he wore yesterday, so we’re set to let Peter and Paul loose once you head us in the right direction.”
Genny nodded.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re willing to help Jamie,” Jim said, his expression somber. “Considering how Jamie has treated Jazzy. I know she’s your best friend.”
Genny laid her hand on Jim’s arm and squeezed comfortingly. “The only thing that matters right now is finding Jamie. And I’ll do my best to help.” She didn’t tell the man that she wouldn’t let any living creature die if it were within her power to prevent it, not even a sorry son of a bitch like Jamie.
“Is what Jacob said true?” Jim asked. “Did you…did you see him being tortured?”
Genny’s gaze shot to Jacob’s face, and she immediately understood that he’d had no choice but tell Big Jim everything, otherwise he wouldn’t have believed Jacob.
“Yes, it’s true. Someone is holding Jamie captive. She is torturing—”
“She? It’s a woman who has him, a woman who is…God help him. It could be anybody. That boy has no conscience when it comes to taking advantage of women.” Jim looked directly into Genny’s eyes. “Do you know who she is?”
Genny shook her head. “No. I can’t see the woman clearly.” Only her short red hair.
Jim drew in a deep breath and nodded. “Then we’d better be off, hadn’t we? It’ll be daylight soon, and I don’t want my wife or Laura and her family to know anything about this, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Jacob was good enough to call me first before he showed up so I could meet him down here at the gate. If anything happens to Jamie, it’ll kill my wife.”
“We’re ready.” Jacob looked to Genny. “Which way?”
Genny turned back to Dallas, who stood only a couple of feet away. She wanted him near, in case she needed him immediately. Sometimes when she delved too deeply, she had difficulty reemerging. Dallas had become her lifeline to reality. He possessed the ability to draw her back from the obsidian depths.
With Dallas at her side, Genny closed her eyes and concentrated, praying that her sixth sense would pick up something on Jamie’s whereabouts. Darkness descended quickly. Swirling, malevolent darkness that indicated evil.
Pain. So much pain. Unbearable suffering. She could hear Jamie’s pitiful cries inside her mind and the gentleness within her could barely endure the knowledge of what was happening to him. The darkness turned a deep red, a thick, cloudy crimson covering everything. Blood. Blood. Oh, God, so much blood.
Concentrate on where Jamie is and not on what’s happening to him, she told herself. Connect with the place, not with Jamie.
Although she was unable to visualize the exact location, she did recognize Scotsman’s Bluff when she tried to picture the place where Jamie was being held. Only a few months ago, a vicious serial killer had murdered an innocent seventeen year old not far from Scotsman’s Bluff. The place was deep in the forest, high in the mountains. Secluded. Dotted with caves. Plentiful with wildlife. And a few old, deserted cabins still stood here and there, within sight of Scotsman’s Bluff. Jamie was in one of those cabins!
“He’s somewhere close to Scotsman’s Bluff.” Genny opened her eyes. And although she had been able to return to the present moment without any difficulty, she felt a sudden and powerful weakness. When she swayed slightly, Dallas cursed under his breath. “I’m all right,” she assured him.
“Okay, let’s get organized here,” Jacob called out. “Mr. Upton will ride with me, as will Genny and Dallas.” He looked at Sally. “You take Genny’s SUV and stay right behind us. Leave Peter and Paul in the truck with us.” Sally nodded. Dallas tossed the old woman his keys. “Everyone else will follow us and stay in radio contact at all times. I don’t want anybody doing anything without my specific orders.”
Once they headed back up the mountain, Genny rested her head on Dallas’s shoulder and tried her best to concentrate on where Jamie was located. Scotsman’s Bluff could be seen from miles around, which meant it could take hours to search the vicinity. Genny felt certain that Jamie didn’t have hours. She sensed that the woman who held him captive was growing weary of torturing him, especially now that he kept passing out from the pain.
She opened the thermos, tilted it, and pour
ed water over Jamie’s bloody face. He didn’t respond. Damn, he was such a lily-livered weakling. A little pain and he passed out. Oh, well, she’d had her fun with him. He had suffered the torment of the damned. And his pretty boy face and perfect body were neither pretty nor perfect any longer. She stepped away from him and admired her handiwork. His face and body were covered with numerous cuts and burns. She had sliced his fingertips and toes with razor blades and nipped off his tiny male nipples with a pair of pliers. She had used the hot poker repeatedly; however, she had one final destination for that particular instrument.
Kneeling beside him again, she patted his face. Blood soaked her hands. The human face had so many tiny blood vessels that with a few cuts, it looked as if a person was bleeding to death.
“Wake up, darling. I’ve got another surprise for you.”
Jamie’s eyelids eased halfway open.
“That’s a good boy.”
He tried to shake his head, but couldn’t manage. His burned mouth formed the word No. Using her fingers, she wiped the blood from his forehead where it was dripping into his eyes.
“It’s almost over. All my fun. And all your pain. But then when you die, you’ll go to hell, and the suffering there will last forever.” She laughed at him, laughed with the giddiness bubbling inside her.
She got up and walked over to the fireplace. The poker should be red hot now. She lifted the poker from the flames and carried it with her as she stood at Jamie’s feet. She knelt, picked up the sharp butcher knife, then eased up between Jamie’s spread legs. She laid the poker aside for a moment while she lifted his scrotum. Then, in one swift slice, she took off his genitals. Tossing the knife aside, she picked up the hot poker and rammed it into his anus.
Leaving the poker imbedded in him, she crawled up beside him and took a good look at what was left of Jamie Upton. She forced his mouth wide apart and stuffed his bloody penis into his mouth. Then she stood, wiped her bloody hands off on her bloody body, and sighed.
“That’s that. Job all done.” If he wasn’t dead, he would be very soon.
Beg to Die Page 12
