He turns to Mika.
“Will you need the services of our fine SWAT team, Agent Scott?”
“No sir, I’ve already requisitioned more agents from the Bureau. They should be there when we arrive.”
“Be sure they wait outside the perimeter until we get there. I don’t want a bunch of over-zealous Feds fouling things up,” Harmon says.
“I agree, and they have been advised as such, chief.”
Harmon looks at all the detectives.
“Any questions?”
After the detectives present exchange looks, one asks about whether or not the use of lethal force is approved. That hits me in an odd way.
“If need be,” Harmon says.
Harmon takes the lead and I’m right behind Mika. The doors to CID close behind us. The rest of the troops follow with determined looks on their faces. Outside, in front of the precinct, car doors slam shut and the squeal of tires fills the otherwise quiet and peaceful summer evening.
We are on our way to catch the real killer.
12
Parker knew Lori was a player. He thought about dropping the sincerity, and dropping her to the floor instead. Rough, raucous sex was probably the norm for her, he thought, as he watched her move about the room.
Their conversation was provocative, suggestive and salacious. He decided to restrain his perverted desires until after the champagne was gone. The expected knock on his door from room service came. Lori quickly excused herself to the bathroom. Parker opened the door and watched the waiter push the cart with the white tablecloth inside the room. Inside the ice bucket on the cart stood the chilled champagne alongside two tall stem glasses, and a single red rose in a vase. He tossed the waiter a five.
“Are you all right in there?”
From inside the bathroom, Lori answered while she tugged at her skirt and straightened whatever she thought needed it. She took a quick look in the mirror to check for smudges.
“Yes Nick, be there in a second,” she said.
I’m so proud of you, mommy. You know how bad he hurt me. Don’t let him hurt me again, mommy.
She looked into the mirror.
“I won’t, baby.”
Before she opened the door, she checked her ring to make sure that the sedative was still hidden inside. She was ready––show time. The door swung open and Lori stepped out. She gave Nick one of her special Lori Powers smiles.
“Sorry I took so long.”
She looked at the bottle of champagne.
“Oh, that looks inviting.”
Parker took the foil off and started working out the cork. After the anticipated popping sound, he poured a glass and handed it to her. Lori graciously accepted and he poured another for himself. They raised their glasses high and toasted.
“To a night to remember,” he said.
To a nightmare to remember.
She held her glass against his.
“Nick, I want this to be a very special night, one you won’t forget for the rest of your life.”
He felt his pulse rate jump, and a throbbing between his thighs. He was an empty champagne bottle away from taking her. A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand revealed that their dinner reservation time had arrived.
“Uh-oh, we’ve got to go,” he said.
Lori sipped at the champagne. Their eyes met.
“Or, we can stay right here,” she said.
“That would be okay with you, pretty lady?”
“Nick, I really love champagne. It makes me lose my inhibitions. I feel like I’m able to experience things otherwise considered...improper.”
She was everything he had hoped for.
Thank God, I didn’t waste my time with Megan.
The thoughts that were running through his mind would alone be considered illegal in many states. He reached for the bottle, but Lori stepped forward and placed her hand lightly on his chest.
“You captains are always so concerned about us. Why don’t you let me take care of you tonight?”
Her hand dropped and lightly brushed against the front of his khakis. He missed a breath.
Oh God, she’s good,
With a slight nudge, she made him sit on the edge of the bed. He didn’t hesitate to accommodate her. Pivoting toward the cart, she refilled his glass while he focused on the backside of her dress. He followed the back of her legs down to her heels then reversed course and went up, until he became lost in the flowing curls of her flaxen hair.
Opening her ring, she let the contents fall into his glass, and poured champagne over the drug. The bubbles provided the perfect cover as the two ingredients mixed together. It would take only a minute after the glass was empty for the drug to take effect then she would be able to kill the rat.
In the midst of her preparation, she felt his hand touch her from behind. It slid down along her arm to her hand. She wasn’t sure if Nick had seen what she had done. She tensed. His other hand started to knead her behind. Abruptly, he spun her around and took her in his arms.
“I want you, you make me hard,” he said.
He started to kiss her neck and shoulders. She wanted to smash the bottle into the side of his head, but fought the strong urge instead.
“Hey, mister, what about the champagne?” she said.
“How am I supposed to get in the mood without some champagne?”
He manhandled her, groping from top to bottom. He put both hands on her hips and started grinding into her.
“I don’t need champagne.”
Nick was on fire.
“I’m already aroused, and I want you right this second.”
Stop him mommy. Stop him.
“Nick, Nick,” she said.
She tried to slow him down.
“We’ve got all night and what I have planned for you can’t be rushed.”
“Let’s get started right now. You make me so hot I can’t wait,” he said.
He tugged at her blouse. Holding her hands together over her head with one hand, he pulled her skirt up with the other. He fell on top of her on the bed knocking the wind out of her lungs.
Oh my God! He did this to Megan.
She gasped for air and struggled with Parker trying to persuade him to stop, but he was relentless. He tore her panties while pulling them down. She wanted to scream, but knew she had to hold back. Then she felt him pushing violently against her thighs. Nick Parker forced himself inside of her. Her breathing became deep and irregular just as Nick liked it.
Kill him, mommy, kill him.
Lori tried to regulate her breathing so that she would not pass out. She found herself counting every thrust until he made his last. Nick stopped moving and stayed on top of her until he recovered. He rolled over face up on the bed with his manhood exposed.
“I’ll have that drink now.”
She wanted to crush his skull with the bedside lamp, or to sear his exposed flesh with a flame. She wanted to stab him with the knife in her purse. Most of all she wanted to cry. In order for her to finish him, she knew she would have to play the game a little longer as repulsive as that thought was. As she raised herself off the bed, she exclaimed.
“Nick that was incredible. The whole fantasy rape thing was such a turn on. My God, Nicky, it was so exciting.”
Did she really think I was pretending?
He opened his eyes as she carried on. Her response confused him.
“You liked it?”
She stood up and straightened her clothes. He sat up on the edge of the bed. He wasn’t sure what to do next. This was normally the time where he threatened the victim with their job, but she was into it.
“I can’t wait for round two,” she said.
She quickly reached for his glass. She held it out for him. Parker didn’t know what to say. He took the glass and slugged it down. Lori watched until he held the glass out for her to refill.
“Are you going to be able to sustain that energy level again?” she said.
“Well, I guess you
’re going to find out, it’s still early,” he said.
“Aren’t you glad we didn’t make our reservation time?”
His eyes rolled. A deep yawn followed, and he was surprised by it. He looked at her with an apologetic look.
“Must have been a longer day than I thought it was.”
He yawned again then another time. He couldn’t stop and decided that he better splash some water in his face, and take a Viagra. He knew he was going to need one if she expected more. He got up and staggered into the bathroom closing the door behind him. Lori didn’t want him in there. She wanted him to pass out on the bed. It would be difficult for her to carry him to the bed if he fell in there. She knew that the sedative worked quickly. Her anxiety level rising, she prayed he would come out.
I told you not to do this. Now look what happened.
Lori hated the voice. She hated being scolded and preferred only to hear her Emily. Lori heard a glass fall into the sink and break. She started to panic until the bathroom door opened, and Parker shuffled out. He kept shaking his head as if he were trying to clear it. He held on to the walls, as he got closer to her.
“I don’t, I don’t know what’s wrong,” he said.
Lori quickly reached out to support him.
“Nick, what’s wrong? You don’t look well. Here, get over to the bed and lie down.”
A complying patient, he did as he was told. He finally blacked out after falling back onto the mattress. Lori quickly removed the bindings from her purse and secured his hands and feet to the bed. She removed the glimmering, stainless steel knife from her purse.
“Pay to play, Captain Nicholas Parker.”
* * *
There is no answer. I knock again and lean to look inside, but the house is dark. Lori isn’t home. All I can do is retreat and discuss our next move with Mika and Harmon. The officers, who are strategically hidden throughout the neighborhood, stand down on command and wait. Mika’s cell phone rings.
“Scott.”
She listens while looking at me.
“Thanks.”
“Chick’s flown the coop. Headquarters called her supervisor who called their crew scheduling department. They said she accepted a flight to Boston to cover for some other crew member.”
Harmon looks around until he sees the person he is searching for running down the street toward us.
“Here it is, Chief,” Melissa says.
She hands him the search warrant and Harmon proofreads it.
He turns and signals.
“Take it down.”
Two large male uniformed officers approach the front door and kick it in. With weapons drawn, they secure the interior and within minutes, they are outside.
“CLEAR.”
The three of us go inside and search for anything to support my theory. My gut says I’m right. Now I have to prove it. I know the interior, so I head to the back rooms. Inside her bedroom, I feel strange. The last time I was inside the house, I intended to sleep with her. There is nothing there now, so I walk back to Mika.
Harmon is in the kitchen and grasps a small, brown prescription bottle on the counter-top that had the name of a strong sedative on it. The pills are gone. He rejoins us in the living room. Mika’s cell phone rings again.
“Scott.”
She glances around the room. At the stereo, she drags the CD case from the stack, opens the lid, and sees that the disc is gone. She holds it open to show me.
“Anything else? Have the plane ready to go when I get there.”
Harmon displays the empty prescription bottle. Mika relays what she has learned.
“She’s probably going to do it again. They’ve found out what hotel she’s in. My people are fueling the plane, and we’ll be in the air in thirty minutes. You two are invited to go along.”
“Let’s go,” Harmon says.
Outside he places Osborne in command and then forces his way into the driver’s side.
“I’m driving.”
Mika looks hard at him.
“You really need to get over that.”
It’s funny, stupid actually, but with all that is going on, all I can think about is how much I hate to fly, fancy F-B-I jet, or not.
As I fall into the back seat, Harmon speeds off.
Lori Powers, what are you doing?
* * *
The mind is truly a remarkable creation, the way it operates. What goes on routinely inside of it is nothing less than miraculous. It can add and subtract, multiply and divide, all of what life throws at us. It is responsible for basic functions of the human body and can contemplate abstract concepts. It’s a fascinating thing, the human mind.
Inside Lori’s mind was a ticking clock counting down. Although there was no reason for her to believe we were on her trail, she sensed it. If there was one thing done wrong, it was that we severely underestimated the intellect and talents of the breathtakingly beautiful Lori Powers.
Standing at the foot of the bed, she stared at Parker. He was a pig, a wild animal that needed to be destroyed. There was no doubt in her mind and she didn’t even know all of the atrocious things he had done during his lifetime. All she really knew about Nick Parker was that he had hurt Megan, and he had just raped her.
Don’t let him hurt me again, mommy, please.
The other voice pushed Lori.
You’ve gone this far. You might as well finish it.
With the concurrence of the voices, she didn’t waste another second. The ritual began. The third song on the CD played on the stereo beneath the television in the room. She kept the volume low enough so no one could hear. Lori walked to the side of the bed, the gleaming knife in hand. Parker laid spread-eagled, tied and still out from the powerful sedative. She was disappointed she wasn’t going to be able to taunt him before he received his final punishment. She couldn’t afford to let him scream like the others.
She stabbed him in his cold, black heart. The blood shot up in spurts. She dragged the blade across his throat severing the carotid artery. In an instant, Captain Nick Parker was dead. After watching him take his last breath, Lori reached for his manhood that had just violated her, and held it firmly with her free hand. Slowly and purposefully with an almost artistic stroke, she severed it and dropped it on his chest, just as she had done with all of the others. She thrust the blood-soaked blade into his heart one last time, and left it protruding there.
Now he won’t hurt me again, mommy.
Lori placed the chair from the desk at the foot of the bed and sat down. Seconds passed and she reached into her torn panties and started to massage her private place. She quickened the pace and fell into her dream.
“Daddy, did I do it right? Was that what you wanted, daddy? Faster daddy, and don’t be angry, Faster daddy, I want...you...to...love me.”
Just like all of the times before, Lori awoke from the dream and felt nothing, no sensation at all. She slowly retracted her hand and stood. She straightened her blouse and adjusted her skirt.
Lori returned from the bathroom with a white washcloth in her hand. She mounted the bed, dabbed the cloth into the puddle of freshly spilled blood, and wrote one word on the wall. Unlike all of the other times, she didn’t wipe the room clean, or take away any incriminating evidence.
Someone knocked on Parker’s door and startled Lori. She froze. The last thing she could afford to do now was panic. She moved slowly toward the door to peek out through the security hole. It was Megan.
What was she doing here?
Megan had come to face Parker. She wanted to hurt him and tell him that she wasn’t going to live her life in fear of him any longer. No one answered while she stood in the hallway, arms folded.
Lori wondered if Megan would ever leave. Maybe she was having second thoughts and wanted Nick. Maybe Megan was a sick puppy playing games. Fast as that thought entered her mind, it was wiped clean. Megan was in real pain, and Lori had no doubt of that. Taking another peek out through the security hole, she didn’t see Meg
an. She heard sobbing and then the elevator doors open and close.
Before leaving, Lori thought about Jake and what might have been. With a smile on her face, she looked both ways before slipping out of Parker’s room.
* * *
The powerful Gulfstream corporate jet owned and paid for by me, and the rest of the taxpayers, blasts off into the night sky. The sudden acceleration forces push me back into my seat. The FBI pilot pulls the nose up, and we seem to be climbing straight up into space. Then the hotshot banks as if we were in some kind of Top Gun dogfight. Mika smiles as she watches how uncomfortable I am. I hate to fly. Harmon isn’t happy about it either. I see his massive fingers on both hands dig into the leather-covered armrests.
I’m not sure of too many things anymore. But I’m certain I can never be a pilot. There has to be something wrong with them. If the Creator wants us to leave the confines of gravity, He would provide us a means to do so, like wings. He gave us feet, end of discussion.
As we level off at some angelic altitude, I start to acclimatize. Landing of course will give me another reason to panic. I sit close to the defibrillators stored onboard. The aircraft has its own flight attendant. I can only wonder what she is costing me. Noting the grimace on my face, Mika smirks.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, better...sure.”
It is only the second time I have ever been in a plane.
“You’re probably enjoying this, watching me lose my mind at thirty thousand feet.”
“Safest way to travel,” she says.
“So, when we get there...”
Harmon leans closer to hear.
“One of the agency’s Suburbans will meet us and take us to the hotel. We’ll check the crew’s rooms and track anyone who may have gone out.”
“Do you think she’ll be there?” Harmon says.
“I hope so.”
“Can you get some agents to the hotel before we get there?”
“Good idea, hand me that phone over there please.”
After she completes the call, and sets things in motion, we all sit back and take some quiet time. I keep thinking about Lori and the times we had spent together. It all had such promise. The truth is still hard to swallow, and I still can’t believe it has gone this way. Mika interrupts my plane of thought.
After the Evil – A Jake Roberts Novel (Book 1) Page 22
