(2011) The Gift of Death (33 page)

46

‘
So what shall we do with you now?’ he said, looking down at the blindfolded man.

‘
What the fuck is going on?’

‘
You’re just about to find out, my friend. But please try and refrain from using foul language.’

‘
You motherfucking fuck –‘

‘
I’ve asked you politely. Now if you don’t try and –‘

‘
Fuck you.’

‘
Very well. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

He grabbed one of his victim’s hands and smashed it into the vice.

‘
Don’t you recognise this?’

‘
What the –‘

‘
It’s the very same piece of equipment you were about to use on that blind girl. Oh, and by the way how does it feel not to be able to see?’

There was no answer.

‘
Cat got your tongue?’ He laughed to himself. ‘Of course, you’ll know all about that, as well.’

‘
Who the fuck are you?’

‘
I could ask you the same question. But I already know who you are. You see I’ve got the advantage.’

He turned the screws so that the vice clamped itself around a finger. He took out his scalpel and admired its sharp point.

‘
I’m going to use a slightly more sophisticated instrument than you. But the pain will, I should think, be the same. Can you imagine it? The pain?’

The man started to thrash about on his chair.

‘
Try and sit still, please.’

‘
What are you going to do?’

‘
I would have thought that was quite obvious.’

‘
What do you mean?’

‘
I’m simply going to give you a taste of your own medicine, something I’ve been meaning to do for some time.’

‘
You wouldn’t fucking dare.’

‘
I don’t think you are in any position to argue, actually. But first I want you to feel a little more fear.’

He brought the scalpel closer to the man’s face and pressed its cold edge against his cheek.

‘
Can you feel that? Can you feel how sharp it is? Can you imagine what it could do? How easy it would be to slice through your flesh? Your skin would be as soft as butter left out in the heat of the day.’

He traced the blade down the contours of the man’s face to his lips. A thin line of blood appeared across his cheek, a sinister red rainbow.

‘
Open your mouth.’

He kept his lips together.

‘
I said open your mouth.’

The man’s lips quivered like two fat worms exposed to sunlight. He slipped the scalpel into the man’s mouth.

‘
Can you taste that? That’s the taste of your own blood. The taste of your fear. I suppose you thought it would always be you dealing it out. Well, how does it feel to take it? I bet you thought that you would never feel afraid, didn’t you? Didn’t you?’

I suppose you thought that you would never feel afraid, didn’t you? Didn’t you?’

The man in the chair nodded.

‘
I’ve got to say that I find what you did despicable. Inhuman. So I’m going to do my duty and see if I can try and reform you. You know what they say? You have to be cruel to be kind.’

He took the scalpel out of the man’s mouth and checked the vice. He wouldn’t want any nasty accidents. And what about the blood? He could use those tissues. He took out a few and spread them around the vice.

‘
Okay, here we go.’

The point of the scalpel entered the man’s finger just below the nail bed. A scream split the air.

‘
Do you understand now?’ he said. ‘It’s not particularly nice, is it? You look ill, feverish. Do you feel sick? It’s the pain, you see. I gave the girl something for that, but I think I’ll let you endure it. It’ll be good for you.’

He pushed the scalpel downwards and then sideways, working the blade with an efficient manner. Just as the fingertip was nearly sliced off the man in the chair vomited over himself.

‘
Now you’ve gotten yourself all dirty. I suppose it’s the evil in you coming out.’

With one final cut the tip of the finger fell forwards in a pool of blood. He was careful not to touch it, but picked it up with the end of his scalpel like one of those fancy canapés he’d seen at a buffet. He mopped up the blood with the tissues and then took a fresh one from the box and dropped the end of the finger into it. By his feet was a padded envelope. He scrunched up the tissue and then pushed it inside the package. On the front of the envelope was an address. Earlier that day he’d been to a Kinko’s downtown and typed the details into a computer, printed them off and taped them to the envelope. Everything was in order. That was his motto. If only everyone lived by it. Then the world wouldn’t be such a wicked place. There’d be no crime. No perversion. No filth. He was only trying to do his bit to clean things up. Yes, he truly was doing the Lord’s work on earth. He’d saved that sweet blind girl from this monster. Surely he’d be rewarded in Heaven for that.

He looked down at the pitiful creature in the chair, gobbits of vomit coagulating on his lap. This pathetic instrument of Lucifer. He had battled Satan and won. He was victorious.

He could easily kill him. But it would be too neat. Too simple. But Satan’s messenger had not suffered enough, not for all the terrible things he had done. He hadn’t experienced nearly enough fear. This guy needed to feel what it was like to be hunted. To find himself prey. Well, he had a plan in place.

‘
I haven’t finished with you yet,’ he said. ‘Oh my Lord, no.’

As he peeled back the seal on the envelope and pressed down along its rim he looked at the name and address on the label. He smiled to himself, a wave of satisfaction surging within him. Sometimes it felt so great to be alive.

‘
This is where the fun starts.’

47

Cassie tried to swallow, but her mouth felt like sandpaper. She was disoriented, dizzy. And any second she was going to be sick. She knew something awful had happened to her. It loomed at the back of her consciousness like a strangely-shaped shadow. But each time she tried to confront it – to try and identify it - the blackness descended.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

‘
Cassie, it’s Kate. You’re in hospital, Cedars-Sinai. You’re going to be okay.’

‘
I know something awful happened, but I can’t remember’. Her voice was nothing but a whisper. ‘What happened?’

‘
We’ve got no idea. In fact, we thought you might be able to tell us.’

‘
What do you mean?’

Kate took a deep breath and turned to face Josh. He moved a step closer towards the bed.

‘
Well, we know that someone took you. In a cab,’ he said. ‘From your injuries it looks like you have suffered some kind of assault. You’ve got some cuts to your fingers, and a lesion and bruising on your shoulder. The medics say that someone administered some kind of drug, a painkiller.’

In that instant, she remembered being in a room. The pain of something crushing her finger. Then something slicing into it. There was the smell of oil. And then she recalled the feel of the man’s face.

‘
It was Gleason.’

Kate and Josh both spoke at once.

‘
What –‘

‘
But that’s impossible.’

‘
I felt his face. It was him. The square face, high forehead, it was the same face, but –‘

‘
Are you sure?’ said Kate. ‘There are lots of men out there with the same facial structure.’

‘
It wasn’t only that. It was his voice. It wasn’t quite the same as before, but I’d have known it anywhere.’

‘
You’ve only just woken up from a traumatic experience,’ said Josh. ‘And what with the drugs –‘

‘
Listen – it was him.’ She paused, trying to transfer the feel of his face into words. ‘Or almost him. I don’t know how to explain –‘

‘
It’s okay, Cassie,’ said Kate, stroking her hair. ‘When you’re feeling better we can work on a facial reconstruction together. Okay?’ Cassie nodded. ‘But can you remember anything else we can work on now? Anything else about this guy?’

‘
He took me into a carport. It smelt of cars, oil, something awful, decaying. I don’t know where we were. I nearly got away, under the door, but I was too slow. And he hit me with something, a chain I think, here –‘ As her bandaged fingers drifted up towards her shoulder she winced in pain. ‘He told me that he was the one who sent me that present. And that he wanted to make it a reality.’

‘
So what happened then?’

‘
Well, that’s when you guys came in.’

‘
What?’ said Josh.

‘
When I was rescued. I heard someone break into the building and a voice said something like drop the knife or I’ll blow your brains out. That was the cops, right?’

‘
Cassie, it wasn’t us. We didn’t have a clue where you were. We thought you’d been taken to a house in Van Nuys, but it proved to be a –‘

‘
But –‘

‘
From what we can gather a nurse found you lying on a bench outside the hospital.’

‘
I don’t understand. I thought –‘

‘
So who was it?’

‘
I asked if he was a cop and he said something like, “You could say that.’’ He was the one who gave me an injection for the pain. Said that he would look after me, take me to hospital.’

‘
Shit, what the fuck is going on?’ said Josh under his breath. ‘Did he say anything else?’

‘
I asked him if he was a doctor, but he said he wasn’t. He said he knew something about medicine. I asked his name, but he wouldn’t tell me. He told me that I’d start to feel sleepy from the drug he had given me, but not to worry. He told me I was safe. I believed him.’ Tears were streaming down her face. ‘But if it wasn’t the cops who came and rescued me then who –‘

‘
We just don’t know,’ whispered Kate, gently wiping Cassie’s wet cheeks.

‘
The guy you thought was a cop - did you manage to touch his face?’

‘
No – sorry – I –‘

‘
It’s fine, Cassie. Don’t worry. You’ve done amazingly well. Try and get some rest now. We’ll work on the image tomorrow. When you’re feeling better.’

‘
No,’ said Cassie, wiping a tear from her face. ‘We’ll do it now.’

‘
But –‘

‘
The feel of his face is still fresh in my mind.’

‘
Are you sure?’

‘
I’m sure,’ she said. ‘I can’t bear you looking at me one second longer, thinking that I’m so distressed that I’ve finally gone crazy.’

‘
No,’ said Kate. ‘You’re the least crazy person I know.’

48

‘
The fun lies in not knowing, don’t you think?’ he said. ‘Not knowing just which one of your victims will turn on you. I suppose some will take the easy option of calling the cops. Which is fine in its own predictable kind of way. But then others will take it upon themselves to be – how shall I put it? – a bit more creative.’

The man raised his head slightly before it lolled back onto his chest.

‘
I’m pleased to see that you agree,’ he continued. ‘Not that you are in much of a position to argue at the moment. Blindfolded, tied to a chair, deprived of a couple of fingertips, a whole load of vomit in your lap.’ He moved closer to him now and whispered in his ear. ‘But let me tell you what you’re experiencing is a church picnic compared to what you’ve got coming to you. I know you’re dying to hear more, but I think it’s best if I keep you guessing for the time being.