A Bedtime Story (28 page)

“Ah well... Anyway. As I was saying… I think it’s almost poetic… We
will all die and murder. Not for money. Not for glory.
For love
.” Maxwell’s
eyes finally narrowed, his hatred blazing through. “You have killed for the woman
you love. You will die because of it. I bet you think I’ve been planning this for
years, that there is nothing I wouldn’t do to get ahead. You’re right. And yet right
now, looking at you, pathetically drained of your own blood. You know what I’m
thinking of?
Who,
I’m thinking of. A goddess. A goddess with fiery hair and
emerald eyes. She is worth murder and betrayal, she is worth everything. I want you
to die knowing this. You died because of her. My Tanya will be waiting for me. Your
sweet little Laura, you will never see again. Not where you’re going.”

Kayne lay immobile on the floor. It was a funny feeling to be on
the other end. He thought of Tanya. Tanya did win the battle, from beyond the grave,
threw her last arrow, straight into his chest. He smiled bitterly. It was a good
fight. He would shake her hand down below.

But his last thoughts were with Laura. This was his cruelest act
yet, taking everything from her and leaving her behind. He thought of all the movies
he’d seen where lovers facing death prayed to be taken, to have their lover’s life
spared. They were
nothing but selfish cowards. The real sentence was
endured by the survivor. He deserved to die; he wasn’t sorry for himself. The unrest
he felt as his vision darkened was for Laura. He failed her, as her lover and as her
master.

He wondered if she would remain true to herself, pure, beautiful,
and untainted by him. He prayed for it and feared it above all. He was not a noble
lover. In this moment, facing death and the prospect of never laying his eyes on her
again, he knew the truth that lay in his dark heart. He wanted her to burn in hell
with him, for eternity. His Laura, he’d loved her with the ferocity of a mother and
her defenseless babe. He’d loved her with the awe that brought you to your knees in
the presence of the divine. With his entire wretched being, he’d loved her, as a man
hopelessly loves a woman.

She would never know, she would never hear this from him. This one
regret burned him alive as his heart bled out.

Maxwell could have never guessed the heart-wrenching thoughts
ripping his victim apart. When Kayne gathered his remaining strength to spit his
last words, he looked victorious, his smirk condescending.

“Where I’m going, I’ll be fucking your bitch.”

Maxwell’s fury turned his cheeks beet red. He raised his arm but
restrained himself. He had to wait for Kayne to stop laughing, oozing blood. He had
to wait for his last painful breath to leave his body. The scene had to remain
intact.

***

It was past two in the morning and still no word of Kayne. Lucas
had repeatedly tried to reach him with no success. He had reassured Laura
unconvincingly, before retreating back to the office. Kayne had asked him to gather
all information regarding the next shipment while he handled the Louis issue.

Laura had returned home around midnight. It was not unusual for
Kayne to come home in the wee hours of the morning, and she felt at a loss by the
uneasy feeling gnawing at her in his felt
absence. She roamed the
lonely corridors, not knowing what to do with herself, unable to sleep, unable to
think.

***

Maxwell looked with disdain at the inert body lying on the floor in
front of him. He had expected the long-awaited victory to drown his senses with
euphoria, the sustained nirvana to last for days. He fantasized of a pitiful Kayne,
groveling before him. Kayne had once again deterred his bliss. Now he was gone, and
Maxwell would never get his vengeance, not the way he envisioned and devotedly
poured himself into it.

Maxwell had hated Kayne from their first meeting, as he had hated
all the other Kaynes that came before him. He knew all too well his sort, born under
a lucky star. Blessed with looks, showered with money, gifted with charm and
confidence. The Kaynes of the world had every need met before the desire was even
born.

The Maxwells of the world were born ugly, usually short and stocky,
destined to bald prematurely. They were the ones who pined after the girls the
Kaynes took carelessly and dismissed ungratefully. They were the ones who worked
twice as hard for half the result, and none of the recognition. The Maxwells of the
world were called snakes, thought of scornfully to play dirty, deemed to have no
virtue. The Maxwells of the world learned young that virtue was the luxury of the
strong. Deceit was the only defense of the weak.

But no one roots for the ugly duckling, lest he become a swan. He
had met a swan. She’d been an ugly duckling too. When all others recoiled in front
of his so-called sadism, his devious thinking, she had smiled proudly at him. She
understood him. Not his frigid, politically correct wife. Tanya Malone, his
bloodthirsty goddess. His ugly duckling in the skin of a swan.

Tanya Malone would not have died in vain.

He reached for his cellphone. “Mr. Drugov. I apologize for
disturbing you so late.”

“Maxwell?” Dimitri’s voice was alert, even when
dragged from sleep.

“Something has happened.”

“Yes. I assumed that much,” Dimitri snapped impatiently.

“Kayne. Kayne Malkin is dead,” he announced in a somber voice.
“
What,
” Dimitri hissed.

Maxwell sighed. “He’s been shot.”

“
How
?” Dimitri growled on the other end.

“Louis Lavallé, an insignificant servant boy. He’d been running his
mouth. Kayne had his girlfriend taken out... He was supposed to bring him here to
the cabin. We made him believe he was going to meet her here. I was to handle him
with Carlo. You know… I’m not sure how it happened… The boy had a gun on him. I
don’t understand how he slipped it past Kayne… . Anyway, when he figured out the
girl wasn’t here… . He shot him, Kayne came unarmed. Luckily
I
had my gun.
One can never be too cautious.” “Have you touched anything?” Dimitri asked, still
taking everything in.

“No, sir.”

“Don’t. I’m on my way.” Dimitri hung up immediately after.

Maxwell knew his word wouldn’t be enough, not when it came to
Golden Boy’s head. With pride, he looked at the bodies lying around him. Their
silence would support his story.

Carlo came in behind him. “So is it over, Boss?”

The trap had been set, had played out perfectly. Dimitri would
confirm the story for himself. Most likely, Maxwell’s gun would be placed in Kayne’s
hands. An anonymous call would be placed in the morning to the police. They would
find two bodies placed in what looked like a shoot-out. The case would be overseen
and ultimately signed off by Riley.

“Yes. It’s all over.”

L
aura hadn’t shut an eye. All night she
paced around Kayne’s room with ever-increasing angst. Like the madwoman in the
attic, she could be heard below, an eerie presence lurking in the shadows.

By noon the next day, her anxiety caught on, spread throughout the
household like mass hysteria. Even the always-composed Lucas Belfort could barely
hide his growing concern. Olga ran around the house like a headless chicken,
beginning a chore and abandoning it to begin another. Kiev was the only one rendered
apathetic by his disquietude. He sat alone in the solarium, his eyes brooding, with
a tall glass of vodka, straight, sitting in front of him untouched.

Laura was still in her nightgown when she heard a gentle tap on
Kayne’s bedroom door.

“Yes…” Her voice came out strained, unrecognizable to her.

“It’s Lucas. May I come in?” His voice was soft, his tone
grave.

“Lucas…” Her voice cracked with emotion. “Come in.”

He opened the door but remained standing in the doorframe. “I’ve
just spoken with Dimitri. Natasha wanted to call you. I preferred telling you
myself... I’m so sorry, Laura.” His eyes were deadened.

She swallowed. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment. Lucas advanced,
thinking she was about to faint. She didn’t. She looked at him, her eyes cold as
stone. “He’s dead,” she muttered, acknowledging the truth that had tormented her all
night.

Lucas nodded, his jaw tense. He proceeded to summarize the story
recounted by Dimitri.

“Louis Lavallé… that little piece of shit would have killed
Kayne
... KAYNE MALKIN?” she blasted.

“It would seem so.” Lucas could barely look her in
the eye.

“And…
Maxwell
saved the day?” she hissed, her eyes
ablaze.

“Dimitri went down himself, checked the story out.”

She broke into a loud humorless laughter. She stopped almost as
suddenly, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pulled thin. “Maxwell is behind it. Find
the link,” she commanded coolly. “Find me the link, Lucas,” she reiterated, wagging
her index finger, her tone almost playful, and her eyes glittering with something
unholy.

In this moment, he almost feared her. He nodded respectfully and
walked out.

The moment she was alone, she collapsed to the ground. She opened
her mouth and bit her arm, screaming as loud as she could, in complete silence. She
refused to believe it. She shook her head in denial. Kayne couldn’t be dead. It was
all a sick joke. She had just slept in his arms… was it last night? Or was it the
night before… He had brushed her hair, he held her. She had whispered I love you…
Was it
I love you
… or
thank you
? She couldn’t remember to save her
life. It was silly, but it really bugged her. She decided she said I love you. Kayne
Malkin couldn’t have possibly died without having heard her tell him those words.
Kayne Malkin, gone. She looked out to the radiant sun. She almost laughed.
Hadn’t
the sun heard?

First Peter, and now Kayne. The two loves of her life had snuck out
through the back door, like thieves in the night. She felt numb, strangely calm.
Kayne Malkin, her Master, her Monster, had gone where she could not follow. She
looked at the scar on her wrist, felt the old itch again. Laura Spencer would have
done it. Laura Spencer would have been unworthy of her Master. Mrs. Malkin would
rise. Mrs. Kayne Malkin would meet her cursed life in her best attire, with her eyes
dry and her hair perfectly set. She would understand the necessity to survive, to
remain strong. Mrs. Kayne Malkin would devote the rest of her life to avenge her
Master. Laura Spencer writhed inside her from the intolerable pain. Mrs. Malkin
reached in, lovingly, held her in her arms. She rocked her and caressed her hair,
like a doting mother hushed
her incessant howling. “He will pay…
We’ll make him pay,” she lovingly whispered in her ears.

Maxwell Bane would pay. He would learn the price of Kayne Malkin’s
head. She hung on to this one single thought to lift her heavy limbs off the
floor.

She received the official visit from two curt policemen not too
long after. Once again she was subjected to the gruesome details, though noted the
slight and telling differences of the official report. She acted blissfully ignorant
when questioned about Kayne’s work. She only allowed her bleeding heart to show when
questioned about their marriage. When they left, she knew she had cried her last
tears.

***

Lucas returned not too long after. He found Laura awaiting him in
the reception hall. She was sitting straight in a high-back chair, calm and
collected. She was clad in a black body-hugging dress and matching hat, a retro chic
look about her. She looked far more glamorous than in mourning. Before he even
opened his mouth, she silenced him with her palm.

“Where’s Kiev?” She loved Lucas. He was a good consolation for the
brother she lost. But she had come to depend on Kiev. He incarnated the
irreplaceable father figure she never had.

“I’ll get him.”

The two returned dressed in formal black suits, usual for Lucas, an
appreciated gesture from Kiev.

She looked at Lucas and simply nodded her head to give him the
go-ahead.

“You were right.”

Laura’s cool face came to life upon the affirmation. Something
sinister inside of her had taken residence. It resonated in her eyes. “We’d been
tracking him. We had a chip in his car…” Lucas continued.

Laura looked down at her bracelet. “Just like this
one?” she asked, lifting her wrist.

Lucas offered her an apologetic stare. “Similar. It was an earring,
made from the same jewelry maker… We’ve dealt a lot with him. Maxwell even knows
him… Kaminski. He’s old as a mummy but silent as a tomb.”

“And Maxwell wasn’t suspicious of receiving earrings from Kayne?”
she inquired, her tone sarcastic.

Lucas cleared his throat. “They were Tanya’s. She was working with
Kayne… spying on Maxwell. She hid them there.”

“I see.” Laura felt the sting at hearing her name. Even from the
grave, Tanya still managed to rub her closeness with Kayne in her face. “Please go
on.” She feigned indifference.

“Maxwell was at the police station sometime late at night
yesterday.”

“Okay…”

“His man Riley was on duty that night, so that’s not that
suspicious. But… Louis Lavallé was also there… spent the night in holdup. The chip
shows Maxwell drove around until dawn… . And then awfully close to here… about two
streets down… sometime in the early morning… Not long before Louis came home…”

Kiev shook his head. “Yes... yes… . Listen. You know Maxwell did
it, Boss knows it, and I know it. But that shit won’t fly with Dimitri. You say he
went to check himself? We can’t go to him with that. It’s not enough.”

“We won’t go to him with that.” Laura’s calm voice echoed in the
big hall.

Both men turned to her, having forgotten about her for a moment.
They would not make that mistake again.

Lucas’s emotions finally took over. “She’s right. Fuck Dimitri, he
probably knows something is fishy. He’ll keep quiet just to save face and,
obviously, keep the shipments on schedule. I say we go
after Maxwell
ourselves. Just say the word, Mrs. Malkin, and he’s a dead man.”

Laura smiled with all the hatred in her heart.

“Thank you, Lucas and Kiev.” She bowed her head, regal-like. “I
don’t want him a dead man.”

“Laura!” Lucas screamed, infuriated. He’d thought he’d seen a
glimpse of a woman he could follow, one worthy of his service, worthy of the memory
of his best friend.

The look she shot him both reassured him and silenced him.

Her voice was as calm as ever. “Maxwell Bane… .” She looked above
and around her, as if pleasantly tossing an idea in her head. “He’s married… with an
adorable young boy, isn’t he?”

Lucas nodded.

“Kiev, take the men you need. Find the wife and child. Bring them
to me. Lucas. You get me Maxwell.
Alive
, and unharmed.” The men looked at
her. She looked back, but clearly she didn’t see them. She smiled wickedly to the
vision playing out in front of her.

“You’re right. What we have is not enough. We’ll get our confession
straight from the dragon’s mouth. Let’s see how
he
holds up in interrogation…
Let’s see how he holds up to his wife’s… and that of his precious little boy.”

Kiev and Lucas exchanged a stare.

“That will be all. Thank you, gentlemen.”

They nodded their head in unison before turning around and leaving
her alone.

She watched them leave. Once alone, she returned to her sweet
fantasy.

Maxwell had stolen her Master away and any chance she had to ever
prove her love to him. His grotesque and mutilated body would be her shrine for her
Monster. The horror she would inflict on him would be heard of by gods and demons
alike. Little children all over the world would tremble in their beds at night,
having heard the tale of the Monster’s wife and the aftermath of
her broken heart. And Kayne, wherever he dwelled, would know how helplessly Laura
Spencer loved her Master.

***

Kiev and Lucas walked side by side in the hall, their walk
resolute, and their faces bleak.

“The king is dead,” Lucas muttered, mostly to himself.

“Long live the queen,” Kiev completed.

They stopped to look at each other. After a long pause, they
nodded, bowing their head one to another in quiet complicity. Their allegiance was
pledged.

Out into the beautiful sunny day, two grim reapers set out on their
macabre mission. Up in the clear blue sky, a crow circling overhead cawed along. It
followed the two men all the way to the front gate then returned to the Malkin
mansion. Atop the grand entrance, it perched itself, watching the opening gates, its
clear blue eyes strangely human.