Slipway Grey: A Deep Sea Thriller (10 page)

It was the room at the end of the hall that caught his eye. The secret room they weren’t allowed to go into, and one that’d slipped his mind with all the distractions going on. Mandy wasn’t around now to police the house. That just made him want to check it out even more. He touched the door and felt the thick wood.  He pressed on it, and the door rocked back gently, enough to slip a credit card behind the lock. He took out his wallet and used his student ID to prop the door open. It swung with a creak, and Glenn stepped into darkness.

Heavy drapes covered the windows, blocking any sunlight from entering. He made out the shape of a long desk and felt his way toward it. He debated flipping on the main lights but decided against it. This room was locked for a reason, and he was determined to find out why. He flicked on the desk lamp and was disappointed to see the room plain with the exception of a few tacky paintings on the wall of water birds in flight. He opened the desk drawers, but they were empty, as well.

There was a door behind him. It opened into a huge walk-in closet. He entered and pulled the light cord overhead. His blood chilled as the room illuminated.

The writing and pictures on the wall were the first things he noticed. Ugly scrawled drawings of sharks and people in the water covered the two sides of the closet. Words surrounded them. Nonsensical sentences written with an unstable hand. Glenn’s eyes focused on, KILL THEM ALL, RAPIST, MOLESTER, and SLIPWAY GREY. The word ‘Grey’ had been written over and over again. Torn pages from colorful oceanic books were glued to the wall. All of sharks. Of bull sharks and lines drawn under the various names they were known by across the globe. Slipway. Grey. Slipway Grey.

A row of white mannequin heads set on a dresser, each wearing a different color wig. Black, brown, and red hair draped over the vacant faces, and Glenn felt his heart rush. He opened one of the drawers and sorted through a number of wallets and a few small purses. He read some of the names, recognizing them from newspaper articles. Missing persons? Glenn didn’t think so. Something horrible had happened to them. And all signs pointed right to Mandy. The other drawers revealed assorted knives, mace, makeup, and other accessories. It was like looking into a costume shop. There were accessories for every occasion. He sorted through a row of outfits and dresses, each one different than the last. Dried brown stains were visible on most of the outfits.

A small backpack set on the floor, and Glenn picked it up. He felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead, and he hurried to cram it with as much evidence as the backpack could handle. He grabbed the wallets and some IDs, the wigs, and a few of the dresses with the dried blood on them. Mandy was sick.
What about Chet, Desmond, Serena, and Sarah?

He slung the backpack over his shoulders, closed the closet door, and then the one to the office on the way out. He knew the keys to Mandy’s SUV were on the bar countertop, and he needed to get out of there in a hurry. He ran downstairs and looked out the bay windows, seeing Mandy and Luke talking on the dock. Mandy pointed at something in the water.
Shit, Luke!

“I can’t leave you buddy.”

He put the keys in his pocket, made his way out the door, and then up the walkway to the boathouse and pier. He needed answers, and even if he had to do something awful to Mandy, he was going to get Luke and himself out of there.

Chapter 15

Mandy’s hair hid her face as she stared at the white sand. “Maybe it’s all been for the best.” She brushed it aside and gazed at Luke, eyes glistening. Her mouth parted, and her tongue rolled across her lips. A breeze kicked up, and a gull dove in the water catching a small fish. Time had frozen.

“For the best? I don’t know what you mean,” Luke said. “We’ve known each other for a long time, right?”

“Well, yeah. We’ve been going to school together forever. But you never really had much to do with me until I started tutoring you.”

“Well, we did hang out in different circles. You know, I always thought you were cute.”

“Really?” Luke unleashed his exuberance.

“Yes, but you are on the shy side. I usually go for guys with more…personality.”

“You go for jocks with bulging muscles and chiseled good looks. Guys like Chet and Desmond look like men. I look like I’m still twelve years old.”

“You’re still a cutie.” Mandy smiled.

Luke blushed, and then tightly closed his eyes. “Don’t…”

“What’s the matter?”

His hand rapidly patted his thigh. “Uh, don’t be so nice to me. It kind of hurts my feelings. I feel like you’re leading me on.”

She stepped closer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way. Tell me, what’s wrong?”

“Mandy, I like you. I like you a lot. In fact…” Luke paused and inhaled deeply. “I love you…and I know there’s no way you could ever feel that way about me.” He closed his eyes as if waiting to be punched. Instead, soft lips pressed against his cheek. He popped his eyes back open.

Mandy endearingly gazed back. “I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you to say.”

“No. Because I don’t want to push you away. I’ve only got a few weeks before I head off to college, and I at least wanted to be your friend until then. But, then again, if I don’t tell you now…well…”

“I understand. I was about to share some of my feelings with you. Feelings that I started having while you tutored me. I saw something in you. Something that you hide. You hide it because you’re afraid what others will think, but it goes deeper than that. You hide it because it scares you. Because you’re ashamed to admit the darkness within. Like me.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“When you talk about Chet or Desmond, I see you ball your hands into fists and clench your teeth. You’re angry. You’ve been the odd guy out most of your life. If it weren’t for Glenn, none of the cool people would even know your name. You’d love to get even with them, wouldn’t you? Make them beg. Make them bleed.” Mandy’s eyes blazed with fire.

Luke tensed and nodded. “It’s true. Sometimes. I want them to pay. Pull a Columbine or poison them all...” He shook his head and slumped his shoulders. “But that’s all just fantasies. I couldn’t do things like that in real life. I’m just too chicken-shit.” Luke looked up at Mandy, returning that fiery blaze. “I want revenge, satisfaction.”

“Satisfaction comes in many forms. Maybe I can help you find what you’re missing in life.” Mandy was nearly as tall as Luke. She lifted her hand and moved her fingers to the side of his neck, gently pulling his face toward her parted lips.

Mandy’s lips were as soft as marshmallows and more delicious. Luke’s heart raced as euphoria tingled down his spine. This moment was a dream come true, and one he wanted to hold onto forever. She pressed her body against his. Something in her musk stirred his cock to life. Luke embraced her tightly letting her know he was just as much of a man as any of the others. This was the woman he loved. This was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. There would be nothing that could ever come between them. He would give her whatever her heart desired and would die if it meant to protect one hair on her head from being harmed.

“We can be soul mates,” she whispered in his ear.

“I’d like that.”

Mandy stepped back with her arms to the side and grabbed a hand of his in each of hers. “I’ve waited a long time to open up and tell my story to someone I can trust.”

“We’re together now. You can tell me anything. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

She sighed and briefly looked toward the water before turning her attention back to Luke. “It will be hard to put everything into words—especially my feelings.” Mandy’s expression went blank. “I spent most of my youth in a walking coma. From the time my mom married Charles Rivers to when they both died I only had one true friend.”

“A friend? Who?”

“I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I’ll get back to that. I try not to think too much about my past. I remember being happy before they got married, though. I remember my mom taking me to McDonald’s on my third birthday. I slid down the Hamburglar slide, rode the Mayor McCheese merry-go-round, and climbed up this Big Mac house and waved down at her through the bars. My favorite was to hide in the ball pit and jump out and surprise her. I had chicken nuggets and cupcakes she bought from a bakery afterward. We lived in a small apartment and didn’t have much, but we were happy. Things changed when she started dating Charles.” She chuckled. “Maybe dating isn’t the right word.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mother was a stripper. Of course, I had no idea back then. She must have been good, too. Charles was loaded, and she managed to get her hooks deep enough into him that he married her. Things got worse from there. Charles was very abusive to both me and my mother. He never seemed happy with anything we did. Well, there was one thing—the only thing he married my mother for, I think. He was some kind of sex freak. I’d hear them every morning before he went to work and every night when they went to bed. He’d even come home for lunch sometimes and she’d blow him while he ate.”

“You saw this? That’s sick.”

“I’d just walk in on them sometimes. I know he wanted me to see it. Mom would protest, but by that time she had already started taking pills to sleep and pills to help her wake up. The vodka bottle was always next to the tomato juice at breakfast.”

“Did you ever try and talk to her about it?”

“A few times. She said she loved him, and that he was a great provider. She said she wanted me to have everything money could buy. Bullshit. She did it for herself. She must have had five hundred pairs of shoes in her closet and a gemstone ring for every day of the year. She loved being rich.”

“Having money is a wonderful thing.”

“Having money nearly made me kill myself. I started running away at ten. They sent me to a few different shrinks but didn’t start drugging me until I cut my wrist.” Mandy pulled her bracelet aside and held her arm up for Luke to see the scar. “Charles didn’t start coming into my bedroom at night until I was fifteen.”

Luke reeled in horror. “Oh, my God! No!”

Mandy’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, yes. He took advantage of me. He wanted a younger version of my mother. Life was a living hell, and my friend showed me how I needed to live my life to find happiness. I was scared at first, but he was right. Life is just one grand fucking adventure now.” The fire returned to her eyes.

“There you go with this friend again. Are you going to tell me about him now?” Luke’s emotions had taken a rollercoaster ride over the past several minutes. He had been so focused, and life’s path—so clear, before they kissed. Now, Mandy’s life story had unfolded in a way he’d never imagined. He prepared himself for anything. Nothing would get in the way. Nothing.

“Take a walk with me to the end of the pier. There’s something I want to show you.” Mandy took Luke’s hand and led the way.

*

Luke stood at the end of the pier and stared out over the vastness of the Gulf of Mexico. He squinted his eyes as the hot sun burned his retinas. Mandy’s hand was cool to the touch, and he made sure to hold on to it tightly. His eyes widened as the large fin cut the water and circled around the pier.

A shark!

He had never seen one so close before, and this one was big. “Mandy, look!  That thing is huge.”  Luke stared like a mesmerized kid on Christmas morning.

“That’s who I wanted to introduce you to.” She reached down toward the water.

“Mandy, what are you doing!” He grabbed an arm to pull her away, but she shrugged him off.

The shark made a line for the pier, and its massive head rose out the water. Luke gasped, expecting the jagged teeth to take off Mandy’s hand, but instead the shark allowed itself to be stroked as it passed.

“What the fuck?”

“This is Grey. He’s my friend. My only real friend. Besides you, now.”

“Mandy…I…I don’t know what to think right now.” He felt nauseous at the sight of the large bull shark swimming around so calm and carefree.

“There’s nothing to think about. Grey saved me. He gave me a purpose in life. He showed me a way.” A sick grin crossed her face. “He killed my parents.”

“I thought they died in a boating accident?”

“They did, sort of. It was the night I finally had enough of Charles raping me, and I ran away, got into one of our boats. I didn’t really have a plan, but they came after me, and Grey was waiting for them. It was beautiful what he did. He took away all my pain that night.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone what happened?”

“Tell them what? That a bull shark killed my parents? They’d have sent people out to hunt him down. He isn’t evil. They were. They deserved to die, not him. I hope we can keep this secret between us, Luke.”

“Yeah, you can trust me. This is all just a bit much for me to take in.”

“It’s okay. We’re together now. Just you and me, looking out for one another. We need to be able to trust one another with secrets.”

“How about you tell us your biggest secret, murderer?” Glenn said.

The world came to a screeching halt as Luke saw his friend step out onto the pier. At that moment, he knew things were never going to be the same again.

*

“What did you just call me?” Mandy asked. Her voice was cool and dry. Luke’s head was spinning.

“Glenn, what’s going on, man?” Luke suspiciously eyed his friend, unsure if he’d heard correctly.

“Luke, get away from her. She’s dangerous.” Glenn choked on the words. His face was a deep shade of crimson, and his hands fidgeted with the straps of the backpack. “I know all about you, Mandy. What you are. What you’ve done.”

“And what’s that?” Mandy asked followed by a cocky grin.

“You kill people.”

Luke let out a laugh. “Okay, Glenn, this is kind of funny, and I’m not sure what you two are doing, but that’s ridiculous. Right, Mandy?”

Mandy said nothing. A lone tear rolled down her cheek, and her focus never left Glenn. The shark swam closer to the pier. Luke felt it shake when the large fish’s body rubbed against the pilings. It was like being in a classic Western standoff and both gunmen were ready for the other to draw their weapon.

“Mandy, he’s just playing around, right?”

“Luke, of course he’s not serious. I think he’s drunk…or high. Glenn, did you find my stepdad’s stash?”

“No, Mandy, I found something much better. Your wigs, your weapons, and about a dozen wallets and IDs, all belonging to the people you’ve killed. What are they? Trophies for you to remember the good times? I’ve got the evidence in my backpack. And the more I think about it, I’m not so sure our friends didn’t suffer a similar fate.”

Mandy laughed. “I didn’t get a chance to add their stuff to the pile.”

“You fucking monster!” Glenn ran forward and tackled Mandy.

Both bodies hit the pier hard. Mandy used his momentum to straddle him. She dug in deep with her nails, tearing pieces of flesh from his cheek, and trying to gouge out his eyes. Glenn screamed and raised his hands to protect himself. A thunderous right cross hit Mandy underneath the jaw as she rolled off and Glenn maneuvered on top. He pummeled her again and again, each punch finding its mark. Luke was so stunned he couldn’t move.

“Luke, help me!” Mandy wailed.

Luke broke the invisible chains and sprang forward. He’d only meant to pull Glenn off and separate the two, but tripped over a loose board on the pier. His shoulder crashed into Glenn’s right side as Glenn raised his fist to hit Mandy again.

The shock knocked Glenn off, and he rolled once before falling into the water with a splash.

Luke dropped to Mandy’s side and carefully brushed her hair out of her face. Blood ran from her nose and chin. A patch of hair was slick from an open wound.

“Get him, Grey!”

Luke had forgotten about the shark. He reached over the side and offered his hand for rescue.

The boy choked and sputtered as he frantically reached for Luke’s hand. The backpack filled with water, and Glenn’s wet jeans and water-logged boots held him down. He made an attempt at Luke’s hand but missed. Glenn’s eyes pleaded with his best friend to save him.

The attack came suddenly, and Luke saw the shark’s massive head appear from behind. Rows of teeth emerged from the green water and sank down on Glenn’s back. Glenn screamed and grabbed Luke’s hand. It was too late. Luke felt a tug far stronger than he could ever hope to overcome and was nearly pulled off the pier. Glenn’s hand slipped from his grasp. Luke watched in horror as his friend disappeared beneath the water. Large bubbles broke on the surface, and then went still.