Not fifteen feet away, Karley was making breakfast. The only barrier between them was a thin apartment wall. That she hadn’t heard anything was something of a miracle.
“Five hours. That’s all. Get to work.”
Tom left the apartment and stormed off toward his car. Every stride he took, every gesture he made, was filled with anger.
Somebody was going to pay dearly for pissing him off. Ryan intended to make sure that someone wasn’t himself.
II
Pissed didn’t start to cover it. Pardue was wickedly, lividly enraged and wanted to take it out on someone. He just hadn’t figured out who that someone would be. The list of people he wanted to hurt was monumental; his ability to do so was limited. There were the girls, Lord knew a few of them were giving him attitude, and he wanted it taken care of, but he could only go so far before they weren’t marketable. Even what he’d done to Lizzie was pushing it a bit. She’d had to recover for two days before she could get enthusiastic with a client and that had cost him money.
Just right now, money was the root of all his woes. Somebody, somewhere, had raped his bank accounts and done it so well he was at a complete loss. The problem was that even with his money laundered in advance he couldn’t exactly go to the cops and report the problem. He had a bit of a rep and he knew it was Boyd who would get the case. It was always that short little fuck who dealt with him.
He picked up his cell phone and dialed Lenny Simonson. Lenny was the only other person who could have touched his cash without all sorts of red flags going off. Lenny was also the more likely of the two when it came to being stupid. Ryan had enough money of his own and wasn’t likely to get desperate, but it sure was fun putting the fear of God into him. Hell, that had about made his morning; would have made it, if Ryan could have pulled a half a million dollars out of his ass to make up for what was missing.
Ryan couldn’t do that.
Lenny did not answer his phone. He also did not, for whatever insane reason, believe in answering machines. So he was going to have to do this the old-fashioned way and just pay the little bitch a visit.
Lenny was different than Ryan. With Ryan, a threat would be enough to make him work his ass off. Lenny would require a demonstration.
He wondered if Lenny’s little girl had hit puberty yet. “Either way, bitch is gonna scream I don’t get some satisfaction today.”
Part of him hoped Lenny was guilty of something. He wanted to see the look on the asshole’s face when he stuck it to his good buddy’s little girl. Hell, knowing Lenny, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he was doing the girl himself. Lenny liked them young. They had a good relationship for that reason; Tom could provide all the side dishes he wanted just as long as Lenny kept the books neat and orderly.
The books, by the way, were not looking at all good.
Neither was the chance that Lenny would be a happy man for much longer.
He drove, his eyes locked on the road and making sure he did the speed limit.
Outside, the crows were watching, waiting patiently. They had their own agendas and they were not sharing their secrets with anyone.
III
Kelli finished with her classes and tried to keep up the appearance that all was well in her world. She called on Marie, Rita, and Erika to help her with the kids. They all agreed, though she was sure it was mostly just to keep her company. They still thought she was crazy as a loon for staying in the house and helping out with the trick-or-treaters. She didn’t care. The Listers were technically missing, not dead, and she intended to take care of the house as if they were still there.
It was all she had, anyway.
So she penciled in the time for taking care of the Halloween thing and went about her business.
Such as it was. Mostly she was coasting. She was doing that a lot these days.
When classes were finished, she thought about going home and instead decided to hit the library. She was curious now about Jason Soulis, so she decided to look into his background as much as she could.
Google and Yahoo! were her friends. She spent hours looking up the name Soulis and his full name. On Soulis she got a lot of stuff about a Scottish Lord who had been burned to death for witchcraft and for apparently kidnapping and torturing villagers to death. She also found references to dozens of people with the last name, articles on clubs, and people who were just living their lives but apparently did something noteworthy.
On Jason Soulis, she found nothing. Not a damned thing.
How the hell does someone afford a place like that and have no mention in even an occasional newspaper article online? That’s just crazy.
She didn’t know enough about computers and searching to get far anyway, but she’d expected to find something.
As she was getting ready to leave, she saw the crows outside. Once again they were everywhere. The lawns were black with them, and they all seemed to be waiting for something. She just had no idea what it might be.
Apparently it was for her. The moment she stepped out of the building they exploded into activity, lifting into the air and taking off in a massive black cloud. Aside from the wind they generated, they were still eerily silent.
The crows. She hadn’t really noticed them until Jason came to town.
It took her a few minutes to dig into her purse and find the business card, but she eventually found Richard Boyd’s number and gave it a ring. He didn’t answer so she left him a message. There was nothing solid, of course, but she wanted him to know about her search and about the crows for what little it was worth.
“Hey, Kelli!” She recognized the voice immediately. It was Todd Thatcher. He was one of the Phi Chi’s, a rather notorious fraternity on the campus. They had the best parties, the best drugs, and the worst reputation for a frat house in the state as far as she could tell.
Still, she’d managed to go to a few of their parties in the past and always had a good time. Okay, so her ass got grabbed now and then, but she always had fun flirting with the jocks and the upperclassmen that made up the roster.
And they were smart enough to know it was just flirting. Mostly. Derek Benson wasn’t smart enough. Todd had been there to prevent his refusal to accept “no” as answer from becoming an incident that would have landed her in the hospital, Derek in jail, or both. When he tried forcing the issue, Todd slammed him into the wall hard enough to dent the plaster and then made him apologize to Kelli. Derek wasn’t with the Phi Chi’s anymore. He didn’t go to the university anymore, either. He managed to screw up his grades too badly to stay.
“How are you, Todd?” She smiled in his direction and he came closer, a broad grin on his broad body. The boy was built like a door: big and blocky.
“I’m good. We’re having a party tonight, thought you might like to come.” He was trying to be casual, but it wasn’t working all that well. He had a crush, and he was sweet when he wasn’t being a typical guy.
“Oh, I don’t know if I can.” She doubted it, actually. There were tests to study for and she didn’t like being away from the house after dark right now. There was something creepy about the nights lately. The nightmares probably had something to do with it. Sometimes she still thought Teddy was outside and asking her to let him in.
He looked a little crestfallen, but it was a survivable level. He pouted very well for such a big moose. “Oh, that’s cool. Just wanted to let you know.”
“I would if I could, Todd. But I’m so far behind on my schoolwork and I have to watch over the house for the Listers.” She gave him her best apologetic look and he shuffled around uncomfortably for a second. “Maybe we could do something on Halloween? I have to take some kids out around five, but I should be done a little after seven, maybe seven-thirty.”
He smiled and nodded. If he’d had a tail, it would have wagged. “Yeah, that’d be great. We’re having a party that night too. This is just sort of a warm-up.”
“Yeah, I was wondering why the party on a Wednesday night.”
“Hey, why not?”
“So, you want to meet up?”
“That’d be great. Okay.” He shuffled from one foot to the other, his hands moving like they had no idea what to do with themselves. Kelli’s hands never had that problem; they flew around her body whenever she spoke.
“Okay, so I’ll see you later, Todd.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you, Kelli.”
She walked off, smiling again and thrilled. She hadn’t had a chance at a date or even a party for over two months, and she needed the release.
Todd shuffled off, on his way to wherever he had been going. He was smiling, too.
They never got to go on the date. Todd was dead by Halloween.
IV
The Phi Chi boys wanted to have a party, and that meant they called on Tom. Tom was glad to accommodate. They wanted to spend enough to at least earn him the cash to make his next buy, which was going to be necessary if he wanted to stay in business.
He hadn’t found Lenny, and he was on his way to Ryan’s place when Doug Clark got hold of him. Doug was the big man on campus this year; top of the food chain as it were. That was good, because Doug had money and wasn’t afraid to spend it.
“Yo, Tom, my man! Wassup?”
“Doug! How’s business?”
“Rockin’, that’s why I need to get some party supplies.”
“What are you gonna need, Doug?”
Doug gave him a list that was substantial and put Tom into a good mood for the first time all day. “I can do all of that, my man. Anything else?”
“Yeah, actually.” He sounded almost embarrassed. Anything but extremely cocky was rare for the moron, but that was okay as long as there was money involved.
“Talk to me.”
“Some of the guys were thinking a few girls could be fun. I heard you can supply some.”
“Oh, I can get you girls. No problem there, but they aren’t your standard hookers. We’re talking high-end, quality ass.”
“That’s cool. How much?”
“How many guys?”
Doug paused for a moment before answering, “The whole frat.”
“How many girls?”
“Maybe three or four.” He was sounding a little nervous now. Three or four girls for one of the largest fraternities in the area probably meant a serious train job on the girls. They would not be happy when it was all done.
“Three will be four large. Four will be five large.” They’d have to be placated, of course, but he needed the cash and there were a few girls who still thought they could push Tom to get what they wanted. It was time for them to learn otherwise.
“Better make it three then. Sky’s the limit, but damn.”
“I’m not kidding when I say they’re the best.”
“They do what we want?” Actually, there would probably be a lot of screaming and protesting, but when it was done, they’d be grateful to get back to the high-end boys who only wanted straight sex instead of a little gang action or to watch a girl take a donkey. He had shit to make the girls compliant, but there were limits.
“Oh, they might fuss a little, but they’ll do it. That’s what they get paid to do.”
“Sweet stuff, my man.”
“I’ll have the girls rounded up by around eight o’clock. I’ll have everything else sooner if you need it.”
“The earlier the better with the supplies. Beer only goes so far.”
Tom smiled. “You know what? Just for this occasion, I’m gonna drop you some Viagra. Make sure you can show the girls the time of their lives.”
“Awesome! You’re the man!”
“Oh yes. The one and only, Doug. Don’t you forget it.”
He hung up the phone and relaxed a bit. Playtime was over. He had just the three girls he wanted to use, and they would have no idea what was coming.
The one he was going to have the most fun with was Maggie. Bitch needed to learn her place. It was long overdue.
But first, he had to visit Ryan and find out what was going on.
And maybe he’d have to show Ryan’s woman a good time. He was a little disappointed that he hadn’t found Lenny and his little girl, but it was a small price to pay.
Lenny could wait until tomorrow if he had to. His daughter could wait, too, but the longer Tom had to wait, the worse he was going to make it for the girl.
Ryan didn’t have any information for him.
He cried when Tom tied him up. He begged when Tom grabbed Karley and started giving her a work over.
Karley cried too. That made it more fun.
V
Maggie woke up a little after three in the afternoon. The window curtains were drawn tightly and she was in the exact same clothes she had been wearing the night before. She was also in Ben’s bed.
She sat up and felt a slight twinge from her muscles. All in all she felt much better than she had the night before. She could hear the stereo playing in Ben’s living room. Diana Krall sang softly but she didn’t recognize the tune.
Maggie stretched, feeling the muscles slide under her skin in an oddly sensuous way. She stood up and looked around the small bedroom. She had been placed on top of the covers, and the only distortion of the bedclothes came from where her body had been resting. Ben had left her alone through the day.
Jason had said something to her the night before about finding someone she could trust, and she guessed that maybe she had.
She left his bedroom and immediately went for the toilet. It wasn’t hard to find, as their apartments were mirror images. After what seemed like a few eternities, her bladder stopped screaming at her and she flushed.
Not wanting to delay the inevitable, she walked toward the living room and found Ben asleep on the couch. His face was looking less swollen. On the coffee table in front of him, she spotted her shoes and her purse. Her keys were sitting slightly aside from everything else. Had she dropped them the night before? She wasn’t sure, but she thought maybe she had. Ben must have gone looking for them after he found her.