Chapter Twenty-Six
It surprisingly wasn’t difficult to track down Franklin Sullivan. I was most surprised to find out that he lived in Chesapeake; about ten miles away from where Camden lived in Norfolk. I’m not a parent, and my time is running out to be a parent since I’m thirty-six, but how can you live so close to your estranged child and not even try to make things right?
“You’re letting it get personal again,” my darkness said as she sat in the passenger seat, her ankles crossed, and propped up on the dash.
“I’m not going to let anything ruin my plan,” I said, parking next to the air machine at a shitty gas station just outside of Norfolk. Shifting my car to park, I flipped the visor down, adjusting my Burberry blouse, and checking my makeup in the mirror of the visor.
“Care to share your plan here? You look like you’re going to a rich, entitled bitch brunch.”
“That’s the plan,” I said, reaching for my Chanel purse to find my lip-gloss. “I’ve done some digging on our Mr. Franklin Sullivan; he’s hurting for money. He owes a loan shark thirty grand. His alcohol problem evolved into a heroin problem. Add gambling into the mix, and you have yourself a desperate man. Oh, and he frequents this gas station to meet his dealer.”
“A real winner, huh?” My darkness scoffed and yawned.
I had intentionally lowered the air in my rear driver’s side tire, causing the low air light to appear on my dash; it gave me a reason to be parked at this seedy-looking gas station near the air pump.
Well now, this is interesting. I said in my mind as I saw Camden’s father looking around like he was searching for someone. Putting my lip-gloss back in my purse, I shut off my car and looped my arm through the strap.
The subtle sound of a muffled, surprised yelp met my ears, and looking toward the convenient store of the gas station, I saw Franklin drag a young blonde girl into the restroom on the side of the building. He gripped her upper arm roughly, pulling her against her will.
“She doesn’t look like a dealer,” my darkness said, sitting up straight in the seat, locking her eyes on the now closed door to the restroom. “What’s our play?”
“I’ll casually walk into that restroom and disrupt his plans with that girl so she can escape,” I said, stepping out of my car, walking around the back to look at my almost flat tire.
“He needs to be brought to the house,” my darkness said, meeting me at the back of the car.
“He needs money, so I wore one of my most expensive Burberry blouses, and brought my Chanel bag to entice him to want me to take him home to my safe.” Franklin needed to see that I was wealthy enough to solve his loan shark problem. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out my phone to check the time.
Eleven fifteen…
“They’ve been in there for three minutes. If you’re going to save this girl, you need to do it now.”
Suddenly, it rang, and Camden’s name appeared on the screen.
“I’m sorry, Camden,” I sighed, locking the screen, letting it go to voicemail.
Before I could tuck my phone away in my pocket, it chimed with a text message notification. Lifting my phone again, I looked at the notification to avoid the text showing as “read.”
Camden: The team was called to the senator’s office. His body was found at his desk. Can you meet me there ASAP?
Perfect. Everything is going according to plan, I thought, returning my phone to my pocket.
Approaching the door to the restroom, I pushed it open to find Franklin holding a large knife, pressing the tip of it underneath the trembling girl’s chin. He was fisting her hair, holding her in place, and his pants were unzipped.
“Oh! Oh my god!” I cried out, feigning surprise, bringing my hands to my mouth.
Franklin whipped his body around, releasing the girl. His bloodshot eyes looked me up and down, settling on my Chanel bag I had looped around my arm.
“Well, well. Isn’t this a surprise.” he pointed the tip of the knife at me, stalking toward me. “A two for one.”
He backed me into a dirty corner of the restroom, and I locked eyes with the girl. She had mascara running down her cheeks from her tears, and she looked frightened to death.
“Come on, baby. I just want to have a little fun,” Franklin groaned through clenched teeth, as he dragged the tip of the knife roughly down my cheek, cutting into my skin.
Even though I was numb to it, I forced myself to cry out in pain, keeping my eyes on the girl. Franklin leaned in closer to me, pressing his disgusting erection into me as he inhaled at my neck. As soon as he wasn’t looking at me, I motioned to the door with my eyes, and the girl nodded.
“What’s a fancy-looking woman like you doing in a place like this, I wonder?” He groaned, groping my breasts over my shirt. Trying to squirm away, his hold on me tightened, and he placed the blade horizontally across my neck. “Don’t move, baby,” He said, pinning me in place with his forearm, reaching for my purse.
“I-I just needed to use…Use the restroom,” I forced out, rolling my eyes.
“Well, you’re out of luck, sweetheart. See, I’m in a bit of a bind, and something tells me you’re the one that will help me out of that bind; especially carrying a purse like that,” he said, pressing the knife into my neck.
“P-Please… Don’t hurt me,” I cried out, forcing tears to fall. My darkness chuckled in my mind, and I forced her to be quiet.
Stop fucking distracting me. I hissed in my mind.
“How about when I’m done here, we go to the bank, and you empty your account for me like a good girl, huh?” He growled, his free hand forcing its way up my thigh, under my skirt. The girl took the opportunity to run while Franklin was focused on me. She scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the door.
Removing his hand from my thigh, Franklin reached into the pocket of his coat, pulling out a gun, and shooting her in the back as she reached for the doorknob. He never took his eyes off of me as he killed her, catching me off guard.
“What a fucking shame. See what you made me do by interrupting me?” He hissed, shoving his gun back in his pocket.
My eyes were glued to the poor girl, her lifeless eyes staring into mine as her last tear fell. A pool of blood was forming underneath her, surrounding her slim body.
“If you move, you will die just like that stupid cunt. You understand?”
I nodded frantically, gluing my body against the wall behind me.
Franklin lowered his knife from my throat, placing it in a holder on his belt. He stepped back a step and reached his hand out to me and I looked at it, confused.
“Give me your phone. The last thing I need is you calling the cops,” he ordered.
Forcing my body to tremble, I reached into my coat pocket, handing him my phone with a shaky hand. Dropping it to the ground, he stomped on it once, shattering the screen, and turned toward the girl. Kneeling next to her, he tilted his head and sighed as his eyes found her ass. She was wearing a skirt, and the way she fell had it riding up so the bottoms of her plump ass cheeks were showing.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out his gun again, turning to aim it at my chest.
“If you move from that spot, pretty girl, I’ll empty this clip into your body. Understand?” He growled, and I nodded. “Sit that pretty little ass on the ground while I continue what you interrupted.” I obeyed, sinking to the floor, hugging my purse to my chest.
Franklin placed his gun on the ground next to the girl’s hand and reached a dirty, disgusting hand up her skirt, yanking down her panties in one motion. Dragging his fingers along her pussy, he pressed into her with a groan.
Anger like I’ve never felt before rose from the depths of my soul, threatening to consume me. It would be so easy for me to kill this disgusting motherfucker right here, but I couldn’t.
He flipped her body over so she was lying on her back, and unfastened his pants, pulling his horrid cock out. Ripping her panties all the way off, he shoved them in his coat pocket, and dragged his hand through her pool of blood until his hand was coated in it.
Don’t tell me he’s going to…
Sitting back on his heels, he fisted his cock with his bloody hand, stroking himself, groaning like a feral animal. Propping her limp leg up onto his shoulder, he dragged his hand in her blood again, coating her pussy with her own blood, and shoved his cock inside of her.
He fucked the poor girl roughly, her pretty blonde hair now drenched in blood as her limp body moved with his thrusts.
“Fuck yeah, just like that,” he groaned, scooping up more blood to use as lubrication since it had dried up already. Pressing her other thigh open, his shaky movements made me roll my eyes.
Pathetic. He’s going to come already. My darkness hissed in my mind.
Releasing her thigh to reach for his gun, he aimed it at me again.
“Get…Get the fuck over here, now. Let me see you crawl to me, bitch,” he groaned, and against my better judgment, I obeyed. Once close enough, he quickly pulled his cock out of the girl, fucking his hand right in front of my face. Pressing the barrel of his gun on my cheek, his dark, evil, hooded eyes glared at me. “Open that pretty mouth,” he moaned, cocking the gun.
Letting my darkness consume me, I dissociated as I obeyed. Keeping his gun on my cheek, he fisted my hair forcing his cock down my throat. I could taste the girl’s blood on my tongue as he pulled my head to meet his thrusts.
“Fuck,” he hissed as the disgusting taste of his come hit my tongue, shooting down my throat, making me gag. “If you spit that out, you die,” he groaned, removing his cock from my mouth. Forcing myself to swallow, he grinned and lowered his gun, putting the safety back on.
Grabbing his knife again, he dragged it down my cheek again along the same cut. Blood trailed down my cheek, dripping off my chin, falling to the ground. He reached into his pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small bag with a slice of skin inside. All I could do was stare at the skin, assessing it as he opened the bag and carefully placed it over his thumb.
It’s decomposing, but somewhat well preserved. Maybe a month old?
Using his skin-covered thumb, he gathered my blood from the cut on my cheek, coating his faux thumb in crimson. Turning back toward the girl on the ground, he lifted one of her limp hands, and pressed his bloody thumbprint onto the floor…using my blood as his signature. Gently placing her hand down next to his signature, he opened the bag again, placing the small slice of skin back inside, and placing it back in his pocket.
Camden’s father is the Norfolk Butcher… The motherfucker that was killing innocent people in poor taste…
With a satisfied sigh, he stood and zipped up his pants. Casually walking toward the sink, he washed his hands as if he just got done using the restroom. I was left stunned and breathless, bile rising in my throat.
While Franklin’s back was to me, I quickly reached for my broken phone, pressing the lock screen button on the side. It lit up, so I quickly pulled up my text messages, and called Camden from his last text message. Locking the screen right before he turned around, I hugged my knees, acting traumatized.
I didn’t have time to turn the volume down, so I hoped that Camden would just listen and not raise his voice so his father could hear.
“Now, you,” Franklin hissed, approaching me again.
“P-Please, just…just let me go,” I begged with shaky breaths.
“Can’t do that, sweetheart. You saw too much,” Franklin said in a sinister tone. “Stand up. A girl like you wearing designer clothes has a safe in their home. Am I wrong?” He asked.
“N-No… Please, I’ll give you whatever you want,” I sniffled. Cocking his gun again, he pressed it into my forehead.
“I said stand the fuck up. You’re taking me home and emptying that safe for me.”
All I could do was nod. Franklin put his gun away, wrapping his hand around my upper arm, pulling me toward the exit of the bathroom. I didn’t realize how dark the restroom was until we stepped out into the sun. Squinting my eyes, we walked toward my car, still parked by the air machine.
“Get in and drive,” he commanded, circling around to the passenger side.
“M-My tire… My low pressure light is on, so I stopped here and—”
“Shut the fuck up, and get over here,” he growled with clenched teeth. Hugging my purse, I stood next to him as he worked the hose to add air to my tire. My car sounded a small honk when it was filled up to specifications. Franklin tossed the hose back toward the machine and pointed to the driver’s side door.
Sitting in the driver’s side, I started the ignition. Franklin was shifted slightly to face me, and held his gun on his lap, pointing it at me.
“Drive. Time to go home, sweetheart.”