16 Jude
After Jerry sent the ransom demand to Cope, he and Nurse Betty left his room. Jude heard the bolt slam home, meaning he was once again trapped in the cellar. Jude could hear footsteps overhead, which made him assume he was being held in a basement. If he were in some sort of bomb shelter or underground tunnel, he wouldn’t have been able to hear people walking over his head. Freedom was so close, yet so far.
Jude set his mind back to the idea of breaking out of his cage. If he could do that, he was sure he’d be able to take Jerry when he came through the door. Same went for Betty, but he’d do his best not to hurt the older woman. The element of surprise would be on his side.
The one fly in the ointment of his plan was that Jude was starving. The last meal he’d eaten was the McDonalds Jerry had brought the night before. Jude had no idea what time it was or when his next meal was coming. If one was coming at all.
He grabbed the handle to the bucket and went to work trying to figure out the best way to break the lock, which hung from a hasp. The plate was securely bolted to the door to the cell, while the hasp itself was attached to the first bar to left of the door. The plate swung over to the loop and the padlock was attached, making it impossible to push the door open. If Jude could use the metal bucket handle as a lever, he might be able to snap off the lock.
Jude had a lock like this at home. He used it to keep the kids out of the work shed in the backyard. He kept fertilizer and potting soil, along with hedge trimmers and clippers, in there and didn’t want Wolf or Lizbet to get their tiny hands on those things. At some point last winter, the key had been lost and Jude ended up borrowing a crowbar from Ronan, which he used to snap off the lock. It had been quick work, but Jude was at full strength physically and wasn’t hungry. His life depended on him getting out of this cage.
Sticking the handle trough the shackle of the lock, Jude wrapped his right hand around the top of the metal and his left around the bottom. He held on tight and wrenched the metal forward. The lock didn’t budge and he whacked his hand on the cell bars, nearly causing him to drop the piece of metal.
Jude tried it again and again, the shackle held firm. He needed something stronger that would provide more torque, like a crowbar or tire iron, but he was going to have to make do with the only tool he hand. If more force was needed, he would have to provide it.
He was about to try again, when he heard the familiar screech of the door being opened. Jude hurried to hide the handle under his pillow and sat down quickly, putting a despondent face on. The last thing he wanted was his happy face to alert Jerry he had a plan to break out.
“Good morning, sweetheart,”
Jerry cooed as he stepped through the door. In his hands, he held a foil package of Pop Tarts and a bottle of water. “Breakfast is served.”
He set the foot down about a foot away from the bars of the cage. “It’s your favorite! Remember how we ate a whole box of strawberry-frosted Pop Tarts that first night we were together.
Jude remembered every detail of that night. He’d picked Jerry up at Spellbound and instead of getting down and dirty in the men’s room or in the backseat of the Thunderbird, he’d brought Jerry home with him, which, of course, had been a colossal mistake. If he only knew then what he knew now, Jude would have stayed home that night.
“Come on, eat up!”
Jerry offered a too-bright smile, reminding Jude of a cartoon villain trying to kill his intended victim with kindness before the trap was sprung.
Jude raised a silent eyebrow at the food. Both were packaged, but he wouldn’t put it past Jerry to have somehow tampered with them.
“Don’t worry, Jude. Neither of them are poisoned. I need you in tip top shape for today.”
Jerry bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, like a kid excited to open his Christmas presents.
“Why, so I can shovel your driveway?”
Jude asked with a cold smile. Not that he would mind that in the slightest. He’d use the shovel to incapacitate Jerry and would take off running, even if his shoes weren’t returned to him.
“You know, that’s a good idea.”
Jerry’s impossibly bright smile got even brighter. “I hate being out in the cold, but that is beside the point.”
He shrugged and refocused his attention on Jude. “I need your movie star good looks on full display.”
“Why?”
Jude asked. “Are you gonna sell me to your friends?”
Jerry gasped and clutched his proverbial pearls. “I would never share you. With anyone. Ever.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell his former lover that had shared himself over the eight years they’d been apart, first, with one night stands and then with Cope. “Good to know. What’s the plan?”
“We’re gonna make another video for Cope so that he can make the ransom drop.”
Jerry was still smiling. “I can’t thank you enough for putting that idea into my head. Once we finish the Beast’s work, Mom and I deserve a little comfort. We’ll use the ransom money to buy a little place down south, maybe in Myrtle Beach or New Orleans and spend the rest of our lives on easy street. Great plan, huh?”
“Yeah, sounds great, man. Am I coming with you to NOLA?”
With the mention of the Beast, Jude had a very bad feeling that he was going to be left behind in the cage to starve to death, or would end up in the back yard in a shallow grave.
Jerry’s bright smile dropped. “Silly boy. Of course not. The Beast must be satisfied. I’m going to tell Cope that Ronan has to make the ransom drop. I’ll kill him when he shows up with the money. Once I have it, I’ll come back here and will kill you. Easy peasy, lemon squeezie.”
Jerry dusted his hands off, as if they were dirty. “With the Beast satisfied, Mom and I will be free.”
“I thought she was still in love with Doctor Armstrong. Is she really going to leave him here in Massachusetts by himself?”
Jerry shrugged. “I’m not going to give her much of a choice. Paul Armstrong ruined both of our lives. If he’d just manned up and took care of his responsibility when I was born, none of this would be happening.”
“Of course it would,”
Jude challenged. “If you’d grown up at the knee of a serial killer, you would have turned into one too. Instead of telling you bedtime stories about three little pigs or three bears, you would have gone to bed at night with stories of The Golden State Killer, or the Night Stalker.”
Jerry’s eyes darkened. “This is all Armstrong’s fault. None of us would be in this position if not for him. If I could get to him and kill him, I would. I should have done it years ago, but my mother begged me not to. With all of the drugs we use in surgery, it would have been easy to sneak something out and stick him when no one was around.”
Jude remembered stealing unused drugs from the OR had run rampant at Salem Mercy Hospital. Thanks to Jude hearing a bit of gossip from the man who performed the MRI on his injured knee, Jude had been able to pass that information on to Cisco. As a result, new polices were put in place to keep better and closer track of drugs that went unused in operating rooms. “You need to get rid of the hate. Even if you do get the ransom and buy a house down south, the hate will still live here.”
Jude set a hand over his heart. “You’d be in a different place and a different space, but you’d still be dragging all of your baggage behind you.”
“And I suppose you know how I can cut that baggage loose, huh?”
Jerry set his hands on his hips and looked at Jude expectantly.
“Once you get the money, let me go. You’ve lost eight years of your life to loving someone who couldn’t love you back. Make a fresh start down south. Find a man who’s crazy about you and settle down. Use the money to get a fake name and fake credentials. You could go back to work at one of the hospitals down there. Maybe even use the money to go to medical school. The world is your oyster.”
Jerry appeared to be thinking over Jude’s proposition. “The Beast must be satisfied.”
“It’s not your beast,”
Jude said. “You said that Armstrong never gave you anything but trouble. The Beast is another example of that. Are you really gonna let him pass another burden down to you?”
Jude was silent for a few seconds, wanting his words to sink in. “So far, you’re only guilty of kidnapping me and holding me against my will. If you kill me and Ronan, that’s all on you. Don’t let Armstrong’s madness ruin you. Get the money. Let me go. Live happily ever after in the sunshine to spite your father. Show Armstrong you didn’t need him to be rich and successful.”
“You’ll go to the police.”
Jude shook his head. “I won’t. I’ll tell Cope I went off on a bender, just like I used to do before he and I met. I’ll say I spent the weekend drinking with old friends and lost track of time. No harm. No foul.”
“Ronan is a cop. He’s not going to let this go.”
Jerry looked to be seriously considering what Jude was saying.
“Then have Cope make the ransom drop.”
As much as Jude hated to put his husband in the line of fire, he didn’t have much of a choice.
“Let’s just film this video.”
Jerry shook his head and paced around the room.
It looked to Jude like he was trying to get his head straight before he started to film.
He took several deep breaths, and shook out his hands, reminding Jude of a basketball player, psyching himself up for a game.
Grabbing his phone from his pocket, Jerry pointed it at Jude and plastered on that bright smile again.
“Hello, Cope! It’s me! Jude’s lover, Jerry! Ransom drop today at 2pm.
Leave the money under the bench at Dead Horse Beach.
No cops.
I’ll be watching. If I see Ronan, Fitz, or any other member of law enforcement, Jude dies. Got it? I’ll send him back to you in pieces.”
Jude was terrified.
He didn’t know if Jerry was going to kill him or let him go, meaning it was doubly important to break the lock, so he’d be ready to fight if and when he needed to.
“Here’s your last proof of life. Say hi, Jude!”
Jerry walked closer to the bars of the cage.
“I’m okay, Cope. I love you. Tell the kids I love them too. Make sure Ronan, Fitz, and Cisco know this isn’t their fault.”
“Oh, how touching. Thinking of your friends until the end.”
Jerry offered Jude a sneer. “2 P.M. No cops. Dead Horse Beach.”
With those words, Jerry ended the recording. He tapped the phone a few times and Jude heard the familiar woosh of the email being sent. He turned and headed for the door.
“Wait!”
Jude called out.
Jerry turned his head, but didn’t walk back toward the cage. “What’s going to happen to me?”
“I’m thinking I’ll just leave you here to die. Cope and your cop friends will never find you. It will be a long, drawn out, painful death, which is just what you deserve for breaking my heart and making me suffer without you for these last eight years.”
“We haven’t seen each other for the last eight years. I had no way of knowing you were suffering.”
Jerry laughed.
“Just because you didn’t see me, doesn’t mean I didn’t see you.
I knew all about Cope and the two of you dating.
Your trip to Arizona to pick up Wolfie.
Not to mention a million other little moments like sitting on your front stoop singing silly songs to your daughter when she had a cold or lying on a blanket in the backyard with your son to see a meteor shower.
I’ve been there for everything, Jude.
All of those little moments lead me to this.
When I saw your name on the surgery list, I knew it was the universe finally giving me a win.
You should have died that night at Salem Mercy.
Ronan too. All of this would be over and I could have moved on, but no, you had to go and fuck me over again. Well, this time, it’s going to be me doing the fucking. Bye, Jude. Fuck you! Have a nice death.”
Jerry left the room, shutting the door behind him. Seconds later, Jude heard the deadbolt engage.
Jude’s eyes burned with unshed tears.
Now wasn’t the time to sit and feel sorry for himself.
Now was the time for action.
He reached under his pillow and grabbed the metal bucket handle and approached the bars again.
He stuck the metal through the loop in the lock and used his entire body to jerk the handle.
The lock banged against the bars, but the hasp didn’t break.
Jude tried it again and again.
“Hello, handsome,”
a familiar voice said from behind Jude.
“Bertha!”
Jude cried out. She was standing behind him with her arms open. For a second, Jude thought she was a mirage, but when he walked into her arms and hugged her, he knew Bertha was as real as he was. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’ve been here with you the whole time.”
Bertha pulled back and looked Jude over. “Time is short. Cope has a plan to get you out of here. He’s pretty sure it will work, but I’m not going to make promises we can’t keep. We’re doing everything we can to bring you home, Jude.”
“Is Cope okay? Are the kids? Ronan and Fitz?”
Jude’s head was spinning. He knew Bertha wouldn’t be able to stay visible for long and he needed to get himself together so he could understand the plan.
“Everyone is fine. They’re all worried sick, but are working hard to find you. Crow and I are doing what we can too, but I’m losing the power I need to stay visible. I’ll be here with you all the way.”
Jude nodded. He hugged Bertha again. “If the worst happens, tell Cope and the kids I love them.”
“Tell them yourself.”
Bertha gave Jude a squeeze. “Toodles!”
Feeling much more optimistic about his future, Jude got back to work with the lock. He was going to break out of this damned cage no matter what. He had a family and a future waiting for him at home.