Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Michael arrived home about thirty minutes after the concert ended, ready to drop after yet another sixteen-hour day that had yielded nothing new or useful to the investigation.
He couldn’t keep up this pace for much longer.
Even his usual end-of-the-day beer held no appeal tonight.
All he cared about was his bed and six uninterrupted hours of sleep.
As he was untying his shoes at the kitchen table, Mary Ann came out from the bedroom. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light.
“Hey.” He raised his cheek to receive her kiss. “Did I wake you?”
“No, I was waiting for you. Did you get everything taken care of with Brian and Carly?”
“Before the concert?”
“No, after. Matt said you were waiting for them.”
“What do you mean?”
“He said you needed them for something to do with the case.”
Michael looked up at her, confounded. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Tell me exactly what he said.”
“Just that you’d found the place where Randy someone had been hiding out and you needed the kids to identify some things he’d taken from Carly’s apartment. He said you wanted him to bring them there to meet you.”
Michael stood, all his senses on full alert. “I have no idea what he’s talking about. I never asked him—”
“Michael? What? What is it?”
The whole thing was so suddenly and painfully obvious that Michael wondered how he could’ve missed it—not a shred of evidence left behind, a tall, hulking man with big feet. I buy my shoes at Gleason’s. On vacation and out of touch when Alicia Perry went missing. “Oh my God. It’s Matt.”
“No, Michael. No. It can’t be.”
Michael reached for his cell phone as it began to ring in concert with the home phone and the police radio he had left on the counter. The dispatcher relayed the message the 911 operator had received from Brian.
“He has them!” Mary Ann shrieked. “He has my son!”
Matt pushed them ahead of him into the cabin, which glowed with candlelight.
Carly took a step back.
Brian realized she was afraid of the fire and rested his hands on her shoulders to offer what comfort he could.
She stiffened when she saw the wall of photos devoted to her. “Oh,” she gasped. “Oh God.”
“Jesus,” Brian whispered on a long exhale.
“Give me your cell phones,” Matt said.
“We didn’t bring them with us tonight because we wouldn’t have been able to hear them over the music,” she said.
Brian was impressed by the calm tenor of her voice when she had every reason to be hysterical.
Matt tucked the gun under his arm and quickly frisked Carly to make sure she wasn’t lying about the phone.
Watching his hands move over Carly’s body was more than Brian could bear.
He eyed the gun, trying to gauge whether he had a prayer of wrestling it away from Matt.
But though Matt was ten years older than Brian, he was taller by four inches and outweighed him by at least twenty pounds.
If Brian was going to lunge for the gun, he’d better be damned sure he would come away with it. The alternative was unimaginable.
When Matt was satisfied Carly didn’t have her phone, he ordered her to sit on the big brass bed.
Ropes were attached to elaborate head- and footboards, and Brian felt his mouth go dry with fear when he imagined Carly tied to the bed at the mercy of a madman.
Matt frisked Brian next, looking for his phone. When he didn’t find it, he pushed Brian into a wooden chair and tied his ankles to the legs of the chair.
As Matt tied him, Brian kept his eyes on Carly, willing her to stay strong no matter what. He winced when Matt pulled his arms straight back and tightened a rope around his wrists. “Why are you doing this? My dad thinks of you as one of his closest friends.”
“Your dad is an idiot who would’ve lost that lofty job of his years ago without me. I’ve spent my whole career making him look good.”
“He would never deny that.”
Matt snorted with disgust. “So then why is he the chief and I’m just a peon?”
“You would’ve been the next chief. You know that.”
“He’ll never retire. They’ll have to cart him out of there in a pine box. By then I’ll be too old to give a shit.”
“Why did you kill Sam and the others?”
Matt’s smile was affable, almost friendly.
“I never intended to kill him. I just wanted to make one of you perfect Westbury boys look bad. I was so sick and tired of listening to your father go on and on about how great the two of you were. It was enough to make me puke. Brian this, Sam that. Who the fuck cares?”
“You were in the road,” Brian said. “I saw you.”
“I guess you were a better driver than your brother. I wanted one of you to crash the car so your old man would shut the fuck up about the two of you. The car bursting into flames with all those jocks and cheerleaders inside was a bonus. I was only sorry the golden boy and his whore weren’t with them. ”
Carly whimpered.
The blast of rage had Brian wishing he could lash out. He had no doubt he could beat this man to death if he hadn’t been tied to a fucking chair.
Forcing himself to think like a prosecutor, Brian pressed on, knowing his father would need the answers. “Why every five years?”
“People forget a lot in five years’ time. I have to give your old man credit, though. He figured out the pattern.”
“I guess he’s not as much of an idiot as you give him credit for being.”
Matt took a fistful of Brian’s hair and pulled hard. “Stay quiet or I’ll gag you, got me?”
Brian nodded and had to bite back a scream when Matt turned and approached Carly. She inched back on the bed.
Matt tugged roughly on her arm. “Get up.”
“If it’s Chief Westbury you hate so much, then what do you want with me?” she asked.
Matt’s eyes glittered, and Brian realized he was staring at true evil. The shock of it was almost debilitating.
“What do you think I want with you?” He ran his hands over Carly’s bare arms and cupped her breasts. “Take off your clothes.”
“No!” Brian cried.
“Shut the fuck up! The only reason you’re still alive is so you can watch your whore get it on with a real man.
So shut up!” He turned back to Carly. “I said to take off your clothes, and hurry up about it, or I’ll tie you to the bed and cut them off like I did with the others. Is that how you want it?”
Carly shook her head and reached for the top button to her blouse.
“When was the last time you did him?” Matt asked, nodding at Brian.
“Earlier tonight.”
“How did you do it? Was he on top or were you? I know you like to be on top. I used to watch you under the willow.”
Brian strained against the rope, which cut into his wrists. It was tied so tight, there was no way he could free himself. As he watched Carly’s hands shake as she unbuttoned her blouse, Brian wished Matt had shot him. He’d rather be dead than have to watch this.
“He was on top,” she said.
“Did you do it just once?”
“Twice. The second time in the shower.”
He grabbed her hair and pulled hard to tip her face up. “You’re as much of a whore as you always were, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a whore. He’s the only man I’ve ever made love with.”
“He was the only man. Tonight you’re finally going to have a real man.” Kneading her bottom with a bruising grip, he lifted her against his enormous erection.
Carly swallowed hard. “Why are you doing this? What do you have against me?”
“You remind me of someone I used to know. A long time ago.”
“Who was she?”
That’s the way, Carly, Brian thought. Keep him talking.
“Someone just like you—a pretty cheerleader who went around acting like her shit didn’t stink and giving it up to a jock in the back of his daddy’s car.”
“You loved her,” Carly said.
“I hated her. She was the first person I ever killed. Melissa Spellman back in Milwaukee. Funny how she became a whore when she figured out I’d kill her if she didn’t give me what I wanted.
She looked just like you—right down to the curls.
It was a great pleasure to take what I wanted from her and then kill her. ”
“Why did you kill Alicia?”
“Just like Melissa and that girl in Pawtucket, she didn’t respect me, so I didn’t have any choice. The others respected me, so I let them live.”
All Brian could think about as he watched Matt Collins’s hands roam all over Carly was where the fuck are the cops?
Matt squeezed her breasts. Hard.
Tears filled Carly’s eyes. “Why do you have to hurt me? I’m not fighting you or disrespecting you.”
“You will. They all do eventually.”
“Is that why you became a police officer? For the respect?”
Matt seemed startled by her insight. “That’s exactly why.
You’d be surprised how people fall into line when it’s a cop telling them what to do.
” He unbuttoned his white uniform shirt and pulled it loose from his pants.
After putting his service revolver and handcuffs on the bedside table, Matt unbuckled his pants.
He caught Carly staring at his rampant erection. “Feel it.”
She reached out to put her hand on him.
“How does that measure up to the jock over there?”
“It’s impressive.” Her voice was dull and impassive. “I’m sure you’ve left many women well satisfied.”
“A few.” He started to ease the top off her shoulders.
Carly stiffened. “Don’t. Please.”
Tears blinded Brian. Where the fuck are the cops?
Matt stared at her breasts. “Nice, perky tits. Bigger than I remember from the willow, but I like them this way. Melissa had great big tits she let that asshole jock suck on for hours.” Matt licked his lips in anticipation.
She finally looked over at Brian, and the pleading in her eyes tore at his soul.
“Matt!” Brian cried. “They’re going to find us. Why don’t you just stop this and get the hell out of here before you get caught?”
Matt turned eyes filled with hate toward Brian. “They won’t catch me. They’re too fucking stupid to realize only someone on the inside would know how to commit the perfect crime—over and over and over again. They’ve got nothing on me.” With his eyes still fixed on Brian, Matt gripped Carly’s arms.
When she cried out in pain, Brian had no choice but to look away.
Matt’s laughter echoed through the small room. “Look at the golden boy now. The great and powerful prosecutor can’t even take care of his own fiancée. Must be a terrible disappointment to find out that despite what your asshole father thinks of you, you’re as human as the next guy, huh?”
As Brian fought against the ropes, a warm trickle of blood pooled in the palm of his hand.
“How do you like it?” Carly asked.
Brian’s head whipped up to find her focused on Matt, running her finger through his thick chest hair.
The only sign of the tension that must have been coursing through her was her other hand, which was curled into a fist behind her back.
His heart racing, he strained for a better look at her hand. Holy shit! She’s got the pepper spray!
“Do you like to be on the bottom or the top?” she asked Matt.
“The bottom,” Matt said, all but panting for her.
“Then get on the bed.”
Oh God. Carly! Do it now! Spray him! Brian struggled fiercely against the ropes and almost passed out from the pain of them ripping into his bloody wrists.
With her top hanging open, Carly crawled onto the bed and straddled Matt.
His eyes lit up with unrestrained lust. “You’re not what I expected,” he rasped.
“I’m a whore,” she said in a low, throaty voice. “Isn’t that what you said?”
Good, baby. That’s good. Distract him.
Matt reached up to cup her breasts, and Brian fought back the urge to howl. “All you cheerleader types are whores. There’s not one of you who’s different.”
“Then why are you surprised I want it as much as you do?” she asked, positioning a hand on either side of his head.
“What about him?” Matt asked.
“Don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of him.”
“I don’t want to have to kill you, Missy.”
Brian almost stopped breathing.
Matt’s cheeks were wet with tears as he combed his fingers through Carly’s long hair.
“I want you to love me. Why can’t you love me?
Why do you have to give yourself to someone who doesn’t care about you?
He only wants your body.” He pulled at the Carly’s shorts.
“Take them off so I can make love to you. Let me love you, Missy.”
Carly brought her hands back to do as he asked.
In the next instant, Matt let out a wild shriek.
Carly leaped off the bed and grabbed Matt’s handcuffs, her hands shaking wildly as she secured one end to his wrist and the other around the brass bedpost.
With his free hand, Matt clawed at his eyes. “You fucking whore!”
Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Matt wasn’t going anywhere, Carly dashed to Brian, knelt before him, and went to work on the knots at his ankles. Her hands were trembling so hard that she was all thumbs.
“Hurry, honey.”
“I’m trying,” she cried, “but they’re so tight!” She looked around the cabin in desperate need of something to cut the ropes. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
Matt’s screams faded into sobs.
A burst of adrenaline made Brian’s heart pound so hard he was certain it would explode.
Carly grabbed a candle and rushed to a dark corner of the cabin. “There’s a kitchen over here!”
He heard her rattling around before she came running back, carrying a butcher knife.
She put down the candle, quickly cut his legs loose, and then scooted behind him. “Oh, Bri. Oh, God, look at your arms!”
“I’m fine.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“You fucking whore!” Matt screamed, the handcuffs clanking against the brass headboard. “Just like all the others!” He dissolved into tears. “Just like all the others.”
Brian and Carly dashed into the darkness.
She screamed when strong arms embraced her.
“It’s okay,” Nathan Barclay said, holding her tight against him. “The place is surrounded by SWAT. You’re safe.”
“Brian needs medical care. His wrists are bleeding.”
“What I need first is this.” Brian reached for her. “You saved our lives, Carly. You were so incredible in there. So incredibly brave.”
Carly clung to him and finally fell apart.
They stood like that for a long time, both trying to absorb that their long nightmare was over. The monster had been caught, Sam’s name would be cleared, and there was nothing—and no one—left to fear.
“Where’s my dad?” Brian asked Nate.
“He was right here a second ago.” Nate turned on a large flashlight and shined it at the cabin.
Michael stood in the doorway, his back to them.
Nate bolted toward the cabin. “Mike! Wait! Don’t!”
A gunshot pierced the night.