Chapter Sixteen
Bhodi
Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I can hear both Jimmy and Axe’s words buzzing through my head still. Jimmy being overly cautious, worried about Summer’s welfare and Axe giving me his approval by purely confirming the idea is reasonable. I know Pam would have told him about what Summer confided in her, they’ve been inseparable for years, a unique bond formed between them both and Axe has done all he can to protect her every opportunity he had.
Summer is angry with her for now and I don’t fucking blame her but there’s no evil in Pam. We all saw how she was after her assault, for weeks and months she spiralled and teetered between chaotic and happy, her turbulence was fuelled by alcohol and unbelievable anger. The moment we dragged her to our own version of therapy, she received the clarity she needed.
We’d managed to track down one of the men in the apartment that night, he was a nobody. Some criminal with a mile-long record, he’d been hanging around Luca for a long time, hoping to catch a big break but it never happened. He had gone to the pop-up brothel that night, Luca was charging each person who took turns with Pam’s friend Lisa. I still feel the bile rise in my throat, he’d charged five hundred dollars per sleazy cunt, he walked away with about six grand that night. Luca had taken a shine to Pam, she was off limits but not to him, either way he’d made money off of someone’s fucking misery and left a broken soul in his wake.
As the body was being burnt in the pit, Pamela sat on the log bench, her eyes unable to pull away as the flames licked higher and higher. Her skin was coated in his blood. Michael and Axe sat either side of her, passing her a whiskey which she accepted and knocked back in an instant. Placing the glass in front of her, she continued to stare at the body all through the night until there was little left, just dust, a few charred remains and the burning embers. When she finally looked between the three of us, the fire in her eyes was back, the determination and raw emotion we all knew was there, hiding away.
The door clicks shut, pulling me back to our reality. Summer stands leaning against the door, dressed in a large black hoodie and black yoga pants. She eyes me curiously for a moment before pushing herself off the surface and taking a couple steps towards me.
“Ready?” I ask.
She nods. “Where are we going though?”
Her baby-blue eyes shine with innocence.
An innocence I know will be lost forever after tonight. I link my fingers with hers, pulling her close. Taking her chin between my forefinger and thumb, I search her face for a moment before speaking.
“Somewhere, where you can understand…us.”
The confusion passes her face, her brows pinching for a moment before she swallows hard. A flicker of realisation dancing in her eyes, before she merely nods.
“OK,”
she says, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth.
Leading her away from the hotel and towards the car, I feel her grip on my hand tighten, the anxiety of what’s outside the walls still bothering her. Opening the car door, she pulls her hood up and slides into the seat, keeping her head down and not saying another word.
Eventually the car pulls up outside the warehouse. I watch as Summer leans forward in her seat and takes in the eerie building before her. I turn towards her and watch as the questions swim across her confused expression. After she blinks a couple times, she finally looks my way, a level of apprehension falling over her.
“What are we doing here?”
she asks curiously.
“You want to understand?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s what we’re here for.”
I slide the door open, spotting Axe approaching. I look towards Summer who’s already out of the car and just about to shut the door as she spots him. The skull mask pulled up, as he strides towards us, the cigarette smoke billowing from his mouth.
“Is he still alive?” I ask.
“He’s all yours,”
Axe says, as he turns and heads back towards his car, throwing his cigarette in a ditch as he passes.
Summer looks between Axe and myself, more and more questions swimming through those eyes. Walking around the car, I take her hand in mine and lead her towards the open doors as Axe’s car passes by and proceeds to leave. I feel her hand tighten again around mine, as the wide-open entrance nears, the muffled sobs beginning to penetrate our ears.
Eventually standing in the doorway, I pull her body in front of mine, pressing my chest into her back and wrapping my arms around her. Sweeping the hair from her neck, I whisper into her ear, feeling her body jump slightly. I can’t help the smirk hearing the soft moan that escapes her lips.
“Is that the man who you saw in the photos and outside Eva and Rob’s?” I ask.
I feel her body relax slightly; she takes in the sight before her. Daly’s hands and feet tied to the chair, blindfolded and gagged. The ice-cold sweat dripping down his face, whilst he twitches and jumps at every small sound around him.
“Yes.”
Summer turns her head, looking straight at me. “That’s him.”
“Good,”
I say resting my head on her shoulder for a moment. “Go and stand over there.”
I nod towards the doorway on the opposite side.
Without a question, she begins to move past Daly and reaches the doorway. Fixing her hood, Summer leans against the doorway, the darkness falling over her angelic face, revealing something haunting and I’m not gonna lie, I like it. She watches me intently, whilst I turn my focus back to the cunt in front of me. My eyes still every now and then stealing glances at my own petite Grim Reaper lurking in the corner.
Reaching into the pocket of the sweatshirt I’m wearing, I look to my old friend. The light from outside gently dancing off its surface and I feel Two/Face beckoning me forward. Slipping the mask on, I pull my hood up. Feeling the other part of me coming forward, I feel Bhodi slip away for now.
Ripping the tape from his mouth and removing the blindfold, I’m met with the wide-eyed fear I delight in, the feeling sends a rush through me. The satisfaction already building, but I cock my head towards the door, watching Summer shuffle slightly as the reality of this situation begins to consume her.
“What…What the fuck ….Who…”
Daly begins to stutter.
Cocking my fist back, it connects hard with his jaw. He cries out in pain, whilst the chair rocks back and forth. Reaching for the collar of his top, I wrench his body back to me, the fear in his eyes growing as I hold his face close to mine.
“Don’t even fucking try, Daly,”
I grind out.
Pushing him back into the chair, I watch as he fights against the restraints, but they’re doing no more than scarring his skin and making it bleed.
“How do you know my name?”
He takes a deep breath.
“Shouldn’t I know the name of the man who tried to frame their own colleague for rape and murder?” I shrug.
His eyes look down, his body sags and by the time he looks back to me, the realisation is written all over his face. Summer visibly stiffens in my periphery; I glance towards her and briefly shake my head whilst she shoots me an alarmed confused look.
“I.. That wasn’t me,”
I cock an eyebrow, folding my arms across my chest, sizing him up further.
“Really?”
I ask sarcastically.
“Yes.”
He manages to force his words out, before the false tears begin to fall. “I had to…”
He sniffs.
Dropping to one knee, I study his face further. Apart from the new bruise beginning to bloom across his jaw, and his already red angry face, there’s not a fucking tear in sight. I let out a quick laugh before shaking my head and rising back to my full height.
“The thing is…you didn’t have to. You were in the one place in New York where you had the resources and people around you not to commit a crime and potentially end someone’s life,”
I begin. “And the worst part of it is…neither of those people are dead.”
The shame and realisation creeps over his expression further. “But you knew that…didn’t you? And you couldn’t give a fuck?”
“You have no fucking idea…”
“Oh, I have no fucking idea…. right…of course I have no fucking idea.”
I begin the theatrics, throwing my hands up in the air and pacing the room.
“No!”
he spits out.
“So, enlighten me…How did Luca manage to get you to start working for him, huh? Drugs? Money? …Get caught banging the boss’s wife, a few incriminating photos land in your email?”
“Fuck off!”
Daly tries to launch himself from the chair, the anger in his face becoming too humorous.
“You haven’t even asked how we found out? Or who else knows the little secret? You must really not care, huh?”
I slide the mask off my face.
The recognition in Daly’s eyes is enough for me, he knows he’s been caught.
“Look, Bhodi.. I swear…”
“You swear what, Daly? Swear you had no idea what your little stunt would do? I think we both know by getting the Medical Examiner to falsify reports by claiming my DNA was found on Summer, and then getting someone to pose as a cop, who then claims I passed them the blade and told them to kill Harry in custody…who then, by the way, conveniently disappeared… I mean …how could you not know what would happen?”
“You were getting too close!”
Daly lets out an exasperated breath, before continuing. “You were getting too close to Summer, Harry wanted you fucking gone…then she found the fucking photos …I needed her gone too!”
“You didn’t kill her, you just had everyone think she was dead?”
“Because I needed to know what she knew and who else she told!”
“Told about what?”
“Everything!”
I take a step back for a moment, Daly begins muttering to himself, whilst frustrated tears begin to finally fall from his eyes.
“Go on.”
He straightens in an instant, his erratic breathing getting worse as he realises what he let slip. A true fear washes over him, his skin pales but it’s not him I’m focused on, it’s Summer’s reaction that I can’t pull my eyes away from. I want to rush over to her, but I can’t. Sliding the mask back over my face, I step across to the workbench. My eyes glide along the different blades, chains, but I’m not taking it in. Reaching for the butcher knife, I turn back to Daly.
“Look…I can’t…they’ll fucking kill me,”
he says, the fear stitched into his voice.
“They won’t.”
I shake my head and there’s almost a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “You’re not leaving here alive.”
Which I immediately pull away.
“Fuck sake…”
Daly begins to cry, the noise echoing off the walls whilst he makes a pathetic attempt at loosening his restraints.
“Where’s Harry? We know he isn’t really dead, the M.E confirmed it.”
“I don’t know.”
He deflates.
I feel the numbness begin to swim through my body, the dissociation I feel each time a life is ended, it’s not personal, not really. I do it because I like it. The benefit being they’re scum and deserve to die. I guess that little glimmer offers my soul a small amount of redemption each time. But in reality, I’m sick and soon to be sicker once this is over. Blanking out Daly, I feel the room fall away, leaving only Summer in my sights. Her beautiful features the only light in this dank, cold room. The moonlight peaking through the window, bouncing off her ice-blonde waves, her eyes bright and alluring as her perfect lips form a curious O as she continues to look on.
My next move could make or break her. I study her a moment longer before turning my focus back to Daly. The burning question on the tip of my tongue will determine the next step. Placing the tip of the blade to my forefinger, I squat down, mocking him further.
“Did you know about Monica and Luca?” I ask.
Daly sniffs, squeezing his eyes closed and nods his head. “Yes...”
he begins, taking a deep breath, trying to regain some composure. “I saw them together and I knew Monica was married. I did some digging and found out that they had been carrying on for years. I wanted him out of my life, I thought …If Michael Harper knew, he may be angry and kill Luca for sleeping with his wife all that time.”
“So you left the photos with him?”
“Yes.”
“Why? She was remarried…”
“Because…The kid may not be his. Everyone knew how much he’d helped that girl, Pamela. What the hell would he do if he found out his own daughter was someone else’s. Especially someone he hates?”
“So, you set them both up?”
“No…I…I went to see him at his club.”
“Go on.”
His shoulders drop and I watch whilst his eyes travel along the floor, his secrets and deceit almost crawling from hell whilst he’s forced to come clean.
“I said…We were opening an investigation into Luca. I said we found some photos he may be interested in.”
“You used your power and authority to manipulate someone?”
The question reaches Daly’s ears, as it does a loud pained scream fills the room. My eyes travel to the long blade now protruding out of his hand, and the small dainty fingers wrapped around the handle, trembling, clenched. My gaze travels the length of her arm, up her neck and towards the tear-streaked face.
She’s so fucking beautiful, even when she cries. But the hurt cannot be hidden and for a brief moment, I forgot she was standing in the darkness. She heard it, what we already knew and as she studies my expression, she knows I kept this from her. The disappointment in her ocean-blue eyes, almost too much and even my hollow heart feels the pain. I go to speak, but she shakes her head, the tears continuing to fall, her fingers still laced around the blade handle. Gritting her teeth and with one hard wrench, she pulls the blade from Daly’s hand.
He cries out again and, circling the chair, Summer stands facing him. Her hood still pulled up; she pushes it away, revealing her face, whilst the moonlight dances off her blonde locks. Daly’s eyes roam her body, likely the same recognition as their first meeting. The blood pours from the open wound on his hand, the cold pained sweat pours from his body, his lip trembles whilst he looks towards her with genuine fear.
“What happened after that?”
Summer asks, her voice void of emotion.
I watch the interaction begin the two, she only stands a couple feet away from Daly. I feel her presence growing, her stance, the way she holds the blade. I know what’s coming next, and likely a good person would stop it, but she wants to understand and this is the only way. She needs to hear it for herself, hear his lies, his truth and make up her own mind.