“ Wish we knew the lay of this place,” said Jessica, near breathless. She slipped but caught the handrail and continued. Sorrento had gotten twenty yards ahead of her. He stopped and turned, asking if she were OK.
“ Keep moving. I'm fine,” she called back softly. Looks like G.I. Joe Konrath intends a frontal assault on the place.”
“ He should've waited for us like we asked.” “Everyone wants to be a hero, bring down the Skull-digger.”
SEVENTEEN
And then it started like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons.
Inside the house, Jervis Swantor inched his way toward the master bedroom and bath, and looking into the bathroom, he found Lara, her head on a satin pillow and her eyes closed in a bubble-filled tub. “How's the water, sweetheart?” he asked in a chillingly calm voice.
“ Jervis, my God!” she replied, her eyes coming open in shock. “I
… I didn't expect to see you here tonight.” She recalled yesterday's visit from Sheriff Potter, asking after Jervis's whereabouts, and she'd thought then of vacating the place, but then she had James to protect her. “What do you fucking want, Jervis? What are you doing in my house?”
“ I have someone I want you to meet. We're all going for a nice cruise to Cancun.”
“ You're mad.”
“ I know. Now get up and come with me.” He jabbed her cheek with the barrel of his gun. “I said get up from there, you cunt!” he ordered.
She took in a deep breath of air, wondering if he'd harmed James and left him bleeding somewhere in the house. “Jervis, what the hell are you doing? What more can you possibly want from me?”
“ Only a little more, sweetheart. Now stand up and step out of there!”
She stood before him, clothed only in tumbling bubbles, still wondering what condition James might be in. She gasped again at the sight of the gun.
Outside the wind howled about, and she could feel a scream welling up from inside her, but she controlled it.
“ I'm surprised to find you alone. I thought you'd have had another man by now.”
“ What nonsense are you planning, Jervis? I always knew you were insane, but killing me? Everyone is going to know you were behind it.”
“ At this point, Lara dear, I really don't care who fucking knows that I had you killed. It's the way in which you're going to die that interests me.”
She reached for a towel and wrapped it about her body. “Don't tell me, you're going to make good on all those times you threatened to feed me to the alligators.”
“ Better… much better than that. I have a guest on the yacht I'd like you to meet.”
“ A guest… the yacht?” She unconsciously clutched at the towel she'd wrapped herself in. He yanked it off.
“ Down at the boathouse. We're going to go down there, you and me, just as we are. My guest won't mind.”
“ I mind! It's cold and wet out, and-”
He slapped her hard across the face, sending her to her knees, pushing the gun against the nape of her neck. “You never could follow simple orders, Lara. Do you want to die here, like this? Now, just do as I say!”
While on her knees, she saw a shadow of movement near the darkened doorway leading out into the hallway. She dared believe that James had come back to save her. But now Swantor pulled her to a standing position and ushered her ahead of him, the gun held to her back, coldly kissing it here and there. As they exited the bathroom, and went through the bedroom, she sensed it was true, that the shadow must mean that James was nearby.
“ I'm sure you've heard of the now infamous Skull-digger, sweetheart, haven't you? The serial killer who carves out people's brains and consumes them?”
“ What's that got to do with me?”
“ I told you… I have someone down at the boat who wants badly to meet you, sugar.”
“ What are you saying, Jervis?”
He urged her forward. “I intend feeding you to him, darling, and filming it when he carves open your head for that useless brain of yours. I'm going to film it, so that I can watch it over and over again.”
“ You are insane!”
They entered the hallway where she saw the silent phone off the hook, not even a dial tone. She recalled the two phone calls she'd not taken and momentarily wondered if either one of them had been from Potter over on the mainland, to warn her. “The sheriff was here only an hour ago, Jervis,” she lied, “wanting to know your whereabouts. They'll know it was you, Jervis.”
“ Old Potter! That's a laugh!”
When they arrived at the stairwell, a shaky hand came out of the shadows. Wielding a butcher knife, James Harris slashed wildly, cutting deeply into Jervis Swantor's forearm and wrist, causing him to drop the gun, which bounded down the stairwell. Swantor wheeled to his left, blood from his wrist spurting in all directions, coloring the walls. At the same time, dazed, his weight went forward and against Lara. She lost her footing and screamed, her body following the gun, tumbling down the stairs.
While Swantor fought off the naked man who'd leapt out at him, he heard Lara's scream and the sound of her thumping down a half-flight of stairs. She lay halfway between the third and second floor landings as the two men continued to struggle. Swantor held firmly to James's wrists, seeing that the other man had a knife in one hand and a bottle of Swantor's wine in the other.
Incensed at this development, Swantor growled and sent his knee into the other man's testicles. Using all his strength, he brought James Harris up over the top of him and the railing, sending the other man out into thin air. The wine bottle hit the bottom first, followed by Harris's naked form, which had spiraled down to the marble foyer below, his head plopping open like the sound of a ripe melon. He'd held on longer to the knife, but it too had followed Harris down, and it had come to rest in his chest.
“ Son of a bitch,” Swantor cursed, rushing for his ex-wife, praying she hadn't been killed, while ignoring his bleeding arm and wrist. When he got to her, he found her breathing. “Oh, thank God. I so want you to meet the Skull-digger alive not dead, dear thing.”
He looked about for the gun, but it wasn't anywhere near her. It must be on the second-story landing. He hefted Lara into his arms and began the trek downstairs, looking for the gun. Outside, he could hear the winds gusting far stronger and louder than before. Lara started to come around, her eyes blinking. “Now, let's go see Dr. Kenyon… See if he appreciates you, Lara, as much as I do.”
She screamed again.
“ Go ahead, scream all you want. There's no one to hear you. Your boyfriend is dead, and it's off season, sweetums. No one on the island but us. It's as if God himself has ordained it all.”
“ Jervis… don't… don't do this,” she pleaded as he carried her down. “You can't do this.”
“ A little late for any further negotiations, dear Lara.”
A rain-soaked, dripping Grant Kenyon stood staring at the dead man lying in blood on the marble floor of the foyer where he had watched the man's flight from above. In the dark, he'd heard a struggle and screams, followed by the explosion of the wine bottle at his feet, splashing him with wine. The body and the knife followed instantaneously.
Obviously, Swantor had an unwelcome guest. Giant's pants legs and shoes were splattered with the mix of wine and blood.
He stared up into the darkness but could only see movement of shadows on the stairwell. In a moment, he overheard Swantor talking to the woman, referring to Kenyon. He caught only snatches of words, but he could hear her pleading with him.
