you see, detective? We couldn’t start a family because of the psychological damage Strutter’s gang had caused.’
The light in one of the brass lanterns went off and the room got a fraction darker. Tyler moved to the front of the metal table, but that was still too far for Hunter to try anything.
‘A psychologist suggested that we relocated back to LA. She said that we should face our fears, that avoiding them would only feed the uncertainty; it would only keep us from moving on. She said that being in Los Angeles could be the first step. It took years for Kate to agree to come back here. But the psychologist was right.’ Tyler’s lips spread into a half smile. ‘Thirteen months ago Kate called me in the office. She was crying. She’d never been so happy in all her life. She said she’d bought a whole drugstore’s shelf worth of pregnancy tests just to be sure. They all gave her the same result. We would finally be a family.’
The joy in Tyler’s voice gave Hunter goose bumps.
‘We celebrated every day. But I made the mistake of taking her out to a restaurant in Santa Monica Boulevard one night.’ He paused and Hunter saw anger in his eyes. ‘As we were having dinner, we heard a customer curse at a waiter who’d made a simple mistake. He made sure everyone in the restaurant heard him humiliating the poor kid. I saw Kate go rigid. She recognized his voice before I did.’
Hundred and Thirty-Three
‘Strutter,’ Hunter said, already knowing he was right.
‘He never changed.’ Tyler was fidgeting. ‘After all that time he was still a fucking bully. He made a scene and the manager asked him to leave. Everyone was staring at him, but for some reason he noticed Kate. He walked over to our table and said, “
Hunter shivered.
‘She wanted that baby more than life itself. And to numb the pain, last New Year’s Eve she swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills.’ Tyler stood before the pictures on the wall, drooling with anger. ‘The psychological damage they did to Kate when she was young had been such that even after all those years it took only his voice and a few seconds to rip her apart.’ Tyler turned and faced Hunter. ‘I thought I had nothing else to live for. My nightmare had finally become a reality. And then I saw an article in the paper with a picture of a smiling priest – Brett fucking Nichols.’
Hunter remembered he and Garcia had found that same article inside Father Fabian’s room.
‘I realized that while I suffered, while Kate took her own life because of what they did to us, Strutter and his gang were living normal lives. All of a sudden I had a reason to live again.’
‘Revenge,’ Hunter whispered.
‘Yes.’ Tyler smiled. ‘The strongest reason of all. I swore I’d find them all and I’d make them pay. By the anniversary of Kate’s death, they’d all be dead. I’d mark Strutter with the blood of the family he killed, my own blood, and number the rest of them with their friends’. I’d make them suffer in the most grotesque way I could. I had money, lots of it, and in my world money is power. I hired people to dig into their lives. To find out where they were and what scared them to death. Everyone is scared of something, detective. Not necessarily a phobia, but if you dig deep enough you’ll find that everyone is scared of something. They had no right to destroy our lives.’
Tyler’s voice started to quiver. He was losing control. Hunter shifted uncomfortably on his knees, tugging at his cuffed hands.
‘Kate and mine were only two, but how many lives do you think they destroyed? Did they think they could do anything they wanted with no consequences? Well, they can’t. I’m their fucking consequence,’ he shouted while punching his chest with a closed fist. ‘They created me. They created the anger and hate that run through my veins. Hatred gave me something to live for again. Seeing the fear in their eyes as they recognized Kate’s picture, as they realized they were about to die their worst imaginable death, filled me with a mind-boggling pleasure. It changed me. And suddenly I wanted more than their lives and their fears. Torturing and killing them alone didn’t satisfy me. I needed to taste their blood and savor their flesh. It made me feel . . . powerfully different. You should try it sometime, detective. It’s a high like no other. Literally consuming your enemy – very addictive.’ Spit flew from his mouth as Tyler lost control. He approached the table and grabbed Hunter’s gun. ‘And no one will stop me from finishing this. No one will stop me from having the rest of their blood. NO ONE.’
Time was up.
Tyler took a step forward, aimed the gun at Garcia’s head and squeezed the trigger.
Hundred and Thirty-Four
Mollie Woods closed her eyes and allowed the strong jet of hot water to massage her stiff muscles. A thin gauze of steam had filled the tiny bathroom and was now creeping under its door and into the small hallway. It’d been a few hours since she had the vision, and still she couldn’t stop shaking. She knew he was coming for her. She saw blood and panic and fear, and she had to run away.
She leaned against the white tiles and wondered if she’d done the right thing. She didn’t know many people in LA. In fact, the only real friend she’d made since she arrived three years ago had been Susan Zieliski. Susan had told Mollie once, who she knew as Monica, that if she ever needed anything she could always count on her.
Mollie was shivering and crying when she knocked on Susan’s door less than an hour ago. Her friend was instantly worried, and Mollie fed her a silly story about an argument and a breakup with her boyfriend.
‘I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend,’ Susan said, giving Mollie a comforting hug. ‘He didn’t hit you, did he? Because if he did we should call the cops on the jerk.’
They talked for a while over a pot of freshly brewed coffee. Mollie had to snowball her story into a much bigger lie.
‘You should stay here tonight, Monica,’ Susan said. ‘Actually, you can stay for as long as you like. I’d love the company.’
Mollie’s smile said a silent ‘thank you’.
‘You look cold. Why don’t you go and have a hot shower and I’ll fix us something to eat. Then I can tell you about some great news I had today.’
Mollie turned off the water and slid open the cubicle door. Her clothes lay coiled on the floor where she had stepped out of them. Susan had supplied her with clean towels, so she wrapped one around her body and used the other as a turban around her wet hair. With her right hand she cleared a circular patch on the misty mirror and stared at her face.
She had decided that she’d call Hunter, at least to let him know she was OK. She’d been unfair with him when all he’d tried to do was help her. And in her fear of what might happen, she’d broken her promise to him and turned off her cell phone.
Suddenly, a disturbing sensation ran the length of Mollie’s body. Frightened, she turned around and faced the bathroom door as if someone was there, staring at her. She was sure she’d heard something that sounded like a muffled scream. She stood perfectly still for a moment listening, but the only sound she could hear was the slow drip from the showerhead. With trembling hands, she reached for the handle and pulled the bathroom door open just enough for her to be able to peek outside. All the lights were off.
‘Susan?’ Mollie called in an uncertain voice.
Silence.
Cautiously, she stepped into the corridor and waited.
Nothing.
To the left the small living room and the kitchen, to the right the bedroom, but the apartment looked lifeless
