CHAPTER TEN (SO'S YOUR MOTHER....)
Haley waited.
She had thought about taking a nap, her head still hurt. There was a raised knot on the back of her skull.
She couldn't believe she had been so stupid as to turn her back on the fucker. Of course, in her defense, she hadn't known he was a 'fucker' at the time.
It was just another thing old V.D. would chastise her for. She sighed lightly. He was a great little chastiser though, she had to give him that.
The huge wooden door creaked slightly on it's hinges. She had measured the distance in her mind to that door several times. She admired the beauty of it's long brass handle and dark wood panels that were recessed. Lovely workmanship..it was a very nice door, as doors went.
Haley remained seated, her back to the cool surface of the wall. She had turned her head at the sound, her hands ceasing their rendition of 'itsy, bitsy spider'. It took so little to amuse some people.
The green eyes narrowed warily as the door inched open showing a brighter light from the corridor outside her present domain. An ominous shadow loomed in the doorway.
It was the 'geek guy' alright. Even the dim light from the candles couldn't disguise that creepy troll face. Well, he wasn't really unpleasant to look upon...in her present mood, she just did not find him all that attractive a specimen.
The woman sat and waited. It would not do to be the first to open communication. It showed weakness. She remembered her training.. 'Weirdos 101.'
While she waited, she took the time to glance about his person. He stood now, a good ten feet from her. He had closed the door, landing his face in the shadows of the room.
He was tall and there was a hint of eloquence about his person. His clothes seem date back to another time. They had an expensive 'sense' to them, however.
Haley..waited.
He was looking at her with those creepy troll eyes. Large, owl-like eyes..not unintelligent eyes.
Blonde hair, neat and well-kept. A little long for the current styles. The back fell over the crisp collar, the front...swept to the side of his Slavic face.
The 'suit' had a small pin stipe she had not noted before. He wore black shiny boots. A dark vest with the starched white shirt, with a perfect crease running down the length of each slack leg. Gold wolf-head cuff links and a matching ring.
"You are not like the rest."
The voice did not match the rest of the 'ensemble'. It was somehow..off. She was expecting a deep baritone.
Haley continued to hold the 'owl eyes' easily.
"But then..that is why I chose you, isn't it."
"Chose me for what...dick head?" She had won the first challenge. He had broken the silence first. Point for the good guys.
"..I will allow you some latitude for you are as yet..untrained. But do not mistake my kindness for weakness."
"What'dya gonna do..chain me to a wall?" She lifted her manacled hand.
"It was my intent to release you. To allow you a bit of freedom, but..your attitude lost you that privilege."
"Well, that'll teach me to open my big mouth." She glanced around her surroundings, filing that information away for future consideration. "Cool room. Make a nice Bed and Breakfast..if one is into the Dark Ages."
"You will become accustomed to it."
"You should really up-date your Dungeon-O-Horrors. Ever heard of electricity?"
"You are a police officer, are you not?" He folded his arms leisurely as if he was prepared to stay a while. "It must be rather disconcerting to have all that power taken from you so suddenly..to be at the mercy of.."
"A psycho ax murderer?" She assisted helpfully. "You kidnapped a Federal Agent, you asswipe. That makes this a priority case. You think they will just let this one slide? You are in a butt load of trouble, my creepy little friend."
"I can see now why the others did not suit me. They were already prone to submission. They lacked..something." He had drawn in a long breath, exhaling it slowly. "You? I shall enjoy..breaking. Your spirit is strong..but then. I am..stronger."
Haley got up..her temper tickled a bit by such arrogance. "It's the same with all you sick-o bastards." She looked him up and down contemptuously. "You prey on the weak..the helpless..the vulnerable. You make me want to hurl!"
The man chuckled lowly, which really creeped Haley out..then crossed to a wing-backed chair, sitting comfortably, stretching out his long legs, crossed at the ankles, his hands linked in his lap.
"I have .. 'kidnapped' eleven women to date. No one has stopped me." He shrugged well defined shoulders. "Are you so very special, Agent Meadows? I imagine you consider yourself so..they were only mere prostitutes, were they not. Selling their bodies to any and all..for silver."
"Angel Faye was.." Haley caught her anger. Anger was what he was after. Anger would get her no where. "An ok kid, that's all. That's all I'm saying. And she was too damned young to die..especially how she did!"
"They never suffered. I made certain of that fact." He cocked his head to one side..much as Jim Brass often did. "You seem to be under the false assumption..I wanted to hurt them. I did not. I offered them all I had..to be by my side through all eternity, even."
"Wow, that's right up there with winning the Lotto Jack Pot." She seemed impressed. "One? You ain't the Lord God Jehovah..and two? You're a fucking lunatic! Just saying."
The man pushed himself erect, his hands catching the arms of the chair in the process. "You will address me with respect! That is one thing I must insist upon! I am.." He moved forward threateningly, his tone holding an edge the girl did not find pleasant. "Your Lord..and..your..Master! The sooner you accept that fact..the sooner you will find favor with me."
"So..when was it exactly you went over to the dark side, Luke?" She queried. "You showed such promise there for a while..was it finding out that Vadar was your dad??"
"You are not amusing."
"Ahh, come on..cut me some slack., this is just a tough room." She disagreed.
The man grew quiet. Haley prepared herself for the worse.
"...This is your new home." He seemed determined to retain the polite 'host' act, to her dismay. "I had hoped you would find favor with it. I think it is a very pleasant place."
"That taser thing? And the whopping on the side of the head? Takes away from the 'charm'." She made mention. "There are easier ways to get a woman these days.. Even for you. These on-line dating sites are supposedly.."
"You are attempting to make me angry. Why is that?"
"Payback?" She asked ..politely.
"You would not like me when I am angry, Ms. Meadows..trust me." He stated all too quietly.
"Don't like you now." She told the truth.
"That will change."
"Oh..." she grimaced endearingly. "I don't think so."
"You do not recognize me, do you."
"Your face does seem familiar," she lied. "Are you on the post office wall?"
"You are quite charming really.." He dismissed her ways. "I believe the humor is a coping mechanism. I think..deep down, Ms. Meadows..that you are quite fearful of me."
"If you want the truth..I'm a little ticked off at you right at this moment in time." She felt a rage like she had never felt before, in reality. The fact she was hiding it from the son-of-a-bitch was a miracle, considering.
Considering she wanted to rip his face off and feed it to a pack of hyenas. Maybe she could find some at the zoo. A fitting place for this miserable excuse for a human being.
"You have captivating eyes, my precious..they seem to look into my soul."
"Do you have one?"
"I do..and I wish to share it with you. Is that so heinous a thing?"
"Heck no..I've always wanted to align myself with Beelzebub." She nodded amicably. "Thanks for presenting the opportunity..I might have gone my whole life searching in vain, had it not been for you."
He chuckled. "You are definitely my equal. The more time I spend with you..the more I see this."
"Ohhh.." Haley's hopes dampened considerably with the news. "Gee...thanks. That puts you right up there with my prom date."
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7 HOURS: MISSING
"Nothing at the hotel. No witnesses. No one saw nothing!" Jim Brass was feeling the strain of the situation, his craggily face showing signs of fatigue, the fine lines around his mouth drawn into a perpetual scowl. He had not changed his shirt, which he usually found time to do when the day began to drag into one of those never ending rituals.
The man found, the small concession often refreshed him in spirit as well as appearance. He took pride in his professionalism most times, presenting an acceptable front to the public he met in his capacity as police officer.
Today, he simply had other things on his mind. "Do you know how tired I get of hearing that crap?" He griped opening, venting some of the 'baggage' that accompanied his job.
"The blood drops Nick found on the carpet were definitely Agent Meadow's." Grissom confirmed what he had dropped in to share. "Such a small amount is good, though. Nothing major went down in the room, at least."
"Except.." Vincent Duvalier disagreed with the statement. "The psycho bastard has my man!"
"He meant.." Brass knew how Grissom 'worked.' "The lack of blood is a good sign he means to keep Haley alive. He could have.."
"I know what he 'could have' done." Duvalier sneered his contempt for the person in question. "I've seen the end product!"
Brass let it go. He understood the other man's frustration and fear.
"We're sorting through the evidence we've collected but..." Grissom shrugged helplessly, his eyes apologizing to Jim Brass. "So many people use the rooms. This is one case of too much DNA to process."
"Yeah, well.." The Federal Agent had something to say. "I'm sure you'll find some DNA you can eliminate, right Captain Brass?"
"What the hell is this?" Brass' temper flared unexpectedly, despite his 'understanding' the situation. "You got a problem with me?"
"If you had stayed with her like any normal man, the fucker couldn't have gotten to her." Vincent aired his views. "What the hell kind of man are you? You just out for the pussy? You fuck em and go on your merry wa..."
Brass' beefy fist lashed out, clutching the front of the other man's shirt, jerking Duvalier closer, his other arm drawing back threateningly.
"HEY!" Grissom stepped between the two antagonists, shoving hard to separate them. "JIM!.." he scowled darkly at the man. "What the hell??" he voiced incredulously. "What's gotten into you? This isn't like you!"
Brass..eased his defensive stance, settling a tad. "He's blaming me for what's gone down here!"
"I just don't want to find Haley Meadows in a fucking zip lock bag under a train trellis! That's all I'm saying!"
"Gentlemen." Grissom's quiet tone served to nullify the combatants.. "I suggest you direct such emotions to the one who truly is at fault here. This will get us nowhere, right?"
He studied the two men diligently. Each glared belligerently at the other, at this stage.
"Right??" Grissom iterated. "We are professionals. Let's endeavor to act the part." If he thought anything amiss concerning Duvalier's accusation over Brass' involvement with the woman, he did not let on, for which Jim was grateful. "You're acting like idiots!"
Brass had the grace to be bothered, settling even more so, returning to his desk chair, sitting wearily.
"Fine!" Duvalier grumbled agreeably after a fashion.
Grissom looked to Jim Brass for his decision. He held up his hands. "Alright!" He said moodily.
"We've stated what we don't know.." Grissom moved things forward. "Now..to what we do."
Both men turned their attention to the immediate problem.
"..A grey SUV, license unknown..late model, pulled into the parking area of the hotel shortly about an hour after.." Brass glanced to the other man. "I left."
Duvalier kept quiet.
"..The desk clerk thought it was another guest but no one came into register so he dismissed it." Brass continued. "Says he saw it pull back through maybe ten..fifteen minutes later."
"There were four rentals of that nature yesterday. We're tracking." Vincent contributed his input.
"What'd do we know about this creep?" Brass revisited. "We have a vague description that could or could not be the suspect. Our profilers..and your's.." he included the Feds. "Say he is a loner..passive-aggressive unless something pushes his buttons. Probably works in a high pressure..high placed position. Early thirties, gets by on his looks. People overlook any little eccentricities they note because he is one of the 'beautiful' people..right so far?"
"..Like the character in the book." Grissom had been listening attentively.
"What?" Brass had heard, he simply needed clarification.
"Addison McBain..the guy in the book. That description fits him perfectly."
"Well, I'll be damned." Jim had not put two and two together until that moment.
"Didn't read it." Duvalier would have to take their word for it.
Both men exchanged disbelieving glances.
"That's what I had Meadows for." Vincent dismissed.
Brass sighed heavily, taking up his pen to twirl between his fingers. It helped him think. "Where does that leave us?"
"With our thumbs up our asses." Was the ready reply. "And back to square one."
Grissom scowled at the colloquialism, but ..all in all, had to agree with the man's assessment of the situation as it now stood.
.