Will was dead and the other two guards would be dead soon enough, a mask clad Nottingham just had to wait for the water to rise and with the storm coming it would do so quickly. The Englishman and the Irishman could have put up a good fight but they were no match for a taser and had gone down before they'd even known what was happening. Alarms should have sounded but Nottingham was in the system, he owned it and there was nothing they could do to warn anyone inside or the police. Once they were down Keith had dragged Graham and Robin to the river that ran behind the house and suspended them a few inches above the water line, a storm was coming quick and fast, every weather channel had said it would and the sky showed they were right, in an hour or so – two at most -it would start to rain letting the water level rise. The two guards would be awake by then and they would die knowing there was nothing they could do to stop their demise. They'll suffer, Nottingham thought sadistically as he walked away to leave them to their fates.
Nottingham wiped his hands clean and walked back to the front of the house knowing there wasn't a single guard left, true luck was the only reason he'd managed to take them out. Once back at the front door Keith looked down to his phone, he'd been in The House Of Scarlet's system since around ten minutes after he broke into Gold's off-site tech unit and so he now owned the cameras. Seeing the foyer and surrounding area was clear Keith punched in the door code and stepped inside in perfect silence, no one could know he was there yet, not yet things weren't ready.
The sun had started to set and it would be the dark of night soon enough, heavy rain would descend from angry storm clouds painting the sky like a Shakespearian play. He stood there by the front door for a long time, to watch the house through a camera was far different to actually being there. Keith Nottingham took a deep breath scenting the air; coffee, wine, several perfumes and ... sex. Nottingham grinned behind his mask, evil and horrific.
Music drifted softly from the long sunroom off from the kitchen. Quietly he moved through the empty dining room, rushed through the kitchen and into the sunroom before anyone had a chance to spot him from either the living room or hallway. Keith hadn't intended to start anywhere in particular but there was where the music came from and so he approached slowly so as not to alert anyone with his heavy boots on the hardwood flooring. Just a few steps and he was in the threshold to the long room. No one, the stereo had just been left on; well that was disappointing if nothing else.
Nottingham froze when he heard one of the girls giggle upstairs, they haven't heard me ... can't have. He was fortunately right, no one had heard him and no one had spotted him, Keith had made certain of that. Returning his attention to the sunroom he noticed the side patio door was cracked open and he grew curious. A storm as fast approaching so why would one of the girls left the door open? With controlled steps the masked man moved towards the door and pushed it open with one hand while he retried his trust – and large - Bowie knife from its sheath that had been clipped to his belt, it was heavy in his hands but Keith paid it no mind, he had work to do.
As soon as he was on the other side of the door he grinned despite the storm clouds forming high above, there on the floor leant against a wooden pool chair, with one sleeve rolled up, a belt wrapped tightly around her arm and a needle in her vein was Wick. Zelena was her real name, he'd learnt everything he could on the girls, even the doctor and house manager … especially Mister Elias Gold himself. Red, or Ruby Lucas as the rest of the world knew her, had been Keith's favorite until Lacey had shown up. Zelena though had always annoyed him, she wasn't pretty to him or funny she was just there taking up camera space.
Heroin coursed through Zelena's body silencing her mind's demand for the drug, everything in the garden was blurry and her music had faded into the background like she was in some kind of television show or a bad movie. The black poison rushed around her system blackening her blood and drew her another step closer to death but Zelena would have said talking it made her get well. The redhead was a lost cause and it seemed that she was the only one would couldn't see it.
Nottingham took a step forwards and Zelena's head snapped up to look at him with watery eyes and dry, parted lips. At first she thought she was hallucinating, why would a clown be on the patio away? Then her green eyes adjusted and she realized yes, there was indeed a clown looking at her.
"Can I help you?" She asked angrily but there was no reply. "Let me guess … you're here for Tamara. No, no, Baby. Yeah, Baby is into that kinky shit no matter how hard she hides it."
Zelena chucked to herself as if she'd told a joke, the whole time Nottingham just stood there with his dark eyes locked on her. "Ashley's room is up the stairs in the middle hallway, last room on your right."
He didn't move, didn't speak, just watched as Zelena pulled the needle from her arm and threw it down on the floor; out of sight out of mind. She snarled when she realized he was still there, still watching.
" What!? Go and perv on someone else you sick freak! I-"
She was instantly cut off by Keith's large hands closing around her throat as the knife clattered to thr ground; he hated that word! His grip was tight and the knife lay forgotten on the floor, she kicked out but he had her pinned, there was no escaping him now. One hand left her throat to grab the belt around her arm, he tugged it loose and angrily shoved it around her neck, Zelena tried to scream but her body coughed and gagged from the lack of air. Black bit at the edge of her vision and her mind screamed … for help … for air … to live and even while she was so close to death it screamed for heroin. Tears fell from her eyes and stung her cheeks like acid, legs and arms flying about but her strength failed her with each new airless heart beat. Her breath would re-emerge for a second or two as and when he allowed it, just to toy with her and prologue her suffering, a gasp to keep her alive long enough for another moment of torture, like a drowning victim fighting to the surface for one last breath. On TV they never talked about the noise, the deafening sound of being able to hear one's own blood rushing round their body in search of fresh oxygen. Never talked pressure that built up inside the victim's head, the lack of air wasn't actually what hurt, the pressure was. The Ferryman was almost there, a bone hand that reached out to drag her away. Zelena's fingers grew icy and her lips turned blue, eyes bloodshot and desperate. With a last rattled gag light faded from Zelena's eyes and the Ferryman threw her soul aboard his boat; Charon would not return it.
Pleased with his work Keith dragged Zelena, belt and all, over to the pool house and dumped her inside out of the way.
' I come to none before their warrant's sealed,
And, when it is, they must submit, and yield.
Though some by age be full of grief and pain,
Till their appointed time they must remain;
I take no bribe, believe me, this is true.
Prepare yourself to go; I'm come for you.'
~X~
Gold pulled out Belle's chair for her so as she could sit at the table before taking his own seat. The walls were a rich blue lined with silver-gold and soft piano music drifted through the air coating the noise of conversation with a pleasant melody. Elias looked as debonair as ever in a bespoke coal suit with matching shirt and a deep green tie, he was the perfect image of elegance. Gold couldn't think of how he looked though when he could see Belle, beautiful and amazing Belle. He'd given her the dress that evening and he had to admit she looked stunning, the dress was a bustier that came down to mid thigh and decorated with floral golden fine work that made the deep purple of it stand out boldly, the way it revealed her cleavage and shoulders made him wish they'd scrapped dinner and stayed in his room. Alas there they were.
"Do you take all you girls out to dinner, Mister Gold?" She asked in a teasing tone. "Is this a welcome to the family sort of thing?"
"No, Angel." He smiled. "Just you. The letter I gave you for your door was the welcome to the family thing."
"Oh." He teasing grin grew. "So this is just you and me?"
"Just you and me." He repeated, his brown orbs shone.
The two ordered not long after they'd sat down in the restaurant and sipped their wine while they waited. It wasn't lost on him that most people in the restaurant had probably assumed Belle was either his daughter or an escort, both ideas sickened him but he knew no one would think a woman as beautiful as Belle could be with him out of actual love or desire; money maybe. Elias decided to push that thought away when she started to tell him about the new book she's started reading.
"… I'm really enjoying Crime and Punishment, I love the way Dostoevsky writes."
"Yes, his work is utterly brilliant. I've read The Brothers Karamazov so many times that I fear the book will soon fall apart."
"Raskolnikov is such an interesting character though. Then again I suppose killers do manage to entice everyone to them in some way, that's why we have so many professions revolving around them. Those who take life intrigue."
"I couldn't agree more." Just as Gold finished his sentence a waiter set down their plates, topped up their wine glasses and left them with a polite smile. "The novel is constantly telling us what time it is as well, when Raskolnikov wakes up, when he plans to kill the pawnbroker, when Svidrigaïlov decides to kill himself and so on."
Is this the best topic for the dinner table? Gold asked himself, probably not, no. However Belle is happy. Honestly, Elias was just enjoying having an intelligent conversation.
"I think that's because of the versions of reality theme running though the book. We, as readers, need that so we can follow how things are progressing, the book is reasonably hard to follow otherwise." She smiled.
Gold had to admit Belle made a good point.
"You're right, we do need those indications as to the time. What with all the flashbacks, dreams, hallucinations and sporadic moments of unconsciousness it is hard to keep up."
Belle thought for a moment as she chewed her fish and then spoke with genuine enjoyment in her voice.
"Do you think Dostoevsky does that on purpose? He wants people confused, or do you think that was just how the words came together for him?" She asked curiously.
Elias took a moment for his own thoughts, he hadn't had such an intellectual dinner conversation in... well, as long as he could remember really; Regina had been able to keep up but that had been sparing more than conversation.
"'Sometimes he fancied he had been lying there a month; at other times it all seemed part of the same day.'" He quoted. "I think that shows that it is intended. Dostoevsky wanted us confused because most of the novel is told from Raskolnikov's perspective. The character is constantly missing pieces of time because he's hallucinating or delirious. By being told exactly what time it is constantly we understand how important time is to him even though he can't grasp it."
Belle seemed pleased with that answer and the topic moved on to the novels tone for a good portion of the night. Gold could see storm clouds had formed through the window, all of them looked dark and violent, he knew that soon it would rain like the Gods were crying. Elias worried not though, a storm didn't mean evil was to occur; unfortunately the monster in his home did.
XXXX
The extract used at the end of Zelena's death is a ballad called 'Death And The Lady'. It was printed on a broadside by J. Deacon sometime between 1683 and 1700. It was printed as The Great Messenger of Mortality, or a Dialogue betwixt Death and a Lady. A broadside of the ballad appears in the Roxburghe Collection.