Chapter 7

"This isn't working," Katrina said, watching as Vincent pulled the shop vac's hose attachment out of Jessie's stomach.

He nodded in agreement. "No, it's not."

She scrutinized the knife wound Vincent had made to put the attachment in. Jessie squealed with pain and fear. "Wow, she's still alive," Katrina commented. "But this is just taking up time. I want to make her a wax dolly now."

Vincent took an iron cup of hot wax and poured it carefully into Jessie's wound to stop the bleeding. Jessie let out an ear-splitting scream of pain. Katrina burst into laughter.

"I just love it," she said, grinning. "Too bad we can't pour it down her throat. That mouth of hers has caused me no end of trouble."

Vincent shook his head. "She will die too soon. This will be better." He handed her a pair of scissors. "Cut off her clothes."

"Eeww! You mean I have to see this fat ass naked?" she asked.

He smiled at her and shrugged.

She took a deep breath and began to cut. It took no time at all to cut through the tube top dress. "Oh my God, I think I'm going to puke," Katrina moaned. "Vin-cent! She's not wearing underwear!"

Vincent walked over and made a disgusted face.

"Who the hell did you think you were looking good for, you fucking fat ass bitch?" Katrina asked.

"G . . . Greg!" Jessie moaned, choking out sobs.

"You two would have deserved each other," Katrina commented. "Too bad he's dead. And you will be dead soon, too. So don't worry. You might meet up in Hell."

Jessie screamed and tried to fight her way up.

Vincent hurried over, a syringe in hand, and injected the terrified girl with a substance that made her immobile.

"She'll still feel the pain, right?" Katrina asked anxiously.

Vincent nodded. "Every bit."

His companion grinned. "Now what?" She was given a bucket of water and a rag. The two of them began to wash off Jessie's body. "This is sickening," Katrina moaned. "What if I lose a hand inside all this fat?"

It didn't take long for them to finish washing the girl. Vincent picked Jessie up and placed her upright in what looked like an extra large shower with lots of shower nozzles.

"What does this do?" Katrina asked.

"Watch."

Katrina watched in fascination as hot wax began streaming from the nozzles, covering Jessie completely. Vincent glanced at Katrina sideways, noting her reaction. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open a little to accommodate the short little panting breaths she was taking. The jugular vein on her throat throbbed rapidly. One hand clawed at her neck as if her breath was too much for her. All this, Vincent noticed, was from excitement. He realized that she was just as excited as he got when working with the art form he loved. She was also clearly just as sadistic as his brother.

When Jessie's body was completely coated, Vincent turned off the shower. He stepped inside, holding a small paddle, and proceeded to shape the wax into the shape he wanted. He climbed out, smiling at Katrina.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"Wait. It must dry before we can put it on the table."

"I'm hungry."

"We can eat while we wait. Come on."

"Should we bring Vera?"

He nodded and walked over to the petrified girl, who by now had completely snapped. Vera's mouth opened and shut like a fish, her wide eyes were glazed, and she kept pointing to Jessie's body. She whimpered as Vincent picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

Katrina followed Vincent up the stairs and out of the House of Wax into the darkness. "I didn't realize it was so late," she commented. "Are we going to where you live? You don't live in that basement, do you?"

"No. With Bo, in the house." He pointed to the biggest house in town.

"Will you go back down to work on Jessie after you eat?"

"Yes."

"Can I go back with you?"

"Yes."

They walked up the derelict porch and into a dingy house. Bo was sitting on a yellowing couch, watching I Love Lucy reruns on the 1950's television.

"Done already?" he asked in his drawling voice.

Vincent shook his head and deposited Vera onto the couch beside his brother. Bo grinned and tugged on a lock of the girl's hair.

"Can you wait until after we eat before doing that?" Katrina asked.

"Does it disgust you, darlin'?" Bo asked.

Katrina laughed at him. "Not it. Her."

Bo shrugged. "Then I'll take this upstairs." He stood up, pulling Vera up with him. "There's food in the cupboard."

Vincent beckoned to Katrina and she followed him into the kitchen, intent on finding something to eat.