Dark Desire – Chapter 12
Five weeks after she escaped from Eric Northman, Katy stood under a large black umbrella in a crowded, old cemetery a few miles south west of Philadelphia. The cemetery had been used since Revolutionary times. The Rothschilds, a prominent family in the area for more than two hundred years, owned a large section of the graveyard. At least fifteen huge marble several mausoleums and many other graves held the remains of the Rothschild family. The cemetery was a landmark in the area and could only be used by people whose families still owned plots or mausoleums on the grounds.
It was late afternoon on Halloween and a light, cold rain drenched everything. A biting, bitterly cold wind made a mournful sighing as it blew through the trees. The branches were mostly bare and seemed misshapen now; the only leaves remaining were dry and yellow; the grass over the graves was brown and dead too. In the gray light, gargoyles and other sculptures adorning large Gothic tombstones and mausoleums reminded Kate of nightmares she used to have as a child, but it all seem fitting somehow; the cemetery was a barren, lonely place this time of year.
It was cold, raw day. An early snowfall had dusted the ground the night before, but the rain washed the snow away, and the ground was very muddy. Katy stood by herself in front of the elaborate granite tombstone that marked the resting places of Martin Rothschild and his wife, Mathilda Rothschild. Aunt Mattie had been dead for six months; she had developed Alzheimer's disease eighteen months ago and was gone a year later.
Katy had not been told about her aunt's death until two days ago, nor had she been told about her aunt's illness. The idea that the FBI and her Witness Protection handlers had kept that information from her made Katy furious. She met regularly with Gwen Jameson several times a month; not once had Gwen let on about her aunt's illness and her subsequent death. Katy only found out about it because she insisted on seeing her aunt.
Anger burned white hot in Katy's blood. A feeling of deep betrayal made her feel bitter and used. She had no one left to trust now; her faith and trust in Gwen and the FBI had been completely shattered. Of course, Gwen claimed that she knew nothing about her aunt's illness and death until the day Katy insisted on seeing her. She made it seem like she was checking on her aunt for Katy then told her the bad news. From the very first, Katy knew she was lying. The guilty look in Gwen's eyes gave her away.
"I have put my life on hold for two and a half years while the FBI tried to get it's act together. I was told it wouldn't take more than six moths to bring Richard, his father and the others to trial, but right now it looks like that will never happen. I had to beg you to protect my aunt, and you only agreed to do so if I was a "good girl" and played along with you. You wouldn't let me see her. You wouldn't let me call her. You wouldn't even let me know where she was. She died all alone. I should have been with her. I will never forgive you for that!"
"I am sick of the delays. Someone knew my aunt was ill. Someone knew my aunt was dead. As far as I am concerned, you guys have lied to me for the last two years. You and the FBI can go fuck yourselves, Gwen! I'm leaving the program, and I am not testifying. I don't know anything about those other men, and I want to live a normal life." she declared bitterly.
"If you leave the program, we will charge you as an accessory to the crimes. You will go to jail yourself for a very long time, or we could just forget you in the system, and you will never see the light of day for a long time. You knew what was happening, but you did nothing for six months. We need your testimony, Katy. You will stay in Witness Protection until the trial, or else! Besides, if you leave now, they will still come after you, and we won't be there to protect you." Gwen retorted.
"You can't do that! I had nothing to do with that and you know it."
"Try me. This case is too important. If I lose you as a witness, my career is toast. Our case depends on the evidence you gave us. We've come too far to lose you now. Even if you don't go to jail, we will make your life miserable from now until the day you die. Oh, if you quit now, you can forget your parent's estate, we will confiscate every penny since it was used in the commission of a crime." The woman Katy had trusted with her life for the past three months just proved herself to be an unmitigated bitch. She wondered how she could have been such a fool. She had actually liked Gwen before today.
Katy didn't give a damn about her parent's estate, she had a large trust fund and and an even larger inheritance from her maternal grandmother. She had moved most of the money to Switzerland and the Grand Caymans to keep it away from the Wakefields. The FBI could not get their hands on it.
She knew the reason the FBI lied to her. They they were afraid she wouldn't testify for them if she knew her aunt was dead. Using her aunt's safety as leverage to pressure her, Katy agreed to do what ever they wanted. After learning of their betrayal, Katy was determined to leave, but she had to play along with them until she could get away from Gwen Jameson and the three other federal agents that were ever present with her now.
Katy had other reasons for wanting to escape from the feds. She had been on the move constantly since Gwen picked her up in New Orleans. She had been moved to a safe house in an apartment building just outside the city. Two days later, under a hail of gunfire, Katy, Gwen and two other federal marshals just barely escaped four very large looking men with guns. A third marshal had been shot and badly injured as they all helped Katy escape.
She had been moved to different safe houses throughout Louisiana and Texas. She never spent more than two nights in anyone place. The feds didn't want her anywhere near California until the trial. Gwen stayed with her, but the other agents changed. There were two more very close calls over the last five weeks, but they never involved actual gun play. Katy was terrified by now.
Katy wasn't a fool; she knew that either the feds were incompetent, or there was an informant who was willing to sell her out. Three attempts to kill her in the space of three weeks was not just a coincidence. Someone was letting the men who pursued her know where she was. About a week ago, she discovered Gwen talking suspiciously on the phone to someone. Katy began to think Gwen was the informant, and that terrified her even more.
The day that she found out about her aunt's death, Katy also found out that Richard and his father-in-law had been killed in a car accident less than two weeks after she went into hiding again. The feds had managed to keep their deaths out of the news for three weeks before it hit the newspapers and TV. The papers were once again filled with all the sordid details. Cable TV programs covered the deaths of her parents and her alleged adultery with Dan Tolbert. By this time, Katy's nerves were frazzled by anxiety and fear. She gagged on her betrayal by the FBI. She felt as if her life was spinning out of control with no end in sight.
After the first incident with the gunmen, Katy had not felt safe once since she left the palace. Sometimes she wished she had stayed with Eric. Whether he he loved her or not; whether he thought she was a whore or not, at least she felt reasonably safe with him. She now believed she could have managed to stay for a couple of days until she could figure out something to do.
She no longer believed Eric cared anything about her; she believed he wanted her only for sex and blood like the "fangbanging whores" he spoke about. The thought that he could use her like that made her feel numb and dried up like an old prune. She felt foolish because she still loved him in spite of everything.
She still did not understand what happened that night; his actions and his words hurt her badly. Still, she did not believe he would allow anyone to physically harm her. She should have stayed just long enough to contact other friends that could help her. Standing there, Katy was glad that she never mentioned a word about Eric Northman to Gwen.
Grief for her aunt overwhelmed her as she stood and prayed over the grave. Hatred for the FBI coursed through her as strong as the hatred she had felt for Richard and his father. She had been used and betrayed by them as surely as she had been used and betrayed by her ex-husband and her father. The only reason, she was here right now, is that she had threatened to walk out on them if they didn't let her pay respects at her aunt's grave. She asked to be left alone for ten minutes.
Gwen Jameson and the three other federal agents stood about fifteen feet way. Their view of her was blocked by one of the many mausoleums near her aunt's grave. Katy took a careful look around; none of the federal marshals were in sight. She whispered, "Aunt Mattie, I wish I could stay, but I have to go now," before she carefully and quietly slipped away. The four feds were so confident and sure of her, they were talking and laughing among themselves. They didn't notice that she was gone for at least ten more minutes. Just inside the cemetery gates, she spotted two young guys who worked in the cemetery and who were just coming off their shifts. They were sitting in an old pick up truck talking when she asked them for a ride. They drove her to the New Jersey Turnpike.
At the rest stop just before Exit 3 on the New Jersey Turnpike, Kate used an ATM card and got $500 in cash from a bank account she had set up in another name just before she went into Witness Protection. She purchased a baseball cap, three t-shirts, shower shoes, two pairs of shorts, a small canvas travel bag and a few toiletries and personal items from the rest stop's gift shop. The gift shop was expensive, but she had no choice. After stowing everything in the small travel bag, she sat down to eat a hamburger and fries. She was hungry as she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before.
Walking outside to where the large trucks were parked, Katy took a long hard look at the truck drivers she saw there. With her heart in her throat, she finally made a choice. Carrying her purse and her small travel bag, she picked up a ride with a aging trucker heading to Nashville, Tennessee. It was a good pick; the trucker was a big, barrel chested, gray haired man with friendly eyes. In his southern drawl, he nicely warned her of the dangers of hitchhiking.
Sam Johnston, the trucker, had picked up many hitchhikers during his long career as a trucker. He liked to help people who were down and out. There was something about Katy that made him feel really bad. She was obviously a lady, but she was also so obviously in trouble. He felt sorry for the tall, skinny redhead who looked so sad and down on her luck.
He spent the time regaling her with tales of his wife and grandchildren. They stopped and and got separate rooms at a motel along the interstate. Katy was pleasantly surprised when she was able to pay upfront in cash and didn't have to produce a credit card. She definitely did not want to leave a paper trail of her whereabouts. After eating junk food from the room's snack bar, she showered and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, Sam Johnston knocked on Katy's door to let he know he was ready to leave. They both grabbed some coffee and donuts at the free breakfast bar provide by the small motel. After that they spent the rest of the time singing duets with the radio. Katy liked the trucker and felt comfortable with him.
Sam dropped her off at another small motel close to I-40 in Nashville and turned off the highway himself. He wished her good luck before he drove away. Again Katy was able to pay for her room in she went to her room, she used an ATM machine in a bank across the parking lot from the the motel and withdrew another $500.
The next morning, in a nearby restaurant frequented by travelers, Katy met a young married couple heading west to Dallas, Texas. Both of them graduated from college in North Carolina only months before and were moving back home where the husband had lined up a job. The kids were great company and kept her laughing at their jokes. They didn't have much money, so Katy paid for gas and bought them both lunch. She a took her turn driving so the they could both get some rest in the back seat.
When their car broke down outside of Carlisle, Arkansas, they dropped her off at another small motel just off the highway. Katy kissed them both on the cheek and wished them a long and happy married life before she checked in for two nights. It was only mid afternoon, but the elderly motel attendant was so absorbed with the TV program she was watching, she barely looked at Katy as she signed the register. The attendant had no problems taking cash and didn't ask for a credit card either.
Katy knew she couldn't stay at the motel; her pursuers or the feds would eventually find her there. Just before four o'clock that afternoon, Katy dialed the telephone number for Judith Vardamon's investment company and left a message with her secretary.
"This is Emily Canton. Please have Ms. Vardamon call me back as soon as possible. I have information on a mutual friend. The matter is urgent!" she said and left the telephone number of a disposable cellphone she had picked up in New Jersey. Katy was afraid to use her own name since it had recently been on the news. She hoped Judith would put two and two together. Pushing her hair up under her baseball cap and putting on her dark sunglasses, she went over to the McDonalds next door to buy some takeout.
Back in her room, she sat down at the small table near the window and ate her hamburger and fries and and drank a cup of bitter coffee. Then she waited until nightfall As she waited, she watched TV and paced the floor, but she never left the room. Finally, she lay across the bed. She was mentally and physically exhausted from her ordeal of the last five and a half weeks. She began to sob and shake uncontrollably and as tears streamed down her face. She didn't know if she had done the right thing calling Judith, but for right now, she couldn't think of anyone else to call. She lay awake on the bed looking at the ceiling and praying for sundown to come.
In New Orleans, using his vampire subjects and human employees, Eric Northman began what was eventually to become a nationwide search for Katy on the night she left the palace. Over five weeks days later, there was still no sign of Katy to be found anywhere. It was as if the earth had opened up and swallowed her whole.
Through it all, Eric blamed himself for the fact that Katy ran. He berated himself for the way he treated her that night. Daniel and Judith were the only two who knew some of what happened in his bedroom. He had told them later that night in his office while discussing what to do. He didn't try to justify himself, and he didn't go through all the details, but he did admit that, in his jealousy and anger, he had terrified her. That was quite an unusual admission for the viking vamp.
Less than an hour after Katy escaped from the palace, Judith had relayed some of the facts of their earlier conversation to Eric and Daniel as the three discussed the information they had garnered about Kathryn Dumont from the internet. The data they had uncovered about Katy Dumont did not mention the fact that she was in the Witness Protection Program. That fact had been supplied by Judith as a result of her talk with Katy. Nonetheless, Daniel had suspected as much because he recognized many of the names of the other suspects involved in the case. There were some powerful men including a well known gangster on the list.
Judith also informed them that Katy's aunt was also in the Witness Program, and the FBI was using her aunt as leverage against her. Katy was terrified that the FBI would kick her aunt out of the program and leave her unprotected. They would not tell her where her aunt was. Eric cursed when he heard that. This explained a lot about Katy's secretive behavior.
Eric knew Katy was in danger and that made his imagination run wild with fear that she would be captured and killed. His fear for her just magnified his need to find her and keep her safe. He didn't say so, but both of them knew he regretted his actions earlier that night. Daniel and Judith both knew he was worried sick about Katy.
Still, Judith couldn't resist, "You are such an idiot, Northman. Just when I start to think you are okay, you go and do something so stupid that you drove her away. That woman loves you, and if she dies, it will be your fault." she angrily told him.
Hearing Judith say Katy loved him, made Eric feel even guiltier and more desperate to find her before something happened. The small vamp's biting words really hit home. Eric didn't like that one bit. "How do you know what Katy feels about me?" he hissed.
"Because I asked her earlier tonight, you idiot. She told me she loved you, and I know she was telling the truth, even if I can't read her emotions. She was going to tell you how she felt tonight; I am sure of that. Now look what you've done!"
"Can't you make your woman keep her mouth shut?" Eric snarled at Daniel.
Daniel started to say something to Judith, but she was quicker. "I'd like to see himl try. I'll kick his ass if he does." she snarled back at Eric. She was wasn't much of a fighter. She was much smaller than Daniel Brady, but she was older and stronger than he. They all knew she could do it.
"Take it easy, babe. I'm not going to do anything foolish." Daniel smiled at her and patted her hand patronizingly. Judith just snorted in disgust, but she smiled back. She didn't know why, but she really dug this hoped their relationship would last.
Daniel left for California on an Anubis plane the next day. While in California investigating Califano, he met a friend, Darryl Kane at a small bar in Los Angeles. Kane had been Daniel's partner while he worked with the FBI. The two hadn't met in years and spent a lot of time catching up with each other.
The conversation was friendly and chatty until Daniel mentioned the name Kathryn Dumont. Kane closed up tighter than a clam. That didn't surprise Daniel, but he hoped he could get more information about her from an old friend. No, such luck.
After having a True Blood while Darryl downed a scotch, the two men walked out to the parking lot. Although he didn't like to glamour a friend, outside the bar, Daniel glamoured Darryl who confirmed that Katy was in the Witness Protection Program. Unfortunately, her files were not available to ordinary agents, and Darryl had no information on her whereabouts.
He did let Daniel know that the Wakefield case was big and that the FBI had been after James Wakefield for years without success. Without elaborating, he said that there were some other very nasty characters after Katy besides the Wakefields, and that she was in a lot of danger. The FBI would consider it a major success if Katy ever made it to court to testify. They were not sure they could keep her safe. Daniel relayed the whole conversation with Darryl Kane to Eric while driving to Napa Valley. That made Eric worry even more.
Bill had much better luck in Wakefield Cove, although he too uses his glamour. People in the small town seemed to want nothing more than to talk about Katy, her father, her ex-husband and his father, but Bill didn't want people to remember that someone was asking questions about Katy Dumont and the Wakefields. No one in Wakefield Cove believed the Wakefields anymore. Finding out that three of their most prominent citizens were sexual predators involved in the molestation and possible torture of kids shocked the small town to its core. Most were glad that John Dumont and Helen Dumont were dead.
Everyone now said that they always believed Katy's story from the beginning. The same people who whispered behind her back, shunned her and made her life so miserable that she left Wakefield Cove, now said, "Katy was a good doctor and such a wonderful person. She was so in love with Richard there was just no way a lady like her would cheat on him. We always knew that slut, Tracy Coleman, was out to steal Richard away from Katy. Too bad Katy didn't know what a slime bag Richard was, but isn't the wife always the last to know? "
No one believed Dan Tolbert's story that he was having an affair with Katy anymore, either. The fact that the overdue mortgage on his bar was conveniently paid off within two weeks after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Katy was known by almost everyone in town. "And just don't get us started on that slut, Tracy Coleman," they said. There were so many rumors about Katy's former best friend, that the woman would have had to have lived nine lives just to do half the stuff she was accused of doing.
One of the last people Bill talked to in Wakefield Cove was Dan Tolbert himself. He had served eighteen months for assault and battery and was living the good life at home now. Even though his bar wasn't doing well, Tolbert always seemed to have money. He gambled in Los Vegas and played the ponies. He drove a fast sports car and always covered himself with a lot of gold bling. Bill didn't like the man.
After being glamoured by Bill. Tolbert confirmed that he had taken money from the Wakefields to say that he had been having an affair with Katy and to confess to beating her. Tolbert disgusted Bill, so he ordered Tolbert to make a clumsy attempt to rob a bank in town using an unloaded gun. Tolbert did. He was caught. Dan Tolbert would go to jail for a long time for that, and that made Bill quite happy.
Bill returned to Bon Temps, but two other vamps Eric sent to California sought out both Wakefields. Through his vamp employees, Eric meted out justice to the two men who had tormented Katy and her aunt in such a terrible manner. Two weeks after Katy disappeared, James and Richard Wakefield were found dead in Richard's car. The men were returning from one of their special "trips" to Portland, Oregon, when Richard's car went out of control and crashed down the side of a large cliff into a ravine before it exploded. Both men were dead.
The car wasn't found for days until a search party looking for the missing men spotted the car in the ravine. Their bodies had been so badly burned, that the coroner had to use dental records to identify them. The coroner had no idea the men were already dead by the time the car went over the cliff. Before they were killed, they had been tortured for information, but were only able to give a few names of other men; they had no information of value. Their bodies had been completely drained of blood.
In Napa, it was only through the use of glamour that Daniel was able to pursue his investigation of Gaetano Califano without arousing suspicion. By the time he returned to New Orleans a week later, his skills as a top notch detective had confirmed that Califano was the king pin behind the sex tour trade in California. Danial had built quite a dossier on the vamp, his illegal activities and his minions. Califano was extremely dangerous, and he was also well protected. His mansion was a virtual fortress, and his guard were all old vampire warriors.
Eric was determined to destroy Califano for his attempt to kidnap Katy. He, Daniel and Bill all agreed, there was no way that Califano could be successfully attacked on his home grounds. Somehow the vamp kingpin had to be lured out and killed quietly with no evidence linking Eric or his subjects to the killing. If that couldn't be done, then evidence against Califano had to be turned over to the regional Magister. Now that the sex scandal was in the news, anything that linked the ring of pedophiles to vampires would be swiftly dealt with, and any vamps caught up in the mess would be executed vampire style by the Magister.
Over the next four weeks, Eric's vamps began to locate Califano's men and kill them one by one. They all disappeared very mysteriously with no trace. Their boss had no idea what happened to his vamps; he began to wonder if another vamp was trying to move in on his territory.
In early November, Judith arose one night to find a message on her cellphone from her secretary. A woman named Emily Canton had called and asked her to call back. Her secretary carefully repeated the message and the cellphone number of the caller. Judith was surprised and elated when she listen to the message. She recognized the name immediately.
She was staying with Bill and Sookie in Bon Temps for a couple of days. The three of them were scheduled to meet Eric Northman at Fangtasia for their regular monthly meeting to discuss their mutual business interests. Without delay, she called Eric at his home in Shreveport.
"Eric, Katy called and left a message for me to call back. Get over to Bill's fast if you want to be here when I call her back," she told the astonished Vampire King of Lousiana.
Eric was dressed and standing on Bill's front porch in less than twenty minutes.
Before she made the call, Judith asked everyone to keep quiet no matter what was said. When Eric demanded that he be allowed to talk to Katy, Judith reminded him if Katy had wanted to speak to him, she would have tried to contact him, instead of her. He winced at that remark as it hit home.
"Let me find out what she wants, and don't say anything. You may just scare her away again if you open your mouth!" she said. Eric was nonplussed, but he kept quiet.
When Judith dialed the number she was given, Eric recognized the familiar husky, female voice that answered. It was a voice he had longed to hear for weeks. "Oh Judith, I'm so glad you called back! I'm so sorry to bother you, but I didn't know who else to call..."
Judith, Eric, Bill and Sookie could all hear Katy on the other end of the phone. They could all hear the desperation, pain, fear and relief in her voice. The more she talked, the more Eric felt disgusted and ashamed of himself. A curious mixture of relief that she was found and new fears for her safety flooded through him. He started to tremble; unconsciously, his hands clenched and unclenched. It was all he could do to stop himself from snatching the phone away from Judith and pleading with Katy to let him come and get her; to let him protect her; to let him keep her safe.