Yeah, better to not look at that too closely for now. I took the key and pocketed it. There wasn’t much in the way of distinguishing marks, so I’d have to figure out what it went to and where, but for now, I’d work a little more on Fletcher Reed.
Also, I needed to call in the scene, if for no other reason than the security guard had sent me up. Walking over to the station, I informed him of the wreckage I’d found and the man’s eyes damn near doubled in size. He was on the phone immediately and I left him to it.
“Sir…” The guard called after me and I paused to glance back. “What do I tell the police about why you were here?”
“Just tell them I was checking on him for his family.” That seemed pretty reasonable. “I need to let them know something has happened as well.”
The guard nodded and I headed back outside. It was dark and I had a key and fuck all for leads, beyond Fletcher Reed’s blood had been at the crime scene and now his whole condo had been burnt out, with all of his electronics destroyed.
Not enough. I was too many steps behind, but I was also close. I could practically smell it. Just like I could smell the burnt scent clinging to my clothes.
My phone rang again and this time it was from a very familiar number. One I hadn’t expected to ever see on my phone again. “Krystle?” Then I could have kicked myself. “Agent Bellingham.”
“Krystle is fine, Cash. Look, I shouldn’t even be talking to you, much less telling you anything.”
No, no she shouldn’t.
“But you need to know—”
“I’m listening?”
“—they think the Judge is active again.”
Not what I expected her to say. At all.
“They’re going to be putting some fresh agents on the case…”
Possessiveness swarmed through me. The Judge, or as I liked to think Jury, wasminedammit.Mine.
But I couldn’t play it that way. “And I care because?”
“Right, do you want to know the newest information or do you want to lie to me about your obsession—again?”
Right. That obsession was what broke up our relationship. “Tell me everything.”
26
Vienna
The door closed quietly behind me as I walked down the stairs to the basement. Once I reached the door to the cell, I swung it open, until only the bars were left between us. These dual doored cells were really quite handy in certain situations.
“Please kill me,” Salinas wheezed. He sounded perilously close to death today. I was sure he’d be happy to know today was the day he got his wish. If Daddy never even met him on that day, then he was of no use to me.
“Today is your day, my friend.” I headed over to a storage closet off to the side and grabbed a roll of plastic, similar to what Dion had wrapped around the interior of his house. Only mine was black. Then I picked a vial off of the shelf.
Bullets to the head offered a quick, easy death, and while I did want Salinas to die fairly quickly, he deserved a painful death. One that would also not require too much cleanup.
He didn’t even try to move off the cot against the wall as I opened the bars. Smart man. After no food and just enough water to keep him from dying, he didn’t stand a chance of trying to overpower me. Not that he would have had a chance regardless.
“One last thing,” I said as I uncapped the vial carefully and tipped it into his parted mouth. His eyes were closed as if he knew death was coming but didn’t want to stare it in the eyes.
“What the—” He tried to jerk to a sitting position but the monster didn’t have that much strength left. Instead, the highly concentrated hemlock poison, extracted directly from the root, made quick work of him.
Within a few minutes he’d lost the ability to speak. A few more minutes after that, he’d clutched his stomach and went to move onto his side. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful, falling face first to the concrete floor that was a mess of shit, urine and vomit. Then came the convulsions. It took twenty-three minutes all in all for him to die.
Dr. Anton Salinas was finally dead. After years of sexually assaulting women who were under anesthesia on his table, he was permanently removed from the Earth. No more women would have to suffer at his hands. I had spoken to some of the women myself. And that didn’t even include his history with the girls…
The women had been confused, scared. Their subconscious had told them something was wrong, but they weren’t even sure what had happened because they’d been placed under. No recollection at all.