KILLING CAT
Catriona Travino has fifteen days left to live, before being executed by lethal injection.
Miles Cavendish, has been invited to witness her death. He can hardly wait, because he’d personally framed Catriona for the murder she will die for.
Her execution would be his revenge, for when Catriona was sixteen he’d been about to rape her when she had rammed her thumbs into his eyes, half blinding him.
Serena, the girl Catriona had been convicted of murdering, was somewhere in the Bitterfoot Forests in Montana. He’d kidnapped and taken her there personally and witnessed her forced marriage to the son of the leader of an extreme survivalist group. She would never be allowed to leave them alive.
But evidence pointing to Cat’s innocence was beginning to emerge, and DA Diane Anelloni and Serena’s older sister, Rachel were flying to Montana. Rachel had found a message on her answering service.
And according to the message, Serena, her kid sister, was still alive.
Teaser
Cat frowned when she heard a vehicle approaching the ranch. It was too early for Rachel and not many people visited her here at the cabin as it was a three mile drive along the dirt road that led from the highway.
The large silver camper drew up and a young man climbed out and waved to her as she watched from the window. He walked over to the porch, he looks vaguely familiar, she thought as she opened the door.
Shaun stood there grinning at her.
Cat felt her heart stop and she clutched the edge of the door to stop herself from falling. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe!
Something was jabbed into her stomach and then she was on the floor her muscles convulsing out of control and she saw the electronic stun gun in his hand. He stopped, pulled up her sleeve and she felt something prick her arm and then everything swam away from her.
* * * *
She opened her eyes to complete and utter darkness and remembered. As she started to panic, she realised she was naked and lying on a narrow padded cot and that the wall against which her back rested was also padded. Fighting back her terror, she explored her prison with her hands and confirmed that she was in a padded cell. Sobbing, she scratched futilely at the walls for a few minutes whimpering with fear but then she stopped.
“No!” she said aloud, “Keep calm, he must have brought you here for a reason.” Trembling she sank back down onto the cot and waited.
She could hear nothing except for her own breathing and she could smell the vinyl covered cladding on the walls and floor and she was starting to feel claustrophobic when a dim light entered the cell as a door opened on her left. She turned her head towards him, towards the man who was long dead.
“Who are you and what do you want?” she asked, trying not to let her terror show.
“I’m Shaun, Catriona, Shaun! Do you remember me now?” He was shouting his voice filled with rage - and then he started to giggle a curious high pitched giggle that chilled her to the core, she was at the mercy of a madman.
“But Shaun’s dead!” she cried.
“Perhaps you’d better have another look Catriona.” He said and suddenly the room was illuminated by a bright light that came from a glass dome fastened to the ceiling and she looked up into Shaun’s face.
He hasn’t changed a bit since she’d last seen him almost eighteen years ago and that was a mistake, she thought. She could see a faint line around his eyes and mouth, it was a mask, beautifully made but a mask and she guessed that his hair was a wig.
As though reading her mind, the man stood up and reaching behind his neck did something and she saw the mask go limp and then it was pulled off her captors head.
He grinned at her, “Good isn’t it?” he said holding the mask up for her to see, “I must tell you how I managed to get it made sometime.”
He was about thirty five or perhaps a little older and quite good looking with short dark hair and intelligent looking face, he was regarding her with an amused expression on his face and for a moment she thought she may have seen him before.
When he looked into her eyes, she realised he was laughing at her
“Who are you and what do you want?” she asked.
“Well now what do I want?” he giggled again but then stopped and regarded her gravely, “I have no intention of allowing any serious harm to come to you and if you behave yourself, you’ll be treated well.”
“I don’t understand. What is it you want? If it’s money you can have it?”
She folded her arms over her exposed breasts and crossed her legs as she realised he might want more from her than money. Perhaps he was going to rape her, there was little that she could do to stop him but she would at least try!
“You needn’t worry about that yet,” he said as though reading her mind. “After all you know all about being raped, don’t you?” Laughing, he turned and she saw him walk over to a heavy looking wooden door, unlocking it, he walked out of the room closing the door behind him and she heard him re-engage the lock.
He had closed her cell door but left a small observation hatch open and just before the room was plunged into darkness again. The room containing her cell had no windows and so it was probably a basement, she thought
* * * *
The light came on, Cat awoke from her doze and her bladder was demanding to be relieved but she was dammed if she was going to soil herself!
He came over and looked down at her almost fondly. “Catriona, it’s time we had a proper talk but first I guess you ought to use the facilities, you know have a shower, freshen up a bit and put some clothes on it can get quite cold down here once the heating is turned off. Now I know you’re a fighter and I like that I really do but if you ever attack me, I will have to hurt you very badly, very badly indeed. Do you understand me?”
In his hand he held the stun gun and a pair of wicked looking fencing pliers and she knew he would use them on her without giving it a second thought.
“Yes I understand, I won’t do anything.” she said, for now she would have to be compliant otherwise she knew he would enjoy making her scream in as he tortured or killed her.
“Right, follow me and we’ll get you cleaned up and have our little chat and something to eat.”
If the padded floor tiles beneath her feet surprised her it was nothing compared to what was revealed as she followed him through the door of the cell, the main basement was a room at least twenty five feet square. Deep pile carpet a rich burgundy colour covered most of the floor but she could see that at the far end towards which he was leading her the floor was pine, a toilet stood against the wall inside a waist height screen and next to it was a shower with clear glass sides, he obviously liked to know exactly where the room’s occupant was and she wasn’t surprised to see cameras mounted high on the walls.
“Help yourself to a shower or whatever you’ll find there’s a drawer under the bed with towels and a few clothes. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He left by the same door and again she heard the lock being turned, she didn’t bother to examine the room, she knew there was only one way out. After relieving herself and taking a hot shower, she chose a tracksuit and underwear. She smiled ruefully, the clothes were hers, obviously her kidnapper had been back to her cabin.
In the carpeted area there was an expensive looking leather couch, matching chairs and a low wooden table. Everything was bolted to the floor. Cat sat in one of the chairs and waited.
The door opened and she saw him carrying a tray on which there were two cups of coffee and a plate of sandwiches. He put it down on the table and sat down opposite her.
“Help yourself,” he said picking up his coffee.
She briefly considered throwing her coffee in his face but knew he would be expecting something like that and anyway the coffee wasn’t scalding, just hot.
“Right Catriona, I think it’s time that I told you why you are here, I’m sure you’d like to know.”
She nodded.
“You’re here because of what happened to Shaun, I intend to kill Rachel Newman’s sister, to punish her for helping you. Rachel! I’m sure will die cursing you!”
He means it! Cat thought, he really means it. She started to tremble as she realised the man was a psychopath.
He put down his cup and leaned towards her, “And you’re here because after I have killed Serena, I intend to leave a trail of evidence that leads to you being tried and executed for her murder.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked, trying to remain calm, “People will miss me, they’ll call the police.”
“Why I’m doing it doesn’t concern you, all you have to do is what you’re told. I’d really appreciate it if you co-operated, it will be extremely painful every time you disobey me.”
Without warning, he touched the stun gun against her and as she fell to the floor. He grasped her right foot and she tried to scream as she saw he had a small pair of fencing pliers in his hand and felt them close on the nail of her little toe. Her scream erupted from her throat as a red hot pain shot through her foot as he tore out the nail. Giggling, he released her ankle and threw a dressing onto the floor beside the spot where she writhed and cried in pain.
“You’ll be able to put that on in a few minutes, don’t worry you won’t bleed to death and it will grow back in a couple of months.”
She heard him leave the room and as she regained control of her limbs, the pain seemed to intensify, hobbling over to the shower she washed, dried and put the dressing on her toe. She’d just finished when he returned and indicated that he wanted her sit back down, so she limped back to the chair.
“Now listen up, in a couple of hours I want to make a mould of your face and then you’ll write some letters to let folks now that you’ve been feeling depressed and need to get away for a while. I know who you need to contact. I’ve been watching you for a long time. If you don’t co-operate, I’ll have to hurt you some more and now that you know how painful it is, you wouldn’t like that, would you?”
“No!” she moaned, “I’ll let you do anything you want.”
“Good, now you will only be allowed in this part of the cellar while I’m down here with you. I can’t allow you to kill yourself because that would spoil everything. Get back into your bedroom now and I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Numbed Cat stood and walked towards the padded cell.
“Hey Catriona! Haven’t you forgetting something?”
She turned back towards him puzzled.
“Your clothes! Strip, take your God damn clothes off!”
Despite her resolve, she started to cry as she stripped in front of him and returned naked and hurting back to her cell.
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