Not leave evidence.
Not leave witnesses.
He swept the room with his eyes, wondering if he’d missed anything. When he was satisfied the place was clean, he went into the bathroom and urinated. He came out. Bending down, he raised his cuff and slipped the knife from its sheath.
A single clean slash across the throats would do it. He’d stand back to stay out of the spray.
Knife in hand, he stood.
He took one step toward Joni’s bed and realized she was gone.
Impossible!
Rushing to the bed, he slid his hands across its sheets to be certain his eyes and the darkness hadn’t deceived him. No, the bed was empty. She’d somehow worked the ropes loose.
He glanced down between the beds. No sign of her.
Under the bed?
The doorknob rattled. Roy looked, saw the small girl reaching, pulling. The door flew open for a moment, and shut.
“Oh fuck!” Roy muttered.
He ran to the door, swung it open, and stepped out. He shut it silently. Except for a few lighted cabin windows, the parking lot was dark. Roy looked to the left, thinking she would head for the office. No sign of her. He glanced to the right. Still nothing. Maybe she’d run around back.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay.”
He would just finish off the other one, first.
He tried to twist the knob. It resisted, as if frozen.
Locked out. Keys inside.
Roy drew a deep, shaky breath. He wiped the sweat off his hands, then hurried around the corner of the cabin. Ahead was only darkness. Woods. The night sounds of crickets.
He wanted his flashlight.
He’d left it inside.
Walking quietly, he entered the darkness to find Joni.
The little bitch!
His hand ached, gripping the knife so hard.
He’d rip her! God, he would rip that little bitch! Up one side, down the other.
“Where are you?” he muttered. “Think you can hide from me, little bitch? I know your smell. I’ll sniff you down.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
1.
“That’s it,” Donna said. “Lilly let the beast into the house, so it would kill the children and Ethel.”
“That’s how it looks,” Jud agreed.
“It’s not the way Maggie told it on the tour. Maggie had her barricaded in the bedroom, remember?”
“I think,” Jud said, “that Maggie lies a lot.”
“Do you suppose she lied about Lilly going mad?”
“I doubt it. That’s too easy to check on. We just need to see a local newspaper from the time to verify that. Lilly probably did flip out. If she was really behind the murder of her own children, that could send her over the edge. From the sound of it, she wouldn’t have needed more than a nudge, at that point.”
“And watching Xanadu kill the children gave her the nudge?”
“Likely.”
“I wonder what Xanadu did after she was gone. Do you think he stayed in the house?”
“He might’ve. Or maybe he went off, and continued the way he’d lived before Lilly.”
“But he did come back,” Donna said, “when Maggie and her family moved in. Maybe he was waiting, all that time, for Lilly to return. When he finally saw someone living there, he must’ve thought she’d come back.”
“I don’t know,” Jud said. “I really don’t know what to think about any of this. The diary sure throws a monkey wrench into my theory about the beast. Assuming the diary is authentic. And I think we have to assume it’s authentic, at least to the extent that Lilly Thorn wrote it. Nobody else had any reason to tell a story like that.”
“What about Maggie?”
“She kept it locked up. If she’d written it herself, faked it, she would’ve used it somehow: had it published, sold copies on the tour, something. I think she kept it for her own personal…”
A knock on the door silenced Jud. He picked up his automatic. “Ask who it is,” he whispered.
“Who’s there?”
“Mommy?” The girl’s voice was chocked with fear.
“Open it,” Jud said.
As Donna got to her feet, Jud lay down flat in the space between the beds.
He watched her unlock the door and pull it open. Sandy was standing in the darkness—standing on tiptoes to ease the pain of her pulled hair, tears shiny in her eyes, a six-inch knife blade pressed to her throat.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” a man asked, and laughed. He pushed Sandy ahead of him into the room, and kicked the door shut.
“Tell your friend to come out,” he said.
“There’s no one.”
“Don’t shit me. Tell him to come out, or I’ll start cutting.”
“She’s your daughter, Roy!”
“She’s just another cunt. Tell him.”
“Jud!”
He pushed his pistol under the bed, and slowly stood, hands out to show they were empty.
“Where’s your piece?” the man asked.
“Piece?”
“Everybody’s playing dumb. Cut the fuckin’ dumb show, and tell me where’s your gun.”
“I don’t have a gun.”
“No? Your buddy did.”
“Who?”
“Shit.”
“Who’re you?” Jud asked.
“Okay, knock it off. Both of you, get your hands on top of your heads and interlace your fingers.”
“Donna, who is this guy?”
“My husband,” said Donna, looking confused.
“Jesus, why didn’t you tell me? Look, fella, I didn’t even know she was married. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. You think you’re mad, my wife’s gonna kill me. You aren’t gonna tell her, are you? Why don’t you put down that blade, man? The kid didn’t do nothing. She didn’t know from Adam. We just stuck her on this guy, gave him a couple bucks to babysit while we…you know, had a good time.”
“Get over against the wall, both of you.”
“What’re you gonna do? You’re not gonna…hey, we didn’t even do nothing! I didn’t even touch her. Did I touch you, Donna?”
Donna shook her head.
“See?”
“Face the wall.”
“Oh Jesus!”
“That’s good. Now both of you brace yourselves against it. That’s right. Lean. So your weight’s on your hands.”
“Oh sweet Jesus!” Jud muttered. “He’s gonna kill us. He’s gonna kill us!”
“Shut up!” Roy snapped. He made Sandy lie facedown on the floor. “Now don’t move, kid, or I’ll gut your mom.”
“Oh sweet Jesus!” Jud cried.
“You shut up.”
“I didn’t touch her. Just ask her. Donna, did I touch you?”
“Shut up,” Donna said.
“Jesus, everybody’s turning on me!”
“He’s already killed at least two people,” Donna said, “and we’re gonna be next if you don’t shut up.”
“He killed somebody?” Jud looked over his shoulder at the man stepping toward him with a knife. “You really killed somebody?”
“Face front.”
“He killed my sister and her husband.”
“You did?” Jud asked, looking again.
The man’s grin told how much he had enjoyed it.
Jud began to turn, asking, “Why’d you…?”
“Face front!” Roy reached forward to shove Jud into position. As his hand thrust Jud’s shoulder, Jud reached back with his right hand, pressed Roy’s hand flat against his shoulder, and spun out. Roy yelped as his wrist snapped. Jud, still pivoting, smashed a forearm into the back of Roy’s head, slamming him against the wall. In the same swift motion, he hammered his knee into Roy’s spine. The knife dropped to the floor. Roy fell backward, groaning, panic in his eyes.
“Take Sandy over to 12,” Jud said. “See what happened to Larry.”
2.
Outside, Donna crouched and hugged her crying da
ughter. “Did he hurt you, honey?”
She nodded.
“Where did he hurt you?”
“He pinched me here.” She pointed to her left breast, a barely noticable rise through her blouse. “And he put his finger down here.”
“Inside?”
She nodded and sniffed.
“He didn’t rape you, though?”
“He said later. And he used the bad word.”
“What did he say?”
“The bad word.”
“You can tell me.”
“He said later. He said later he’d F me till I can’t walk straight. And then he was gonna F you. And then he was gonna gut us like catfish.”
“Bastard,” Donna muttered. “The stinking bastard.” She held Sandy gently, stroking the girl’s head. “Well, I guess he won’t get a chance to do any of that, will he?”
“Is he dead?”
“I don’t know. But he can’t hurt us now. Jud took care of that.” She stood. “Okay, let’s see about Larry.”
“Larry’s okay. I tied him real good.”
“You tied him?”
“I had to. Daddy was gonna kill him.”
They started walking across the parking area.
“I told Daddy, if he killed Larry, I’d scream. He said he’d kill me if I did, and I said I didn’t care. I said, if he didn’t kill Larry, I’d do anything he wanted. He wanted me to pretend so he could make you open the door.”
“How did he get Larry to open the door?”
“He pretended to be a policeman.”
“Great,” Donna muttered, wondering how Larry could be that stupid. She tried the door of Cabin 12. It wasn’t locked. She pushed it open.
“Where is he?”
“In the bathtub. It was Daddy’s idea.”
She found Larry facedown in the empty tub, a shirt tied around his mouth for a gag. His hands were bound together behind his back, and knotted to the ankles of his upraised feet.
“We got him!” Sandy announced.
Larry answered with a grunt.
Sitting on the edge of the tub, the girl leaned forward and picked at the knots. In a few moments, she had them loose. Larry pushed himself to his knees. He tugged the knotted shirt down from his face, and plucked a black sock out of his mouth. “Dreadful man,” Larry muttered. “A total barbarian. Are both of you all right? Where’s Judgment? What happened?”
Donna explained what Jud had done, and that she didn’t know how badly he’d injured Roy.
“Perhaps we should find out.”
They crossed through the darkness to Cabin 9 and found Jud sitting on the bed. On the floor between the beds, Roy lay facedown. His hands were tied behind his back. A pillowcase covered his head, strapped tightly around his neck with a leather belt. Except for his breathing, he was motionless.
“I see you have matters well in hand,” Larry said.
Sandy, looking down at her father, squeezed Donna’s hand tightly. Donna sat down beside Jud. They moved sideways to make room for the girl.
“What shall we do with the cad?” Larry asked, lowering himself daintily onto the empty bed.
“He’s not a cad,” said Jud. “He murdered Donna’s sister. He murdered her brother-in-law. He sexually abused Sandy. God knows what else he’s inflicted on Donna and Sandy. But we all know what he intended to do. That’s not a cad, in my book. In my book, that’s a beast.”
“What do you propose we do with him?” Larry asked.
“Put him where he belongs.”
“In jail?” Sandy asked.
Donna, feeling a chill scurry up her back, said, “No, honey. I don’t think that’s what Jud has in mind.”
Larry suddenly understood. Shaking his head, he muttered, “Oh dear God.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Donna started the engine of the Chrysler. Beside her sat Sandy. Roy, his head still hooded by the pillowcase and his hands still bound, sat in the back between Jud and Larry. Jud held a .45 against Roy’s chest. Larry held a machete across his lap, its curved head pressing Roy’s side.
“Once you let us off,” Jud said, “I want you to drive back to the motel. Give us half an hour, then come back for the pick-up. If we’re not waiting, don’t stick around. Take off, and come back every fifteen minutes until we show. Any questions?”
“Can’t I just park somewhere close, and wait? Then I can signal if someone comes.”
“The car might attract notice.”
“Are they really going in Beast House?” Sandy asked, as if it were a joke everyone was in on except her.
“I guess so,” Donna answered.
“That’s crazy.”
“It certainly is,” Larry agreed. “I concur 100 percent.”
“You don’t have to come,” Jud said.
“Oh, but I do. You are planning to rid the world of Lilly’s beast, I take it?”
“I’m planning to.”
“Well, if I’m to bear the expense of the operation, I certainly want to see it carried out. Besides, you may need a hand with our friend here.”
“Are you taking Daddy in there, too?”
“Yes,” Jud said, and didn’t explain.
“What for?”
“Punishment.”
“Oh. You’re gonna give him to the beast?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow! Can we go in too?” she asked Donna. “I want to see.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“But Jud and Larry are going in.”
“That’s different.”
“I want to. I want to see the beast get Daddy in its claws and rip him up.”
“Sandy!”
“I want to see it!”
“Take my word for it,” Larry said. “You don’t want to see the beast do that to a man. I know.”
“We’re almost there,” Donna said.
“Okay. Drive on past it, then hang a U.”
“Here?”
“Go a bit farther, so we’re past the bend.”
Donna slowed.
“This’ll be fine.”
She tried to swing the big car into a U-turn, saw that she couldn’t make it, and had to back up before finishing the turn.
“Okay,” Jud said. “Now kill the lights.”
She pushed the headlight knob, and the road ahead went dark except for patches of moonlight. The road was less dark than the woods on either side, so she had little trouble staying on it. Around the curve, the woods ended. The moon spread pale, creamy light over the road.
“Pull up in front of the ticket booth,” Jud said, his voice a tense whisper.
Donna stopped.
“I’ll need the keys for a second.”
She switched off the ignition. Turning in her seat, she handed the key case to him. “Jud?” she said.
His features were barely visible.
“Shouldn’t we just take him to the police?”
“No.”
“It’s not that I…Can’t we shoot him, or something?”
“That’d be murder.”
“It’ll be murder giving him to the beast.”
“Then the beast is the perpetrator, not us.”
“I don’t want you going in that house again. Not at night. Christ, Jud!”
“It’s all right,” Jud said quietly.
“It’s not all right. You could get killed. It’s not fair. We’ve only had two days.”
“We’ll have plenty more,” he said, and climbed from the car. He dragged out Roy, who stumbled and dropped to his knees. “Keep him here,” Jud told Larry.
Donna followed Jud to the trunk.
“Please,” he said, “get in the car.”
“One kiss.”
“All right.”
She pressed herself tightly against him, squeezing him hard, hoping that somehow their bodies might fuse and she could stop him from leaving. But after a moment, he forced her gently away.
/>
She watched him take his torn parka from the trunk and put it on. He picked up two flashlights and a road flare. Then he quietly shut the trunk and handed the keys to her.
“What time does your watch say?” he asked.
“Ten forty-three.”
He set his. “Okay. Meet us here at eleven-fifteen.”
“Jud?”
“Go. Please. I want to get this done.”
She went back to the car, started it, and drove away without looking back at the three men she’d left along the roadside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
1.
“It’s a turnstile,” Jud said. “Climb over it.”
Roy shook his head.
Jud prodded him with the knife, and Roy swung a leg up. Larry, on the other side, helped him over by pulling one of his tied arms. Jud heard an approaching car. He vaulted the turnstile, grabbed Roy, and pulled the big man to the ground. The three of them lay close to the ticket-booth wall.
Jud heard the car slow. Its tires crunched gravel. Crawling forward, he peered around the corner of the ticket booth.
A police car.
It was stopped across the road, but Jud could hear the quiet idle of its engine. A few moments passed. Then it made a U-turn, drove slowly by the ticket booth, and headed off.
They dragged Roy to his feet and led him up the lawn. They hurried alongside the house to the back. There, they climbed the porch stairs.
The broken glass in the back door had neither been replaced nor boarded over. Sliding the knife into his pocket, Jud reached through the opening. He lowered his fingers down the door crack until he found a bolt. He tried to draw it back. It was stuck. He jerked. It snapped back with a clatter that filled the silence.
“That probably woke it up,” Larry whispered.
Jud pushed open the door. He stepped inside, pulling the hooded man. Larry, following, shut the door without a sound.
“Where to?” he whispered.
“Let’s take this off, first.” Jud removed the belt from Roy’s neck, then pulled off the pillowcase. The man’s head jerked as he looked quickly around.
“This is Beast House,” Jud told him.
He made noises through his nose.
“I’ll take off the gag. You’ll live a bit longer, though, if you stay quiet.”