psychic crystal 03 - killer cruise (16 page)

“Maybe he just thinks he’s a vampire,” Jack reasoned.

Kate’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell forward into Jack’s arms.

“Christ, something strange is going on. Something unworldly. I don’t know what it is, but we have to hold out hope. Kate says she’s still alive.”

“But who knows for how long?” Will punched his fist into his hand.

Jack made a call, then turned to Will. “I’ve got the police out looking everywhere. If she’s on the island, we’ll find her.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Juliette awoke and tried to move her hands. They were numb. Memories of the past few hours came rushing back. No, this wasn’t a dream. Gedeon must have drugged her again to keep her quiet.

“Marika, you’re awake. Good.” Gedeon glided over to the bed. He tested the restraints and seemed satisfied they were tight enough. “It won’t be long now. As soon as it turns dark, we’ll be on our way.”

“Why do we have to wait until dark?”

“I think you know the answer to that question, my love. I only operate in the dark. I have a condition—sensitive skin. It’s hereditary. I shun sunlight. Don’t you remember?”

Juliette tried to sit up. She glanced at the looming presence above her. She was alone in a room with a madman who thought she was her mother. A delusional man who thought he was a vampire. A man who was determined to kidnap her and take her back to his castle. Okay, she could play along with him.

“Are you going to bite me?” She was half afraid he might, that he might follow through on her suggestion.

“You’re afraid I’m going to turn you.” Gedeon paused and ran a finger lightly up and down Juliette’s neck, pausing at the pulse point. “I have strong appetites.”

Juliette shrank back and managed to move into a sitting position, trying not to show her fear. And she could see by the crazy light in Gedeon’s eyes that he was aroused.

“All will be revealed when we return home.”

Gedeon touched the amethyst amulet around Juliette’s neck. It glowed.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m tempted to take a taste of you, but when I take you, you’ll hunger for me just as I have hungered for you all of these years. Don’t pretend to be innocent. I know all about the years you spent with the reverend, your
protector
. The older, wiser man. I’m sure he taught you well. Lessons I’m sure I’ll appreciate. And then there’s the sheriff. I can only imagine what you two were doing in your suite. You’re damaged goods, but I am willing to overlook that. And yes, I will turn you. I made that mistake with Marika. If I had joined our blood, she’d still be with me today. But she chose to—”

“What about my mother? What happened to her?”

“Hush, my love.” Gedeon placed his fingertips on Juliette’s lips. “In due time.”

Juliette’s body began to shake. She was all alone. There was no one around to help her. She had to depend on herself. The ship had surely sailed, and with it her family and Will and all hopes of rescue. Will. She’d been fighting him all along, but he was a good man. She could fall in love with a man like that. What did she know of love? All the men she had ever met had wanted to control her or use her. She’d never really known love until she met Will. And now she’d never get a chance to explore that love with him.

She knew Gedeon could not remove the amulet. No one could. He wanted it, wanted her power, but she would have to give it willingly. She had to take a chance. Maybe if she riled him he would make a mistake.

“You know I am not Marika.”

Gedeon rose from the bed and growled. “You are whoever I wish you to be. When I bed you, you will sing to my tune and play your role, or you’ll go to your grave, like your mother.”

Juliette strained against the bonds.

“You said you’d tell me about my mother. She’s not alive?”

Gedeon paced the room impatiently. “I’m done talking. Now we’re about to leave. Do I need to sedate you again, or will you come willingly? If you don’t, you know what will happen to Kate.”

Juliette’s mind wandered to a time when her mother had sacrificed herself to protect her daughter. Now Juliette would willingly carry on that tradition.

“I will cooperate. Now untie me.”

Gedeon seemed satisfied with that answer.

“You’re ready to dispense with this pretense? You used to burn at my touch. Don’t you remember, Marika?”

The vampire’s hold on reality was unraveling at a rapid rate.

“I do,” Juliette whispered.

“And you will again.” Gedeon loosened her hands and lifted her out of the bed. Juliette’s arms ached. Her body ached. Her strength had been depleted.

All the stories she’d heard about vampires were one-sided. What would happen if you bit a vampire? Or made him angry? Would he bite back?

When he leaned in to steal a kiss, she took a bite out of Gedeon’s arm.

“You little bitch,” he yelled and dropped her unceremoniously on the carpeted floor. Juliette scrambled out of the room and locked the door behind her, sealing off the vampire and his monstrous rage.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“We’ve got several reports of cabs dropping off passengers in front of private residences, which is suspicious because Bermuda residents can drive, so why would they need to take a cab?”

“Let’s check them out,” Will said, straining to be on the way, like a starving hound.

“We need to wait for the police car. They know the island. We don’t. We may need backup.”

At that moment a local police car pulled up, and the driver emerged.

“I’m Captain Smith. I’m here to provide any assistance you need. There’s room for everyone in the car.”

Kate and Jack got in the back seat, and Will sat in front with the police captain.

“Okay, we have several addresses to check out. One is at a yellow private home in Hamilton. That’s the closest.”

“Does it have an ocean view?” Kate asked.

“No, primarily garden views, but very lovely. The wife and I—”

“They’re not there,” Kate stated abruptly. “We’re looking for a yellow mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean.” A clear picture of the house burned in her mind.

Captain Smith checked his list. “Well, there’s only one on the list that it could possibly be, then. The cab driver said his passenger was asleep in the back seat. He offered to help with her wheelchair, but the man she was with left it in the doorway on Front Street.”

“That’s them!” Will shouted. “Let’s go.”

“Well, then, we have a problem. That’s a private residence. We can’t just barge in there.”

“We can ring the doorbell, can’t we?” Will reasoned.

“We can. I’ll radio ahead for backup. The gentleman who owns that property is a big muckety-muck.”

Jack piped in from the back seat. “Is he local?”

“He’s a British citizen with fingers in all sorts of pies. He’s connected, that’s for sure. Don’t want to rile him. He won’t abide us banging on his door unannounced.”

“I don’t care what he will or won’t abide. If I have to break the door down, I will.” Will was steaming in the front seat.

Jack placed his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Calm down. We’re going to find her.”

Kate closed her eyes and focused. Juliette was running, running for her life. Doors locked. Doors splintered. Long arms getting closer, closer to her neck. Juliette clutched her amulet, praying for strength. Now she was outside, running under a moon gate in the garden, breath coming in precious gulps, running around trees, closer and closer to the cliff and the ocean’s edge. Waves crashed below. The first star blinked in the darkening sky. The moon rose. Dusk. The man wanted to give chase. But something was holding him back. He was waiting until nightfall.

Juliette bolted forward breathlessly, trying to outpace the monster. She was scared, shaking, shoeless. There was nowhere to go. The man was right behind her, his shoes pounding the grass. She didn’t have to look back to know she was cornered.

“Hurry,” Kate whispered.

“Kate, did you say something?” Jack stared at his wife, in her trancelike state.

“Hurry.”

“How much longer?” Will demanded, drumming his fists on the dashboard.

“Five to ten minutes, no more.” The police car sped around a dry stone wall that leaned away from the road.

“If I go any faster, we’ll all be killed.”

****

Juliette’s heart hammered in her chest. Clutching the amulet, she prayed—to her mother’s soul, to a higher power, to whoever was out there, whoever would listen. She stopped short. If she went any farther, she’d end up splattered on the rocks below. Maybe that would be preferable to the fate Gedeon had in mind for her. But she wanted to live, at any cost. She wanted to see Kate again. She skidded to a halt and managed to swerve to the right. Gedeon’s steps closed the space between them. She felt his fingers reaching for her hair, but she was no longer in front of him. The momentum carried him forward, but he stopped himself before he went over the cliff. If he did go over the cliff, could he really fly?

****

A flash of purple fabric appeared to his right. Gedeon pursued it. Did the little fool think she could outrun him? He was a hawk. She was his prey. He was lightning fast and super strong. She was earthbound. He was invincible. But she persisted in playing her dreary cat-and-mouse games. He’d have to punish her when they got back to the castle. He bit his bottom lip. There were endless instruments of torture at his disposal and, of course, the dungeon, where her mother had met her end. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Starvation had seemed like a good idea at the time, but he had overestimated Marika’s stamina and stubbornness.

But punishment would have to wait. They had a schedule to keep, and they needed to make it to the yacht. The limo he’d hired to take them to the wharf was idling in front of the house. His bags and the remainder of the paintings were already loaded in the car. Perhaps Juliette had hoped he would leave her behind. She had run now toward the front of the house, seeking salvation.

“Help me,” she pleaded. He heard her voice rise to a crescendo. Her hands were pounding on the window on the driver’s side of the dark stretch limousine. “Someone is after me.”

“Get in,” the driver said, obligingly. Juliette got into the back seat and doubled over, struggling to catch her breath, thankful to be rescued.

Gedeon smiled. Always expect the unexpected. While Juliette’s head was down, he slipped into the limo next to her, locked the doors and signaled to the driver to take off.

****

When Juliette raised her head, the shock was etched on her face. She clutched at her heart. She had escaped right into the devil’s tentacles. She saw Gedeon lift the syringe from his jacket pocket and felt it sink into her shoulder. The last thing she remembered was his smile as she slumped over into his lap.

****

Gedeon smiled as he watched Ilona—or was it Marika?—fall forward. He stroked her hair, winding his fingers into the beautiful mass of black curls. If only they were alone and Ilona had not been so obstinate.

The limo driver knew where to go. They were mere minutes from the wharf.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“This is it,” Kate exclaimed. “This is the house.”

The police car slowed to a stop on the circular driveway, and the occupants piled out. They ran up the steps of the welcoming arms staircase to the front door of the magnificent Tucker’s Town stone residence with its pale yellow walls and traditional Bermuda stepped roof.

The police captain knocked on the door.

No answer.

Then he rang the bell.

“This isn’t a damn social call,” Will bellowed. “Break down the door.”

“This is Bermuda cedar. It can’t be easily broken.”

“Then break a window.”

“That’s uncivilized.”

“You think I care how it looks? Try the back door.”

The officer started around to the back, and Will, Jack, and Kate followed. The house was large and heavily landscaped, and darkness and unfamiliarity with the property impeded their progress.

He entered a garden, walked up to the back door, and jiggled the handle. The door was open. He turned the handle, walked in, and raised his weapon. “If they were here, they must have left in a hurry.”

Will nearly bumped into the officer as he rushed in and looked around, while the officer did a room-by-room check. Nothing seemed out of place. No sign of anything amiss, until he got to the bedroom. “I smell Juliette’s perfume.”

“Juliette was definitely here,” Kate confirmed.

Will turned on the light and was confronted with a horrifying scene on the four-poster bed. A scene such as he had processed before in his career as a sheriff. But this time it was personal. He pointed to the bed but couldn’t speak.

Ropes were tied to the bedposts, ropes that had obviously held Juliette captive.

The officer walked into the bedroom and frowned at the sight of the ropes. “I’ve checked the entire house. There’s no one here.”

“I saw her in this bed, tied up. She was here, I’m sure.” Kate touched her hands to her stomach and shivered.

Will pounded his fist against the wall and shouted, “Then where is she?”

“Jack, look,” Kate said, pointing to two paintings on the wall and walking closer to inspect them. “The missing Monets. These were two of the paintings I saw in the gallery on the ship.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Jack, there’s no mistaking Monets. These are authentic. Whoever lives here must have purchased them from our art thief. And now he’s missing.”

“Well, he had no way of knowing we were on to them, so they must have been following a plan,” Jack reasoned. “No need to go to another location on the island if he felt safe here. Except it was strange that they left the back door open. Maybe they had to flee in a hurry. There’s no way off the island except by boat.”

“He wouldn’t take the cruise ship, because he’d know we were looking for him,” Jack reasoned, turning to the police captain. “Could he have chartered a vessel?”

“I’ll make a call and check that out and contact another officer to secure the scene here.”

What no one was saying out loud was—the crime scene. No evidence of a crime committed here, except possibly a depraved act. The man would have had plenty of time to do what he pleased with Juliette.