Ripple Effect: A Novel (33 page)

“Kelly!” I whisper frantically. “You have to go deeper into the tunnel and hide!”

Kelly holds my shoulders in his hands. “I won’t leave you, Cecily.”

I point down the mine, a demand that he must follow. “You have to! If you go and hide, you can attack Leison when he comes for me!”

Kelly nods and kisses my forehead quickly. I bring his face to mine for a real kiss, not knowing if it will be my last or not.

I notice that he doesn’t take a flashlight with him.

“Ladies!” Leison yells down to us. My blood turns cold, Sabrina’s eyes fill with terror, and Stacy’s breathing staggers. This can’t be real! This isn’t how it’s supposed to end! “I’ll give you credit for getting this far,” he says smugly.

We still can’t see him. Our flashlights are on the ground behind us, by the girls who are whimpering in fright.

“Be the hero,” Hazel whispers to me, before running deeper to join Kelly.

We suddenly see a lantern swinging, illuminating only the barest piece of Leison’s face. I band arms with Sabrina and Stacy.

“We found your secret, Leison!” I yell bravely. “I told you I would!”

Leison laughs loudly. “I’m a man of my word. I told you they were alive, didn’t I?”

Then, out of the darkness, we see more lanterns appear behind his wicked, grinning face
.
Stacy and Sabrina tighten their grasps on my arms. Sabrina was right about the goons.

All I can think of is that verse my mom always recites from the Bible: “
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
Why can’t I remember the rest of it?!

“You’ll be locked away forever!” My yell echoes in the dark space.

Leison laughs again—a dark, cruel sound. Then everything goes black, all the lanterns turn off completely, except for the three flashlights on the ground behind us—the ones we left in front of the dying girls. I’m stuck with eyes that don’t want to adjust to the shadows before me.

Then things become dead silent. They’re taunting us, moving through the shadows with such ease and perfection. The darkness is where they live. It is too easy for them to hunt their prey in such gloom.

My heart beats in my throat. My breathing sounds as loud as a freight train. I wait for the monster in the depths of the cave to crawl from its lair of darkness, snatch me up in its claw-like hands, and drag me to my death.

It would be better than dying in the hands of Leison.

And then, out of the darkness, his rough hands wrap around my neck. I gasp for air and claw at him, but it does nothing.

“Cecily Wolf!” He speaks directly into my ear. “I should have ripped you from the booth at the diner! You think I’m stupid, fooled easily by a ball cap? I knew you were there. I could
smell
your fear!”

He squeezes my neck tighter and I wheeze desperately. This is a side of him I haven’t seen yet—this rage is unusual.

I’m thrown on the ground and Leison towers above me. The lanterns come back on, giving light to the demon that attacks me. Dark, soulless eyes stare down at me as he sneers. He places one boot on my chest and presses down. I emit a piercing cry. “It’s only the beginning––”

Stacy and Sabrina attack him. They knock him down to the ground. Yells, punches, and names are thrown. A punch from Sabrina forces a loud groan from Leison, followed by
choice
words.

I push myself to sitting, rather sloppily, terrified and shaking. I direct my eyes upward—right into the barrel of a black pistol.

“Stay down, sweetheart.” Aaron, my would-have-been rapist, stands over me. A wicked smile appears on his shadowed face.

With no option left to me, I begin crying. I feel helpless and pathetic. Meanwhile, Sabrina and Stacy are kicking and scratching at Leison, unaware that there is a gun pointed at me.

“That’s enough, girls,” says another voice
.
Aaron looks in that direction.

I use his distraction to my advantage and kick him hard in the shins.

Aaron backs away, cursing at me.

“Enough!” Leison yells, though he is still on the ground. “Get a hold of yourself, Aaron!”

A third goon passes by us in the shadows and the fourth comes up from behind Aaron. Two more follow in. I wonder how many goons haunt this mine . . . hidden in the shadows, learning from their master.

This man holds authority—he is in no way one of the mindless cult followers. He exudes a power stronger than Leison’s. I can see that he has dark features, but aside from that, it’s too dark to tell much more. He glances down at me, dark eyes glinting in the dim light.

Something glints on his breast pocket. Tan shirt . . . black pants . . . black holster.
Deputy badge
. My mouth gapes open and I have to hold back a terrified scream.

Eyes and ears everywhere . . . but I saw Leison that night at the precinct. I swear by it.
I start to panic even more.
Who is this stranger?

“Dust yourself off!” I’d never expect to see anyone speak to Leison with such annoyance, such authority. Right when I thought it couldn’t get worse. The man barked again. “I will not repeat myself.”

I get a good look at one of the goon’s faces. I don’t recognize him, but he has the same sickly handsome face, the same conniving look as all the other cult followers. He and Aaron take Sabrina and Stacy by the arms and hold them still in the middle of the space. The lanterns stand upright on the black ground, glowing like hollow apparitions. The girls try to fight, but it is short-lived.

Leison stands up and dusts himself off. There is just enough light on him to catch the glint of darkness in his eye and the curve of his sharp jaw line. He wears a black pullover hoodie and dark jeans, both of which are rumpled and dirty from his fight on the ground. “Next time—” he sneers, such an ugly sight “—just let them kill me, will you? That way you can take all the time in the world for yourself.”

“Enough,” the deputy says. Another lantern illuminates between them, burning my eyes for a moment. I see the resemblance between the two. Both tall and dark, with the same creepy eyes… They’re brothers, they have to be! “I’m sick of your crap, James. I’m sick of cleaning up after you.”

They both look at me. “You’re the little tattletale, aren’t you?” The deputy rips me up from the ground. A small yelp sounds from me. I can feel the mark forming on my arm where he yanked me. “You are brave, aren’t you? Skipped the local authorities and shot straight to the FBI. Right, Cecily?”

I refuse to make eye contact. Instead I stared at the claw marks on the dark walls beyond him. “What did you do—do to Sheriff Copper?”

“He’s knocked out cold. Maybe even dead.” Leison snickers. “
Oops.
”

Frozen completely, I can’t even lift my head to look at my offender. All I can think of is Sheriff Copper being dead—in his office, sprawled on the floor, blood staining his tan sheriff’s shirt. It can’t be true; I refuse to believe it.

Finally, I turn a furious stare on the deputy. In this lighting, I honestly can’t tell the difference between the two. Was he the man at the school, stalking the hallway, or was it Leison dressed as a cop?

“You’re Deputy Paxson!!!” Sabrina yells suddenly, so loud that even Leison jumps a little. He glares at her as she keeps screaming. “I know who you are!!!”

Deputy Paxson smiles darkly. “Ah, yes, hello, Sabrina. Your father and I are associates—friends, even. He’s confided quite a bit in me, actually. He’s said a rather lot about you. Even asked for advice on what to do with his troubled teenage daughter. How he thought you were being assaulted—raped.” Dark eyes flash, catching the light of the lantern, and he smirks. “If only he knew.”

Sabrina’s face pales, and in an instant, silver streams of tears are running down her cheeks. She collapses back into the enemy, unable to hold herself up. Her father betrayed her without even knowing it.

The deputy releases my arm to pull a gun from his holster. “If Gordon had trusted his daughter before he trusted a stranger impersonating a deputy, our fun would have ended long ago.”

Sabrina lets out a growl, and then yelps, as the goon holding her does something.

Mr. Deputy turns toward Leison. “Copper caught on to us this morning. I guess the FBI finally made contact with him. He called you a serial killer.”

“If the shoe fits . . .” Leison takes one step back. Something is going on to create the tension between them, something that no one else can see.

“That would mean that I’m your accomplice.”

Leison doesn’t say anything.

“Or was it the other way around?”

Leison turns to run, but a shot rings through the air before he can even take one step. I cover my ears, gasping; I swear that my ears are bleeding.

The body of Mr. Leison crumples to the ground. I thought I’d rejoice in seeing him lifeless, but after meeting Paxson, there was no feeling of safety in his death.

“I believe it was the other way around.” Paxson nudges the body with his foot. “I’ve been cleaning up his messes for too long.”

Taking my chance, I quickly back away from him, stumbling backward until I’m pressed against the cold wall of the tunnel. My eyes widen when I realize I’m stuck here.

“Where could you possibly be going, young lady?” One loud step after the other, he comes closer to me. “Consequences are in store for you, Cecily Wolf.”

“I––I––” I grip the uneven edges of the wall tightly, as if to seek some comfort, but it just scrapes my fingers and juts angrily into my back.

Paxson reaches me and grabs my throat, already sore from Leison’s earlier attack. His hands are just as rough—just as greedy. “You’re untouched, pure . . . unlike the other victims.” His eyes fill with an evil desire. “A rare commodity.”

As he moves his face toward mine, I move my head away from him. “Don’t,” I plead, tears filling my eyes.

His eyes fill with a sick satisfaction. Pleased with himself for making me tremble under his hand, he smiles widely.

But I recognize that sickly smile.

No wonder that rage had seemed unusual.

I start to shake
.
Leison had a temper, but it was always smooth and controlled—not like the dead brother on the ground. This had to be . . .

“Mr. Leison?” I whisper.

Surprise fills his dark eyes and he loosens his grasp for just a moment. Someone coughs in the darkness . . . an unseen goon.

“You are so
smart,
Cecily Wolf.” Paxson—Leison—smirks. “There was another as smart as you . . .”

“You’re Leison?” Sabrina yells and her mouth is quickly covered.

“You see, ladies, the dead man on the floor is my twin. Now, after I tell you this story, you will die. Just so you know what to expect.” He flashes a cruel smile. “James Longhorn is my name, my brother is Edward Jeers. He’s the cop; I’m the detective . . . if you get my analogy.”

Is this why Reinhardt hasn’t been able to tag him? Because he has a brother who covers his trail? Is that why he never mentioned running into me at the diner before now? Because it wasn’t him who was there?

I can already smell the metallic scent of the spilled blood on the ground.

I watch him, paralyzed. The shadows of his thin face are deepened in the dim light of the lanterns, making him look like a skeleton. The red tint gives him a demonic look—highlighting the devil he has turned out to be.

“Cops do the street work,” he says, his voice sharp. “Detectives are the thinkers, the solvers. That’s how it always was with us. Then he decided he wanted a piece of the action. He wanted to be the killer, and me the accomplice. So he started walking around, making ruthless threats… not my style.”

“What is your style?” I ask quietly. “Rape them then throw them into a cave to starve?”

“You forget the part about me being conniving and handsome, Cecily. The three girls here…” His eyes quickly dart to spot were the girls are huddled. They barely whimper. “Why didn’t anyone go looking for them? Why didn’t anyone care that they were missing until the FBI put their foot in it? Everyone assumed they’d gone off to college. My timing was perfect.” He shot a derisive look at his dead brother. “That’s why I’m the planner, and he is dead.”

“Was it you or him that worked at the school?” Stacy asks.

“Both. It worked fine until my idiot brother had to start touching the girls I had set aside. Girls like you, Stacy.” He’s thrilled by the horror that fills her face. “We shared Sabrina,” he adds, shooting her a slimy grin, and she gives a disgusted look. I am sure that one stings a little for her. “I was there to tag each of you girls. My idiot brother just had to touch you and pollute you and ruin my plans . . .” He turns to me, a vicious hunger filling his disgusting face. “Except for you, Cecily. He never got his hands on you.”

Stacy speaks quietly. “Why did you switch off?”

He looks toward her. “My brother wanted a chance to play big boy serial killer. I was stupid enough to think he could pull it off. I’d give him a chance, he’d prove his incompetence. Repeat after repeat.” There was no emotion at all in the man as he stared down at the lifeless body of his brother. “Now, he’s dead. And I’ve learned a valuable lesson.”