Terry reentered the living room of the cabin after making himself scarce for the last hour. He’d checked the neighboring cabins and found them all locked up, likely until the following weekend. Tommy was still seated as he was before Terry walked out, and little did he know that Laurie was at the end of the hall in the last bedroom, tied to the bed, gagged, and given a dose of sleep medication. She wouldn’t be a concern for the time being.
“Okay, the coast is clear, so it’s time to head down to the boathouse. Remember what I said. One wrong move and it’s lights out for Laurie.”
Tommy nodded and struggled to get his feet under him.
“I’ll pull off the tape around your eyes so you can see the way.” Terry chuckled. “We wouldn’t want you to walk right off the end of the pier being bound the way you are. You’d surely sink and drown in a matter of seconds.”
Terry reached behind Tommy’s head, grabbed the end of the tape, and gave it a pull. Tommy moaned when strands of hair came off with it.
“Yeah, that had to hurt. Oh well, better than being dead. Right, Detective? Hold still so I can open the padlock, and don’t forget this Beretta is jammed in your back.”
With the chain unfastened and looped over his arm, Terry pushed Tommy toward the back door. “Straight out that door, down the hill, and to the pier. The boathouse is dry and roomy, and I’ve even put a blanket down there for your comfort. It’ll help keep the mosquitos off you. They’re a real pain in the ass, especially at night.” He motioned for Tommy to pick up his bucket and head for the door. “It’s going to take a while to get down there, shuffling the way you have to, but I’m not about to release those zip ties and have you make a run for it.” He smiled at Tommy. “Since you know the consequences, I imagine you’re going to be very cooperative, so let’s go.”
It took twenty minutes to get to the boathouse and another ten minutes to secure Tommy to the pilings inside the structure. Terry bound him with the chain once more then wrapped tape around his head to cover his eyes.
Terry gave the chain a final inspection before walking out. “Enjoy your time out here, Detective Sanders. The nighttime sounds are soothing, especially the frogs croaking. I’ll be back later to check on you, but for now, I have to pay Laurie a visit. You know how it is. I have to keep my bargaining chip in good condition.”
Out on the pier, Terry followed the shoreline with his eyes. Not a soul was in sight, and the quiet lake was a hidden gem, anyway, with only seven vacation homes on the water. Satisfied, he returned to the cabin to check on Laurie.
Terry opened the last door at the end of the hallway and peeked in. Laurie was awake and had wedged herself into the corner of the bed. Her eyes, swollen from crying, were bloodshot and bulging. Terry’s emotions were all over the board—from rage to sadness to wanting revenge. Looking at Laurie brought back memories of Katlyn and her horrific murder. Gone for the night at a continuing education program in Joliet, Terry was far from home when he got the call about the break-in. The police didn’t do enough to save her, and they were suffering his wrath for that mistake. Terry closed his eyes and tried to shake off the image of Katlyn’s body when he had to identify her at the morgue the next day.
His focus shifted to Laurie. “So, you’re awake.” He walked to the bed and reached out to remove the tape from her mouth. She flinched at his touch. “I’m not going to hurt you unless you force me to, and if you scream, Tommy will pay.” He removed the tape and waited. She kept quiet. “Good. You understand the consequences of disobedience, right?”
She nodded. “You have Tommy?”
“I do.”
“Where? Have you hurt him?”
“Not yet.”
She sobbed at the insinuation. “Why us? What have we done to you? I’ve never laid eyes on you until this morning. Who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter, Laurie. I have to right the wrongs. The police and EMTs shouldn’t get to decide if my pregnant wife lives or dies, but they did, and they chose to let her die. Now I’m choosing who lives and dies. They decided to play God, so I can too.”
“Where is Tommy? Is he here? I need to see him.”
“That isn’t possible at the moment. I’ll decide who gets to do what. See where I’m going with this? I make the rules now. Just relax, keep quiet, and I’ll bring you something to eat soon.”
Terry put the tape back over her mouth and left the bedroom.
They have to pay for what happened that night, every last one of them.
Taking a seat on the couch, Terry reached for his phone and tapped the app for the home cameras he had installed after the break-in. A doorbell camera faced the street, and several porch-facing cameras were installed in the bushes. They were installed too late to help Katlyn, but if anyone else ever tried breaking in, he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot them.
What the hell is this?
The doorbell camera showed officers walking the sidewalks to neighboring houses.
Trying to get information, are you? I need to go home and see what you’re up to. I’ll sneak in through the back and be waiting inside for anyone who tries to come in. Cop or no cop, you invade my home, and you’ll pay dearly.
Terry realized he’d been so busy with Tommy and Laurie that he’d never turned off the locations on his phone.
“Son of a bitch!”
He quickly disabled the feature and made the call to a private driver. Arranging a ride from the nearby gas station into the city, Terry told the driver to pick him up there at three o’clock—it was only a mile walk. He shut down his phone, pocketed it, then locked the door as he left.