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THE DINING ROOM WAS buzzing with activity. Guests were downstairs eating, but so was half of the town. This was the busiest it had been in a while. Bridgette hoped that this meant business was picking up once again.
Mamie outdid herself tonight; the food was superb and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. They even had some soft jazz music playing in the background. Several bottles of wine had already been opened and the atmosphere was relaxing. She wished her nerves were as calm. She could not remember the last time she was so nervous. All they could do was wait to see if Marcus took the bait. It caught her by surprise this afternoon when Greg Dawson checked back into Marquette Plantation Bed & Breakfast. She had been so worried about him and relief washed over her when he walked up to the front desk. He looked extremely handsome in his suit. Where Marcus was more distinguished in his looks, Greg was more rugged, but both men were very good looking. She shook her head. She should not compare Greg to Marcus; each man was their own person. If only things with Marcus had turned out different.
It turned out Greg had an emergency call regarding a business deal and had to rush out. He just now had a chance to return for his items. When he heard about the excitement the other night, he wanted to check on her. Bridgette was so relieved to see him, she immediately gave him a huge kiss.
Glancing over at the bar, she smiled at Greg and waved. She watched as Justine walked into the room. Bridgette knew that the poor woman was nervous as hell about coming back here and was very proud of her. She had shown a lot of bravery in her decision to put this plan in motion. Both women were even wired just in case he made contact with them. So far, Marcus had not shown up or bothered to contact Bridgette. Since he was not answering his cell phone she had to leave a message with his secretary.
She was such a fool. She honestly thought the two of them had something special. Never again would she fall for someone. It would take a while for her broken heart to mend.
The hair on the back of her neck rose as a chill swept over her. Without showing her fear, she looked over the dining room. She did not see anything out of the ordinary, but she could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her intently. She was just being silly. It’s most probably her overactive imagination and the fact that her nerves were strung tight tonight.
A movement from the back of the room caught her attention. As Marcus DuPont walked into the dining room from the parlor, she felt the world shift underneath her. She never thought he would just walk into the room.
AS SOON AS JUSTINE walked into the dining room, she felt the floor underneath her shift as her world crumbled. It all came back to her at once. She was walking down the street when she heard someone approach her from behind. She turned around to see who it was when he made his move. It took her by complete surprise.
Whatever he had on the rag took effect fast. The world around her went black. On the trip to the cabin, she was in and out of consciousness. Her world was a blur. She remembered waking up cold and barely clothed, not seeing him anywhere around and managed to escape. She never once thought she would live through the ordeal, but she refused to surrender to that fate and pushed through it. When she saw the plantation house, she knew she was safe. Now, he was in front of her.
The dining room seemed to be frozen in time. Silence was all around her. She tried to open her mouth to warn Bridgette, but she just stood there trembling.
Bridgette watched the scene unfold before her in horror. Justine was completely petrified. Her hands were shaking at her sides. From this distance, she did not look as if she was breathing.
Justine felt the shaking start deep within her and struggled to stay calm. Her stomach started to churn. Tears blurred her vision. Standing right next to Bridgette was the monster. Everything fell seamlessly into place. His image was clear in her mind now. She remembered him placing the rag over her mouth, throwing her on the bed and chasing her. She remembered that night vividly now. She remembered the terror she felt when she woke up restrained to that bed. Reality hit her, this had happened to her and not someone else.
Her mind raced back to that moment when he approached her on the street. He must have thought he was being quiet, but she did hear him. She remembered looking into his eyes and seeing the anger, the pure hatred, he had for her. Now, she had a face to the monster and Bridgette was in extreme danger. She tried to find her voice. She must warn her.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the room. It took her a few moments to realize the sound had come from her. She looked at Bridgette, “Run, you must run. He’s right there.”
FOR A MOMENT, BRIDGETTE looked confused and saw Marcus had just stepped into the room. As she looked at him with fear in her eyes, he advanced. She backed right into Greg. When she turned to look at him, her blood turned to ice. Looking into his eyes, she could see pure hatred. His features were contorted into a malicious creature. She heard him talking, but it sounded as if he was far away. What was going on? They knew who the suspect was, it was Marcus. Had she been wrong about him? Was it really Greg Dawson behind it all?
She heard Justine call out to her one more time, “Bridgette you must run. Get away from him.” Bridgette watched as Marcus advanced closer. Greg had a tight grip on her and would not let her free. She struggled from his grasp.
MARCUS WATCHED IN HORROR as Greg started advancing towards the door, dragging Bridgette with him. He had been out of town handling problems with one of their other properties and was unable to take care of his missing cell phone until he returned. As soon as he heard what happened, he had come to check on Bridgette.
Rage burned through him as the fear registered on Bridgette’s face. The thought of what this man had planned nearly stopped his heart. A range of emotions washed over him as he tried to think of a plan to free Bridgette. A movement near the exit caught his eye. Marcus kept his eyes focused on Bridgette, not wanting to give the man a hint of what was about to come.
Greg held the knife at Bridgette’s throat. She could feel the tip of the sharp blade sink into her tender flesh. Greg leered at Justine, “You bitch. You ruined everything. Why did you have to escape? I should have killed you and your brother the other night.”
Before anyone could react, Greg dragged a kicking and screaming Bridgette outside. As she desperately struggled to free herself from his grasp, she still could not believe he was the one responsible for the deaths of all those poor women.
As the realization that Bridgette was abducted by a maniacal serial killer set in, Marcus became paralyzed with fear. He watched in horror as Bridgette was drug away from him. Until this very moment, he did not realize just how deeply he cared for her. He did not know what he would do without Bridgette. He loved to be around her, the smell of her hair, the feel of her body pressed against his.
Looking around, Detective Boutin pointed up ahead to a slow-moving dark figure. “There they are. I want officers coming in from every direction.” The shadow appeared to be having difficulty carrying his hostage through the stalks of cane. He prayed that they made it to Bridgette in time.
GREG KNEW HE HAD TO hurry, it would not take long for the police to come after him. He could hear movement behind him and picked up his pace. His best chance was to lose them in the sugar cane field. He began running in between two sugarcane rows, ignoring the sharp leaves as they cut into his flesh.
He could hear someone catching up to them and continued running through the rows of sugar cane, hoping to lose them in the process. The bayou was not far from where they were at. If he could make it to the small bateau tied off to the pier, he may be able to escape.
BRIDGETTE TRIED TO shield her face from the long blades as they cut into her skin. This was her penance. Guilt consumed her very being for even suspecting that Marcus could somehow be responsible. How could she be so foolish?
“Why? Why are you doing this? Why did you kill those women?”
He glared at her with an intensity that chilled her to the very core. She could see the anger flaring through his eyes. His face contorted, becoming almost monster-like. It was terrifying to watch his temperament switch. Now she knew that pure evil lurked inside of him.
Her gut clenched as a fine mist rose from the water as they made their way to the boat. The dank smell of the bayou permeated her senses. Apprehension grew deep inside of her the closer they got to the water’s edge. As much as she feared the water, she was even more terrified about what he may do to her.
Menace dripped from his tongue as he spoke to her, “No one can save you now.” As he knelt beside her to restrain her feet, a wry smirk fell on his lips. When he leaned in closer to her, she saw a chance to possibly escape. She pulled her head back and slammed it forward with every ounce she could muster. Blood immediately poured from his nose and he yelped in pain. Even though her head hurt, she kicked him in the gut, and sent him crashing into the water.
Once in the water, skeletal corpses reached out to drag him under. No matter how hard he thrashed about, the corpses continued to dig their skeletal hands deep into his body. They tore into him as he prepared to escape. He was not willing to surrender just yet. He refused to die in this horrific way.
A noise near the bank of the bayou caught his attention. A bull alligator made a low, snorting sound as it glided sinuously down into the water. All that remained of the alligator was his glittering eyes and nostrils as it slowly floated towards the bateau.
A shiver of fear snaked through him. He despised alligators; they were too much like him as they killed without regret and without feeling.
His screams echoed through the night as the alligator started to do a death roll with his body. He could feel the creature sinking its massive teeth deep into his flesh. The alligator would not devour him just yet. Instead, it would wedge him underwater somewhere, such as between a pair of sunken cypress knees, to rot. Alligators preferred to eat their meals after the swamp water had allowed the corpse to bloat, tenderizing it before mealtime.
Bridgette tried to block out Greg’s incessant screams as the alligator dragged his body down to the bayou’s floor. A shudder racked through her body as the stress of the situation took over her body. Marcus wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “You are safe now.”
Tears began to fall from her face as the guilt took over. She had believed he was guilty. How could she have doubted his innocence? She stuttered, “I-I-I I am so sorry. I should have known you did not do this. Can you ever forgive me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been trying to call you. I’ve been so worried.”
“Someone stole my cell phone right before I left town. I did not have a chance to get another one because I was so busy.”
She looked up at him, “Can you ever forgive me?”
He cupped her face with his hands, brushing the tears away with his thumbs, “I am just as guilty as you. I should have called to tell you that I had to leave. I am so used to putting business before anything else. We have both made mistakes. But promise me that you will never, ever doubt my feelings for you again.”
He tilted her face up and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around him. As they walked hand in hand to the courtyard, Bridgette watched as Genevieve stepped out from the mist. Marcus squeezed her hand and pulled her back. She whispered to him, “It is okay.”
Genevieve spoke, “The girls are at peace. The evil that loomed over the property is gone.”
Marcus just stared at the mist. He had to blink several times and rubbed his hands over his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He looked over at Bridgette. She had a smile on her face, “Please tell me that you see what I see.”
She turned to him and then back to the ghost, “Grand-mere, I would like to introduce you to Marcus. This is the man that I love.”
The ghostly image looked over at Marcus and smiled, “Cher, you best take good care of my sha babe.”
He stuttered, unsure of what was happening before him, “Yes ma’am.”
As quickly as she appeared in front of them, she disappeared. “I warned you there were ghosts here. It’s just up until recently they have been always peaceful. When Greg Dawson started lurking about, the ghosts here became restless. Their peaceful serenity was broken by evil.”
He kissed her once more, “I guess I will need to learn how to live with ghosts. They don’t just appear at any time do they?”
She shook her head, “I think they will give us our privacy.”
She took his hand in hers, “I am so glad you showed up when you did. I’ve needed you so bad. I think I am falling in love with you.”
He bent down and kissed her, “I know I am falling in love with you.”
She smiled up at him, grateful that he did not hold it against her that she doubted his innocence.