Not Dead Yet (27 page)

Gravel crunched under his feet as he took two more steps.  He stayed close enough to police vehicles to be able to dive behind them if all hell broke loose. The officers stared fixedly at the door and front windows, and kept their guns pointed directly at them.  The deputy signaled some officers to go around to the back of the farmhouse.  Jack walked faster, as he had no cover for about twenty feet until he reached Foster’s car. Once behind Foster’s long black car, Jack sat down in the dirt.

“All right, Foster,” Jack yelled.  “Send her out.”

“You’re taking too long, Jack,” Foster replied.  “I’m getting bored in here.  I think I’ll cut her a little more.” He placed the scalpel blade against the curve of Theia’s cheek.  Her eyes grew large as she inhaled.  Foster chuckled.  He dangled the blade in front of her, then jabbed the blade toward her eye.  Theia screamed and turned her head away.  He chuckled.  “That will do, my dear.”  He stepped a few paces away.

Jack squinted in anger, all rational thoughts and self-doubts banished.  He stood and continued his trek across the yard. He stopped in front of the porch.  “Bring her out, then I’ll come in.”

“Not happening.  Come up on the porch.”

Jack slowly stepped up onto the porch.  “I’m on the porch.  Send her out.”

“Drop your weapons,” came the directive.

“I’m not armed,” Jack held his hands up in the air.

The door opened a crack. 

“She doesn’t come out until you’re inside.”

“No way.  Send her out.”

“And have both of you run off?” 

“Okay, we’ll both stand in the doorway.  Then I come in and she goes out.”

“All right.”

The door opened a little more.  Jack took two steps closer to the door as it swung open.  Theia was tied in the wooden chair, with Foster standing behind her, using her as a shield in case of sharpshooters outside.  He held a scalpel to her throat. “Shit,” Jack muttered.

“Now where are my manners?” Foster asked.  “Do please come in, and don’t forget to close the door behind you.”

Lu screamed, “Jack!” as he kicked the door closed behind him. He looked around the room quickly, sizing up the contents, exits and possible weapons.  He saw the tray of surgical instruments, and looked at Theia in realization of the full horror of her nightmares.

He saw that Theia’s throat was bleeding. “You’ve cut her!” 

“Yes, and I plan to cut her again.  And again, and again.  I plan to do a little surgery on you, too.  Now bring a chair over here and sit down.  Every time you do not follow my instructions to the letter, she’ll be cut.  Every time you hesitate or ask questions, she’ll be cut.  Now get the chair and sit down.  Good.  Do not move.” 

Foster pulled his surgical mask up over his mouth and nose, then stood behind Jack’s chair.  He tore open a packet and placed a moist towelette over Jack’s nose and mouth until Jack went limp.  Foster tossed the material over to the tray of instruments and yanked his mask back down.  He quickly tied Jack’s wrists and ankles to the chair, then cracked open and held a vial under his nose.

Jack awoke, looked around and narrowed his eyes.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Jack demanded.  “Or are you making this up as you go along?”

“Oh, I have a plan,” Foster assured him.  “I have spent the last five years developing a plan.  You’re merely an unexpected bonus.  Must be all my good karma.”

“Let him go, Foster,” Theia asked wearily.  “He’s not the one you want.  Do whatever you want to me.  Just let him go.”

“Theia, don’t sacrifice yourself for me.”

“Jack, don’t you see?” Theia said.  “I’m already dead.  I have nothing to lose.”

“In answer to your offer, my dear, I will do whatever I want to you,” Foster interjected.  “And I don’t need your permission to do so.  In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a captive audience.  I can do whatever I want, and there’s nothing you can do. And as for you,” Foster snarled at Jack, “Don’t even think of doing something stupid.  I looked into your background after I discovered you were fucking my wife.”

“I’m not your wife!  We divorced years ago.”

“You are mine, darling, whether you want to be or not,” Foster told her. “You belong to me.  You can never escape.  Not in this lifetime, not ever.”

“As I was saying,” Foster said to Jack, “I looked into your background.  I’m sure they taught you all sorts of things in your military training.  You may be tempted to use some of that training in this situation.  Know this,” Foster leaned toward Jack and held his gaze, “You do anything to oppose me and you increase the amount she suffers before I let her die.  Do we understand each other?”

Jack’s face tightened as he struggled to control his emotions.  He looked at Theia and back at Foster.  Raising his bruised face as if daring Foster to belt him, he spit out the word, “Perfectly.” 

The two men stared at each other, close range, for several tense moments, not blinking.  Foster spun on his heels, letting loose a depraved laugh, and announced, “Let’s get started, folks!  I wouldn’t want you to die of boredom.  Especially when there are much more distinctive ways to die.”

Foster turned a kitchen chair backwards and sat facing them.  “Since you added a new dimension to the plan, Jack, let’s add yet another wrinkle.  I think I’ll give the boys out there some ridiculous demands.  That will give me more time to amuse myself with the two of you while they jump through hoops.  Let’s see,” Foster rubbed his chin.  “First, I think I’ll order some food.  What would be damn near impossible for them to get out here in the middle of nowhere?” he asked out loud.  “I want a New York strip steak, prepared blue.  They’ll have to find a chef for that.  Ted Drewes frozen custard, which they’ll have to drive out from St. Louis.  Some sea urchin.  God knows where they’ll get that.  Not that I’m going to eat the disgusting mess, but I’m just buying time here.  And I want some boiled peanuts, fresh, like they make in Georgia.  But I’m not being a good host.  I’ll order something for you to eat as well.  A bottle of hot sauce—you’ll have to share.”

Foster yelled the order to the deputy through the window, then sat down again.  He looked with satisfaction from Theia to Jack and back to Theia. 

“I think I’ll make them believe I’m going to cut a deal.  What shall I demand?  Money, of course.  Safe passage to escape.  And immunity from prosecution,” Foster mused.  “The standard nonsense.  But I’ll wait on that.  No sense rushing things.  We have all the time in the world.  So Jack, how do you like my dollbaby all dressed up?  Isn’t she perfect?  My perfect doll.  And she’s mine.  All mine. You’ll never touch her again.”

“You know, you should never have let him touch you,” Foster intoned silkily to Theia, “You will be punished. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to make sure of that.”

“Foster,” Theia began, “what made you this way?”

Foster looked at Theia, taken aback by her question. 

He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it.

“Were you like this when we met?” she continued.  “Did I miss some clue, something that would have revealed to me that you were like this?  Or did you put on such a good act that you hid the truth?” Theia gnawed on her lower lip.  “I’m really trying to understand.  Were you born like this, or did it happen over time?  And if so, what was the event that pushed you over the edge?  If I am going to die anyway, I want to know.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Foster lashed at her.  “Do you have some problem with the way I am?”

“Are you kidding?  You have taken us hostage, you plan to torture and kill us, and you ask if I have a problem with that?  Why don’t you untie me, let me tie you up and hold a scalpel against your throat and see if you have a problem?”

Foster shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you even comprehend how this affects other people?” Theia asked.  “Forget about Jack and me.  Have you thought about what will happen to you?  If you kill us, do you really think they’ll just let you walk out that front door, smack your hands and say you were a naughty boy?  No, you kill us and you’re signing your own death certificate.  And what about your mother?  She has grieved for five years, thinking her only son was dead.  Now she’s going to learn that you callously put her through all that, when you were actually alive and well in South America.  And she’s going to be in anguish when she learns what you’re doing to us.”

“This isn’t about her,” Foster said brusquely.

“Your mother is a good woman,” Theia insisted. “A decent, hard-working, honorable woman.  What do you think life has been like for her during the last five years?  Living in the same small town where she has spent her entire life. Ashamed that everyone in town knows her son was shot and killed by the police while attempting a murder.  Have you thought about what you did to her life?  She was so proud of you.  Her son, the doctor.  Have you thought about how hard she and your father worked to put you through college and medical school?  She deserves better than this.  Much better than this.”

“Stop!”  Foster roared.  “Don’t talk about my mama.  If you say one more word about Mama, I swear to God I’ll cut out your vocal chords.”

“All right,” Theia conceded.  “I’m curious about something else.  How did you ever team up with Donald?” 

Appearing relieved that the subject had changed, Foster replied, “Oh, that wasn’t difficult.  I came into town, rented accommodations and bought a police scanner.  I just sat in my room listening to the scanner until I heard domestic violence calls.  I wrote down the addresses, went online and cross-referenced to get the names of the people.  Then I checked court records until I came up with a potential candidate list.  Donald and Rose Catalino satisfied every element of the ideal profile I wanted.  She’s beaten down physically and emotionally, with no way to escape and support herself.  He’s an idiot who’s easily manipulated.”

“He was an idiot,” Jack interrupted.

“What?”

“He was an idiot.  Now he’s an ex-idiot.  He and Nathan are dead,” Jack explained. “How do you think I got back here?” 

“How did you do that?” Theia asked.

“While they were busy knocking off a store, I got free and killed them with one of their own guns.  They can’t tie knots worth a damn.”

“Good,” Foster said.  “They had served their purpose.  One less loose end.”

“Is that what we all are to you, Foster?”  Theia asked.  “Loose ends?  Was Rose a loose end? Why don’t you step out to the barn and take a good look at what’s left of her?  She was completely innocent.  That savage buddy of yours beat and whipped her to death.  And look at you.  You don’t show any remorse.  Rose was not just a low card to be thrown into the discard pile.  She was a human being, and because of you, she is dead.  You’re responsible for her death.”

“No, I’m not!” Foster denied.  “She had been dead for years.  Thanks to me, she’s out of her misery.  He was going to kill her, one way or another.  Not my fault.”

“Do you have any compassion left?  Is there any humanity inside of you?” Theia asked, bewildered.  “I remember the man you once were.  You could be kind and generous, like to those beggar kids in Mexico.  Where did you go?  Where did that man go?  Is he still in there somewhere?”  

“You have a lot of questions for a person who’s about to die,” Foster said.

“Are you going to answer any of them?” she asked.

“How about I answer one you haven’t asked yet?” Foster suggested.

Theia angled her head.  “What?”

“Don’t you wonder how, after I had chosen Donald and Rose, that she ended up at your office?” Foster asked.

“That’s a very good question.  How did she?”  “Let’s see if you can figure this out,” Foster replied. “She could have randomly chosen you.  How many lawyers are there in St. Louis?”

“Over six thousand.  Clearly, this wasn’t random.  I am getting the point that quite a few things were not random,” Theia conceded. 

“So then, someone gave her your name,” Foster smirked.  “Wouldn’t you love to know who did that?  Did Donald leave your name lying around somewhere, hoping she would call you?”

“Knowing you, that would be leaving too much up to chance,” Theia commented.

“Correct,” Foster said.  “You’re doing well, my dear. So did someone Rose already knew and trust give her your name?  Colleen?  Lu?  Or did someone in your office betray you?  Someone betrayed you, Theia.  Someone fed you to the lions.  And if the mood takes me, I’ll share that piece of information with you.  Or maybe I’ll send you to your grave wondering who your Judas was.  Was it someone in your office?  A friend?  A lover?”

The deputy yelled on his bullhorn, “We’re working on getting the food you requested.  This is going to take some time.  Why don’t you let the hostages come out, or at least tell us your real terms.  What do you want in order to release them?  Do you want money?  An escape vehicle?  What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Foster muttered to himself.  “I want things the way they were,” he said softly, to no one but himself, even though Theia and Jack could hear him.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Hey, Johnny, what do I want?” Foster asked in a younger voice.  “I want to play football? Okay. We’ll play football.  I’ll be quarterback, you be wide receiver.  Just like in high school.”

Foster bobbed and weaved across the room, as though he was carrying a football and avoiding tacklers.  “Go deep, Johnny.  Go deep!”  Foster glanced across the room as if looking down a football field. He dodged and shifted his weight.  He acted as though he saw an open receiver, and threw the imaginary football to him. “First down!” he celebrated.