Fatal Justice (Jack Lamburt #1)(9)

I had to dodge the rectangular shafts of light that illuminated the snow-covered lawn. It seemed like each room in the house had a light on. I’d have to have a little chat with Mary Sue about wasting energy too. Maybe her parents weren’t as perfect as I thought.

Feeling like a Peeping Tom, I knelt down before I reached the first window and raised my eyes up, just above the sill in the corner, to peek inside. Nothing. I ducked my head, crawled to the next window, and repeated my slow-motion jack-in-the-box routine. Nothing, except snow-soaked knees and frozen hands.

I went from window to window until I’d covered the whole length of the front of the house, not seeing any signs of life from within.

I continued around the corner of the house, knowing that if I came up empty, I’d work my way around the back. I’d find him there. If not, I’d find his entry point and follow him in. I didn’t look forward to a confrontation inside the house, but I didn’t want to be here to begin with either, and look how that worked out.

The side of the house was dark, something that I was thankful for. I stood up and stretched out my stiff back. All this crawling around on hands and knees was for the birds.

I didn’t see anyone through the two windows on each side of the massive brick fireplace, the clear focal point of the family room. There was a tall Christmas tree against the far wall, and it cast a holiday spirit glow throughout the room. “Silent Night” played in my head.

I worked my way around to the rear of the house and peered around the corner. I watched for a while but didn’t hear or see anything in the backyard.

I saw a gigantic multilayer deck on the back of the house with a wide staircase that came off the corner at a forty-five-degree angle. The deck led up to an all-glass double slider, something I might have to come back to in a bit.

I walked around the outside of the deck and headed over to take a peek in a bay window that I figured would give me a view of the kitchen. I knelt down as I got closer, peeked through the corner, and there they were.





9





Mary Sue was sitting in a kitchen chair against the far wall, her hands tied behind her back with what looked like electrical cord. Her ankles were tied to the leg of the chair. Her face was bruised and there was some blood on her white server’s shirt. She was stifling her sobs, her eyes shut, her body shaking.

A kid who looked to be college-aged sat next to her, and he was tied up the same way she was. He was big, not quite my six foot six inches, but pretty close. Muscular too, almost Greek god-ish in his physique, and probably weighed more than my two twenty. He had his head hung low and he was crying. A mixture of drool and blood dripped from his mouth.

Ostrich Boy paced back and forth before them, gesturing with his hands. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I was sure that whatever it was, it wouldn’t make the final cut of a Hallmark card selection.

I grabbed the handle of the sliding glass door, Glock pointed at him in case he heard me. I didn’t want to double-tap him in the chest inside Mary Sue’s house, but I would if I had to. I slid open the door so slow that it seemed to take thirty seconds to create enough of an opening for me to step through. Good thing I wasn’t fat.

I stepped inside the carpeted family room. Up two steps and I’d be in the kitchen. I prayed that Mary Sue wouldn’t give away my presence with her eyes.

She looked up and saw me, but there was no change in her facial expression. Good girl. If this college thing didn’t work out for her, she had a bright future as a poker player.

Ostrich Boy had stopped pacing and stood in front of the kid. “This your fuckin’ boyfriend?” He shook his head side to side, and even with his back to me I could see the disapproval in his body language. He reared back and smacked the kid in the face.

“No, please stop.” The kid choked back sobs. “Please let me go, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

Ostrich Boy smacked him again. “You’re a fuckin’ pussy.” He was right. The kid was much bigger than Ostrich Boy but mentally he was a submissive pansy. I fought hard to stop the sigh of disgust from parting my lips. What a waste of a powerful physique.

Mary Sue’s tone was soft and calm when she answered him between sniffles. “No, he’s just a friend.” Thank God. If this clown was her boyfriend, I’d have to have a heart-to-heart with her about that too.

“Just a friend, eh? You fucking whore, this is what happens when you dis me.” He reared back and slapped her across her face with his open hand. He laughed, unbuckled his dress slacks, and dropped them to his ankles. “Now the fun starts.” He grabbed her by the hair, yanked her head back, and stepped in closer. “Open your mouth.”

I tiptoed up behind him. The crying kid noticed me and let out a yelp. Jeez, he was such a loser. Ostrich Boy saw the kid looking past him and stopped what he was doing. He turned around so fast that he nearly stumbled. Good thing he was wearing those fancy boots to keep him from stepping out of his dress pants.





10





Ostrich Boy’s eyes bugged out when he saw me, but it was too late for him to do anything. I kicked him in the nuts, a direct hit—not an easy task for such a small target, and I patted myself on the back for my expertise in accuracy. Bruce Lee would have been proud.

The violent smack of leather on the fragile genital skin disturbed even a hardass like me. Yuck. Sometimes I hate my job. I made a mental note to acid-wash my boots with a wire brush when I got home.