CHAPTER NINE
When they came into Boston, the traffic was congested. It was late afternoon and because of the time of year, it was already getting dark outside. Victor drove deep into the city, then making several turns he came to an abandoned neighborhood filled with empty warehouses and old shops. After a few minutes, he pulled into a parking lot. He made his way as close to the building as possible and once they got there he shut off the engine. Turning in his seat, he stared at her for the longest time. Before he said anything, he reached inside his jacket and grabbed his weapon. “The question I have to think about now is what to do with you before I deal with Seymour.”
“Why do you have to do anything to me at all?” Cassie wanted to know.
“What do you suppose the odds are of anyone remembering a nervous habit? A habit of finger tapping after almost twelve years?” he asked. His fingers tightened on his weapon. “You were what? All of eight years old. How the hell did you even remember that?”
Cassie shrugged. Her babies rolled around inside her at that moment and she tried not to gasp as her belly tightened.
“Why were you even in that basement?” He wanted to know.
“Janelle thought she was punishing me. She had beaten me earlier that day for something asinine and she liked to drag me down there and leave me tied up for days without food or water. She expected me to break or something stupid like that.”
“But you never did, did you?” he asked quietly. “You were stronger than she realized weren’t you? I’ll just bet you knew all her secrets and she never knew it.” He chuckled.
Cassie smiled but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.
“So what else did you know about Janelle Walden?” he wondered aloud.
“I know where she hid her ill-gotten gains,” Cassie whispered.
“The gold?” He shrugged. “The Feds found that a long time ago.”
“Did they?” she asked softly. “Or did they only find a small part of it?”
He shifted in his seat. “They found almost three million dollars’ worth of gold bullion in a false wall in the basement.” He paused then asked, “Are you saying there’s more gold?”
Cassie shrugged. “She was known to have over eight million is liquid assets. She liked to brag about it.”
Victor narrowed his eyes and stared at her. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth and not just planning something to get away from me?”
Cassie gave him a glare. “Do I look like I can run very far or very fast to you?”
“So tell me where the rest of her money is.”
Cassie shook her head. “I can’t. Even if I did tell you, you’d never find it. That house has too many secrets and I left a long time ago. She might have changed things after I left.”
Victor stared at her for a long time. “Why do I think you’re telling me nothing but lies to try and save your own skin?”
“Because you’re as dumb as everyone else?” she sneered.
Victor reached out and backhanded her in the mouth.
Cassie gasped and tasted blood but didn’t cry out. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. The warm sticky fluid ran down her chin and dripped on her shirt but all she did was glare at him.
“Now…let’s start again,” Victor stated coldly. “You said something about more money being in the house?”
Cassie shook her head. “I said she was worth a lot more than what the police found. I never said it was in the house.” She shrugged. “Of course, I didn’t say it wasn’t either.”
“Are you looking to get slapped again?” he asked.
Cassie glared at him. “I knew where it was eleven years ago.” She shrugged. “Where it is now is anybody’s guess.”
Victor narrowed his eyes at her. “And where was it eleven years ago?”
Cassie shrugged. “When I lived there that old house had many hidden rooms. She was forever having someone come in and make changes. Who the hell knows what she’s done since then?”
Victor looked away from her contemplating her words. Dropping his head down onto his hands, he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he sat back and turned his head to stare at her. “You would say anything right now to keep on living wouldn’t you?”
His words were softly spoken but Cassie could hear the menacing undertone. She turned to him and without flinching, she told him, “Yeah I would. I want to live, but I’m not lying. I don’t lie. That’s what used to piss Janelle off the most. I hate liars and cheaters. She was both. My mother always told me to be truthful and that lying was the worst thing you could do because once you started a lie, it would never stop and lies were harder to remember than the truth.” She paused then said, “It’s up to you what you believe. Janelle always had a backup plan in case things went south. She was always prepared for the worst. Do you think she only had one place to hide the gold?”
Victor thought about that for a moment then shook his head. “No I don’t. But then I didn’t know her very well either. When my uncle suggested I change my name and become a cop to watch his back, he warned me to stay away from Janelle and her racket. He told me he didn’t want me to get corrupted by her.” He shifted in his seat. “He also told me I couldn’t contact him again except through a middle man.”
Cassie snorted. “Yeah, I’ll bet he didn’t.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he frowned.
“He wanted no link between the two of you,” Cassie explained. “Your uncle made sure your DNA would be found along with three murdered children, do you really think he wasn’t watching his own back that night? Do you really think for one moment, he gave a damn what happened to you at all?” She jeered. “He was setting you up all along to take the fall if those children were ever found.”
“Yeah, I realize that now but there is something you and he don’t know.”
“And what would that be?”
Victor gave her a cold smile. “I recorded him that night. That was my insurance and I’ve kept it all these years, just in case I needed it.” He shrugged. “I guess I need it now.”
Cassie slowly shook her head. “The law isn’t gonna care which one of you did the deed. You were there with him when it happened. You did nothing to stop him from killing her. In the eyes of the law, you are just as guilty as he is. Don’t you realize that?”
“If the law ever catches me they’ll have to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. I can give them that doubt and still give them my uncle on a silver platter. I have more evidence than just a recording to make my deal with.”
After a few minutes of complete silence Cassie asked, “So what are you going to do with me?”
“Does Janelle really have more money hidden in that house?”
Cassie shrugged. “I have no idea anymore. It was there at one time, that’s all I know. I took some of it when I left only because it would keep me alive. That’s blood money and I really don’t care.”
“Money is money.” Victor growled. “I need it to get away from here and I don’t care whose blood is on it.”
“You can’t hide forever.” Cassie scoffed. “By now, the FBI and everyone involved with this case knows who and what you are.”
Victor grinned in the darkness. “But they don’t know where I am and as soon as I get the money, I’ll get the hell away from this town. I can hide long enough to figure out a way to bring my uncle down then I can simply disappear.”
“What happens to me?” Cassie wanted to know.
“As long as I have you as my hostage…nothing. Your man won’t do anything to hurt you, so the longer you cooperate the safer you’ll be.”
Cassie grunted. She didn’t believe that for a moment.
Victor leaned forward and started the car. Leaving the parking lot, he circled the city and began making his way to the house Cassie grew up in.
When they parked not far from the house, yet still hidden from sight, Cassie felt a chill seep into her skin. Staring at the old house, she felt a flood of unresolved hatred come to her mind. She shivered in the darkness.
Victor got out of the vehicle, came over to her side and opened the door. Reaching in, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out. She stumbled and would have fallen to the ground but he jerked her up to a standing position. She felt the hard pull on her belly and gasped.
“Come on, let’s not waste any time out here. You don’t know who’s watching this place,” he muttered.
Cassie fought him the closer they got to the house. “I don’t want to go in there!” She cried out.
“Tough luck, you’re going anyway.”
Cassie struggled. “No!”
Victor hauled her close to him. “I don’t have time for this shit, bitch. Now get your ass in gear and get up to the house.” He roared then slammed her into the handrail.
The blow was to her side and she cried out in pain. Cassie winced, then swore and still held back. “No! I’m not going back into that hellhole.”
Victor snarled and grabbed her shoulders then dragged her kicking and screaming up to the front door. He tried the handle of the house but found it locked. His only saving grace was the fact the house didn’t have any close neighbors. He kicked the door in and hauled her into the darkened kitchen.
Cassie breathed in the house’s stale air and froze in her tracks. The house smelled the same as it had all those years ago. The faint scent of hot frying grease and cigarette smoke filled her lungs. Her heart began pounding as old feelings pushed their way forward in her mind. She felt her babies moving inside her and she knew for their sakes, she needed to calm down. Her belly was sore from where it had hit the railing and she didn’t want her babies to suffer.
“Where did Janelle hide her money?” Victor sneered.
“How the fuck would I know that?” Cassie asked. “I left here eleven years ago.”
Victor narrowed his eyes. “Where did she hide it eleven years ago?” he snapped.
Cassie shrugged her shoulders. “She had a couple of places actually.”
“And they would be where?”
“Untie my hands and I’ll show you.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Cassie walked over to the table and sat down on a chair. Her arms ached with her hands still tied behind her back. “Then I can’t help you. I need my hands free to show you how to find her secret rooms.”
“You can just tell me.”
Cassie shrugged. “Okay, the first secret room is inside the pantry. Have fun finding it.”
She watched as Victor opened the pantry door and was shown several shelves of canned and packaged goods. He turned his head and glared at her. “I don’t see it.”
“Told you, you wouldn’t find it without my help.”
Victor stomped over to her and produced a knife. Leaning toward her, he whispered, “You’d better not be fucking with me bitch, or I’ll make you sorry you were ever born.”
Cassie waited until he cut the tape holding her hand before she said anything, “I’m already sorry you were born.” Then she went over to the pantry and knelt down on the floor. She lifted out a ten pound sack of oatmeal and lifted up the shelf below. Then she pulled a ring and popped open a hidden door. Then she got to her feet and backed up.
Victor moved in closer and found a small black backpack. Pulling it out, he ripped open the zipper and peeked inside. His eyes widened at the sight of the stacks of hundred dollar bills inside. He turned and glanced at Cassie. “Is there any more?”
Cassie shrugged. “She had several places where she hid money and other important paperwork, but like I said, this was all eleven years ago. She might have changed where she put her shit.”
Victor got to his feet and grasped the backpack. “You’d better hope not. This is a start but I need more than this to get away.”
Cassie scorned the greed of the man in front of her. She turned and began walking away. She was jerked back when Victor grabbed her by the hair. She almost lost her balance but Victor’s hand tightened his grip and tears leaked from her eyes at the pain.
“Don’t you sneer at me bitch,” he growled in her ear. “You aren’t better than me. At least I haven’t whored myself off to some low life biker.”
Cassie growled. “Deke is a better man than you could ever be.”
Victor brought her closer to him and snarled. “He’s a punk who runs a strip club. He’s probably fucking everyone who walks in the door.” He threw her away from him and she fell to the floor.
She laid there panting and holding her side.
Victor paced back and forth for a moment before he reached out and kicked her leg hard with his foot. “Get up. Your man is most likely dead anyway and I need more money than this to get the fuck out of town. Get up!”
Cassie heaved her heavy body off the floor to a crawling position. Then she used a chair to slowly get to her feet. Her right leg hurt where he had kicked her but she wouldn’t let him see her pain. She moved further into the house. When they reached the door to Janelle’s study, she paused and took a deep breath. Reaching for the knob, she twisted it and pushed the door open. Back as a child, this room had been off limits to all the children living here but that never stopped Cassie. She would come in here late at night after everyone was sleeping to dig around and see what Janelle was hiding. It had been one of her favorite games to be so close to Janelle without her knowing it. She often dreamed of smothering her with her own pillow but Cassie knew that was a sin, so all she could do was dream about it. It was here she’d found the secret room behind the hutch and it was here she’d found the hidey hole Janelle kept full of cash. The scent of cigarettes and bourbon was stronger here and when it reached her, she almost gagged from it.
Victor pushed her inside the room. “Get on with it, I don’t have all night!”
Cassie rubbed her huge belly and limped over to the fireplace. If she remembered correctly, the latch was on the left side of the fireplace. Her fingers ran over the stonework and found the indent that hid the latch. Pressing it, she stepped back as the stones slid back revealing the hole in the lower side of the fireplace.
Victor pushed her out of the way, as he went down on his knees and reached inside. When he pulled out another small backpack, he quickly unzipped it. He growled when the pack was empty and turned to her. “Where is the money, bitch?”
Cassie shrugged. “I told you it’s been eleven years since I’ve been here. Things change, Janelle probably used the money a long time ago.”
“Is there any more places she hid her shit?” Victor snarled.
“There might be one more,” Cassie admitted.
Victor got to his feet and grabbed her arm. “Let’s go, we’re running out of time.”
Cassie tried to pull away from him but Victor wouldn’t let her go. His grasp tightened on her arm and she hissed from the pain. She led the way into Janelle’s bedroom. She opened the door on the far side of the study and her eyes studied the room without really seeing it. All she could remember about this room was the fact while everyone else in the house had very little comfort Janelle spent her money on living grand. Her bedroom and Robbie’s were decked out with everything nice.
When she paused just inside the door, Victor pushed her through it. “Get on with it, whore. You’re wasting my time here.”
Cassie went over to the huge king size bed and knelt beside it. Throwing back the comforter, she reached underneath the framework and released a latch.
When a drawer opened along the side, Victor pushed her out of the way again. Inside the drawer, he found the money he was looking for.
The drawer took up the entire side of the bed. It was several inches deep and almost two feet in length, and it was filled with cash. All hundred dollar bills. Also in there was a small wooden box. Victor began loading the stacks of money in the backpack he found in the kitchen. When it was full, he zipped it closed and got to his feet. Turning around he glared at her. “Now what do I do with you?”
“You got what you need, why don’t you just leave? Save your own skin while you can.”
Victor grinned. “I know what I’ll do.” He grabbed her arm again and headed for the stairs leading back to the first floor. He pushed her in front of him and forced her to go toward the door she had learned to hate.
When Cassie realized where he was taking her, she fought back. “No…I won’t go down there!” She tried to twist away from him but his fingers tightened on her arm and he shoved her hard against the wall. Reaching for the doorknob, he opened the door and forced her down the steps.
The air down there was stale and musty. All of Cassie’s fears slammed into her and for a moment, she felt like she was going to faint. Her legs were weak and she half fell when Victor shoved her hard. Her hands burned when they scraped against the cement floor. She tried to cry out but her throat was swollen with fear.
“Yeah, I think this is a good place for you.” Victor smirked. “But don’t worry, you won’t be down here for long. I won’t let you suffer. Death will come for you this time like it should have before.” He turned and stomped back up the steps. The door slammed shut behind him.
The cold darkness swallowed Cassie up.