Page 87 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions

Jerome swallowed hard, then lifted one hand to slide the top needle out of the bands. “Yes, I do.” He handed me the other needle still inside the case. Removing his jacket, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a patch of scars at the crook of his elbow.

I held up a teal rubber tourniquet.

Jerome’s eyes snapped up to mine for the first time. His held such a depth of sadness, but it did not affect me or sway me as he reached forward to take the rubber band. He stared at the tourniquet and capped needle in his hands for a long moment. “Can you… I mean, I know I have no right to ask, but I was just wondering if you’re happy, Holly?”

My name on his lips struck me in the chest with the force of a punch. It sounded…wrong, tainted in a way.

But his question gave me pause.WasI happy? I was finally getting the revenge I’d trained and planned for since I was eighteen years old. It was everything I’d wanted for so long…but… I turned my head in the direction of the fishery. Was Ihappy?

My hand went to my thigh, as if seeking my phone that wasn’t there. I missed my Master something awful. It absolutely sucked, and was a bit ironic, that he’d been ordered to remain in Atelihai Valley now that I had moved my operation to the mainland.

Maybe there was a way I could get him to sneak back to his house? I hadn’t even had a chance to try out the dance pole he’d installed in his bedroom for me.

“Truth is,” I answered, though I owed Jerome no explanation, “I think I finally am. Or am on my way to being happy. There are a few things I have to wrap up,” I said vaguely. It was more like names to cross off my list, but I had no desire to chase him through the fields if that caused him to bolt. “But I think I could be. Iwantto be,” I added, more firmly.

Jerome nodded slowly. “I’m glad. Some unsolicited advice?” he offered, and I figured what the hell, so I nodded. “Find that happiness, Holly. Whatever it is, whether it’s considered normal or not. Seize it and don’t let it go. Of all of us in this shit world, you deserve it.”

Without waiting for my reply, Jerome wrapped the tourniquet around his arm one-handed, using his teeth to pull it tight. Despite being sober for over two years, his movements were well-practiced.

Then he popped the cap off of the syringe, located a vein, and pressed the sharp needle through his skin. Jerome leaned his head against the doorframe of the van, as the sadness on his face was replaced with utter rapture. In the silence of the night, there was nothing to disturb his prayer as he pressed down on the plunger.

“Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…”

Chapter Fifty-Six

Mal

I wason my way to visit Ester Pascal. It had taken me calling in a favor with Carr to get permission to leave Atelihai Valley, but I was on my way. Thankfully, I was saved the twenty-one hour drive and two ferry rides from Atelihai Valley to Anchorage by being able to take a helicopter upstate. I spent most of the hour and a half flight on my phone with my little owl.

Not knowing how much longer I would be banished to Atelihai Valley for, I’d gone online to order us specialty long-distance couple’s toys. The company,Lovense,had a variety of toys that could be controlled by the app on each other’s phones. Once synced, the fleshlight for me would replicate the feel of her pussy while the high-tech dildo for her would simulate the vibrations and thrusts of my cock. There were a lot of other toys that I knew I would be purchasing for us in the future, but I wanted to try these out first before I spent a fortune on them. Although, I did add an additional G-spot vibrator for her that I would order her to keep in at all times.

With the rush on shipping, they would arrive at her apartment in Juneau and my fleshlight would be at my hotel room tomorrow. I planned on fucking the hell out of my little owl—just from a distance.

Dr. Robinson had the book safely in his lab back in Juneau. After a very thorough examination, he was able to make a very faint imprint of a once embossed stamp on the cover of the book, proclaiming it belonged to the Library of the Alaskan State Hospital in Anchorage. From there, I was able to make a guess that ‘Mrs. P’ was the now-retired librarian, Ester Pascal.

Since I couldn’t look into the hospital without a warrant and Ester Pascal had no relation to Atelihai Valley from what I could find, I had no idea what the connection was between Mrs. Pascal and Holly Marteen. Normally, a local agent would go to interview her, but I was doing this off-the-books. I had to tread carefully, but I needed to know why a librarian from Anchorage had inscribed a book to a teenager who committed suicide in Atelihai Valley.

Thanks to the helicopter Carr had procured for me, I could be to Anchorage and back in a single day.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask the local field office to provide me with a car, but the helicopter was able to land fairly close to Mrs. Pascal’s address. I didn’t want to bother with renting a car, so I just hoofed it.

The woman who answered the door was in her late sixties-early seventies. She had curly gray hair, big amber-framed glasses, and a dress that reminded me of that teacher from the kids’ TV show about the magic school bus.

“Mrs. Pascal?” I inquired, holding up my badge. “My name is Agent Shawn Mallory. We spoke on the phone?”

“Yes, yes,” she waved me inside. “Do come in. I made you cookies.”

My eyebrows shot up at that. No one but my own mother had ever made me cookies in preparation of my arrival. “That wasn’t necessary, Mrs. Pascal,” I said as I closed the door behind myself, “but very appreciated.”

“Nonsense. I haven’t had company in ages. Now, shoes there and coat there.”

As instructed, I removed my boots and took off my wet coat before hanging it on her coat tree next to the door. My suit jacket concealed my gun.

“Make yourself at home in the living room. I’ll be right out,” she called, walking away.

Something brushed up against my feet, and I jumped. Looking down, an orange tabby was rubbing itself against my shins. From the smell of the apartment, I doubted it was the only one. Still, I bent down to pet the little guy, or girl, I supposed. I didn’t own a cat, so I wasn’t sure how to tell the gender. They weren’t as obvious as dogs, to my knowledge.

Walking further inside, I headed towards the living room. Only to freeze again when I saw the colony of cats lounging on the couch and rocking chair.

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