Page 74 of Red Snow
THE HOUSE ISbigger than I expected it to be. It’s one story, but I can tell it’s like a maze on the inside, because it’s long across the front with multiple windows looking out into the yard. The garage is open with the light on inside, but no one is in there. However, there’s a sheet of plastic on the concrete floor. This is the place. Jeffrey’s here, and he has Brandi.
I bring my car to a stop and make sure not to say anything, just in case Jeffery is already watching me as I approach the house. If he’s watching, all he’ll see is me in the front seat, because Marcus is literally lying down on the floor in the backseat, and he’s been back there since we left his house ten minutes ago. We devised a plan to have him wait ten minutes, just long enough for me to distract Jeffrey, before he gets out and makes his way into the house through the back. The only thing that would change the plan is gunshots or screams. I don’t look back at him before I get out, so I don’t look the slightest bit suspicious to an on-looking Jeffrey. There’s no need for words now. It’s game time.
I open the door, stepping out into the cold night. My feet sink into the soft, fresh snow as I approach the open garage. Once inside, I walk past the stolen Visqueen and notice that there’s blood on it. It’s not much, but it’s there in small drops like it dripped from someone’s facial wounds. He’s been hurting Brandi. Like the fire under a pot of water being turned up, my blood begins to boil like it’s ready to explode beneath my skin. I can’t wait to get my hands on this motherfucker. He’s going to suffer. For Brenda, for Britney, for Brandi, he’s going to fucking suffer.
Since the garage is empty, I head for the door that leads into the house. I take slow, deliberate steps, even though I know I’m not getting the jump on Jeffrey. He knows I’m coming, but I can’t be too careful. My gun in the harness beneath my black coat makes me feel more secure, just like the one on my ankle does. I place my hand on the knob and turn it slowly.
The house is pitch black inside. I can’t see a fucking thing as I step in and close the door behind me, so I pull my cellphone from my pocket and flick on the flashlight. The inside of the large home is obviously being renovated, all the way down to the studs and hardwood floors. The space I’m walking through is large like it could be the living room, and it looks even bigger since it doesn’t have drywall up to section off the rooms. With nothing but studs up, I can see that this room is empty with no sign of Jeffrey or Brandi, so I keep moving as quietly as I can.
I step through the studs, crossing from room to room until I finally reach some old, dilapidated sheetrock that looks like it’s ready to crumble and fall to the floor if I breathe on it too hard. This is the first time I can’t see what’s behind the wall waiting for me, so I approach the corner with caution and turn slow. There’s nothing but darkness there either, but that quickly changes when a bright yellow light is snapped on and aimed right at my face.
“You made it,” Jeffrey says as he adjusts the light so that it’s pointing right at Brandi, who looks bruised and beaten as she sits in a metal chair with her hands and ankles tied to it with plastic cable ties. Her hair has been messily cut and is much shorter, stopping above her ears. “So nice of you to join us Granger.”
All I can see is Brandi because the light is looking down on her, and behind the light is total darkness. Jeffrey, the fucking coward, is standing in the darkness. The only part of him I can really see is his hand, because he’s holding a yellow hacksaw to Brandi’s neck. The saw isn’t huge, but the blade is covered with tons of tiny teeth that are made for eating right through wood. One slice with that thing, and Brandi’s throat will be easily severed. I have to play this safe, because I’ve already seen what Jeffrey Lee Chapman is capable of.
“I’m here now, Jeffrey,” I say to him, even though I can’t see his face in the darkness. “You got what you wanted. I’m here, now put down the fucking hacksaw.”
“What would be the fun in that, Granger?” Jeffrey snips. I can hear the extra aggression in his voice tonight. He sounds fired up, so I better not push him. Not until I’m prepared for when he pushes back.
“Come on, Jeffrey, I’m here now. This is what you wanted, right? I’m here, so let’s handle this between the two of us.”
“You say that with so much confidence, like you just know for a fact that all I wanted was for you to come sauntering through that door. You think it’s going to end now that you’re here? No way, Jose. It’s just beginning.”
“What are you getting out of all of this, Jeffrey? There’s no point to this. Your mother is gone. You can’t bring her back by doing all of this.”
“What the fuck do you know about my mother?” he screams.
Fuck. I pushed the mom button way too soon. I have to backtrack or he’s going to lose it, and that puts Brandi in jeopardy.
“Nothing,” I reply, trying to bring my voice down to a soothing tone. “I don’t know anything about her, but I know you’re hurting since she died. I understand that more than you may think. I lost both of my parents too. I know how much it hurts, and how much you want to bring them back. But we can’t bring them back. We have to grow up and move on.”
“You think I want Mother back?” he asks, his voice dropping an octave.
“I know you feel lost since she passed.”
“You don’t know a goddamn thing, boy!” he snips again. “You asked what I get out of this, well it’s only fair that I answer your question. I get the best, most thrilling pleasure from it, Granger. You think I’m a hurt little puppy since Mother died, but you’ve got it completely backwards. Her death set me free. She was my personal prison, and now that she’s gone, I’m better. I’m perfect now. I get to bring my biggest dream to life when I do this. I get to kill the woman who hurt me my entire life. Every time I cut the heads off of one of these disgusting sluts, it’s like cutting the head off of Mother, and I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more than to kill her.
“All those years in that trailer, being forced to stick my dick in her ass, in her pussy, in her mouth. All the times I was punched in the face, or hit with a hot iron for not taking the trash out fast enough. All the times she sprayed Lysol into my mouth for talking back, even when she was the one who was dead wrong. I think about all of that when I have one of these cunts tied up in front of me. I’m thinking about it now, Granger.
“Look at Brandi here. Did you notice her makeover? I made her hair look like Mother’s, so that when I slit her throat, it’ll be like killing Mother for the third time. What do you think of Brandi’s new hairdo, Granger? Like it?”
I’m not even sure what to say. This guy is obviously off his rocker, and I want nothing more than to grab him by his crazy throat and choke the fucking life out of him, but I’m so far away that there’s no way I could get to him before he slits Brandi’s throat. So, I don’t say anything.
“I asked you a fucking question!” he barks.
“I love it, Jeffrey. Well done,” I lie.
“Oh, well thank you! How kind of you. It really does look like Mother’s, and you know what else is interesting about this moment, Granger? Your girlfriend’s name. Brandi. It starts with the same letter as Mother’s. Did you know that?”
I shake my head as I try to think of how much time has gone by since I came inside. We should be getting close to the time I can expect Marcus to make his entrance through the back door. Maybe all I need to do is stall a little longer.
“Nah, I didn’t notice that. That’s interesting.”
“Yes it is. It’s like it was written in stars that this was supposed to happen just like this, right at this exact time. It was meant to be. It’s like we’re soulmates in a way. But, I know you noticed that, Granger. I’m sure you noticed the other two as well. You’re a smart one, so I know you caught on to me. I could read your suspicion from the first time we met. You always knew it was me, and I always knew you knew it. You’re smart, Granger, but I’m smarter. That’s why I know you’re not alone. I know you brought Detective Phillips with you.”
“What?” I say, trying to throw him off as my heart rate kicks into high gear. “No I didn’t. It’s just me.”
“Now you’re just lying to me,” Jeffrey says with supreme confidence. “Of course you brought your partner. I knew you would. And that’s why Brandi never stood a chance, because I was always a step ahead of you.”
