Trust Me II, page 50
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. We just need to be strong and stay hidden until they get here.”
“What do you think Bachmeier is doing now? Do you think he’s figured out we’re gone?” Sabrina asked in a hushed whisper as she and Sandra moved to the far side of the room, behind several tables and lamps, They sat down on a pile of blankets that had fallen to the floor and she tossed the shoes she had been carrying beneath a nearby table.
“If he doesn’t already, he soon will. Once he realizes the door is blocked he’ll know we’re free. It won’t take long for him to find Silvano and come looking for us. It’s just a matter of time and hopefully Creighton will be here before that.” The two fell into a heavy silence as they considered all that had happened the past two days, silently praying for their own safety.
“I’m sorry for all of this,” Sabrina said after several moments. “Maybe if we had set the alarms at the house, none of this would have happened.”
“It’s not your fault. Bachmeier is crazy; I just don’t understand how Silvano fits into all of this. He has a very wealthy father, why would he want money from your brother?”
“He has a gambling problem, Giovanni told me,” Sabrina whispered, looking at the gun in her hand before setting it aside. “Maybe he figures he can get the money from Crey since his father has cut him off.”
“What do you mean, cut him off?”
“Giovanni said The Don cut off all financial support a few weeks ago. He told Silvano to straighten out his personal life or he wasn’t going to get anything else from him. He was pretty angry from what Giovanni said.”
“Did Donato know about his gambling problem?”
“He has known about it for a long time but it was never as serious as it has been lately. It all came to a head when some men came looking for him. He owed them nearly fifty thousand euros. Donato paid them, but then he fired Silvano from the family business and told him to get a real job and start paying him back. Giovanni said he got drunk one night and tried to break into his father’s house. He started ranting and raving about him not being his blood father and how Donato hated him for it. They got into a huge fight and then he disappeared from Italy the next day. Giovanni said he had been really angry with you for weeks and was always talking about getting even, which might explain why he came after you.”
“But that still doesn’t explain how he knew Bachmeier.” Sandra sighed as she laid her head back against a mattress propped up behind them.
“What do you think will happen now?” Sabrina asked in a soft whisper.
“We wait and see,” she said flatly thinking back on everything that had happened over the past few days. Silvano must have been planning this for some time and her assault on him made her an easy mark. He knew the ins and outs of Creighton’s company, so it would be simple for him to arrange the break in at the warehouse in order to get him out of the way. Very possibly, that’s how Bachmeier got the security code to break into the clinic the first time.
“How long do you think they have known each other?” Sabrina asked after a few minutes of silence.
“The real question is how they met in the first place. I mean, they come from two different worlds; I highly doubt either one belonged to the same social circles.”
“Especially since Bachmeier has been in prison for three years.” Sabrina drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Do you think we’ll get out of this?” she asked a few minutes later.
“Yes, I do. I have faith in my husband and I know he’ll find us.” Sandra glanced down to her watch and frowned. The face had turned to a soft violet.
“What does that mean?” Sabrina asked, glancing to the watch.
“I can’t remember. We’ve been testing it out for a few days, but to be honest, I never paid much attention to it. Creighton tried to explain so many things about this watch, but I can only remember the color blue meant it was linking up to the system, but I can’t remember what purple meant.”
“Maybe it means he’s close?” Sabrina said hopefully, but Sandra frowned. She honestly couldn’t remember what it indicated. Fortunately she knew when it was white that it was out of range or the tracking device was off.
The two jumped at the sounds of three gun shots in the corridor above them and the shouts of Bachmeier’s angry German tone. Sandra grabbed Sabrina by the hand and took the discarded gun, hurrying behind a stack with two covered mattress near the back of the room then blew out the candles.
“I’m scared,” Sabrina said in a shaky whisper.
“Shh,” Sandra insisted, hugging her shoulders. “We just need to stay quiet until we know what’s going on. Don’t make a sound and he won’t find us.”
They stayed hidden behind the mattress as the stillness surrounded them. There were no sounds from the floor above them and it made her curious and worried; what if Creighton was there? What if he had found Silvano and Bachmeier? How was he to know where they were hiding?
Three more gunshots sounded through the building’s stillness followed by the angry voice of Bachmeier shouting for them again. Sandra jumped at the noise and sighed; thankful she hadn’t crept out to see what was going on as she was thinking of doing.
The sounds of furniture being overturned and doors being slammed shut echoed through the silence of the storage room. It was only a matter of time before he searched down here and found them; that much they knew for certain.
Just as she began to wonder about her husband again, the door of the storage room opened and Sabrina gasped, causing Sandra to clamp her hand across the woman’s mouth to silence her. Sabrina still had Silvano’s gun and she had the one Morris gave her, which gave them a slight advantage, but she felt their hiding was a greater asset to their staying alive.
The sounds of items crashing to the floor above them continued until they heard the door to the stairs open. Bachmeier shouted down into the dark room, cursing as he stumbled in the darkness, stomping down the wooden steps in his anger. The room was dark and silent, even the sounds of their breathing seemed to cease, but the shadow of a flash light shone against the floor and ceiling and Sandra watched the light pass by on the wall beside them, her hand wrapping tightly to the pistol she slipped out of her boot. Very slowly and very quietly she pulled back the hammer, holding it ready for anything that may happen.
“Where the hell are you, bitch?” he shouted and began overturning furniture near them. Sandra glanced around and saw a break in the wall behind a nearby dresser. The hole was illuminated with the flames of the furnace as it cycled on. Bachmeier continued to growl, throwing lamps and mirrors down to the stone floor, the crash and shatter echoed through the room like thunder.
“See that hole?” she told Sabrina in a hushed whisper next to her ear. “It’s large enough for you to crawl through. It looks like the furnace is inside; you should be able to hide in there. I’ll distract him so you can get to safety.”
“No!” she said in a frantic whisper. “You’ll come with me.”
“I can’t,” Sandra insisted, listening to the sound of another heavy object crashing to the ground. “Take that gun just in case; I can protect myself, but I can’t protect you as well. You have to get out of here. If I’m not mistaken, there should be another door in the room. I’ll keep him busy while you get out and call for help. Creighton and Andrew will be here in no time, you just have to get to them and show them back here.” Sabrina nodded her head, closing her eyes tightly.
“I’ll go around and draw his attention so you can crawl through the hole. Be careful and go fast. I don’t know how long I can keep him distracted.” She hugged Sabrina tightly and without waiting for another word of objection, she moved slowly out from behind the mattress and around the side of a credenza, between a settee and bookcase to the wall near a large floor length mirror. She looked back and saw Sabrina slowly moving her way to the hole then stood up.
Here we go, she thought to herself as she shoved the mirror over, allowing it to crash to the floor. Bachmeier swung around to face her, gun in his hand and an angry, crazed look in his eyes. Sandra drew a deep breath hoping beyond hope Creighton was nearby and that he would find her before it was too late.
She held the gun behind her back and locked her gaze with the lunatic who rounded on her, a wicked, yellow smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. A phrase she had heard when she was younger flashed into her mind as she tried to steady her thumping heart.
It is a good day to die.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Go around back and secure the perimeter,” Andrew told Morris and Tabor as two police cars pulled up the driveway, lights and sirens off, hiding them in the darkness of the shadows.
“Where are they now?” he asked Creighton who lingered behind the Suburban looking at his phone.
“They went into the supply cupboard and haven’t come out.”
“Where’s Bachmeier?”
“He’s in the medieval room,” he said then frowned as the sounds of a gun went off, echoing through the silence of the quiet house.
“Go, go, go!” Andrew waved his arm as Morris went one way toward the back with two police and Tabor went the other with another two, leaving the last two with Creighton and Andrew who quickly went up the front steps. Creighton glanced at his phone once more, watching as Bachmeier kicked the doors open to the guest rooms as he made his way toward the supply room then disappeared inside.
“He’s found them,” Creighton said, fear and anger gripping his words. They hurried into the main door and moved cautiously toward the room where Silvano had entered and the girls had left.
Andrew pushed the door open, gun pulled as he looked around the room. Sitting on the end of the bed was the lifeless, bloody body of Silvano Vigano; his arms cuffed to the end posts, his pants undone and his bruised penis lying limp against his thigh. He had been shot at least three times; his eyes remained open as blood dripped through the holes of the ball in his mouth.
“Come on,” Andrew said quietly, walking straight ahead toward the door seen in the security cameras. They passed the office and looked briefly at the shattered door, chair overturned and broken on the floor and the knob shot off. Morris and Tabor came around the two side hallways, guns pulled and police in tow.
“Vigano is dead,” Andrew whispered. Morris motioned for two of the police to go into the room down the hall behind them. They neared the supply room, just as a smaller door beside it opened and Sabrina came running out, stumbling straight into Andrew who covered her mouth with his hand to keep her from screaming.
“Thank God,” he said after she recognized him and began sobbing. He hugged her tightly to his chest, his large hands smoothing her hair down her back.
“Where’s Sandra?” Creighton asked.
“She stayed behind,” his sister cried. “She told me to get out and find you. He’s there with her. Crey you have to save her, he’s mental.”
“Take her outside,” Andrew told another police officer, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder and ushered her down the hallway to the front door.
Leading the way with Morris and Tabor behind Creighton, Andrew slipped quietly through the door, cautiously stepping over the displaced items that lay strung across the small room. The last three police officers followed close behind, all with drawn guns, save Creighton. Andrew began to descend down the dark stairs one at a time, amazed and thankful they were strong and secure and didn’t creek beneath their steps. They paused midway down, holding a hand up to stop the others from moving. He had a perfect view of the man who stood facing Sandra. Andrew remained motionless on the steps listened to their conversation, a hand on his brother’s shoulder to keep him from approaching them.
“You will be much more valuable than that sniveling wisp of girl, anyway,” Bachmeier was saying.
“Did you kill those girls back in Yorkshire?” Sandra was asking him. The man laughed a deep sickening sound.
“It was too easy,” he replied. “They were so naive, so innocent, so trusting. All it took was a few simple words and they fell into my arms. But I’m too much like my dear, stupid cousin. I like to play hard, I love inflicting pain and hearing a woman cry for mercy; only they didn’t play along. I didn’t intend to kill them, but they kept fighting me so I had to get mean. Didn’t matter though, alive or dead they were easy enough to have. Begatten, my favorite sport of all time.” He laughed that disgusting sound that reminded her of a sick hyena as he took a half step closer to her.
“Is that why your uncle sent you back to Germany; because he found out about your little habit?” Sandra asked. She remembered what her grandfather had told her when they were caught away from home during a tornado. Panic is your worst enemy; use your head and you’ll survive anything.
“My uncle was a bigger moron than that stupid Italian. He saw me with that little tramp after her grandmother’s funeral. Now what was her name, Mandy, Angie, something like that? He caught us in the old barn and ordered me to leave at once. Such a fool, he didn’t even take the time to see that the bitch was dead, though I have to admit that one I do regret killing. She was my first experiment with a real woman. I was getting tired of sheep and she just happened to be available. She had the tightest arse I’ve ever had. I suppose if he had noticed she was dead, he probably would have called the constable and I’d be in jail still.
“Pity I was sent away; my cousin had a really nice body. I used to slip her a Mickey Finn and after she passed out I’d sneak into her room and play with her. She never knew how many times I shagged her while she was unconscious,” he snorted his unique laughter again. “She and that husband of yours used to have a lot of fun together, too. They never knew I hid in the barn and watched them from the stalls; he wasn’t much of a lover though. She had to find other blokes to shag her hard and rough, the way she liked it.”
“Does Miriam know you’re here?” Sandra asked, fighting the nausea that rose in her stomach.
“You’re stupid,” he growled. “If she knew I was here she’d have the bloody coppers on me again. Once I’ve gotten rid of you and have my money, I’ll come back and take care of that problem as well. With this place already set up, it may prove fun to see what I can accomplish with her and that girl she’s shagging. Two pussies are always better than one.”
“Why did you kill those girls?” Sandra asked, trying to bring him back to revealing his motive. She knew he felt comfortable to relay his life’s story to her; certain he could tell her anything because he wasn’t planning on keeping her alive much longer.
“Why not?” he asked with a shrug. “It was as much fun to choke them as it was to screw them. It was not entirely my fault though. I wanted to play and have some fun, but they kept crying and trying to fight me. Eventually I just got tired of listening to it and had done with them.”
“Were all of them from Northallerton?” She had to keep him talking until Creighton got there with Andrew, even if his memories were making her want to throw up.
“No, most of them were from Leeds, a little pub there where all the whores would frequent. It was easy; offer five pounds and they were in the backseat of the car in nothing flat,” he laughed again. “Most were tied and gagged, but the principle’s the same.”
“How did you manage to stay in England after your uncle left?”
“Wasn’t difficult, the house was still there and available. The room he used for screwing his women was there, all I had to do was find some useable items from the neighbors’ barns to have fun with. When the local blokes would bring their girls there to shag them, I’d make some noise and scare them off. They thought the place was haunted. Nobody ever knew I was living there for all those years. All the farms around the place made it simple to steal food and I’d go to that girl’s place after her grandmother died. I had a bed and water and made good use of it, especially during the winter. It was all so easy. There was a stash of money the old lady had laying around the place so I could get the things I wanted and I could sell off her gold and jewelry when I needed more; simple pickings.”
“Is that how you found Harry Stone?” she asked.
“He knew I was taking the old ladies stuff, but for a cut he would sell it for me or melt down the gold himself. I was able to get what I wanted without any hassle.”
“Was he involved in killing his wife?” she asked him as he turned to take another step toward her.
“I knew my uncle was screwing the bitch, so I told Stone about it. After I was put on a plane back to Germany, I waited to make sure it was safe before I got off and went to Stone’s place. He told me she’d left him, so I decided to go check out my uncle’s place and sure enough, she was there. I watched him shag her; he did it so many times, until he finally went to London, then I snuck in and tied her up. I took her back to her husband where she belonged.
“We had quite a fun time with her, or at least I did; her old man couldn’t get it up long enough to jerk off. He was so angry with her for leaving him, that he strangled her. I didn’t know what to do with the body, so I figured if we buried it back at the farm, then my uncle would be indicated and he’d go to jail instead of us, but nobody ever found her. That’s when I decided to bury the others there. That first girl was already buried there, so it made sense to use it for all of them. If anyone was to ever find out, they’d think the old man did. It was such an easy crime and I would have gotten away with it longer if it weren’t for Stone’s cold feet. He threatened to turn me in, so I had to leave Yorks. I hid out in London until one day I saw your old man. Figured he owed me, after all I never told uncle about him and Miriam.”
“How did you get out of jail so early?” Sandra asked, frowning at a shadow that moved on the stairs. She was praying it wasn’t Sabrina or Silvano; she had to keep things between the two of them until help arrived.
“Vigano caught me stealing from your husband one day he was there with his father,” he said proudly. “He had a problem with the ladies and money. He told me he’d turn me in unless I cut him in on the profits. It was a very nice business until that stupid foreman caught me and I got fired. After I was sent to prison, he arranged a license for me to work. He set up a dummy company and paid me so the authorities didn’t catch on. Truth was, we were having a bit of fun with a new business of our own. We’d hire whores to do a few films for us and sell them over the internet. We were making a nice living until old man Vigano found out what his son was doing and put a stop to it.
