CHAPTER 30
“Please let me go. I’m freezing. We’ll both die out here in the woods. I’m scared.” The girl’s teeth chattered, loud enough for him to cover his ears to drown out the noise. He should have killed her the first day he’d brought her up the mountain. Shelby Geitner talked too much, was even demanding at times—telling him to get her more blankets and another sweater. Always something.
Frank Lyle added wood to the fire. It was a small fire, but it would heat up the soup he’d stolen and it would keep his hands warm.
“You know you’re going to go to prison for kidnapping, don’t you?”
“I’ve been locked up before. It’s not so bad. Three meals a day, hot showers, television, a library.”
“What were you in prison for?”
He didn’t answer her.
“Do you read?” she asked.
“None of your business.”
“If you could bring me a book to read, I wouldn’t be so bored during the day.”
“You won’t have to worry about being bored for too much longer.”
“Why? Are you going to kill me?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not now?”
He grunted.
“Why are you doing this?”
“No more questions.” He grabbed a cup, poured some soup into it, and brought it to where the girl was bound to an oak tree. He began to spoon-feed her. She was hungry. Feeding her was like feeding a baby bird. She opened her mouth before he even had a chance to ready the spoon.
He saw a spider crawling next to her and didn’t hesitate to squash it with the heel of his boot.
He wasn’t Spiderman. Unlike Spiderman, he didn’t give a shit if they were called arthropods or arachnids. Spiderman considered the eight-legged things to be his friends. Frank didn’t want any friends, creatures or otherwise. He wasn’t a wannabe. He had plans of his own. He was going to make a name for himself.
Eventually he would have to kill Shelby Geitner—he might even rape and torture her before killing her—but not tonight, and probably not tomorrow, either. Not until he found an empty cabin or maybe a shed, some place where he could keep his prey. Then he would focus on Lizzy Gardner—find a way to lure her there, into his own private hell, make her watch him do to Shelby what he did best. When the moment was right, he would do the world a favor and kill Lizzy, too.