Sensing Chuck was near she started walking to the front door even before the doorbell rang. Meg reached for the new lever-like knob and yanked the door wide while saying “Oh, Chuck, I found your wrench.”
There, standing at the door was Chuck, fuzzy eyebrows and all. And just as she was reaching out to pass the wrench to his well-worn hands, she registered something was very wrong.
“I’m sorry little Miss,” he said carefully then as Meg looked on with horror, she saw a figure step out from behind the edge of the front stoop, leap the two steps and twist the kind old contractor’s neck with a sickening snap.
“I’m not sorry, little Miss,” the man drawled and watched as realization slip across her eyes one moment too late.
A stone-faced man was on her faster than she could react and stabbed her with a syringe. The man released her and charged into the house with a half dozen more like him on his heel—each of them held syringes. Meg didn’t even have time to scream, let alone fight back. The last thing she remembered as she slumped to the floor hearing the dull thump of her skull crashing onto the new threshold, was the wide-eyed look of terror in Chuck’s dead eyes.
Chapter 38 “WATCH ME”
“Where is everyone?”
“This doesn’t look right.”
“Why is the front door wide open?”
“There’s no one back in the bedrooms either, Mom. Something’s very wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“It looks like there was a struggle,” Alik swallowed hard, not able to wrap his mind around what even he was saying. “The bedding is all ripped off the beds, chairs knocked over and lamps on the floor. It definitely looks like something bad happened.”
Theo was looking around the living room feeling helpless, so he walked over to the front door to close it and saw a thick pool of blood on the threshold of the door.
“Oh God, there’s blood,” he moaned loud enough for Margo, Alik and Farrow to hear. Danny was asleep in Farrow’s arms.
Theo yanked the door wide open and saw a body on his front step. In the dead man’s hands was a DVD writeable in a jewel case.
The words, “WATCH ME” were written in all caps across the see-through plastic case.
“Oh, dear Lord! Who is he?” Margo gasped.
“I think this was the contractor we hired.”
“Should we call the police?” Theo asked, already knowing the answer.
“That’s what normal people do. We’re not normal because our children aren’t normal. Let’s watch this first then decide what to do.” Margo looked to have aged ten years in ten minutes.
“Should I move the body?” Alik asked in a soft voice.
“Not yet. Just cover him with a sheet, would you please?” Margo was shaking all over, except her legs, of course.
Theo went to his study and retrieved his laptop. His hands were trembling so badly he had to try to push the “on” button several times before he got the machine to understand what he wanted from it. By the time he had the drive open and was inserting the disk, Alik was back from his grisly chore.
Immediately, a voice began talking.
“Good evening, Winter Clan. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Senator Donovan Arkdone, and I am the person responsible for your missing family members. While you are unfamiliar with my work, I am very aware of yours—especially your efforts to evade my colleague Dr. Kenneth Williams.”
The black-and-white screen came to life with the image of a beautifully cut figure of a man who looked no older than thirty-five. He wore white trousers that hung low on his tight abdomen and a half-buttoned linen shirt. His dark hair was slicked back with what looked like old-fashioned Brylcreem. He looked like a model in a cologne advertisement, but the words coming out of his mouth didn’t match his physical appearance. He was leaning casually against a shiny steel table, his arms crossed, and biceps budging.
“Now don’t get me wrong, I believe Dr. Williams is quite despicable, all that blood and skin dripping; completely unnecessary.” He motioned to his face and grimaced as though remembering the doctor as he spoke. “Nonetheless, we have a common interest. You’re going to have to forgive my soliloquy. I was a professor, and after all those years of teaching, this just comes naturally to me.
“I’d like to back up nearly fourteen years ago. A much younger and healthier-looking Dr. Kenneth Williams requested a meeting with me after attending one of my lectures on psychological warfare, which is my primary field of study. I was guest speaking at your alma mater, Miss Margo. Maybe you remember me?”