“Don’t worry, Paul will take care of that,” Abby assured her. “He was on the phone all the way here. He must have called at least a dozen different people. Everyone is looking for Robin. They’ll find her.”
“I don’t . . . I don’t understand why anyone would want to do this,” Tandy said, baffled. “Things like this don’t happen here.”
Faye looked over her mother’s head at Abby and she knew they were thinking the same thing. That Castella Rock was a lot of things, but sweet, safe small town it wasn’t.
Things like this happened here, because things like this happened everywhere.
There were footsteps on the stairs. Abby got up, hurrying out of the living room to meet Paul at the stairs.
“Is Georgia okay?”
Paul shook his head.
“Paul, what do we do?” she asked.
“We need to go,” he said.
“Where?” she asked, but then he looked at her, a grim sort of foreboding in his eyes, and she knew.
It was time to go back to the Doctor.
Chapter 28
“Where the hell is he?”
Paul burst through the doors of the prison like a tornado, Abby chasing behind him. The intake guard’s eyes widened when he took in Paul’s wild look.
“Special Agent Harrison,” Paul ground out, clearly barely keeping his voice under control. “Director Edenhurst called ahead. Take us to see Howard Wells. Immediately.”
“Right away, sir,” the guard stuttered, hitting the button that opened the armed door.
“You need to stay calm,” Abby said under her breath as they walked through the metal detectors and got patted down. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he yanked his hand through his hair, slicking it off his forehead with an impatient movement. “He’ll use it against you if you’re this visibly upset,” she said. “I know him better than you. I’ve studied him.”
“I have this under control, Abby,” he said, as she watched him out of the corner of her eye worriedly.
“Ms. Winthrop, you’re back,” said a voice.
Abby turned to see Stan, the guard from her last visit, standing there.
“Hi, Stan,” she said. “Yes, I’m back. Can you please take us to see Wells?”
“Now,” Paul ground out.
Stan’s eyes widened slightly as he took in Paul’s tense shoulders and the anger radiating off him. “Will do,” he said.
“Stay close to me,” Paul said, as Stan began to lead them through the block. Even this early in the morning, the hooting and hollering rose to a din. With each step, Paul grew tenser and tenser, a gleam she’d never seen in his eyes as he stared down the bolder inmates.
By the time Stan got them across the prison and into the wing that held the solitary confinement cells, Paul was practically vibrating. Abby reached out, settling a palm between his shoulders, trying to soothe him somehow, but it was no use.
He was operating on pure feral instinct. Protect his family. At any cost.
Stan led them down the long hall, toward the door at the end, where Wells’s lonely cell lay. As he reached the last door, Abby turned to Paul and said, “Remember what I said.”
He nodded curtly as Stan unlocked the last door, ushering them inside.
The lights flicked on, and Paul stalked over to the Plexiglas wall that separated them from the serial killer.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise.” Wells unfolded himself from his bed. “And look at me, so underdressed.” He grinned at Abby, wiggling his fingers at her, clearly enjoying his range of movement.
They hadn’t had time to put him in a straitjacket. She bit the inside of her lip, telling herself that the way her heart picked up was stupid. He couldn’t get to her in there.
“Who’s your friend, Abigail?” Wells asked, his eyes glittering as he took Paul in. Abby didn’t say anything. There was no way in hell Wells didn’t know who Paul was, after all these years.
“He’s quite the specimen, isn’t he?” Wells asked. “He looks positively . . . all-American.”
Only Wells could make that sound like an insult. Like something base and disgusting.
“Where is he?” Paul demanded.
Wells smirked. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Paul’s eyes narrowed, his shoulders tensing.
“Okay, you want to play that game?” he asked. “Then I’m gonna tell you a story, Wells.” He sat down on the bench in front of his cell, leaning forward on his elbows, eyes glittering in a way Abby had never seen. “It’s the story of two men who somehow found a commonality in each other. A sick, twisted, violent commonality, but still, finding someone like you? That’s a powerful thing. You couldn’t resist, when you found him, could you? He was like murderous clay you could mold. Your perfect creation. Except . . . he wasn’t content with that, was he? He wanted something more. He wanted something different.”
Abby shivered as Paul leaned forward and Wells’s smirk twitched, just a bit.
“Your student outgrew you,” Paul said, each word a deadly barb that made Wells’s eyes flare. “He evolved beyond his teacher. He wasn’t content to just take the girls and kill them. No, he wanted more. He wanted to keep them. To draw it out. And you didn’t like that. You, you’re about that moment, Howard, when your hands slip around their throats, and the light starts to fade from their eyes. That’s what gets you off. And desecrating their bodies after. But you never cut them when they were alive. You weren’t into pain. You’re into the power. And your boy? Your student? He’s into it for the challenge. It’s about the competition. First, it was a game between you and him. But he won that. And now? It’s him versus the girl. How long can he keep her alive? How long can he keep her captive? How many girls can he take before someone catches on? It’s the ultimate competition. It’s not even really him versus the girl. It’s him versus the world.”
A sharklike smile spread across Wells’s face. “I see you’re not just a pretty face,” he drawled. “But neither am I. Are you familiar with the tale of Hercules and Antaeus, Agent Harrison?” Wells asked. “It’s much like the Achilles myth. A little lesser known, I suppose. I won’t bore you with the details. Just the lesson. I do so love a lesson.”
Abby’s face was like stone as Wells’s eyes flicked to her, then back to Paul.
“Antaeus was thought to be invincible,” Wells said. “But he had one weakness. Hercules found it. And he used it. You can guess who was left standing.”
“Are you casting yourself as Antaeus in this scenario?” Paul asked. “And your protégé as Hercules? That’s quite the pedestal to put him on.”
Wells laughed. “Oh, my dear boy. I’m not either.” He spread his arms wide. “If I’m anyone, I’m Zeus himself. You are Antaeus here, Agent Harrison.”
Wells’s eyes flicked back to Abby. “I found your weakness. I can hardly blame you. She’s a sly, fiery thing. Like a fox. She wanted to run, and I lured her right into my trap.” His smile curled around his lips and Abby was unable to stop the shudder that overtook her body.
Paul didn’t react. He merely raised an eyebrow, waiting for Wells to continue.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time,” Wells said. “But I knew you wouldn’t come,” Wells said. “Not unless I finally gave Abby what she wanted.”
“And why did you want to see me?” Paul asked.