“Let’s kill him!” cried a voice from the back of the crowd. But the man with the patch on his eye turned and motioned them to quiet down.
“Must I remind you I am the captain of this vessel now?” He turned back to Maynard. “Perhaps you can be of use to us. It appears our best navigator has been killed. If you can guide us through these murderous reefs then I will see to your safe passage.”
Maynard took the man’s hand without hesitation and shook it. “Then we have an accord, sir.”
Two weeks later the vessel sailed into an English port to be restocked with supplies. Those who recognized the ship thought something odd had happened to her crew. Other than the one-eyed captain and his strange American companion, no one else had left the ship.
Some passersby reported seeing strange hooded figures pacing the ship’s decks late at night. Serious attention came when a drunken sailor was found dying from stab wounds he claimed to have received from a hooded figure when he’d boarded the ship without permission. Even more remarkable about the sailor’s story was his insistence that his attacker was not a living man at all but the reanimated corpse of an old friend.
The truth, however, would remain elusive. By the time suspicions of some foul occurrence had reached the point where a local magistrate was awakened to the news, the ship had slipped quietly out of the harbor under a blanket of soupy fog, bound for the American Northwest.
CHAPTER 42
Except for Peggy, the other women and children had been rounded up and locked in the tool shed. It was hot in there, with its corrugated metal blistering to the touch. Marsh could hear their muffled cries for help. He took immense pleasure leading Peggy past them with a rifle barrel ground against her already throbbing skull.
She’ll do anything for me now. Anything she can to see her boy again...
When they came to the barn he opened the door and waved at her to go inside.
“It’s time for our little hayride, darling. Hope you’re up for a good time.”
Crying, Peggy froze in the doorway until he shoved her inside and shut the door behind them. He led her deeper into the barn where he tied her to a post covered with old horseshoes hanging from nails. Before leaving, he squeezed one of her breasts through her shirt. She shuddered and another hot wave of tears flowed from her face and pitted the dirt floor.
“Don’t you worry baby, I’ll be right back. Give you some time to get all hot and juicy.”
With the aid of his pickup and a length of rope, Marsh next pulled Wilbur around to the back of the barn where he wouldn’t be seen out in the open. The big man had tried his best. He’d stood up bravely to Marsh although it had been short lived. Now he was unconscious from two strikes to the head from Marsh’s rifle butt, but not before he’d been ordered to tie Peggy’s hands behind her back with his leather belt.
Marsh decided it was too early to kill the man. He’d gagged and tied him to a tree instead.
Stupid hick might still be useful later, he thought.
On his way back to the barn he stopped and drank some water from a rubber hose. He was thirsty as hell, and the cool water felt good over his burns. Then he remembered something he’d put in his shirt pocket and smiled as he pulled it out. It was the free boner pills he’d gotten in the mail. He’d been saving them for a special occasion just like this.
He popped the pills into his mouth and guzzled some more water. As he walked toward the barn, the cries coming from the tool shed made him grin. He felt a rush of heat to his crotch, the sense that his pants were tightening.
Oh this is going to be fun…
The faint light seeping into the barn reminded Marsh of twilight. He inhaled the rich aromas of cut hay and manure, reminding him of the first time he’d taken a woman into a barn back when he was still a senior in high school. She’d been a hitchhiker, to be exact. And there hadn’t been anyone around for miles to hear a thing on that stormy night, no one to worry about what had happened to the truck stop whore some had seen him give a ride to that afternoon...
This one he’d treat differently though. She was worth a taste first. Like a delicious new cigar he’d roll her around in his mouth and get her good and moist before he brought on the flame. Hell, she might even turn out to like it.
Before he untied her hands, he fastened the dog collar around her neck and attached it to a chain. The collar was still damp with the blood of Wilbur’s dog. After he was finished, Marsh knocked Peggy forward onto a pile of hay. She rolled over on her back and screamed while he glowered above her with the rifle.
“As soon as you’re finished I’ll need you to strip.”
CHAPTER 43
The highway sign told them Wrath Butte was another fifty miles. Having fallen asleep again, Robert awoke to Will holding a cup of coffee under his nose. He winced as he tried straightening up in his seat. Places other than just his hip were on fire now.
“Take those first,” Will said, pointing to two pills lying in the empty ashtray.
“What are they?”
“They’ll take care of the pain, but they won’t knock you out.”
Robert threw them into his mouth and then took the cup of coffee from Will’s hand. It wasn’t very hot anymore, but the bitterness gave him a nice jolt and sent the pills down his dry throat.
“Do you have any idea of where this farmhouse is we’re going to?”
Will pulled out a map he’d printed off and handed it over to Robert to look. “I had Mr. Frosty point out the area for me. It’s actually a little before Wrath Butte, so we don’t have a lot further to go.”
“Do you know the size of our welcoming party?” Robert asked.
“From what Frosty told me, not a lot. I figure we’ll have Marsh and maybe a couple guards to worry about.”
“That’s if Mr. Frosty was telling you the truth.”
“Oh, I think he was. He wasn’t too sure if I was ever going to pull him out of the freezer. I told him he’d better let me know everything before you woke up from your nap. The threat of dealing with you again seemed to work.”
“Did you get him to tell you what this was all about?”
“Not exactly. But I got the sense Marsh had promised him and the others some big payout if they kept working for him. He wasn’t exactly in the loop on most things.”
“Do you have any idea what we might expect?”
“Since Mr. Frosty has most likely tipped off Marsh already, I think they’ll be ready for us. How do you suppose we should do this?”
Robert drained his cup of coffee and studied the map spread out on his knees. “I think we should circle in a bit slowly and get a handle on what’s happening. It’s going to take more time than I want but it’s the best way I can think of.”
“And if Peggy and Connor are still there?”
“Then we’ll have to weigh our options.”
CHAPTER 44
Marsh pressed his burned face between Peggy’s breasts and moaned. His skin felt like a mask of hardened plastic. He reached down with his hand and slipped it under her panties. Then his fingers began to walk slowly over her pubic hair until they came to the cleft between her legs where they began to slide around in large coaxing circles.
Instead of trying to shut down her senses to what was happening to her, Peggy concentrated on every move the man made. She dug her hands down into the dry hay and felt around with her fingertips. When Marsh lowered his mouth over her nipple she felt his body relax as he got more lost in what he was doing.
As he sucked harder he removed his hand from between her legs and tried tugging down her panties. Peggy didn’t lift her waist to help him with the task and the panties came to a halt against her hipbones. Marsh tried pinching the fabric between his fingers and pulling down but his hands kept slipping. He lifted his head from her breast and slid over to her side and stared at her.