Hunter’s eyes filled with sudden horror.
‘Oh, I forgot,’ she said with a frozen smile. ‘You didn’t know that was my doing, did you?’
‘What was your doing?’ Hunter asked with a trembling voice.
‘That little boat explosion.’
Hunter felt his stomach churn.
‘With the end of the Crucifix Killer’s case I wasn’t surprised when you and your partner decided to take a break. It was only fair after such a lengthy investigation. All I had to do was follow him.’ She paused and watched as Hunter battled with his own repugnance. ‘You know, they invited me up onto their boat. You can always count on a cop to help someone in need, especially a woman. Once on board, the killing was child’s play. I had him tied up, just like you are now, and then I made him watch. I made him watch while I made the little bitch suffer. There was so much blood, Robert.’ She stared at Hunter for a moment, savoring his pain. ‘And yes, I knew she was your only cousin. That gave me even more pleasure.’
Hunter felt nauseous, a sick taste regurgitated into his mouth.
‘He begged for her life. He offered me his in exchange for hers. The ultimate love sacrifice, but that was no good to me. I had his life in my hands anyway.’ A short silence followed before she continued. ‘She died slowly while he cried like a baby. I didn’t kill him straight away you know. I left him for a few hours so he could soak in the pain of her death. After that, the only thing left for me to do was bring some fuel barrels from my boat onto his, create a little leak, set some timers and… boom. The fire would destroy any evidence I missed.’
The pleasure in her voice was arctic.
‘The greatest thing after that was watching you take the ride straight to rock bottom, it was beautiful. After their deaths I thought you would do it. I thought you would give in and blow your brains out. You were close to doing it.’
Hunter could voice no reply.
‘But then you were given a new partner and it looked like you were starting to bounce back. I still had two more on my list, not counting you, so I figured it was time for us to start playing our game again.’ She ran her hand through her hair in an overly casual way. ‘You were a tough one to get to. A real loner. No wife, no girlfriend, no children, no lover and no family. So I created Isabella, the slut. The one who’d pick you up from a sleazy bar. The one who’d make you fall in love with her.’ Her arrogance was majestic.
‘Do you have any idea what it’s like to go to bed with someone you despise? To allow that someone to touch you, to kiss you?’ She contorted her face into a disgusted look. ‘Every second we were together made my skin crawl. Every time you touched me I felt violated. Every time you left I’d wash myself clean for hours, scrubbing my skin until it was red raw.’ She took a deep breath to calm herself. ‘You were supposed to fall in love with her. She was the one you were supposed to risk your life for. She was the one who’d rip your heart from you before killing you. Can you see the irony, Robert?’
Hunter didn’t shy away from her stare.
‘But you ran away from romance like the devil from a cross,’ she continued in a calm voice. ‘You couldn’t see how special she was, could you? Were you too good for her? Is that what you think? The great Robert Hunter was too good for little, fragile Isabella, is that it?’ she said, mockingly putting on a sad child’s face.
‘That was my mistake. I should’ve spent more time with Isabella.’
Brenda looked deeply into Hunter’s eyes and held them for a while. ‘I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that if you had spent more time with her you would’ve figured her out.’ She laughed. ‘I’ve got news for you, Robert. You could’ve spent months with her and you still wouldn’t have a clue. Isabella was perfect. I made her perfect. I spent over a year creating her and living her life before finally approaching you. I acquired new mannerisms and habits. I started from scratch. New life, new apartment, new job, new everything. Psychological immersion. You know what that is, don’t you, Robert? I actually became two different people. Nothing linked Isabella to me.’
Hunter could see she was right. The way she walked, her gestures, her posture. Everything was different.
‘No matter how good you are Robert. You’re no clairvoyant. You can’t see what’s not there. No one can. Isabella gave nothing away. No mistakes, no slip-ups. As I’ve said, I made her perfect.’ She allowed Hunter to dwell on it for a few seconds before continuing. ‘Anyway, I was running out of time. I had to adapt my plan. Since you didn’t fall for Isabella, I had to find someone to take her place. Someone you’d risk your life for. Someone who you cared about, but there’s no one, is there, Robert? The closest person to you was your new partner, so he became the obvious choice. I had to act quickly.’
Hunter thought of Garcia lying in a coma. His only fault had been being assigned Hunter as a partner.
‘I have to admit I had my doubts. I didn’t think you’d risk your life to save his. I didn’t think you were capable of such an act. I thought you’d walk away and leave him to die alone. I was sure you’d protect your own skin and that’s all.’ She paused and gave Hunter an irreverent shrug. ‘Robert the martyr, huh? What a fucking joke.’
Brenda was so different from Isabella it was frightening. Hunter studied her for a few seconds, analyzing her movements. She was getting agitated.
‘But somehow you managed to beat the clock twice and still save your partner. You did well, but did you think you’d beat me?’ she asked with a farcical smile as she bent down and stared into Hunter’s tired eyes. ‘You’ll never beat me, Robert. I’m better than you. I’m more intelligent than you. I’m quicker than you and I don’t make mistakes. You are no match for me. My plan was perfect. I’m perfect.’
Hunter lost sight of her as she walked around his chair. The unmistakable sound of a blade being sharpened came from behind him and his heartbeat peaked. He knew he’d run out of time. She was getting ready for the last kill.
Sixty-Nine
‘And now it’s time you finally paid for what you’ve done. For your incompetence, for all the pain you’ve given me, Robert. I figure I probably have a couple of days alone with you. After what’s happened today, I’m sure your captain told you to take a day or two off. No one’s expecting to hear from you so soon. Your partner is out of action. No one will miss you, Robert. By the time they come looking for you…’ She didn’t have to finish her sentence.
‘Let me give you an idea of what’s gonna happen to you. First, I’ll put you to sleep so I can operate on your throat. Nothing fancy. Actually, it will be pretty rough. Just enough for me to sever your vocal cords. I can’t have you screaming in here for two days.’
Vroooom. Hunter heard the piercing sound of an electric drill come from behind him. He took a deep breath, but he could feel the fear taking over.
‘Then,’ she continued. ‘When you are awake again, I’m gonna drill holes through your kneecaps, your elbow and your ankle joints. That will shatter the bones into hundreds of little sharp pieces. Any tiny movement, even breathing will cause you incredible pain. I’ll savor the moment for a few hours before moving on.’
Hunter closed his eyes and tried to control the shudder spasms that had started running through his body.