Page 71 of Avenging Kelly

When I glanced up at the screen, I saw a picture of a blonde girl who looked to be about fifteen. She was pretty. It must have been a school picture because she was in a white jacket with black piping and a white blouse with a black tie. Reminded me of the uniform my sister wore to the private academy she had attended before she was kidnapped. “Who’s that?”

“That is the school picture of Frances Ritchfield’s daughter, LaDonna. I hacked the school’s mainframe and found it because I have an idea I think might help get Frances to open up. I can digitally manipulate this picture to look like the girl’s being worked over more and more the longer Frances refuses to talk. Do you think that will loosen her tongue?”

“Like make bruises on her face or something?”

“Yeah. I’ll give you a smartphone and send pictures to it on your signal. It’s crude, but if you keep the lights low, it might work. I’m going to guess she doesn’t have time to fool around with imagining software to spot a fake, right?” Casper asked.

At that point, it was worth a fucking shot. I’d try anything. Desperation was peering its ugly head over the horizon, and I knew that wouldn’t be good.

* * *

After my discussion with Casper and a quasi-plan worked out, I hurried down the stairs and opened the door of the bunker to find my quarry asleep, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. No fucking way…

I walked over to the bed and flipped on the bright light over her head, poking her shoulder like a goddamn woodpecker. When her eyes popped open, there was no fear, which made me chuckle. She was too fucking cocky to even be afraid.

“Ah, good. It’s time we had a talk, Frances.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she said, turning her head away from me with a jut of her chin as if she believed she’d won the argument.

As far as I knew, I’d never done harm to a woman. All of that was about to change.

“My friend’s uncle is in Leysin,” I stated as I fucked with the phone to get the first picture Casper had created. When it came onto the screen, I held the phone close to Ritchfield’s face to show her the picture of her daughter with a busted lip and a red mark on her cheek. The small drop of blood on her chin was a nice touch.

I held a pair of pliers in my right hand and snapped them by her ear. “I’m going to start pulling out your teeth, Frances, if you don’t talk to me. Who authorized you to do what you did at Leavenworth? It has to go higher than just the USDB.” She said nothing. Wouldn’t even look at me.

“Okay, maybe we should pull out LaDonna’s teeth.”

Without checking her reaction, I pressed the speaker button on the phone and the dial tone buzzed, the only sound in the room for a moment. I truly had a hard time not laughing as I thought about the plan Casper and I had worked out.

“Ciao! Giuseppe here.” It had to be the worse fucking Italian accent I’d ever heard.

“Brown. How about pulling out one of her front teeth for me? Send me a picture for her mother.” I disconnected the call and turned to Frances.

“We should have a photo for your wallet in a few minutes. Can you imagine how loud your little girl must be screaming right now?” I asked, clicking the pliers again.

“Fuck—”

I couldn’t hold back. I backhanded her, busting her lip. I’d pray for my immortal soul when I had my niece back in her mother’s arms.

Just as I was about to punch the bitch, I heard a scuffle on the stairs, so I stepped out to see Casper carrying someone over his shoulder. They were wearing a black pleated skirt with white trim, knee socks, black patent shoes, and a white blazer, similar to the one in the picture. There were white panties peeking out, and the person was absolutely beating the hell out of Casper’s back.

“Scream,” Casper said, and then the person let loose a wail that would rattle the rafters.

As Casper hit the landing, he winked at me. “Ready?” I shrugged. I couldn’t imagine what he was up to.

“Yeah, just remember, any bruises you make, you have to kiss.” That was distinctly a male voice. Casper turned his head and kissed the bare thigh on his shoulder.

He blew past me and into the bunker, dumping the person on the ground. There was a black bag over their head and long, blonde hair sticking out. “Your mom can get you out of this,” Casper said as he held up a plastic bag with what appeared to be a bloody tooth inside, tossing it onto the gurney at Frances’ feet.

“No! No!” Frances screamed as she strained to sit up. I finally understood what was happening.

“I guess Giuseppe got here early?” Casper bit his lip, trying not to laugh. An Oscar was nowhere in the future for any of us.

Whoever was on the floor had curled into a ball and was whimpering. It was hard to really see the person, which was for the best, obviously.

“Yeah, she threw a fit. Who knew her father didn’t give a shit and let Giuseppe take her?” Casper answered.

Ritchfield looked at me, not happy when I snapped the pliers again, and began sobbing as the person on the floor cried louder. I cut the strap on her left wrist that was holding her to the gurney and walked around the bed with the pliers so that I was in front of her.

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