Page 53 of Sugar and Skulls

She grinds her heel into his pelvis. His scream echoes through the big old house.

When she pulls her foot back he begs her, “Please, Jesse. I don’t know a Katie.”

“Get on the floor.” She stands and points to a spot in front of a closed door. I notice the rope lying on the ground the same time the priest does.

“Jesse. Let’s talk. I promise you I don’t know anyone named Katie.”

She points her gun at his face, sending him scrambling to the floor.

“Take off your pants.” She motions with the gun towards his legs. “All of it. Underwear too,” she orders, turning her head away to avoid looking at his nudity.

The priest begins chanting again. She ignores him as she ties a noose around his neck, securing it to the doorknob.

Oh my god. She is going to strangle him and make it look like he was getting off and choking himself.

Her hands shake as she finishes tying him up. Dirk slowly rises beside me, pulling me up with him. He whispers in my ear. “I can’t let her do this.” I nod and follow him from our hiding spot.

Jesse turns towards the doorway as we make our presence known. Her eyes widen. The priest notices us at the same time. “Oh god,” he wails.

“He’s mine,” she says defiantly.

Dirk walks the length of the table, taking in the photos carefully laid out against the crisp white cloth.

The priest begins to beg us for his life. “Please. She’s crazy. She set me on fire once!” he screams.

Dirk jerks to a stop. He glances at me. We both come to the same conclusion. The fire she painted in the boxcar represents one of her demons. One sitting pitifully on the floor in nothing but his black socks and shirt.

My eyes roam down the man’s legs. The skin is puckered and waxy. Holy hell if she set him on fire she did a thorough job of it.

Dirk takes two big steps towards the man. The man thrashes around but it only tightens the noose around his neck. Dirk grabs his ankles and pulls him away from the door. The priest’s eyes bulge as his oxygen is cut away. “Any last words for him?” Dirk asks Jesse.

With the slightest of movement, she shakes her head no, staring into her abuser’s face. Dirk jerks him lower as the priest fights for air. Until everything becomes still. The priest. Jesse. Dirk…myself.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Jesse is the first to move. She pours the rest of the wine down her throat not stopping until the bottle is empty. She places it on the table and turns, walking out the back door without another look at the dead priest hanging from the door handle.

Dirk nods his head towards the back door. “She isn’t driving. Take her to Dan’s. I’ll get someone to pick up your bike.”

I start to walk away but he stops me. “Tie her up, Raffe.”

“Dirk.”

“I mean it. If she runs she will do something stupid. She’s in way over her head. This is proof. He isn’t the one that hurt Katie and we both know it. Jesse is about to hit rock bottom you need to be the cushion to her fall.”

“Don’t worry. I know what it’s like to fall without one.” He pulls me into a hug. I breath him in. It’s been a long time since he touched me this intimately. Dirk has always been my rock. Now he will be hers.

I jog to catch up with her. She is slowly making her way back to her rod, her eyes pointed heavenward. When I get beside her she doesn’t acknowledge my presence. Jesse’s lips are moving but no sound is coming out. She trips on a broken piece of concrete. I catch her before she hits the pavement.

Her glassy eyes try to focus on my face. I pick her up and carry her the rest of the way to the car. I place her gently in passenger seat and then slide in beside her. She wants to argue but she doesn’t have it in her. She sighs and leans back against the seat as I pull away from the curb.

When we get to Dan’s she looks out the window to his house before turning to stare at me. Tears are streaming down her face, blurring the lines between white and black, turning her face a shade of grey. I run my finger through the heavy makeup, following a tear down her cheek.

“What do you see when you look at me?” she whispers.

“I see a fellow survivor.”

She blinks. Her long eyelashes flutter against her cheeks, sending another string of tears racing down her face.

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