Page 63 of So Twisted

“Pronghorn?”

“It’s a type of antelope,” he explained. “Did you know he had this many animals here?”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t really paying attention the last time we were here.”

“Well, it’s a lot. This place is either bigger than it looks, or he’s got them crowded in.”

“We’ll save that question for later,” Faith said. “We need to find… Jason!”

She pointed at the far end of the enclosure. At her cry, the man in question looked up, startled. He wasn’t alone. Wrapped in his arms was the unconscious form of a woman with her wrists and ankles tied and her mouth taped. Faith took a closer look at the captive, and her eyes widened. It was Lisa Hartley!

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The agents advanced on Jason, guns drawn. Jason cursed and held Lisa in front of him, a knife placed against her throat. Turk rushed forward, trying to flank Jason, but Jason reached a corner of the wall next to an animal enclosure and kept Lisa in between himself and the K9, forcing Turk to stay away.

Faith caught movement out of the corner of her eye and flinched when she realized what enclosure Jason was next to. The mountain lions slammed into the fence, nearly knocking Jason over. They clawed at the two humans next to their cage, snarling when the thick steel mesh prevented them from reaching their prey.

Jason recovered and returned to the corner, just far enough away that the lions couldn’t hit him. When they realized they couldn’t get to Jason or Lisa, the lions calmed down and sat, staring at the two humans. One of them looked Faith’s and Michael’s way but evidently decided they were too far away to worry about and returned its attention to the tantalizing meal close by.

Faith and Michael spread out to block Jason’s path of escape. “Jason,” Faith called. “Put Lisa down and come toward me with your hands in the air. I’ll make sure Turk doesn’t hurt you.”

“Can we talk first, please?” Jason asked. “I think if you talk to me, you’ll understand.”

Faith heard a soft wail over the cacophony of animal noises behind her. Backup was arriving. “We can talk, Jason, but before we do, you should know that the police are here. There’s nowhere for you to run, and we’re going to have more guns here in minutes.”

“There’s a King Cobra loose in the house,” Jason warned. “Its venom can kill people in minutes. You should warn your officers.”

“We did,” Michael assured him. “They won’t come into the house until animal control gets here, but they’re armed too. You’ll have us, armed animal control officers and armed police officers to get through if you want to escape. Which means you won’t escape.”

“I’m not trying to escape. I just want to talk.”

“We can talk after you release Lisa Hartley.”

“I can’t do that,” Jason replied. “Please. Let me just explain myself.”

Faith and Michael shared a look. Faith was more concerned with Lisa being released safely than with hearing a serial killer explain himself, but right now, Merrill had them at a disadvantage. Turk couldn’t reach them, and neither of them had a shot. When the other officers made it inside, that would change. They could set up different shots and press the issue, but right now, keeping Jason talking might be the best chance they had.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“My name is Jason Merrick,” Jason began. “If you look up that last name, you’ll find a criminal record. I used to operate a dogfighting ring in Des Moines.”

Faith saw Michael’s grip on his handgun tighten. He had infiltrated a dogfighting ring in Atlanta on one of their cases and seen dogs torn apart in the cage.

Jason noticed his reaction. “Yes, it was horrible. Despicable. I was a piece of shit, but I didn’t realize it until one of my trainers brought a Scottish Terrier puppy in to warm up the dogs. I stubbed my toe inspecting it, and… and…” His voice trembled, and Faith saw tears shining in his eyes. “And the puppy nuzzledme to make me feel better. I was going to feed it to a bunch of Dobermans, and it was trying to comfort me.”

Turk had stopped barking. He watched Jason warily, but he must have sensed that there wasn’t any immediate danger.

He sniffed. “I took the puppy and left the ring. I had that puppy for nine years until it got sick with cancer a year ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Faith said. “I understand how much you must have loved your dog.”

“I don’t deserve that love, though. I never did. I have so much blood on my hands.”

“So you kill people instead?” Michael challenged. “Where’s the logic in that?”

Faith snapped a hard gaze over to him. He pressed his lips together but fell silent.

“I kill people who hurt animals,” Jason said. “It’s my penance. There’s more than just me. I’ve learned that. There are a lot of people who hurt innocent creatures. I’m atoning for two crimes, my own and the fact that I let the other people working with me get away. I never reported them.” He sniffed. “I was afraid they’d hurt Charlie.”

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