Page 84 of Seth
The man stopped screaming, eyes senseless with terror and pain. His muscles trembled, convulsed, and he hurled forward. The rope around his neck tightened.
Seth folded his arms over his chest, watching the struggle.
“Killing yourself takes courage and dignity,” he rustled. “I should respect that. Go ahead; I won’t interrupt.”
Fischer’s thin lip curled up, a hoarse chuckle broke out, foaming saliva at the corners of his mouth. “Is it that murdered Jew? Who was he, your brother?”
“I didn’t know him.” Seth shrugged.
“Ohh, then it’s the little whore, am I right?” The man grinned, eyes glinting with insanity. Seth’s jaw locked. “Oh boy, was he good. His pussy pulsed around me, milking me dry. When I fucked him with the bottle, he squealed like a bitch in heat. He loved every second of it.”
Something snapped in Seth’s head. He bent forward, grabbed the glass with acid, and splashed it in the man’s face. The skin bubbled, sizzled, and started melting. An ultrasound-like wail pierced Seth’s ears. It sliced through his brain, making him want to quiet it no matter what. Without thinking, he pulled a glass spike from the top of his boot, flipped it in his palm, and drove it into the man’s eye.
The sound died, but with the euphoria the silence provided, Seth felt electricity filling his body. It streamed through him, empowering him. His fingertips buzzed with energy. In the encompassing ecstasy, he drove the spike into the skull again and again. Black fog swallowed the corners of his vision, his blood boiled, and elation lightened his head. And from the fog, vortexes formed. Getting stronger with every drop of spilled blood, they lashed at the dying man, tearing his soul to pieces.
The body beneath him slackened, the sphincters disengaged and released bodily fluids. The stench of feces permeated the air providing a sobering slap. Seth shrank back, unwilling to touch the man’s soul. Even without sensing it, he could tell it was cold, black, damned, and didn’t deserve a second life. The vortexes died; his vision cleared.
Seth stumbled back. His gaze settled over the disfigured face. It hit him. Fischer was dead.
“FUCK!” Seth yelled at the top of his lungs, angry at himself, but only a hoarse growl left his mouth. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
He dropped the bloody spike to the floor, tore the gloves off, then threw them at the corner of the room. Unable to stand still, he spun on the heel of his steel toe boot, fingers sinking into his hair.
The realization that he’d killed the only lead he possessed to the rest of the rapists pressed on his temples. His teeth ground and creaked as rage took over. He kicked the corpse in the chest. The chair fell over, raising gray dust in the air.
I need to calm down.Seth shook his head as he surged to the door, and only then noticed Gustavo standing in the doorway with his shoulder resting against the jamb.
“He looks terribly dead. That’s unfortunate,” the tranquil voice droned.
Seth drove his nails into his palms, to grasp a sense of reality. His head cooled as he forced the rage away and reassessed his situation. He glanced back at the corpse, then at Gustavo and the black shadow hovering behind his back.Ah, this time, you aren’t alone. Does it mean you finally take me seriously? It doesn’t matter. You are the least of my problems now. I need to think.
Seth moved to the door. Gustavo shifted, blocking his way. “I take it you didn’t get the names?”
Seth’s chin moved left and up as a low growl broke through his clenched teeth.
“Easy, Tiger. He might be dead, but I’m not. As you said, I am resourceful. I might help you.” Gustavo’s eyes, full of intrusive, unwanted attention settled on him.
“How can you help me?” A wind rustle, not a voice.
While the eye contact lingered, Diego pushed his way into the room. He circled the dead body and whistled. “I can see his brain through his eye.”
“Shut up, Diego,” Gustavo growled, tearing his focus away from Seth for a second. “What do you say?”
“What’s the catch?”
“Answers.”
A stray stone shifted beneath his foot; Seth inched to the wall. He wasn’t sure what kind of information Gustavo craved, but now he’d found Ignaz, having the man snooping around didn’t seem safe. His constant mockery, untimely humor, and nosy behavior would eventually lead to a disaster.
A bright flash snatched his attention from Gustavo. Holding his phone in his hand, Diego pressed a handkerchief to his nose and mouth with the other. One bright flash morphed into another as Diego took a series of photographs. Seth’s mouth hardened.
“Diego, stop that.” Alertness made its way into Gustavo’s voice. “Please, excuse my friend here. He has terrible manners and no respect for the dead. Diego!”
The photographs didn’t bother Seth. His whole attention concentrated on the phone, as his mind’s eye provided the images of the leather jacket, steel toe boots, and the cell phone he had taken from Fisher’s home.I have his phone. His comrades should be somewhere among the contacts. I still can find them.
“No.”
“No?” Gustavo lifted a brow. “I can make this all disappear. I can hand you the crime case, DNA tests, all the information there is to find on Walter Fischer. His contacts, his emails, his friend list, I can even arrange a lab to run the additional tests, all anonymous.”
