My Heart Belongs To You: A Psycho Thriller (9 page)

Cupid
remained silent as he lifted the stool
that he knew Adam would have left near the trolley
.
He
now eyed
the trolley,
set
with his beautifully crafted tools
,
tools that would work their magic for this loving couple tomorrow night.  Picking up the
stool,
he carried it around to the front of the couple so
that
he was now at their feet.

Tom struggled against the head straps, trying to see the man
who
he was aware was moving around them.  ‘
Who are you, why are you doing this?
’

Cupid placed the stool close
to the
table
,
and then
moved six metres away to stand next to one of the sheer walls of the building. He had spotted a small shelf whe
r
e
the small camcorder would sit at a good height and angle to record the
commitment
and then the coupling tomorrow night. It was time for the ceremony
.
That
thought alone
was
causing his skin to tingle
with anticipation
of the magical moment he was about to create.  Taking a deep
breath,
he clicked the tiny remote control
,
setting the camcorder silently into record mode
. Then
he
sat on the stool
,
still hidden from the couple’s line of sight.  Tom was strong and
he
struggled against the head and neck restraints
,
but was not able to lift his head from the table to see Cupid
sitting
near their feet.  Reaching to his right
,
Cupid took a firm grip on the thick black
cord
hanging from the black sacking that was draped over the large mirror suspended over the couple.  They were completely unaware of its existence
,
hidden from the couple
,
lost in the depths of the endless sky of black above them.  Adam had prepared the
cord
so that one quick yank would strip the cloth away to fall to the ground
at
Cupid’s side.  He had never failed in his preparation
.
In
fact
,
he had become more proficient each year and as Cupid yanked sharply down, Adam would have another successful year to add to his tally, as the black sacking fell away and Tom and Karen screamed in unison as their reflections stared down at them
.
The
sight of their naked bodies
strapped
side by side to the table
intensified
the terror that was running through their veins, opening doors within their imaginations they
dared
not peek into.

Cupid waited
;
they would settle in a moment.  Reaching forward
,
he found the hidden switch
that
he knew would be there.  He pressed it and held it down
.
The
small electric motor installed
carried
out its task easily
,
as the end of the table supporting their head
s
began to lift.

‘
Tom
!
’
screamed Karen, ‘
What’s
happening?
’

‘
It´s alright
,
Karen, it´s alright
,
’
soothed Tom
,
but it wasn`t alright
.
It
was far from alright.

As their field of vision increased, the top of a man’s head came into view
,
extracting a small gasp from Karen
.
Then
his face came into view and eventually his torso.  The motor whispered to a s
top.  The man smiled at them
with
the
pleasant smile
,
of a man who could be your bank manager or your neighbour.

‘Hello
,
Tom, Karen
.
I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be able to be with you both today
.’  His voice was soft, his diction
clear
and
educated
.

Both Tom and Karen had fallen into a kind of shocked silence, the disarming look and approach of this handsome man
was
in complete contrast to what was happening to them.

‘
Who
…
who are you
?
’
A
sked Tom
,
not really wanting to hear the answer, his mouth desert dry.

The man’s smile widened as he looked at them, locking eyes with each of them in turn for several seconds.  ‘My apologies for not introducing myself
,
’ he indicated
,
patting a palm to his chest, ‘but my name…’ Tom watched the man’s face
.
The
sick mother was savouring this moment, drinking deeply at some morbid pool of pleasure.   ‘My name is Cupid and I want to share with you this moment that I call ‘
The
Commitment Ceremony
’
.  For the next five
minutes,
Cupid spoke with passion,
with the light of absolute
belief shining brightly in wide eyes.

Tom closed
his
eyes,
wishing it could have been his ears
, since
then he would not have
been forced to
listen to Karen
,
as she shrieked in terror, over and over and over again
.
All
hope of this being a
kidnapping evaporated
as the tiny flicker of
a
possible release
was
extinguished by the man’s re
velations as to his identity
,
which pointed to
his intent.  The moment Cupid had confirmed his name
,
hell’s doors swung open and the fires within consumed all hope.

Chapter Nine

13
February
-
11
:
10

(
L
ife
r
emaining 31 hrs 50 min)

‘I’m coming for you Cupid, I will find you
.
’

The already electrified atmosphere within the room that was being used as a command centre at the office of Hanson Securities went up a
notch as Hanson entered behind Stephanie.
Richard
Turner
had already made himself known and was unpacking his cardboard box
.

The room
they were using
was
about
ten metres square and
it
contained no windows
.
 
At
times,
some of the missions taken on by Hanson Security needed the utmost secrecy
and
windows were a weak spot.  At the centre of the room was a large flat Formica surface with a ring of high stools placed
randomly around its outer edge.
  This was used primarily to spread out maps, documents and photos
.
Although
during long
operations,
it became a place to eat, a dumping ground for endless coffee cups and on one occasion
,
for John as a bed.  One wall was a giant white wall
,
used as a
combination
no
tice board to tape up papers
, a place
for
using
coloured markers to make notations
and
create
time lines
,
and a place for displaying
photos
.  Three desks against another wall had l
aptops
, which were
already powered up
.
Each was
linked to
sophisticated
encryption software that
would keep all information moving in or out
securely
.  At the side of the three computer stations was a long table on which sat coffee and tea making facilities, a number of already opened packets of biscuits, sealed sandwiches and around twenty bottles of mineral water.  A small frid
ge at one end contained
milk,
cokes and
water for those who wanted it chilled.  In the corner was a heavy steel door that led through to the staging area where John kept items of equipment that could arm a
small militia.  One
corner of the large room was set out with a low coffee table and six comfy chairs.  Here people could chill
,
if time allowed.
A large flat screen TV on a third wall would be used to show CCTV from around the city
,
thanks to Blue Eagle, and
allowed
video calls to be made and
to
monitor news reports
,
should the need arise.  John noticed it was already on.

‘You made
good time
,
Donald
,’
remarked Hanson
,
walking over to the fifty
-
someth
ing man
,
filling a disposable cup
from a steaming coffee pot at the refreshment table.  At f
irst sight
,
Donald
Myers
looked
like your favourite uncle or granddad. 
Closely
cut silver hair gave away military roots
,
but the slight paunch told that the association was not recent.  At a little over six feet
,
he was slightly shorter than John
,
but a firm grip warned that even at his age
,
he might not be a man you would want to tangle with
.
Lively
attentive steel grey eyes told of a sharp analytical mind that would be needed over the next
thirty-one
hours.

‘Traffic was kind
,
John.  We gonna get this ball rolling?’

‘Absolutely.’  Hanson
was glad to have him with them.  Donald
Myers
was a no nonsen
se, cut the bullshit kind of man
,
who could be relied
on
to keep a cool head w
hen the going got tough.  Hanson himself had worked with him on a number of operations where he had come under
immense
pressure
,
yet at
no
time did he see any signs of crackin
g, any signs that he was anything other than a rock solid
consummate
professional
.

‘
Okay,
pe
ople
,
gather around
,
’ snapped Hanson
,
clapping his hands and moving to the large centre table.  Stephanie moved to his side
,
keeping her chin onto her chest
,
but flicking glances to the other people in the room.  Donald moved to the far side of the table where Jane joined him.  Richard
Turner
placed the
now empty
cardboard box at one end and nodded to the others.  ‘
Okay,
Donald
,
you know Jane my secretary
, alias
Girl Friday.’  Both nodded at each other.  ‘And of course
,
you both know my sister Steph.’

‘Hi Stephanie
,
’ smiled Jane.

‘Good to see you again
,
Stephanie
,
’ spoke Donald softly.

John gave her an extra squeeze of reassurance as she flicked a wave at the two people she had met often.  ‘This is Donald
Turner
,
’ continued Hanson
,
briskly pointing a finger at the Detective Inspector.  Donald has been the lead detective in the
case of the serial killer Cupid
for the last six years
.
We
believe
C
upid has abducted Tom and Karen.  Richard
will be working with us for an unspecified time as we try to track down this manic.’