Falling for the Law Ch. 11-17

That's where Marley had been when she'd unexpectedly received a call from Molly informing her not to expect Allison until late, if at all. The chief's longtime best friend had been reluctant to share details at first, but Marley had finally cajoled her into doing so, Molly finally relenting when the beautiful blonde had promised her an autographed copy of the first edition Marley received of her new book.

Nearly three hours had passed since then, Marley essentially wearing a groove in her wood flooring as she frantically paced back and forth, phone in hand. She periodically checked the screen of her phone in case she'd missed a text, verbally accosting the electronic device each time she discovered that no new messages had been received.

At a quarter till ten, Marley broke out the bottle of good scotch that her father had given her upon the publication of her first book. The old man had informed his daughter that any writer worth their weight drank scotch, her father running down a list of literary greats who'd purportedly consumed the stuff. Marley studied the bottle, which was supposed to be of the highest quality, according to her Dad. But its pedigree meant little to the young author who happened to think the drink tasted like paint thinner.

Marley poured herself two fingers and then brought the glass to her lips. Tilting it up quickly, the blonde swallowed the potent liquor without hesitation, wincing at the burn that followed it all the way to her stomach.

Rechecking her phone and finding it frustratingly devoid of any news, Marley again filled the glass with a splash of scotch. Taking a deep breath, the pretty blonde heaved back the alcohol and let it slide down her gullet, warmth spreading through her as the booze entered her system. Marley knew that she should take it easy, being a lightweight when it came to the hard stuff. And she wasn't trying to get drunk, to begin with, merely shooting to relax and settle her anxiety.

The buzzing of her cell phone on the bar caused Marley to nearly drop her glass, a piece of ice sliding over the lip of the container and landing on the island. Quickly setting the drink aside, Marley scooped up the phone and nearly squealed once she saw Allie's name listed on the caller ID.

"Hey, baby," Marley said, as she connected the call.

"Hey to you, too," Allie replied, the exhausted sound in her voice making Marley wish she had the auburn-haired beauty with her to help soothe her tired body.

"Are you still working?" Marley asked, knowing that her lover could very well be pulling an all-nighter.

"I've just left the scene, and we're heading back to the coroner's office right now. We have a tentative ID based on some of the clothing found at the location. Nothing will be official, though, until the coroner can compare the victim's teeth to the dental records of our missing girl," Allison replied.

Steeling her nerve, Marley said, "Was she in the bad a shape?"

The young writer heard a sigh from the other end of the phone line, Allie finally saying, "She was mostly bones. The animals and insects had already had time to do their thing. We searched the cave and the surrounding hillside to find all of her. The animals had done an excellent job of scattering her about."

"Maybe it's not Anna Marie," Marley naively hoped, knowing how personal Allie had taken the girl's disappearance.

"I wish that was true, Marley, but I'm afraid it's her. Anna Marie had pins and screws in her right arm and a rod in her left leg from Travis's beating a few years ago. Our coroner found evidence of both. I'm going to run the serial numbers we found on the medical implants when I get back to the office, but it's a pretty safe bet that we've located Anna Marie."

"I guess that I shouldn't expect to see you tonight, huh?" Marley asked, trying to keep the disappointment she felt out of her voice and failing.

"No, there's too much to do to stay on top of this thing. There's an old army cot in the back of the precinct that I may try and catch a couple of hours of sleep on, but I'm afraid that may be the best that I can do for the next day or two."

"What can I do?" Marley asked. "Can I make you breakfast? Lunch? Supper? Can I bring you clean clothes or just stop by and give you a hug? Anything you need from me, just ask."

"You're too sweet," Allie responded. "I'll give you a call sometime in the morning when I have a better grasp on what's going on. Right now, food is the last thing on my mind. If this is Anna Marie, I'll still have to notify her family tonight."

Marley's shoulders sank, her heart going out to her girlfriend, and of course, to those Anna Marie had left behind. She'd written notification scenes in her first book, and there was one in the new one as well, but Marley couldn't imagine having to perform the task herself, in all honesty. Talk about a heavy burden.

"Okay, but promise me you'll eat something tonight and that you'll get a little sleep...please?" Marley begged.

"I'll do my best," Allie replied softly. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Allie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite sleeping poorly, Marley was up at the crack of dawn the following morning. She showered and dressed, taking care to do her hair and makeup should Allie call on her to live up to any of her promises. The pretty blonde then made a quick breakfast and a pot of coffee before cleaning up her mess and retreating to her writing room.

Marley was close to done with her book, perhaps three pages of action away from revealing the killer, a twist that she hoped her readers would thoroughly enjoy. She'd worked hard to weave a story that was both believable and still dynamic and crafted a truly despicable villain who was perfectly capable of appearing normal in everyday life.

She spent the morning working, allowing herself to be drawn into her work and away from her worries. Around ten, Marley received a text from Allie indicating that her girlfriend was making progress on her case. And though no mention was made of the matter, Marley strongly suspected that her girlfriend had likely gotten little to no sleep the night before. She replied, wishing Allie good luck and encouraging her to eat and take time to rest. Marley then returned to her work, having, at last, come to the page containing the big reveal in her story.

An hour later, Marley was still sitting there struggling with a problematic paragraph when the sound of crunching gravel out on her driveway caught the blonde's attention. Marley stood and made her way towards the other end of the house. Reaching the front door, she looked out and saw the familiar brown truck of a delivery vehicle and immediately wondered what it was that was being delivered. She hadn't ordered anything that she could recall, so Marley assumed it was either something from her parents or perhaps her editor.

Marley watched as the driver dismounted the truck. He was relatively tall and lean, wearing the usual brown shorts and shirt of the company he worked for, a cap resting on his head with the bill pulled down low. He stared down at the tablet in his hand, the other hand holding a manilla envelope of sorts as he approached the front steps, climbing them to the landing on the porch.

Marley's following action would come to haunt her over the next few weeks, though she had no reason to suspect anything sinister was up; after all, Marley routinely had things delivered from the city. It was a part of isolating herself in the peace and serenity of the bluff.

As Marley opened the door, it did strike her momentarily that he wasn't her typical delivery driver. That man was shorter and clean cut with a much softer-looking body type. This one had darker hair, and his arms were covered with crude-looking black tattoos, and though Marley hadn't yet gotten a good look at his face, in the brief moment before he looked up, she was suddenly confident that she wouldn't find it friendly and welcoming.

'Close the door! Close it now!' an inner voice screamed at Marley even as the door opened and the delivery man stepped forward, his right foot settling on the seal to the entryway as his head came up, cold, gray eyes, a sharp nose, and a satisfied smile set by thin lips marking the familiar countenance that stared back at her.

"Hello, dyke," Travis Lucas growled, as he stepped through the doorway, dropping the package in his hand and reaching for Marley in one swift motion, his hand grasping the collar of her shirt as he reeled Marley in against his lean body.

Marley screamed as she instantly recognized Allie's nemesis, her hands coming up to try and force him away, her long nails digging into the flesh of his right arm ineffectually as Travis moved her deeper into her home.

"Oh, have I been looking forward to being alone with you," Lucas sneered, as he discarded the tablet he'd been using as a prop and sank his right hand into Marley's golden locks, knotting them together in his fist. "Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I've been hungering to teach you what it is you've been missing out on. And the fact that it will hurt the red-headed cunt you've been shacked up with, is just icing on the cake."

Despite the tears coming to her eyes from the pain that Lucas was causing, his words brought fire to Marley's spirit, the thought of Allie filling her with just enough bravery to prevent the young writer from wholly panicking.

"What do you want?" Marley spat back at Lucas, her lips tightening into a snarl as her hands settled between their bodies to prevent Lucas from invading her personal space even more than he already was.

"Me?" Lucas said, with a lascivious smile, licking his lips as he stared hungrily back at Marley. "Well, first off, I'm going to fuck you until you start to bore me. So you're going to want to delay that as long as possible. Cause once I become bored, I will have to find another way to entertain myself."

Lucas reached behind his back and pulled out a knife to emphasize his point. As he opened the lock blade, Marley felt a cold chill of terror run down her spine as the sharp-looking, slightly curved silver blade glinted back at her. The knife's sharp metal edge wasn't long by traditional standards, perhaps four inches at most, but it looked more than long enough to Marley's terrified eyes to do the job of eviscerating her.

"Don't do this," Marley begged, as Lucas forced her over into the living area and down onto the couch, the knife menacingly coming close to her supple flesh on several occasions. "They don't know it was you that killed Anna Marie," she argued. "There was no proof at the scene where they found the body," Marley lied. In truth, she had little to no idea what they'd found.

"That's just it, Ms. Writer," Travis growled, as he used his free hand to unbuckle the canvas belt around his waist, popping the button on his pants and lowering the zipper to allow the garment to slide down his lean frame.

Panic filled Mallory at the sight, bile threatening to rise in her throat as she began to accept the reality she was about to be raped and murdered. It wasn't fair, was it? After all, she'd managed to escape a bad marriage only to find the first true love she'd ever really encountered. Allie was everything she'd ever dreamed about as a young girl. She was sweet, caring, gorgeous, had a great sense of humor, and was full of passion for Marley. How could a caring God place such a positive thing in her life, only to disallow Marley the chance to enjoy it by taking her life away in such a grotesque manner?

And Marley's young career was also on the verge of taking off. Her first book had been well received, and her editors loved the new chapters she'd been submitting, even hinting that the publisher would likely be willing to push the novel for optioning by Hollywood types. It was everything Marley had ever dreamed of, and yet the nightmare of Travis Lucas was here to take all of it away.

"Allie should be home any minute now," Marley lied, as she scooted back on the couch, noting the swelling behind the material in Luca's boxers.

That brought a smile to Lucas's face as he leered down at Marley like a vulture patiently sitting on a branch and waiting for its next meal to die. "Oh, I don't think so. You see, that smug bitch has her hands full right now with my boys. They're presently creating havoc all over town, and by the time she has a chance to think about you, it will be far too late. I'd be shocked if we didn't have all night long together."

As Travis stepped towards where she was reclined back on the couch, Marley suddenly became enraged at the prospect of what she was facing. She felt indignant at the thought of being Lucas's object of desire and choice of revenge against Allie.

And how would Allie feel when she finally discovered what her nemesis had done? How badly crushed would she be to find out that Marley had paid the price for her ongoing duel of wits with the barbaric meth dealer now looming over her? Allie knew how serious and personal Allie took this case; she knew her girlfriend. And Marley suspected that the police chief would likely never recover from the guilt of what Lucas was planning on doing.

That knowledge, more than anything, spurred Marley into action and steeled her resolve to put up a fight, despite how terrified she felt. She might go down painfully, but she would go down fighting. Marley owed that much, at least, to both herself and Allie.

Drawing both of her legs in until her heels were touching her bottom, Marley remained coiled, lying in wait for just the right moment to strike as Lucas stepped forward and began to reach for her.

The knife in his right hand was held at his side, about waist high, its blade pointed up at the ceiling. Marley waited until Lucas was as close as possible and in an awkward position, his left hand grabbing at her arm as he bent towards her before she lashed out.

Marley counted on many things that were out of her control to survive this nightmare. One was that Lucas wouldn't expect her to put up a fight; the second was that she could be accurate in her attack, the third, that she would be able to momentarily stun him, and finally, a great deal of luck. If she got all those things, Marley thought there might be a chance for her to make it to the safety of her panic room.

"Come here, bitch," Travis growled, yanking at her arm as he hooked the thumb from the hand holding the knife in the waistband of his boxers and began to drag them down his lean frame.

Marley held her breath and waited for her target to come in sight. Travis's manhood plopped free of its cotton confines, his wrinkly-looking ballsack dangling down beneath it with all the spectacle of a downrange target at a gun club.

Lashing out with all her might, Marley kicked both legs out, one aiming for the hand holding the knife and still in the process of lowering Lucas's boxers, the other for the fleshy sack that cradled his testicles.

Marley's left foot landed solidly against the hand holding the knife, resulting in a gratifying crunch, Lucas instantly dropping the blade as it clattered to the floor at his feet. Her right foot came up at more of an upward motion and sank satisfyingly deep between the man's legs, Lucas's knees instantly buckling as he dropped to the floor and grunted, his mouth opened in a silent scream and his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Marley leaped off the couch in a flash and, for the briefest of moments, thought that she might escape to safety. But then she felt an iron grip seize her left ankle like the manacles of a pair of leg-irons, the sudden action throwing her off balance and sending Marley crashing to the floor.

Marley looked over her shoulder and saw that Lucas held a firm grip on her ankle; a vision of pain and anger wrote across his face. The look he gave her told Marley that things had suddenly gotten so much worse for her; Lucas began to crawl towards her with clenched teeth as his free hand scrambled for the fallen knife.

Marley tried desperately to extricate herself from his iron grasp to no avail, kicking at the hand that held her left leg as she tried to pull away. Finally, she rolled to her back and attempted to kick at Lucas's head, but her bare foot only caught him with glancing blows as he finally located the knife, holding it up menacingly for Marley to see. Her foot hung in midair, ready to deliver a kick that would now never come.

"You are so dead now, bitch," Travis growled as he began to crawl on top of Marley, inching his way up her curvy frame. "But first, I'm going to feed you some cock and prove to you what you've been missing out on by hooking up with that dyke sheriff."

The knowledge that she was about to be raped and murdered sent a deluge of panic flooding through Marley's mind, her body tensing as terror overwhelmed her.

"Please don't do this!" Marley begged, as she tried to squirm away from Travis but found his weight and free hand impeding her progress. "I swear I won't tell anybody about this if you will just let me go!"

"Liar!" Travis snarled, as he straddled Marley's waist and brought the hand holding the knife up to her neck, the sharp steel of the blade lightly kissing the blonde's fair skin. "You're not going anywhere, blondie."

Marley groaned, her eyes closing tightly shut as she felt Lucas's free hand begin to fumble with the hem of her skirt. The indignity of the moment as his fingers found Marley's inner thigh, his hand then sliding up between her legs to roughly cup her pussy was nearly too much. Marley's mind rebelled, her stomach twisting and turning like a boat caught in the torrential swells of a hurricane. Marley's perception of what was happening turned inward, her mind threatening to become lost in the dark halls of her subconscious. She'd been so close to having the life she'd always wanted, only to have it all snatched away from her by the cruel hand of fate. Her new book was the best thing she'd ever written. Her new life here in Camden had grown on her in leaps and bounds, the solitude she'd found here bringing Marley a sense of peace she'd never before thought possible. And then there was Allie, sweet Allie. The auburn-haired beauty had made Marley's life feel complete; the love she'd shown and instilled in the young writer something that Marley had only thought possible in movies and books.

And now it was going to be taken away from her along with her life.

"I'm going to fuck you like you've never been fucked before!" Travis Lucas growled and rose up on his knees as his fingers gripped Marley's panties. "You ever had a man? And I mean a real man..."

"Stop...please," Marley whispered, her mind continuing to shut down, her consciousness defensively threatening to slip into a fugue state, a protective shell of sorts that might allow her to somehow save some semblance of sanity at a later date, should she survive.

"Oh, no, there's no stopping now, bitch," Lucas spat back at her, as he grasped his erection. "Chief Gardener sealed your fate that night in the diner. And now that bitch is going to pay for her smart mouth. Her and that nigger cook, too."

Somewhere in the deep recesses of Marley's failing mind, the mention of Allie flared a spark of resistance, a tiny flame of bitter opposition coming to life as the thought of Allie finding her raped and savaged body entered Marley's mind. She knew that such a thing would likely crush Allie, perhaps even break her beyond recognition. Marley knew that her loss would be the tip of a spear thrust into Allie's heart, maybe leaving the auburn-haired beauty unable to love again.

Maybe it was that thought that enraged Marley more than anything. The idea of Allie mourning her loss but never truly getting over it. Of her going through the remainder of her life without being willing to risk her broken heart again, never knowing the joy of growing old beside a soulmate. Because that's what they were, two intricately-cut puzzle pieces that fit together with precision, their angles and curves interlocking seamlessly and forming a picture of love.