Ink Pt. 01

Be calm. Be confident. Stay in control. I kept telling myself that as I finished eating.

"Not hungry?" I asked as I got up to wash my plate.

He finally leaned in and took a bite as I moved the water so I could do the dishes I dirtied. He still watched every move I made as if anticipating a sudden attack from me. I took his plate when he finished and washed it too before moving to sit at the table again.

He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Say we try this little experiment of yours," he said finally. "We pretend to be dating. We fucking?"

"No. I won't do that until I am really with someone and I love them and know I intend to marry them."

"And if I require it as a stipulation?"

"I will not do that willingly, you will have to kill me."

"I could take what I want. I want to fuck you. Be your first... feel what that tight pussy feels like around my cock."

"I may not be able to stop you, but I will try. I won't stop trying to stop you. I won't be willing for any man but the man I love."

"What about sucking cock. Ever done that?"

"No, and I won't do that either."

"Had your snatch eaten?"

"That's vulgar, no."

"You make yourself come?"

"Yes."

"What if my dogs kill your cat?"

"Tut wouldn't let himself be caught."

"Tut. Like King Tut?"

"Yes. It's how he acts."

"How big is your place?"

"Big enough. It says loft, but it's not a true loft. The bedroom is above the bathroom and closet and open to the living room and kitchen. It's large and open. Plenty of room. Not old and spacious like this place, but new and industrial style open. Windows cover the entire North side of the wall, so it's super bright and open, but I am nine stories up so it's still private."

Calm. Confident. You are not inviting a serial killer to live with you, it is just a normal conversation. A transaction almost. You are in control. I said it to myself over and over.

"And when I am at work?" he asked, half smirking.

"I can work from home. You will either have to trust me or quit your job. I do well enough, you don't need to work."

"No? You're gonna be my sugar mama?"

"No. Partner. You are going to need to make a decision quickly. Ben surely knows by now what happened last night. He has been to my place and I am not there, so he is probably at the bar or on his way. He is going to know real soon who I left with."

"Don't rush me," he snarled. "I have more conditions. One has to do with your brother. You tell him about Ally, and all those other girls too. Two of them had rings on and they were whoring it up with the guys. Tell him all of it, including how she left you behind when you told her you would call him."

"I was going to tell him anyway, we are close. What else?"

"No family gathering shit."

"I will go alone."

"No."

"Family is a big deal to me, they will know something is wrong if I don't show up."

"You have a black eye. How will you explain that?"

"The truth. Ricky likes snuggles and he has a hard head."

"If they think it was a lie and they get all abuse hotline on you?"

"They know it's not in my nature to lie, I abhor liars. They also know me better than to think I would let a guy hit me. I won't be..."

The doorbell rang and he jumped up in surprise. "Don't you fucking say a word!" he hissed, moving to peek out the window. "What the fuck? Your brother drive a BMW?"

"Black, silver trim? I told you. We are close. I can handle this. Answer the door calmly, take your shirt off."

He yanked his shirt off then opened the door just as Ben rang the bell again. "Yeah?" he asked, sounding perturbed. "I don't need Jesus, man."

"Hi, my name is Ben Hjalman. A guy named Mike said you gave my sister a ride home last night?"

"Ricky, Lucy, down!" Brock snapped.

I peeked around the door. "Ben?!? What are you doing here?"

"Rhett?!? Jesus! Where are your clothes? What the heck?"

"Ummm... it's... kind of a long story, sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. With the way Ally was drinking I didn't think she would be up so early. I thought I had plenty of time to get home and... you know. Before anyone knew I didn't go home last night."

"You weren't answering your phone!"

"It died, sorry, too much reading. And no one had a charger and I couldn't remember your number by heart."

"That's what that guy Mike said."

"Umm... Ben, this is..."

"Ink," Brock cut in quickly. "My name is Ink."

"Ben," my brother offered, a little wide eyed. He held a hand out to shake, but Brock ignored it.

"Ricky, Lucy, go lay down!" Brock snapped at the two agitated dogs trying to shove the door open far enough that they could get to Ben. "Come in I guess. Babe, you never said you had brothers who would hunt you down."

"I didn't know he would! Like I said, I thought she would sleep till late."

"It is late!" Ben said in exasperation. "It's almost two! And you weren't at home, and you weren't answering your phone, and Bonnie said Ally just left you at that bar off the Paseo. I was terrified! What if that serial killer had picked you up?"

I laughed, I couldn't help it. "Thanks for caring big brother," I said quickly when he looked offended.

"You have to admit, THIS is NOT like you! Speaking of... can you put your clothes on?!?"

I turned and looked up at Brock. He was glowering back down at me, so I gave him a reassuring smile and turned and went up to his room.

"Why are you limping?" Ben asked. "And what happened to your eye?"

"Ask Ricky!" I yelled with another laugh. I found my pants and shoes quickly, but my t-shirt and underwear were ripped and ruined. I yanked my clothes on and hurried back downstairs. "Hey... umm, Ink. You still have my phone?"

"It's in my truck where you left it. Why don't you wait two minutes and I will drive you home. You said you wanted to show me your place anyway. Right?"

"Oh, I can take her!" Ben said quickly. "I need to talk to her anyway."

"Umm. Here, Ink. Here is my address. You can follow behind us after you get dressed. Bring my phone since it's useless till I get it home and charged anyway."

He caught my hand when I handed him the paper I had written on and looked down at me. There was danger in his beautiful eyes. He bent low and lifted me up, kissing me very forcefully. My instinct was to fight, but I stayed calm and pretended to kiss him back. It was worth mine and Bens lives if I fought.

He set me down, staring down at me. "See you soon," I said breathlessly, feeling my cheeks heating in shame. I would never have kissed anyone in front of my brother, or anyone else and my brother well knew it. He was gaping. I smiled up at Brock. "Be close behind? Two minutes?"

He offered a smirk and tilted his head in acknowledgement. I left with Ben, looking back and smiling. He stayed at the door until we pulled away, then shut it.

"What the hell Rhett? And why did you just give that dude a fake address if he has your phone? And wh..."

"Shut up. As soon as you are out of sight of that house, haul your ass to the police station. Give me your phone, now!"

Four hours later, I was in a hospital bed with my knee wrapped and pain meds for my concussion. There were four police officers staying close, as well as my brothers and parents. I was going over everything for the ninth time with a new police officer when two more came in.

"The house, the address you gave us, it was burned to the ground. No one there. There was accelerant all through the house, there is nothing left at all. House was owned By Richard and Lucile McGovern, left to their only son, Brock McGovern when they passed. That right ma'am?"

"Yes, that was his name, Brock. Ink, he said, to the other bikers at the bar."

"We are questioning them right now. Ma'am, can you go over everything he said again? Everything that happened?"

I went over all of it again, but I was feeling sick to my stomach. He had gotten away. He had gotten away and he knew where I lived and who my family was.

Two officers escorted me home while I packed and I felt furious that I was letting him run me out of my home, but I also wasn't stupid. There was no way I was staying there alone. So I packed and went to stay with my parents for a week or two until they found Brock.

Two days later, I stopped in after work to feed Tut. His self feeding jar was full, as if he hadn't touched it. I looked around fearfully, but he was sitting up on the railing on the loft. I looked again and realized that it had been refilled. I had come back because I had noticed there was only a couple days of food left in it. Someone had refilled it. I swallowed hard and turned to make sure the door was open and the officers were right there. They were. I looked around, then finally went to my desk to get a few of the folders I needed for work.

There was a folded letter on old, cream colored parchment laying out on my desk. Without thinking, I opened it.

"My Dearest Little Margaret,

You did exactly as I knew you would, as I knew you must. It both hurt me and amazed me that you were so bold about all of it, never doubting yourself.

Have no fears my Little One, I will be coming for you soon, but not as you would imagine. Save yourself for me.

On the following page is a poem I wrote for you. The real reason for my moniker.

You are in my heart Little One, I will see you soon.

~Ink

I lifted the page and looked at the next page and the odd brown ink. The poem filled the entire page, but there was no doubt he had written it for me. I felt sick as I carried it to the door and handed it to one of the officers.

Of course then there was another six hour wait while a team of specialists went over my entire apartment. The next shock came when I was informed the second page, the poem, was written in blood.

The next morning, Ben called and told me Ally's friend Michaela was missing. Michaela who had been there that night, making out with another guy while married. It wasn't much longer until the blood was matched to her. The next day she was found.

Bonnie and her husband moved away immediately, Liz was right behind her with her boyfriend. Ben decided to call off the wedding to Ally for now and she also moved away. Ben moved back hometemporarily to stay with me.

A month passed and things started feeling almost normal again. I was wanting to move back to my apartment, but the police were advising against it until Brock was found. No new bodies had appeared, I was pretty sure he had left. Found another place to be crazy.

Tut refused to move out of the apartment, so I was still stuck going every few days to feed him and the more I went, the more I was convinced I would be ok.

The second month arrived and Ally called Ben. Liz was missing from her Denver apartment. Was it a coincidence?

No.

There was a new letter on my desk in my apartment, with a new poem in blood.

"My dearest little Margaret,

I have had a lot of time to think about you. About what I want for us, our future. It pleases me to see you are saving yourself for me. I am preparing myself for you as well. You told me once you wanted me to stop. I intend to fulfill that wish for you very soon, once I have seen to a few strays.

In my heart always,

~Ink"

I lifted the letter and read the poem.

I sat down hard and called the police. Of course, it was another long wait. I was considering selling my loft and moving. I'd changed the locks last time and had the windows replaced and motion lights put in.

The blood was hers.

The next day they found her body.

When Ben called Ally back and told her to tell Bonnie. Ally called back later and said Bonnie wasn't answering.

Because of course she wasn't.

One day later, Ally also stopped answering her phone.

Police could find no sign of either of them, and since there was so much distance between them, it was unlikely that the same person could have taken both of them in that timeframe. Ben was convinced Ally took off, went into hiding.

I was not.

I cleared out my apartment, caught Tut in a cage and moved him out with me, then sold it. I moved into a smaller apartment uptown, close to my work. It had no windows and a sturdy door with three separate locks.

The next month I came home to another folded letter on my desk. A new note, a new poem in blood.

"My dearest little Margaret,

Have you been dreaming of me as I have been dreaming of you? I have been thinking quite a bit on something you told me. How you like smart men. Do you like men who are secretly smart, or only men who wear their brain for the world to see? As you may have noticed, I am not quite as stupid as you initially imagined I was. I let you toy with me a bit, or at least think you were, and I let you get away. Insomuch as a mouse escapes a maze and curls up in the safety of it's bed, all in the box it and the maze are contained within. I have been watching you little mouse.

In my heart always,

~Ink"

The blood was Bonnies.

My new apartment was gone over with a fine tooth comb and the police still could not tell me how he was getting in.

I put up surveillance cameras both in my apartment and down both halls.

It was three long months before he bothered me again. An envelope in my mailbox, no name or address, just a blank envelope. I opened it and pulled out a lock of blonde hair.

Ally's hair.

The police were there in ten minutes and I went up to my apartment to take a scalding shower and cry, wishing this was all over. There was a letter on my bed, and a poem in blood.

"My Dearest Margaret,

By now you realize the inevitable. It is almost over, isn't it? I can hardly wait to feel you in my arms. Soon.

In my heart always,

~Ink"

I half stumbled down the stairs to hand it off to the police. They went to go over the footage in the hall and my apartment, but they said a small EMP burst had shorted them, along with the other electronics in my apartment.

I went back home to wait for the news we all knew was coming. Ben was beside himself, wishing he had gone with her, protected her, not broken up with her. It was all too late. She was found two days later, her injuries more brutal than just strangulation. She had been tortured.

The police came to put me in protective custody. A safe house.

That itself was its own torture. I couldn't be around my family, I couldn't leave, I couldn't work. After seven weeks, I was ready to lose my mind. There was no news on Brock, no leads at all on his location.

Finally, there was a small break in the case. There had been two strangulation after rape cases in another state. Different cities. Same DNA.

He was traveling now.

They lessened my security, but still kept a single officer at my residence at all times. They were always surly and angry about having drawn the short straw to get the most boring duty a cop could have. Babysitting. They were never really rude, but they were never happy.

Four months in, a rookie showed up. He was smiling and eager and happy and his fellows laughed at him.

"This ain't the movies Ramirez. You get to count the hours slipping away while looking out a window while the kid reads a book. The bastard is making a tour around the states."

The rookie looked dejected, but he was still smiling after the other guy left.

"Hey kid," he said happily. "I'm officer Ramirez."

I looked up from my book, looking him over. I was feeling petulant and bitter at this point. "Aren't you a little small to be a cop?" I asked before going back to my book.

"Hah! Ok, I see how it is. I may be on the small side for a cop, but..."

"Or a man," I interjected without looking at him.

"Hey, easy now. No need to make fun! No one likes a bully."

"Sucks, don't it?" I asked angrily.

"Look, kid, I know you have gotten a shit deal here. It sucks being cooped up like this. That's no reason..."

"Did you read my file?" I interrupted.

"Of course I did! Brock McGovern case. Purity Strangler."

"My file asshole, not his."

"You are part of his case! We are keeping you safe from him!"

"Ok, but why?"

"So he doesn't kill you!"

"So you didn't read the file at all," I said, shaking my head. I got up and went to my room to read alone.

Two hours later there was a knock on my door.

"What?" I asked angrily.

"Can you come out here please?" he called.

I jerked the door open and looked up at him. He looked horrified. "Mea culpa. I'm sorry, I get it. You weren't making fun, you were throwing it back at me. Sorry I called you kid. And sorry I didn't get the whole file down. All my bad. I feel like an ass now, as much as I have to hear that BS, giving it right back to someone else without even realizing it. Please, forgive me?"

I shrugged. "It's whatever. I'm used to it. Just sucked harder coming from someone who should have known better. That why you became a cop? To get back at all the kids who made fun of you in highschool?" I asked, going back to my chair.

"Nah Mija. I mean, you would think that, but nah. I didn't catch much hell where I was from. You'd think I would, it's a small town with a small town mentality. You'd think they'd have plenty to say about the tiny Puerto Rican kid. I grew up there though, my whole family did. We were part of the small town. And it helped that I could play basketball."

I laughed and looked at him. He looked dead serious. "Seriously?" I asked, waiting for him to laugh and say he was messing with me.

"Absolutely, yeah. I was point guard, I had the moves. Raining treys all over the place. Papi was a cop though, and my grandfather too. It's in my blood. So here I am. So you are really twenty four? Wow. See, I'm short and small, but I don't look twelve. I look my age. I have that at least."

"I look my age when I feel like it," I answered with another shrug.

I went back to my book, feeling bitter again. When shift change came, he called out, "See you tomorrow Mija!"

I didn't answer, but it did get me thinking.

When he arrived the next day, I didn't come out of my room until Harlan had left. When I did come out, Ramirez gaped at me.

"Ay Mami a fuego!" he said lightly, standing up. "Ok, I see you," he said finally with a half rueful laugh.

I sat down uncomfortably. I didn't usually wear dresses or make-up, or do my hair. I wanted to prove I could look my age if I wanted to, but now I just felt like an idiot. There was no way I could just sit and read now. In frustration, I went back to my room and changed and put my hair in a ponytail. When I went back out, I glared at him, daring him to say something.

He laughed after glancing at me, then turned back to the window. "Too late Mami. That cannot be unseen. You are adorable."

"I hate that word. You know that is what Ink called me? Adorable."

"Ink. The pseudonym McGovern uses. He all tatted up, You seen him?"

"I did. He had me in his house after an ordeal happened at a bar. He was going to take me home, but he took me to his place. Yeah, he has tattoos all over his body, but the 'Ink' thing... He used the blood of some of the girls he kidnapped to write me love poems."

"Ay dios mio! How did you get away?"

"He... he didn't want to kill me. He wants to keep me. When my brother showed up to get me, he let me leave with him. He thinks he is going to come and get me... he just has to find me now."

"Why keep you when he kills all the other girls?"

"Because... he only kills whores, or who he considers to be whores. Seriously, didn't you read the file?"

"Ay Mami, I just wanted to hear it all from you. Sometimes on print it doesn't read the same as your emotion when you say it out loud. File says you refused his advances, you fought. He hurt you pretty good."

"Yeah."

"So he liked that I guess? That you didn't fall into his bed? That's why he wanted to keep you, because you struggled and said no?"