pain with her.
After twice circling the hanging girl, he unbuckled his belt and slid the leather strap out of his pants. Doubling the leather strap over, he held it like a whip and prepared himself to grant her the first payment of a great debt owed her and her brother.
“My only regret is that your brother is not here to watch,” he told her. Then he swung with all the strength in his arm.
The belt struck her squarely on the ass, made a very loud sound in the small room, and set her body jerking forward. A squeal of pain managed to force its way out around the gag.
A red mark began forming on that soft ass as he watched. Yes! This was what he wanted. Tomorrow he would do the same thing but have a video camera record it. The recording would, of course, be sent to Sled Speed, but for tonight, the only person to enjoy this scene would be him.
Switching to the other side, he struck again with the same results: a muffled cry, a loud smack, a jerk of her naked body, and a red mark appearing on the other cheek. Giving in to his anger, he began slashing that bare ass repeatedly with the belt, not bothering to count or really aim the blows. He struck until his arm grew tired. But that was not until he had delivered almost fifty strokes across the bare flesh. When he finally paused, the whole area between her waist and thighs was a vivid red. The pained sounds she made were delightful to his ears, as was the jerking of her nudity. Even with the heavy block tied to her feet, she lifted her legs and kicked out. Tears were running down her face to fall on her breasts. The brave girl was sobbing out her heart.
For a long time, he simply stood there, panting and staring at that abused ass, so wonderfully swollen and red with a few bruises for decoration. Slowly he returned his belt to his pants. Walking around in front of her, he reached up to grab a breast and squeeze hard to get her attention.
“This is just the beginning, bitch,” he hissed at her. “Just the beginning.”
Chapter XVI
I Google
“Damn it! Do something!”
I pounded on the desk of Special Prosecutor Purvis for emphasis. The paperweights and pencil holder and even his phone rattled.
“Really, we are doing something,” he whined. “We’re trying to find Raszini. We expect to apprehend him soon.”
“Don’t give me any of that public relations bullshit!” I told him. “You have no idea where he is, or where my little sister is.”
“We’re working on it. Besides, we don’t even know it was Raszini who kidnapped Susan Speed.”
I felt very much like reaching across his desk and introducing his nose to my fist.
“The FBI, the Justice Department and local agencies are working on this. It has top priority,” he told me. I didn’t like that smug little smile on his face. I had the feeling he was hiding something from me. And I don’t like people who hide things from me.
Before I could tell him where he could shove the FBI, Justice Department and local agencies, he added, “Why don’t you go home and let us do our work. I’ll let you know as soon as the case breaks.”
I fear I may have cracked some plaster in the wall when I slammed the door on my way out. Actually, he was lucky. I felt like kicking the door down. Great way to relieve stress.
All the way back to my office, my high-powered brain was in top gear, furiously searching for some way to get Susie back. Unfortunately, all it did was race in circles. Raszini had gone to ground, and in a city this big that meant there were too many places he could be hiding. For that matter, who says he was even still in LA?
The day was as drab as my spirits, overcast and threatening rain. I wished it would. At least the rain washes away most of the smog that usually squats atop LA like a thick, ugly blanket.
Back at my desk, I spread out all the information I had on Raszini and the recent case. It was damned little, mostly a write-up of the case that Susie did on her word processor.
Jill Churchill
Michelle Douglas
Claudia Hall Christian
James Fenimore Cooper
James Douglas
Emma Fitzgerald
Barry Hannah
Jenn McKinlay
Tim Murgatroyd
John Sandford