Seven, eight ... gonna stay up late (Rebekka Franck #4) Read online

  "Stop it! Stop it!" she yelled. "My dad will pay anything. I'll do anything. Just get it ooout!!"

  Camilla stared at the huge spider as it crawled across the ceiling and came closer to her hair. She could barely see it anymore but suddenly felt it in her hair. Then she screamed again.

  "Please stop this, pleeeeeease. What do you want from me?!"

  The man was dancing around the box, watching the show while clapping his hands and licking his lips. "Careful not to scare it with your screaming," he said sounding like he wanted her to scream even louder. "It might bite you in fear," he hissed. "We can't have that now, can we?"

  The Tarantula was in Camilla's hair now, she felt its legs moving across her scalp. She closed her eyes and tried to find her happy place. Whimpering, moaning to keep from screaming she imagined being with Amalie, kissing her, swimming with her in the ocean, laughing and sharing their thoughts and worries. She imagined Amalie standing naked in front of her, she imagined touching her soft breasts. She imagined their bodies close together, the warmth, the pleasure. While her body was shaking and shivering with fear Camilla left the box for a moment, left the Tarantula, left the strange man with the blond hair and evil eyes standing outside the box, cheering for the spider. She hardly felt it in her hair anymore, and when it moved closer to her face, she remained calm when she felt the legs wandering on her nose. She breathed heavily, concentrating on not panicking and that was when it happened. Apparently it aggravated the man that she had stopped screaming. He kept cheering the spider on and soon he was the one banging on the side of the box, telling her to open her eyes, telling her what the spider was doing and that it would soon be biting her, then describing just how dangerous its bite was.

  "It'll feel like a bee sting, but soon you'll know it's much more dangerous. You'll feel like you are suffocating, like you can't breathe as the throat swells. Your heart will begin to race and you'll begin to swell all over your body. Maybe your heart will finally give up or .. uh .. even better. Maybe you'll just slowly suffocate. Painfully having more and more difficulty breathing, then cutting off the oxygen to the brain and slowly die. That sounds like fun, now doesn't it?" he said giggling.

  Camilla didn't answer. She didn't even open her eyes to look at him. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing the fear in her eyes. Instead she stayed in her happy place. She stayed where she really wanted to be. She stayed with Amalie.

  It didn't take long before the man became bored. Camilla thought she had won a small victory. But the joy didn't last long. A few seconds later the man disappeared up the stairs, turned off the light and shut the door.

  After that Camilla opened her eyes wide and didn't close them again for many hours.

  Chapter 28

  Officer Brandenburg told us we were free to go back to Karrebaeksminde. He would be in touch if they needed anything else from us. I gave him Camilla's phone for their investigation. It felt good to get rid of it, I thought. I really didn't want to have to pick it up once again and hear his creepy voice.

  I knew I had done what I could for the two girls, as we left Roskilde and drove towards Karrebaeksminde. Still, I couldn't help but feel guilty somehow. Guilty for leaving them like this, for abandoning them and putting their lives in the hands of that strange man on the phone. I didn't like it one bit. There was something about him that was extremely frightening. I sighed and looked out the window. I asked Sune to drive since I was too upset by the whole thing and I needed to rest, and think. I had bought a chocolate cake for us to share on the way, but so far I had eaten the most of it myself.

  "Are you okay?" Sune asked as we reached the main road.

  I stared at the scenery. It was no more than an hour drive away, but it was through countryside and I loved watching the hills and blooming yellow canola fields. "I'm fine," I said without looking at him. "I'm looking forward to getting back and especially seeing Julie again. I've missed her."

  I felt Sune's hand on my thigh. "Me too," he said. "I've missed Tobias a lot."

  I scoffed. "It didn't become quite the trip we had hoped for," I said.

  Sune chuckled. "It never does with you."

  I turned and looked at him. He was smiling at me. "So are you ready to try again once we get back?" he asked.

  I turned my head and looked outside again. Sune kept talking about making another child, one of our own. I had told him I wanted it too, and we tried for a couple of months, but nothing had happened. I was beginning to see it as a sign that it maybe wasn't quite meant to be. I couldn't figure what I really wanted.

  "I don't know, Sune," I said.

  He removed his hand from my thigh. "Why? What are you saying?"

  I sighed. I wasn't in the mood to discuss this right now. "Nothing," I said. "I didn't mean anything. I'm just tired."

  "So you are ready to try again once we come back?"

  I looked at him and saw the desperation in his eyes. He wanted this child so bad. I guess I did too, I just didn't care for all the disappointments. I wasn't sure it was worth it. I was afraid it was going to come between us. Seeing his face every month when I took the test, was a little more than I could take. I was beginning to feel like some kind of a breeding animal that didn't live up to its owner's expectations. It wasn't great.

  "Let's wait and see, okay?"

  Sune growled. The road took a turn. After a few seconds he spoke again. "I don't think I like the way this is going," he said. "I thought we agreed on this?"

  "We did. It's not like I don't want to have a baby with you. I would really love to. Believe me, Sune."

  "Then what is it? Why are you all of a sudden reluctant?" he asked.

  I exhaled. "It's just that ..."

  "What? Just tell me goddammit," he said and hit his palm in the steering wheel.

  "I miss being with you without it being about making a baby. I miss just being close and making love, not speculating if we are doing it in the proper position where I'm most likely to conceive. Maybe it's just not ... You know meant to be."

  Sune snorted angrily. He shook his head a lot and grunted. "That's ... well that's just bogus if you ask me." Sune sniffed. Then he sighed. "Of course it's meant to be. We just need to work at it a little more, a little longer."

  "See that's the problem," I said. "It's become work. We never have sex just for fun. I really think it’s something we should talk about.""

  Sune was biting his lip. We passed a sign letting us know we were entering Karrebaeksminde. For minutes we didn't speak. I could tell he was furious. He parked the car in the street in front of the apartment.

  "You know what? I'm tired of talking," he said. "Maybe you should sleep at your dad's tonight," he said. "I'll take you there."

  Chapter 29

  Allan felt frustrated. He was walking around in his open kitchen mumbling, spitting and hissing. "Little bitches," he hissed while biting his nails frantically. Then he kicked the extremely expensive garbage can that the Danish company Vipp had the lead singer of U2, Bono design for them, the same garbage can that Sebastian had convinced Allan to buy at a charity event in New York. "To help the poor children," he had stated. Allan didn't care about any poor children or about this stupid can that he was now kicking so hard it fell to the ground and was severely dented.

  He grunted and hissed as he kicked it again and again until all his furor was finally out and he could calm himself down. The little bitch had ruined his game, he thought and slicked his hair back. She had completely destroyed the fun. Now he had left her down there with the spider in her box in complete darkness. She deserved it, the little whore. Now she could stay down there a couple of hours with the Tarantula. Allan wasn't afraid it would actually bite her, since the poisonous venom had been removed from it, but he wanted her to think it would. He wanted her to suffer, to squirm in fear and anxiety inside that tight box. Most of all he wanted to watch her as she did. He wanted to look into her eyes and enjoy the music from her screaming. But she had destroyed that pleasure fo
r him by lying still, by keeping her cool and closing her eyes. The little bitch.

  Allan stared out on the ocean. It was calm and quiet. So should he be. It was important not to lose it now. After all, the little game with the spider had nothing to do with his plan. Nothing was ruined yet. And nothing would be. Maybe he should just stick to the plan instead. It was after all going to give him more pleasure than anything he had done before. It by far excelled any of all the cruelty he had displayed. It was his magnum opus, a work of genius.

  Now he would let her suffer a few hours longer, then the real plan would begin. Allan massaged his neck. He felt sore. All the stress, he thought. It was important he didn't let it get to him. He found a couple of painkillers in the cabinet and swallowed them. Washed them down with a shot of whiskey. That usually did the trick. Then he walked into the garage and stood in front of a large object covered with a white sheet. He hit the light switch and smiled comfortably with a deep sigh. No reason to get all worked up over some stupid game that hadn't succeeded like he wanted it to. Not when he had something much, much better in store for them. Something that would definitely get the little hairs on their backs raised in fear. A wave of pleasure rushed in over his body at the very thought of what was going to happen. A wave of almost orgasmic proportions.

  He bent down and grabbed the entire package including the sheet, and then carried it inside the kitchen. He put it on the kitchen table, then pulled off the sheet. He touched the metal gently, caressing its sides. It had traveled a long way to get to him. He had ordered it online and then kept it in the garage for months waiting to be used. Now finally it was time. He plugged it in and saw that it worked, then began preparing it for use.

  A couple of hours later it was ready and so was he. He opened the door to the basement, then picked the instrument up and walked down the stairs, careful not to trip. When the light turned on, he heard the girls moan. Allan put the instrument on the table, then looked at Camilla. She had finally opened her eyes and was staring directly at the Tarantula that was sitting on her face now as if it was looking back at her. None of them were moving.

  Allan smiled relieved. It had worked after all. The look in her eyes was priceless. He knocked on the box. The Tarantula moved a little. Camilla didn't. She was panting, whining. Her body shivering. Allan waved. "Having fun, are we?" he asked.

  "You bastard," Amalie yelled from her box. "Get the spider out now. Leave her alone."

  "Tsk, tsk. Don't be jealous now," Allan said. "You'll get something fun too." Then he giggled and Amalie's eyes landed on the instrument on the table. She gasped. Allan clapped excitedly. Then he picked up the chloroform that he had placed on the table earlier. He walked to Amalie's box and stood in front of the tube. Then he opened the bottle and started pouring the chloroform into the tube through the air holes.

  "Just a few drops," he said giggling. "Careful not to use too much."

  "What are you doing? You bastard!" Amalie screamed. "You're crazy!"

  Allan laughed out loud. "We all go a little mad sometimes," he said, quoting one of his all time favorite classic movie villains, Norman Bates in Psycho.

  Chapter 30

  I was startled to put it mildly. Sune dropped me off at my dad's without a word to me. All he said was: "See you tomorrow." And then he was gone.

  I couldn't believe him. Was it really so bad that we couldn't even talk about it? Was this about to be so bad it could end up coming between us? Destroying us? I picked up my backpack truly hoping it wasn't going to. I rang the doorbell at my dad's house and stepped in.

  "Dad?" I yelled. "It's me."

  "Rebekka?" His voice came from upstairs.

  "Yup. I'm back from Roskilde." I put my backpack on the floor then looked around. The place was a mess. Nothing like it used to be. Dad came down the stairs. He looked tired, worn out.

  "How are you, Dad?" I asked after we had hugged.

  He leaned heavily on his cane. "So damn tired lately. I don't know what's going on with me. It's like I can hardly get out of bed. I'm sorry for the mess."

  "It's okay. Let me help you clean the place up a little," I said.

  "You're an angel. I'm so happy to see you. How was Roskilde?"

  I found a plastic bag in the cupboard and began cleaning. "It was okay, I guess. We got mixed up in a big story that I am going to follow up upon in the coming days. Kind of got to me a little, I guess. Two young girls kidnapped."

  "I heard about that on my radio just now," he said. "The young Princess, huh? Sounds like a terrible story."

  I sighed and looked at him. I didn't want to bother him too much or have him worry about me, so I decided not to go into too many details. "It is," I said. "But the police are on it, they will find them eventually."

  "Let's hope so," he said. "Or maybe you and Sune will."

  "Very funny."

  "Speaking of the devil," Dad said and looked at my backpack then at me. He had that worried look in his eyes. "Where is he?"

  "We had a fight," I said and found a sponge and started scrubbing the kitchen table.

  "A bad one, huh?"

  "I guess. I don't know. Maybe we just need some time apart."

  Dad pulled out a chair and sat down. Then he pulled out another one and pointed at it. "Sit," he said.

  I obeyed with a deep sigh.

  "Now I want you to tell me everything," he said.

  "Really, Dad? Do you really want to hear about our silly argument?"

  "I really do. You have to remember that you and Julie are about the only part of the real world outside this house that I get. You're the closest I get to actually having a life, plus I don't watch soap operas so your life is all the excitement I get."

  I chuckled. Dad always had a way of making me feel like he was the one needing me when it was in fact the other way round. I patted his hand with a sigh. "Let me at least make us some coffee first," I said and got up.

  I didn't get to do much cleaning that day. Dad and I talked for hours instead. It had been many months since we had last talked like this. And since I had last inhaled that much coffee. By the time we were done my mouth was dry and my stomach very upset with me. I looked in the cupboards and found some pastries that we shared with a soda.

  "I can't tell you I don't understand him," Dad said while I poured orange soda in two cups.

  "I know," I said. "I did tell him I wanted to have a baby, and I really do, but ...

  "But what?"

  I exhaled, then took another bite of the pastry. "But I don't want to fight this much for it. I'm too old for that. I'm nearly forty."

  Dad shrugged, then grabbed another pastry and ate it. It left a white moustache of sugar on his upper lip. "So you want the baby, you just don't want the work. You don't want to fight for it. Is that it?"

  "I guess. I just thought that this would be a time in my life when I enjoyed my child, when I was done with babies and diapers and stuff. I thought this was the time to build up my career and maybe drink some red wine and go out to dinners and so on. Julie is finally so big that she can do most things on her own. I feel like I have finally gotten my life back and now I'm going to ruin it by having another child." I paused and looked at Dad. "What?" I said. "I'm just being honest. I know it sounds selfish, but that's how I feel, okay?"

  "So what you're saying is you don't want to have another child after all."

  "No, that's not it. If I get pregnant tomorrow, then fine, I'll be thrilled. I just think that we can be just as happy without it. Our happiness doesn't depend on us having a child. That's why I don't think it's necessary to make it all about the baby, to make our lives - and our sex life - all about having a baby. I want to have fun while having sex."

  "A little more than I needed to hear, thanks." Dad shook his head and drank his soda.

  "Well you asked," I said.

  Dad put his hand on top of mine. "It's not an easy one, sweetie," he said. "You'll have to figure it out among yourselves. And soon before anyone younger than you gets
hurt."

  "I know. Julie has gotten pretty attached to Sune and Tobias."

  "You'll have to make your decision soon. You and Sune have to talk this through properly and figure out if you can stay together without any of you getting bitter for not getting his or her way."

  I sighed. "I know you're right."

  The doorbell rang and I got up. Dad looked at me. "It's probably Julie. I texted her and told her where I was. We're staying here tonight, if that's okay with you?"

  Dad looked confused. Then he smiled. "You're always welcome. You know that."

  I kissed his forehead then ran towards the door.

  Chapter 31

  Amalie felt horrible when she woke up. Her head was aching like crazy and she couldn't move her hands. Something was very wrong, she thought, still half asleep. Her body, her head, it all felt so very wrong. Slowly she regained consciousness and suddenly she opened her eyes. When she did she tried to scream, but she couldn't. She breathed heavily, almost panicking as she realized something was in her mouth, something was in her throat, something big. She moaned in fear and tried to see what it was. Then she tried to scream again, but only a muffled sound came out of her mouth. What was this? What had he done to her? She tried to move her arms, but they were tied up on her back with duck-tape. She groaned and moaned trying to get free from this thing going into her mouth and throat, this big metal pipe of some sort, which was attached to her head with duct tape around the back of her head. She tried to turn her head, but she was stuck. She looked up and realized the pipe in her throat was attached to the box's tube creating one long tube going directly into her throat. She tried to bite down, but she couldn't. Her jaws hurt badly from being stuck in the same position.