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What She Said (standard:other, 11398 words) | |||
Author: Jenkis | Added: Dec 18 2000 | Views/Reads: 3724/2362 | Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes) |
Sometimes things are too obvious for anyone to notice. *FEEDBACK DEFINITELY AND MOST HIGHLY APPRECIATED* | |||
Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story Vampire Lestat" played loudly. He took a seat at the bar, beside a girl with fire-red, shoulder-length hair that was intently reading a book as she sipped her red wine (or something that looked like red wine) and smoked a clove cigarette. He ordered a Bloody Mary and started looking around the place. He’d been to these so-called “vampire bars” before, but that had been a couple of years ago with his friends, before this case had so abruptly interrupted his life. After thirty minutes, he was completely sure that Ruby was not here, he’d drank three Bloody Marys, and the smoke from the cigarette belonging to the girl sitting next to him was making him slightly sick. “Excuse me,” he said, tapping the girl softly on the shoulder, she turned and he saw that her face was half-hidden under huge dark glasses, he wondered how she could possibly read inside such a dark place while wearing sunglasses. “Yes?” she said, her voice was husky and had a very womanlike feel when she spoke. “Why do you do that?” he asked, not sure what he meant at the moment. “Do what?” it appeared she almost smiled. “That,” he motioned to her cigarette, and she looked at it, then back at him. “Why do I smoke, you mean?” she said, and yes, she had a child-like voice, very feminine in its texture, which made her sound strangely sensual. He nodded, and motioned for the bartender to bring him another Bloody Mary, wishing that perhaps some conversation would take his mind off Ruby Marr for just a while. “Why do I smoke . . .” she pondered this for a moment, before taking off her glasses. She was very pretty, with strong yet very effeminate features and dark eyes, “I smoke cuz . . . I smoke cuz I’m hoping for an early death and I need to cling to something,” she looked up at him. He didn’t know if she was being serious, but he couldn’t help a chuckle, and soon, they were both laughing, “Seriously, though,” she said after a while. “Do you read in dark bars hoping to go blind as well?” he asked and she threw her head back and laughed. “No, it’s just that the book is good,” she shrugged “I see,” he said and smiled. His drink arrived and they talked for two hours straight after that. They talked about everything, except what they both did for a living, and for that he was thankful because if she asked him, he would’ve had to tell her about Ruby Marr and that was something he wanted to forget just for a night. “The name’s Athanasia,” she said, extending her hand, “But everyone calls me Anthie,” she smiled “That’s a beautiful name,” he remarked, “What does it mean?” “It means Immortality,” her smile was almost cod for a moment “Interesting. Well, my name’s Victor Ramsland, just call me Victor, I guess,” he shook her hand and smiled as well. An hour later, they were back in his apartment making wild love on his bed. He wondered where she’d come across such a name as Athanasia, it was strange but it suited her, and it added to her mystery. In bed she was a turbulent lover and brought out some kind of roughness from within him so that it was like rape from both sides. Afterwards she lay soft against his chest, all toughness and meanness gone, as she drifted off to sleep; exhausted. For the first time in one year, Victor slept a dreamless, uninterrupted sleep. two He awoke thinking that he was late for the trial, but remembered that the trial wasn’t for three more weeks. He opened his blue eyes to find Anthie looking at the things on his desk, a strange expression on her face “What are you doing?” he said, but there was no anger in it. She turned and looked at him directly in the eyes, hers seemed indecipherable “So, you’re the lawyer that’s hoping to bring Neil Smith down, then?” she sat on his chair, she was wearing the white tank top from the night before and her white panties. Her black leather jacket and leather pants were neatly folded and lay at a corner of the bedroom next to her combat boots, “I thought you were. I’ve see you in the papers, you know?” “You’ve heard of the case?” he rubbed his eyes and sat up, smoothing his brown hair back from his face “Something like that . . .” she muttered, looked back at the desk, then at him, looking strangely amused “Those are the only we could find. The diary belongs to one of the girls he kidnapped, but we haven’t found her body yet,” he explained “How do you know she’s dead?” she simply asked “We don’t,” he answered “But you assume she is?” she arched a brow “Not really assume . . . She must be, because we can’t find her, I don’t know what to think anymore,” he let out a sigh “What does Smith say?” she asked and he looked at her, startled that she’d asked him the direct question that most people tried to avoid “He says she escaped in ’83 . . . he hasn’t seen her and seems remarkably worried about if she’s ok or not,” he said, almost smirking as he remembered the bastard’s words; she slowly nodded “So there’s no clue to where she is, then?” she said softly “No,” Victor retorted, slightly curious as why she seemed to take a sudden interest on things “Well, that’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?” and then she smiled, but it was a cold, cynical smile, nothing youthful about it. “Why?” he said after a pause, she stood up and kneeled in front of him, her eyes peering at him from under the long fiery-red bangs and he noticed that they were a very dark green “Take a good look at me, Victor,” she said very softly. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at her as if for the first time. “Ruby?” he gasped, if you took away the red hair and replaced it with raven-black radiance, got rid of the sarcasm and replaced it with an innocent expression; this was Ruby Marr. “Ruby Marr in the flesh,” she said and her smile faltered for a split second, “I just haven’t said it out loud in a while, that’s all,” she explained “Oh, my God,” he whispered “Don’t bring God into this,” she said, standing up again, “ . . . I never thought anyone was going to find Neil and I thought he was going to burn all of my shit by the time I was gone,” she said, standing by the window and looking outside. Victor had gone into a slight state of shock. He couldn’t believe his search was finally over, they would be able to put Neil Smith in the chair like he deserved it . . . that is, if she testified. “He didn’t burn it,” he said, “On the contrary, he had a box full of everything you left behind,” he sighed “He did, did he?” she whispered, and for the first time her eyes filled with tears “Would you . . . Could you . . .?” he couldn’t say it aloud, not to her “Could I what? Testify in your trial and relive the entire thing over?” she looked angrily at him, her eyes were bloodshot and fierce, “God, I knew I should’ve burned the things myself,” she muttered “No, you shouldn’t have, and yes, testify for us, so he can pay,” he stood up, wrapping the sheet around him and walking towards her “Don’t get near me,” she hissed at him, “I bet your happy about this, aren’t you, Victor? Now everyone’s gonna think you’re such a fucking hero, huh? Finally found the missing link! Way to go, Victor!” she gave him a cynic smile but her eyes flashed at him “No! That’s not how it is, I swear,” he pleaded with her “I don’t give a fuck anyhow,” she said, “Ruby Marr is dead. Let her rest in peace already, will you?” she turned away from him “She’s not dead, she’s standing right in front of me. Ruby, you have to testify, he must pay for what he did to you and those girls,” Victor approached her again “I said to get the fuck away from me! And you have no fucking idea what he did to those girls, and you’re never going to find out! Not from me, anyway” she was yelling now and collapsed in sobs on the floor. This time, nothing could stop him and he ran and took her in his arms “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” was all he could whisper in her ear and she just cried against his chest. After a while, her sobs quieted down and she looked up at him “I sneaked out one day when he went out, he didn’t tie me up anymore, maybe he thought I loved him . . . Perhaps I did in some sick way . . . Anyway, he’d stopped tying me up a couple of weeks before that and he trusted me now. I had to force myself to walk out of that door without turning back, you know? Like I didn’t want to leave . . .” she trailed off “You were used to it, that’s all,” Victor tried to comfort her “That first night was horrible, I hitched all the way to Orlando so that he wouldn’t find me. I came back here two years ago; I make money by selling stories to this underground zine called ‘Onyahasium,’ I’m a good storyteller, you know? Since I was real small I was easy at making things up . . . They love me there, they say I can write damned good horror stories . . .” she smiled sadly, Victor simply nodded, having no idea of what to say to her. “I saw him once when I came back, but he didn’t see me . . . It was horrible and I felt like I was about to die, just seeing him . . .” she disentangled herself from him “Ruby, you have to tell everyone about this, you hear? He had no right to do this to you,” Victor looked at her, her eyes drifted and she looked at the desk longingly, her eyes dazed. “Will you be there with me?” she whispered “Yes,” he nodded, “I will be there, hold your hand if you want me to,” he grasped her hand softly now. “And then they will kill him, it will all be over?” she still didn’t look at him “Yes, it will all be over. You can go witness the execution yourself,” he reassured her “Okay,” she nodded slowly and two tears ran down her white cheeks, “Okay, I’ll do it,” she said. “Do you want to go to the police now or you want me to bring the other detective in charge here?” he said “Bring him here, I want to be alone for a while,” she frowned for a moment. He got up, threw some clothes on and came back to her. “Promise me you won’t leave, ok?” he looked into her eyes, she blinked once and looked at him as if seeing him for the first time “Okay, I promise I won’t leave,” she gave him an almost imperceptible smile. He kissed her forehead before running out the front door. * * * As soon as Victor closed the front door, Ruby’s grimace of pain smoothed itself out and her face was suddenly expressionless. She wiped off the tears that had fallen on her cheeks and instantly got up to get her diary entries and her things before leaving. * * * three He looked at the small mirror above the bed inside the cell they had given him. His black hair fell into his ink-black eyes in a careless manner and his skin looked so pale he almost gasped. They had given him a cell all to himself because they didn’t want the other inmates to hurt him like they usually hurt the other men who were imprisoned for assaulting minors in any way. He shaved everyday because he couldn’t stand hair in his face, and now he rubbed his face with his right hand slowly. He was twenty-eight years old and he was probably going to be sentenced to death in three weeks. He had a slender body, wore no shirt because he felt better that way and the tattoos in his chest and arms were visible, the people in this place let him wear his dark denim jeans and boots for no other reason other that the doctor asked them to. That doctor came and went from his cell everyday, asked him where Ruby was and he invariably told him the truth, that she’d left him, that she’d ran out on him one day and he’d always look for her to no avail. That doctor always asked him about those girls, too. He told him the truth, he’d never touched them but he could never tell who had. The doctor always walked out of the room slightly shaking his head, though. He walked to the bed and laid down now, brushing his hair back and thinking of her . . . He still missed the way she’d look at him sometimes, like she was trying to understand the situation they were in or something, with that little frown on her face that was just adorable. But the last weeks before she left him, that look was replaced by a cold and sometimes even scary expression. She was eighteen now, she’d said, and it was time for her to get out of that hellhole. He’d just looked at her then and she’d laughed at him, just right out laughed at him and he started to cry and she’d just stared at him, that mocking smile never leaving her face. The way her dark green eyes were cold made him stop and look at her “What? Why do you look at me that way?” he’d brushed the hair away from her eyes “Far away is where we all want to go, Neil, and that's exactly where I am and what no one seems to know,” she whispered softly to him. He just hugged her, feeling scared because she just stood there, rigid without doing anything, but after a while she hugged him back and he could hear her sighing. He had looked at her then and saw that her eyes were almost like they’d used to be. Almost. When he kissed her this time it was very gentle, and when he was inside of her he that the tears he tasted were his own. “How come someone hasn’t noticed that I’m dead and decided to bury me . . . God knows I’m ready,” she’d whispered in his ear before falling asleep and he’d just laid there, the sweet smell of her hair dulling his senses before the chilling words lulled him to sleep. Now, four long and bitter years later, Neil Smith tasted his own sour tears as he stared at her name on his arm. four He’d told Detective Lyons how he’d found her on the way to his apartment, excluding some details, of course, and the detective had simply nodded and raised his eyebrows at the proper times. Now, as they went up the stairs to his apartment in the third floor, Victor’s heart was pounding out of his chest. “And she said she would testify?” finally said Lyons “Yeah, Ryan, she said she’d do it. I think she’s in shock,” Victor said “Maybe she hadn’t thought about the thing as a whole since she left that place,” Ryan muttered “Maybe,” Victor repeated as he struggled with the key to open the lock. The living room was empty when he opened the door “Ruby?” he said aloud and only the silence answered him. He and Ryan went to Victor’s room and found it empty as well. The journal entries had disappeared and in their place was a note written in a piece of paper, it read as follows, “I lied, Victor. You didn’t really expect me to just go to that stupid trial and relive the entire thing again, did you? I’m sorry if you did. He’s going to be sentenced to murder anyway for killing those girls, you know. A piece of advice, don’t bring Ruby Marr up to him anymore, ok? She’s dead, she’s been dead for eight years and her body is buried in a river of tears inside an abandoned house in the south of Miami. Don’t bother looking for it, though, you’ll never find it. Too bad things turned out this way, Victor, I sort of liked you. Thanks for the journal entries, the last piece of Ruby that has to be destroyed as well . . . I’m really very sorry for wasting your time and the time of the people you’re probably bringing to see me. Ignore the journal and what I said, it’s mostly lies, anyway . . . Sincerely, Athanasia PS: Don’t look for me, either, I’m leaving this town And this time for good. It really was about time” Victor staggered backwards and sat on the floor, Ryan helped him up and sat him on a chair, telling him it was okay, they had copies of the journal entries, don’t worry about it. “Don’t you understand? She’s gone and they won’t know it from her own lips!” Victor looked angrily at Ryan “That asshole’s going to the electric chair, you hear? He’s going with or without Ruby Marr’s statement,” Ryan assured him, Victor merely nodded. Ryan left a couple of hours after that and now Victor simply sat on his bed, staring at nothing and trying to convince himself that it was all for the best, that he had to be fair to Ruby, she didn’t want to relive the whole thing. It had been selfish of him to think she would only for his sake. But still, all the nights he’d lost on her search and it was all for nothing! It was unfair, his greatest weapon against Neil Smith had been all his and now she was gone! She’d even taken the original copy of the journal entries that were going to show everyone the sick bastard Smith really was. No one would really know what he did to her and those girls. All the people would know was that Neil Smith killed fourteen girls and kidnapped one that managed to escape, but they wouldn’t know what had exactly happened. The girls’ bodies had been too decayed to determine what exactly had been done to them, let alone if they’d been raped. All the doctors knew was that they had probably died from blood loss or numerous blows to the head and other body parts. Victor sighed and lay back on his bed. That night he had horrible nightmares of girls whom had died too young. five “I told you, I never touched those girls,” Neil threw his arms in the air, frustrated. His doctor and his lawyer had been here for two hours telling him it was better if he pledged himself guilty by form of insanity, since the trial was the next day “Then why were they beneath your fucking basement floor, Neil? Damn it, just admit to it so we can all rest in peace!” his lawyer, Jonathan Fleming, slammed his hand on the table. “Now, Mr. Fleming, violence never solved anything,” said Dr. Jades, “Neil, why were those girls in your basement?” said the doctor in a gentle manner. Neil lowered his gaze, he wouldn’t tell them why, that was a secret he would take to the grave. “I’m not insane,” Neil said after a while “Who the fuck cares? You’re guilty and that’s the only way to keep them from frying your ass on the chair!” said Fleming “I didn’t touch those girls, just believe me,” Neil sighed “We can’t just believe you, specially when you’re not telling the truth, Neil, you need proof to back it up,” Fleming explained “I don’t have any proof,” shrugged Neil “This is hopeless,” Fleming sighed, then turned to the doctor, “I think he’s nuts, don’t you? I mean, isn’t that proof enough that the man is living in an alternate universe of his own or some shit?” “I’m not insane,” Neil said “What about multiple personalities?” Fleming looked at Dr. Jades with hope in his green eyes. “Now, that could be . . .” the doctor started to nod. “I don’t have multiple personalities,” Neil looked at his lawyer “Would you at least confess to Ruby Marr’s kidnapping?” Fleming glared at him. Neil’s expression froze when he heard her name. His mind drifted back to that night . . . “Not exactly kidnapping . . .” he whispered “What kind of fucking answer is that? ‘Not exactly kidnapping,’ then what the hell was it?” Fleming’s face had turned red “I can’t explain,” Neil’s gaze lowered “How am I supposed to win this case, huh? How?” Fleming was muttering to himself now. “I’m sorry,” said Neil. Fleming just sighed and left, the doctor stayed with Neil for a couple of hours, saying that it was okay to admit what he’d done, he even suggested that they try hypnotism again, even though it hadn’t worked last time; Neil calmly refused. He knew he could admit to it, he would have it easier if he did, but he wouldn’t lie, no, not for himself . . . six It was around midnight when Victor heard a soft knock on his door. He was in his boxer shorts, working still on the case and nearly tripped over stacks of paper as he hurried to answer it. When he opened the door he almost screamed; Ruby was standing outside. She’d died her hair black, like it was back when she’d been kidnapped, and she almost looked fourteen all over again, only a lot more mentally bruised. “I had to come back,” she explained and shrugged her right shoulder “Come in, please,” he said, still in shock. She came in, taking off her leather jacket and placing it on the couch. “Oh, yeah,” she said, reaching into her bag and getting the journal entries, then handing them to him, “I think you need them more than I do,” she said “Are you . . . Are you going to do it?” he looked cautiously at her “Yeah,” she whispered, “Everyone should know what happened to me. I went to my mom’s house, you know? My brother advised me that it’s the right thing to do,” she sat on the couch. “It is,” he brushed a strand of brown hair from his eyes “Am I . . . gonna have to see him?” she asked timidly “I’m afraid the answer to that is yes . . .” he sat beside her “And I’m gonna have to describe what happened to those girls . . . Aren’t I?” she whispered “Yes,” he put his hand over hers, “Why didn’t you mention them in your journal?” he frowned. “It was too horrible to remember,” she quickly looked away “I understand,” he said. She put her head on his shoulder and they stayed like that for a long time, words unnecessary between the two of them, what he needed to know would be revealed the next day to him and to the entire world. He thought of Neil Smith’s defeat and nearly smiled. She left at three, promising him before walking out that she’d meet him in court at 8:30 the next morning, no doubt. Victor slept a long yet restless sleep that night, the thoughts of young girls and sad green eyes hunting him. seven Everyone had sat quietly throughout the trial so far, and they hadn’t brought in Neil Smith yet at Victor’s request, they’d bring him in when she gave her statement. They were now questioning the mother of one of the girls, the lady was crying loudly and the defendant attorney was telling her to please calm down. Ruby was next and she did not feel nervous at all, on the contrary, she wanted to get it all over with as fast as possible. She glanced once to Victor, who was staring at the lady intently, and then back at her brother, who gave her an almost imperceptible smile. The lady finished testifying and they returned her back to her seat. “Mr. Ramsland?” the judge looked at Victor, who at once got up “The prosecution calls Ruby Marr to the stand,” Victor said in a somber voice. All eyes turned to her and stayed on her as she slowly made her way to the stand. She stepped behind and waited for the short, pudgy officer with the bible to come. But what they had decided to do was bring out Neil first. Her hands grasped the wooden barrier as he walked in the room. When he saw her, he stopped in his tracks. They looked at each other for a moment and she felt dizzy as old memories filled her head. His eyes filled with tears as they pushed him towards his chair, but he never stopped looking at her. All of a sudden she was aware of the police officer standing in front of her and holding the bible. She placed her right hand on top of the bible, as told. “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” the officer said. Never taking her eyes off Neil, her voice loud, clear and cold, she said, “I swear.” * * * Victor looked at Ruby as he walked towards where she was and felt his heart contracting. She had gone ghostly pale at the sight of Neil Smith. And now they stared at each other, she didn’t even take her eyes off him as she swore to tell the whole truth. God, Victor, why are you so damned selfish? His mind was screaming and he suddenly felt the urge to call the entire thing off. He didn’t need her to testify, the jury would declare Smith guilty anyway. She finally tore her eyes away from Smith and looked at Victor. Her eyes were cold and calm, she was telling him in silence that she could do this. She was okay. Victor Ramsland almost smiled in relief. * * * Neil Smith felt his heart was going to explode out of his chest. The moment he’d laid eyes on Ruby, he’d felt that a weight had been lifted off his back, seeing she was fine, but at the same time; a new kind of weight had placed itself on his shoulders as he saw her merely staring at him. At the beginning, her eyes had been almost the way they’d been eight years ago, but now they were strangely cold. Ruby hadn’t changed much, physically, in the past eight years, but her expression had altered dramatically. The wildness and the mischief had been replaced by coldness and cruel sarcasm. He wondered if she was here to tell the truth. The Truth . . . Neil shivered as he heard her say the words “I swear.” He was afraid she just might tell them all the entire truth, as horrible as it was. Neil Smith’s eyes misted as he saw Ruby Marr sigh, and the start to speak. eight “It was the night of November 1st, 1976. It was a Friday night. My best friend, Sheila and I decided we wanted to go out to this Fair that only comes like, once a year, but the thing was I’d been grounded the day before cuz I’d done something I shouldn’t have done, don’t remember what, but that ain’t the point. But I really wanted to go because it was the last day the fair would be here. So we sneaked out at around 10:30. Sheila’s boyfriend, Kyle, drove us, it took us around fifteen minutes to get there on the freeway, but that’s because we were going real fast and all. So the Fair ended up being a lot of fun. Then we met up with some other kids from school, you know, not really friends but just people you know. And they wanted to go to this nightclub but I couldn’t get in, so this guy he tells me that he could get me in real easy . . . I think his name was Spike but I’m not sure. So we went to the club, but Sheila and Kyle didn’t, and I had to go with Spike and some kid named Christopher. Everything went fine, it ended up that Spike’s brother was the bouncer in the club and then I got in real easy and we were all like, chilling inside and everything. Then, I saw . . . I saw this guy at the bar that was looking at me and smiling and so I smiled back and . . . and . . .” Ruby trailed off. She felt like laughing. What if I do just that? She thought to herself, What if I just start laughing? And why the fuck wouldn’t Neil stop looking at her? His ink-black eyes looked huge and full of tears and were making her uncomfortable. She wanted to get up and make him stop. “Ms. Marr? Something wrong?” Victor was saying and when she looked at him she saw that he really didn’t want to do this but he had to. “No, just . . . Just remembering, that’s all,” she quickly said, “Like I was saying, I smiled back at the guy and motioned him to come over and he did,” her voice became less cold again and she was thankful. “Is that man present here in this court today?” Victor looked at her straight in the eyes, apologizing with his. “Yes,” she said “Could you identify him please, Ms. Marr?” Victor finally said and looked defeated “Yes, I can,” Ruby took a deep breath and realized this was becoming easier to do (Some people are better off dead, anyway), “It’s him, over there; Neil Smith,” she pointed her right index finger at Neil, who looked heartbroken. “Continue, please, Ms. Marr,” Victor said “So he . . . He came over and we talked for a while and he said he’d drop me off home and I said okay. So we went out to his car and I told him my address and he started driving,” she continued, “But after a while I noticed that we were starting to not go the way we were supposed to, you know, and I told him so, but he told me he was taking a shortcut and I believed him and shut up. I was beginning to get kinda scared but he looked harmless enough. But then we stopped in front of a strange house and he says, really creepy, he says ‘Here we are,’ and I’m like, ‘This isn’t my house,’ and he says ‘I know. It’s my house,’” she started to sob. Neil was looking at her with utter sadness and something that resembled pained resignation in his eyes. Victor put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off. She looked up with determination in her dark green eyes, which were half-hidden by her black hair and which were now staring right into Neil Smith’s eyes. “So, then I asked him what we were doing in his house and now I was real scared cuz he was smiling at me and he looked really scary. I told him to just let me off the car and I’d take a cab home but then he . . . he hit me,” she said and something seemed to light up deep in her eyes, but she wouldn’t tear her gaze from Smith, who seemed too much in anguish for words, “He hit me and then he brought out a gun from his jacket and aimed it at my head. I asked,” more sobs, “I asked him what he was doing and he said to stay in the car until he came around and got me and not to scream cuz he’d blow my fucking brains out. So I stayed in the car until he came around and brought me out. Then he made me go inside the house and he tied me up to the bed where he . . . he,” she was beyond hysteria now, sobbing and shaking violently. She didn’t dare look up but knew there were people in the courtroom crying as well. God, people were so fucking sentimental. Buts she guessed it was for her own benefit now. “Your Honor, may I ask that the court and the witness take a rest, please?” Victor looked hopefully at the Judge. “Agreed. The court will take fifteen minutes of recess,” the Judge said and got up, then walked inside her private chamber. Victor almost smiled in relief as he led Ruby, who kept staring at Smith, outside of the courtroom. Smith, meanwhile, had leaned back on his chair and stared at Ruby; his dark eyes looking misty and anguished as he followed Ruby and Victor out the door with his gaze. nine “You okay?” Victor looked at Ruby, who was now calmer as they sat in the cafeteria outside. “Yeah,” she whispered and nodded. She seemed pale and fragile, yet her eyes emanated something between deep tenacity and fervor. “You don’t have to continue after today if you don’t want to,” he told her “No. I can’t stop now. Besides, I want people to know what happened,” she said and looked at him, her green eyes seeming very lucid and clear “All right,” he took a drag out of his cigarette, “But any time you wanna stop, you just look at me in the eyes and you tell me ‘Victor, I’ve had enough,’ kay?” he said “Okay,” she nodded. * * * The next couple of months were spent discussing the gruesome details of what went on in Smith’s house between 1977-1983. Ruby’s testimony revealed things so obscene and abhorrent that two of the jurors had to be excused from the courtroom to be sick. There was something detached in the way Ruby had described the events, but Victor guessed this was due to the shock she’d gone through for so many years. Smith would take her to the underground club scene that had become popular in San Francisco and use her as bait for other young women. All the other young women had been between the ages 14-18 yrs old and according to Ruby’s testimony, Smith would keep them alive for days, torturing and continually raping them until killing them by either slashing their throat or a severe blow to the head. Then the cycle would repeat itself. A doctor even said that one of the girls’ arm had been cut off and it appeared she had probably bled to death. Ruby corroborated this fact by stating the girl’s name had been Kathryn Gelid and she’d been 15 years old at the time of her death in 1980. The girl’s mother then had cut the court session short by going into hysterics and by having delusions of the girl’s spirit approaching her in the court. According to the mother, her daughter blamed Ruby for all the happenings. The woman was taken to a mental facility and not supposed to be allowed in court until the day of the verdict. What was stranger still is that during these accusations, Neil Smith remained remarkably calmed and with a somewhat resigned expression in his young features. Ruby, peculiarly as well, grew colder towards the way she described this events. The psychiatrist who examined her for two sessions the following two days after her first day in court, Dr. Helen Gabriel, explained Ruby’s indifference was the result of continuous traumas, which may never be overcome by her, even after deep and extensive treatment. Ruby Marr’s new presence on the case put it all in a new perspective and took the entire country by storm. The press would not leave Ruby alone. Her face was on the news and papers and magazines everywhere. They requested interviews galore and followed her every move. There were posters with her face on them to help find abducted and missing children, and even a charity was founded on her name for this same cause. There were protests held by other parents who had lost their kids, saying that the government wasn’t helping at all and needed to be less incompetent. The President of the United States released a statement himself where he assured the American people safer streets, schools and other zones. He wasn’t going to let something like this happen again. Ruby seemed to take all of this in calmly, as if she’d been expecting it all along. Victor wouldn’t have been surprised if she had. He would go see her at her mother’s house, where she was staying, and talk to her for hours and hours. She said she felt better after getting all that out of her system but that she wasn’t going to be completely satisfied until she saw Neil Smith dead, “Don’t worry, we’re gonna do this,” he’d reassured her. Neil Smith himself, in the words of the defense, had gone into deep silence. Dr. Hank jades said that this man was not mentally stable and had committed these crimes while being “outside of himself.” He had showed sociopath and psychopath behaviors and seemed to have no recollections of the killings. Victor argued that the man appeared of a sound mind and Dr. Helen Gabriel said, after examining Neil Smith herself, that the man was not insane, on the contrary, he was smart and in very sound mind. A third doctor was brought in, a Dr. James Butler, and he agreed with Dr. Gabriel. There was no way Neil Smith was going to be found innocent. Victor could not wait. ten Ruby Marr laid on top of her old bed in her old room at her mother’s house. There were starts glued on to the ceiling and the room itself was painted a very dark shade of blue so that it all resembled the sky at night. Her green eyes were misted over and her mind was opening itself as a flower might while all these images flowed into her mind. “And so you really can’t forget,” she chuckled at no one in sight. The night had been cold the night she’d snuck out with Sheila. What she hadn’t said in the court was the fact that Sheila and she had not gone to any Fair but simply to this club Kyle’s friends, Spike and Christopher, were getting them in. The first part was true enough, she’d seen Neil, she’d liked him. But she’d agreed to go home with him right off. She’d planned to run away from home all along. Neil had been reluctant at first, but he said he believed in the kindness of people and agreed to bring her with him. They’d had sex in his car outside of his house and once again inside, on his bed. “I’m gonna fall in love with you although I shouldn’t” he whispered in her ear, “You don’t have to love me back. Just don’t go away.” So that had been the true beginning of her relationship with Neil Smith. The rest of what she’d said at court and what had actually happened . . . Now that was a different story. * * * Victor Ramsland was finally sleeping properly. The case was going better than he expected and he was going to propose marriage to Ruby Marr as soon as the trial was over. Oh, life was bliss right now. The only thing that spoiled it was the memory and knowledge of what Neil Smith had not only done to Ruby but fourteen other girls. But that would be done with soon. Neil Smith was going to die in the electric chair and he and Ruby would be there to wave good-bye. He worried about her slightly now, her seeming colder to him and sometimes downright mean to other people but he understood it was the stress the trial was putting on her. When they made love, she was more turbulent than ever, sometimes even slapping him during the act itself and making everything more heated. But Victor wasn’t one to complain. He felt he was getting to know the real Ruby Marr. She wasn’t the innocent little girl he had pictured in his mind but she was better than that. She was complex and undeniably human. Well, most of the time. Some times he simply couldn’t figure her out at all. It was as if she were in another world. He hated Neil Smith for that distance in her eyes. She simply told Victor to forget about it, she’d be okay. He hoped so. But still, there was that shadow in her eyes everytime she looked at Neil Smith in the face. The way they both looked at each other, as if speaking to one another silently, bothered him. But he guessed he couldn’t begin to imagine the bond between a kidnapper and his victim. Specially after all those years together. God, he couldn’t wait to see Smith fry on that chair. That and spending the rest of his life with Ruby. Those were the dreams inside his heart. And he knew Destiny wouldn’t fuck that up. It couldn’t. Bliss was not meant to be destroyed. * * * Neil Smith sat on the bed inside his cell. His hair was growing longer and he looked constantly disheveled. Of this, however, he paid no notice. All he thought about was Ruby and how Ruby wasn’t Ruby at all anymore. That was a stranger up there, on that stand. When she talked she was someone else but when she got down from there and looked at him, there was that instant where her eyes looked sorrowful. Just one flashing instant. And then it was gone. And then she was that other Ruby again. He sighed and laid back now, feeling chills all over his spine. He knew what was coming. Soon enough he would have to sit on the stand himself and either deny the whole thing or corroborate all Ruby had said. He knew he would corroborate it and therefore sentence his own death. In front of people who wanted him dead anyhow. There were ways he could prove many of these things wrong but he wasn’t going to try them. What she’d said was what had to be said, really. She’d had no choice and neither did he. He fell into an uneasy sleep while thinking of her. eleven “So, what’s your name?” the girl had smiled at her. She’d had chin-length red hair and bright green eyes outlined in white eyes shadow that’s made her the more unearthly. “They call me Kitten,” Ruby’d lied and smiled. The girl was simply gorgeous. Slender, yet curvy body wrapped by a black clingy dress that reached right above the middle of her shapely thighs. The face gave her away, though. Real childish with the button nose and the pouty lips. This girl couldn’t have been more than fourteen. Look at the way she holds the clove cigarette, with only her index and forefinger lightly, as if she doesn’t wanna touch it completely. And she wasn’t trying to look fancy, either, it was just her natural poise. Downright pornographic. “Well, I’m Berlyn,” the girl smiled. Ruby simply talked to her and danced with her all night after that. Getting her to come home with Neil and she had been a snap, but talking her into jumping in bed with both of them, that had taken work. “Kitten, I like you just fine. I’ve just never . . . you know . . . With a girl,” slight blush in the cheeks “But don’t you want to?” innocent smile from Ruby, enraged glare from Neil “Yeah, but . . . I dunno. I’m kinda scared,” Berlyn had been all pout and all blush “Here,” Ruby handed her a drink, “Drink this. In no time, those doubts will be a thing of the past.” More innocent laughter and then some more teasing, Ruby had even kissed her, but as always the best part was just beginning. “Kitten . . . I don’t think I . . . feel . . . so . . . well,” and then she’d passed out on the couch. Just like that. Snap. Beautiful. Ruby couldn’t stop smiling. And then she’d brought out all her special “toys” she’d liked to play with. Real beautiful. Berlyn’s face when she woke up to find herself tied to a bed and the expression of pure confusion/horror when she sees Ruby, big smile, with her face all covered in blood and the realization that it’s her blood. Just gorgeous. The realizing where the blood had actually come from! Berlyn didn’t die until two weeks later. She died because Ruby had gotten bored with her whining and her crying so she just slashed her throat and watched her bleed to death. Berlyn had looked better dead, anyway, all the red of the blood matching the red of her hair. Neil’s anger and objecting hadn’t helped but it hadn’t stopped anything from happening, either. Ruby was pleased. Ruby had played. But then Ruby had wanted a new toy. * * * All smiles when she woke up in the morning, still the vague memory of Berlyn and all those nights years ago, Ruby got ready to go to trial. “He would hurt them, Your Honor,” she looked into the mirror, her face the picture of anguish, “And he made me watch while he did all those horrible things to them,” she was crying now. “Oh, Your Honor, it was so horrible ,” her face a picture of suffering, suddenly smoothed itself out, she brushed away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks. Her face was expressionless and beautiful again. “No, but seriously,” she said to no one in particular as she drove, “People are just so fucking sentimental, you know?” In the rearview mirror, Ruby’s amused smirk was reflected. twelve “Ruby, this thing’s going to be over soon. Two weeks, tops,” Victor looked at her across the table at the cafe where they both had met just fifteen minutes ago and she nodded. Her black hair pulled away from her face gave her an edge of unconscious arrogance. “In my opinion, I think he’s as well as dead,” Victor concluded. “How long does it actually take for the execution once he’s sentenced?” she looked at him “Hard to say exactly. It could be weeks as well as years,” he said and she looked slightly disappointed as well as detached. “Hmmm. I guess that’s the way things are,” she simply said. “But this is not why I came to see you,” he took her hand now “It wasn’t?” she frowned at him “I came to see you because I’m worried about you,” he sighed “Worried?” she took her hand from his, “Why the Hell should you be worried. I told you, I’m fine.” “It’s just that you seem too indifferent to all of this and then suddenly you’re dissolving in tears. I just can’t understand you,” he frowned at her “You’re not supposed to, Victor. No one can understand what I went through. It obviously has scarred me, don’t you think?” she gave him a sardonic look. “Yes, I know but, still . . .” he didn’t know how to explain the way he felt. Like somehow something had gone wrong. Shouldn’t he be happy that he was going to win this case? Yes, he should be. But what if winning this case losing the woman he loved. She seemed gone and estranged from everything as it was. “Think what you will, Victor. But there’s no possible way you could understand,” the words themselves passionate, yet a shadow in her eyes. As if all this had to be said, was planned to be said. No feelings or spontaneity behind it. “All right, Ruby. I see your point,” he said after a while, wearily. He took her hand again, determined to give this woman all the love she deserved and was sure she needed. She merely looked at him, and then simply nodded. “There is another thing,” he started fumbling with his jacket pouch with his free hand. “What?” she blinked at him. “Will you . . . Will you marry me?” the ring was on his hand and in front of her. She looked down at it and for the first time he saw actual shock represent itself on her face. She looked up at him. “What?” she frowned. “Will you marry me, Ruby?” his plea was desperate although there was a smile on his face. She sighed. “Oh, Victor,” she looked at him and it seemed her eyes softened, “I can’t. Not right now, no,” there was the glimmer of tears in her huge green eyes. “Ruby, I love you,” he said and the desperation in those words was completely tangible. She looked off into nothingness and sighed. She looked slightly confused. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she whispered “What? I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you? I’m sorry, Ruby, but falling in love with someone isn’t supposed or not supposed to happen. It just does,” his voice sounded sober. She looked up at him again, confusion in her eyes and then it was all gone. All the expression from her face, from her eyes. She was just looking at him blankly. “You’re right. It just does, doesn’t it?” she slightly raised a brow and he sensed some sort of cynicism behind the words. “It’s just that this is so sudden. I have to think about this,” she looked at him and her face looked apologetic, but her eyes still looked cold and somehow not there. The effect was truly frightening. “Of course,” he found himself saying. “Ask me again . . . After he’s dead,” she said, the slight widening of the eyes emphasizing the last words. “Okay, but you think about this, Ruby,” he said. There was again that touch of desperation at the edge of his words. “I will,” she reassured him and smiled. Victor sighed. thirteen “So, what do you think?” Flavio, the head of the jury looked at Helen, another of the members of the jury, from across the table, “We have to make the decision pretty soon.” “I think the answer is as clear as water,” she said. The rest of the jurors nodded their agreement. “Should we have a secret ballot vote?” Flavio said “Why secret ballot?” one of the men said “Yeah, I don’t think any of us really disagrees. A show of hands would be better,” Eleni, one of the seven women, said. “All right, then,” Flavio sighed, “Whoever is in favor of sentencing this man to death raise your hand,” he said. All hands came up in the air. * * * “The defense calls Neil Smith to the stand,” Jonathan Fleming said in a loud, sober voice. Ruby tensed up beside her brother, Kenneth Marr, and he turned to her. “It’s okay, Baby Doll,” he whispered in her ear, “Nothing the bastard says is going to change the fact that he’s gonna fry in the electric chair,” he slightly smiled. She looked back at him and gave him a shaky smile before turning her attention to Smith. * * * “Mr. Smith, do you swear to tell the Truth and nothing but the Truth, so help you God?” the officer was saying to him as Neil placed his hand on the black bible in front of him. He swallowed hard and sighed before saying, “I swear,” never taking his eyes from Ruby’s. * * * “What are you saying, Mr. Smith?” Mr. Fleming was glaring at him and Neil could see that he was flushed. Meanwhile his hands were covered in sweat as was his body under his suit. “I’m saying that all she said is true,” he repeated, once again bringing some gasps and murmurs from the jury as well as the rest of the courtroom. “I think we will be wasting everyone’s time by going on with an endless recollection of events from my part. I killed those girls. I tortured and raped them. I raped and abused Ruby Marr for six years,” his voice faltered for a second but he went on, “All is true. I deserve whatever I get, just get this over with, okay?” he sighed. Ruby was slightly frowning at him, her eyes reflecting something between shock and sadness. He was almost thankful for that. It showed there was some of that old Ruby left inside of her. Mr. Fleming looked shockingly angry and the Judge simply stared at him curiously. “Your Honor,” Fleming started but the Judge simply raised her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I think the witness has said all he has to say,” the Judge said in a cold voice, “Unless you have anything to prove me wrong, Councilor, this court will meet tomorrow for the verdict.” “No, Your Honor,” Fleming sighed, “I have nothing more to say.” “All right, then,” she said, “This court will meet tomorrow for the verdict of the case The People vs. Neil Smith,” she said, almost smiling. fourteen “The jury finds Mr. Neil Smith guilty of six charges of murder in the first degree,” the head of the jury was saying and Neil heard Fleming mutter “Fucking A,” before sighing. There were cheers from the courtroom and he turned to see Ruby staring at him, her green eyes calm and her face void of all expression before Victor Ramsland had his arms around her waist and she buried her face in his neck. Neil leaned his head back on the chair as the Judge sentenced him to death and a deep sigh escaped his lips. “Fuck, Smith,” Fleming had turned to him, “We’re both screwed,” he said. “Yeah,” Neil almost smiled cynically, “But I’m gonna die for it.” fifteen “You want to what?” Victor was staring at her. “I want to speak to him,” Ruby repeated. Her eyes calm and sober. “Why the Hell would you want to do that?” he said “Because, Victor. There are things we need to say to each other before he’s dead,” she sighed. “Like what?” he said in frustration. “Don’t worry about them. They do not concern you,” said she. “Ruby, what if he tries to hurt you?” he looked at her. “He won’t,” she replied “And how do you know that?” he sighed “Because I know him,” she stated. And Victor felt something inside his heart contract. * * * “They are going to let you see him on Thursday,” Victor said to her. They were in the apartment she had recently bought a month before, three months after the sentence. “And the execution will be Friday morning,” he concluded. “Will we be alone when we talk?” she asked “Yes. You’re lucky they like me there and he hasn’t shown any signs of violence. But just in case, they will handcuff both his wrists and ankles,” sighed he. “Completely and absolutely unnecessary,” she said but seemed satisfied. “I don’t understand why you insist on this,” he said again. She gave him a look which said “I’m not getting into this with you again” before she stood up from the couch and started to the kitchen. “Well, I hope you say everything you want to say and you finally get the answers you so want from him,” he leaned back on the couch and said in resignation. “I hope so, too,” her voice faltered for a second. sixteen “I didn’t know that meanwhile you were writing a diary,” was the first thing Neil said to Ruby as soon as she sat across from him on a table and the guard left the room. “I didn’t,” she replied, “I did those two before leaving.” “Oh,” was all he replied. “You could have said what really happened,” she said on an impulse. “They wouldn’t have believed me, anyway,” he shrugged his left shoulder. This tranquility was driving Ruby up the wall and making her restless. Why wasn’t he glaring at her? Why did his eyes reflect only acceptance and, odder still, somehow Love? “You could’ve proved it. With enough examinations on their bodies, you could have,” she insisted. “What difference does it make, now?” he looked at her, “Besides. You don’t understand who they thought I was supposed to be.” “Yes, I do,” she stared at him. He had a way of staring at people that made her seem like she was scowling at them when she was in fact doing nothing of the sort. Neil only knew her expressions so well. “Tomorrow, they’re killing you,” she said suddenly “I know,” he nodded then seemed lost in thought. She still stared at him and an unnoticed, crystalline rolled down her cheek. A real tear. “Why, Ruby?” he whispered now “Why what?” she said “Why did you leave me?” his voice was heartbroken and she felt something strange happen to her, like something tighten itself up in her heart and then let go. (People are just so fucking sentimental). She shook herself all over to get rid of this new and unwanted feeling. “Because . . .” she sighed and looked at him, sticking her hands deep inside the pockets of her leather jacket, “Because I feared I might have started caring for you, you know? Getting attached?” she confessed “Did you?” he asked her now, telling her with his eyes that he needed the answer to be yes. That if she answered yes, all of this would have been worth it, even his death. She sighed. “No,” she lied, her face expressionless. “Oh,” he said. He was in the brink of tears, she knew it. “I came to see you because I wanted to say something, Neil,” she said “What’s that, Love?” he looked up at her “I did what I did because I felt like it. It pleased me,” she raised her chin in one smug gesture, the edge of her mouth almost curving in a smile, “I enjoyed doing it. There was no deeper meaning, no purpose. I simply did it,” she said. He smiled in spite of himself, a bitter smile. “I was afraid that you’d done it just because of that. I was right,” he said. “Yeah. And now you’re going to pay for it, Neil. You could’ve denied the whole thing, like I told you. But your sentimentality made you weak and now look were it got you,” she raised a brow “Ruby, Ruby,” he sighed, “You may say all of this because you think that you’re so detached from everything and everyone. But the truth is that you always hurt the ones you love, my child,” he said. “Oh, Neil,” she smiled, “Don’t you wish that were true?” she got up. He was beyond description in his despair and she simply looked at him for one long moment before whispering. “Good Bye, Neil. Think of me when you’re dying,” and walking out. “Good Bye, Ruby,” he said to the empty room, “And I will.” seventeen It was she and Victor and the parents of all the dead girls who witnessed Neil Smith’s execution. The execution itself had taken no longer than twenty minutes and Neil had refused to have any last words before the switch was turned. His eyes had been taped as had been his mouth and the spectacle he’d made as he twisted and burned on the chair had proven impossible to watch for some of the parents, victorious for some (including to Victor), and simply meaningless to Ruby. She and Victor had walked out of the place in silence, he holding her hand and glancing at her now and then with a strange but hopeful light in his blue eyes. She had not looked at him and kept her eyes on the floor, letting all of it sink in. She had gotten away with all of this. No one knew what had happened. She could do anything she wanted now and that included not being here. She smiled to herself. * * * “Ruby, you remember a couple of months ago when you said to ask you again to marry me?” Victor looked at her from across the table at the restaurant where they were dining. “Don’t even bother asking again, Victor,” she smiled and so did he, in anticipation. “The answer’s no,” the smile never left her face. “What?” he looked surprised, confused and hurt all at once. “The truth is, I don’t want to marry you. I never really did, but I thought if I told you then it would’ve distracted you from the case. But I see no harm for myself in telling you now,” she said. “But . . . What about all we went through together?’ he frowned “What about it?” she stared at him blankly, “What? Am I supposed to feel connected and thankful to you because you brought all this light into everything that happened and made me tell everyone everything. That after all those years of not wanting to be found you pressured me into testifying?” she said. “I didn’t pressure you,” he whispered, “Not consciously. I swear, I never meant to pressure you,” he grabbed her hand. “What difference does it make now, Victor?” she took her hand away, “I’m leaving, anyway.” She stood up and walked outside, Victor following behind, calling her name and telling her to please stay. They needed to talk. “There’s nothing to say, Victor,” she turned to him when she once already on her Harley and he stood beside it, “You’ve served your purpose. You’ve solved your case and got lots of money for it. I got my revenge. Let it go, Victor, there’s nothing left to do or to say to each other,” she said as she put on the earphones of her walkman and she turned on the engine. Victor simply sighed in despair. She blew him a kiss before driving off into the distance, sweet music blasting into her brain. Tweet
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