Chapter 67: Things Heat Up

I was bored; there was just no other way to put it. Awakening in my hotel room, or more correctly, transitioning back to the room after my conversation with Lizzy, I found I had nothing to do. Looking back at my time in Vegas so far I came to the realization that the whole trip was poorly planned. Granted, it was all very last minute -- I mean, a week ago I was safely living at home with my family, going to school, and only dealing with the darker side of humanity at night. Now I was alone in a strange city spending a ton of money to stay in what amounted to a palace. The only reason I hadn't reached this point sooner was that I'd spent the last two nights fornicating my brains out with two women I'd just met. Don't get me wrong. I don't consider that a bad thing in itself, but in retrospect, the greatest purpose either had accomplished was to keep me too busy to realize that at this particular point in time, it sucked to be me. Of course it would have sucked a lot worse without the six million in the bank but still ... my life was feeling very empty.

Jamie was no help either.

"Allison's right," she said, when I finally brought it up. "You, we, really suck at being alone; especially bored and alone."

"I didn't realize before how much time school was really taking up. Now that I, okay we, don't have to worry about that five days a week, I'm starting to realize just how much time we have on our hands. And I have no idea what to do about it."

"Me either," she said. "But there isn't much we can do at the moment. Considering what usually passes for excitement in our lives, we should probably be thanking God for being bored. There are too many ways things could suddenly get exciting again and none of them are pretty. After we deal with the current sources of excitement then maybe we can look at ways to fill up the days, but for now, I can live with bored. And it's not like we don't have options. We could catch up on our reading, catch a movie, see a show, even call Sanders up and learn about the traditional ways to lose money in Vegas. That actually sounded pretty interesting, or at least fun."

"Educational at best," I said. "I just don't see the thrill of gambling, the odds are all in the house's favor. You may win a little now and then, but in the long run..."

"God, you are such a wet blanket all of a sudden! If nothing else, we could people-watch, what's the worst that could happen, we lose a little money and have fun doing it? It's not like we're going down there to win. Now come on, let's go before I lock your depressing ass in a bubble and go without you. Who knows, maybe I'll find a little hottie I can bring up here and make you watch."

I had to laugh at that. "Okay, fine, we'll go."

It wasn't that bad actually. Tony had been right; a casino is a great place for people watching. Considering the amount of money people were leaving behind, for the most part they were having a damn good time doing it. Overall, the atmosphere was so positive that if you could find a way to harness the energy you could probably power a good portion of the casino on that alone.

My personal guide, a guy named Greg was very knowledgeable, showing me around the floor and going over the basics of the different games. Their first offer was a girl named Stacy but ... no. She was definitely not the kind of escort I was looking for. I think her chest cost more than my room tab to date and at $1500 per night for the suite that was saying something. I wasn't actually paying that, legally I wasn't obligated to pay more than the regular rate for the two rooms I originally reserved but that's what I was using for comparison. I would definitely say she got her money's worth though; they looked really good on her, but still, not what I was interested in. Jamie maybe...

"As if."

Or not.

Keno bore a striking resemblance to Bingo in my mind, or like playing the lottery only the odds were better because more numbers got pulled. Roulette seemed like about as random as you could make a game, and the odds were never in your favor. Let's see, 38 spaces on the wheel, so the odds are 37 to 1 against you, and if you made your number it only paid 35 to 1. Not a huge margin to the house, but an average five and half percent payback wasn't bad. Heck, my bank didn't pay that on my savings. Of course there were a lot of other bets you could make. The game would be kind of boring otherwise, and no one would play. With Greg as my escort, they actually opened up a craps table for us to use while he taught me the various combinations and strategies. There were several people around that were interested in learning so we spent maybe a half hour playing for free. The bank remained closed and the croupier walked us through mock 'passes' explaining as he went and showing people what they would have won in actual play. After half an hour the lesson was over, the bank opened, and two more people joined the croupier. Essentially he handled the dice and they handled the money, placing players' bets and making payouts, and play began in earnest. It was a low stakes table, minimum bet two dollars, so very quickly the table was packed and the party had started. For the next half-hour I matched Greg's play -- he was using my money anyway -- and we stayed pretty even. Then Jamie started making suggestions and things started getting interesting. I love my sister. After another half-hour Greg was off the clock and gave me back my money. At the time he was up about a hundred and fifty bucks so I let him keep it. Jamie and I were up about three hundred when he shook my hand and wished me luck.

An hour later we were up about eight hundred and they had raised the minimum on the table to ten dollars to attract more serious players. Suddenly it was time to go as a voice I hadn't heard in a while whispered to me.

"Sebastian?"

Maybe what had happened with Lizzy had prepared me for it because I wasn't really surprised to be hearing Rene's call. I had actually told him to call me anytime, but still, the timing could have been better.

"Shit!" Jamie swore. "Go! I'll cash us out and get back to the room."

The world seemed to spin and suddenly I was in a now familiar cell. Apparently since Walter had 'found' him for me, I no longer had to stop at the hallway and then come in under the door; nice to know. I found Rene pacing at one end of the room.

"I thought perhaps you had grown tired of my company," I said after scuttling into my usual spot under his cot. Was it my imagination or was it brighter in here?

"I had thought the same about you," he said.

"It's been a busy time for me; my life has become more complicated."

"I suspected as much," he said. "That is why I called you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I am not sure, but something has changed."

That couldn't be good. "Changed how?"

"As I said, I do not know, but something ... something is different since last we spoke, a feeling of preparation, more so in the last few days."

"Do you think he is about to take another victim?"

"I believe so..." he said and then hesitated. "And yet, the feeling is somehow different than before."

"Then you knew when he took his other victims."

"Of course I knew!" he barked. "How could I not know? He flaunts his power at me; over and over he makes me relive what he did to her."

Her had to mean Katia. "But this time something is different. Can you tell how it is different?"

"No, it is just a feeling that this time something is different. I thought you should know."

"I thank you, any change in his pattern is important. We suspected that since his last attempt went awry that he may react differently. So far it appears we are correct, not that it has done any good, we still haven't been able to find him, but we feel that now is the most likely time for him to make a mistake that will lead us to him."

"I would agree; now, while his life is unsettled and he must improvise. If he is to make a mistake it will most likely be now, but he knows this also, so at the same time he is more cautious. He will not move until he is certain of his success."

I had a hunch. "When did you first notice the change?"

"It is hard to say, time has little meaning here, but I have had time to adapt. A week? Perhaps more."

Bingo, Rebecca's partner had been taken ten days before. "He took someone ten days ago, could what you are feeling be him torturing her."

"No," he said intently. "No, that I would know. But why would he take someone and not play with them, it makes no sense."

I decided now would be a good time to change the subject. "If he were intensely angry, do you think you would feel it?"

"Yes, most certainly."

"How angry would he be if someone stole from him?"

"Angry," he said. "Very angry -- being trapped so long, living only through me, he is intensely jealous of his possessions, this is why after you have, as you say, interrupted him with his last victim, this is why he would stay rather than flee, he desires to make you pay."

"He had a bank account in Zurich, over six and half million American dollars, it is empty now."

I could imagine his eyes getting wide behind the mask, "How is that possible? He must not know -- if he did, aye, there would be blood in the streets. His wrath would be ... anyone he suspected he would kill."

"Would he kill them off hand or would he try to get his money back first?"

"There is that," he said. "Yes, if he thought it possible, he would try to get the information first, but he would be ruthless in his questioning, no playing such as he does with the girls he has taken. He would desire to punish, and if possible make an example, then take another, and another, until either he had his money back, or he had killed all that he could find involved, and perhaps more.

Shit! Henslith was toast. The question was, how long before he finished with her and went looking for someone else? Rebecca needed to know about this. It wouldn't make it any easier, but at least she would know to expect him to strike again soon.

"Is there anything more that you can tell me?" I asked.

"No," he said. "That is all for now. I will summon you again if I think of something more."

"Thank you. You should prepare yourself," I said. "If our suspicions are correct and he is so obsessed with his revenge and his lost fortune, then the chances of him making a mistake are as high as they will ever be. If this is true, then it may soon be time to break your cage and allow you your revenge.

"Not revenge," he said, "but rather justice. I will meditate and pray that God will bring that day soon, but also that no more innocents must suffer before he is stopped."

"I didn't realize you were a religious man," I said, surprised.

"If you are right, and if we are lucky, then the hour of my death comes swiftly. Nothing I can do will redeem me for my crimes in this life. I make my peace with God that by His grace I may find forgiveness and redemption in death."

"I will say a prayer for you also," I said. "Summon me again if you need me."

Jamie was waiting for me, not in the hotel room, though I'm sure she was there by now, but on the Beach with Allison and Elizabeth.

"So what happened?" she asked as soon as I arrived. We were all sitting in chairs under the canopy.

"He's upset, says something has changed and he's feeling a difference in his other self. Give me a second." I closed my eyes, not to look for anyone but to keep my promise. As I bowed my head I felt a touch on my arm.

"May I pray with you?" I opened my eyes and found Lizzy kneeling next to me.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"There was a peace within you, despite everything else going on, a stillness formed. I have seen it before many times; it is the part of you that touches Him when you pray. I used to watch Father Chris when he would pray and that stillness would fill his whole being. I can't really describe it but I wept with joy every time. Who are we praying for?"

"Rene," I said. "Before I left he said that nothing he did could ever redeem him in life, so he wanted to make peace with God so that he might find redemption in death. I told him I would pray for him."

"I would be honored to pray with you," she said, taking my hand and bowing her head. Allison and Jamie joined her on the sand and I felt really stupid sitting above them so I slid out of my chair to kneel in the sand with them, took Jamie's hand to complete the circle and closed my eyes again. I took a few seconds to clear my mind before beginning.

"Lord, I'm not really very good at this, but..." words seemed to be forming in my mind all by themselves, "thank you, for everything you've done for us. For my gift, for the people in my life to help me deal with it. Thank you for the good things I've managed to do with it, I hope it's working out the way you wanted..." I took a deep breath before continuing, "but that's not what this is supposed to be about. Please, Lord, Rene has done many terrible things in his life, many done beyond his control, and it seems the time may finally be coming when he can finally stop it. Lord, we ask that you grant him the strength and courage to face what lies ahead, and when it is over, we ask that you grant him rest in Your Kingdom, amen."

Before I could pull away, Lizzy's hand tightened on mine and she spoke, "Father, I pray you would grant us all the strength and courage to face this trial, help us seek your will in all that we do, and to know that no matter the outcome, it is all a part of your great plan. I thank you for these others, for Jimmy who will one day be my husband, Allison who will be my sister, and for Jamie, whose very existence is a miracle, a living reminder that all things are possible in you. I thank you for them all, amen."

There was silence for a moment and then Allison said, "I hope you weren't expecting me to follow that."

I had to chuckle at that and Lizzy was giggling as well. We both stopped though, when we opened our eyes and found that Jamie was gone and the other hand I was now holding was Allison's. Worry shot through me but quickly passed as a voice from deep inside me simply said, "I'm okay."

She didn't say anything else, but she really didn't have to. I knew it was Lizzy's words that had sent her away. Jamie is dark person at the best of times. That much love pointed at her is hard for her to handle.

"It's all right," I assured the others. "She just needed to be alone, and I ... need Rebecca. This shit is getting deep." After barging in on them last time, I didn't want to risk it again, so I pulled out my phone and called her instead.

"Hey, Jimmy, what's up?"

"I'm not sure. Are you busy?"

"That doesn't sound good, give me a door. Should I bring Bob?"

"Couldn't hurt."

I moved us to the office and within seconds they were walking in. I didn't wait for them to sit down.

"I think there is damn good chance your partner is dead and things are about to get really ugly."

I watched as Rebecca took a deep breath and her face went dark and professional. "What have you got?"

"I spoke with Rene a short while ago. He said something feels seriously wrong, not like anything he's felt before. It's not the same thing he gets when Sandman snatches a new victim or when he's playing with them. We talked about our hope that since we messed him up with Angela, now would be the most likely time for him to make a mistake. He agreed. We talked a little, he has difficulty with time, but it sounds like this all started about the time he grabbed your partner."

"Oh shit, that can't be good."

"It's not. I asked him how the Sandman would react if someone ripped him off. He said his alternate is pathologically possessive. Said he would kill whoever was responsible as well as anyone in the way. I got the impression that getting it back would not be as important as getting his revenge on the thief. When I asked him specifically about the money, he changed his answer to say that Sandman would torture whomever he had to until he was certain they could not get it back, then kill them and take someone else, and on, and on, until he got the right person."

"Christ on crutches," she said, shaking her head. "This is bad. Rod is going to shit a brick. It's a damn good thing your family is already in protective custody. Bob, you may need to come in for a while as well. Shit, this is going to get bad. And you still can't find him?"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "I can find Kurtz, but I can't get past him to the Sandman, without a link of some kind..."

"Okay, where are you?"

"Still in Vegas."

"You've been at the Bellagio all this time?"

"Yeah, I'm checking out tomorrow though. Not really sure where I'll go but I need to find someplace a little more affordable."

"Yeah, no shit," Rebecca said. "You'll go broke fast in a place like that. Your money needs to last you."

"Well, I'm pretty sure they're going to comp the room anyway, but I don't want to push it."

"They're going to comp you a room at the Bellagio?" Rebecca asked, shocked.

"Actually it's a two bedroom suite," Allison said. I guess she just couldn't resist.

"A suite!" Rebecca exclaimed.

And then Lizzy just had to join in, "Oh ... my ... God! Rebecca, you have to see it! It is incredible!"

"No!" Bob yelled. "She doesn't want to see it!" He glared at me, "Do you have any idea how much I hate you right now?"

Suddenly the women all vanished. I knew where they were; Rebecca was with Allison and Lizzy getting the whole tour. Well, hopefully just the 'before' tour. Someone was playing games because out of nowhere you heard Rebecca's voice saying, "Oh my God!"

I glanced at Bob, "Sorry about that."

He just laughed, "Don't worry about it. That was just for show. I'd hate to see the girls go to that much trouble and not feel like they were getting their money's worth. I take it their reputation is well earned?"

"You could say that, yes," I assured him. "Maybe I could get them to comp it for your honeymoon? They really seem to like me."

"I don't know if they like you that much, rooms like that they generally only comp for high rollers. So what did you do to so endear yourself to them?"