Dead Men's Harvest

Chapter 15

Twice Cain had hunted and twice he’d followed the wrong trail.

The first time was when he’d launched the attack on Walter Conrad’s cabin only to find that the CIA boss wasn’t among those he’d slaughtered, and now there was a similar situation at the cabin on Jewel Ridge.

After his initial outburst of fury he could see the funny side of things. What was the point in being annoyed? The interlude had given him an opportunity to spend some quality time refining skills that he’d seldom employed while locked in his cell at Fort Conchar. The three US Marshals had died with little fanfare, but here he had someone on whom he could really practise his art.

‘What’s your real name, Jeff?’

Jeffrey Taylor was lying on top of the dining table that Cain had cleared with a sweep of his forearm. Cain had found three pairs of handcuffs among the property belonging to the marshals and had made good use of them. Taylor was chest down, both wrists secured to the legs of the table. With only one other set available, Cain had snapped the rings around the man’s ankles. He was going nowhere.

‘My name is Jeff!’

‘So it’s your second name that is fake?’

‘You know that already.’

Cain studied his knives. Back when he’d been collecting trophies to be used in his ossuary at Jubal’s Hollow he’d favoured a descaling knife. The slightly curved blade with a serration along the back edge had been useful in both slicing and sawing, and could fillet a human being as easily as a fish. Here his choices didn’t hold the same finesse. Tanto or Bowie, both knives were man killers, but not much use for delicate procedures. He decided on the Tanto, the wieldier of the two.

He sank the diamond tip into Jeff’s right calf muscle and the man screamed.

‘I don’t know,’ Cain said, ‘and that little bit of pain is for assuming I’d know anything about you.’

‘Dear God! It’s obvious that I’m not who you’re looking for. You said you were looking for someone called John. That’s not me!’

‘I know that, Jeff. But I still want to know your full name.’

‘Why? Why is it important? I’m not the person you’re after.’

‘Names hold power, Jeff. They’re magical, don’t you know that?’

‘My name isn’t magical… it’s… it’s nothing but dirt these days.’

Cain smiled, but Jeff couldn’t see his face. Cain wondered what it was about characters like Jeff Taylor and John Telfer and how they could be so frank about their worthlessness. It was something that he found both naive and endearing.

‘If it’s so dirty you shouldn’t mind telling me.’

‘My name is Jeffrey Thompson, OK? Is that what the Gambettis wanted, that I come clean about my identity before you killed me?’

‘You mentioned these Gambettis before. They’re the people you are hiding from? They’re obviously not to be feared, because if they were any good they’d have found you by now.’

‘You work for them, don’t you? There’s no reason to torture me like this if you don’t.’

‘I don’t work for them.’

‘Then let me go… please!’

‘I’m not finished with you yet.’

‘Why are you doing this?’

‘Because it’s in my nature, Jeff.’ Cain ran his blade up the back of Jeff’s shirt, slitting it all the way to the collar. His flesh was a puckered mass of scar tissue from his right hip up to his shoulder blades. ‘I noticed when I led you from the bedroom that you had trouble straightening up. These scars on your back… what caused them?’

‘The Gambettis. They tried to kill me once before.’

‘Like I said, they aren’t to be feared if this is all they achieved. What did they shoot you with? Was it birdshot?’

Jeff didn’t reply. He closed his eyes and Cain knew that he was recalling the day he was wounded. Cain jabbed Jeff’s opposite calf with the Tanto. ‘When I talk, you answer.’

‘Dear God! Whatever I say or don’t say you’re going to kill me. Why don’t you just get it over with?’

‘Because it’s much more fun like this.’

Cain stood close to Jeff’s head, leaning down to whisper in his ear. ‘I mentioned that names are magical. Some names hold power. Do you know my name?’

‘How could I?’

‘My name is Tubal Cain.’

‘Cain? What… like in the Bible? The one who murdered his brother?’

Cain snorted. ‘Not that Cain. I am Tubal Cain. Brother of Jubal and the father of cutting instruments. You know me now?’

‘No.’

‘Yet you often call on your dear God for help. How can you expect Him to help you when you haven’t even taken time to read His good book?’ Cain traced the scars with his fingertips. His expert touch detected where the scar tissue was tightest and caused Jeff the most discomfort. ‘Like I was saying, some names are magical. My name is magical. It has the power to alleviate your suffering.’

Cain inserted the Tanto into a bundle of scar tissue and sliced.

‘There! Doesn’t that help to free you up a little?’

Jeff screamed.

‘Dear God,’ Cain mimicked. ‘You sound like you doubt me, Jeff.’

He selected another point on the man’s back and dug deep through the flesh. Jeff screamed even louder and strained against the cuffs holding him spread-eagled over the table.

‘It’s a shame, Jeff, but you don’t seem the type to waste my time on. You’re obviously ungrateful. When I did the very same to John Telfer he barely made a murmur of complaint? And to think I could have confused you with him.’

‘Pleeeaaasssseee…’

‘It makes me realise how much I want to reacquaint myself with my old pal, John, and how you’re getting in the way of that. Goodbye, Jeff.’

Cain jammed the blade deep this time, all the way through the ribs and into Jeff’s heart. It was a quick kill and didn’t engender the same visceral thrill he usually experienced when murdering, but every second spent here was another second away from finding John Telfer. Catching and spending time with Ol’ Johnny Boy was what he truly coveted.

Freeing the knife, he wiped it clean on Jeff’s trousers. He looked down at the trussed man and shook his head.

‘I wish I could say it was a pleasure meeting you,’ Cain said as the man settled in death. ‘But it wasn’t. That doesn’t mean I won’t recall our time together fondly. In fact, I intend taking something with me so that I never forget you.’

Readying his knife, Cain reached for Jeff’s nearest hand.