The Executioner

Hundred and Thirty-Three

‘Strutter,’ Hunter said, already knowing he was right.

‘He never changed.’ Tyler was fidgeting. ‘After all that time he was still a fucking bully. He made a scene and the manager asked him to leave. Everyone was staring at him, but for some reason he noticed Kate. He walked over to our table and said, “What the fuck are you looking at, you ugly pig?”’ Pain and anger erupted through Tyler’s body and he shuddered. ‘He made the same pig noises he used to taunt her with all those years ago, as if he’d recognized her.’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘Stupid me. I froze and didn’t do anything. I just sat there and watched him walk away after humiliating my wife once again. Kate wouldn’t stop crying after that and a week later she miscarried.’

Hunter shivered. Here comes the ‘last straw’.

‘She wanted that baby more than life itself. And to numb the pain, last New Year’s Eve she swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills.’ Tyler stood before the pictures on the wall, drooling with anger. ‘The psychological damage they did to Kate when she was young had been such that even after all those years it took only his voice and a few seconds to rip her apart.’ Tyler turned and faced Hunter. ‘I thought I had nothing else to live for. My nightmare had finally become a reality. And then I saw an article in the paper with a picture of a smiling priest – Brett fucking Nichols.’

Hunter remembered he and Garcia had found that same article inside Father Fabian’s room.

‘I realized that while I suffered, while Kate took her own life because of what they did to us, Strutter and his gang were living normal lives. All of a sudden I had a reason to live again.’

‘Revenge,’ Hunter whispered.

‘Yes.’ Tyler smiled. ‘The strongest reason of all. I swore I’d find them all and I’d make them pay. By the anniversary of Kate’s death, they’d all be dead. I’d mark Strutter with the blood of the family he killed, my own blood, and number the rest of them with their friends’. I’d make them suffer in the most grotesque way I could. I had money, lots of it, and in my world money is power. I hired people to dig into their lives. To find out where they were and what scared them to death. Everyone is scared of something, detective. Not necessarily a phobia, but if you dig deep enough you’ll find that everyone is scared of something. They had no right to destroy our lives.’

Tyler’s voice started to quiver. He was losing control. Hunter shifted uncomfortably on his knees, tugging at his cuffed hands.

‘Kate and mine were only two, but how many lives do you think they destroyed? Did they think they could do anything they wanted with no consequences? Well, they can’t. I’m their fucking consequence,’ he shouted while punching his chest with a closed fist. ‘They created me. They created the anger and hate that run through my veins. Hatred gave me something to live for again. Seeing the fear in their eyes as they recognized Kate’s picture, as they realized they were about to die their worst imaginable death, filled me with a mind-boggling pleasure. It changed me. And suddenly I wanted more than their lives and their fears. Torturing and killing them alone didn’t satisfy me. I needed to taste their blood and savor their flesh. It made me feel… powerfully different. You should try it sometime, detective. It’s a high like no other. Literally consuming your enemy – very addictive.’ Spit flew from his mouth as Tyler lost control. He approached the table and grabbed Hunter’s gun. ‘And no one will stop me from finishing this. No one will stop me from having the rest of their blood. NO ONE.’

Time was up.

Tyler took a step forward, aimed the gun at Garcia’s head and squeezed the trigger.