Sugar & Spice by Keith Lee Johnson Page A

Sarah’s brown eyes. The terror he saw in them excited him. The man rubbed the whip all over her body, and in small circles around her stiff nipples. The other man was busy putting something together. Suddenly, the man with the whip started to disrobe. That’s when Sarah’s eyes began to bulge out of her head. She knew that the two men intended to rape her. She struggled tofree herself, but it was no use. Sarah Lawford was going to be a statistic.
    Before she knew it, the man who had had the whip was pushing himself inside her. Sarah whimpered like a wounded animal as the intruder brutalized her for what seemed like an eternity. Unrelenting tears fell from the corners of her eyes, but the intruder was merciless. After thirty minutes of ruthless savagery, the man got off her and the other man got on top of her and continued where his twin left off.
    When they finished ravaging her, they strapped her into the portable gravity boots upside down. With whips in hand, the beating began. The whip crackled loudly and Sarah’s delicate body convulsed. Her muffled cries and groans were so terrible that only the Marquis de Sade could have listened to the flogging without covering his ears. One stinging blow after another, almost in synchronized rhythm, ripped away flesh all the way down to the bone. The lashing continued until unconsciousness ripped Sarah Lawford away from the brutality that seemed to go on forever. Then they dismembered her.

CHAPTER 25
    Nelson Blake decided to get out of town while the getting was good, he told Sterling. He had decided to take a vacation in the Caymans where Jericho Wise owned the Renegade Hotel and Casino. He feared the police might get creative and plant some evidence so that they could arrest him again. I knew if I was going to find out anything about what really happened to the warden and his wife, I would have to get it from him before he left the country. There was an eight-thirty flight leaving Dulles for the Caymans and Nelson Blake said he would definitely be on it.
    We all rode in Sterling’s limousine to the airport. But I wanted to speak to Blake alone. I thought that was the best way to get some vital information out of him. Blake and I sat at a table at T.G.I. Friday’s not far from gate D19. Sterling and Kelly sat a few tables from us.
    Blake stared at me while I questioned him. I could tell that he wanted me. In another place, in another time, if I weren’t married, and if he wasn’t a criminal, I might go for the young man. There was something attractive about him. Perhaps it was his cool exterior. Or maybe it was the danger that seemed to seep from his pores. Whatever it was, it was alluring, but I remained professional.
    â€œListen, Blake,” I began. “I know you weren’t involved with the Perkins murders. The drug dealing is another matter altogether. We may not be able to prove that you were supplying the prison, but I know you were.” Ibluffed. “However, I’m not interested in that crime. I’m interested in the murders. What can you tell me about them?”
    Blake smiled broadly. “You know, girl, you sho’ is sexy.”
    â€œThank you,” I said, then went right back to work on him. “Did the warden have enemies inside the prison? Maybe one of the guards wasn’t getting enough of the cut?”
    â€œI guess that ring means you married, huh?” Blake asked.
    I didn’t want to turn him against me, so I figured I’d better play along for a while. I had about two hours before his plane took off. If I became argumentative, he may not tell me anything at all.
    â€œYes,” I said and showed him the ring up close.
    â€œHumpf,” he grunted. “If I had you, I’da bought you one them Zsa Zsa Gabor rings. You know, one that would light up the night when the moonlight hit that bad boy. Like Alicia Keyes said, ‘Baby, you know you worth it.’”
    I smiled.