Devon hummed as he made his way through his house. He pulled the wig off and placed it back on the stand. Devon went through the motions as he cleaned and prepared himself for the night. He dressed and went down to the subbasement.
“Hello beautiful,” Devon greeted the man as he went to the closet and pulled out his waders and a smithing apron to wear.
The man struggled against the bonds and his cries were muffled by the gag that was tied tightly.
Devon walked around him as he pulled his plan to the front of his mind. He nodded and went to the large red tool chest. He opened the first drawer on the right and grinned. He lifted the hand sander and headed to the modified work bench. Devon made sure the straps were clean and sat the sander down. He turned and went to the storage closet off to the left and pulled out the bolt of tarp plastic.
The man’s eyes followed Devon as he spread out the plastic in layers under and around the table. The hairs began to stand up on his arms as Devon began to hum and upbeat tune while he sealed the gaps with gorilla tape. The man struggled against his bonds to no avail. He closed his eyes and sent up a silent prayer to a god he had long ago given up on.
Devon finished his preparations and went over to the man.
“Jon wasn’t it?” Devon pulled the key from around his own neck and unshackled the hands from the floor board ring first, “you won’t be missed. You’ve been very unkind and a horrible father to three lovely boys. Don’t worry,” he chuckled, “they’ll know you’re dead so that they can collect the insurance money. It is the very least you can do for your family.”
Jon tried to argue and plead around the gag as he pulled at the cuffs.
“You’re not my first nor will you be my last. I have perfected the hostage holding bonds. You’ll never get out of those cuffs. That’s why they’re separate then connected. A ton better than shackles. Now if you try to run this will take a lot longer than I have planned.”
Jon sagged and allowed Devon to move him from the floor to the work bench.
Devon untied the first layer of the gag then removed the cloth he has shoved in Jon’s mouth.
“You can scream as much as you’d like. We’re not that far from civilization but this room is sound proof and layers of concrete and a layer of steel between us and the earth.”
“Why?” Jon whimpered.
“Why not?” Devon shrugged.
“Someone hired you didn’t they?”
“Nope,” Devon popped the ‘P’, “I found you on my own. You originally bought the last case of Bluemoon and proceeded to almost run me over with your cart. That put you in my sights,” he undid the clasp in the middle of the cuffs and clasped them to the table, “then I followed you home. Your home life and the way you treat your family is what really landed you here.”
“W-what? I got the last beer?” Jon stared at him confused.
“Yes siree bob you did and that pissed me off,” Devon made sure Jon’s legs were secured before he plugged in the sander, “then I followed you home. I watched you for a few days. Your anger and your abusive nature did you in. Your sons deserve better,” his eyes darkened and his lips set in a fine line, “your wife should have left you a long time ago. I don’t know how she bore you three children and continued to stay with you,” he all but spat.
“Sh-she’s my second wife.”
“No matter,” Devon waved his hand in a flippant gesture, “we’ve ended up here either way.”
Devon picked his humming back up as he took the sander to each finger. He took his time and let the music of Jon’s screams lull him into his comfortable place. After he finished with both hands he went to the table he had set up the morning before and rolled it over still on the layered plastic.
“I think that I would love to see what your femur looks like,” Devon picked up a syringe and a small vial, “this will make sure that you’re not going into shock on me my lovely man,” he injected the medication above Jon’s hips, “you’ll be mostly numb from the waist down. I think I’m going to leave the femur for later. I saw what you did to the oldest boy’s knee. I think I’d like to see what a sober athletic man can accomplish,” he grinned.
“Please,” Jon’s couldn’t keep his eyes open and gasped as the pain radiated up his arms.
“Oops! I forgot your morphine,” Devon grabbed a clean syringe and picked up another vial and administered the pain medication in a low dose, “there. That’ll help keep your mind clear enough. Sorry about that. I almost had you slip away. It’s a funny thing how chemicals can trick the mind.”
“Don’t do this. You’ve taught me my lesson I swear.”
“No,” Devon’s smile dropped again as he balanced the mallet in his hands, “your oldest is about 19. You’ve got probably about 19 years still to learn but we don’t have that kind of time. So Jon I hope you’ve made your peace,” he brought down the sledge hammer with all his might.
Devon handed a cup of coffee to his receptionist.
“Janice if I ever promise to take another international call please murder me,” Devon joked.
“You were in there a lot longer than I thought. I saw you sneak out to get a late lunch. I would’ve ordered in for you. Thanks for the coffee! You always get my order right,” Janice took a sip and her eyes closed with pleasure, “so perfect.”
“I didn’t want to bother you. Plus, I needed the fresh air. Give me another hour and a half and we can be out of here,” he lifted the armful of folders and his laptop.
“Sure thing. I’ll keep the others out of your hair.”
Devon disappeared into his medium sized office. He went to his desk and turned off the call forwarding from the office phone. He pulled the mobile from the cabinet and swapped his SIM back into his real phone. Devon sat down at this desk and pulled up the research on his latest conquest. Valerie Austin, 32, single, and head of a major charity firm. He didn’t like the way she represented herself and she had taken his last girlfriend from him with a blink. Sometimes vendettas were moved to the list. Spontaneity wasn’t always the cleverest.