Oh, sweet Jesus.
The sight, although overwhelming, was not unexpected. Two human corpses hung upside down from the ceiling, suspended by ropes. Both were naked. Both had their throats cut open.
Both had been completely drained of blood. The gashes in their necks had been cut all the way to the bone, nearly decapitating both men. They were heavily bearded. One had a lot of tattoos. Both were likely homeless men.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
My knees threatened to give. Hell, my whole world threatened to give. If I had needed to breathe, I would have been gasping. I probably would have fainted, too. Sherbet stumbled in behind me, making a strangled sound. But he kept it together.
We both spotted the men with the girl at the same time.
"Get the fuck down, motherfuckers," said Sherbet.
There were two of them - the same two I had seen creeping around in my backyard. One was holding a wicked-looking knife. They had begun to make a run for it, but thought better of it. The one guy dropped the knife and got down.
The girl was sitting in a chair and shivering violently. Shivering because she was completely naked. She was also maybe eighteen years and if I had to guess she was a runaway: bruises on her body, needle tracks along her inner arm. She was whimpering and rocking hysterically.
So that's how they did it. Prostitutes. Bums. Or those without family and homes. Anyone who wouldn't be missed.
From deeper in the room, I heard the sounds of running feet and someone cursing.
"Get him, Sam," said Sherbet, nodding toward the sounds. "Get that piece of shit."
Now I was moving, flashing quickly through the cold room, around the hanging corpses, around a corner, and down a short hallway -
Where, at the far end, Robert Mason was opening a door.
I picked up my speed. The walls swept by in a blur, and I slammed into the ex-soap opera actor so hard that I drove him through the partially open door and into the room beyond, tearing the door from its hinges. We landed in a heap, with me on top, and I didn't stop punching Robert Mason and that beautiful face of his until I felt his cheekbones shatter.