Evil Never Dies

Chase turned to her. “I also wanted to tell you that I’ve authorized two of my best men to check out the area in and around Be

That bit of news surprised her. Chase was letting her know he’d listened to her concerns about Be

“Don’t get too excited. I’m not doing it because I think you’re right about the man. I’m doing it for peace of mind.”

“Got it.”

With nothing better to do, they both headed into the living room to see what was going on.

Badar would not let up, and he finally had to be dragged out in cuffs by Chase. Once Badar was secure inside the back of Detective Chase’s sedan, the detective walked over to where Lizzy stood a few feet away.

“What about the girl?” Chase asked Lizzy.

“What about her?”

“I don’t think her brother is going to let it go, and I’m not sure how long I can detain him.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Lizzy said. “Can’t you threaten the boy with jail time or something?”

He shrugged. “I’ll see what I can do. The kid’s ru

Lizzy watched Chase walk back to his car and said, “You’ll keep me updated on the Be

“Do I have a choice?”

No, you don’t, she thought as she watched him get in his car and take off down the street. Lizzy looked at the baby wrapped in her arms and brought her tiny face next to hers. She smelled like sweet i

When Lizzy stepped inside the house, Salma and Joey were waiting for her.

Lizzy handed her the baby. Before she could talk to them about what had just transpired, she felt the vibration of her cell phone in her back pocket. The caller ID told her it was the prosecutor, Grady Orwell.

“I have bad news,” he told her when she answered.

Lizzy walked through the house, weaving around overturned furniture and broken pottery, making her way toward the office at the end of the hallway, away from everyone else. “What is it?”

“Olimpia Padula,” he said. “She was found dead in her apartment. Drowned in the bathtub.”

Lizzy stopped walking. “Jesus.”

“They’re calling it accidental.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. Thanks for letting me know.” Lizzy disco

“What’s wrong?” Hayley asked. “Who was that?”

Lizzy walked into the office.

Hayley followed behind and shut the door.

“Olimpia Padula is dead.” Lizzy took a seat at the desk and let her head fall into the palms of her hands. A few seconds passed before she gathered herself and looked up at Hayley. “I should have parked my ass in front of Olimpia’s apartment 24-7. Fuck that man!” She took a breath. “Be

“What do you propose?” Hayley asked.

“Be

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

They had parked the car blocks away and then made their way into Be

As she had seen the man do many times before, he parked his car near the fountain in front of his mansion. As he busied himself with unlocking the front door, Lizzy moved swiftly and silently after him. When he’d stepped inside and disabled the alarm, she rushed up from behind, put the TASER to his neck, and hit the switch.

He collapsed to his knees; fell flat to the marble floor, his body twitching. His face, turned to one side, contorted as he grimaced in pain and shock.

Kitally, Hayley, and Lizzy all wore black. They also wore dark full-faced ski masks just like the one Hayley was now sliding over Be

Lizzy shut the door and locked it while Kitally wrapped duct tape around Be

They dragged him through the house, to the side door leading into the garage. His head knocked into the door frame and then clunked against the doormat covering a small section of the cement floor.

“Watch his head,” Kitally said.

They ignored her.

There was only one other car, an expensive BMW, inside the five-car garage, leaving plenty of room for them to do their work.

As soon as he stopped twitching, Lizzy hit him with the TASER again, giving him a good jolt. “How does it feel to be naked and powerless, Mr. Be

He grunted, tried to say something, but had a difficult time getting any words out. “You . . . will . . . pay . . . for . . . this,” he finally managed.

Lizzy held out her hand toward Hayley. “Give me the baton.”

Hayley did as she said.

Lizzy extended the stick and cracked it hard across the pale flesh of his thigh.

His pride did not allow him to scream out in pain. Although most of his face was covered, she could see the agony in the clenching of hands and teeth.

“Get on all fours,” Lizzy told him. “I want to see you walk around on the cold cement floor like the pig you are. Do it now or I’ll zap you with the TASER.”

He didn’t move.

She swatted him again, swinging harder this time, hitting him across the chest and then the stomach.

His knees rolled up to his chest in pain, but then he did as she said. He rolled over and pushed himself to his hands and knees.

“Move around in circles and squeal like a pig. We’re getting this on tape, so make it good.”

“You will die,” he said between pathetic squeals, his voice muffled beneath the mask.

She swatted him on the buttocks, leaving a red welt against his skin. “Squeal louder. We can’t hear you.”

He shrieked more than squealed. Pathetic. After a few seconds, he stopped, came to his knees, and put his hands to his neck. His fingers pulled and clawed at the ski mask covering his face.

Lizzy whipped his right arm and then his left. She swung out wide and came back hard, lashing his chest and then his side. Blind with rage, she whipped him across the shoulder. Blood spurted. An intricate network of red welts appeared.

He fell to the ground.

He was on his side, his knees curled close to his chest.

She couldn’t see through her fury, couldn’t stop whipping him, gaining no pleasure from what she was doing, just intent on stopping him from ever hurting another human being. He had been molesting young women for years. He raped and murdered and paid people to turn the other way.

Her arm was sore, her palm blistered from holding so tight to the baton, but she refused to stop.

She would put an end to this now.

She continued lashing out until, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kitally.

The horror she saw scrawled across her face prompted Lizzy to stop and take a step back. Her arm fell to her side, and the baton dropped from her hands, clanked, and rolled across the cement floor.

She turned her palms upward and saw a new blister forming. And then she looked at Be