Turn for the Worst

Chapter 10

Arthur finishes up, leaving an unconscious Emma chained to the bed. Of course, he didn't know her name yet, but he intended to find out.

He climbs the stairs of his little domain and locks the door, leaving her in the dark.

Arthur goes to his kitchen and opens a bottle of beer from the fridge. He looks around his small kitchen in which dirty dishes are piled high in the sink, an overflowing garbage can in the corner created an unpleasant stench and children's toys lay around, causing him to stub his toe. In frustration, he kicks his son's toy car to the side on his way to sit down. The house really falls apart when the family is away.

He sits down at the kitchen table, sipping his beer slowly. He looks at the woman's purse that he had acquired the night before. The drug he put in her drink had worked almost too well, she was barely conscious when he found her behind the bar. It took everything he had to try and remain inconspicuous as he guided the young woman to his car and put her in the back seat. He drove off, never looking back or thinking about his victim's well-being.

He had been out in search of someone that night. Someone perfect...

He had had his eye on one of the tanned waitresses at the bar, one that was secretly taking shots when her boss wasn't looking, but... she wasn't very bright. She made things way too easy. She'd sleep with him instantly, but he didn't want that...not yet at least.

Then the green-eyed blonde had caught his eye as she and her friends had walked in for karaoke. He had never seen anyone so beautiful and someone who could turn heads when she walked into the room. Of course, all the women who had walked in were very beautiful, any one of them would have been perfect for him. At one point, he wanted one of the red-heads, but out of all of them, the blonde was always alone. All the others were accompanied by someone, but she stood alone. It was easy, but not too easy. She was obviously smart, despite her blood alcohol level. She would not come willingly. That's where the drug came in, he ordered the exact same drink she had, laced it with a strong drug and when she wasn't looking, made the swap. He knew it was working when she went outside, stumbling slightly.

He opens the purse and begins looking through it. He finds a wallet and opens it.

The driver's license... Arthur examines the photo carefully; he is taken by her beauty.

Emma Elizabeth Swan

DOB: October 23, 1983

Height: 5.4ft

Weight: 119 lbs

Eye Colour: Green

Hair Colour: Blonde

Expiry: 09/2019

He stares at her for a long while, drinking and "absorbing" her beauty.

He finds a good amount of cash inside and he pockets it quickly. He tosses her credit cards across the table since he had no use for them right now. He finds a photo of three individuals, Emma, and two others. They are standing in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. A man and a boy. The man had a slight beard on his face, dark eyes and graying hair. The boy had a lively, rounded face with freckles, brown hair, and hazel eyes. He smiles brightly at the camera. He immediately assumes that this is her family. He takes the photo out of the wallet and looks at the back of it.

The description, Emma, Neal, and Henry, 6 yrs old is written in faded ink.

Arthur feels a slight lump in his throat. This woman would be missed... he knew what that was like. He had a son and daughter of his own, just around the same age. They would surely miss him if he was gone.

Maybe this wasn't the one to grab... he thinks to himself.

He throws the wallet on the table and continues his raid of the purse. He finds a pack of tissues, some extra pocket money, lip gloss, pepper spray, rubber gloves, a stun gun, feminine products, perfume, a condom, a necklace with a swan pendant on the end of it, and her phone.

He turns the phone on and almost immediately the phone begins to buzz and light up with many messages and missed calls from worried loved ones. He doesn't even react, but he needs a passcode to get in. Not discouraged, he goes into one of the drawers in the kitchen and gets out his own instructions for an iPhone. He looks on how to reset a password and gets in after a few minutes of fiddling with it. He'd done such things before, it was almost routine now.

He begins scrolling through the messages from people she was close to, especially Henry and a man name Killian. Henry was obviously the woman's son, but who was this Killian? Wouldn't this Neal fellow be more worried about her if he was her husband?

Arthur frowns and then finds the photos app. One of the first photos to appear was Emma with a man who had dark hair and bright blue eyes. He had a beard and both were smiling and toasting drinks at some party. Swiping to the next photo, the two are kissing. This man was not Neal...perhaps she was divorced from this Neal, and this was Killian. He continues to scroll through her photos, finding pictures with those he can assume are her friends, some of which he can vaguely remember seeing the other night. There are also pictures of her with a much older Henry; one of her and her son at some swim meet, her son has a medal around his neck, another at a graduation, a few from birthday parties and other random events.

Arthur swallows hard as the messages continue to roll in as if calling out for their friend or mother. He knows that iPhones can be easily traced these days. He turns the data off, wipes the surface of the phone clean. He then takes the phone, grabs his keys and leaves his house. He locks the door, but he doubts this Emma would wake up anytime soon if the drugs he gave her were very strong, plus the handcuffs. This gives him at least a few hours to cover any evidence and figure out what to do next.

As he drives, he thinks about his next step; he had the girl but what was next? His wife and kids would be back on Monday, having taken a trip to see the grandparents for the weekend, leaving him alone. He knew he couldn't hide this woman for long, especially if she fought and screamed the way she did. He grips the steering wheel tightly as he drives to the outskirts of Boston, finding a farmer's field and tosses the phone out the window and into the grasses.

Hey readers, thanks for the comments so far. Sorry if this chapter is short, but we will learn more about Arthur as the story progresses. Please follow and review