Blood of Gold by Duncan McGeary Read Free Book Online Page A

of the coming conflagration of the house, and before he lit the match, he satisfied himself, spraying his seed into the middle of the living room. Then he tossed the match at the gas can and walked out of the house as it burst into flame and practically exploded behind him.
    Setting fire to the house was what he’d planned to do anyway, after he killed the girls and doused them with gasoline. But now, with all the fires around town, there wouldn’t be any questions from the authorities. He’d get a nice, tidy two hundred thousand bucks of insurance, with little chance they’d accuse him of arson. And there wouldn’t be any bodies to raise the alarm.
    Not that random bodies would have much impact these days. In fact, there would have been no impact. It was his perfect opportunity. Still, he kind of got a kick out of the idea that his sex slaves were still alive and on the run. It wouldn’t have occurred to him to let them go, nor could he have resisted the temptation of one final, brutal rape before killing them, but now that they were gone, he found he was all right with it. He’d had a surfeit of death in the last few days. He wouldn’t have thought that was possible, and he doubted he’d ever have another chance to satiate himself. The thought of the three girls still existing in the world was somehow very pleasing.
    Maybe he’d have time to look them up later.
    As soon as he figured out exactly what the hell he was and what the hell it meant.
    The sun was starting to poke out from behind the clouds, and Kelton was exposed. He glanced back at the house, but he could see the flames already flickering in the windows.
    “Hey, neighbor,” he heard someone say. Two doors down, Harvey Stockman was coming down his steps. His mouth dropped open as he saw smoke come billowing out of Kelton’s home. “Oh, my gosh. I’m sorry about your house!”
    “Burst gas line,” Kelton said, shrugging. “I was planning to tear it down anyway. This just saves me the trouble.”
    He walked over to his neighbor, with whom he’d conversed maybe three times in the last dozen years. Kelton seemed to be twice the size of the little man; he was taller by a foot and a half, and broader in the shoulders and thighs. Stockman had him beat in the belly department, though. Kelton had always been strong, but now he felt as if he could have taken his chubby neighbor and ripped him in half.
    “Happening all over town,” Stockman said. “I was having plumbing problems, myself. You haven’t seen a plumbing truck around anywhere, have you? The guy went out for a part and said he’d be right back.”
    “What was the name?”
    “Parker Plumbing.”
    So that’s how the girls got away, Kelton thought. Good to know. Meanwhile, I need to get out of the sun. “Hey, can I use your phone?” he asked. “I should at least be on record for calling this in. Though I doubt anyone will show up.”
    “Phone wasn’t working, last time I checked,” Stockman said doubtfully.
    “Let’s check again.” Kelton grabbed him by the arm and guided him down the sidewalk, walking so fast that the little man had to break into a trot to keep up. They made it through the door just as sunlight washed over the front lawn. Kelton felt the back of his neck start to flare, and then they were inside the dark, cool house.
    Stockman’s equally chubby wife and his two chubby kids were in the kitchen, and their eyes grew big when they saw Kelton looming in the doorway. Kelton put on his best smile. Years ago, by accident, he’d stumbled upon a big artificial grin that seemed to work with people, though he didn’t know why, and he could turn it on any time. As long as people didn’t look him in the eye and see the perfectly blank coldness there, he was pretty convincing. He was always careful to be looking at something else when he turned on the charm.
    The house was the perfect place to hide out until nightfall. And it came with the added bonus of some chubby