The Cellar by Richard Laymon Read Free Book Online Page A

looked at Jud, despair in his weary eyes.
    Jud pointed toward the newspaper clipping. “That says eleven people have died in Beast House.”
    “Its facts are correct, for a change.”
    “That’s a lot of killing.”
    “Indeed.”
    “Somebody should put a stop to it.”
    “I’d kill it myself, if I had the courage. But God, to think of entering that house at night! Never. I could never do it.”
    “Has anybody gone in after it?”
    “At night? Only a fool…”
    “Or a man with a very good reason.”
    “What kind of reason?” Larry asked.
    “Revenge, idealism, money. Has a reward ever been offered?”
    “For killing it? Its existence isn’t even admitted , not by anyone but old Kutch and her crazy son. And they certainly don’t want it harmed. That goddamned beast, and its reputation, is their sole source of income. It’s probably all that keeps the town afloat, for that matter. Beast House is no Hearst Castle or Winchester House, but you’d be surprised how many people will pay four bucks a head for a guided tour of an old place that not only boasts a legendary monster but that also was the scene of eleven brutal murders. They come from all over California, from Oregon, from everystate in the union. A family driving through California can’t pass within fifty miles of Malcasa Point without its kids screaming to tour Beast House. Tourist dollars are the lifeblood of the town. If somebody were to kill the beast…”
    “Think of the tourists its carcass would bring,” Jud suggested, grinning.
    “But the mystery would be gone. The beast is the heart of that house. The house would die without it. Malcasa Point would follow close on its heels, and the people don’t want that.”
    “They’d rather have the killing continue?”
    “Certainly. An occasional killing does wonders for business.”
    “If the town is that way, it doesn’t deserve to live.”
    “A perceptive man your father was, naming you Judgment.”
    “You said you would kill the beast yourself, if you could.”
    “If I had the courage, yes.”
    “Have you ever thought of hiring someone to do it for you?”
    “Who could I hire for a job like that?”
    “Depends on what you’re willing to pay.”
    “What’s a good night’s sleep worth, eh?” The grin on his hollow face looked grotesque.
    “You might look upon it as a contribution to humanity,” Jud said.
    “I assume you know someone who might be willing, for a large sum of money, to enter the house at night and dispatch the beast?”
    “I might know someone,” Jud told him.
    “What would it cost?”
    “That depends on the risk involved. He’d have to know a lot more before making a firm commitment.”
    “Can you give me a rough idea?”
    “His minimum would be five thousand.”
    “His maximum?”
    “No maximum.”
    “My funds aren’t bottomless, but I believe I’d be willing to invest a considerable portion of them, if necessary, in a project of that type.”
    “What are you doing tomorrow?”
    “I’m open to suggestions,” Larry said.
    “Why don’t the two of us drive up the coast, bright and early, and pay a visit to Beast House.”
5.
    The two cups of coffee didn’t keep Jud awake when he got back to his apartment. He fell asleep at once, and if he dreamed at all, he remembered none of it when the alarm clock blared at 6 A . M . Monday.

C HAPTER F OUR
    Roy woke up in a king-sized bed. Next to him, face down with her hands tied behind her back, lay the girl Joni. She was naked. A short length of clothesline led from her wrists to Roy’s right hand. He untied his hand, then both of hers.
    He rolled Joni onto her back. Her eyes were open. She looked up at him, through him, past him. Almost as if she were blind.
    “Sleep well?” he asked.
    She didn’t seem to hear.
    He placed a hand on her chest, feeling the steady beat of her heart, and the rise and fall of her breathing.
    “Where’s your spirit?” he asked, and laughed.
    She didn’t blink or move. Not