Bad Games 2 - Vengeful Games Read Online Free PDF Page A

fell into somber masks of rumination, the subject of that rumination instantly shared when they eventually locked eyes.
    “They were off the radar, Dad. Even if that fucking family and their doctor hadn’t buried the adoption—and believe me, I dug—it’s obvious Arthur and James inherited our control; they would have avoided the limelight. Only pathetic serial killers want to be caught so they can have their fifteen minutes. James went out on his shield.”
    John nodded once, stood, and walked towards his kitchen window. He gazed outside, the now-setting sun reflecting in his unblinking eyes, his mind lost in a fantasy of things to come. He spoke in a low, dreamy tone—a haunted voice emanating from deep within the darkest chamber of his core. “It’s time to bring Arthur home. Let him know what real family is all about … what we’re truly capable of …”
    “We will,” Monica said. “We just have to be patient, Dad.”
    He nodded slowly, still unblinking out the kitchen window, still seeing nothing but the fantasy.
    “In the meantime, I’ll start gathering the necessary intel,” she said. “We want to wait for things to die down some anyway. Everything is too raw now. Too acute. We want to wait until they feel some measure of safety again. As if things might finally be getting better.” She licked her lips. “That’s when you and I start to play.”
    John turned from the window and looked at his daughter; his pupils were his whole eyes. “Before this is all over … they’ll be praying for death.”
    Monica licked her lips again. “Yes they will.”
     

Chapter 4
    Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

    Three months later

    The Lambert family had survived hell. Not only survived, but managed to kill one of their two evil captors.
    James “Jim” Fannelli was dead.
    Arthur “Arty” Fannelli, however, was alive, but had been severely wounded during the ordeal, and was now in custody of the Allegheny County Police in Pittsburgh, awaiting trial.
    Patrick and Amy Lambert, along with their two children, Carrie and Caleb, did not come away unscathed. Patrick had been badly beaten and stabbed, and Amy had been shot in the chest from close range. And then there was the psychological damage, to which the toll seemed unforgiving.
    Immediate counseling for quiet suburbanites like the Lamberts after such torment was strongly recommended, and, when offered, Patrick made one of the doctors laugh when he said it was like asking a sailor if he wanted to get laid after being away at sea.
    So for the three months that followed the harrowing incidents surrounding Crescent Lake, the family had been attending frequent sessions with a psychologist.
    To the surprise of no one, things were shaky from the start. Dr. Janet Stone explained that their psychological trauma would assuredly hit peaks and valleys for awhile, but in time the bad memories would become just that—memories. A thing of the past to which the old chestnut rang true: Take it one day at a time until each passing day carries less impact than the last. Even seven-year-old Carrie, who had been plagued with nightmares from day one, would soon follow suit, Dr. Stone assured—youth was on the little girl’s side.
    This logic proved especially true for four-year-old Caleb. The incident seemed a lost memory a mere week after arriving home. It was almost as if the boy had never been subjected to such horrors in the first place. That was until he put more than a dozen thumb tacks into Amy’s slipper one night, tearing her foot to shreds. A joke little Caleb thought Mommy would find amusing. She did not. A particular child psychologist referred by Dr. Stone was immediately contacted. Caleb Lambert’s appointment was scheduled for 7 p.m.
     

Chapter 5
    Dr. Bogan initially wanted to speak to Caleb with his parents in attendance. Carrie was in an adjoining room being entertained by the doctor’s wife with an array of books and toys.
    The first half of the session (Caleb