he allowed her to have. He smiled at the thought of the fun they’d had, but it was time for her to go. She disgusted him now. She had brought this on. It was her fault. Having to deal with her caused him stress. If only she’d been better, nicer.
Why couldn’t you have been stronger? Like a Sarah? I might have kept you longer.
He stepped closer to the bars and stared down at her. Under the thin sheet, she was dressed in panties. That was the only clothes any of his girls were allowed to wear. The panties were changed twice a day and then they were shipped out to men all over the globe who yearned for the smell of a woman. If Jackie only knew how much money she had made him, she would be surprised he had to dispose of her.
The table behind him had all the tools he’d need. Elmore stepped over to it, grabbed a book of matches and a nail clipper and walked back to the cell door. He tore off one match, lit it and then tossed it at Jackie. The lit match almost extinguished itself in flight, but made it to her skin and flared out. Jackie moved a little in her sleep.
He tore off three matches, lit all of them together and tossed the trio at her. This batch stayed aflame better and landed on her ankle. It burned bright for a moment — then Jackie jumped and screamed.
They never seem to get used to the burning.
Jackie got to her feet and stood in the middle of her cell, staring at him. He knew she would be afraid as this wasn’t a normal visit. The clock on the cell wall had a purpose. He came with breakfast and he came with dinner. Then he came at nine in the evening, on the dot, every night and they were to be ready for him. With dinner, Jackie received a wet cloth and enough water to bathe and a new pair of panties. She knew, one odor, one speck of dirt on her person, and she would pay dearly. She had learned early. Pain was a serious motivator.
Elmore held the nail clipper out until it reached between the bars. Jackie hesitated for only a moment, then stepped closer in her bare feet and took the clipper.
Without a word, she attended to her fingernails. He’d been letting her grow them lately as her time with him was coming to a close.
The thrill of a new girl always stirred things in him that a girl of six months could never do. He would grab one this week or next week from the studio. It would be easy. The stupid girls put themselves out there, naive and vulnerable, almost announcing to the world that they want to be taken.
They show up at his studio to do a photo shoot in a pair of panties. During the shoot, they spill their life story. Mother doesn’t love them, family disowned them, living on the streets or with friends. No one knows they’re there, but they needed some quick cash. He butters them up and offers a premium contract for the studio that’s north of Toronto. To consider the job, they could come and see the studio. After agreeing, they end up in his cage. The cameras at L’Amore Studio would show the photo shoot, how professional it was and then the girl getting paid and leaving. What the camera doesn’t show was the girl walking out to the alley and getting in his car. No camera, or no one, ever set eyes on them again.
Jackie had been so easy. A clean girl who had been kicked out of her boyfriend’s house after a night of boozing. She’d explained to Elmore that her mother told her to not call begging for help if she ever shacked up with Mark. She’d had nowhere to turn. After three days in a shelter, Jackie had applied for the photo shoot and within two hours, she had been locked in Elmore’s cage.
The girl before Jackie got a fast execution. Elmore gave her a farewell hour of forced sex while Jackie was made to watch from her cage, and then he slit her throat. He remembered it distinctly because of how much blood there had been. It made him angry to no end that she could bleed that much, all over his clean floor. It took him two days to
Missy Tippens, Jean C. Gordon, Patricia Johns