Greed Read online

  “What the fuck, man?” Pie asked.

  “I told you this is some sick shit, purely because this was clearly his porn stash and he’s the main star. Believe me, this is not new to me. I wish it was.”

  Taking a deep breath, he didn’t know if this was the right thing to do or not. Rather than question his motives, he stayed seated and watched. This was personal to him because of what happened to Lindsey. He couldn’t get that shit out of his mind, and this fucker wasn’t just a one-time deal. From what he was seeing, he’d liked to rape women. It was how he got his personal kicks.

  “These tapes have been edited?”

  “Yeah, it would appear that your good doctor friend liked to make them himself. We found an entire system that allowed him to manipulate the tapes. Take out the shit you didn’t need. He had cameras all over the place, man. It wasn’t for security though.”

  The first tape showed a redhead entering his place. They were both laughing to start off with.

  Running a hand down his face, Pie kept on watching as the woman in question stepped into the living room. She looked at the walls that showed his many accomplishments in life.

  When Richard entered the room, he gripped her from behind, pulling her back.

  The redhead gave a little chuckle, shook her head, and pulled away.

  “Sorry, that’s not what I was thinking about,” she said.

  “That’s a shame. How about a drink?”

  “I’d love to.”

  “Take a seat.”

  The redhead sat down on the sofa. She had this sweet smile on her face. Seconds later the monster suddenly came into view. The man he’d seen holding Lindsey down. He held two cups. “This is a perfect roast coffee. I have it imported because I love the taste. It’s strong, so go carefully.”

  The redhead took a sip. “That’s so good. It tastes amazing.”

  More time went by, and they were chatting, openly flirting. It wasn’t obvious, but Pie saw her change before his eyes. Her eyes seemed to go just a little wider and her lips pouted. She turned toward the doctor. Her entire body was open to him, looking almost needy where seconds before the coffee, that hadn’t been the case. If he’d not known anything about the doctor, he wouldn’t have been suspicious.

  “You want me to fuck you, baby?” he asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You want my dick inside you?”

  “Hum,” she said.

  She wasn’t fighting or arguing. In fact, she did seem to look like she was into the idea, but his gut was telling him it was all wrong.

  “You want it? You want me?”

  Again, another confirmation. Seconds passed as he kissed her. She didn’t fight him off. It’s was as if she wanted it. The tape kept on playing, luring them in.

  “I noticed that he has two tapes,” Diaz said. “One copy has this section and it cuts off. The other, the one you’re watching, is intact and full.”

  What happened next shocked the fuck out of Pie, even though he was expecting it, knew it was going to happen. Richard attacked the redhead, knocking her to the ground. Her face hit the table, and she was unconscious.

  Tapping his fingers, Pie forced himself to stay seated at Richard dragged her by her hair through his apartment toward the bedroom.

  “He had two bedrooms,” Diaz said. “One he clearly slept in. This bedroom he’d modified.”

  The camera changed, and the redhead was out cold on the table, her arms strapped up.

  Pie couldn’t handle much more, and what he saw made him sick to his stomach. “Turn it off.”

  Diaz signaled for his guy to come on back.

  “Were they all like that?”

  “Your doctor liked to play a lot and in different ways. Some of the women were still out of it when he raped them. Others were awake, begging him. It depended on whatever took his fancy, I guess.”

  “I want to know who that redhead is,” Pie said. “Have you been able to find out who is on the tapes just from their appearance alone?”

  “We’ve gotten a couple of people.” Diaz clicked his fingers and three files were put in his grasp. “We checked six people. Three of the women killed themselves. These three are still alive. We’re going through the tapes, going so far as to get a good look at their faces. What are you thinking of doing?”

  “These women have a right to know what happened to them.”

  “He’s dead.”

  “And how do we know he wasn’t holding these tapes against them?” Pie asked. “Why hasn’t a woman come forward? Why hasn’t this piece of shit been caught? I don’t know who this doctor was. I only knew what I saw with Lindsey. They all have a right to know what happened to the tapes.” Before the rape, it showed the women consenting to whatever the good doctor wanted to do to them, and then after, it showed his abuse. He didn’t understand it. A man that had his own personal rape porn stash, how could he not have been caught? Or had charges?

  “This is going to put you in a sticky situation.”

  “No, it’s not. I won’t let it. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Why?”

  “From what I just saw, I’ve got a feeling all of these women will want to know he’s dead and he’s not coming back.” Pie pulled out the five grand. He couldn’t just walk away, not now. Not after he saw what happened to Lindsey. There’s no way he’d be able to. Also, he couldn’t just walk away, not after going to the Billionaire Bikers’ MC picnic. He had no interest in partnering up, but he also wouldn’t let a monster be allowed to scare his prey from the grave.

  “Man, I told you, I don’t need that.”

  “I don’t give a fuck. You did me a favor, and I appreciate that. This is for the ground work on finding these women. That’s all.”

  Diaz nodded. “I’d still do the work for free.”

  “Now you don’t have to, and you’ll do a better job.”

  “Bite me.”

  He slapped Diaz’s arm, and bumped fists with a few of the crew before heading out. Landon was waiting. He leaned against his bike, sucking on a lollipop.

  “Maya get you into that habit?”

  Maya was Holly’s half-sister who’d been living with Landon, getting back on her feet after her father paid a group of men to attack her. She was now under the protection of the Trojans MC.

  “I think so. She loves their sweetness a whole lot. I make her go to the dentist every three months. I can’t handle a chick crying at the best of times. Rotten teeth, not going to do it for me.”

  He chuckled. “I know the feeling.”

  “You get what you needed?”

  “I did.” He opened the first file and saw the woman in question lived about a thirty-minute drive from Diaz’s place. Richard had worked locally with his victims.

  “What’s that?”

  “You can either head back to the clubhouse or come with me.”

  “Who is she?”

  “One of his victims that didn’t get away.”

  “There’s really tapes?” Landon asked.

  “Yep, and I couldn’t watch all of it.”

  “Fuck,” Landon said. “And you killed this asshole? Sounds to me like he needed to become someone’s bitch in prison.”

  “Not if he knew no one could testify. You coming?”

  “Wait? No one has testified against this piece of shit?” Landon asked.

  “He was still working at an award-winning plastic surgery clinic. His name on the door. You tell me. Clearly, this guy had fucking leverage over these women. He … part of the tape showed their willingness, if you catch my drift, and then it went into something dark.”

  “You know, these women could point you out to the cops,” Landon said. “This is fucking dangerous. You should just walk away.”

  “I can’t. I wish I could, but I feel I need to do this, regardless. These women, I’ll assess as I go, but these tapes need to go, even if they destroy them themselves. They need closure. The sick things this fucker did, I can’t just let it go. Not yet, an
d if that’s the risk, I’ll take it. You coming?”

  “Might as well. You want to play the hero right now, and I get it. I’ll stop you getting killed. Lindsey would talk my ear off for days. You’re the only one that can seem to keep up with her.”

  He smiled, just thinking about her incessant need to keep on talking and about any topics. It was one of things that drew him to her. She spoke at times just for the sake of filling a gap.

  Yeah, he adored her.

  No doubt about that.

  Actually, when it came to Lindsey, he fucking loved her, and it wasn’t just the love of a friendship either. It went deeper than that.

  Climbing on his bike, he placed the files into his inner jacket and took off, heading toward the first woman’s location.

  He and Landon parked up after the thirty-minute ride. When he made his way toward her apartment, building, he checked the apartment number before heading to the sixth floor. Knocking on the door, he waited.

  No answer.

  “People work during the day. Does it say what she does?” Landon asked.

  Checking the details again, he nodded. “She’s a florist.”

  “We better wait it out.”

  For the next hour they waited for the woman to arrive, and when she did, Pie felt for the woman. Her head was downcast, and she looked petrified.

  The moment she saw them, she froze.

  “You don’t have to be afraid,” Pie said. He was really putting his fucking ass on the line right now.

  “Yeah, tell that to the woman that’s just seen two fuck-ass bikers,” Landon said.

  “I’m here about someone you used to know. Maybe went on a date with him a couple of times,” Pie said. “Went by the name Richard Strong.”

  “I didn’t do anything or say anything. I’ve been good,” she said. “Please, tell him I didn’t say anything. I’m fine. Please, my shop is my life.”

  He heard her start to panic.

  “This isn’t about that, okay? You don’t have to worry about him. He’s not going to hurt you any more, I promise.”

  She held the bag of groceries to her chest, obviously doubting every single word he said.

  “We know what he did,” Landon said, speaking up.

  “I have a friend. She got away, but he nearly did it to her as well.”

  The woman visibly paled.

  “We just want to talk,” Pie said.

  “You’re not here for him?”

  “Fuck, no,” Pie said.

  She nodded her head and moved a bit closer. As she opened her apartment door, he saw that she had several locks that were designed to keep people out.

  She placed her groceries on the kitchen table before turning back to look at them. She seemed to pace herself before looking at them. Clearly, she was visibly shaken by the whole event.

  “What do you want to know?”

  Her hands shook, and she folded them against her body, hiding her reaction.

  “Why didn’t you ever report him?” Pie asked.

  She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “After he showed me the tape, I wanted to. The thing was, he’d given me something. A drug. Erm, he had two recordings. He had the one not long after the drug where it made me say and do things that … erm, wouldn’t have, er, showed force. Then he told me he had the tape of what I did. I never saw the actual tape of what happened. My body, I … knew what had happened. I knew I wasn’t myself. He’d given me something to react that way. I didn’t want to have sex with him. I didn’t … I wanted to go home, but he said he had to stop by at his place first. I didn’t think anything bad. He was a doctor, you know. Taught to take care of people. I didn’t expect what happened next.”

  “Did he get you hooked on it?” Landon asked.

  “No, but he promised that the cops wouldn’t believe me. Who’d believe a doped-up florist versus a doctor that did pro bono work on burn victims, he said. He’d ruin my reputation, shut down my shop, which is my life. I wanted to report him, but seeing the way I was after he gave me something, I knew I couldn’t fight that. I don’t have the money or the resources to fight that. I’d be ruined. I know that he’d probably do it to someone else, but I had to walk away. That I had to go back to my boring life and forget he ever existed. I wanted to go to the police. I’d never taken drugs in my life, but as I was strapped down, after he did what he did. There’s no way anyone would believe me, no one.” She laughed. “I even believed him that I must have been begging for it in some way. That’s how his mind tricks work.” Tears were in her eyes. “So, I went home, in a cab that he didn’t pay for. I got on with my life, or tried to. It’s kind of hard to attempt a relationship when you know he could bring that damn tape around, that he was filming me begging him. That he told me he had more and if I ever stepped out of place, he’d ruin me.” She took a deep breath.

  “I have the tapes,” Pie said. “I’ll give them to you. You’re free now.”

  She looked at his leather jacket then at him. “Free?”

  “He won’t hurt you anymore.”

  The tears that had been in her eyes, fell.

  “You shouldn’t be telling me this,” she said.

  “I am. He’s not going to hurt you anymore.” He pulled out her file and slid it across the table. “Your disk will arrive within the next twenty-four hours. Do with it what you will, just don’t mention me being here.”

  “He means that. Don’t mention it to fucking anyone, you understand?” Landon asked.

  “Don’t,” Pie said.

  “No, I won’t, I promise. I won’t say a word. He’s really gone?”

  He nodded his head, and he saw the tears of relief in her eyes. He’d done the right thing, no matter what anyone said. He couldn’t just walk away.

  Pie didn’t linger. He didn’t see a reason to.

  Leaving her apartment, he made his way downstairs to his bike.

  “What the fuck, Pie?” Landon asked. “She could go to the cops.”

  “She’s not going to.”

  “How do you know?”

  “She wanted him dead. Didn’t you see that look in her eyes?”

  “Because he was an asshole.”

  “Men like Richard don’t inspire loyalty, Landon. After what he did, what I saw, and I didn’t even watch the whole thing—she wanted him dead because she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t even move on with her life for fear of him coming back into it. It’s why I told her what I did.”

  “You know Duke is going to be really fucking pissed with you.”

  “Let him. He’d do the same fucking thing.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I know that I can’t go around not letting these women have some kind of closure. It’s why I’ll keep doing what I do.” Straddling his bike, he looked toward Landon. “You can either come with me or go back to the clubhouse. I have two more people to see, and I’m going to do it.”

  ****

  Lindsey was so nervous as she opened her locker, placing her stuff back inside. Her makeup was quite thickly done, but it also seemed like she was just trying a new look. Working in a plastic surgery clinic, people didn’t really talk about things that involved a change of look.

  Her hand shook as she closed her locker and ignored the pristine-looking staffroom. Whoever Pie had gotten to handle the fine details had done a bang-up job of making it all look normal.

  Not for a single second did it look like someone had fought for their life, or been held against their will, struggling.

  “Let go of me. Stop!”

  She walked out of the staffroom, placing a hand to her stomach to try to calm her nerves. She truly believed she was going to be sick.

  At the front desk, she opened up the appointment book and saw lots of black marks, and crosses out, and other stuff.

  “Tiffany quit,” Brian said, coming up to the desk.

  She looked up to see Richard’s partner.

  “Oh, is that why she decided to use the appoint
ment book for a coloring one?” She turned the page, and still, all of her carefully organized notes were crossed out, or heart shapes decorated the page. Even Tiffany’s name in bubble writing was there, and it just annoyed her.

  “Yes, around the time that I got a call from Richard. He’d decided to take an extended vacation. Told me it was time I learned to walk on my own two feet. Fucking asshole. I’ve bene running this fucking surgery for years now, and he thinks it’s all him,” Brian said, shaking his head. “I’m pleased you’re back.”

  “You rarely stop by the front desk.”

  “That’s because I’m normally in surgery. Without you the past week or so, I have missed you.”

  Brian was the one that had a family. She’d seen his wife many times.

  “I believe Richard kept a spare appointment book in his office. I got to get back. I’ve got a consultation waiting. Marie’s organizing a replacement, and I currently have reached out to some other surgeons to take over Richard’s workload.”

  “You’re not going to wait for him to come back?”

  “I need help now. This surgery needs two of us here to keep on top of the demands.” He patted the top of the desk.

  “Is Richard’s, erm, office, open?”

  “Yes. You just head inside. I better go.”

  She didn’t want to go inside Richard’s office, but flicking through the pages of the appointment book, she didn’t have much choice. There were always two appointment books because Richard made her fill both out in case of emergencies.

  Turning on her computer, she brought up the calendar in the hope of finding all of the appointments collected in there, but alas, nothing.

  “Great.”

  Leaving the desk, she made her way toward Richard’s office.

  She didn’t want to go in there, and her hands felt cold and clammy just at the thought.

  “It’s just an office.”

  Twisting the knob, she opened the door and waited. The room was bright as he demanded floor to ceiling windows. She wondered how many victims had been in his room and wanted to toss the bastard out of it and see his lifeless corpse on the ground below.

  She thought back to his body on the staffroom floor. His neck twisted at an odd angle. He’d thought he was so invincible, that no one could get him, or hurt him, or attack him.