CHAPTER 2

BROCK STORM

I wondered when or if I would ever see Destiny Knight at Cotton Creek Cove Fellowship. When I began attending almost a year earlier, it didn’t take long to discover that she was related to Belle Knight. After all they had the same last name, they bore an uncanny resemblance to each other, and they both were adult entertainers from Minnesota. Then Belle confirmed my deductions by asking for prayers for her niece, Destiny.

I had never told Belle that I had known Destiny. Belle had become a well-known minister to women in the sex industry. However, she was widely criticized for having a niece that was actively doing porn and feature dancing around the country. Not once did I ever hear Belle criticize Destiny, though. Just the opposite as a matter of fact. Belle exhibited love and concern for her long lost niece, and now it looked like her prayers might have been finally answered.

I spied on Destiny all through the service. I had a hard time concentrating on the sermon. Her honey blonde hair was twisted in a French braid. Her bright blue eyes looked wide and innocent, contradicting her past. She was shrouded in a long, light blue dress that illuminated her stunning arctic blue eyes. She wore saddle shoes with white ankle socks. Her look was retro of the 1950’s.

Looking at Destiny in church, you never would have guessed that the wholesome appearing beauty was a former porn star. She had no tattoos, no piercings beyond each ear lobe, and no cosmetic surgery. Then again, playing the sweet girl next door was always part of her shtick. Maybe it wasn’t entirely an act.

I was in a dilemma. Did I approach her to see if she remembered me? Or would she be embarrassed with how we were associated? After all, I didn’t even really know her. We were simply acquaintances from nine years ago. I did save her from being raped, however, and possibly saved her life in the process.

Then again, if she was going to start attending Cotton Creek Cove, we were going to cross paths sooner rather than later. I might as well get it over with. But it made me nervous, apprehensive, even feeling shy. But why?

In my relatively short time doing security at night clubs, she was the only girl that really got to me. Was it her cute, good girl persona? Maybe she was a better actress than I gave her credit for. Yet if it was entirely an act, what was she doing here at church? And not only in attendance, but appearing genuinely interested in the preaching?

In the lobby after the service, Belle and Destiny were chatting with Mary Gold Weston, one of the main pillars at Cotton Creek Cove. As I approached, Destiny’s back was mostly toward me. Belle faced Destiny, as well as myself, as I walked toward the trio of ladies.

“Hi, Brock,” Belle greeted cheerfully. “I’d like you to meet my niece.”

“Hello, Destiny,” I said as Belle’s niece turned to look at me.

Her eyes widened as a startled look appeared on her face. She took a step back, and as a gasp, said my name. “Brock!”

What an idiot! Just pop over and say hi. Just a couple of old chums from the strip club days. Then to my relief, a big grin appeared on her face, and she added. “Is it really you?”

“It’s me,” I replied lamely with a weak smile. I was apprehensive as to where this might be going.

“Brock, how are you?” Destiny asked sweetly and with growing excitement.

“I’m good,” I said a shrug. My smile grew bigger, and I relaxed a little bit.

“I can’t believe it,” she said as if in wonder. “Talk about a small world!”

Then she stepped toward me and we awkwardly embraced. Amazingly, it felt familiar. But how could it? Especially since this time she wasn’t naked, frightened, and trembling uncontrollably, like she was on that awful night almost a decade ago. To my surprise, tears began to fill her eyes when our hug broke. Belle stared at us with a stunned expression, her mouth hanging open.

“Belle, this is the man I told you about the other night,” Destiny said wiping at her eyes. “Brock saved my life nine years ago.”

Belle gazed at me in wonder, almost as if I had two heads. Then she put her hands on her hips, and her countenance turned stern.

“You know,” Belle began to playfully scold. “I’ve been around the block a few times in my life. But you, Mr. Brock Storm, have got to be the most mysterious man that I have ever met. So all of the times that I petitioned the congregation to pray for my niece, you knew exactly who I was talking about?”

I didn’t reply. I just shrugged.

“Answer me, young man,” she said sternly, but I could see merriment dancing in her eyes.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. “I knew who you were talking about.”

Destiny’s head was bowed. From what I could see, she had a strange look on her face. I couldn’t tell if she was feeling humbled or amused. Maybe it was an odd mixture of the two.

“Forget about that guy from the Dos Equis commercial,” Belle said. “I think you have to be the most interesting man in the world.”

Destiny glanced at me with a little smirk.

“Aw, shucks, ma’am,” I said with a little grin, and the three ladies chuckled.

“Belle and Mary, would you mind if I had a word with Brock alone?” Destiny asked.

“Of course not, dear,” Belle said, but then seemed to eye me with suspicion.

“Would you mind?” Destiny asked me.

“Not at all,” I replied, but with a questioning arch of my eyebrow.

“Is there some place private?”

“Come with me,” I said as my curiosity continued to grow. “I’ll show you a really nice place.”

We went outside and she followed me like a trusting little girl. She was probably comfortable with me because of our shared ordeal. There were also all the times we crossed paths working the club. Her job was to entertain lustful men, while my job was to make sure lustful men behaved.

But Destiny didn’t know how I had changed over the years. She didn’t know that I had become a killer, and had developed a blood lust. Would she be following me so readily if she knew the evil that lurked in my heart? If she knew I was the chief hypocrite in this church’s congregation?

“I love it here,” Destiny cooed as I took her into a canopy of pine trees.

The area was about a football field’s length from the back of the church. There was a circle of twelve big, old, white pine trees. A half circle of them formed on the east side of Cotton Creek and a half circle formed on the west side. Interspersed to the north of the circle of pines were about twenty cottonwood trees and to the south were at least twenty more.

We sat on a couple benches that faced the back side of the church. The house of worship was actually an old, renovated barn. Behind us, and to the west, were forty acres of open meadow with wildflowers before at least one hundred acres of forest in a preserve. There were hiking trails through both the meadow and the woods. We sat on a bench under the canopy of evergreens with the rippling creek five feet below. The flowing water gurgled a relaxing melody through dozens of rocks.

“It’s so peaceful here,” Destiny said in wonder as she took in the majestic beauty of the area. “I mean it certainly looked picturesque from a distance, but it is absolutely amazing up close.”

“I love it here,” I told her. “I’ve come here often to get my head together.”

She looked at me. “How long have you been going to Cotton Creek Cove?”

“Almost a year.”

“So you’re a member?”

I shook my head. “Not officially.”

“So do you live in Cedar Rapids?”

“Outside of the city, in the country.”

“Do you work here then?”

“I refurbish old cars and motorcycles with a friend of mine.”

“I see.”

“How did you end up here?” I asked, changing the subject off of me.

“Oh,” she replied as if slightly startled by the question. Then she told me about her girlfriend leaving her. Her depression, her suicide contemplation, and then looking up her aunt.

We were silent for about half a minute after she finished. Then she inquired. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve always wanted to know how you saved me. I mean, how did you end up at my apartment the night that I was almost raped when you should have been doing security at the club?”

“Well,” I began. “My first concern came when I noticed that you were getting rather chummy with Jezebel Black. Second was when I saw how obsessed that psycho gangster Malcolm Reed was with your act. Last but not least, I knew that you left with Jezebel that night.

“So fifteen minutes after you both leave, I saw Jezebel come back into the club by herself, and Malcolm Reed was nowhere to be seen. I guess I had a gut instinct that they were setting you up.

“I had recently given Paige Moyer a ride home, and she mentioned you lived in the same building as her. She pointed out which one was your apartment on the fourth floor. So the night you left with Jezebel, I went to your place, and I climbed up the fire escape and peeked in your window. By the way, sorry about invading your privacy.”

“Are you kidding me?” Destiny exclaimed, and then laughed. “If you hadn’t looked into my window, I might be dead. I for sure would have been raped.”

“Yeah, okay, so I look into your window and I saw Reed with a knife at your neck as he was tearing your clothes off. You foolishly had your window unlocked.”

“Hey, like you said, I was on the fourth floor.”

“With a fire escape going right up to your kitchen window.”

“I know for a fact that the fire escape didn’t start till the second floor,” she defended. “You must have climbed up the drainpipe from the first floor.”

“I did,” I admitted. “But it wasn’t the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. So I snuck through your kitchen window. When he set down the knife to undo his pants, I struck. I believe you know the rest.”

“I do,” she said quietly as she gazed at me as if in contemplation of something.

I recalled how Destiny was frozen with fright as I called 911. She was staring at Reed, who was unconscious from my round house kick to his head as he tried to undo his pants.

“Are you okay?” I had asked her when I got off the phone.

Her face darted to mine, and her eyes were vibrating with shock and fright.

“Are you okay?” I repeated a little more urgently.

She jumped to her feet and threw herself at me. I held her as she trembled uncontrollably and whimpered. We stayed like that until the police arrived several minutes later. I still wondered if she would have taken such comfort by me holding her, if she had known that a cold-blooded killer lurked in the depths of my soul?