“That has to be hard.”
Mostly, I thought I was pretty kick ass as a woman. I lived on my own for years and took care of myself. The one thing I’d never do was be a military wife. We had a military wife in the office and she was amazing. If I dealt with half of what she did, I’d be in a ball in the room’s corner crying.
The first time the US government canceled my vacation, we’d have to have a chat. I’d need to call and speak to the president himself.
“Would you two shut the hell up? My fucking word what is happening to society that you can’t tie up two bitches…”
“Hey!” Vonnie tried cutting him off, but Derek kept talking.
He glared at her and put extra emphasis on the B-word. “Twobitchestied up in the basement and they aren’t scared? I blame video games today,” he said, tossing his hands in the air and then letting them fall to his side.
Vonnie nodded. “Definitely desensitization, but you guys need to mix it up occasionally. Don’t go with duct tape every time. Switch up your methods. Use chains or cuffs. This is the second time someone taped me to a chair this year, and it’s only July.”
The madman kidnapper tapped a finger against his chin in contemplation. “Chains would be scarier for you?”
“Definitely.”
“Vonnie, stop telling him how to be a better kidnapper.” And hell, exactly who was this woman that someone already tied her up two times this year? And why did she clarify “this year”? How many times in total?
From the way she kept on talking, none of my warnings got through to her. “And honestly, why always a basement or an old deserted cabin in the woods somewhere? Why not a back shed or a rundown motel?”
“Vonnie!” I yelled, trying again to get her to shut up. She was going to end up getting both of us killed.
The light in the room slowly dimmed as someone outside the home pushed a piece of plywood into position over one of the small rectangular windows at the top of the ceiling, which was the only space above ground. Without the six windows that lined the basement, we’d be completely underground in the dark.
I’d never been claustrophobic before and the basement was quite large, but at that moment my concerns about the bathroom or being eaten alive by rodents transformed into a worry about being buried alive. Who knew I had so much anxiety?
“Don’t worry, Cassandra. You’re a bakery girl. There is always a rescue,” Vonnie said as we watched another piece of plywood get pushed against the second basement window.
The man who stood between our two chairs gleamed evilly at us. I never had to use the word evil to describe a person’s look before, but there was no better descriptor for it. He reminded me of the Grinch as he hatched his evil plan.
He wore a smile, but it looked wrong. “Not today, ladies. I’ve got two FBI agents buried in the backyard, but there’s enough room for two more bodies. Your non-boyfriend will be a nice touch to my collection if he shows up.”
Except I hadn’t told Riley where I was going or even that I was leaving, so him finding me in some random place in northern Maine was pretty slim. There were a lot of man-eating trees in this part of the state and for all he knew, I could be root chowder at the bottom of them before he figured out, I was missing.
A thump sounded on the first floor of the home and the three of us tilted our heads back to the basement ceiling as if we could see through the floor and discover what made the noise.
“What the fuck?” Derek questioned. Vonnie tilted her head back with a wicked smile and tipped one of her eyebrows higher as if she was silently saying I told you so.
The evil smirk he’d held earlier fell and turned into a more of a grimace before he took off up the stairs to investigate. “You better not be damaging the product!”
Vonnie and I both sat silently, waiting for what would happen next. Eventually we heard another thump and then half a minute later a third.
I swallowed, my throat dry causing words to came out scratchy. “What’s that?”
I’d given up on thoughts of the bathroom as they switched to more concerning threats. Wild dogs running into the house. A dead mailman’s body falling to the floor.
Vonnie met my question with silence. Not a single retort. I glanced in her direction to figure out what had her speechless but found my mouth hanging open.
She sat her chair, but not quietly. Her arms were jerking as if she was trying to punch herself in the chest. She moved her left and then her right and then back to her left again. Vonnie had her feet planted firmly on the ground, but the harder she moved the more her chair scraped against the floor.
“What are you doing?” I asked, fearing she’d lost her mind.
Stress did that to people.
Vonnie continued trying to fake punch herself. “Escaping.”
The noise would surely alert Derek to our escape. With her next hit, the tape ripped away from the chair and she had one arm free. Another quick pull with her other and she pried her second loose from the duct tape.
