Page 73 of Two Favors Repaid

Rob could barely make out his friend’s expression in the receding light.

“I understand if you don’t want to come with me, Darryl, but I’m not leaving until I find out what that is,” Rob said. Zipping his jacket up to his throat, and wishing he’d worn more clothing, he began walking in the direction of the smoke.

Darryl shook his head. “No way am I leaving you out here alone.”

They’d only walked a hundred feet when Darryl’s phone buzzed. He picked it up quickly.

“I’m listening, Alma. That’s amazing work. So there is a building right at the far edge of the quadrant? I wonder why it’s not on our map. Could you send us a picture?” Darryl and Rob’s phone chirped almost simultaneously as the WhatsApp arrived. It was a picture of a 1964 deed concerning a small cabin.

“Who does this belong to now?” Rob asked. Darryl repeated the question for Alma, listened for a second then hung up.

“She’s looking for that now.”

Rob looked at his phone excitedly. The search teams had prioritized all quadrants that had buildings or cabins, but this one hadn’t been on their original list.

“We need to call Natalie and Lorraine,” Rob said. While there was still the chance that this might be nothing, his gut told him they were onto something.

“Alma’s already on it.”

“I’m not waiting for them to get here, Darryl. Something tells me Emma’s there … and she’s in danger. I’m going to get closer to that cabin, and you can’t do anything to stop me.”

Darryl sighed. “Tell you what, let’s get closer, see what we can find out. But we wait for the rest of the team before going inside.”

Any tiredness Rob might have felt had evaporated like that thin puff of smoke coming from the cabin.

Chapter 27

Emma

Emma listened to the noises coming from the cabin. At first it was just the sounds of Crazy Stacey, as she’d taken to calling the woman in her mind, walking around the kitchen and living space, cooking and humming.

Emma felt her stomach clench as the air filled with some kind of meaty smell—not so much in hunger as in despair, at this point. She felt like crying but didn’t have any tears left. Didn’t have any liquid left in her body. Her wrist throbbed from being cuffed to the pipe in the same position for so long.

This isn’t good.

The front door opened suddenly.

“You stupid bitch!” Ford yelled. Emma could hear him running around the living space. “What the fuck did you do?”

Even though she knew Ford wasn’t talking to her, Emma cringed at the nastiness and the threat in his tone.

Crazy Stacey stammered a response. “But … but I was just making it homey for us, Stephen.”

There was a momentary silence as Ford rummaged around the kitchen space, opening and closing cupboards, clearly looking for something. Then the sound of the tap running, and then a strange hissing sound that Emma couldn’t quite place.

“You stupid, stupid bitch. Lighting a fire, of all things. What exactly do you think we’re doing here?”

“But it was cold, Stephen, and the fireplace was ready. I didn’t think … I’m so sorry,” the woman cried. Emma couldn’t bear to call her Crazy Stacey when there was such terror in her voice.

Ford’s voice went down to a whisper. Emma heard the unmistakable sound of a belt being removed.

Pots and pans clattered onto the floor. Crazy Stacey whimpered.

“Lift your dress and lie on the kitchen table,” Ford ordered loudly. “No. Spread your legs open. I’m going to whip your ass and pussy, see if you’re still cold then. When I’m done, you’ll thank me. Is that clear?”

Emma clapped her hand over her mouth, an instant away from crying out. She wanted to cover her ears to not hear the dreadful snapping of the leather belt and the screams. Then she realized the woman’s screams were half pain half pleasure. Emma’s head threatened to explode.

God, she likes it.