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“You’re wrong about your life being less valuable than someone else’s. And yes, Guy would go ballistic if he heard what you said.”

“So let’s not repeat it to him.”

“We won’t for now. But I’m not making any promises for later on, after they’re in custody and you and Sarah are safe.”

“Why would you do that to me, even then? We both know what he’ll say and how he’ll react. Haven’t I been through enough already?”

Ned took a minute to study her again before he nodded. “Yeah. More than enough and about to take it to a new level.” Ned caught Tori in a hard hug and steered her back to the others. “It’s a go. Let’s get Tori wired up. Guy, give us another rundown on the layout inside.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

As the sun began to set, a smiling Sarah led an extremely nervous and watchful Tori to her playroom located in the lower level of the house. It was next to the basement but not underground itself. There was a door to the outside on the side of the house and a window that allowed the room be filled with late afternoon sunshine. On any other occasion, the room would have seemed as warm and friendly as the little girl it was created for. Some of the furniture was slightly undersized but not to the extent where adults would find it too uncomfortable. The walls were painted a creamy ivory color that echoed the softness of the muted burgundy sofa. It faced a light-colored wooden entertainment center loaded with children’s movies and music. Next to the sofa was a matching chair with a bookcase lined with books any child would love. There was a table nearby, perfect for the games and crafts Sarah enjoyed with both her parents.

Sarah showed Tori her wide selection of coloring books and let Tori choose one first before she picked her own. They sat at the table and chatted easily as they paged through the books to find the pictures they would color.

“Sarah, can I ask you something?” Tori paused her drawing.

“Uh-huh,” Sarah agreed without looking up.

“Did you ask me to color with you because Uncle Guy said you’d be doing him a favor?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You are such a sweet girl, helping him like this.” Tori patted her arm. “Can I ask you for a favor too, to help me with something for your uncle?”

“What?” Sarah seemed uncertain.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise. And it’s not just for him, it would be for your daddy too.” Sarah nibbled her lip and nodded. “The other day we were talking and some other men I know heard them telling me what a good girl you are. Well, they didn’t believe it when your daddy and uncle said that you were so good that you would do something I asked you to do, since you and I are new friends. The men think they could trick you into forgetting about what you’re supposed to do and get you to listen to them instead. I agreed with your daddy and uncle but they thought I was wrong too. The favor I want to ask is a really easy one that will show them you are as good as your daddy says you are and that they can’t fool you into doing something I asked you not to do.”

“What am I s’posed to do?”

“Like I said, it’s really simple. The two men are going to sneak in here and pretend that no one but you and I know they’re here. They’re going to say weird things, like they don’t know who you are or who your daddy is and they might even call me a different name. No matter what they say I want you to stay right there in your chair until I tap on your foot with mine. When you feel that, I want you to act like you have to go to the bathroom really bad. They’ll probably say no and tell you to be quiet but you keep it up until I get them to let you go.

“When you get in there I want you to lock the door right away. They’re going to call for you to come out. They might say they have a present for you or they might act like they’re mad and yell at you but they’re just pretending to trick you into opening the door so they can tell your daddy he was wrong about you being the best little girl in the world. Uncle Guy and I know he’s right and they’re the ones who are wrong but you are the only one who can make them believe that. Can you help us with this, Sarah? Can you go in the bathroom and lock the door and stay in there until your daddy or Uncle Guy or I come to get you, even if it takes a long, long time and you don’t feel like staying in there anymore?”

“Uh-huh,” Sarah agreed happily.

“Everyone is going to be so proud of you, playing this game with me.” Tori hugged her awkwardly. “You remember what the signal is and what you’re supposed to do?”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “You kick me and I gotta go to the bathroom and don’t come out.”

“And you lock the door. Don’t forget to lock the door.”

“I know. You said I gotta lock the door right away.”

“And when do you unlock it?”

“If Daddy or you or Uncle Guy says I can come out.”

“Perfect. You’re so smart too, remembering all that. Oh, I forgot something. We have to keep this a secret. Those guys have a secret from us too. They wouldn’t tell me how they were going to try to trick you and they said we could keep it secret how I asked you to help me, okay?”

“’Kay.” Sarah went back to her coloring book, concentrating intently on her picture.

Tori choked back her tears and fought not to give in to the panic that was so close to overwhelming her. More than anything, she wanted to drag the innocent child next to her back upstairs and push her straight into her father’s arms where she would be safe from all this ugliness. Watching her, Tori was swamped with doubts. Whatever possessed her to insist that she was capable of handling this and why in the world did they believe her? Granted, she felt slightly better, now that she’d figured out how to possibly get Sarah out of the room and she still wouldn’t hesitate to put herself in between them and protect the child with her life if need be, but none of that was doing much to dispel her growing anxiety. For the next few minutes, Tori colored blindly, forcing herself to act as expected. Inside her head, she chanted that she would not pass out because Sarah needed her to hold it together. She had to keep her head and do her part to stop Russ and Stan or they would get away and go after someone else. Forcing herself to be calm, Tori drew Sarah into a conversation by asking questions about her school and her friends and the things they liked to do. She had almost reached the point where she could respond to Sarah’s comments without hesitating when she felt a sudden blast of cold air.

Tori swallowed her scream when she looked across the room and saw the men who starred in all her nightmares standing just inside the door. Not wanting their presence to startle Sarah, she extended her pinky and brushed the side of the girl’s hand. When Sarah glanced at her, she nodded toward the pair, alerting her of their arrival.

“Well, would you take a look at this.” Russ grinned widely. “Isn’t this a nice surprise, Stan?”

“Hot damn.” Stan’s grin was even bigger. “You shittin’ me or didn’t you really know she’d be waiting with the girlie girl?”

“Don’t mind him.” Russ stepped closer to the table. “He meant no disrespect, Miss Vicky, but he’s having some trouble believing that you’re really here. To be honest, I’m a little stunned myself.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Tori felt like someone else had taken over her body and answered for her. “Perhaps you should sit down.” She gestured toward the sofa. If they accepted, the table would be between the men and Sarah. Not that it was much of a barrier but anything was better than nothing.

Russ gaped at her unexpected suggestion. “Thank you,” he mumbled after a long pause. When he realized Stan was still gawking, he shoved his shoulder to get his attention. “Don’t just stand there. She wants us to sit down.”

Stan seemed embarrassed by his inability to hide his reaction to her presence. “Hey, what you hitting me for? I heard her.”

Tori glanced at Sarah and noticed that she had slid halfway off her chair to move closer to Tori. “Now, now.” Tori shook her head at their scowl. “Enough of that. Introduce yourselves to Sarah so she knows who her guests are.”

The men blinked at her again. “Oh. Okay.” Russ had the look of a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Hey there. I’m Russ and this here’s Stan. We, ah, hope it’s okay that we came to your party.”

“Uh-huh.” Sarah nodded warily.

“That’s much better,” Tori declared.

After another pause, Stan shifted uncomfortably. “What’re we sitting here for? You said we was going to come in, do her fast and get out real quick.”

“I gotta go to the bathroom.” Sarah tugged Tori’s sleeve.

“No!” Russ jumped to his feet but Tori’s raised hand held him in place.

“I gotta go.” Sarah stood and squirmed as if she actually needed to go. “Real bad.”

“Go on, sweetie.” Tori patted her arm and smiled. “Take your time so you don’t poke any holes in your pretty tights. Russ didn’t mean to scare you but he’s been looking forward to meeting you so much. He doesn’t want you to rush either, right, Russ?”

“Um, no.” Russ sank back onto the sofa.

“See? You go ahead now, Sarah, and we’ll have a little grown-up talk while we wait.” Tori watched until the door closed before turning back to the men. “What did you mean, Stan, when you said you’d do her?”

He looked nervously at Russ and didn’t reply.

“Oh, come now. There’s no need to hide anything from me. I asked a question and I expect an answer.”

“Well, um, you see,” Stan stuttered.

“Russ?” Tori redirected her question.

“What he’s trying to tell you is that we were going to stuff a rag in the girl’s mouth to keep her quiet and peel off all her skin.”

“Ah.” Tori swallowed her horror. “Care to explain why you would do something like that?”

“For you,” Stan blurted.

“Me?”

“We wanted to give you something when we came to you,” Russ added.

“Something as in her skin?”

“Yeah. We didn’t want to show up empty-handed. I know I should have thought of it right off and brought you something from each of them but I didn’t. I’m real sorry to disappoint you but I was hoping you’d let this token represent all the others and forgive us for not bringing a whole collection.”

Tori’s heart was pounding as she searched for a response. “Hmm, maybe, but not until you describe some of what you neglected to collect for me.”

Russ and Stan exchanged a look. “I, um, we, well, it would have been little things. Stuff that we got rid of when we were done or maybe things they had with them. Like, maybe the cord Stan strangled the old man and the bitch with last week or the black gloves I wore for our little magic act.”

“A few of your things. Tell me about some of the others.”

“Yeah, okay.” Russ frowned in concentration. “We should have brought you that weird doll with the orange hair sticking straight up that was hanging on that mirror instead of letting it burn up in the car with her.”

“And the picture of that girl that kid had,” Stan suggested.

“What kid?” Tori asked.

“The one we planted under the tree. You know, Russ. Tell her.”

“Yes, Russ,” Tori fought to keep her voice even. “I’d like to hear all about that one.”

“Sure.” Russ seemed to relax. “We were real lucky that time. We just stopped for something to eat at one of those truck stops right on the highway and heard him going on with his friends about how he was out of there for good. He said his leaving would teach his girl a lesson for cheating on him like she did. He thought she’d be real sorry once she figured out that she was really on her own and would hate herself for treating him so bad. His plan was to hop a ride with any trucker who would give him one and figure out where to go once he got there. Stan followed a big, burly guy into the john and fed him a line about how his kid brother was being stupid and running away from some no-good tramp who’d been messing with him. He talked the guy into picking him up and taking him a ways down the highway and then acting like he expected the kid to put out as payment for the ride. When the kid refused, the trucker would pretend to be pissed enough to force him but then change his mind and toss the kid out instead,” Russ paused to chuckle.

“We were driving an old fogy-mobile then. A real safe-looking family car. We finished eating to give them a head start and then took off after them. Since we were just passing through I didn’t hurry because it didn’t really matter much if someone else stopped for the kid before we got there. Nobody did and we had him tucked in the back seat feeling safe and sound in no time. I was driving and Stan got him to spill his guts. We kept him talking all the way around Wichita before he pulled out the picture he’d been waving in the diner. By the time we were back in the middle of nowhere Stan had him convinced he’d be much better off if he buried his past and made a clean break before he tried to start fresh. I saw the perfect spot and worked back to it from the next exit. Remember how the little punk agreed that it was perfect to dig a tiny grave under that big, old dead tree, Stan? He even said he wished she were there with us so he could bury her too. That’s when Stan and I pulled out our guns and told him to start digging.”

“You made him dig his own grave?” Tori shuddered.

“Hell yeah,” Stan giggled. “You shoulda seen him! Crying and begging like he meant something to us. Russ was so cool, the way he asked who was gonna give a shit when he was dead since he’d already told us he wasn’t ever going to see anyone he used to know again. Jerk-off got right in the hole when Russ told him it was deep enough. Just stood there and watched us shoot him. Probably pissed himself too.”

“So you killed him and you buried him instead of the girl’s picture.”

“Nah, we stuck her back in his pack and put that in the hole too,” Russ stated. “Figured they deserved each other.”

He finally realized how long they’d been talking. “Hey, what’s taking her so long in there?”

Tori stood as he did. “She hasn’t been feeling well all day.”

“Doesn’t take that long,” Russ growled. “We can’t sit here jawing all night. Got to get a move on.”

“Maybe you should just leave.”

“What? You saying you don’t want us to give her to you?”

“Yes. I don’t understand just why you think I’d want something like that in the first place. Or why I would want any sort of souvenir from the poor people you killed.”