Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [128]
“Take off all your clothes, except your underpants.”
Timmy’s excitement shattered. “What?” he asked over the lump gathering in his throat. “It’s awfully cold out.”
“Don’t ask questions.”
“But I don’t understand what—”
“Just do it, you little son of a bitch.”
The unexpected anger felt like a slap in the face. Even Timmy’s eyes stung, his vision suddenly blurred by the tears gathering. He shouldn’t cry. He wasn’t a baby anymore. But he was scared. So scared his fingers shook as he untied his shoes. He noticed the cracked sole on his tennis shoe as he kicked it off. It had leaked in snow when they were sledding, getting his feet cold and wet, but he couldn’t imagine how cold it would be without shoes.
“I don’t understand,” he mumbled again. The lump obstructed his breathing now as well as his voice.
“You don’t need to understand. Hurry up.” The stranger paced, the huge rubber boots caked with snow and mud, a thump-squash sound with each step.
“I don’t mind staying here,” Timmy attempted again.
“Shut the fuck up, you little bastard, and hurry up.”
Tears ran down Timmy’s cheeks, and he didn’t bother to wipe at them. His fingers were shaking something terrible as he undid his belt, remembered the chain on his ankle, then worked on his shirt buttons, instead. The stranger would need to unchain him. Would he notice the bent links? Would he get even more angry? Already Timmy felt a cold draft swirling around him. His stomach hurt. He wanted to throw up. Even his knees were shaking, and his vision blurred from the tears.
Suddenly, the stranger’s pacing stopped. He stood perfectly still in the middle of the room, cocking his head to one side. At first Timmy thought the stranger was staring at him, but instead, he was listening. Timmy strained to hear over his thumping heart. He sniffed back tears and dragged a sleeve across his face. Then he heard it—a car engine in the distance, getting closer and slowing down.
“Fuck!” the stranger spat, grabbing the lantern and heading for the door.
“No, please don’t take the light.”
“Shut the fuck up, you little crybaby.”
He wheeled back around, smashing the back of his hand across Timmy’s face. Timmy scrambled into the bed, escaping into the corner. He hugged the pillow, but jerked away at the sight of the red blotch.
“You better be ready when I get back,” the stranger hissed. “And stop bleeding all over the place.”
The stranger ran out the door, slamming it and the locks back into place, leaving Timmy in a hole of solid black. He hurried out in such a rush that he didn’t even notice Timmy’s chain, broken and dangling over the edge of the bed.
CHAPTER 80
Christine didn’t need to ask what Eddie was planning. She recognized the winding dirt road that climbed then plunged. It snaked through the towering maples and walnut trees that lined the riverbank. It was where all the kids went to make out, just off Old Church Road. It looked out over the river. It was deserted and quiet and black. This was where Jason Ashford and Amy Stykes were probably headed the night they were sidetracked. The night they stumbled over Danny Alverez’s body.
Was it possible that Eddie knew where Timmy was? Christine remembered that a church janitor had been brought in for questioning. Could Eddie have overheard something? Yet, if Nick knew something, anything, wouldn’t he have told her? No, of course not. He’d want to keep her out of the way, give her some menial task like photocopying pictures of her son.
Eddie disgusted her, but more importantly, he frightened her. He was reckless, a bit over the edge. She imagined him to be one of those cops who pulled you over for driving thirty-six in a thirty-five-mile-an-hour zone just because he could. But if he knew where Timmy was… Oh, God, if she could just have Timmy back, safe and sound. What price would she be willing to pay? What price would any mother—Laura Alverez, Michelle Tanner—what price would they pay to have their sons back? Christine