Free Out of the Black by John Rector Page A

I saw the two white spots.
    The same but different.
    Like snowflakes.
    I felt my breath catch, and I stepped back.
    The knife was heavy, serrated, and buried to the hilt between Dash’s ribs. His head hung loose, his eyes were wide, and his teeth were bared and bloody. There was a long, dark trail under him that ran the length of the door and pooled on the carpet below.
    I didn’t it out easy.

17
    The old man answered on the third ring.
    I started yelling. “If you hurt her, I’ll—”
    He cut me off. “In one hour, you will deliver my wife to me in Pella Valley.”
    “Where the fuck is my daughter?”
    “You will drive her to the west side of town, past the railroad tracks, where you will find a two-bay car wash next to a white grain silo. You will park the lightin">okke on the south side and wait there until I arrive.”
    “Where is she?”
    “Once my wife has been returned, and I am satisfied she has not been harmed, I will release your daughter.”
    “No,” I said. “We do it at the same time. Your wife for my daughter.”
    “This is not a negotiation, Mr. Caine. My wife will be returned unharmed, and only then will I release your daughter.” He paused. “Failure to follow my instructions to the letter will lead to unthinkable consequences. Do you believe me?”
    I didn’t say anything right away, but something in his voice sent a flood of terror rolling through every part of me, making it hard to breathe.
    “I believe you,” I said.
    “Then you have one hour.”
    The line clicked, went dead.
    I hung up and slid the phone back into my pocket. Then I reached down and picked up the photo of Anna. There was blood on the front, and I wiped it away with my thumb.
    Once again, I felt the tears press behind my eyes.
    This time, I let them come.

    Carrie watched me as I cut the tape away from her hands. When I finished, she eased herself up and leaned forward, bracing herself against the counter.
    I touched her shoulder. “Are you hurt?”
    Carrie turned and faced me, her eyes sharp. “Where were you?”
    “I—”
    “What did you do?”
    I shook my head and started to answer, but before I could, Carrie slapped me.
    “What did you do?”
    She hit me again, but this time I was ready. I grabbed her wrist and stepped behind her, wrapping my arms around hers, holding her still. I could feel her shoulders shake, then there were tears, welling up from some dark place deep inside.
    I held her tighter and told her it was okay, that I was going to get Anna back, no matter what.
    I told her she had to trust me.
    Eventually, the tears stopped, and I felt her fight against my grip. When I let her go, she pushed away from me and satat the kitchen table with her hands between her knees, rocking back and forth on the chair.
    I asked her if she was okay.
    “We can’t call the police, can we?”
    I shook my head. “No.”
    Carrie stared at me, then down at her hands. “Who were they, Matt?”
    I thought about it for a moment, but I didn’t have an answer, and I didn’t know what to say. In the end, I told her the truth.
    “I have no idea.”

    Pella Valley was almost thirty miles outside the city. Traffic on the highway was light, but it was still going to be close. If I was going to get there on time, I needed to hurry.
    When I got to the river, I turned up the gravel road and followed my headlights through a shatter of snow Xbp.to the warehouse. I parked out front and ran inside.
    The woman watched me as I came in.
    I ignored her and went straight for Jay. His skin had turned a rough, grayish blue, and both his eyes were now half-open, clouded and empty.
    I tried not to look at him.
    I opened his jacket and searched his pockets for the keys to the handcuffs. I found half a pack of American Spirit cigarettes and his black Zippo lighter, but I didn’t find his keys.
    “Goddamn it.”
    I started patting him down. I felt the keys in his front pockets, and I took them out and flipped through them as I walked over to