Free Since You've Been Gone by Carlene Thompson Page B

awaiting kudos for his bravery. Rebecca had bent double with laughter, the hamster temporarily forgotten.
    Rebecca giggled at the memory. Jonnie had been trying to brighten her mood and he had, only not quite the way he’d intended. But he hadn’t minded his own embarrassment as long as he’d made her laugh. He’d always wanted to entertain, to see people have fun. He’d possessed a basically kind, joyous, and expansive spirit….
    A fish bobbed, sending ripples flashing in the sunlight, out and away, out and away, slighter and slighter…
    The sun dulled. The sound of bees buzzing in a nearby clump of larkspur grew distant, inaudible. Rebecca no longer felt the heat of the day or the sting of perspiration running into the cuts on her forehead. She knew what was happening but she was powerless to stop it. This time she didn’t
want
to stop it…
    The room was chilly. His ankles and wrists were rubbed raw from chafing against their metal cuffs and his jaw ached from being forced open by a gag. His head throbbed. His chest felt tight. He was dully afraid.
    His fear sharpened when he heard footsteps coming toward him. The rustle of clothing. The smell of sweat beneath something else. Cologne, old and tainted. He lay still, waiting. A hand grabbed his finger and bent it backward until he moaned. “They screwed up the ransom,” a voice rasped. “Your loving family wanted to make sure they didn’t lose their money, so they brought cops in. FBI. They knew what would happen if they did that. They were warned.” The tormentor jerked the finger until the bone snapped and he screamed against his gag. “They signed your death warrant, Ryan …”
    â€œRebecca?” A voice floated languidly from far away. “Rebecca, you’re walking into the water.” A hand clamped on her shoulder and pulled her backward. “Rebecca, stop!”
    She heard Sean growl before he lunged and clamped onsomeone’s leg. There was a shout; Rebecca focused on Douglas’s shocked face, and then she commanded, “Sean! Halt!” He clung to the leg and she kneeled, running her hands down his sides. “Sean, stop it,” she murmured. “Good boy.” He immediately loosened his bite.
    Rebecca looked up at her stepbrother. “Doug, are you okay?”
    He took two slow steps away from Sean and rolled up the right leg of his jeans. Just above the ankle was a shallow bite, blood barely showing in four spots. “Has he had his shots?”
    â€œFor every known dog ailment.”
    â€œThen I’m fine. Thank goodness for heavy denim.”
    â€œHe’s not a bad dog. He thought you were hurting me.”
    â€œRelax.” Doug smiled. He had his father’s black hair and hazel eyes, but not the patrician features. His nose was broader and his cheekbones less prominent. He was barely five-foot-nine and slightly stocky. In fact, in the last eight years he’d put on about 20 pounds, Rebecca noted. What in high school had been a “cute” face was now turning into a pudgy one. His dark hair was also receding from his forehead. Rebecca was surprised by the change in him.
    â€œI was standing over there watching you look at the pond and suddenly your face went blank,” he told her. “Then you started walking into the water. It’s dirty. Besides, I know you can’t swim and there’s a sharp drop about two feet past the bank.” He frowned at her. “You were saying ‘FBI.’ You said it a couple of times. What did you mean?”
    â€œI…I don’t know.” She’d entered a mind that was hearing about a ransom drop that had failed because the FBI had been brought into the case. But there had been no ransom demand for Todd. The FBI was not involved. Her stomach clenched. Jonnie. For Jonnie there
had
been the FBI and ransom.
    The truth hit Rebecca like a blow to the head. This vision wasn’t about