Free Scare Me by Richard Parker Page A

into the alleyway to investigate.
    He slipped through the gap, metallic edges scraping his skin as he wriggled through. Every sound he made was suddenly on top of him and he wanted to return to the fresher air. The smell he’d detected earlier was overpowering here, and there was the aroma of sawdust mixed with it as well. He could taste it in his mouth.
    He stood motionless for a moment and listened, hearing nothing but his own small breaths. He put his palms out in front of him. They immediately touched something cold and metallic. Realising it was the edge of a worktop; he ran his fingers along it. Tam felt his way to the corner and down the thinner end of it towards the neon flytrap and the swing doors to its left.
    His sandals squeaked on tiles and his fingertips butted the door. He pushed and they swung noiselessly open. The area beyond was dimly illuminated. Thick pipes lagged with yellowing fibreglass ran the length of the peeling walls. Dirty, transparent drapes filled a doorway at the far end.
    The other direction ended in darkness so Tam turned right and headed for whatever lay beyond the plastic strips. The screeches of his sandals against the polished grey floor echoed loudly, so he removed them and padded down the corridor.
    He stopped and peered through the jaundiced and scratched curtain into the gloom. It was a factory floor. More flycatchers glowing blue were fixed up high and extended to tiny pinpricks at the far end. His black nail throbbed. Tam pushed through the drapes.
    As soon as he emerged the other side the smell of disinfectant scalded his nostrils and he could hear the sound he’d heard at the grille, only much louder now. Its volume over the buzzing of industrial fans made it easy to identify. It was the rippling sound of many birds; a current of plaints and nervous babble and Tam could see why they sounded so agitated.
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    Will couldn’t remember scaling the gate again. He just sat in the car wiping at the backs of his wrists, still feeling the legs of the flies there. He’d removed the gloves, but his hands felt tacky. He opened his right palm and the coloured beads of the bracelet lay hotly against it.
    He’d intended to drive immediately back to the freeway, stop off at a diner and use the bathroom. But the atmosphere of the lounge was still heavily draped over him. He grabbed the mobile from the dash and got out into the fresh air again. He had no idea how long he’d been in the house.
    â€œWill?” Carla waited for him to reply.
    Will looked up and down North Vine Street and then walked towards the grass verge on the other side of it. “I’ve got the bracelet.” He could almost feel the air of her exhalation. “Those people...” His own voice sounded muffled as he focussed on the dried yellow leaves of the hedge in front of him.
    There was silence from the other end.
    â€œâ€¦I don’t think I can leave them in there like that.”
    â€œYou have to.” Carla’s voice barely registered.
    Should he tell her what had been done to their eyes?
    â€œWhere are you now?”

 
    CHAPTER TEN
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    Carla stared at Will’s desk telephone, her body perched on the edge of the swivel seat and her weight resting on the tips of her toes. He’d said he would call when he’d got clear of the house. Her eyes briefly shifted to the computer screen to her right. Her damp palm moved the mouse so the cursor slid to the cut out house next to the one Will had just visited. It hadn’t become active yet, no red outline, no address in a box.
    She had no doubt the information would appear shortly and that Will would soon be heading there. It looked like whoever was manipulating him had deftly engineered the route.
    She glanced at the desk telephone and considered calling the police as she had every other minute she’d waited. The kidnappers’ instructions had been categorical, but Carla doubted whoever was capable of the