Free Nickel-Bred by Patricia Gilkerson

you
call Daddy, but no! You had to poison him against me!”
    “No, I didn’t ever...” I began.
    “Shut up, brat! Earl, will you gag this
child? I have to think.” She paced the living room hardwood floor,
looking out the window every now and then. Willie Nelson came
mewing into the room and Angel delivered a swift kick to his side.
The kitten sailed behind the sofa where I couldn’t see it. Tears of
pity leaked from my eyes. What kind of maniac would kick a
kitten?
    “Stupid cat,” she said. “That cat was
supposed to soften up the doc so he’d like me.”
    Earl put an old dish rag in my mouth and tied
it behind my head. I moved it around in my mouth, tasting
grease.
    “Earl, you go upstairs and search for watches
and good jewelry. You know the kind of thing I like. Then come down
and find some fancy silverware.” Angel was good at giving orders to
the men and I realized that she was the leader of this pack. The
crazy brains behind their scrawny brawn.
    “Okay, darlin’, I’m on my way.”
    “Chickie, do you think you can manage to take
these three people to the basement and tie them up down there so
they can’t get away? I’ll bring the brat, but I want to mess her up
a little first for causing us problems.”
    “Yeah, sure, Sweetie. But maybe you should
take the adults, since their hands are tied. The rope is down there
and I can bring a little girl downstairs easy.” Angel looked at
him, looked at me, and nodded.
    “I guess it does make sense for me to take
the bigger ones. Let’s go, people!” She poked Sam in the side with
her big knife. He glared at her, then looked at me helplessly.
    “Head for the basement, pretty boy!” she
said. Sam led the way, with Miss Julie and then my mom close
behind, glaring at Angel.
    “ Let’s go, girlie,” said Chickie. “Too
bad about this. I was hoping you would give my horse a good home.
But once Angel gets something in her head, well, it’s best to do
what she says. At least you won’t be up here with her and her
knife. She don’t like you.”
    As we started to walk toward the basement
door, I bumped into a lamp, knocking it hard so it went crashing
into a table.
    “ Hey, stupid, what’s going on up
there?” Angel called from the basement.
    “Just a little mishap, sweetness,” Chickie
called back, picking up the lamp. “Don’t be dumb, kid. Just do what
you’re told.”
    He directed me to the basement door and down
the stairs. The others were tied to various poles around the
basement. We were met by Angel, who handed him some rope. Chickie
tied my hands together, and then tied me to a pole. Angel stood in
front of me, staring and playing with the large knife she held.
“Any phones?” she asked Chickie.
    “Uh, I don’t think so,” he said.
    “Didn’t look, did you, dummy?” She patted me
on the butt and the front of my jeans, checking for phones. When
she found nothing, she straightened and checked her watch. “We’d
better hurry it up,” she said.
    “Hey, Angel!” Earl called from upstairs. “I
found a bunch of watches, jewelry and stuff. We better get goin’.
We’ve been here way too long!”
    “You are really lucky, brat,” Angel said. “I
won’t have time to do what I wanted. But I will have time to start
a little fire.” She snickered and trotted up the stairs, Chickie
following and arguing.
    With Angel, Chickie, and Earl upstairs, we
were all left tied and gagged in the basement. We looked at each
other, but there was no way I could tell them that Addie had gone
for help. My mom was beginning to look scared, Sam looked
ferocious, and Miss Julie sagged against a pole, breathing heavily.
We heard a lot of clomping back and forth upstairs, and all of us
kept looking up and wondering who was going where and with what. I
was pretty sure they were cleaning out the whole house and there
would be nothing left. I didn’t care as long as they left us
alone.
    That was when I smelled the smoke. I closed
my eyes and tried not to