He seemed offended. “I’m not making a joke. Even like this,” he said, stroking a finger under my chin, “you’re still pretty.” He kept staring at me, and I felt fear tugging at me again.
Raney came back in with the bucket and picked up the lantern. “Leave her alone, Devon, or he’ll have your hide.”
“Fuck him,” Devon muttered, but he stood up.
“Next time,” Raney said, “you get the bucket. I’ve done it twice now while you sat around getting a hard-on for that bitch.”
They left the room. My mouth felt dry and I couldn’t seem to make myself breathe normally. My mind kept burrowing down into my fears. So I concentrated on my ankle, on my back. It was easier. Pain had an edge to it, a place where it began and ended.
I HAD NOT FORGOTTEN that the Goat had said to play the dice three times a day, so it was not a surprise when they entered the room again later that night. At least, I told myself, it will be the last time until morning. Raney’s turn again. The bastard rolled double sixes.
25
IT WAS COLD the next morning, and I awoke stiff and sore, but the swelling in my right eye had gone down a little, so that now I could see out of both eyes. The knot on the back of my head had gone down some, too, and I wasn’t dizzy. I still hurt all over, but once I got past the first few minutes, I felt a little comfort in waking up at all. I had made it through a day.
I heard Raney tell Devon that he would be right back, heard the front door open and the sound of the truck or the Blazer driving off. I worried about being left alone with Devon, then turned to more constructive thoughts. I tried moving around the room as much as I could, trying to warm myself. I moved along the walls, still hopping, since I learned that I couldn’t quite force myself to put any pressure on the right ankle. I was going to stay off of it or risk passing out. I felt better as I moved. I even managed another look out of the window, and discovered Raney had taken the truck. I decided I would try to learn the difference in the sounds the two vehicles made. It might not help me in any way, but it was another distraction from captivity.
Before long, though, I was worn out, and made my way back to the mattress. I had a plan, but I would need more strength to make it work. It would be hard between dice robbing me of sleep and nothing more than a bowl of chicken broth to eat.
Raney came back. He stomped into the house. As usual, they made no attempt to keep me from hearing what they had to say — I was, after all, expendable. A temporary diversion.
“We’re fucked. Just plain fucked.”
“What happened, Raney?”
“He has a tail on him.”
I felt hope rising. Catch him, I prayed. If I die, at least let them catch him.
“Shit!” Devon swore and paced. “I tell you, Raney — we ought to do her and just get the hell out of here now.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Let’s think about it.” They were quiet for a moment. Raney’s voice was cool and even when he spoke again. “Maybe it’s time for an insurance payment.”
“Which one?”
“I say we go for the big boy. Put the blanket right under the Pony Player’s nose.”
I listened more closely, puzzled.
Devon snorted in derision. “It doesn’t have to be under his nose. He’ll find it before the cops do. It really reeks. It’s got that witch’s blood all over it.”
“No, he won’t find it. Keep it wrapped up in that garbage bag. Put another one around it just to make sure. Besides, even if he finds it first, he’s not home free. We’ve got the knife.”
“What does Einstein say about the tail?”
Einstein, I knew by now, was the Goat.
“He’s got some plan where I go down and pick him up tomorrow morning. He doesn’t want to take his car anywhere. He thinks we can pull it off. He’s probably right, but like I said, I want some insurance,” Raney replied.
“The knife would be better.”
“Don’t worry about that now. Leave that to Einstein. He’ll figure out a good place to hide it.”
“I don’t know…”
“Look, Devon, let’s face it. He’s smart. We wouldn’t have thought of cutting the Pony Player, getting his blood on the blanket and the knife.”
So the Pony Player was not just another name for the Goat, I thought.
Devon laughed. “That scared the shit out of the Pony Player. He’s not so tough.”
“No, and our boy knows it. Like I said, he’s smart. Now — you know where to find the Pony Player?”
“You want
“Think about it, Devon. I have to make the phone calls. If I don’t, he gets suspicious. He never asks for you or has you make the calls. You told me he pisses you off — well, now you can show him what happens when he ignores you.”
“I don’t know. Damn, if somebody sees me, I’m dead meat.”
“If we don’t have insurance, you’re dead meat anyway. Besides, I know he doesn’t even think you could do anything like this. I know you’re smart, Devon, but he doesn’t see it. That shows how really smart you are. You’ve fooled him.”
Devon hesitated, then asked in a wary tone, “The blanket is still in the Blazer?”
