She looked at herself in the mirror, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair. Who had she become? She?d let Mike talk her out of calling the police. That wasn?t like her. Would her husband have understood such a decision? Then she?d again had the urge to call the local sheriff when Keone?s parents had come to pick up their son?s body. But Mike had previously indicated that the boy?s parents weren?t the kind of people who appreciated law enforcement. She was in too deep to call in the sheriff now. How could she explain herself? No, she?d made her decision and had to live with it. She draped her towel over the shower-curtain rod and walked naked into the bedroom.
Strong hands grabbed her from behind. An arm around her waist lifted her. She screamed, kicked her legs. When she felt the cold steel against her throat, she went stiff.
?Remember me,
He shoved her into the wooden chair she used when applying her makeup. In front of the vanity mirror. He produced a roll of duct tape, wrapped her wrists around the arms of the chair, taped her ankles to the legs. Then he looked right into her eyes, his face four inches from hers. His grin was yellow and crooked, a big gap on the side where she?d knocked the teeth out.
Linda felt a cold knot in her stomach, dread turning her body to ice.
?You think Enrique dead, eh? I am too hard to kill.?
?Please??
He backhanded her across the face, the stinging slap knocking her head around. Her ears rang, spots in front of her eyes.
?You?re one tough
Mars held the knife an inch from her face. She saw now it was the meat cleaver from her own kitchen. It had never been used, the stainless steel reflecting her own terrified eyes.
?You do what I say, or I hack everything off. Nothing left but parts. You understand??
She sucked in breath, but couldn?t find her voice. She nodded instead.
He took off his shirt, sniffed under his armpits. ?Phew. I?ve been camping.? He laughed, took off the rest of his clothes. His brown body was marred by the occasional scar, bullet or knife wounds maybe. Linda had no idea. But the sight of his dangling penis and balls was somehow a hundred times more threatening than the meat cleaver.
He leaned over her, his stink filling her nostrils. He tugged at her arms, but she was taped fast.
?You?re not going anywhere.? Mars cupped one of her breasts and laughed. ?Maybe we have some fun. But first I must wash.?
He left the bedroom, and ten seconds later Linda heard the water running in the bathroom.
She jerked at the tape, twisted in the chair. It was no use. Tears welled in her eyes.
Where was Andrew? He might walk through the front door in the next two minutes or it might be hours. And if he did come home, he?d walk right into the middle of a bad situation without warning. He?d probably get a cleaver in the head from Mars before he could do anything to rescue her.
She pulled at the tape again. No way.
If she could just get loose. She?d tucked one of her husband?s old service revolvers into a chest at the back of the closet. It might as well have been a thousand miles away.
Linda looked for anything useful on her vanity. Lipstick, cotton balls, nail polish. She thought there might be a fingernail file in the top drawer. She
She scooted and bounced the chair a foot closer to the vanity, froze a moment and listened, but Mars was still in the shower. She stretched her hand and was barely able to hook her finger through the drawer handle. She couldn?t pull the drawer out, didn?t have an angle or leverage. She heaved back in the chair, and the drawer slid open an inch as the chair moved. She heaved again.
