He was definitely giving me the willies, standing out there in the dark with his lantern like a character in The Blair Witch Project. My eyes were beginning to play tricks on me, seeing all kinds of indefinable, crazy things in my peripheral vision.
Frank lifted Lenny into his arms.
“Please be gentle with him. He doesn’t really like it when strangers pick him up.” I raised my voice. “He could jump out of your arms or fall and hurt himself.”
“I’ll put him down when you tell me what you’re up to.” He held my sweet Lenny in the crook of his arm, his big hand wrapped around his muzzle to keep him from barking. He’d shoved him into the crook of his arm and against his side so tightly that, try as he might, my Lenny’s little legs couldn’t kick or scratch the nasty man.
“We came to see what you were up to because your fireworks show is late. If you want a good review, punctuality counts. Now give him back.” Forget being creeped out by this guy. And forget feeling sorry for the fatheaded, crew cut–wearing dope. His refusal to let me out was on my last nerve.
With a stupid grin on his face, he lifted Lenny higher while bending down to put their faces at the same level. “She’s not telling the truth, is she, little poochy?”
With a burst of anger, I grabbed my flashlight, scooted backwards away from the window, scrubbing my knees on the unfinished cargo van’s floor, brushing into boxes, and catching my shirt on tools and the points of rockets and the hard corners of heavy launching pads. What an imbecile! Why had I waited so long to get out? I yanked the handle of the van’s side door, but it wouldn’t budge. Fudge! I launched myself across the van, knocked over two crates, landed with my knee in Frank’s skillet, and yanked at the other side door with all my body weight. Nothing. Crudsicles!
My gaze darted from door to door. I hurdled a large ice chest to reach the passenger side, stuck my hand through the curtain divider, and fought to find the lever on the back of the seat to no avail.
I was vaguely aware of the light from his lantern illuminating the interior of the van around me. Finally, I knocked down the curtain with my Maglite and threw the whole flimsy rod, curtain and all, behind me.
“Meow.” Frank’s cat lifted her head from the driver’s seat without further comment.
“Oh, shut up.”
I found the lever and flipped the seat forward. With a final burst of energy, I reached for the lock mechanism. “Come on!” I couldn’t get the mechanism between my fingers. I flung my body over the edge of the seat, forcing the stun gun into my thigh, and reached for the unlock button.
Nothing.
“Locks don’t work.” Startled, I looked up and found Frank and Lenny staring at me through the passenger window.
Immediately, I backed up and wedged myself onto the console. “Move it!” The cat jumped gingerly into the floorboard with a great show of indifference. Having learned my lesson, I went straight for the unlock button on the driver’s side. Nothing. The whole freaking thing refused to cooperate.
Frank, with Lenny in his arms, meandered from the passenger side, across the front of the van, and over to the driver’s side window. “Life sucks, right?”
Some folks might panic in a crisis—like when you realize that the guy you thought was just a loner is actually a dangerous, unhinged creeper. But this lunatic was going to give me back my dog or lose his left kneecap when I slammed it with one of his mortar rockets. I turned away from the window and pulled out my phone. I’d waited to use it because once I saw I had zero bars I’d forgotten all about it. Plus, I didn’t want Frank to see me with it and take it away. Now that I knew his first priority wasn’t to hurt my dog, I was willing to try our spotty cell service. Lenny, my canine friend, would thank me. I unlocked the screen and dialed 911.
Chapter 18
From Bad to Worse
“Turn it off.” He stroked Lenny’s head. “Or I’ll silence your dog.” Frank Fillmore didn’t raise his voice, but still it reverberated through my brain.
I lowered my phone, careful not to disconnect. Even though coverage was spotty out of the city limits, it might connect any second.
“Yip,” Lenny cried.
My heart was suddenly in my throat. “Don’t hurt him. Please.”
“Disconnect the phone, Josie.”
My screen was dark. I could leave the phone on, hoping he wouldn’t notice if and when the call went through or I could roll the dice. But could I live with myself if Lenny came to harm? My options flashed before my eyes. I’d lost my parents to an oncoming car. I’d lost my fiancé to the Great Barrier Reef. I’d lost my dream job at the Gazette to a bunch of greedy losers and a thing they called the housing crisis and the great recession.
My choice was clear. I lifted the phone so Fillmore could see it and pushed the power button.
“Remove the battery.” With his left hand, he continued to squeeze Lenny’s small muzzle closed. Slowly he placed his right hand at Lenny’s neck.
“Okay, okay!” I removed the battery and held it up to the driver’s window. As I did, I dropped my flashlight between the seat and the console and said a prayer it would stay on.
“Now turn around and throw both parts of it as hard as you can against the rear doors.”
I swallowed hard. This had to look convincing if I wanted him to think I was complying. I took a deep breath, drew back my arm, and aimed for the box just inside the rear doors—the same
