by Ray Backley
The next thing she was conscious of was waking up, her arms and neck stiff and painful from sleeping in a strange position. She groaned, held her head up, and took a few moments to massage her neck and shoulders back to life. By now it was dark outside. It was good that she’d finally fallen asleep; she’d needed that. But it had changed absolutely nothing. She still didn’t know where Dan was, or whether he’d broken out of the refuge.
And now, her head a little clearer thanks to getting some sleep, she knew it was time to get some answers.
She reached for her cell phone.
Chapter 14
Having crawled through the hole and into the basement, Phoebe brushed the dust off her pajamas and headed for the steps up to the kitchen. She held the handrail because Mommy always told her it was dangerous not to, but it was still awkward as the steps were high for her little legs. The door at the top was open. She tutted and shook her head. Mommy always told her to keep the door shut, but some naughty person had left it open. Phoebe was a good girl who always did what her mommy said, so she shut the door behind her.
Daddy had told her to look for his cell phone, but she had no idea where it was. She remembered there was always a lot of stuff on the kitchen countertops, so that was the first place she looked, getting up on tiptoe to see, then moving along and doing the same again. All the way along to the freezer.
The freezer.
Daddy had told her to look for his cell phone and take it back down, or to tell him if she hadn’t found it, but she was hungry, and she knew exactly what drawer the ice-creams where kept in. No, it wouldn’t do any harm. She could finish it before she returned to Daddy so he wouldn’t know. So she got one out – strawberry and choc-chip on a stick – putting the wrapper in the trash just like Mommy always told her to.
She ambled into the living room, ice-cream firmly stuck in her mouth, her eyes roving around looking for Daddy’s cell phone.
Then she heard footsteps on the stairs.
It was probably Mommy.
And Mommy hadn’t told her she could have an ice-cream.
She waited, not quite sure what to do for a moment, but when the door started opening, she gave the ice-cream a last lick and hid it behind her.
But it wasn’t Mommy. It was a man – a man she’d never seen before, not some friend of Mommy and Daddy and not a neighbor. He looked like he might be a nice man, though, because he was smiling back at her.
“Hello, little lollipop,” he said. He said it like Daddy would have. Yes, he was definitely a nice man. Except that he had a cigarette in his hand. “You must be Phoebe. That right?”
Phoebe nodded, then said, “Mommy doesn’t like people to smoke in the house.”
He stopped smiling, as if someone had just told him off, then put the cigarette out. But he stubbed it out on the cabinet next to the door. Mommy wouldn’t have liked that. Phoebe was about to tell him that, but he picked up the half-smoked cigarette and put it in his pocket, brushing the ash away so it turned to dust.
“Gotta keep the place clean and tidy for your mommy,” he said, his smile returning.
Perhaps he was a nice man after all.
“And tell me, Phoebe, is your mommy around?” He spoke softly, just like a nice man would.
“I don’t know. But I know she loves us more than anything on the planet.”
“I’m sure she does, little lollipop, I’m sure she does.”
The man stepped forward. But it was all right. He smiled and he spoke softly, so he was a nice man. He held his hand out.
“My name’s Vinnie. It’s real nice to meet you, Phoebe.”
She shook his hand. It was a big hand, like Daddy’s, but he hadn’t washed it for some time. Also, up this close, he smelled like Daddy did after he’d been for a run and was all sweaty and stinky.
“You got something in your other hand there, Phoebe?”
He was a smart man, guessing that. She brought out what she’d been hiding from him.
“Ice-cream, huh? Is it good?”
She nodded. “It’s my favorite. It’s called a strawberry and choc-chip. Do you want one? We have more. Mommy keeps them in the freezer. That keeps them very cold.”
Now Vinnie knelt in front of her, so they were face-to-face. “Are you sure you don’t know where your mommy is?”
“I’m sure.”
“It doesn’t really matter, Phoebe. You’re not in any trouble. But I can’t believe you’re in this big house all on your own.”
“I’m not on my own.”
“Really?”
“You’re here too.”
The man appeared to become just a little annoyed at that reply. There was no reason for that. She was only telling the truth, just as Mommy had always told her to. She tried to give him her serious look and said, “Listen, Mister, do you want an ice-cream or not?”
He laughed. But Phoebe didn’t understand what was funny.
“I need to get away soon,” he said. “But sure, I’ll have an ice-cream first. Wouldn’t do any harm for us to sit down and get to know each other, would it?”
“Okay.”
Phoebe fetched an ice-cream for him, and they sat together on the couch.
“It’s a nice place your mommy and daddy have here. Very classy.”
“What does classy mean?”
“It’s good, little lollipop, it means I like it.”
They sat and ate their ice-creams in silence. Vinnie smiled at her, bobbed his eyebrows up at her. Now she was sure about him. He had a happy face, spoke softly, and liked ice-cream, so he had to be a nice man.
The silence was broken by a loud thumping noise. It continued.
“You have noisy neighbors, don’t you, Phoebe?” Vinnie said.
Phoebe was about to say that it wasn’t neighbors, that it sounded like Daddy trying to get out of that horrible place in the basement, but then the music started. She hated that music. Daddy’s loud music. Whenever she heard that, it meant that Daddy was going to have one of his long, boring conversations. But this time Daddy wasn’t there. The man looked at the small table beside the couch, then reached over and picked up Daddy’s cell phone.
He looked at the screen and his smile got bigger. A lot bigger.
“Guess what, Phoebe?” he said. “It’s your mommy calling us.”
He answered it, but didn’t say anything for a while, just listened. Then he said, “Hello again, lollipop. Been a long, long time. I’ve missed you.”
Phoebe wished she could hear what her mommy was saying, but she thought it sweet that Vinnie called everyone lollipop.
“No,” he said. “Nobody else here. Only me and little Phoebe. She’s cute. Like a chip off the old block.”
Then he laughed.
“No, we’re just sitting here on the couch, having an ice-cream together, shooting the breeze. We’re getting on real well. And it’s nice ice cream. Not cheap crap. You got good taste. Well done.”
Then he pulled a face and turned to Phoebe. “Would you like to speak to your mommy?”
She nodded and held her hand out. He handed her the phone and she said, “Mommy, when are you coming home?”
She just heard Mommy say her name and ask if she was okay, so she knew it was her, but she didn’t say anything else, and seemed upset. Very upset.
Then Vinnie said, “I’ll take that back now, little lollipop. Give it to me.”
Phoebe held onto the cell phone and said, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”
Before Mommy could reply, Vinnie snatched the phone away, which was a bit nasty. And he dropped his ice-cream on the carpet, which Mommy wouldn’t have liked. She was starting to think perhaps he wasn’t such a nice man after all.
He started talking to Mommy again.
“Like I told you, lollipop. Just me and Phoebe here. Just me and your innocent, cute, little daughter.” He pulled a funny face at Phoebe, but he was starting to look a little scary. “Hey, trust me. I’ll take care of her. She’s a little young even for me, but I�
�ll look after her. I promise.”
Then he turned to Phoebe, but held the cell phone to his mouth so Mommy could hear.
“Would you like to go for a drive, little lollipop?”
“Where to?”
“To meet your mommy. Would you like that?”
Phoebe was a little scared and now wanted her Mommy, so she nodded.
“Well, she’s just told me where she is, and she’s asked me to drive you over to meet her. That sound good?”
“Well . . .”
“And on the way we’ll stop off and buy more ice-cream. How about that?”
“What flavors?”
“I know a place that does the very, very best toffee and banana in the whole world. Would you like that?”
“The best in the whole world? Really?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“How do you know it’s the best in the whole world?”
“Because . . . uh . . . I’ve . . . tried every ice-cream shop in the whole world.”
“Can I have sprinkles too?”
“Sure, little lollipop. You’re a proper little princess, so you can have sprinkles, cookie crumbles, popcorn chunks; whatever you want. What do you say?”
“And then you’ll take me to Mommy?”
“Of course I will. You can trust me. Your Mommy just said so.”
“Well, okay.”
He spoke into the cell phone again. “Hey, hey,” he said, staring at Phoebe, grinning like he was playing a trick on Mommy. “Don’t you go worrying yourself. Your daughter’s safe with me, you know that.”
Then he spoke to Phoebe, the cell phone still to his mouth: “Your mommy’s getting herself very upset, little lollipop, using some very naughty words. She won’t be getting ice-cream.”
Then, to Mommy again: “Only kidding, Karen. We’ll get you ice-cream too. Anyway, I have to go. Bye for now. We’ll see you in about ten minutes, won’t we Phoebe?”
Phoebe nodded. For some reason Vinnie told Mommy that she was nodding.
He hung up and put Daddy’s cell phone in his jeans’ pocket.
Phoebe was going to ask him why he was keeping Daddy’s cell phone, and was also going to tell him that she needed to take it back down to the basement and give it to Daddy just like he’d asked, but something else was puzzling her.
“Why did you call mommy Karen?”
“Perhaps she should have told you, little lollipop. That’s her real name.” He nodded at the door. “You ready to go?”
“Are you sure Mommy said it was okay?”
He nodded. “Of course. She said so on the phone just now, didn’t you hear her?”
“But she was upset.”
He leaned in closer and put an arm around her shoulder. He was very smelly that close up.
“Of course she was upset, little lollipop. And do you know why? She’s worried about you. That’s why she wants me to take you over to see her as soon as I can. That’s why we have to hurry. Okay?”
“Could Daddy and Benjie come too?”
“Uh . . .” Vinnie thought for a moment, peering into the kitchen and through the window into the back yard. “Not just yet, little lollipop. We’re good on our own for now. Listen, I promise I’ll come back for them straight after we get you to your mommy.”
“And can I take my ice-cream?”
“Of course you can.”
Phoebe nodded and followed him to the door.
Outside, Phoebe had a hard time keeping up with Vinnie. He was looking all around and also seemed in a rush, which was probably because Mommy wanted to see her as soon as possible. Halfway to the end of the road he stopped next to a white car with dents and scratches all over it and looked up and down the road. He unlocked the car, then said, “Oh, no.”
“What is it?” Phoebe said.
“I forgot to say. Your mommy told me that if I don’t have a booster seat, it’s safer for you to ride in the trunk.”
“But I don’t want to ride in the trunk. It’ll be too dark.”
“Let me show you something.” He beckoned her to the trunk and opened it. He pointed. “Look here. See that little light at the side?”
Phoebe nodded.
“So it won’t be dark in there.”
“I still don’t want to go in the trunk.”
“But it’s what your mommy wants. It’s safer that way.” He pulled a long zip tie from his pocket. Phoebe had seen Daddy use them before; she liked the zipping sound when they were pulled. He quickly fed one end into the other, like he was good at it, like he’d done it many times before.
“What’s that for?” Phoebe asked.
A car screeched as it turned into the road. It was only when it drove beneath a streetlight that Phoebe saw it was a big black and white one with a big badge on the side. Two men were inside, and she so desperately wanted them to notice her, but they were too busy talking and drove straight on by. She got a whiff of tailpipe fumes, then felt her body being scooped up and forced down onto the ground. And then all she could see was the sidewalk and the ice-cream she’d dropped onto it. She felt Vinnie pulling both of her hands behind her back.
When she was lifted back onto her feet she could see everything again, but now she couldn’t move her arms because they were stuck behind her back. She drew breath to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. She just had time to see the big car pull up outside her house before she was shoved into the trunk of Vinnie’s car.
Then it all went black. Somehow that little light didn’t work. Vinnie had been lying. She screamed, but she figured the noise of the engine revving would always win. She was thrown about as the car drove off, and trying her best not to get bashed about took all her concentration and effort.
Something else was on her mind. She wished she’d told Vinnie that Daddy and little Benjie were downstairs in the basement. If she’d said that, Daddy could have fetched a booster seat.
And also, Daddy and Benjie would be with her and she wouldn’t be all alone.
Chapter 15
The black and white patrol car pulled up outside forty-one Lancaster Drive and two cops got out. One of them just about noticed a battered old sedan driving away a hundred yards up the road, but he shook the thought off; they had more important things to deal with. They saw the front door of the house swinging slowly in the breeze and exchanged a knowing glance.
The younger cop, musclebound with short-cropped black hair, headed for the open front door while the less athletic older one got his cell phone out. By the time Cath answered, they were both inside.
“Mrs. Catherine Brewer? This is Officer Tim McPherson. I’m with Officer Leopold Kowalski. We’re inside your house right now.”
While McPherson listened, he clicked his fingers to attract the attention of Kowalski and pointed to the ceiling. Kowalski went upstairs and McPherson spoke again.
“Sure, we’re combing the place, but it looks like we missed him. Yeah, I can believe they were still here when you called us, and we got here as soon as we could. I’m sorry.”
McPherson popped his head into the living room, eyes roving for clues. “Your daughter? We’re just checking all the rooms for her.” He briefly glanced around the dining room, kitchen, and garage, then stopped still, listening hard to what Cath was telling him. “What? Your husband and son?”
Then Kowalski returned, shaking his head, saying, “Not a soul up there, nothing suspicious.”
McPherson turned his attention back to his phone, holding a hand up in a futile attempt to silence Cath. “Mrs. Brewer, sorry to interrupt you, but my fellow officer has just returned from upstairs. I’m real sorry, but there’s no sign of your daughter either. He must have taken her with him.”
He swapped the phone to his other ear and took the opportunity to raise his eyebrows at Kowalski, who mouthed a “What?”
But McPherson continued talking to Cath.
“Of course we will, Mrs. Brewer. I have to say, we haven’t got much to go on: no witnesses, only what you say this Vincent Lemo
nt said to you. We’ll dust this place for fingerprints and we already have someone looking for his registered address right now so we can check him out . . . Yes, yes, we will. Now, turning to this other matter you mentioned a moment ago, something about your husband and son also being at this address?”
McPherson listened, staring down, frown deepening. Then he said, “I have to say, Mrs. Brewer, that sounds a little strange, if you don’t mind me saying so. What would they be doing down there?” He nodded as he listened on, then said, “Oh-kay. I think I understand. We’ll check it out and let you know.”
He hung up and stood still for a moment, hands on hips, trying to figure it out.
“You know,” Kowalski said, “I saw a car drive away from here.”
“You get the plate?”
“Too far away.”
“Make and model?”
Kowalski shook his head.
“So forget it. We got more serious shit to deal with here.”
“What do you mean?” Kowalski said. “What’s wrong?”
“I, uh . . . I’m not sure. We got a woman with a sick sense of humor or a woman who’s pretty fucking screwy. And either way, I don’t like it one bit.”
“What do you mean?”
“She says . . .” McPherson rubbed his silvery stubble thoughtfully.
“What?”
“She says she sedated her husband and holed him up with her two children in a compartment in the basement, trapped in by . . . I think she said by a wooden board and a heavy chest of drawers.”
“Seriously?”
McPherson shrugged. “Hey, I’m just repeating what she said. She isn’t sure what’s going on because her daughter obviously managed to get out, but she’s worried for her husband and son.”
“I’d be more worried if I was the husband.”
“Jeez. Me too. Whatever. Anyway, there’s only one way to find out if she’s shitting us.”
Two pairs of eyes met the door under the staircase, just outside the kitchen – the door that probably led to a basement.
They clambered down the wooden stairway and before they reached the rough concrete floor, Kowalski pointed at the hole high in the wall.
