by Powers, Jade
He arrived home to find a manila envelope taped to the back door. There were no signs of anyone breaking into the back, even with the tall fence. The dog eagerly wagged his tail, ready to be let in. There were no footprints, nothing to show that someone had been there. Nothing except proof of his son’s kidnapping, proof that his son was alive.
The video started with a non-descript cell of concrete and metal. Bryce sat on the edge of a prison bed facing the camera. He said, “Hey, Dad. I’m fine. I’m supposed to tell you that I’m well-fed and that my needs are taken care of, and they are. Please don’t worry about me.”
A voice-over left specific instructions for Tom before the video faded. The last directive was to destroy the video after he watched it. The plan was chilling. Tom listened as the voice droned on. You will engineer a power outage at Advanced Innovative Technologies. Switch off the tracking device of the sphere and await further instructions. We will have the mind-control device, with your help or without.
Tom shredded the document in the envelope and pulled the tape out of the cassette, breaking it with ruthless anger. The plan was straightforward enough, a goal-oriented action, leaving the particulars to Tom. The kidnappers were clear in what they wanted. Tom was to do their bidding without question. If he didn’t, the videotape would be the last time he saw his son alive.
Before he even sat down, the phone rang. The Caller ID gave an unknown-name, unknown-number. Tom swallowed hard. He lifted the receiver and paused.
Before he said hello, the kidnapper said, “Will you do what we ask?”
“Yes.” Tom said without hesitation.
“You won’t tell anyone, not even your wife.”
“No.” Tom said.
The line went dead. Presumably all was well. Feeling older than his years, Tom hung up the phone.
Chapter 8
SATURDAY MORNING, MINKA rose early from the floor where she spent the night with sleeping bag and pillow. She stretched, the sun lighting her face from beyond the Venetian blinds. Unzipping the bag, Minka rolled to her feet, selecting a shirt and pajama bottoms from the shelf of the walk-in closet. She would stay in for a while. She dug the shower curtain out of the huge plastic bag of purchases, Minka smelled the plastic, as clean and new as her fresh start.
After hanging the curtain, Minka stepped into a hot shower. She was free. Minka felt only a moment of guilt at her own relief that she had a defender. When they first met, Minka viewed Sven as a possibility, a potential date. Now, there was a strange pressure for him to be more. The way Sven cared for her after Joe’s assault twisted her expectations.
Minka had to be careful with Sven. Sure, she was attracted. He seemed like a nice guy. Except that he didn’t have family photos. What was that about? The guy went everywhere armed. He actually had a gun safe in his bedroom. Not that Minka had seen his bedroom yet. She knew from conversation. She couldn’t help but wonder what he was hiding.
Beads of water pummeled her face, striking her bruised cheek. Minka relived the moment when Sven brushed a few strands of her hair back with his knuckles. Such a simple gesture but it touched her, gripped her in the depths of her being, and now Minka wondered if the first date went as well for Sven as for her.
She couldn’t fall in love. Not when she was preparing to flee Spokane. Sven probably wouldn’t have even asked her out if he had known she was leaving as soon as she gathered enough money.
Shaking off thoughts of Sven, Minka turned off the shower. Today she had to get the living room sorted. Minka wasn’t buying real furniture. The mattress would work in the bedroom for now and a bean-bag chair for the living room. The television could wait, and two sets of book shelves, while not nearly enough to hold her books would suffice for the time-being.
Minka’s desire to leave Spokane cast a shadow on the feelings she had for Sven. Minka was deeply attracted to her neighbor.
While she unpacked another box, Minka wondered if Sven would call, and realized it was only nine in the morning. She felt ridiculous and antsy. Minka managed to empty the box. She needed to buy a lamp for the bedroom. The dining room and kitchen had built in lights, and she installed the lamp she and Alice had taken from the duplex in the living room, but her reading area needed to be brightened.
Tired of sitting around waiting for Sven to call, Minka grabbed her jacket. Heck, he might not even be awake. No sense in waiting around. She ran down the stairs with a grin on her face and jumped in the car.
If she could keep the lamp’s cost below eighty dollars, she could buy a few bath towels as well. They would need to be replaced soon.
Randall’s was an all-around grocery and goods store with a sports and toys section, hardware, furniture, and clothing. Minka parked in the sea of cars and headed for the entrance, stopping briefly to grab a cart. It was a bright morning and Minka felt good. For the first time in years she felt safe.
Safe and free.
The selection of lamps was small, but there were two that she liked. Minka tried the knobs to see how easily the switches turned on and off.
Strange what the mind can do, how wonderfully protective our senses. Minka knew from the tingling in her spine that there was danger. She turned abruptly to find Joe lurking at the end of the aisle, presumably checking out the faux art that furniture stores relished.
Even in a public place, Minka froze. He acted like she wasn’t even there. Did he see her? If he had and she slipped away, he would chase after her and use it against her. If she stayed, he would be there watching. Damn.
Minka turned the switch on the next light, back and forth. She hated the harsh switches of the older lamps, metal cylinders that hurt her fingers when she turned them.
“You gonna talk to me?” Joe’s voice carried. Another thing Minka always hated about him. He couldn’t keep a conversation private. It’s like he wanted everyone in his business.
She pretended he wasn’t even there. Minka stepped to the next lamp and tried the switch.
He was there spinning her toward him before she could gasp. He sneered, “I was talking to you.”
“Get your hands off me,” Minka hissed. She yanked her arm away from him. He was gripping it so hard that the fabric of the jacket bruised her arm when she tore away.
“What were you doing in the park? Whore!” Joe looked damn ugly when he leaned in, that sneer all over his face.
“You get away from me or I’ll call the cops,” Minka said.
It was an idle threat and Joe knew it. He leaned forward and Minka could smell the staleness of his breath and something like Doritos or Cheetos when he said, “What will the neighbors say if the police come round? Can’t let anyone think we’re having problems.”
He leaned in, bumping her like a dog herding sheep, nipping at their heels. With both hands and all of her strength, Minka pushed him away. Joe tripped back and landed halfway on a rack of shower curtains and halfway on the floor.
“There is no we and don’t you ever touch me again, you asshole.” Minka stormed away before he could come after her. She knew Joe. He wouldn’t forgive or forget this one for a week. As soon as she rounded the corner, she ran, dodging down an aisle to the back.
She ran into the woman’s room, locking the door behind her and sitting on the toilet in the first stall available with shaky breath while she came to grips with what had just happened. She pushed Joe. Oh my God. Minka laughed, a crazy, nervous laugh. Good thing she was alone in the bathroom.
That was the bravest thing she had ever done.
Her pride popped with a stark realization. Joe knew the car Minka drove. He could sit out in the parking lot as long as she could sit inside the store. If he followed her car, he knew that she was still here. Joe would wait it out if he could make her pay. He might be cutting her tires or something now.
No, not the tires. Joe would rather surprise her directly. Maybe lean against her hood as an intimidation. She came for a lamp. If she purchased the lamp, she could ask one of the box boys to help her out. If he wa
s loitering, she could express fear, and then the kid would call for his manager or something. Or maybe the manager had already seen what happened. Maybe he was looking for Joe now.
The door on the bathroom shuddered as someone ran into it, thinking it unlocked. Minka unhooked the stall and walked out. She didn’t need the whole store getting into her personal life. Bad enough she made a scene in the aisle.
Unlocking the door, Minka slowly opened it, wishing for a peep hole. There was no one there. Figuring she’d been hiding for ten minutes, Minka returned to the aisle with the lamps, peering around the corner first to see if Joe was still there waiting. He was gone...at least from the furniture section.
So was her cart.
She found an empty cart two aisles over. Hopefully Joe moved hers out of spite. No one was in the aisle, so Minka hauled the cart back to the furniture. She was very uncomfortable in the store. She kept looking over her shoulder for Joe.
Her favorite lamp was the silver base with a beige shade. Hefting the box into the cart, Minka headed to checkout. She needed to buy groceries. Badly. But not with Joe at her heels. She just had to ditch him and find a different grocery store.
The box boy was nowhere in sight. Minka handed the clerk her credit card. “Could you send someone to help me get this into my car?”
“Of course.” The clerk paged someone by the name of Matthew. A teenager with pimples on his forehead and an awkward smile jogged up to the counter.
“Hi Ma’am, I’ll get that for you.”
They walked out of the store together. Safety in numbers. Of course, only Minka knew there was a reason to be concerned. Sure enough, Joe was sitting on the hood of her car.
Minka said, “You see that guy on the hood?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“That’s my car. It’s not safe for us. Can we go back in and call the manager?”
Joe was a cocky bastard. He might as well have been doing a Playboy spread on her car the way he strutted and preened from his posed position.
The kid turned the cart around and immediately brought Minka’s new lamp back into the store. “Can you wait here?” he asked. He didn’t run to call a manager right away, but instead went to the grocery clerk and leaned over to whisper to her what was happening while she rang up the next person in line.
The clerk picked up the phone next to her register and called for the manager. Minka breathed a sigh of relief. When she saw the teenager make a beeline for the clerk, Minka thought that the only other people in the store were women. She needed someone who could go head-to-head with Joe.
Her relief was short-lived. A five-foot blonde wearing a polo shirt with the company logo and one of those zip-out keys on her belt stopped at the cashier’s station to talk to the cashier and teenager. She and the teenager started walking toward Minka. Great. Minka didn’t need someone more likely to get beat up than she was. She needed a burly man with large muscles to remove Joe from the hood of her car.
Joe’s stance had changed. Now he stood with arms crossed against his chest, still in front of the car. He timed their walk up, paying attention to the little blonde who thought she was in charge. He started toward the group and before the manager could speak, he said, “Thank God you found my wife. She’s schizophrenic. Gets lost sometimes. Honey, get in the car.”
Minka ground her teeth. She couldn’t believe she had ever loved Joe for even a second, not even in high school when she must have been a complete idiot. “This is my car, and you’re trespassing on my property. Get the hell away from me.”
“Sweetheart, don’t talk like that,” Joe said. With a sickly sweet smile at the manager, he said, “We can take it from here.”
The manager lifted an eyebrow at Minka. Minka said, “No. I want him off my car. If you have to call the police to do it, get him away from me.”
Joe had once been handsome. Too much alcohol and food had turned him from a jock into an overweight has-been. The problem was that he didn’t know that the world had moved on while he lived in the past. When he smiled at the manager, he thought he looked charming. Minka knew that would be his fatal mistake.
Sure enough, he forced that stupid smile. “There’s nothing to do here. My wife’s sick and needs to go back to the institution. If you keep her here, you will be responsible. I suggest you turn her over to me.”
“You Dickless Wonder,” Minka said, and for once she stepped right up to face Joe. Having pushed him today, she knew she was walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon by moving into reach. One punch and he could kill her. But at least this time there were witnesses, so she would taunt him and see if he wanted to be arrested for battery. Minka added, “That would be kidnapping. No one can hold me against my will. Get the fuck off my car. Now.”
While Minka watched, Joe flexed his hands. Just that little tightening to say that he was thinking about knocking her down. He was careful as he brushed by. Close enough to scare Minka without anyone else knowing that that was the intent.
“Please don’t leave until I’ve driven away,” Minka said to the manager. It was probably the most excitement that store had gotten the whole month. She hated feeling like the lower class entertainment. She never would have imagined in eighth grade picking names, numbers, and cars to see what her future would look like that she would be with a man who would hit her. That was never in the plan, never a blip on the horizon.
The box boy loaded the lamp into the car for Minka. She thanked them both and started the car. She was fine until she turned out of the parking lot, then her hands trembled and she couldn’t breathe.
“Damn him.” Minka drove with a heavy foot on the gas pedal, fleeing, but with no sense of whether she was still being chased. The hunted had to stop running eventually.
Minka drove around Spokane for an hour before stopping at a grocery store she’d never even seen before. She shopped heavily, thinking that she might turn agoraphobic if Joe kept turning up every time she went anywhere.
Minka needed mace.
Or something.
Her grocery trip took three loads up and down the stairs. Minka couldn’t help looking over to her neighbor’s door and wondering what Sven was doing. It would be totally lame to knock on his door and ask for help with her groceries. Even lamer if she knocked on his door and said, Hey, wanna come to my unfurnished incomplete house, eat dinner and watch me unpack?
Waiting for a phone call after a first date was hard. Waiting for that same phone call when the person in question was ten feet away was nearly impossible. After hauling up the lamp, Minka stuffed her cupboards with food. She loved the feeling of cupboards that belonged solely to her. Joe wouldn’t be around to complain if she didn’t buy enough chips or storm around slamming cupboards if she forgot ketchup. As she put noodles away, Minka thought of making her neighbor spaghetti with crusty French bread.
When the phone rang, Minka ran excitedly to grab it. She saw the number and felt sick to her stomach and let it go to voicemail. Minka’s number was unlisted. Minka had paid extra. So how did Joe have it so quickly? Minka had expressly told her mother and sisters that it was private. She hadn’t even given work her new number yet, except Alice, and Alice detested Joe.
The machine was the kind that you could hear out loud if anyone was in the house when the message was left. Joe sounded drunk. He said, “Hey, Pooh bear.”
Minka cringed. Once a sweet nickname, Minka had grown to hate the name, hate the word in his mouth, hate the way he thought it held any meaning for her any more. She thought about leaving the room and stuffing her ears with cotton, but curiosity would probably tease her into playing the message later anyway. Better to listen now and get it over with.
“I’m sorry about today. I was out of line. I know that. I’m so sorry. Let’s get together? Seriously. I miss you. That neighbor, he doesn’t know you like I do. We have a history. We shouldn’t throw all that away. Call me.”
Joe hung up and the answering machine beeped. Three years ago that same message mig
ht have touched her heart, might have brought her back to the bastard. The abuse had been insidious and slow, and started when Minka still loved him. She’d made all the excuses until one day she felt more fear than love, until one day he hit her one too many times.
Minka deleted the message.
Then she blocked the number.
Chapter 9
IT WAS SATURDAY AFTERNOON, and Sven hadn’t heard a peep from his new neighbor. She’d gone out once in the morning and returned a few hours later. He knew it would be too coincidental if he just opened the door while she was unpacking her car. That smacked of desperation, and Sven was not a desperate man.
Sven imagined that Minka was probably unpacking. The whole neighbor-dating plan had gotten really complicated. There was such a thing as too much information. Minka knowing Sven’s every move didn’t appeal—he didn’t want to know whether she was there...and yet he did.
Human nature, healthy or not.
Grabbing his keys, Sven decided to take matters in hand. Stopping by a pizzeria, he bought a couple of pizzas, picking two divergent kinds in the hope that Minka would like one of them.
An hour later he climbed the stairs, the warm smell of meat lovers and Hawaiian rising from the boxes. He didn’t bother changing, but knocked directly on Minka’s door.
He heard her footsteps. He knew when she was on the other side of the door, could hear the floor shift when she stood on tiptoe to look out. He knew that she hesitated for a moment.
Then the door opened.
Minka’s hair was wet and tumbled around her shoulders. She wore a t-shirt under an extra large hooded sweatshirt and pajama bottoms. This was the Minka Sven would deal with if they ever lived together or married, the Minka who didn’t wear makeup, who dressed down on the weekends.
He liked this Minka.
Her smile welcomed him.
He said, “You hungry? I bought some Frank’s.”
