Splintered (29 page)

The girl’s muffled groans struggled to break free from the tape covering her mouth. Exhaled air from her heavy breathing came out of her nostrils, blowing the wisps of blonde hair covering her face.

Daniel talked to her, trying to calm her down. It did nothing to soothe her fears. When he touched her arm, she started flailing.

Hank bent over and yelled in her face. “Stop! I can’t think with all this noise. If you don’t shut up right now, I’ll coldcock you.” The girl grew still and her eyes grew even larger.

Hank started pacing again. “What to do? Think of what to do.” Should he leave Maddy and Katie, grab Daniel, and get the hell out of Dodge? The cops could show up on their doorstep any minute. It had been seven hours since Daniel took her.

Then Hank thought about all the time he’d already spent training Maddy. He knew he couldn’t leave her behind.

Shit!

He was tired of everyone screwing up his fun. First his mom had walked in on him and Rosalina, and now Daniel had to go and screw up his perfect plan for Maddy. Hank had worked out every detail of his plan flawlessly. No one would have ever found her.

Cash. I need cash.

Hank didn’t have much lying around, but he thought it would be safe enough to swing by the bank on the way out of town. If the cops weren’t at the house yet, they must not know their identities. It surely wouldn’t take long though.

But where to go?

Hank frantically scanned the living room, like he’d somehow find the answer written on the walls. Then his eyes fixed on something.

That’s it.

“We need to get out of here, Daniel. Now. The cops will be here any minute. We have to grab Maddy and go.”

“Nooo,” Daniel whined. “Not without Katie.”

“She can’t come with us. The pressure will be too much if the cops know we have her. Just leave her here for them to find. It’ll give us a head start.”

Daniel stood up and faced Hank. “It’s not fair. Why do you get to take Maddy when I can’t have my girl?”

“Stop whining. I won’t have it. You’ll listen to me, you’ll gather your shit together, and we’ll leave.”

“No! You like her more than you like me.”

“Who?”

“Maddy. Ever since she showed up, you’ve changed. You always ignore me now. You even called me an idiot.”

“I’m sorry, Daniel, really. But we don’t have time for this right now. Cops will be barging through our door any minute. We’ll talk about this in the van.”

“I don’t believe you. I did everything right. The cops won’t find Katie here. You just want me to give her up. Well, I won’t!”

Maddy awoke to Hank’s yelling. She buried her head under the dirty sheet he’d allowed her to keep the last time he left. Sleep had been her only comfort since all this began. Whenever he was gone, she’d fight through the pain and force her mind to shut down.

More angry voices travelled through the closed bedroom door. She couldn’t make out the words, but she knew from the tone of voice that something important was happening.

Is this the day Hank will finally kill me?

He had constantly threatened her, telling her that if she didn’t please him in the way he liked, he’d snap her neck and find some other girl who could satisfy him.

She told herself to do whatever he said, no matter what, every time he walked through that door. She knew it was the only way to stay alive.

“Stop! I can’t think with all this noise.”

Maddy jumped at the sound of Hank’s voice.

A minute later Daniel’s voice said, “Nooo! Not without Katie.”

Who’s Katie?

Another few minutes went by. Maddy couldn’t hear a thing. Somehow she found the silence worse than the shouting. Then the clang of the locks made her jump again. Hank yanked the door open with such force it whacked against the wall. He threw something at her.

“Get dressed. Now.”

A sweatshirt and jeans lay in a pile near her. She stared up at Hank, afraid of the look on his face. His eyes were bright, almost shimmering. They kept darting around the room. She couldn’t figure out what he was looking for. She quickly pulled the large USF sweatshirt over her head. When she went to pull on the jeans, she realized she couldn’t get them over her feet because of the chain attached to her ankle. But she was afraid to speak because Hank hadn’t asked her a question. The painful lesson she’d endured for breaking
that
rule was one lesson she didn’t want to repeat. The only thing she could think to do was raise her hand.

“What?” Hank looked at her, annoyed.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Maddy coughed. Her voice sounded hoarse from lack of water and disuse. She didn’t get to talk much. “I can’t put these jeans on with this chain wrapped around my leg.”

Hank turned and smashed his fist into the door. He let out an animalistic growl. “Do not move, or you’ll regret it like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”

Maddy barely breathed, afraid the rising of her chest would be enough to set him off. He bent down on one knee and put the key in the lock that held the chain around her ankle. When the chain fell to the floor, she fought the urge to rub her leg. She instinctively knew any movement would be the end of her. After Hank stood up and took two steps backward, he ordered her again to get dressed.

When she was done, she rolled up the pant cuffs so she wouldn’t trip over the extra material bunching at her feet.

The clothes must have come from Daniel’s closet.

Hank pointed toward the open door. “Now go into the living room.”

Maddy hesitated, afraid this was the beginning of the end.

Has he finished digging out that hole in the backyard he told me about?

“Don’t make me ask you a second time.”

Maddy shuffled forward, but shooting pains made it hard to take normal steps. She stopped when she reached the kitchen counter and looked back, waiting for her next set of instructions. Hank walked around her and grabbed a roll of duct tape sitting on the counter. He pulled off a piece and placed it over her lips. When he told her to put her hands together in front of her, she forced her shaking body to comply. He also taped her legs together, and she teetered sideways. With the ease of picking up a bag of mulch, he threw her over his shoulder.

“Now Daniel, I’m going to ask you one more time. Will you come with us?”

“I’m not going anywhere if
she
comes along!” Maddy heard Daniel holler from the room behind her. “You have to choose. Me or her.”

Maddy could feel the rage building inside Hank, like heat exploding from his body, ready to scorch her. She watched, upside down, as he carried her into the living room. She craned her neck up and saw what she thought were Daniel’s legs. And a girl.

There’s a bound girl lying on the couch.

Maddy locked eyes with the girl as Hank opened the door. She knew the terror the girl must be feeling. The only thing Maddy could think of was to memorize her facial features. It seemed the least she could do. Someone should know the girl had been there. Large doe eyes, green maybe. It was hard to tell since one was swollen shut. And long, straight blonde hair that was parted down the middle.

“Just remember, Daniel, I gave you a choice.
You’re
the one who’s deciding to stay. It’s not on me.”

Wallace patted his cheeks, trying to wake himself up. He took the last gulp of his tepid coffee, even though he knew he’d regret it. Somewhere around eight o’clock that morning, the caffeine had turned on him. Instead of keeping him awake, it had just churned in his stomach like battery acid. Dispatch had called him sometime just after one in the morning about an abduction at a Temple Terrace restaurant just off Fifty-Sixth Street.

“I don’t know what’s going on around here lately—must be something in the water.” Wallace looked around at the six SWAT guys decked out in their black Kevlar equipment. “But we’ve got an abduction on our hands. Let me get you guys up to speed.”

Wallace put his empty coffee cup on the trunk of his car. He leaned back, put a foot up on the rear bumper. “Early this morning, the manager of Antonio’s was locking up the place when he saw a man walk up to one of his servers as she was leaving for the night. The guy punched her in the face and then put her in his van. This all happened in the alley right behind the restaurant.”

“Pretty ballsy to grab someone right across the street from City Hall,” one of the men to Wallace’s right said.

“Ballsy or stupid, I don’t know which,” said another cop.

Wallace held up a picture of Katie Norris. He handed it to the man closest to him, who examined the photograph and then handed it off.

“The manager wasn’t able to get a plate number—it was too dark in the back—but a security camera outside the front of a fitness place in the same strip mall captured a white van in the parking lot earlier in the evening. We think the guy cased the joint before he grabbed the waitress. The license plate was traced back to one Hank Fry, address 10309 Hyaleah Road.” Wallace looked west, toward Fry’s house. He and all the men were congregated in a parking lot at a park about a mile away.

Wallace continued. “When I showed the folks who work in the restaurant Hank Fry’s picture, they said he hadn’t been in that night, but that he’s a regular. A busboy mentioned Hank has a brother, Daniel. We found out Daniel Fry lives with Hank and they often frequent the restaurant together. Two waitresses confirm that Daniel Fry was in Antonio’s last night, and that he sat in the missing girl’s section.”

“Does Daniel Fry have a record?” one of the cops asked.

Wallace shook his head. “He’s never been convicted of anything, but about a week and a half ago an officer picked him up on an indecent exposure charge. The guy pulled out his wanker in front of a jogger at the entrance to the trail going through this very park. The lady hasn’t pressed charges—yet. I got Officer Topher, who responded to the call, out of bed and grilled him about this Daniel Fry. Topher said the guy seemed harmless. That he’d be surprised if Daniel could have pulled off something like this. Guess he’s mentally slow. Daniel gave the excuse that he was only taking a piss when the lady happened to run by. Topher thought Daniel’s brother, Hank Fry, would have been a likelier suspect for the abduction. The officer got a weird vibe off the older brother, but nothing he could pinpoint.”

Wallace held up a blown-up image of Daniel Fry’s DMV photo. “Take a good look at this, men. This is our target. Daniel Fry. And just so you’re aware, here’s a picture of Hank Fry. The two live together, so when we storm the house we might encounter both. Your team commander will go over the details, but let’s take this place assuming Katie Norris is still alive and is being held somewhere in the house. We need a nice clean extraction.”

Wallace stepped back, out of the circle, and the team commander, Alex Powell, spread blueprints of the Fry house across the trunk of Wallace’s car. Once everyone knew their role, Powell radioed to the SWAT member who’d been watching the Fry house through binoculars across the street.

“Alpha One—report,” Powell commanded into the radio.

“Zero vehicles in the driveway. Unknown number of vehicles in the garage. Movement noted at the number-one window. Alpha One out.”

“Okay guys, let’s play this thing by the book,” Powell said. “Be safe, be aware, and be smart.” He looked at Wallace. “You can enter after we clear the house. I’ll radio when it’s safe.”

Wallace hated this part. Not knowing what was happening, speculating on whether the SWAT team would find Katie Norris and, if they did, whether she’d be alive. He couldn’t imagine what the girl’s parents were going through. Waiting for the phone to ring, wondering what news the call would bring. Wallace said a silent prayer, petitioning on behalf of Katie. He hoped he’d be able to give the Norrises good news today.

Wallace’s radio crackled. “One male has been apprehended, and we found the girl,” a voice said.

“Is she alive?” Wallace asked.

Static was the only answer.

“I didn’t get that. Can you say again? Is the girl alive?”

“Yes. We found her alive.”

Wallace shook the radio high above his head, thanking God for His intercession. He jumped in his car and drove over to the Fry house as fast as he dared. Out front, police cars blocked the road, their lights flashing blue and red. EMTs rolled a gurney into the house. Inside, a SWAT member stood guard over a girl bound with duct tape lying on the couch. An EMT was checking her vital signs and explaining to her that the tape covering her mouth, arms, and legs wouldn’t be removed until they reached the hospital. Once there, doctors could use a special solution to dissolve the glue. Ripping it off now would damage the skin.

The EMT asked Katie questions, and she nodded or shook her head in response. Satisfied that no damage would be inflicted by lifting her, she was put on the gurney and wheeled out. Wallace would catch up with her at the hospital and interview her later, once she was treated. For now, he wanted to check out the house.

The outside of the one-story looked weathered. The paint needed a good pressure washing. Weeds grew in the unkempt yard. It was a stark contrast to the inside, which looked like a furniture showroom. Wallace ran his hand across the dark, cherry-stained wood of the entertainment center. All around the living room, Wallace saw numerous pieces of high-quality wood furniture. He wondered if he would find a wood shop in the house or maybe inside a converted garage.

A SWAT member escorted a handcuffed Daniel Fry into the living room, then handed him over to a police officer standing near Wallace. “He’s the only one we found.”

“Make sure you read him his rights,” Wallace told the officer. “I don’t want him slipping out of this one. Take him over to City Hall and wait with him in the interrogation room. I’ll be over soon.”

Wallace walked from the living room into the kitchen. He scanned the contents of the refrigerator and cupboards. Nothing unusual. Then he turned and froze as he noticed the altered bedroom door—slide locks at the top and bottom, new handle, and the rectangular slot. He opened it and stepped inside, recognizing immediately that the bedroom had been converted into a cell. He saw the thick, heavy chain lying in a pile on the floor, the bloodied mattress pad next to it, and the boarded-up window.