Spencerville

Billy nodded. "Yeah... but damn close."

"I think the dog was pointing."

Billy whispered, "You had a clear shot at him when he was kneelin'."

"I did, but I think he was wearing a vest. I'd have to go for a head shot, and that's tough at this distance."

"Hey, did you see that red-eye lookin' at us?"

"I did." The infrared scope's major drawback was that you could see the red glow when it was pointing directly at you. He wasn't surprised that Baxter had a night-vision scope, but it made things a little more difficult.

The dog, which was about twenty yards from them, made a low, rumbling sound.

They lay quiet and motionless for another few minutes, then the dog, responding to some other sound or impulse, turned and ran off down the length of its wire run toward the lake.

Keith waited another minute, then slowly rose up into a kneeling position. He raised the binoculars and trained them on the house.

Baxter slipped out of his bulletproof vest but kept his pistol strapped to his side. He turned on a floor lamp that cast a soft light across the big, cathedral-ceilinged living room.

Along the slanted walls of the A-frame room were trophy heads: elk, deer, bobcat, wild boar, two black bears facing each other on opposite walls, and above the mantel of the fireplace, a rare gray timber wolf surveyed the length of the room.

Sitting in a rocking chair beside the fireplace was A

Baxter said, "You expectin' company, darlin?"

She shook her head.

"I think you are." He sat in an easy chair opposite her.

She was naked but had a blanket wrapped around her to keep away the cold. Still, her feet were cold despite the fire. On her ankles were leg manacles from the jail, co

The only telephone in the house was the wall phone in the kitchen, but Cliff had locked the handset in the kitchen closet, along with all the sharp knives. When he sent her to bed at night, he handcuffed her wrists to the iron headboard and released the leg manacles, "So you can spread your legs for me, darlin'."

Cliff looked at her awhile, then said, "You think he's comin' for you, but that phone call I got before was from Blake, and he tells me that your lover boy went and kidnapped Ward and tortured the guy. But Ward told him that we went off to Florida. So that's where the stupid bastard is goin', if he gets that far." He added, "If he even gives a shit about you."

A

Baxter added, "I don't think he cares, and even if he does, he don't have the balls." He laughed. "I mean, he really don't have the balls. But, in a way, I hope he does show up here. You ever seen a man caught in a bear trap? It ain't pretty, I'll tell you. Most of the time they can't get it open and they die of starvation and thirst. Sometimes they cut off their foot to get out. Now, if your lover boy gets himself caught in a trap around the house, we can both watch him dyin' for a week or so. They usually yell themselves hoarse, cryin' and beggin', then at the end, they want you to shoot 'em."

A

Cliff said, "Never saw it myself, but I know someone who did. I think I'd enjoy that." He couldn't seem to get a reaction out of her, so he said, "Don't know what good he can do you anyhow. Last time I saw him, his balls was sittin' in my hand. You ever seen a man's testicles out of their sack? Hell, I shoulda saved 'em and showed 'em to you." He stared at her, and she glanced back at him. He could tell she wasn't sure about this, but each time he told her this story, she seemed less believing, so he decided not to repeat it again for a few days.

Cliff went on, "I hope, if he shows up, I don't have to kill him outright. If he don't get caught in one of them bear traps, then maybe the dogs'll get on him, or maybe I can wing him. Hey, I'll bring him inside here, and you can take care of him. Get him fixed up enough so I can skin him alive and tan his hide..."

"Shut up!"

He stood. "What did you say?"

"Stop! Stop it!"

"Yeah? Stand up."

"No."

"Stand up, bitch, and get it over with, or I'll make it worse."

A

"Drop the blanket."

She let the blanket fall to the floor. Baxter took the key chain out of his pocket, knelt, and removed the padlock, freeing the manacle chain. He stood and said, "Go over there and bend over the arm of the sofa."

She shook her head.

He drew his revolver and aimed it at her face. "Do what I say."

"No. Go ahead and shoot."

He lowered his aim to her stomach and said, "If I gut-shoot you, you're go

A

A

So she wavered between wanting him to kill her now, and living a little longer and hoping she could do something to end this nightmare. But she didn't know how long she could live like this, how long it would be before he broke her. It had been three days now since they'd gotten here, and already she was losing touch with reality, bending to his perverted will to save herself some pain. She was no match for him in this situation, she realized. He had all the power, and even her subtle resistance met with his sadism. Still, she wasn't going to be his willing victim, and she said to him, "Go to hell."

Baxter lowered the pistol, went to the fireplace, and stuck the poker in the flames.

A

She replied, "I don't want to do this either, and you're not giving me any choice."

He looked at her, then said, "We're go

Realizing she'd resisted as much as she could, she turned and walked to the couch, the chain dragging over the rug, and the leg manacles chafing her ankles.

He said, "Bend over."

She bent over the upholstered arm of the couch and put her hands out in front of her on the cushions. She heard Cliff put the poker down, then unbuckle his gun belt and lay it down somewhere. He came up behind her and unbuckled his trouser belt and whipped it out of the loops. "Okay, you got to pay for your smart mouth. And you got a lot of payin' to do for a lot of smart-mouthin' over the years."

She didn't want to reply, but she knew if she didn't say anything, he'd go on and on, and she didn't want to wait for it in that humiliating position. She said, "Just get it over with."

"I want you to think about what's comin' and why you're gettin' it."

"Damn you..."

He swung the belt and brought it down hard across her buttocks.

Keith focused on one of the lit dormer windows that protruded from the sloped side of the A-frame. He caught a glimpse of something, then saw her. She was standing, and he could see her from the waist up. She was bare-breasted, and she stood motionless for a few seconds. He could see her face, but at this distance, the equivalent of about twenty-five yards with the four-power magnification, he had trouble making out her features. He thought she looked frightened, but that might have been his imagination.