Page 19 of Deadly Threat
“I’ll get you some coffee,” Josie said to the man named Cooper. She jumped up once more and rushed out, as if she wanted to get as far from all this as possible.
“Give me a few minutes to access your file.” Sam typed on her phone. “I promise to make it as painless as possible.”
Malachi stared at her, continually scanning her face and posture. His expression didn’t give much away, but Mia could see the worry in his eyes.
She returned Ladybug to the floor, kneeling beside her and petting her soft fur. The vet had removed her vest. She looked smaller and more vulnerable without it.
The other dog, also a terrier, cautiously crawled on his belly toward them, watching Ladybug and sniffing at her thickly bandaged leg. “I can tell you everything I told the agents in two minutes flat.” She held out her hand to let Jack-Jack sniff it. “They kept me in cold, humid, nearly soundless rooms. I only ever saw Damon’s face— he did the majority of the talking and torture. I heard a few different voices at times, but they blurred together after a while.”
Most of Marcher’s ranting had been as bad as the physical pain he’d inflicted. He’d said things that made no sense and seemed to suggest he was losing his marbles. “No windows, a weird light behind me, and a chair. That’s all I remember.”
All eyes were on her. She had to focus on the dogs, feeling her lungs growing tight. The hot sensation of fear climbed into her belly as she blinked away the darkness creeping in.Breathe.
Also, do not pass out.
Throat closing up, she shut her eyes and thought of sunflowers and open fields. Blue skies. She counted to four during her inhale, paused, and then eight on the exhale. It forced her nervous system to calm down, a trick her psychiatrist had taught her. Sometimes it actually helped.
Sam started to say something, but her voice cut short. Malachi must have silenced her, giving Mia time to regain her bearings once more. The air felt thick and Jack-Jack pawed at Mia’s leg.
Opening her eyes, she found both dogs staring at her. Ladybug leaned against her knee. The thick air filling her lungs lightened a smidge. “I think they moved me three times.” She was relieved to hear her voice come out steady and strong. “But every cell looked identical to the last. I’m not sure we actually switched locations, to be honest, although Damon obviously wanted me to believe we had. I think it added to my confusion and hopelessness of being rescued.”
A glance at the group confirmed they were all listening closely. Sam was taking notes on a yellow pad. Joe was also writing things down, his movements reminding her of Malachi’s. Joe’s appearance was similar to the twins, but his hair was a shade lighter, his nose different.
Malachi gave her an encouraging nod. It felt good, bathing her in warmth. Mia found she could give him a faint smile in return.
When Sam glanced up to see Mia waiting, she adjusted her ponytail and read over her notes. “You’re doing great,” she told her. “When he supposedly moved you, could you tell what type of vehicle you were in? Did you have to climb up into it as if it were a van? Or was it lower to the ground, like a sedan?”
Mia had fought hard to forget all of this—it was like ripping the scab off an old wound. All the memories rushed back, clogging her brain, her throat. The metallic taste of blood, the searing pain from beatings, and thirst…even the slide of the needle under her skin when they drugged her. Those awful memories closed in, causing an icy shiver to cascade down her spine. “They kept me drugged, out of it. Most of the time, I was unconscious, or nearly so, and the trips are a blur. Again, maybe they drove around and came back to the same place, I don’t know. Even when I was halfway conscious, I was blindfolded and gagged. It might have been a van, but honestly, I was never conscious enough to get my bearings until we were on the road. I remember one time they sort of rolled me out of a vehicle when we arrived at the next place. Two men picked me up from there and carried me to another cell. That’s when I heard the guy with the accent from tonight.” The clock on the wall showed it was nearing two a.m. “Last night,” she corrected. “That time, I wasn’t as out of it as usual. I struggled, trying to get free. It didn’t work, obviously, but I gave it all I had.”
Her voice shook on the last few words. She could barely look at Malachi.
“They rolled you out?” Joe tapped his pen on his notepad. He glanced at the other’s when Mia nodded. “Could they have backed up to a loading dock?”
Caleb typed. “Lots of those in the city. I’ll cross-match with places that might have concrete cells.”
“Good luck with that,” Cooper chimed in. He sat forward, holding Mia’s gaze. His was dark, ominous. If he wasn’t on their side, she’d be afraid of him. “You said it was cold. Unnaturally so, like they purposely kept it that way? Or was it underground?”
Glances were exchanged. Mia thought about it, but she really had no idea. She gave a shrug. “Sorry.”
“There must have been an air vent for circulation,” Malachi added. “Did you ever feel cold air coming from it?”
She glanced at the floor, trying to recall those long horrible days without succumbing to them. “Most of the time, I was tied to the chair with my eyes covered.” She had to take another slow breath. Ladybug whined, sensing her distress. Being isolated, tortured, and the hope that she’d be found while fearing she never would be had made her half crazy. “I never got a good view behind me, but I did feel cold air coming in. And I think I heard a motor running. The air came from overhead, so that must have been the vent. The only other things I saw were a drain in the floor and the door.”
Ladybug scooted even closer, making a soft whimper, using her good leg to paw gently at Mia. She ended up touching Jack-Jack’s paw, and the two dogs looked at each other.
Mia glanced at Malachi. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “What about the door?” She could see in his eyes that he hated pushing her, but it was important. “Can you describe it?”
No one had asked her that previously. She closed her eyes and focused on seeing the room again. For Malachi, she could do this. “It had a shiny, sort of reflective glare to it. Pale, like the walls, but it seemed less…hard. Does that make sense? There was a metal handle on it, but of course, it was always locked when no one was in there with me.”
Malachi glanced at Cooper. “Insulated?”
The other man nodded. “Marcher was deliberately keeping the place cold. Why?”
“But not freezing,” Malachi remarked.
Joe tapped his pen again. “Places like that could include a butcher shop. They have walk-in refrigerators as big as a room.”
“From the sounds of it, it was too clean for that,” Sam countered. “Florist? They keep buckets of cut flowers in water, so they need a drain, as well as a cooler than room temperature refrigerator.”
