Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Cade, I want you to stay calm when we do this okay. Don’t do anything crazy.” I didn’t answer, just looked straight ahead to the little clearing where the moonlight highlighted the yellow tape the cops had strung around the place.
I took my time looking around outside, getting a feel for the place, trying to put myself there. I couldn’t see it. Unless you looked real hard this place would be easily overlooked.
There was nothing but thick brush and dead trees with their branches hanging low. From the rustling sounds coming from the dark surroundings it was a good bet there were snakes and other vermin roaming around out there. How the fuck had she made it out of here on foot? Sheer determination no doubt.
We walked around the structure in silence, both deep in our own thoughts. I was stalling, gearing myself up for what I’d find inside that place. This had been her prison for two years. I only knew a fraction of the hell she’d endured here, and for as long as I live I will never know the whole of it, because I wasn’t there.
As much as I want to and as hard as I try, I will never be able to put myself in her shoes, never know the true terror that she’d felt while being held here.
Now here’s the thing. I’m not a weak man. Yes I cried when my wife came back to me, I cried at the loss of my children and may have shed a tear or two in the last few days for other reasons, but no way am I a fucking simp.
But walking into that place was damn near my undoing. It was a hovel. A broken down shack that looked like it had been standing for the two hundred years the town was in existence.
There were broken floorboards and cracked windows with trash bags taped over them. That, along with the brush surrounding the place made for an ominous sight. Think stereotypical backwoods camping horror flick.
But the worst, the worst was the little six by four room she’d been kept in on the dirty mattress that looked like it had been dipped in filth. I felt the air get trapped in my lungs and my head grew light.
“Easy, easy!” I didn’t even know I was doing anything until Mike’s arm came down on my shoulder. I looked at him through unseeing eyes before shaking my head to clear it.
I walked around the room. It was just like she’d described. There was a bathroom attached to the room, the box she’d been kept in was still in the room and so was the chain she’d been tied to the bed with.
The whole place was filthy, except for the room where the couple had obviously stayed. I walked into the little kitchen and opened the fridge and saw the lone loaf of bread with mold and a few cans of beer. What the fuck had they done to her?
The cops had sealed the place off with plans to come back the next day to gather the evidence, so right now the place was pretty much the way it had been while she was here.
I’d been there less than ten minutes and already my skin was beginning to crawl. I can’t imagine the last two years for her. My children were born here, in this fucking filth.
I lifted the chain from the bed and the sound was like a knife to the gut. She’d heard that shit every day for two years. A jail sentence is too fucking easy for this evil shit.
I took pictures of all of it. I have no idea why, but I felt like I needed to record this shit. No way am I ever going to forget, but I needed this shit for something. I had a good idea what that something was. My mind was moving way ahead, but I have to be smart here, no slip-ups.
I couldn’t let myself think, couldn’t let myself imagine her here and what she must’ve felt. Even the air reeked of fear and desperation and with every second that passed, my need for vengeance grew stronger.
“Let’s get the hell outta here, I need to get back to my woman.” My phone rang just as we headed outside. “Yeah Gavin what’s up?”
“She wants to see you.”
I took the phone away from my ear and held it against my chest. “What’s going on?”
“Mindy wants to see me.” Mike’s jaw ticked and he folded his fists.
“Negative Gavin, I have nothing to say to her.” I wanted to know why, but not enough to sit in a room across from her. If I did that shit I’d end up the one behind bars.
“You know she’s gonna go for insanity. Her lawyers are already gearing up for that shit. There isn’t much I can do, but the DA is a friend so…” “Give me a few and I’ll get back to you.”