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“I’m in the city, Marj. Bryce and I are—”
“Oh, God. Bryce…”
“What? Bryce is here. He’s fine.”
“He’s with you?”
“Yeah, right here. We’re having a drink.”
“Then where’s Henry?”
“Probably with his parents.”
“Oh, God…”
“Marj, tell me what’s going on.”
“Ask Bryce if his mother has the baby. Now.”
“Marj—”
“Now. Please.”
I looked at my friend. “Henry’s with your mom, right?”
Bryce nodded. “Yeah.”
I got back on the phone. “Henry’s with Evelyn. He’s fine.”
A heavy sigh met my ears through the phone. “Thank God…”
“Marj, what the hell is going on?”
“Just come home. I’ll be waiting for you at your house.”
This didn’t sound good. And the fact that she was concerned about Henry… It could only mean one thing.
I ended the call, downed the rest of my martini in one swallow, and turned to Bryce. “I need to get home.”
Chapter Four
Melanie
A piece of white PVC pipe was lodged between the bottom of the shelving and the wall. If it was hollow—and pipe usually was—and if I could find a tiny crack somewhere in this seemingly impenetrable garage, I could breathe through the pipe and live. Better yet, I could use the pipe to break the car window and turn off the ignition. An older-model car like this one probably didn’t have shatterproof glass. At least I hoped not.
The problem was unwedging the piece of pipe. All I could do right now was hop around with one foot pulsing with pain, and I had to use my hands.
My adrenaline was pumping, and energy surged through me. I was scared, as scared as I’d ever been, but I needed to act quickly. I hopped along one side of the garage, examining the walls as closely as I could, inspecting every crevice. I needed something—anything—that I might be able to use to unbind myself. Searching like a hawk, I looked for any type of hole in the structure where I could breathe in fresh air. When I got to the back wall, I examined the door to the outside. It was solid wood, as far as I could tell, with no windows, and locked, of course. No chance of escape there unless I had an ax, and free hands to use it.
I hopped next to the side of the garage that contained the door that led into the house. I knew that was locked. I couldn’t try the knob anyway, with no hands. I scanned the wall as high as I could go. Something had to be there. Something had to give me a way to escape.
Still nothing.
I hopped to the front where the garage door was. It was painted white, and it looked solid. From what I’d been able to gather, this was an older home. The garage door was probably wood instead of aluminum. At least that’s what it looked like from this side. I eyed it from all angles as best I could, looking for any deterioration, any crack that I could possibly get oxygen through. Any small crevice in the structure.
The weather stripping attached to the bottom of the garage door was a possibility. If I could pull it off, the seal would no longer be airtight. But I had no hands. I slid down to the floor, my back to the garage door, and tried to grasp the stripping.
Damn!
