Cal drops my arm and stands. “I had a chance to examine it closely when I first brought you here, unconscious. Really, Melinda, you were always wearing long sleeves, and I’d been dying to get a look at it. Keith told me he’d put his mark on you. Claimed you as his own.” He waves the knife in front of my face. But I’ll do him one better, afterward.” He leans over and places the tip of the blade against my chest. “Right here, over your heart. You’ll be mine at last.”

My pulse is beating in thick, heavy thumps as Cal places the knife on the floor next to the gun and grabs the dirty blankets lying next to me. He spreads them out and stands, legs apart, so close I can smell him. He pats the front of his pants. “Let’s do this.”

I swallow and clench my trembling jaw. Snot drips down my upper lip. “Please, Cal, don’t.”

“Sorry, Melinda. It’s part of it. I need to possess you. Make little Melinda, the girl in the cellar, all mine. So a little interlude before the end.”

I glance up at the window and see the pantlegs of people as they stride by. Cops? My heart hammers. Please let them find me. Hurry. Hurry. I open my mouth to scream, but Cal is bending over me, so close he could easily break my neck with his hands before the cops could get down here, so I stay quiet and hope to hold him off until they find me.

He pulls a small key from his pocket, reaches for the handcuff. I pull a great breath, as though I’m getting ready to dive into the deep end. This is it. I gather my strength, think of Jay, and bolt to my feet.

CHAPTER 71 - Rita

CHAPTER 71

Rita

WE’VE JUST CLEARED ANOTHER BASEMENT WITH NO LUCK. WITH each house, we’ve entered the front door anxious and on alert, only to be let down. My ankle is throbbing. I’d turned it maneuvering through debris, catching my foot on a kid’s rusted bicycle, but I suck it up. I’m going to see this through. I’ll find Mrs. Bradley or break my leg trying.

Outside, the air’s frigid, and the smells of the city surround us in the early-morning haze. Joe and I huddle against a wall as the team leader reports back on his radio. We’ve got one more house to search to clear this block. I try to push away the doubts that threaten to crawl into my mind.

But I can’t help whispering to Joe, “What do you think? What if she’s not here?” As if he’s got a better plan.