“Okay. That’s fine. Can we do that downstairs?”

Pip gave no reply. So the man picked him up, carried him back down the steps, and set Pip at the door to the bathroom. Sweat gathered at Spud’s temple as he paced the rec room waiting for the boy to finish.

The room was sparse, with outdated carpeting, paneled walls, and a fireplace that had been converted into a wood-burning stove. There was a couch, a television, and a bumper-pool table, furnishings that spoke of frugality, a family that worked hard to save up the thirty-two thousand dollars in the bank.

Spud went to the door that led outside to the backyard and pressed his hot forehead against the cool glass, his breath fogging up a lower pane. When he stood back, he saw the smear he’d left behind. Was there DNA in sweat? Damn it. He used his elbow to clean the glass.

When Pip finished, he took the boy back to the couch. “Can you sit here for a little while longer?”

The boy nodded and Spud gave him a smile. “You’re a good kid.”

Spud ran back upstairs in time to see the SUV turn into the driveway—no cops in tow. He felt discombobulated. He thought he’d have more time to prepare himself for what came next.

He grabbed his knife and went to meet the woman in the garage, remembering at the last second to pull his ski mask back down. She stepped out of the car with her hand outstretched, a bag of money clutched in her fingers. She looked so hopeful.

He took the money and motioned for her to go inside. “You did good,” he said.

“I want to see my son. I want to see Pip.”

“Pip’s downstairs. He’s fine—”

“I want to see him.”

That wasn’t part of the plan. Pip might say something about the man named Spud. If he did, everything would fall apart.

“You’ll see him later.” The man tried to be forceful in his command, but it sounded disingenuous, even to him. “You need to go to your bedroom.”

She turned to him, her eyes wide as though she had somehow been betrayed. “You said you’d leave us if I did what you said. You promised.”

“I can’t have you running to the cops as soon as I leave. I’m just gonna tie you up in your bedroom. It’ll take some time for you to get loose. If nothing else, your boyfriend can untie you when he gets home. Either way, I need a head start.”

“And I need to see my son. Let me see him and I’ll do what you want.”

She was in no position to make demands, but something in the way she looked at him got to Spud. What he did next was absolutely not part of the plan, but he did it anyway.

“Outside.”

“What?”

“I don’t want him seeing you. He might want to come upstairs. You can look at him through the basement door.”