If it makes you feel any better, you did find her, he said. Shes here. Right under our feet if you can believe it. With that comment, he stomped on the floor. The creaky boards beneath them rattled a bit and a plume of dust kicked up. Behind it all, Kate thought she could hear some sort of muffled complaintperhaps from a feminine voice that was also taped shut.

Im glad you came, Kate. I really am.

He stepped back away from her again and showed her the ID and badge he had apparently taken from her while she had been knocked out. He tossed them on the floor at her feet where they slid against the wood. He then reached behind him and pulled her Glock out from the waist of his pants.

This, he said, Im keeping. I might just put a bullet between little Mercys eyes. I wonder what sort of things might happen to you if a bullet from your gun is found in her head. I thought about doing it this morning with my old rifle, he said, nodding to the rifle Kate had seen propped against the edge of the barn door behind him. Then it would be all over. I could be done with this fucking mess I somehow ended up in.

He seemed to think about this for a moment before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lock-pick she carried in her inner pocket. This seems a little old-school, I think, he added.

He tossed the pick to the floor, where it bounced somewhere out of sight. He then hunkered down in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. He caressed her there, rough enough to let her know that she was likely in some very big trouble.

Im very glad you came, he said again. I never really knew what I was going to do with Mercy once I had her here. I certainly wasnt going to just hand her over to her stupid father, now was I? That girl is somewhere way beyond sexy but…you know, Im a man of high moral standing. Ive been fighting it…I have…but I just cant do anything like that to her. But you…shit, I think youre probably older than I am. Fifty? Fifty-five, maybe? And theres a whole lot of things I want to do to Mercy that I think I could manage to do to you just fine.