Finn closes the shears, slicing off Tane’s earlobe. I can hear the slight crunch of the blades as they cut through the fatty tissue. Blood spurts onto Tane’s shirt and flows down his neck. Tane screams, muffled by the tape, and tries to kick and flail his arms, but he’s tied to the chair and Finn has him in a headlock.

Ethan makes a noise somewhere between a retch and a moan.

I stare at my phone. Finn keeps looking at the camera, no expression on his face. Tane is still screaming, sweat coating his face, blood from his ear now soaking the neck of his T-shirt.

The video ends.

Finn’s voice issues from the phone. “Find my money, Susannah. Next time it won’t be an earlobe. You call me tomorrow at five.” He disconnects.

“Jesus,” Ethan says. He’s sitting on the couch, taking deep breaths.

“Put your head between your knees,” I say, walking to the kitchen. I get a hand towel and run it under cold water in the sink, wring it out, then return to the den. Ethan is sitting with his head down between his knees. I lay the towel across the back of Ethan’s neck. “Just breathe,” I say, dialing Caesar. I put the phone on speaker as it rings.

Caesar answers immediately. “That was a short call.”

“Finn cut off Tane’s earlobe with kitchen shears,” I say, tapping the phone screen. “I’m sending you the video he took of it.”

“Mother of God,” Caesar says.

“I need you to scan that video for any evidence about where they might be. I’ll look, too, but you’ve got equipment I don’t.”

“On it.”

I hang up and kneel down next to Ethan. His eyes are shut and he’s breathing through his mouth. “You okay?”

He nods. “Just give me a sec,” he says. His voice sounds mostly steady. I put my hand on his back and keep it there. Wilson comes over and nudges my other hand, then puts his front paws on Ethan’s knee, tail wagging as he licks Ethan’s face. “Okay, okay,” Ethan says, lifting his head and rubbing Wilson behind the ears. Ethan looks at me, his face drawn and flushed. “What kind of person does that?” he asks.

“A broken one,” I say.

Ethan takes a breath, lets it out. “You have to find that money,” he says.

“I will,” I say, and silently I add, and I’m going to kill Finn, too.

CHAPTER TWENTY