Chapters (109)
- Part One
- ONE
- One day earlier
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- PART TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EIGHTY-FIVE
- EIGHTY-SIX
- EIGHTY-SEVEN
- EIGHTY-EIGHT
- EIGHTY-NINE
- NINETY
- NINETY-ONE
- NINETY-TWO
- NINETY-THREE
- NINETY-FOUR
- NINETY-FIVE
- NINETY-SIX
- NINETY-SEVEN
- NINETY-EIGHT
- NINETY-NINE
- GLOSSARY
- Acknowledgments
- Continue reading
- Part One
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
Emma came to in pitch darkness. She was in motion but wasn’t sure if she was moving forward or spinning. Her head ached. Her wrists were tied behind her back, the bindings cutting into her flesh. Her ankles were fastened together as well and her mouth was stuffed with a rag that tasted of fuel.
She drifted in and out of consciousness with no concept of time or place. Her skull seemed to be humming and then she realized it was the noise of the vehicle in which she was confined. She was lying on her right side and found she could barely shift position. Faint voices came from some direction as well as percussive white noise she recognized as heavy rainfall. The ride felt like that of a large car or SUV. Every slightest bump jarred Emma’s pounding head. She felt nauseous and dizzy.
Emma struggled to remember what had happened, but her recollection was only faint. She had been at Nii Kwei’s house, but what after that? She began to feel like she was suffocating, and panic grew. Stay calm. Stay calm.
The vehicle slowed to a halt and two men began to talk. From where Emma was, their tones were muffled and obscured by the downpour and she could hear only snatches of what they were saying. The vehicle doors slammed. The trunk clicked ajar. The moment the men put their hands on her, Emma began to fight. They grunted and cursed as they pulled her out. She twisted and writhed, and they had trouble holding onto her. She realized that she had a bag of rocks tied to her ankles to weigh her down, which made sense because now she knew where she was—on the Adome Bridge, and the twins were about to throw her over.
The sidewalk lamps illuminated the rain so that it looked like a thousand silver daggers coming down at a slant. Emma also saw who the men were—the twins. They carried her to the side of the bridge and Emma collided with the railing. She heard the bubble of river below and the noise of rain upon it. This was where Gordon Tilson had met his end, and now it was Emma’s turn to die. In seconds, she would strike the water with force enough to tear her insides apart and shatter her spine. Suddenly, her resistance was spent and she resigned herself. Clifford and Clement hitched her onto the top of the railing.
EIGHTY-FIVE
EIGHTY-FIVE