An hour later, I heard Jackson call out, “She’s finally left.”

Things went back to normal for a while. By normal, I mean I sat on my cot and watched the comings and goings of my captors. Then I was startled by a loud crash and breaking glass.

Jackson scrambled over to look at the security camera monitors.

I heard another crash.

Jackson yelled, “The woman is back. And she’s got men with her. They’re throwing rocks at the windows. Guess they don’t realize the windows are all blocked up from the inside.” He paused, looked at the security monitors, and said, “Now they’re just milling about in the front yard.” His call brought Allmand up from the back of the house.

He looked at the monitors, then both he and Jackson stuck pistols in their waistbands and pulled their shirts over them. Allmand said, “We’re going to have to move quick.”

Jackson said, “We’re not nearly ready.”

That was followed by another crash outside. It rocked the whole house. Someone threw a heavy rock against the side of the house. It was the most serious message someone from outside had sent us.

My captors raced around the room gathering documents and other things. Allmand shouted, “We’re out of time. Grab the box.”

Jackson started to pull a long box from under a table at the far end of the room. Allmand moved over to help him. The box was clearly not empty. It looked like a simple pine box, probably the one they intended to use as a coffin for me.

When the box was in the middle of the room, they pried open the lid, then they scrambled to remove a false bottom. It took all of Jackson’s strength to lift out a heavy metal case from the bottom of the coffin.

I watched, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then something came right through the drywall that was covering up the front window. Protesters outside had knocked out the window and someone threw a rock about the size of a navel orange through the drywall.

Now they knew how to get inside.

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

I was so caught up with what might happen to Jackson and Allmand that I didn’t consider my own situation. If these people got into the house, they wouldn’t make a distinction between me and the jailers. We would all be Americans. They would associate me with these two assholes. It didn’t matter if I was in a cage.

When Allmand drew his pistol from his belt line, I started to get worried. There was no telling who he was going to shoot. I didn’t think I was one of the targets. I posed no danger to him. But knowing the way he thought, I was worried that he might walk through the rooms and murder all the prisoners.