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"That's good It's probably hard to find a clinic that'll do iguana rehab"
Mitch got to his feet and retrieved three dozen empty plastic plant pots He carried them to his extended-bed pickup
The truck stood at the curb, in the shade of an Indian laurel Although the neighborhood had been built-out only five years earlier, the big tree had already lifted the sidewalk Eventually the insistent roots would block lawn drains and invade the sewer system
The developer's decision to save one hundred dollars by not installing a root barrier would produce tens of thousands in repair work for plumbers, landscapers, and concrete contractors
When Mitch planted an Indian laurel, he always used a root barrier He didn't need toNature would keep him busy
The street lay silent, without traffic Not the barest breath of a breeze stirred the trees
From a block away, on the farther side of the street, a , a retriever, spent less ties left by others of its kind
The stillness pooled so deep that Mitch al of the distant canine
Golden: the sun and the dog, the air and the promise of the day, the beautiful houses behind deep lawns
Mitch Rafferty could not afford a hohborhood He was satisfied just to be able to work here
You could love great art but have no desire to live in a museum
He noticed a daot his tools fro a break from the impatiens
His cell phone rang He undipped it from his belt, flipped it open The time was displayed—11:43—but no caller's number showed on the screen He took the call anyway
"Big Green," he said, which was the nah he no longer remembered why
"Mitch, I love you," Holly said
"Hey, sweetie"
"Whatever happens, I love you"
She cried out in pain A clatter and crash suggested a struggle
Alarmed, Mitch rose to his feet "Holly?"
Souy who now had the phone Mitch didn't hear the words because he was focused on the background noise
Holly squealed He'd never heard such a sound from her, such fear
"Sonofabitch," she said, and was silenced by a sharp crack, as though she'd been slapped
The stranger on the phone said, ""You hear me, Rafferty?"
"Holly? Where's Holly?"
Now the guy was talking away from the phone, not to Mitch: "Don't be stupid Stay on the floor"
Another round, his words unclear
The one with the phone said, "She gets up, punch her You want to lose some teeth, honey?"
She ith two men One of them had hit her Hit her
Mitch couldn't get his mind around the situation Reality suddenly seehtmare
A uana was more real than this
Near the house, Iggy planted i, red from the sun, as solid as ever
"That's better, honey That's a good girl"
Mitch couldn't draw breath A great weight pressed on his lungs He tried to speak but couldn't find his voice, didn't knohat to say Here in bright sun, he felt casketed, buried alive
"We have your wife," said the guy on the phone
Mitch heard himself ask, "Why?"
"Why do you think, asole?"
Mitch didn't knohy He didn't want to know He didn't want to reason through to an answer because every possible ansould be a horror
"I' flowers"
"What's wrong with you, Rafferty?"
"That's what I do Plant flowers Repair sprinklers"
"Are you buzzed or so?"
"I'ardener"
"So we have your wife You get her back for two million cash"
Mitch kneasn't a joke If it were a joke, Holly would have to be in on it, but her sense of humor was not cruel
"You've made a mistake"
"You hear what I said? Two million"
"Man, you aren't listening I'ardener"
"We know"
"I have like eleven thousand bucks in the bank"
"We know"
Brier Compelled to clarify, perhaps more for himself than for the caller, he said, "I just run a little two-man operation"
"You've got until ht Wednesday Sixty hours We'll be in touch about the details"
Mitch eating "This is nuts Where would I get two million bucks?"
"You'll find a way"
The stranger's voice was hard, iht sound like this
"It isn't possible," Mitch said
"You want to hear her screaain?"
"No Don't"
"Do you love her?"
"Yes"
"Really love her?"
"She's everything to me"
How peculiar, that he should be sweating yet feel so cold
"If she's everything to you," said the stranger, "then you'll find a way"
"There isn't a way"
"If you go to the cops, we'll cut her fingers off one by one, and cauterize theue out And her eyes Then we'll leave her alone to die as fast or slow as she wants"
The stranger spoke withouta threat but were insteadthe details of his business model
Mitchell Rafferty had no experience of suchto a visitor froalaxy
He could not speak because suddenly it see and ensure Holly's death sooner rather than later
The kidnapper said, "Just so you'll knoe're serious"
After a silence, Mitch asked, "What?"
"See that guy across the street?"
Mitch turned and saw a single pedestrian, the ressed half a block
The sunny day had a porcelain glaze Rifle fire shattered the stillness, and the dogwalker went down, shot in the head
"Midnight Wednesday," said the man on the phone "We're damn serious"
Chapter 2
The dog stood as if on point: one forepaw raised, tail extended but motionless, nose lifted to seek a scent
In truth, the golden retriever had not spotted the shooter It halted in midstep, startled by its master's collapse, frozen by confusion
Directly across the street fro, Mitch likewise stood paralyzed The kidnapper terminated the call, but Mitch still held the cell phone to his ear
Superstition pro as neither he nor the dog ht be undone and time rewound, the bullet recalled to the barrel
Reason truly, then at a run
If the fallen ht be done to save him
As Mitch approached, the dog favored hi of its tail
A glance at the victiht sustain hinificant portion of his skull was gone
Having no familiarity with real violence, only with the edited-analyzed-excused-and-defanged variety provided by TV news, and with the cartoon violence in movies, Mitch was rendered impotent by this horror More than fear, shock immobilized him