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There was no exit wound on his chest, she saw that right away, and in soun the man had carried

Oh, please, God! she prayed and she bent her face to her father’s

"Daddy…Daddy…?"

His face was totally slack, streaked with ht in his bushy eyebrows

Val wiped the ently

"Daddy…please…"

Henry Guthrie raised his hand just a few inches, all he could e, and touched her arm

"Daddy!" Val’s heart leaped and she felt tears break and spill as her father slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the stinging rain

"Get…get …a chill…"

"Oh, Daddy…"

Guthrie’s eyes opened wider and for a hts burned within the to be okay I’m here"

In a whisper, he asked, "Where is he?"

Val shook her head "I think he’s gone I don’t see him anywhere"

Guthrie closed his eyes for a hts had already diot to warn…" he began, but suddenly a terrible coughing fit agged It took a long tith to speak, and even then it was in a faint whisper, barely audible beneath the roar of the storot to warn…Mark and…Con…"

Then his ainst Val’s lap His hand fell away and slapped bonelessly into the mud

Val screamed She bent her head to his chest and listened, listened…

It was there, the faintest of beats, a feeble fist beating on theof a burning building It beat once, paused long…too long, beat again

It grew fainter, and she felt her own heart sloith it, but it kept on beating Trying to live Trying

Val tried to pull hi him to the house, but she was a battered and exhausted woman with a torn shoulder all alone out in a storm Half a mile from the house The enormity of it broke her, and she collapsed back down onto her knees

She held her father for a brief moment--almost more ti his forehead and cheeks before cli to her feet She turned toward the house and as she did so her lips curled back into a snarl of feral hate that had no trace of hu her bad ar run

3

Mark Guthrie lay on the floor and strained with every muscle in his body Sweat burst froainst the ropes and tape that held hiunshot, he’d thrown hiing phone It felt as if the effort took twenty years, but he actually ainst the low table with a dynamic effort The table toppled neatly over and the phone crashed to the floor Mark rolled over to it and pressed his ear to the receiver just in time to hear the click as the call was disconnected from the other end

He bellowed as well as the duct tape would allow

Connie sat on the couch, watching hi his best to convey a look of hopeful confidence He knew it probably looked pitiful, bound and gagged and sweaty as he was