the response frightened Amy.
“Maybe having no motive is their motive. They torment others because they enjoy it. Nothing more.”
Amy fell silent. She saw despair in Lorraine’s eyes and she immediately touched the woman’s knee and rubbed it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought all this crap up. I guess in some weird way it’s therapeutic for me to talk about it. In retrospect I guess it’s kind of like talking about all the gory details of your impending surgery before they slice you open, huh?”
Lorraine produced a tired but genuine smile. “I suppose that would be a somewhat competent analogy. Although I could have done without ‘gory’ and ‘slice you open.’”
Amy now genuinely smiled herself and rubbed Lorraine’s knee again, keeping her hand there. “Time to change the subject?”
“Please.”
Amy kept smiling. “Maybe when this is all over we’ll all go on a trip together. Somewhere warm maybe?”
Lorraine put her hand on top of Amy’s. “Norm and I haven’t been to Florida in awhile.”
Amy closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. She took the first peaceful breath she’d taken in hours. “Patrick and I used to rent this amazing place in Clearwater before the kids were born.”
“Clearwater? Norm brought me there once to watch the Phillies during spring training. It was absolutely lovely. Such a beautiful—”
Amy clamped down onto Lorraine’s knee with a sudden jolt. “SHHHHH!”
Lorraine jumped then gaped at Amy. “What?”
Amy’s hand stayed locked on Lorraine’s knee. She held her breath, refused to even blink, afraid the wet click of her lids would impede her hearing. She eventually spoke in a dramatic whisper. “Did you hear that?”
Lorraine pecked her head forward, listened intently. She turned back to Amy and shook her head no.
“The back door,” Amy mouthed. Their previous conversation of vacations and Florida had risen pleasantly upwards into a semi-normal tone. Now it was a minute decibel above lip-reading. “I heard something at the back door.”
Lorraine titled an ear upward, listened again. A light rapping echoed from somewhere outside. A moan followed, low and pained.
“What is that?” Lorraine said.
Amy shook her head.
The rapping was louder now, the moan longer, desperate.
Amy released her grip on Lorraine’s knee. “There’s someone at the back door.”
Lorraine snatched Amy’s hand right back. “Don’t you dare.”
“It sounds like someone’s hurt.” She pulled her hand free from Lorraine’s. “What if it’s Patrick?”
“Amy, NO.” Lorraine’s eyes held panic. “We don’t know WHAT that is. It could be a trap. We need to stay here.” She reached for Amy’s hand again. Amy wouldn’t take it.
“What if it’s not a trap? What if it is Patrick? What if he’s hurt?” Amy’s whisper was louder now, her voice raspy.
“Amy…”
“I’m going to look,” Amy said. “I’m not going to open the door, but I’m going to go look.”
“Amy…”
“I’ll stay low to the ground and out of sight. When I get close to the door I can peek out through the window and get a quick look. No one will see me.”
“Amy, please…”
“Lorraine, goddamnit, if it is my husband then I’m going to fucking help him.” Amy’s eyes were strong and unbreakable. Lorraine’s chest sunk and she hung her head. Amy leaned in and hugged her hard. “I’m sorry. But you’d do the same for Norm, right? You’d do the same.” Lorraine lifted her head, closed her eyes and nodded. Amy nodded back and repeated, “I’ll stay low to the ground and out of sight.”
35
Jim rocked impatiently from one foot to the other like a boy needing to pee. He even squeezed his groin a few times. But unlike a boy who might squeeze to stifle back the sensation to pee for fear of wetting his pants, Jim squeezed because it tickled hot with anticipation.
He thought of a familiar song. Something about waiting being the hardest part. Tom Petty. Was it Tom Petty? Yeah—that’s who it was. Well Tom was right. Waiting was fucking excruciating.
He squeezed his groin again.
36
Amy slowly uncoiled from her ball. Her legs were tight and cramped and she gratefully extended them outward, rubbing both vigorously to get the blood flowing.
Rolling flat onto her stomach, she then began inching along on her belly. She reached the bedroom door and rolled to one side, straining an arm upward until her fingers touched the knob. She strained an inch further and gripped the knob tight. She managed a look over her shoulder before turning it. Lorraine was wincing at her, as if expecting the turning of the knob to trigger an alarm. Amy brought her head back