Still, would Capt. Rain betray his trust to save his family? Back when he was running the Row, one thing every con knew was that Lt. Rain followed the rules. He took no bribes, shaved no corners, and was as fair as the cons and the system allowed. But Gary Rain also loved his family. Whichever way he decided to go, the decision would shatter him. Even if Andy and his mom were returned alive, his dad would be broken. The family would be destroyed.
Marnie Rain was still whimpering, crying beneath her breath, saying, “Why? What can they want? We don’t have any money.”
Andy knew there were others in the room with them so he kept his suspicions to himself. “Don’t cry, Mom.”
After awhile, she sobbed then the whimpering stopped. They were there for about an hour when one of the kidnappers turned on a phone and punched in a number. It was King Girard. He asked for extension 414, which meant that the man had called Andy’s dad at work. “Captain Rain?”
A pause.
“Captain, we have kidnapped your wife and son. You have fifteen minutes to verify that they are missing, then I will call you back. Do not call the police and do not attempt to either record or trace any of these calls. At the first sign that you have violated any of these instructions, your wife and son will be killed.” There was a beep as the phone was punched off.
“That’s it for now,” said Girard.
“What about the woman?” said a third voice. “You don’t want her weeping and wailing on the phone. Rain might freak.”
Another pause. “Okay. Take her in the other room. The kid’s cool. We’ll work with him.”
After Andy’s mom was taken from the room, it was quiet for a few minutes. The silence was broken by someone standing and walking across the floor. The person stopped in front of Andy and grunted as he squatted. “Your name’s Andy, right?” It was Girard.
“Yes.”
“Okay, Andy, I’m going to call your father in a couple minutes. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good kid. Okay, your old man’s going to want to talk to you to see that you’re all right. Can you do that?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. Don’t worry about a thing. This whole business should be over in a few hours.” King Girard stood and then said, “Now.”
The sounds of a number being punched into the telephone. “Extension four fourteen,” said a fourth voice. A brief pause. “Yes, this is the call you’ve been waiting for. Have you verified that your wife and son are missing?”
A moment, then the voice continued. “Very well. In the center drawer of your desk, in the back, is a small blue envelope containing your instructions. As soon as you have complied with the instructions, and we have been notified that Mr. Brandt is safe, we will release your wife and son.”
Another brief pause.
“Here, I’ll put him on.”
Andy could feel the telephone being placed next to his head. “Dad?”
“Andy? Are you all right, son? Your mother?”
“I’m okay, Dad. Mom’s getting sick. You know. She’s upset. I don’t think she can talk.”
“Don’t worry, Andy. Take care of Mom, do what they tell you to do, and we’ll get you out of this before you know it.”
“I love you, Dad.” Andy wanted to say it, just in case. As soon as he said it, the phone was taken away from his head.
“Captain, you have your instructions. Perform them correctly and you’ll have your family back together before night. Fail, and you’ll never see them again. There will be no more calls.” The phone beeped as it was turned off.
“Well,” said the man who had been talking on the phone, “That’s that. That was a good move, kid, telling your pop your mom couldn’t talk. We don’t want anyone to freak and do something dumb.”
Said Girard, “You two might as well make yourselves scarce. We’ll take care of them if the captain doesn’t come through.”
Footsteps, a door closing, steps going down stairs, another door closing. “Okay, kid,” said the second voice, “do you want a drink of soda? Maybe you need to go to the bathroom?”
“Yes. I need to go to the bathroom.”
The man took Andy to the bathroom, stood behind him, untied his hands and removed his blindfold. “Andy, you keep your eyes to the front until I close this door. You understand that?”
“Yes.”
“When you’re done, stand in the center of the floor with your back toward the door and let me know. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“You seem like a smart kid, Andy. Don’t do anything stupid. You don’t want to see what I look like because it’ll mean I’ll have to kill you. You be good and you and your mom’ll be out of here in a little while.”
Andy heard the door close and he opened his eyes and squinted against the light. He checked to the left, the right, then turned completely around. It was a small bathroom, old and dirty, the mirror above the sink broken out long ago. The cracked, filthy sink was opposite the door. To the left of the sink was the toilet. In the same corner a plumber’s friend was leaning up against the wall. To the left of the sink, above the toilet, was a window with wire reinforced pebble glass. The window was too small, too high, and painted shut. To the right was a bath tub. The shower curtain was missing. There was a roll of toilet paper on the toilet tank, but there was no holder. No soap at the sink. The walls were covered with tan and pale green ceramic tile and the floor was covered with cracked white and gold linoleum. He opened the medicine cabinet and looked inside. Nothing; not even shelves. As he closed the medicine cabinet Andy noticed his hand was shaking.
He pulled down his pants, sat on the toilet seat, and relieved himself while he continued to examine the room. He couldn’t allow his father to be destroyed and he needed a weapon. What was there? He could’ve made a club out of the handle of the toilet plunger, but there was no way to hide it. Even if he could have hidden it, he didn’t think he could swing it or jab it with enough force to accomplish anything. Even if he had the strength, how was he to explain all the dead kidnappers? They took turns beating each other to death with a plumber’s friend?
“That’s silly,” he whispered in frustration.
He turned to grab the roll of toilet paper and his shifting weight caused the stool to rock slightly. He wiped himself, climbed off the stool, and looked at the floor behind the toilet. The floor was rotten there. Sweat from the tank, overflow from plug ups, perhaps burst pipes from some past winter. Whatever the cause, the floor beneath the linoleum was rotten, the floor covering easily lifted up. He got down on his hands and knees.
Lifting up a corner of the linoleum, he looked beneath. The wood was wet and black with rot. The head of an old square floor nail stuck up a quarter of an inch above the remaining surface of the wood. Andy grabbed it with his fingers and pulled. The nail didn’t move. He heard footsteps outside the door and he jumped to his feet, flushed the toilet, and faced the sink.
“Okay,” he called out, “I’m done.”
As the man replaced the blindfold and tied the boy’s hands in front, Andy wanted to cry he felt so helpless. He sniffed, and the man said, “Now, you hang in there, kid. You’ve been tough so far and you keep it up for a bit. I’m going to go downstairs and bring us all up something to eat. Maybe some pizza. That’ll make you feel better, won’t it?”
“I guess so.”
“Good. I’ll take you in, drop you next to your mother, then get the stuff. Don’t do anything stupid, now, ’cause someone’ll be in there watching you. Understand?”
That was when Andy’s weapon made itself known. “Yes,” he answered, “I understand.”
Andy cuddled up to his mom, faced his back toward the wall, and strained against his bonds. The man who had gone to get the food must have taken pity on Andy’s rope burned wrists because this time they were not tied as tightly. When they had loosened a bit, Andy cuddled more closely to his mom and gently leaned his elbow on her bladder until she began squirming and timidly asked to go to the bathroom. King Girard took her there, and returned to guard Andy. The boy listened very hard. He heard the creak of a chair and the rattle of stiff paper. King Girard was reading a magazine.