Weapons drawn, they circled once around the entire house before moving in. They entered through an opened window on the shaded side and searched all the rooms, ready for someone to pop out any moment with a gun.
“If I were Marsh, I think I would have picked a better shack for my headquarters,” Will said.
Robert glanced up at the ceiling. There were large holes in the roof where he could see the sky. He thought a strong gust of wind would be all it would take to flatten the place. The fact that Marsh was living here said something about his mental state.
“But where did they go?” Robert asked. His mind was racing now, picking over the contents of the rooms at a blurred rate. There was nothing at all indicating where Marsh might have taken his family. He and Will were now split up and searching in different places. He heard Will come up behind him.
“You need to see this.”
Robert turned and saw in Will’s hand a man’s shirt. Will held it up so Robert could see the burn holes.
“Whoever was wearing this has got to be in a lot of pain.” Will brought the shirt to his nose. “These burns smell fresh.”
Suddenly there was a sound of the back door swinging open followed by someone coughing. Will dropped the shirt to the floor and the two of them moved to see who it was.
They found Stick lying halfway inside the house. His face was badly burned and blackened. He’d tied his belt around the bloody stump where his elbow used to be. It had taken him all morning to crawl back to the house.
Stick’s eyes shot up at them in surprise. It took a tremendous effort for him to suck in enough air to speak.
“Help me…”
“Holy fuck,” Will shouted. He rushed forward and carefully lifted the man up. He propped him up against a fire damaged wall.
Robert shoved past Will and sank his hands into Stick’s scrawny neck. “Who are you? What have you done to them?”
“Let him go Bobby,” Will said. “Can’t you see he’s dying?”
“That’s the least of his worries right now.” But after a few moments he did as Will asked and let go of Stick’s throat. His friend was right, there wasn’t much life left in the man. He didn’t want to end it too early if it meant there was information to be had, anything that might lead them to Peggy and Connor.
Stick coughed and his watery eyes drifted over to Will. “You must be here for the women and children,” his voice rasped.
“Yes we are partner,” Will said.
“Do you know where they are? Are they alive?” Robert asked.
Stick nodded. He began to cough again and Robert offered him a drink from his canteen. Stick drank a few sips before pushing it away.
“They escaped last night. They’re at my cousin’s house now. I heard Marsh talking on the phone. He told Wilbur a lie so Wilbur would keep them from finding help.”
“Where does Wilbur live?” Robert asked.
Stick lifted his only hand and pointed.
“He’s about two miles west of here. Almost down to the highway. I’m really worried for your family mister. Marsh has been gone for a long time.”
****
Wilbur began to wake up after the third hard slap to his face. When he opened his eyes he saw Marsh staring at him.
“Where do you keep the dynamite?” Marsh demanded after. He’d untied Wilbur’s gag.
Wilbur saw the fresh wounds on Marsh’s face. “Whose been kicking your ass?” he asked, chuckling softly. “Don’t tell me it was the woman.”
Marsh grinned from one corner of his mouth. He slammed a fist into the big man’s jaw. Wilbur rocked from side to side, choking on broken teeth.
“When I ask you a question fatty you’re supposed to give me an answer. Now I know you’re in the excavation business, so you must keep dynamite around here somewhere.”
Wilbur shook his head and spat.
Marsh grabbed him by the chin and pried out a loosened tooth with his fingers. Wilbur struggled to free himself but his hands were still tied behind his back.
“Come on Wilbur. I’m doing you a favor.”
He pulled the brown tooth out by its roots and held it up in front of Wilbur’s face.
“I’m sorry, where you really using this? Do you want it back?”
“Please don’t…” Wilbur cried. Thick tears streamed down his cheeks.
Marsh shoved the tooth into one of Wilbur’s nostrils and pushed it deep inside until his finger felt warm with blood. Wilbur squealed and thrashed his head.
When Marsh was finished, he had the information he needed.
He didn’t bother with killing Wilbur because he wouldn’t have any time to fully enjoy himself. There was a lot of work to be done before he could play again…
****
Peggy peered inside the barn and saw Marsh was no longer where she’d left him. Sweat popped out on her forehead and she began to feel an icy tremor up her spine.
How could it be possible? She’d hurt him bad and she knew it. Knew that someone in his condition couldn’t just get up and walk away…
She turned and ran back to the others beneath the walnut tree where she’d left them. As she approached, Connor ran up to her side and held her by the waist. As much as she tried, she couldn’t hide the terror she was feeling.
“What’s happened?” Jan asked.
“I’ve got bad news. Marsh is up, and god knows what he’s planning next.”
“Where’s my husband?” Betty cried.
“I don’t know. But we can’t stay here. Are there any weapons in the house?”
“Wilbur keeps a pistol in the bed stand.”
“Let’s go to the house then. How do you feel now?”
“I think I can walk.”
“Good. Okay everyone; let’s move as fast as we can.”
Peggy covered the group’s backs with the tire iron until everyone was safely in the house. Once they locked the doors and pulled the blinds, she bounded upstairs to the bedroom and found Wilbur’s pistol. She checked the chamber to see if it was loaded. It only had two bullets left inside. Probably not a high priority out here, she thought. Betty told her where to look for more, but after a frantic search through dusty closets and dresser drawers she gave up hope there’d be any more ammunition or guns in the house.
Two bullets – that’s all you’ve got.
She didn’t like the idea of them hiding in the house, but it was the best she could come up with. At least this way she could be here to defend them should Marsh decide to try and come inside. Still, their main problem was that there was no way for them to call for help and no guarantee that it would ever come. Marsh could hold them hostage as long as he liked…
****
“Is the woman with the boy yours?” Stick asked Robert.
“How did you know?”
Stick smiled. “There’s nothing special to it. All you need is a heart and a pair of eyes, and maybe you don’t even need to see in order to know. You’re hurting as bad on the inside as I’m hurting on the outside. But I know you’ll find them. There’ll be good times on the other side of the storm. You’ll see. Your wife is a strong woman, smart too. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know how. I’m a weakling, and I just took the job Marsh offered because I needed to eat and have a place to sleep. I didn’t know he was going to keep me prisoner. They beat me real bad the times I tried to escape. But if I’d been able to get away I swear I would have gone right to the authorities and told them everything.”
Robert nodded, finally understanding what had happened. There was no reason for Stick to lie to him at his deathbed confession. He took the man’s charred hand in his while Will wandered into another room with his cell phone.
“Listen. My friend here is calling an ambulance for you. The hospital will take care of you.”