The Echo Man

Chapter 89

Lucy couldn't move. She was lying on a cold stone floor. A draft was coming from somewhere. She had been yanked roughly out of the van, walked down some stairs, and deposited on the floor. Then she heard a door slam and a lock turn.

Then, nothing.

The good news was that her captor had not tightened the plastic band around her wrists. She still had a little slack. She rolled over and began to work on the band, flexing and relaxing her wrists. After a few minutes her lower arms began to feel numb. She stopped for a while, started again. After ten minutes or so it felt as if she might be able to begin to work her hand free.

When she had been dropped on the floor she'd felt a small puddle of water. She rolled over and over until she was on top of it. She angled her body so that her hands got wet. The water was freezing. She had never done well in science classes, but she figured that this might be a good thing, if it helped her hands contract and not the band.

She took a deep breath, bracing against the pain she knew was coming, and started to twist her wrists out of the plastic band. No dice. She wet her hands a second time. They were growing numb again, but she couldn't stop.

The third time she tried, she felt the band slip over the base of her thumbs. With great effort she pulled her right hand out of the plastic band.

Lucy stood up, a little shaky, pulled the tape from her mouth. She gulped the cold air.

There was virtually no light in the room. With her hands out front, she felt along the wall. It was a small room, a cellar of some sort. Stone walls. There was a bench, a couple of old chairs. Everything had a deep layer of dust on it. She felt her way over to the door, listened for a while. Silence. As gently as possible, she tried to turn the knob.

Locked.