Absolute Zero

by Anlyn Hansell

  “What about me?”

  “What about you?”

  “You want me to help you. You’ve told me all of this. Obviously I’m not walking out of here…”

  “Well, what do you expect? It’s Ok, though. With your past history, no one would think it odd if you up and killed yourself after you’ve been fired. Again. No big deal.”

  “I won’t help you. You might as well kill me now.” She fixed him with a glare even though her body wanted to convulse at the thought.

  “We’ll kill Beth,” he stated simply.

  *****

  “Where is she?!” Irene screamed out as she paced in front of Ian.

  “Irene? Think. I wasn’t even here when Kelly left. How would I get her phone? And why would I leave it out in the open for anyone to find?”

  That caused her to pause. “I have no idea and yet, here it is. Where is she?” Frustrated tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks.

  “I don’t know,” he stated quietly. “You have to believe me, Irene. I have no idea…”

  “I can’t believe you. How can I believe you? I’m holding the evidence in my hand. Look at all of these messages.” Her finger scrolled through them as fresh tears gathered and distorted her vision. “Hundreds of them…hundreds…You know, I always thought they seemed extremely impersonal, like it wasn’t her writing them. But I laughed that off,” she stated under her breath, “Now, I’m not so sure,” she added.

  “Check the dates, check my schedule. I probably wasn’t even here when most of those texts took place,” Ian stated. “Someone planted that phone for you to find. It wasn’t me, Irene.”

  “So someone broke into your house and just laid a cell phone on your desk? Do you know how asinine that sounds?”

  “Kelly had a key. Maybe she left it here. Maybe she’s been hiding out here when I’m in Scotland? How the hell do I know? I just know that it wasn’t there on my desk this morning before I left. I can guarantee that. I would’ve noticed.”

  “She’s not hanging out here. I clean every week. I would’ve caught on to something if that was the case. I’m the only other person with a key. I know I didn’t do it. That leaves you.”

  He dug in his coat pocket and produced his keys; picking through and finding the correct one. He still had it so it wasn’t as if someone took it…

  There was another one. He quickly dismissed it. There was no way…

  *****

  Anne watched as the thin woman settled a tray under the cage wall and stepped back quickly. Shelby knelt on the floor, her fingers grabbing and stuffing the food in her mouth. She made odd grunting sounds as she ate, almost like an animal. Ron turned her into an animal. Her eyes flicked to the woman as she climbed the stairs again without so much as a glance in Anne’s direction.

  She fixed her gaze on Shelby once again.

  Ron. Ron could communicate, somewhat. He told her to run. He was able to get that out. He recognized her name, she was certain of it. He wasn’t so far gone that his comprehension was diminished. Maybe Shelby was able to comprehend? Anne had thought Ron was shushing her to keep her quiet but maybe he was trying to say Shelby?

  “Shelby?”

  The other woman continued to chew without looking up.

  “Shelby,” Anne’s voice was louder, more authoritative. She still didn’t respond.

  They were alone in the basement for the first time since she woke up. The sounds of clanking from above the steps confirmed that Rand and his ‘friend’ were probably eating also.

  “You know? I can surgically alter your frontal lobe and yet I cannot figure out how to get us out of this mess,” Anne mumbled sadly as she continued to watch the other woman. “I’m not feeling very smart right now. You have any ideas?” she asked absently before sucking her bottom lip under her teeth.

  Anne shook her head and gazed down at the shackles around her wrist. She followed the chains to the eyehook screwed into the stone wall behind her. Her body was so incredibly uncomfortable and no amount of shifting would alieve the discomfort.

  “Shelby?” She asked again, not really expecting a response. She looked up to see that the other woman was now holding on to the front of the cage, her face pressed up against the metal links. She was staring intently at Anne as she chewed.

  “Ha…” she breathed out, her mouth still full.

  “Haaaaa….” She tried again before shaking her head violently from side to side. Creaking on the stairs caused both women to look over as feet came into view. Not Rand, luckily. The thin woman had another tray and she shuffled over to place it near Anne.

  “Here.” She stood up from her crouch, not making eye contact.

  “Wait,” Anne stated. “What’s your name?” Anne asked softly as a thought burst into her brain.

  “What the fuck does it matter to you?”

  “I…just wondered that’s all. Thanks for the food.”

  “Whatever,” she turned.

  “Wait! Can I ask you a question?”

  “No,” she took another step toward the stairs.

  “Why are you helping him? How could you do this? Look at her. Look at me. What kind of person does this?”

  “What kind of person does that?” she turned and nodded her head toward Shelby. “He told me. He told me you did this to her. Now you’re gonna pay,” she shrugged and turned to leave once again.

  “I didn’t do that to her,” Anne stated quickly. “I had nothing to do with that. I know you don’t believe me,” Anne stated. “But…”

  “Shut up. I’m not supposed to talk to you,” she turned once again.

  “If you help us, I’ll get you some good…shit. Whatever you want, I can get it,” Anne stated in a desperate tone.

  That caused the woman to stop.

  “Really? Ok,” she turned toward Anne once again; the expression on her face was unreadable as she took a step toward her.

  “Just kidding,” she laughed out. “Shut up and eat your food,” she stated as she turned once again.

  “He’ll kill you, you know. He doesn’t need you now. You know too much. He’s already killed other people. There isn’t anything stopping him from killing you too,” Anne all but whispered.

  “No. He’s gonna kill you. You would say anything right now to get me to help you, but it ain’t gonna work,” she stated before turning and walking up the stairs.

  “Haaa…” Shelby breathed out before she banged her palms against the metal.

  A long breath escaped Anne’s lips as she rested her back against the jagged stone wall.

  *****

  “There’s something wrong. She wouldn’t just leave her cell phone in her car,” Ian stated as they stood next to the Porsche.

  “And where the hell is she? Why would her car be here? It doesn’t make any sense…” he added more to himself.

  “Maybe somebody picked her up?” Irene supplied, her eyes still fastened on the phone lying on the passenger seat. The car doors were locked. It did seem strange, she admitted to herself.

  The sound of an approaching car caused both of their heads to turn.

  Em stopped her car and stared at Ian McClellan standing with another woman next to Anne’s Porsche. She quickly removed herself from the vehicle disregarding the initial apprehension she felt at seeing McClellan.

  “What’s going on? Where is she? Is everything Ok?” she asked in rapid succession as she walked up to them. “She was supposed to come back. She left her computer on and everything,” Em stated, the concern in her eyes was clearly evident.

  “You talked to her? When?” Ian asked, turning his full attention to the woman standing in front of him.

  “This morning, first thing. She came in, she was acting really strange. She was about to pass out, I swear. She said she was going to go home and lay down, but she said she would be back. She’s…not here?”

  “No. Tell me what she said. Can you remember?” Ian walked up to her.

  “Umm…well, we came in the office this morning and
she was there. We told her about…oh geez…” she breathed out, suddenly shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “We told her you were in the office and then she got up and ran to the lab, checked both of the freezers. That’s when she got real pale. She had Ryan call Rand…he didn’t answer. Then she went back to her desk to sit down and then she left. Someone called her and then she left. She said she’d be back, though. She never came back. What the heck is going on?”

  “Who called her? Did she say?” Ian asked.

  “No. I…don’t know. It was her cell phone, though. I heard the ring.”

  He glanced back to the car.

  *****

  “Showtime,” she heard before she opened her eyes to see Rand appear at the bottom of the stairway.

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” he was holding one of the vials in his hand.

  “I can’t. What did you shoot her up with earlier?”

  “Propofol.”

  “What dosage?”

  “20 milligrams,” he stated as he stopped before her.

  “We have to wait,” she stated. “I can’t inject her with another drug in her system. I have no idea how they’ll react together,” she said before biting her well chewed lower lip. Hopefully he wouldn’t…

  “Bullshit. Propofol is used as an anesthetic before surgery. Neurosurgery included. What? You didn’t think I would know that? I was Pre-Med, I’m not a moron.”

  “I’m just not sure, Rand. This isn’t exactly a medication with known side effects on a human. Do you want to risk that?” From the expression on his face, she could tell he was thinking. In reality, she was trying to buy time.

  He turned his head in Shelby’s direction. She growled in response.

  “We need to get moving,” he breathed out. “You need to monitor her after the injection. I planned on leaving tomorrow night. This sets me back.”

  Anne thought of Ian. Would he go to the house? Would he think it was odd that she was gone? Would he even care? What about Shay? What did Rand tell her? Wouldn’t she miss him? How long did she truly have?

  She thought about her phone which was surely visible on the passenger seat. As soon as she pulled in the driveway, she was out of her car and into Rand’s, not even thinking about the phone until she was on the Turnpike.

  It didn’t matter at that time. At that time, she thought she would be back in a few hours. Now? She wasn’t sure if leaving her phone was a blessing or not. It would certainly look odd. At least she hoped it would.

  “Fine,” he grated out after a few moments drawing her attention back to him. He was turning to leave.

  “Rand? I need to use the bathroom,” she stated.

  “See that bucket? Go for it,” he stated before disappearing up the steps.

  Her eyes met Shelby’s once again.

  “Haaa…” Shelby breathed out, her eyes wide.

  *****

  “This is highly unusual.”

  “I know.”

  “24 hours, Ian. She has to be gone at least 24 hours.”

  “Frank? Just open the damn door, please? I’ll be more than happy to donate to the department,” Ian added.

  “You’re already very generous to us,” the uniformed man next to him stated.

  “I’ll be even more generous. Come on, could you hurry? It’s either this or I bust the window.”

  “That would be B & E. I’d have to take you in,” Frank answered in a grave tone.

  “Look, she’s gone. Her phone is in her car, her purse isn’t in the house; she was acting strange today. I just need to see the last call on her phone. It might help me figure out where she is.”

  “Why? What are you thinking?” Frank asked as he placed the kit on the ground next to the car.

  “I fired her today. I’m afraid she might…I’m not sure. I just want to make sure she’s Ok,” he stated.

  Frank blew out a long breath.

  “We’ll do this, but not a word to anyone about this, do you hear me?”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  *****

  Please stop staring at me, Anne thought as she lay on the hard ground. At least Rand gave her a rolled up blanket to rest her head on. It smelled like mildew. Apparently comfort was not on his list of priorities for his prisoners, she thought.

  Shelby was at the front of the cage, her slender fingers curled around the chain link, her eyes fastened on Anne. It was dark out, at least from what she could see from the one lone window that was visible to her. She was exhausted mentally and physically. Apparently Shelby wasn’t. Every once in a while a moan or a small growl would escape her throat, but her eyes never wavered from Anne.

  She was trying to tell her something, Anne was sure, but what? How did one even communicate with someone in her mental state?

  “I’m so sorry, Shelby. You don’t deserve this, no matter what. He’s a psychopath,” Anne mumbled as she stared back at her.

  “Haaa…haaalll,” Shelby blew out.

  “What are you trying to tell me?” Anne stated in a quiet voice.

  “Haallllp.”

  “Help? Shelby? I can’t even help myself. I have no idea what to do. I don’t suppose you could act like you like him, get him close; maybe smash him over the head with something? That would be great. Of course, we still have the girl to worry about. Then again, I could blow on her and she’d probably fall over,” a small smile appeared on her lips at the absurdity of this conversation.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, she swore one side of Shelby’s mouth lifted in response. Anne blinked and it was gone.

  *****

  “Easy. See?” The younger man raised the phone to show him.

  “Good job, bro. See? I told he could do it,” Caleb stated proudly.

  “Thanks.” Ian stated as he held his hand out for the phone.

  “Yeah, people forget their passwords all the time. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to do this,” he stated with a shrug.

  Ian was too busy scrolling through her phone to find the correct icon to respond.

  “Well, I got another customer, so…”

  “Right,” Ian responded absently as his eyes fastened on the last call she received. It was from him. It was the call right before his that prompted his next destination.

  “We good, Mr. McClellan?” Caleb asked next to him.

  “We’re good,” he answered absently.

  *****

  “He’s where?”

  “Business meeting in Jersey today and tomorrow. He’s staying overnight,” Shay stated before opening the door further to allow him to walk in.

  “Shay? Could you do me a favor?” Ian asked as he stepped further into her foyer.

  “Sure. What?”

  “Can you give me the key to my house?”

  “Sure, but why?” she asked as she turned and walked toward the kitchen. The house was unnaturally quiet. Of course, it was late, the kids were probably asleep, he thought as he followed her.

  “I lost mine. I know…I think I might have left my keys in the town car, I’m not sure. I’m waiting for the company to call me back,” he lied smoothly.

  “Hmm. No problem,” she stated as she walked up to the kitchen counter and immediately began rooting through a drawer.

  “I know it’s here,” she muttered under her breath. She started pulling out all manner of objects from the drawer, placing them on the counter above. Each object only caused his apprehension to rise.

  He stepped closer, peering over her shoulder as she pulled the last few objects out.

  “That’s weird,” she stated. “It’s not here. It’s always here, I swear…” she mumbled to herself as she sifted through the objects on the counter.

  “Shay? What meeting did he have in Jersey?” Ian asked quietly as she turned toward him.

  “I don’t know. Some meeting for Dunmed. You know he doesn’t tell me this stuff, you probably know more about it than I do,” she laughed out sarcastically.

  “T
hat’s impossible,” Ian stated with a grave expression on his face. “I fired him today,” he added quietly.

  Confusion set in, dropping her smile into a grim line as she stared at him.

  “What did you just say?”

  *****

  “Come on, we gotta go!” Rand’s voice boomed from the top of the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” Anne asked as the woman set the tray under the cage. Shelby attacked it as soon as it was far enough in.

  “What do you care?” she asked as she walked over to Anne and set her own tray down.

  “What if…I don’t know, what if something happens?”

  “Nothing’s gonna happen,” she scoffed out.

  “Angie! Come on!”

  Angie.

  “Angie, wait,” Anne reached out and grabbed her wrist causing the woman to lift wide eyes to her.

  “Let go,” she gritted out, attempting to pull her arm back.

  “Don’t go with him. He’s going to kill you. He doesn’t need you anymore. Don’t you think it’s weird that he wants to leave now? Don’t go…” she whispered desperately.

  “I said…let go,” she gave another yank.

  “Please,” Anne gasped out right before the woman’s other arm swung back and the back of her hand connected with the side of Anne’s face.

  Stars immediately overtook her vision as her torso hit the hard floor.

  “What the hell?! What did I say? What. Did. I. Say!” Rand yelled out as he grabbed the other woman by the hair and hauled her to her feet before landing a punch to her head. She staggered back and fell to the floor.

  “You’re not to touch her, you dumb bitch. Get up,” he took a step toward her causing her to scramble away from him.

  “You Ok? Sorry about that. I’ll get her back for you…” Rand said before he gave Anne a wink.

  The clattering from the other side of the room was deafening as Shelby shook her cage violently.

  “You shut up or you’re next,” he yelled over the racket before grabbing the woman by the hair and dragging her toward the steps.

  Anne could hear Angie’s alternating whimpers and sobbed apologies from up above until a door slammed, causing her eyes to connect with a suddenly calm Shelby.