Salt

by David Chambers

  Dan smiled. He never knew how she could still be shy when they had spent days naked in bed together but he loved that she still had an innocence about her. He stood and pulled his t shirt over his head and then stepped out of his shorts. He walked towards the bathroom and stepped inside.

  They showered together, Emma would smell of Chanel Allure body wash and her hair would smell the same but she didn’t mind. She liked how he smelled and his hands washing her and massaging the foam into her scalp took her mind of a bad hair day tomorrow. Their bodies slipped against each other as he used her body scrubber on her. He told her it would help remove dead skin cells that could give them away but where his hand moved and how his fingers brushed her flesh around the body scrubber made her think that dead skin cells weren’t his only motivation.

  They kissed, she put her arms around his neck and their naked bodies let the water wash away the tension from their muscles.

  ‘Not now. Afterwards.’ Dan said as he stopped kissing her.

  ‘Boo. Why?’ Emma said her hard nipples poking against his chest.

  ‘We need to concentrate and if we start that we’ll miss something. Afterwards will be better and it gives us another reason to get home fast.’ Dan said.

  ‘I’m not sure about that. I don’t think I’ll want to do anything once he’s here.’ She said her bottom lip protruding a little more than usual. ‘I want to now though.’

  ‘No, we can’t. Well we shouldn’t. Really.’

  ‘You’re no fun you.’ Emma said dropping the scrubber on the floor and kissing his chest.

  Dan signed. ‘I guess we could use some relaxation.’

  # # #

  They stepped outside, the gravel crunched under their boots. They were dressed in the black workwear Dan had bought them from B&Q, the only parts of them that weren’t covered in black were their hands and faces. They both wore black polyester swim caps bought online.

  ‘You make a good ninja you know.’ Dan said as they walked towards the Transit.

  ‘Thank you. Black suits everyone although I’m not too sure about these swim hats.’

  ‘I told you why. My jumper is covered in your blonde hairs and I figured that the last thing we need is any of our hairs in his house. For the sake of five quid each I thought it a good investment.’

  ‘Maybe but we look like them puppeteers they use on black backgrounds and my heads hot.’

  ‘All of you is hot and it won’t be long.’ Dan said as the Ford indicators flashed their welcome. They climbed into the car and closed the doors. Dan reached around and put the rucksack onto the back seat.

  ‘Ready babe?’ Dan asked.

  ‘I’m nervous.’

  ‘We should be nervous, it will keep us sharp. But are you ready?’

  ‘Yes. I’m ready. I think.’ Emma said.

  # # #

  They drove for two hours. Dan used the cruise control whenever he could to make sure he didn’t speed. For the ninety minutes they talked normally as if they were heading out for a meal rather than to kidnap someone but when the first road sign pointing to Newton Longville appeared they both stopped talking. The roads were clear so they made good time and soon reached Bicester. Dan slowed as he looked for a layby.

  He found one and pulled in. It was large and separated from the road by a hard shoulder of trees, the only other vehicles were a truck where the driver probably slept and a bright orange Ford Focus where the passengers were doing something where they wouldn’t want attention either. Dan stopped and slipped the van into neutral.

  Dan took a deep breath, ‘Are you ready babe?’

  ‘I think so yeah.’ Emma said her eyes looking straight ahead.

  ‘I need you to be sure babe. This is the last chance we have to stop and I need to know you’re with me.’

  ‘Are you sure you want to do this though?’ Emma asked.

  ‘Yes I’m sure. I can’t let him get away with what he did. If you don’t do it with me then I’ll probably do something on my own but then I stand a bigger chance of it going wrong. So, are you with me or should we turn around?’ Dan asked.

  ‘I’m with you. Just scared. I don’t want to talk about it too much, just want to get it done so we can be happy.’

  ‘Good, that’s what I want. I want us to be happy but we need to focus now and get this done and it’ll soon be over.’ Dan said.

  ‘I love you.’ Emma said.

  ‘I love you too now take the rubber gloves out of the bin bag, put a pair on and pass the others to me.’

  Emma took out the black tattooist gloves from the bag and passed a pack to Dan. He opened his and put them on while she did the same. They were the same material as the gloves a doctor would wear but black instead to look cooler in a tattooist’s.

  ‘Now the other gloves.’ Dan said

  Emma pulled out the two pairs of motorcycle gloves. ‘These are really heavy.’ Emma said waving her hands up and down in front of her.

  ‘Yeah I know. They’ve got hard knuckles so if you punch someone they stay punched.’ Dan said

  ‘Oh ok.’ Emma said hitting the palm of her left hand with her right knuckles. ‘Are they legal?’

  ‘Yeah, they’re for crashes and stuff to protect the rider’s hands. Obviously if I’d told him why I wanted them it might have raised some eyebrows.’

  ‘That’s true. I don’t know if I will be able to punch him though, I’ve never punched anyone before.’ She said.

  ‘Hopefully you won’t need to punch him. Don’t worry about it. Now pass me the Sharpie.’

  Emma handed the black Sharpie to Dan

  ‘Back in a minute babe.’ Dan said as he got out of the van. He walked round to the front and began to draw on the number plate. He walked to the back of the car and repeated the process. Dan got back in and closed the door.

  ‘Right, just the balaclavas now then babe.’ Dan said looking at Emma.

  ‘Ok. Got them here.’ Emma said passing one to Dan.

  ‘Are you sure you’re ok babe?’

  ‘Yeah. Just give me a kiss and then let’s get going, it’s hot in all this stuff.’ Emma said.

  Dan leaned toward Emma and they kissed. ‘Put the mask on then babe and I’ll turn up the air con.’

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  The street was still deserted. Dan pulled onto the curb outside Jaz’s house, to anybody looking he could be a delivery driver stopping to check his map or a milkman since they no longer drove electric trucks. He checked around, there were no moving curtains or early morning dog walkers so he reversed slowly onto the drive. The safe part was the start and end of the manoeuvre, the former looked like they used his drive as a turning point while the latter kept them shrouded from view.

  Emma held her breath as he reversed, the butterflies in her stomach giving her a feeling of nausea, she reached out and gripped his knees as he pulled to a stop.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Dan asked taking a deep breath.

  ‘I think so, but I’m shitting myself.’ Emma said her mouth dry.

  ‘Just remember what he did and stick to the plan, if there’s a problem then you get out of here and just run to wherever you can but we can’t really pull out now.’

  ‘I do want to do it.’ Emma said.

  ‘Good then let’s go.’ Dan said pulling on his headlight and handing Emma hers, they were cheap affairs bought from a supermarket earlier in the week. They would be no use hiking in the wilderness but in the pitch black of a house they threw out enough light to see.

  They were ready to go and Dan felt the adrenaline surge through his body. The anger of what Jaz did mixed with the excitement and worry of what might happen raced through his bloodstream supercharged with Red Bull. He felt like a child on a sugar rush heading into a haunted house.

  ‘Ready?’ He said. ‘Last chance.’

  ‘Ready.’ Emma said.

  ‘Good girl, let’s go.’

  They opened the doors, the interior light remained dark, Dan had remembered to switch off all
the interior lights. Dan reached into the back and picked up the rucksack. He passed the empty bag to Emma and left his door open with the keys inside the ignition.

  ‘Leave your door open Emma.’ Dan said as he saw her go to close it. ‘We may be in a hurry to get in.

  The air was cool and the sky was clear which made things eerily silent, any noise was magnified and their footsteps on the drive sounded like a child popping bubble wrap.

  They finally reached the concrete step of the porch and Dan gently slid the key into the lock and turned it slowly clockwise.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  Dan took a deep breath and stepped into the hall turning on his headlamp and quickly changing the light to red, he held his hand up behind him signalling Emma to stay by the door and then pointed to his eyes and the stairs so she would look upstairs to warn him if anyone came down. He stopped but then realised it was too late to change the plan so he moved quickly down the hall and pushed open the door to the living room, it creaked lightly on its hinges as he retraced his steps from the earlier visit.

  There was no sign of anyone downstairs so he walked back to Emma and waved his hand from right to left gesturing for her to close the front door. She took a moment to understand but then did as he asked when she realised. Dan flinched as the Yale lock clicked into the frame, she didn’t know that she needed to hold the lock open until it was settled into place. He held his hands up to calm her as she froze at the sound.

  He gestured for Emma to stay at the bottom of the stairs and open her bag as he tentatively stepped onto the first step, he put his feet on the outside of the steps as he had read that this made less noise but the old wood still moaned at his weight. He paused. There was no sound of anyone being alerted so he continued.

  He reached the halfway point of the stairs and peeked through balustrades of the staircase. If anyone saw him, he looked like a balaclava clad Mr Chad with a red third eye.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

  The upstairs doors were still open. The landing was dark and the threadbare carpet did little to soak the sounds of Dan’s feet as he stepped carefully. Dan remembered the layout from his previous visit and knew Jaz would be in the front bedroom. He turned and walked to the top of the stairs, leaned over and waved his hand three times across the front of his headlight.

  Dan smiled when Emma began climbing the stairs, she’d remembered the signal and she trod carefully, sticking to the same edges as Dan. He turned to the door and took a deep breath. What lay beyond it was a man, a rapist, what he had imagined for months. Behind the door lay something that would change his life and who he was for the rest of his life. His heart pounded in his chest so much that he began to worry that the sound would wake anyone within twenty feet.

  Dan flinched when he felt Emma touch his shoulder. His heart, already pounding, bounced around his ribcage like an angry wasp in a jam jar. He sighed in relief when he realised it was her telling him she was behind him. He turned to her and nodded. She nodded back slowly, it was really happening.

  Dan stepped inside. The smells of a sleeping man after a night of beer and curry hit him. Dan smiled. There was nobody with Jaz sharing his stench. Things were going to plan.

  The man groaned and rolled onto his front, his sleep disturbed but not broken. For a moment Dan stood there looking at him, he looked pathetic and harmless all wrapped in his quilt like a sickly kid but Dan knew what he’d done and what they would do in return. He startled again when Emma touched his arm. Dan looked at her and saw she already had the sock in her hand. She nodded slowly and moved nearer to Jaz’s head. Dan looked at her and nodded, she nodded back and then it began.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

  Dan pulled the quilt across Jaz and dived on top of him, he straddled him with his knees and used the quilt like a net pinning him down. Jaz opened his mouth to shout but Emma filled it with sock before any noise could escape. He bucked beneath Dan doing his best impression of a miniature rodeo bull but the quilt held him in place like a shrink-wrapped chicken. He was strong for his size but nobody’s at their peak performance within seconds of waking up so Dan managed to keep him in place easily. Dan pressed down, pushing his face into the pillow. Emma tore a strip of duct tape to use across his mouth, holding the sock in his place. Dan pushed harder with his left hand and brought his right fist down into the back of Jaz’s head. The Kevlar knuckles crunched into bone and flesh as Dan hit him again. His body still fought but his initial strength was gone.

  ‘Tape his feet.’ Dan said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Get his fucking feet and tape them up.’ Dan shouted.

  ‘Ok. Sorry.’ She moved to the bottom of the bed and wrapped the duct tape around his ankles, circling three times before she tore the tape.

  Jaz spluttered and snorted snot from his nose trying to wriggle free beneath Dan, he tried to kick his feet but they were now held together by the same stuff NASA used in emergencies.

  ‘Done.’ Emma said.

  Dan reached up and switched his headlight to white, he blinked as his eyes adapted to the brightness. The room had the look of a prison cell, there were no ornaments or pictures. The walls were a generic shade of magnolia and the carpet was dark blue, the bed clothes were white and the man struggling beneath them turned purple with exertion.

  ‘Stay still and you won’t get hurt.’ Dan hit him again. ‘Stop fucking fighting.’

  He struggled again but another punch had a calming effect. As he stopped moving Dan put his elbow into his neck and lifted his weight off his body.

  ‘Move the quilt.’ Dan said. ‘And you, stay fucking still and you won’t get hurt.’

  Emma pulled the quilt out from underneath Dan and Jaz tried to twist free beneath Dan. He was tired and weakened and Dan pressed down with his elbow into Jaz’s bruised scalp, the pain made him forget about fighting.

  ‘Tape his wrists.’ Dan said. ‘Quick.’

  Emma used the duct tape to loop around Jaz’s wrists, he struggled again but another punch from Dan’s Kevlar knuckles calmed him.

  ‘Done.’ Emma said.

  Dan rolled off him and pulled the quilt off the bed. Jaz lay exposed, puny and naked.

  ‘Go get the bags.’

  Emma stood looking at the naked man on the bed and made no movement.

  ‘Emma, fetch the bags.’ Dan said louder.

  She startled as she watched the wriggling wretch and then left the room.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

  Emma returned dragging the large North Face holdall while the rucksack was on her back. She walked into the room and put them both on the bedroom floor.

  ‘You go look around while I put him in the bag.’ Dan said

  ‘Ok baby, be careful.’

  ‘I will. Keep your gloves on babe.’ Dan said.

  ‘I will.’ Emma said. ‘I love you.’

  ‘I love you too now let’s get this done.’

  Emma walked to the back room and Dan waited until he could hear her checking through drawers. He didn’t know what they were looking for but knew they would know it when they found it. Dan reached into the rucksack taking out the balaclava, he double checked the eyes were sewn shut and pulled it over Jaz’s head.

  Jaz lay there naked his head twisting from side to side, blind and desperate to understand the noises around him. He snorted as he tried to speak. He knew something was happening but couldn’t see what it was. He flinched as he heard the zip of the large rolling bag open. Dan unzipped the rucksack and reached inside. He pulled out the baton and slipped his hand through the leather loop, gripping the handle.

  Dan brought the bat down fast on Jaz’s elbow, the hard wood slapped against the pointy bone with the sound of a stepped-on twig. Jaz bucked against the agony, another snort leaving his nose as he tried to roll from the bed. Dan held him down, pressing him down by the back of his neck. He fought back but was helpless to move.

  ‘Stay fucking still and do as you are told and you won’t get hurt. Stay fucking still.�
� Dan spat in his ear.

  Another grunt and snort as Jaz tried to wriggle free.

  Dan brought the bat down on his elbow again, hitting the same hard bone with the same sickening crack.

  The same muffled scream turned into a snort and more wriggling. Dan pressed him down onto the bed and held him there as Jaz’s strength ebbed away. His chest heaved as he breathed heavily through his nose.

  ‘Are you going to stay still?’ Dan asked.

  A grunt.

  ‘Are you going to stay still or am I going to hit you again? Nod your head if you understand.’

  Jaz nodded his head slowly.

  ‘Good boy. Now do exactly as you are told and all this will be over soon. Understand?’ Dan said rolling Jaz’s sweaty body onto the open Rolling Thunder.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  ‘I can’t find anything.’ Emma said. ‘Not unless you want to take his computer?’

  ‘No, people would know he’d been robbed. Just check in here and then we’ll get going. Don’t worry, we have what we need.’ Dan said.

  Emma opened the chest of drawers under the window and Dan opened the wardrobes, starting at the top he found nothing but a load of crappy t shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans. Finding nothing of interest he knelt and started to look through the shoes boxes at the bottom of the wardrobe. Jaz obviously liked his trainers and Dan teased open the lid on each box as he took them out, he didn’t want it to look like his house had been ransacked.

  Dan pulled out the last shoe box and opened it, it was another Nike box and it was full. No trainers this time just underwear, women’s underwear of all style and colours. He reached inside and lifted some up, he looked at them trying to calculate how many pairs were inside.

  ‘Emma pass me the rucksack, we’re going.’ Dan said putting the lid back on the box.

  ‘Why, what have you found?’