Page 94 of Fighting Conviction

Ellie was dizzy with gratitude. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Cici—”

A loud pounding on the back door froze Ellie’s blood.

“Who the fuck…” He moved to look out of the grungy curtains covering the small window next to the back door. A hushed curse escaped him before he turned to Ellie. Whatever he’d seen turned him whiter than a sheet. His lips were working before his words were audible.

“Hide.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Ellie was surprised the small room wasn’t making her hyperventilate. But maybe it was because she was holding her breath as she watched an even worse nightmare unfold. Through the crack between the pantry doors, Ellie watched as the investigator let a big, tall man in all black inside his home.

Who’s that?

“No one good.”

“I-I didn’t think you were comin’. I left as soon as Rusnak told me to.”

“I do not care.” The heavy Russian accent tripped a circuit in Ellie’s brain.

Is that the same—

“Yep. That’s one of the guys who took us.”

“Um… right. Well, I was actually leavin’, so, um. You can too. I-I’ll call Rusnak later.”

She couldn’t see the Russian’s expression. The men had moved into the living room and all Ellie could see was half the investigator scratching his arm.

“You do not want this?”

There was a deafening silence in the room and Ellie imagined she could almost hear the investigator arguing with his wife in his mind.

“Is that—”

“Da. Boss said you want good stuff.” Ellie heard a faint rustling. “You do not want this now?”

Ellie could hear the investigator whispering.

“Who is this you are talking to? Is there someone else here?”

“No! No, I um… I talk to myself sometimes.”

The Russian grunted. “I tell boss you do not want good stuff.”

Muffled footsteps grew louder as they moved from the carpet to the linoleum in the kitchen.

“Wait!”

The footsteps stopped.

“H-how good?” The investigator gulped so loudly it hurt Ellie’s throat. “It looks smaller than normal.”

“Pure. You do not need more now.”

The investigator cursed. Ellie thought back to the park. Was this another drug deal? Her heart sank as the realization slowly dawned on her that her easy out was dwindling away. She had no idea what he was like when he was high. If he was hallucinating, shooting people, and acting irrationally while sober or coming down, she didn’t want to wait to find out.

Trying to ease the pain from her awkward position, Ellie shrugged her shoulders. At least she’d become much more limber and flexible over the past couple of months. Still, having her arms wrenched back for what felt like hours was getting hard to endure.