Read Online A Field of Red by Greg Enslen - Free Book Online Page B

applied with handmade tools. Painful.
    Chuck was nodding, as he talked, his eyes on the customer in his chair. “But I’ve known a few bad folks,” Chuck continued, his voice suddenly quiet. “I bet the girls are already dead.”
    Frank heard a low sound, like a sob, but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.
    Willie nodded, working on Frank’s hair. Frank had let it get way too long in the back, and Willie was taking off hunks with loud snips of his scissors. He was working quickly, with the practiced, quiet efficiency of someone who had been doing this for a long time.
    “No, not yet,” Willie said. “They need the girls for the phone call. Prove they alive still.”
    “But you heard Bill, and he’s on city council,” Chuck said, shaking his head. “The FBI isn’t helping, and Chief King isn’t confident. Why wait so long for that first call? It doesn’t make sense to wait almost a week to call the parents, let them know you got their kid, right?”
    Willie shrugged. Frank could see they were using the mirror on the wall to glance at each other. Next to the mirror hung a pinup of some blonde actress. The photo looked at least twenty years old, tattered and yellow around the edges.
    “Well, nobody knows for sure, right?” Willie said. He turned and eyed Chuck intently, then nodded at one of the waiting patrons.
    Frank followed Willie’s gaze to the waiting patrons seated by the window. One of the people waiting was a young man, and he appeared visibly shaken by the conversation. Evidently, no one had noticed how upset the conversation was making him, and now the teenager had buried his face in his hands.
    Chuck saw the young man sobbing and swallowed so loud Frank could hear the click in the man’s throat.
    “That’s right, Willie,” Chuck said, louder and more deliberately than he should have. “Nobody knows anything for sure.”
    The kid started crying louder, loud enough for everyone to hear.
    “Now, look what you did,” Willie said to Chuck. The shop grew quiet, except for the sobs of the young man.
    Frank sighed. He knew it was a mistake to even open his mouth.
    “They’re still alive,” Frank said quietly.
    All the eyes in the place turned to him. Willie stopped and looked at Frank in the mirror.
    “What do you mean?” Chuck asked.
    Frank glanced up at him in the mirror.
    “In most cases, they don’t eliminate the victims,” Frank said slowly, loud enough for the crying kid and the others to hear. “The kidnappers want their money, and they’ll do anything to get it. Getting a call is actually good news—six days without a phone call usually means it’s not a kidnapping. Usually means something much worse.”
    The barber shop somehow grew even more silent. Frank could hear traffic passing outside, and the ticking of the clock on the wall.
    Chuck spoke up again. “But, why two calls?”
    Frank shrugged.
    “Not sure. But a second call, set up like that—that’s a good sign,” Frank said. “Kidnappers know they’re going to be taped, so the girls are probably still alive. At least, the phone call greatly improves the chances of them being alive.”
    Willie nodded, eyeing Frank differently.
    “That’s good,” Willie said. “You know about this kind of stuff?”
    Frank could hear the curiosity in his voice—and the concern. Frank knew immediately what the old black man was thinking: Who is this stranger? And why does he know so much about kidnappings?
    “Yeah, I do.” Frank sighed. “Unfortunately. I’m an ex-cop. Used to investigate them.”
    “Really?” Chuck said.
    Frank nodded.
    Willie started back on Frank’s hair, but he was going slower now, taking his time. After a minute, he spoke up again. “OK, what’s going to happen next?”
    “Not sure,” Frank said. “But if the Bureau’s involved, they will help with the ransom demand. Work with the family, pull the money together. People usually can’t lay their hands on large amounts of cash quickly, so