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the tub would make it easier to rinse off any mess. Freddy’s eyes were open a little too widely. Wu had seen this look before: somewhere past terror but not yet death, a hollowness that fell in that awful cusp between the two.
    There was obviously no need to tie Freddy up.
    Wu sat in the dark and waited for night to fall. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift back. There were prisons in Rangoon where they studied spinal fractures during hangings. They learned where to place the knot, where to apply force, what effects different placement would have. In North Korea, in the political prison Wu had called home from the age of thirteen to eighteen, they had taken the experiments one step further. Enemies of the state were killed creatively. Wu had done many with his bare hands. He had hardened his hands by punching boulders. He had studied the anatomy of the human body in a way most medical students would envy. He had practiced on human beings, perfecting his techniques.
    The exact spot between the fourth and fifth vertebrae. That was key. Any higher and you could paralyze them completely. That would lead to death fairly quickly. Forget their arms and legs-their internal organs would stop working. Any lower and you would only get the legs. The arms would still work. If the pressure applied was too great, you’d snap the entire spinal column. It was all about precision. Having the right touch. Practice.
    Wu turned on Freddy’s computer. He wanted to keep up with the other singles on his list because he never knew when he would need a new place to live. When he was finished, Wu allowed himself to sleep. Three hours later he awoke and looked in on Freddy. His eyes were glassier now, staring straight up, blinking without focus.
    When his contact called Wu’s cell phone, it was nearly 10 P.M.
    “Are you settled in?” the contact asked.
    “Yes.”
    “We have a situation.”
    Wu waited.
    “We need to move things up a bit. Is that a problem?”
    “No.”
    “He needs to be taken now.”
    “You have a place?”
    Wu listened, memorizing the location.
    “Any questions?”
    “No,” Wu said.
    “Eric?”
    Wu waited.
    “Thanks, man.”
    Wu hung up. He found the car keys and took off in Freddy’s Honda.

chapter 3
    Grace couldn’t call the police yet. She couldn’t sleep either. The computer was still on. Their screen saver was a family photo taken last year at Disney World. The four of them posed with Goofy at Epcot Center. Jack was wearing mouse ears. His grin was ear to ear. Hers was more reserved. She’d felt silly, which just encouraged Jack. She touched the mouse-the other mouse, the computer mouse-and her family disappeared.
    Grace clicked the new icon and the strange photograph of the five college-aged kids appeared. The image came up with Adobe Photo-shop. For several minutes Grace just stared at the young faces, searching for-she didn’t know-a clue maybe. Nothing came to her. She cropped each face, blowing them up into something approaching four inches by four inches. Any bigger and the already-blurred image became undecipherable. The good paper was in the color inkjet, so she hit the print button. She grabbed a pair of scissors and went to work.
    Soon she had five separate headshots, one for each person in the picture. She studied them again, this time taking extra care with the young blonde next to Jack. She was pretty with that girl-next-door complexion and long flaxen hair. The young woman’s eyes were on Jack, and the look was more than casual. Grace felt a pang of, what, jealousy? How bizarre. Who was this woman? Obviously an old girlfriend-one Jack had never mentioned. But so what? Grace had a past. So did Jack. Why would the look in that photograph bother her?
    So what now?
    She would have to wait for Jack. When he came home, she would demand answers.
    But answers about what?
    Back up here a second. What was really going on? An old photograph, probably of Jack, had popped up in her packet of pictures.