SERIAL UNCUT by Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn J.A. Konrath Page A

container.
    " Candi..."
    " I want to see."
    She popped off the lid and squinted at the
objects in the rock salt.
    " What are these things?"
    " We need to look for the exit,
Candi."
    " Are those... aw, Jesus... "
    " Don't worry about that
now."
    " Don't worry? Do you know what these
are?"
    " Yes."
    " These are... nipples. "
    " I know, Candi. That's why we need to
get the hell out of here."
    That seemed to spur her to action. I joined
Candi in pulling up mats, and we soon found the trap door. I pulled
on the recessed handle.
    Locked.
    I tugged as hard as I could, until the cords
on my neck bulged out and I saw stars.
    It wouldn't budge.
    " We're going to die up here." Candi
was hugging her knees, rocking back and forth.
    I blew out a breath. "No, we're not."
    " He's going to bite off our toes. Then
our tits, to add to his collection."
    I reached up overhead, tugging at the
baffling stuck to the ceiling. Under it was heavy aluminum. I did a
360, looking at all the walls.
    There was no way out. We were trapped up
here.
    Then we both felt it. The truck cab
jiggle.
    Oh, shit. They're back.

    -9-
    Fran the waitress was happy to flip a coin
for the two gentlemen who had tipped her so well.
    " Tails," Taylor called.
    Fran caught the quarter, slapped it against
her wrist.
    " Tails it is. Congrats,
handsome."
    Taylor gave her a polite nod, then turned to
judge Donaldson's reaction. There wasn't one. The fat man's face
was blank. Taylor left the diner, his cohort in tow. It was still
hot and muggy outside, and the lot was still almost full, but there
weren't any people around.
    " Are we cool?" Taylor asked as they
walked to his truck.
    " Yeah. Fair is fair. You'll let me
watch?"
    Taylor shrugged like it didn't matter, but
secretly he was thrilled at the idea of an audience.
    " Sure."
    " And you'll let me do her
face?"
    " Her face is all yours."
    " You should try it once. The face. You
peel enough of the flesh away, you can see the skull underneath. I
bet Jack Daniels has a beautiful skull."
    Taylor stopped and stared at him. "You've
really got a hard-on for this cop, don't you?"
    " I'd marry her if she'd have me. But
I'll settle for a bloody blowjob after I knock her teeth out. Do
you still have Jack's phone?"
    Taylor had pocketed her phone and wallet. He
tugged the cell out.
    " Does Officer Donaldson want to inform
the next of kin?" Taylor grinned as he handed it over.
    " That's a possibility. Might also be
fun to call up her loved ones while you're working on her, let them
hear her screams."
    " You've got a sick mind, my
friend."
    " Thank you, kindly. Let's see who our
favorite cop talked to last. The winner is... Latham. And less than an hour ago. Shall we see
if Latham is still up?"
    " Put it on speaker."
    The phone rang twice, and a man
answered.
    " Jack? I was worried."
    " And you have good reason to be,"
Donaldson said. "Is this Latham?"
    " Who is this?"
    " I'm the man about to murder Jack
Daniels. She's going to die in terrible pain. How do you feel about
that?"
    There was silence.
    " What's wrong, Latham? Don't you care
that..." Donaldson squinted at the phone. "Dammit, lost the
signal."
    Donaldson hit redial. The call didn't go
through.
    They stood there for a moment, neither of
them saying anything.
    " I hate dropped calls," Taylor finally
offered. "Drives me nuts."
    " Cops."
    " I hate cops, too."
    " Behind you."
    Taylor spun around and froze. A Wisconsin
squad car rolled up next to them. Its lights weren't on, but the
driver's side window was open and a pig was leaning out. White
male, fat, had something on his upper lip that an optimist might
call a mustache.
    " Did you men happen to witness a
disturbance in the diner earlier?"
    Taylor thought fast. But apparently so did
Donaldson, because he spoke first.
    " What disturbance?"
    " Seems an Illinois cop got into a
tussle with one of the locals."
    " We're just passing through,"
Donaldson said. "Didn't see anything."
    The pig nodded, then pulled up next to the
diner. He let his