The Binding by E Z Rinsky

Author:E Z Rinsky [Rinsky, E Z]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062495457
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

“Just to be clear, we’re not telling Mindy anything, right?” I say. Courtney’s got his penlight out in the passenger seat, examining the heretic’s fork collar from the red house, probing with a pair of tweezers and his lock picks, carefully avoiding the razor-sharp prongs on the front of the device. Mindy refused to talk shop over the phone. Insisted that if we wanted any info to come talk to her in her hotel in Denver. Honestly, I probably would have done the same in her position.

I let my sneaker sink down on the gas. The highways between Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo are remarkably straight. I’m so tired that part of me feels like I could just fall asleep on the steering wheel and have Courtney nudge me awake in a half hour.

“Mmhmm,” he murmurs.

“Not that we have all this figured out. We’re still clearly missing some basic facts . . .” I say. “Still don’t understand why anyone would want to go to prison for sixteen years. If he just wanted money from Sampson, is this really the most efficient way to do it?”

“Well,” Courtney says, as he toys with the device, “I think we’re pretty sure at this point that the books are more than just a lure for Sampson’s money. Man, how the hell do you open this thing?”

Something snaps. Courtney yelps and I jump in my seat.

“What the hell was that?”

Courtney shows me the thin line of blood in his palm. Two previously retracted blades have shot out into the interior of the collar. I don’t even want to think about what someone’s neck would look like after this thing activated. Porous.

“Are you okay?” I say.

“I’m fine,” Courtney replies, wrapping his palm with a bandage from his red bag. “This device is astoundingly complex.”

“Yeah? Seems pretty simple to me.”

“No I mean, the lock mechanism. There are two kinda weirdly shaped circular holes on either side of it. Each one has about thirty pins in it at varying depths . . . some are meant to be depressed, some aren’t. To unlock this you need two very precise tubular keys to be entered simultaneously. Otherwise—”

“You’re having a new ventilation system installed.”

“Yes,” Courtney says, and nods. “The metalwork is pretty staggering. I know locks, Frank. I’ve never seen anything like this. He made this himself. These must take him a month apiece to make. And there were at least seven of them just in that one room.”

We’re both silent for a moment, contemplating who we’re dealing with. Someone manipulative enough to talk his way out of a prison, and compulsive enough to handcraft instruments of torture.

“Here’s the million-dollar question,” I say, struggling to keep my eyes open. “These people he manipulates: Sampson, Becky, all the followers he allegedly had in prison, sure seems like they believe his hogwash. But does he? Or is it all just a ruse to get whatever it is he wants?”

Courtney is quiet for a moment. Just when I think maybe he’s nodded off he says:

“Are we sure it’s hogwash?”

I grit my teeth.

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