The Perfect Alibi - Blake Pierce Page 0,1

down. Then he would leave again. After the first day, she learned her best bet was to shove her undergarments and blanket in the holes of the crate above her so they wouldn’t get as wet when the spray of water hit her.

The routine became so regular that any variation in it was cause for concern. At one meal, he only brought her one bowl, explaining that since it was stew, it met all her needs. Another time, she woke up, certain it was morning, yet he didn’t arrive until lunchtime, making her fear he’d abandoned her completely.

At times she found herself wondering whether others had abandoned her too. Were her friends and family aware that she was missing? If so, had they told the cops? Was anyone looking for her?

But it was on this nippy, late spring night, as she tried to keep her pathetic blanket from sliding off her back by pressing herself against the crate wall, and as she pressed the insides of her thighs against her arms to keep from shivering, that she noticed another break in the routine.

When he’d left her after collecting her dinner of water and canned black beans, she hadn’t heard the familiar sound of the man padlocking the crate before he left. He’d slid the containment bars into place but got a call on his cell phone right after that. As he walked off to answer it, he left the crate door unlocked.

Caroline waited, expecting him to return and finish the job. But after what she estimated to be an hour, it became clear that he wasn’t going to. She was certain that he had a camera on her, so she was extra cautious when she ever so slightly pulled down her blindfold and glanced around.

It was dark. The only light came from the half-moon peeking in through the broken windows. In the dimness, she didn’t see any surveillance equipment, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

As unobtrusively as possible, she looked over to where the padlock on the top containment bar should be. It was there, but sure enough, it hadn’t been snapped into place and was dangling off the bar. As far as she could tell, all she had to do to get out of the crate was knock the lock off and slide the bar to the side.

Caroline sat quietly, debating how to proceed. If she was ever going to try to escape, this was the perfect time. If her previous nights here were any indication, the man wouldn’t return until morning at least. That would give her hours to try to get far away and hopefully find help. If she was going to make a move, now was the time.

Her thoughts turned to what would happen to her if she did nothing. The man holding her clearly intended to kill her. It was only a matter of when. How many more days would he keep her in a crate, feed her out of a dog bowl, and hose her down before he got bored and moved on to something more exciting? Was she really going to stay crouched in a ball, waiting for it to happen?

Before she’d even consciously made the choice, her fingers were through the dog crate wires, straining to reach and remove the padlock. They were numb from lack of use and the bungee cords around her wrists, but she was eventually able to clasp and remove the padlock. Then she gripped the top containment bar and slid it to the right. She did the same with bottom one. Then she pushed. The door creaked open. For a second, she sat there, frozen in place, terrified. Then she scrambled out.

Standing upright for the first time in days was painful and difficult. Caroline pushed off the ground on the unfeeling palms of her hands. As she rose unsteadily to her feet, she felt the muscles in her thighs and calves seize up. It took nearly a minute before she felt confident taking a step. Once she was fairly sure she wouldn’t collapse, she made her way to the door she’d seen the man enter through on that first night. She pushed hard but it was locked from the outside.

She looked around as she yanked the blindfold off completely. There were no other visible doors. Then her eyes fell on one of the broken windows. It was too high to climb out of and she was in no position to take a running leap. She searched