“Why would I do that to Lori?”
He sure sounded sincere, but in Margot’s experience, they always do.
“Maybe the same reason you keep her trapped out here without a car or a phone.”
“Trapped out here? She likes to live out here. I’ve got an hour commute to work each day. I’m the one always wanting to move. Who told you I did that to her?”
Margot again decided not to say.
“So, if you’re not one of the kidnappers, who are you?”
“I’m a private detective. I was hired to get Lori out of an abusive situation.”
“Who's the dude sleeping in the backseat of your car?”
“That’s a long story I’d rather not tell right now.”
“Who hired you?”
“That’s confidential. Tell me about the kidnapping.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I might be able to help. My job is to get Lori out of an abusive situation and her kidnappers sound abusive.”
“They said no cops.”
“I’m not a cop and I already know about it. You can’t untell me.”
Dave and Chuck looked at each other. Before they could decide what to do, there was a gunshot up the road and they all heard Stone yelling for help.
Margot jumped in the Prius and started driving.
She reached the end of the road and almost ran over Mal, who was standing there pointing a gun at a crawling Dean Stone.
Chapter 8
“Mal, what the hell are you doing?” Margot asked as she got out of the car. She was still holding her pistol.
“Get back in the car and go get Lori. This will only take a second and then everything will be over.”
“Answer my question.”
“He’s going to kill me,” Stone said. “Judging by the marks on his wrists, I’d say they got to him.”
Mal kicked Stone in the gut and then he looked back at Margot. “Go back inside.”
“So, you didn’t bang your hand on your weight bench?”
“No. Go back inside.”
“What did you do to Rick?”
“You mean Radcliff?”
“Answer the question.”
“He’ll live.”