Sting

“Let’s take a couple of hours.” Joe picked up the folder with the gruesome photos and tucked it under his arm. “I need to touch base with my family. I think we’re supposed to go to a carnival at the kids’ school this evening.”

“How will Marsha take you missing it?”

“She’ll be pissed, but she’ll forgive me. Eventually. How’s your love life? Still in that ‘promising relationship’?”

“Yes. It’s still promising.”

“Oh yeah? When will you be taking it to the next level?”

“No time soon.”

“How come?”

“Because of all my other promising relationships.”

Joe rolled his eyes and motioned Hick toward the door, but he hung back. “One thing I failed to mention earlier. The hired party girl who talked to the authorities in Mexico?”

Joe nodded.

“She was with the three men when they left the party.”

“Explain.”

Hick told him that after the bodies of the two victims were discovered near police headquarters, the young woman was rounded up from the villa along with all the other guests. He pointed to the folder under Joe’s arm. “She cooperated in exchange for anonymity, so you won’t find her name or photo in there. But she’s the one who IDed Shaw Kinnard.

“She told the investigators that just as the party was getting into full swing, Kinnard approached Frat Boy and confided that there was a guy he needed to meet, someone from a rival cartel who wanted to switch teams. To demonstrate his sincerity, this guy was willing to tell everything he knew about the rival’s operation, but it had to be right then before the rival caught on and silenced him for good.

“Our frat boy was reluctant to leave the sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but Kinnard impressed on him that this guy could decide that the life expectancy of a traitor was short and chicken out. They had to move on it or say bye-bye to a golden opportunity. So Frat Boy grudgingly went with Kinnard, and, at Kinnard’s suggestion, took only one bodyguard so the soon-to-be-traitor wouldn’t get spooked.”

“The frat boy chose his top guard, the chief of the state police.”

“Actually Kinnard made the selection,” Hick said wryly. “We know all this because the frat boy was all over the party girl during this discussion, and she heard everything. When the time came to leave, the frat boy insisted that she go along to ‘keep him company.’ Her words.

“They piled into the Mercedes. Kinnard behind the wheel. Just beyond the villa’s security gate, he stopped the car and ordered the girl to get out. Frat Boy objected, but Kinnard told him his hard-on should be for this guy who was going to supply them with valuable information, not for a chick when chicks could be had for a dime a dozen. The jefe agreed with Kinnard. Kinnard got out, opened the backseat door for her, and told her to scram.” Hick stopped to take a breath.

Leading him, Joe said, “Okay.”

“Why’d he do that? Why not just kill the girl, too? Which would have been quicker and neater.” He shrugged. “Maybe he has a soft spot for the ladies.”

Joe thought about it for a moment, then, grumbling again, said, “Don’t count on that, either.”

Chapter 9

As the car slowed and then rolled to a stop, Jordie pressed her spine against the back of the seat and used it as leverage to sit up. If he didn’t like it, too damn bad. “Where are we?”

Her best guess was that it had been close to an hour since he’d stopped to blindfold her. It seemed that they’d been driving in circles, but without her sense of sight, she could have easily become disoriented.

Without saying a word, he opened the driver’s door and got out.

“Where are you going?”

Her question went unanswered, but she could tell by his footfalls that he was walking away from the car, treading cautiously. What was he doing? What was he about to do?

Seized by panic, she struggled to free her hands and feet. To no avail, of course, but she had to do something or she would go mad with anxiety.

She jumped in fright when the trunk popped open, which he must have unlatched remotely using the key fob. As she heard him returning to the car, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Checking things out.”