Reckless Road (Torpedo Ink 5)

“No problem,” Player said. “But right now, I’m going after my woman. If Frankle is heading into Anat’s house, you know these people are making their move.”

Jonas swore. His hands were tied. It wasn’t like he could leave a dead body lying on the ground. It was bad enough that his three key witnesses were leaving. “Get the hell out of here before anyone else gets here.”

Anat unlocked the front door using her iPad, rolling back her chair to allow Terrie Frankle into her living room, greeting her with a smile. “Terrie. It’s so late, honey. Is everything okay?”

Terrie nodded and looked around the room. The house was quiet, other than the sound of soft music playing. Anat always liked music playing in the background, even when they were working. The lights were muted, but as usual, when Zyah wasn’t home, several of the rooms were lit: the living room and Anat’s bedroom and sitting room. Terrie had driven past the house several times, both by the front of the house and down the narrow, less traveled street in back. The garage and back of the house and entire upstairs remained dark.

“Usually, you have someone staying with you until your granddaughter gets home, but when I drove by, it looked like you were alone. I was worried, so I thought I’d just stop for a minute and check on you. Is everything all right?” Terrie poured worry into her voice.

She’d taken acting classes, and they always came in so handy in these situations. The elderly were lonely and wanted company. They wanted to talk and share their stories. They wanted people to see them, and Terrie was good at making them believe she cared about them. Her partner, Lester Gibbons, was just as good. He was charming and good-looking. The women fell for him, and the men liked him. They made an excellent team. They were equally ruthless and had no compunction about killing if they needed to.

“That is so like you, dear,” Anat said. “Inez was supposed to be here tonight, but some dear friends of hers are in the hospital, and she and Frank went to see them. I guess things aren’t going so well with them, so they stayed there. Zyah will be home soon. She just texted me that she’ll be here soon. She needed to stop by and see Francine.”

Terrie didn’t like that there was a text message from Zyah about Francine, but it wouldn’t matter. Francine and Zyah would both be dead. Anat as well now. That little text message had sealed her fate. She winced at the idea of the mess that had occurred at the Randall estate. Francine was supposed to get Zyah to dinner, away from her grandmother’s house, but Francine seemed to be so useless lately. She’d texted that Anat had visitors but that the Randall estate was ripe for the picking, and described just how to get in.

Francine had been right: the estate was a gold mine. Unfortunately, Gray Randall had tried to pull a gun on Lester, and Lester had gone crazy, the way he did when anyone thwarted him. He was already angry that they’d stayed in Sea Haven so long. They had rules. Those rules had kept them safe. They’d lost two members of their team, and their team was tight- knit.

“I heard something about that,” Terrie said, her voice dripping with sympathy. “I never met them. Were they friends of yours?”

Lester had been smoldering with rage. He took it out on Randall, beating him, stomping him when he was down and then going back for more. When Randall’s wife interfered, Lester became enraged all over again. She had been hard-pressed to stop him. It had taken both Charlie, another team member, and Terrie to pull him away. Even then, Lester went back three times, with the alarms blaring and him swearing like a sailor. He’d even shoved her, something he’d never done before.

“Not really. The Randalls kept to themselves, although some of my friends knew them. Lizz, and Inez, of course,” Anat said. “No one should have that happen to them.”

Terrie had waited for Lester to get himself under control and suggested they cut and run, but he’d refused. Francine had insisted Anat was hiding a huge treasure in her home, the biggest anyone had. He was furious that the old lady had deceived them, and worse, Terrie hadn’t discovered what she was hiding, so he blamed her as well that they were still in Sea Haven. The property was worth a fortune, and Francine had no reason to lie, so no matter how frugally it appeared they lived, the Gamals were most likely very wealthy.

“I agree, Anat: no one should have that happen to them. It could so easily have been avoided.” Terrie kept her voice smooth. Gentle. It was time to come to an understanding. By now, Zyah should be in Lester’s hands, or at least close. She pulled out her phone to check for messages.