“I don’t know,” the teen wailed. “Please, I don’t know anything.”
Holding the wheel to the peephole, Axe bent one of the spokes. “Talk.”
“I can’t. Leave me alone.”
It was useless destroying the young man’s property, so Axe tossed it aside. He was obviously too scared to say anything. Maybe he’d seen the murderer. Most likely, Belinda had, but she also would claim ignorance.
“I’ll ask you one question,” Axe said. “It’s an easy one. How long ago did Carmelita leave?”
“The day before you guys showed up,” Gabriel said.
“Did her parents look for her after she was gone?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see them. You said one question. This is two. I don’t know anything.” The young man’s voice quavered, sounding choked up.
“You’re lying,” Axe accused. “And you have explaining to do. Carmelita’s parents are dead across the street. They said she left more than a week ago. I saw her posts on FacePlant more than a few days back.”
Behind him, a car’s engine roared. Axe turned just in time to see Pablo drive off with the Oldsmobile. Great. Just great. Now that there were dead bodies, no one would get involved. No one would talk.
No one would help him find Leanna or Carmelita.
He’d have to do it all on his own.
Axe put the SIM card back in Pablo’s phone and browsed for the police anonymous tipline. After making the call, he checked Pablo’s call history and called his own phone.
“Give me back my phone.” It was Pablo.
“Wait, it’s you? You have my phone? How’d you get it?” Axe’s jaw dropped at the implications.
Pablo must have been working with the guys who jumped him. Why that backstabbing piece of crap.
“You have my phone, so we’re even,” Pablo said. “Now, I can find you whenever I want.”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Call ended.
Dammit!
At least Axe still had one of the emergency backpacks with spare cash and weapons. He walked to the car exchange and paid for an imported Datsun pickup truck from the last century. He purchased a burner phone and turned off El Bardo’s phone so he couldn’t track him.
Axe used the burner phone to track his phone.
It was on the move.
North.
