“How did they know to contact you?”
“I guess we got a reputation.”
Craig snorted. “Okay, I can buy that. Where were you supposed to take us?”
“To the parking lot of a shopping center in Thibodaux.”
Craig sighed. If it was true, it was an arrangement designed to reveal the least possible information if this guy was apprehended.
“We got away from you. Did you tell your client?”
“Yeah.”
Craig fired more questions at their captive. “And what did he say?”
“He sent us here.”
“It’s a man?”
“Yes. At least, I think so, unless it’s a woman using one of those fancy things that distort your voice.”
Craig sighed. “Why did he want us?”
“He didn’t say.”
“So you have a number to call. What is it?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Craig raised his hand, and the man cringed away, then spat out a number. Stephanie pulled a pen and paper from her purse and wrote it down.
Figuring he’d gotten what he could, Craig slapped a piece of tape over the man’s mouth, then handed the captured gun to Stephanie. “Keep him covered.”
While she held the gun in a two-handed grip, he went through the man’s pockets, taking out a wallet and a cell phone.
The man made an angry sound as Craig took the money from the wallet. There were no credit cards or identification. He also pocketed the cell phone.
“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Keep him covered.”
He knew she didn’t want to be left alone with the guy, but she didn’t voice the complaint as he hurried to the back door of the bed and breakfast.
Was he making a mistake coming back here?
He hoped not.
Cautiously he opened the door and scanned the back hall, but it was empty. Still ready for trouble, he climbed to the second floor and tested the knob on his door. It was still locked, and he inserted the key.
To his relief, it looked like nobody had been in the room since he’d left it that morning. He threw his computer into a carry bag and grabbed the suitcase that he’d left packed. Two minutes after he’d entered the room, he was on his way out.
As he ran back down the alley, he cast his mind ahead of him. At first he heard nothing mental, then about twenty yards from where he’d left Stephanie with the thug, his thoughts suddenly collided with hers.
Thank God.
Everything’s fine.
She answered with a silent laugh.I guess that’s relative.
The guy glared at them as Craig stepped into the backyard. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
