“Yes, remember, Sue Ellen,” said Wright. “My sweet southern bride. So kind and caring when I haven’t been feeling well, all the while giving me drugs that will slowly kill me. Or would have had these men not stepped forward.”
The women stared at one another, then back toward their husbands and the other men.
“So, what now? You’re going to arrest us?” asked Gloria.
“Arrest you?,” smirked Mitch. “No. We’re not cops. We’re much worse. We’re going to let you return to your hotel and attempt to check-out. Except, you won’t be able to do that. Your credit cards have all been reported lost or stolen. Your bank accounts have been frozen. Your cars have been towed at the airport back home. You have nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
“Y-you can’t do this,” said Delilah. “Wilton. Darling, please. It wasn’t me. Gloria was pushing all of us.”
“Yes, this was all Gloria!” yelled Hyacinth.
“You bitches!” growled Gloria. “You turn on me now when you all were benefiting as much or more from this than me? You all wanted this. All of you! You’ve been following me around for twenty years with one plan in mind. Don’t you dare turn this on me.”
“Last chance, Gloria. Where is your son?” asked Mitch.
“I don’t know and I wouldn’t tell you even if I did,” she said firmly.
“Best of luck to you ladies. The police will have warrants for your arrests within the hour. Time starts now,” said Brooks.
The women scattered from the table, racing off the deck of the restaurant. Mitch just smiled.
“They’ll arrest them here?” asked Lawrence.
“Nah,” smirked Brooks. “I just wanted to watch them run. They won’t get their things out of the hotel because they can’t pay their bill unless they skip out on it. Which they will. One more charge to add to it. I’m sure they possess a good bit of cash between them, so they can get plane tickets home, or bus tickets.”
“They’ll never take a bus,” laughed Wilton.
“Probably not, but they’ll be desperate. Even their joint account has been frozen by our team,” said Mitch. “We’ve got trackers on their phones and we’ll know who they reach out to for help.”
“I have an idea,” said Lawrence. “An idea that might help you to get Alden.” Brooks and Mitch nodded at the men.
“I’m all ears.”
“Hey! Hey, where did they go?” asked the waiter. “I have a bill here for their meal and it’s huge! I can’t pay this.”
“I’ve got it,” said Mitch. “The price was worth the show.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The men discovered very quickly which members of their staff were in cahoots with their wives and which were loyal. Showing up with men the size of Mitch, Brooks, Dan, and the others had the traitorous staff chirping like birds.
“Do you have any idea where Mrs. Talbot’s son is?” asked Mitch to one of the staff in handcuffs. It was a man in his early thirties, head to toe tattoos, piercing everywhere that was visible. The man looked away. Brooks looked at Lawrence.
“Why the hell would you let her hire this trash?” asked Brooks. “Those are gang and prison tattoos. Didn’t you do background checks?”
“I’m ashamed to say that I allowed her to handle the household staff and didn’t really pay attention. My suspicion is he did very little except what she might desperately need.” Mike snapped a photo of him, sending it back to the team for facial recognition.
“That’s right old man,” smirked the employee. “She used me good when she needed me. Lots and lots of things she needed from me.” He was too stoned to see the fist coming at him. Mitch felt the bone and cartilage in his nose break beneath his fingers as the man went backwards onto the concrete of the patio.
Lawrence just stared at him and then turned to one of the cooks.
“Did you know?” he asked.
“I swear to you, sir. I did not. Mrs. Talbot told me to stay in the kitchen and just cook the food. Others would deliver it. She told me that it was your decision and if I didn’t do it, I’d be fired. This is the best paying job I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”
“We’re going to check out your story and if it’s correct, I’d be happy to have you in my home again,” said Lawrence. She nodded wiping her tears. When the groans of tat-boy made them all look down at him, he was trying to sit up, his hands zip-tied behind him.
Dan gripped his wrists, wrenching him into a seated position as he cried out in pain.
