He made his way back to the kitchen, stepped inside, and listened to the conversation in the other room, but the men were involved in a poker game, accompanied by their raucous laughter, were also talking about some play in the latest football game. They were arguing, but it was good-natured, as if this group of guys came together on a regular basis to play cards or to watch sports.
Finding the basement door, Garret quickly stepped downstairs and searched. When he found nothing there, he texted Kano and said, “This looks clean. Come pick me up.”
“I’m already on my way back. Be there in five.”
Garret made his way up and realized somebody was in the kitchen. He just strode across the room, as if he were meant to be here, and headed out to the porch.
He heard somebody yell behind him, “Hey, what are you doing?” So Garret turned and quickly booked it over the fence. At that, he heard more calls behind him. “Somebody was just in your house,” the man roared.
Men threw back chairs, and Garret heard the ruckus, but he was over one fence, over a second fence, and now heading for the copse of trees on the side. He knew the men would be after him as fast as they could get here, but Garret was counting on the fact that Kano was coming to pick him up. Sure enough, by the time the vehicle got there, he was on the other side of the trees, still hiding in the darkness. He dashed out, making Kano hit the brakes, while Garret hopped into the front seat, and they took off, fast. Men came out through the trees behind them, but all they could see, at that point in time, were the taillights. He turned to look at Astra, checking in on her.
She stared at him. “That was a little close,” she said quietly.
“It was,” he said, “but we’re good.”
“You’re sure?” she said.
“Yeah,” he said, then faced Kano. “Somebody is in the room over the garage, but it doesn’t appear to be a prisoner. If that were my brother, no way he would have been imprisoned and yet free to walk around like that. He’d be out the window and on his way to freedom.”
“From what I know of Gregg, that is quite true,” she said.
Turning to her again, he grinned. “It’s all good.”
She just shook her head and sank back.
He faced Kano. “What did you find?”
“A definite possibility,” he said. “We’ll be there in a few minutes, and you can give me your take.”
As they pulled up to another property, Garret noted the house was set farther back, making it much harder to see anything. A single light was on outside the front door, and a single vehicle was parked in front; that was it. “Interesting.”
“This is his brother’s house,” Kano said. “I’ve checked the property records. It’s been in his family for generations, but the property tax payments are in arrears for at least the last two years.”
“So it could be something, could be nothing.”
“Exactly.”
Garret hopped out and said, “I’ll be right back.”
Chapter 12
“Don’t you think you should go with him this time?” Astra asked Kano anxiously.
“No, he’s just doing reconnaissance. If it looks more promising than anything we’ve seen so far,” he said, “then I’ll go help him.”
“I hear you,” she said, “but I just think he takes a lot of chances. One of these days, those chances will be too much.”
“That goes for all of us,” he said. “It goes for anybody driving, for that matter. One day your number’s up. No way to know when, how, or how far away that day is.”
“I know,” she said. “Even in my business, we always talk about getting in a hurry and making a mistake one day. We remind ourselves that, if we stick with it, we’ll catch them.”
“Exactly, and one day you will. Everybody that’s on your docket, everybody that’s on your radar, one day you’ll get them.”
“I think patience is the hardest thing to learn,” she murmured.
“Many people don’t ever learn it,” Kano said. “Something like this, there’s no easy way out, and there’s no easy way forward,” he murmured. “All we can do is wait.”
“God, it seems like all I’ve done so far is wait.”
Just then the car door opened, and she faced a handgun. She stared at it in shock. “Ah, Kano?” but he’d been knocked out in the front seat. “Shit,” she said. She looked at the stranger, grinning at her. “Who the hell are you?”
“Your sister’s looking for you,” he said.
She stared at him in shock. “Have you got my sister?”
“I do,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go. I’ll put the two of you together.” As he dragged her from the car, she tried to look back at Kano. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing compared to what we’ll do to Gregg,” he said. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“I didn’t want to come,” she said, desperately searching for answers that would get this guy to understand why she was there. “We’re looking for my sister though. She said that Rick had her.” She studied the goon. “I don’t think you’re Rick though.”
“No, I’m not,” he said. “Rick is my brother.”
“Right, that was the only connection we had.”
“Of course,” he said. “My stupid brother just couldn’t keep me out of it.”
“Well, there weren’t a whole lot of choices in this instance,” she said. “Do you have my sister?”
He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I just say that?”
“Maybe,” she said. “I’m desperate to find her.” Rick’s brother shoved her toward the house, and Astra could only hope that Garret saw her.
Her gunman asked, “What were you guys doing here?”
“I wanted a chance to see the house, to see if I should call the police,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Well, that ain’t going to work,” he said.
“Apparently not,” she said. “I still don’t understand what you want with her.”
“It’s actually her boyfriend we want.”
“Well, he’s missing,” she said, giving him a hard look. “Are you telling me that you don’t have him?”
“No, we don’t, but that’s the end game.”
“I still don’t understand why. Why does anybody want him?”
“Hard to say,” he said. “It’s all about information.”
“So you just won’t tell me?”
“Why should I?” he said easily. “For all I know, you’re wired.”
“Wired?”
Just enough puzzlement was in her tone that he groaned. “You and your sister are two of a kind.”
“Somehow that doesn’t seem very complimentary,” she snapped.
He chuckled. “No, it sure as hell isn’t. Nothing but dumb broads, … both of you.”
Inside, she was elated because, as long as he thought that of her in that way, he wouldn’t put too much stock into anything that she might do. And, as she’d already learned, there wasn’t a whole lot she wouldn’t do to protect those she cared about.