“Anything else?” Reese asked.
“Hawk talked to one of his informants, picked up some info on Arthur Haines. Turns out Lee Haines wasn’t a gambler, but his father is. According to Hawk, Arthur keeps it strictly on the down-low, only sits in on the most exclusive card games, but word is he fancies himself a highly skilled player and he isn’t interested in anything but very high stakes.”
Reese cast a glance at Kenzie, caught a spark of anger in her eyes. She was making the same connection he was. It was looking more and more like Arthur was involved.
“Where does Arthur gamble?” Kenzie asked.
“With a company to run in Dallas,” Reese added, “it may not be Vegas. Good chance it’s somewhere closer to home.”
“I took a look at his credit card receipts,” Tabby said. “As a high-dollar player, his hotel stays, food, and alcohol would be comped. They’d give him pretty much anything he wanted. But I found gas receipts along the route to Louisiana.”
“Louisiana,” Reese repeated. “That connection keeps cropping up.”
“It looks like Shreveport was his destination. There are half a dozen casinos along the river.”
“Can you tell which club he plays in?” Kenzie asked.
“There are a few miscellaneous charges in the area around the Pot-of-Gold Resort Casino. A Mexican restaurant and a little bakery, both within walking distance. But Sam’s Town isn’t much farther away. For now that’s all I’ve got.”
“Thank you so much, Tabby,” Kenzie said.
“Stay safe, you two.”
Reese shoved the phone into his pocket. “Hawk thinks Lee was killed by a shooter connected to the Louisiana mob. They run the casinos. Now we find a link between Arthur and the Shreveport clubs.”
“I can’t believe Arthur would harm his own grandson,” Kenzie said.
“If he’s gambling in high-stakes games, he might owe the casino more money than he can pay. Those guys don’t mess around. A couple of broken legs would be less than nothing to them. Big losses? Could be a whole lot worse.”
Kenzie picked up her mug, the coffee long grown cold. Instead of taking a sip, her hands shook as she set the mug back down on the table. Reese wished he could convince her to eat something, but so far she hadn’t had a bit of food all day.
His disposable rang again. It was Hawk. Reese hit the speaker button.
“You talk to Tabby?” Hawk asked.
“She called, brought us to speed.”
“According to Tab, Black Sand Oil and Gas is in financial trouble. Maybe Arthur owes the casino boys money he can’t repay.”
“Same thought we had,” Reese said. “Could be, getting the company back on track is the only way to generate the capital he needs to repay his debt. Black Sand Oil and Gas never made an offer on the Poseidon, but owning it would be a real game changer.”
“Makes sense—which is why I’m on my way to Shreveport. I’ve got connections there. Might be able to find out if Haines owes money to the mob. If he does, good chance he’s involved in everything that’s been going on. I’ll let you know what I come up with.”
“We really appreciate your help,” Kenzie said, tears creeping back into her voice.
Hawk’s deep voice softened. “Try to stay positive till I get back to you, okay, Kenzie?”
She swallowed. “Okay.” The line went dead and she wiped tears from her cheeks. Pushing wearily up from her chair, she paced restlessly around the kitchen. “We need to talk to Arthur. Force him to tell us what’s going on.”
“It’s risky,” Reese said. Though he could imagine putting his hands around Arthur’s neck and squeezing the information out of him. “If Arthur’s involved in the kidnapping, it could put Griff’s life in danger.”
Kenzie turned, looked him straight in the face. “You’re right. We can’t trust Arthur. But Lee’s dead and now Griff’s been kidnapped. Arthur has to be the key. We have to talk to him. We don’t have any choice.”
Reese scrubbed a hand over his face, feeling the rough growth along his unshaven jaw. He was tired, yet worry kept his adrenaline pumping. Kenzie was right. Griff’s time was running out. Arthur could have the answers they so desperately needed. There was no other choice.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll see what Arthur has to say.”
* * *
Griff curled up on the king-size bed. He was lying on a fancy spread, silky and kind of smooth, but the curtains were drawn, so he couldn’t tell the color. He could move around a little, but one of his wrists was handcuffed to the headboard so he couldn’t get far.
He didn’t remember how he got there. He didn’t remember anything about last night. Just going to bed, then waking up in this room. His eyes burned but he had already cried too much when the men weren’t around.
He checked the digital clock on the nightstand. Every hour, one of them came in to check on him. They brought him food or took him to the bathroom, which was also fancy, with lots of mirrors and one of those big Jacuzzi tubs.
The men wore black ski masks so he couldn’t see their faces, but one of them turned on the TV and set it to the Disney channel, which was better than just staring at the walls. He had a feeling he was in some fancy hotel. He didn’t know where, but he hoped it was in Dallas so it wouldn’t take long for him to get home.
His throat tightened as fear slithered through him. So far the men were treating him okay, but the short one was constantly bitching about having to babysit a kid. The bigger one was nicer, but he could tell the man didn’t really want to be there.
Neither did he. Even school was better than being locked up in some weird place with no idea when they would let him go.
His throat ached. What if they killed him instead of letting him go? It seemed like it would be a lot easier and they wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught.
He reminded himself that Reese was with his mom. Reese had said they were going to bring him home. It was like a promise. Reese was rich and smart, and Griff could tell Reese liked his mom a lot. If the men wanted money, he was sure Reese would give it to them.
He hung on to the thought as he waited for another hour to pass. Reese and his mom would give the men what they wanted and they would let him go.
In the meantime, he wasn’t a baby. He wasn’t going to cry in front of them. No way was he letting them see how scared he really was.
As he glanced at the clock, he thought of his mom and Gran and how much he wanted to go home. One of the men would be coming in soon. He wondered what Reese would do if he’d been kidnapped. It was the first time the thought had actually formed in his head.