AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Call me Lefty,” said the white-haired man.
“Okay then. Lefty heard noises last night and was concerned someone was breaking in. He peeked out and saw the guy who lives over there…” Joe pointed at the door on the other half of the hallway.
“Yeah. He was with some classy lady and a kid. They went in and came right out.” Lefty rubbed his chin. “Weird.”
“Why?” asked Joe.
“Because Martin is a loner and hates people.” Lefty let out a big guffaw.
Killian nodded toward the apartment.
“Okay, Lefty. Thanks for your help,” said Joe. “We’ll see if Martin is there.” He cocked his head. “What’s Martin’s last name?”
“Cassidy.” Lefty turned and shut the door.
Killian was already by Martin’s door and knocking. No one was there. He knew no one cared if they just opened Martin’s door and peeked inside.
Joe pulled something out of his back pocket. “Let’s get this door open,” he said. He inserted a pick in the lock, wiggled it around for a few seconds, and opened the door.
They walked into one of the most depressing apartments Killian had ever been in—mismatched and broken furniture in each room, with grayish walls and a lingering layer of cigarette smoke. The bed wasn’t made, and the sheets hadn’t been washed in a long, long time.
The others joined them, and they searched every nook for any information that would tell them where Martin might have taken Anne and Silas. Hank found some papers underneath the mattress. They found Cassidy’s release papers from jail, a burner phone with no juice, a newspaper article about a theft, a birth certificate in Martin Cassidy’s name, and a few other unimportant papers.
Sam read the newspaper article. “I wonder what the importance of this is?”
“No idea,” said Hank. “It must mean something to Cassidy.”
“Hmmm. I wonder if the police ever found out about the theft,” Sam replied. She folded the article. “I’ll have Phil look into this.” She looked around the apartment. “I don’t see a backpack. It has to be here if Phil tracked it.”
“I’ll look in the dumpster,” said Logan. “Someone should look around the building.”
“I’ll look. He could have thrown it in the bushes,” said Hank.
Sam nodded. “Good idea. I’ll call this in to Phil. We only have a short timeframe here. Someone should know something. Martin has to have friends.”
“I’ll go back and talk to Lefty,” said Joe. “He might know who visited Martin.”
Logan, Joe, and Hank left. Killian leaned against the wall and rubbed his hands over his face. “I hope we get another bit of information because I’m afraid for Anne and Silas. Martin’s going to kill them. If he took them and they’ve seen his face, he can’t let them live.”
He closed and opened his eyes. “Fuck. I’m at a loss here. If we don’t get names or Phil can’t find the truck, Anne and Silas will be lost forever.”
Sam patted his arm. “Let’s not give up hope yet.”
They left the apartment, closing the door behind them, then headed down three flights of stairs. Hank and Logan were together and shook their heads. Nothing. The pounding of Killian’s heart increased so much that he was sure everyone could hear it.
Finally, the sun was peeking through the sky, but Killian couldn’t stop the dire feelings coursing through his body. If Joe couldn’t get any friends’ names from Lefty, there wasn’t much more they could do.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Anne woke up and looked around in the dim light. Broken furniture, dirty walls, and what the heck was that smell? She wasn’t in her house. Damn, it wasn’t a nightmare. They were in Bobby’s cabin, in the middle of nowhere. And good ol’ Bobby didn’t like to do dishes or throw trash out. The kitchen stunk.
Her hands and feet were numb, and she tried to wiggle around to release the blood flow to her extremities but to no avail. She glanced over and saw Silas was still asleep. Thank God for that. Soon, shit was going to hit the fan. She wondered what it would feel like to be shot—hopefully shot. Having someone stick a knife in her scared her more. Would they shoot Silas first so he didn’t have the trauma of seeing her killed? She could only hope.
Stop! Her thoughts were getting too dark. It was time to try something, anything. There was no movement from the couch. Martin was still asleep. Who were the two guys to each other?
Bobby came out of the bedroom yawning. He looked at his watch and then at the couch and frowned.
“Up and out, sunshine,” said Bobby as he kicked the couch. Martin jumped up.
