Page 86 of Jonny’s Redemption

“She doesn’t have a security system,” McKenna said out loud but it sounded like she was talking to herself. “I could check the neighbors but it’s doubtful they’d have cameras. Decent neighborhood but not expensive. Probably a waste of time. Only CCTV in Cliff City is around the police department, the banks, and the main post office.”

“See if you can track Anderson’s car. Clifford’s truck is in the driveway, so is Candy’s Toyota, but Anderson’s Honda’s missing.”

“Are you saying you think Clifford used Anderson’s car to kidnap Candy?”

“She picked the car up from the station. Unless she’s been storing it somewhere else then I’d say yes, Clifford took her in Anderson’s car.”

“That’s some cold shit,” Jameson mumbled.

“By the way, Holden checked in. He’s taking his time cruising through back roads on the north side of the county as he makes his way back to the office,” Alec informed them.

“Weston called in, too. He’s doing the same, coming in from the west. Nixon’s still at Dick’s.”

Not having to wait for a search warrant came in handy when the woman you loved was at the mercy of a cocksucking prick.

“Okay, so her phone is in the house,” McKenna announced and continued to pound the keyboard. “I traced Anderson’s car to H&C Scrapyard out on Route 213. Are you sure she picked it up? Doesn’t the sheriff’s department use them as a compound lot?”

“Yeah, they do, it’s…” Jonny trailed off and in rapid succession, things started to make sense. “Route 213. The Henderson family bought Teddy Kerr’s business when he retired. They also bought the defunct bowling alley next door. Henderson and his son knocked down the building and closed the mechanic shop and turned the property into a salvage yard.”

In his mind he went over the specifics of the lawsuit McKenna had unsealed. After the accident that rendered Jarrod’s brother Mark Clifford a paraplegic, Mark and his wife Lori filed a lawsuit against Teddy’s Garage. It was immediately thrown out. Mark had taken his car into Teddy’s for an oil change the day before he got into the accident that put him in a wheelchair. But the accident was due to brake failure. Anderson had only done the oil change, not worked on Mark’s brakes, nor had any mechanic at Teddy’s. A month before, the car manufacturer had sent out a recall notice on the brake parts. Mark never followed up on getting them fixed. The inspector had ruled the cause of the accident as operator neglect, hence the lawsuit never making it to trial.

“Jonny?” Jameson asked.

“Fucked up. I was too focused on Dillinger and missed it. Jarrod Clifford blamed Anderson Bull and Teddy Kerr for his brother’s accident. That’s why they pulled him over and arrested him on trumped-up drug charges.” Jonny paused and turned to McKenna. “Did you find the cause of death when you looked Mark Clifford up?”

McKenna’s eyes grew wide. “Sepsis, related to an infected pressure wound at the base of his spine.”

“From being in a wheelchair and not taking care of himself properly,” Jonny said. “Jarrod’s blaming his brother’s death on Anderson after all these years.”

“You didn’t fuck anything up,” Jameson argued. “Who would think he’d hold a grudge that long?”

But Jonny had stopped listening. Shoddy police work.

He was on the sidewalk in front of Gemini Group with zero recollection of leaving the office or walking down the stairs.

“We’ll find her.”

Yeah, they would. Because the alternative was unacceptable.

“Did you hear me? Jonny, we’re gonna find her.”

Jonny didn’t answer. He couldn’t break down—Bobby needed him solid. She needed him sharp and alert using his head to figure out where she was, not coming apart at the seams.

“We need to get to H&C’s.”

Jameson blinked then narrowed his eyes. The other man’s stare was disconcerting; Jameson Grant saw too much and Jonny didn’t have time to be analyzed. He needed to get to Bobby.

Though something was nagging at the back of his mind, telling him he was still missing something. There was something about the way Dick moved, the careful way he’d handcuffed Bobby, the way he’d stopped her from kicking him but he didn’t hurt her when he very well could’ve. Hell, Dick could’ve taken her out at the office and left before any of them could’ve gotten there.

Obviously. He had taken Bobby before Vaughn had arrived and he was less than five miles from the farm.

Five miles.

Vaughn was at the scene where Baker had been shot on the side of the road after stopping Clifford.

“What was Clifford doing out by the farm?” Jonny asked. “He lives on the other end of the county. Candy lives in the opposite direction. So what the hell was Clifford doing five miles from the farm?”

“Fuck,” Jameson clipped. “Did Vaughn say which direction Baker’s SUV was pointing?”