Page 78 of Home Again

“Nooooooo!” he wailed. “I can explain how to get to the cabin. I swear.”

Sebastian and the two other men worked as a team and lowered Leroy toward the water. He pulled his knees up to his chest. “I’ll take you to her. I swear it. Let me take you to her.” Sebastian wrinkled his nose as he smelled urine.

He gave a chin lift to Neil and Red, and the three of them lifted Leroy back into the middle of the boat.

“Take us there.”

* * *

It was the third shack that Leroy had directed them to. Each time they’d come even close to one of the cabins, Neil would duct tape and roll Leroy back into the tarp, then they’d shut off the engines and start poling so they wouldn’t make any noise. These men were damn near as quiet as his teammates, and like his teammates, they were all armed. Sebastian prayed that this cabin would be the one where he would finally find Gianna.

There were windows on the east and west side of the shack. They were covered by thick, clear plastic, but that would do. Sebastian was on point. He made his way up to the first window and peeked in. It was dim inside, but he was still able to see the entire space, and except for a few pieces of furniture, it was empty.

Dammit.

“It’s empty,” he yelled out.

This entire operation was a bust. He turned to Neil. “We’ve got three legitimate properties that the Fontenot family own. The O’Malley brothers have been checking those out. We’ll go back to town and see if they’ve found anything.”

“What do we do with Bradley’s father?” Neil asked.

“Leave him here,” Sebastian said. “Just duct tape his wrists. It should only take him three or four days to get back home, and by that time we’ll be done.”

“Got it.”

* * *

It was damn near midnight when he got back to Krotz Springs and had cell service again. He had three texts from Gideon telling him to call and two voicemails from his grandfather. He’d sent everyone else back to Baton Rouge to get some shut-eye at the motel.

“What’s up?” he asked his friend when he answered as he yawned. He pulled Leroy’s keys out of his pocket and looked at the brown Cutlass Oldsmobile and shook his head. He went over to it and tried the handle. It was locked. It took him a moment to figure out which key was needed to unlock the car.

“Bradley Fontenot’s phone is back in Baton Rouge, specifically at the Blonde Bayou.”

“When did you find that out?” Sebastian asked as he got into the car and pushed back the seat.

“Fifteen minutes ago.”

“Do you need me to go with you?” Sebastian asked as he put the phone on speaker and set it on the car’s bench seat.

“Why don’t you want to go?”

“She was hurting two days ago. You could see Gianna had already been hit in the face. Then yesterday’s hit? No. Absolutely not. I can’t leave, Gideon. I’ve got to find her now. I’m really worried.”

“What’s your plan?”

“The legit properties were a bust, right?”

“Yep,” Gideon answered.

“Then I’m going to go let myself into the two cousin’s trailers, have a look around. Then if they’re not there, I’m going to wait for them.”

“I think that could work,” Gideon agreed.

“Keep me informed on what’s going on.” Sebastian put the old land cruiser into drive and headed down the street.

“I will.” Gideon hung up and Sebastian shoved his phone back into his pocket before it fell onto the car floor. The trailer park where both men lived was three miles outside of town. Sebastian felt comfortable driving the car into the park and parking in one of the free slots. This car fit right in. He took a long look around, then got out and meandered toward Darnell’s trailer. Three homes down, young men and women were sitting outside on cheap white chairs smoking joints, the marijuana smell drifting all the way to him. None of them were paying Sebastian any attention.

He got out his lock-pick set, but first tried the door. It was open. He let himself in. The place was as neat as a pin. It took Sebastian mere moments to check every nook and cranny to ensure that Darnell was not inside. Then he did a much more thorough check, looking for anything that might provide a clue to indicate where Gianna was being held. He did pocket Darnell’s Smith and Wesson 9mm. He was sure he had another pistol on him at the moment, but there was no reason to let him have any more firepower.