Page 23 of Lone Star Witness

A minute passed before someone else exited. Still not the colonel. And that pattern continued until Slade saw Marise’s and his arrival.

Slade shifted to the feed from the other two cameras, and he got the same frustrating results.

“Colonel Rosa didn’t go out any of these ways,” Marise muttered on a sigh. She looked at Slade. “You think he could still be in the hospital?”

“It’s possible, but he’d know that was a risk, that people would be searching for him. If he didn’t want to be found, he could have found a way to leave.

Of course, there was another possibility. That the colonel had been taken. If so, his abductor could have been aware of the placement of security cameras and had purposely chosen an exit where they wouldn’t be seen.

Slade reloaded the feed from the first camera, ready to go through it again, but his phone rang before he could even start.

“It’s Ruby,” he relayed, putting the call on speaker.

He expected his boss to say she had managed to get that extra camera feed. Or better yet, for Ruby to inform them that she’d found the colonel. But Slade soon learned it was neither of those things.

“I have Sonny on the line,” Ruby told him, her voice as tight and tense as Slade suddenly felt. “He didn’t have your number so he called here, and he’s asked to speak to you. I can transfer the call to you if you want to take it.”

Slade cursed. He didn’t want to speak to the dipshit, but he needed to hear what Sonny had to say. Especially if Sonny was calling about the colonel.

“Put the call through,” Slade instructed.

He didn’t bother to ask Ruby to try to trace it so they could pinpoint the dipshit’s location. Ruby was no doubt already doing that. She’d record it as well, so it could be analyzed to give them any additional info about Sonny.

It only took a couple of seconds before Slade heard Sonny’s raspy voice ooze through the chapel. “Slade and Marise,” he snarled, the tone a sharp contrast to the serene setting.

Slade skipped any form of greeting and went straight to the heart of the matter. “Where’s Colonel Rosa?”

Silence. Followed by a sound of surprise. Surprise that Slade knew could be faked since Sonny was almost certainly aware this conversation was being recorded, and he wouldn’t want to make a confession about any wrongdoing.

Including the attempt to murder Marise and him.

“Is your brother in arms missing?” Sonny asked in a syrupy, sweet tone.

“Where is Colonel Rosa?” Slade repeated, not changing his inflection and not reacting to Sonny’s question.

Not outwardly reacting anyway.

There was a storm brewing inside Slade, and he wished he could beat the answer out of this useless excuse for a human being.

“I don’t have a clue. That’s the truth,” Sonny tacked onto his denial. “I assumed he was at the hospital with Marise and you. Isn’t that why you’re there?” He didn’t wait for a response. “To question the colonel about me? Well, sorry that you can’t do that now that he’s missing.”

Questioning Rosa had indeed been the plan, but Slade did verify that. “Why the hell are you calling?” he came out and asked.

“To talk to my son, of course.” The overly sweet tone had returned, but it still had an edge to it now. “My worthless son. Of course, I have two more of those. I saw Nash earlier come out of the hospital so I know he’s alive and well. Too bad about that.”

“You saw him?” Slade questioned. “Then, you must be nearby. Where exactly?” Of course, that didn’t mean the dipshit hadn’t come and gone. No way would Sonny want to stay put and risk being seen.

Sonny laughed. “Yeah, right. I’ll tell you that so your bitch boss can have cops come and arrest me.”

“Arrest you for what?” Slade was quick to demand. “Attempted murder?”

More silence. Clearly, the dipshit was having trouble thinking on his feet. “Too bad I can’t have you and your brothers arrested for murder. Caroline, too. All four of you killed Bodie.”

So, that’s what this call was about. “We stopped a killer who just happened to share some of my DNA.” Slade decided to do some prodding to try to get Sonny to say more than he’d probably intended. “FYI, Bodie died, well, let’s just say badly. Crying and begging for his life. An asshole sniveling coward.”

“Liar!” Sonny shouted. “Bodie was more of a man, of a fuckin’ hero, than you’ll ever be.”

Slade laughed. “Right. You weren’t even there when Bodie whined and pleaded, when he pissed his pants.”

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