Page 90 of Cisco

“Yeah, well, what now genius? It’s all well and fine because the girl doesn’t know who poisoned her, but what about your new friend? I’m assuming he knows who brought him here and tied him up.”

“Umm, yeah. He does.” The kid sounded much more unsure of himself now.

“And you think he’s just going to let that go? Let you walk away scot-free?”

“I…don’t know.”

“Well, I do. He’s going to shout your guilt to the rafters and make sure you go to jail. Which means…I’ll have to take care of him. To protect you.”

There was a brief silence, where Cisco figured Carter was battling with himself.

“He’s inside,” Carter’s sullen voice finally responded.

Wrong choice, you stupid prick.

Cisco readied for company, maintaining his limpness as footsteps came up onto the porch and?—

“What the fuck?”

The voice which sounded more and more like one Cisco had heard before, erupted in anger. “You imbecile. That’s a cop! What were you thinking? Do you want the whole goddamned police department coming down on us?”

Cisco heard a sharp slap.

Carter yelped.

The rant continued. “And you left his phone on the floor for anyone to track?”

Cisco heard a crunch, and knew the person had just ground his phone to pieces under his heel.

Fuckwad.

Carter whined. “All you said was that you’d help me get back at the people who were bullies. Bailey was one, and Cisco… I overheard him and Miss Adeline talking. He bullied Miss Hilly in middle school, and she never got over it.”

Cisco almost stopped breathing. That’s what Carter’s motive was? To hurt those he perceived as bullies? That was fucked up. Not to mention that he’d totally misinterpreted Cisco’s conversation with Adeline. The kid needed some serious mental health intervention. Cisco amended his plans for Carter to include a psych-ward instead of a prison cell. The other guy, however…

Cisco focused on that second person as someone kicked the bottom of his foot.

He managed not to twitch.

“You need to disappear, Carter,” the man ordered. “Go back to camp and forget about me and everything else you’ve seen. I’ll take care of this cop for you.”

Well shit.

Cisco finally recognized the voice.

Langford Cottins, the bastard.

He’d clearly enlisted Carter’s help—somehow finding out about the kid’s deep-seated grudges—and had promised he’d help work revenge on Carter’s enemies. All to foment his own plans to make Hilly’s camp a nightmare, and get it shut down so he could purchase it for a song. If only Carter had been in possession of that intel, he’d know who the real bully was.

It didn’t matter. Cottins’ plan was not going to work.

“What are you going to do with him?” Carter hiccupped a sob, perhaps just figuring out that his agenda and Cottins’ were not the same.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Cottins growled. “I have everything I need to take care of this situation back in my truck in the woods. Now disappear, kid.”

It seemed like Carter took Cottins’ advice; not waiting around to see what the man’s plans would be, because Cisco heard footsteps running away.

“And you,” Cottins growled at Cisco before kicking him hard in the ribs. “With what I have planned, there’ll be nothing left of you for any forensic geniuses to pin your murder on me. And once you’re out of the way, that Carter bastard is next. I don’t trust him not to get the jitters and open his fucking mouth. After that, the cunt will get closed down, and this whole place will be mine.”

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