Page 23 of Kidnapped

I raise my eyebrows, “Not that then, anything else?”

“He owned loads of guns, but the one he used didn’t belong to him,” Cash adds.

“That’s definitely an odd one. Why wouldn’t you use your own gun?” Riot questions.

“There were a few other things that didn’t quite match up, but those were the major ones,” Cash adds and then lowers his voice again, “and the body disappeared before the autopsy could be done, but he wasn’t the only one, the remains of Knox’s family disappeared too, and just so we’re clear when they said whole family, they meant the whole family. They lived in this giant house, mom, dad, brother, two sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; they were all killed.”

“Why wasn’t Knox?” Luc asks, his voice hushed.

“He was out of town, gone with some friends or something on a last-minute trip; he was supposed to be at home.”

“Shit,” I reply and then frown, “is it me, or does it sound like more of an assassination than an arsonist choosing a random family?”

“That’s what I thought,” Cash agrees with me.

Riot, Rafe, and Luc all nod in agreement, too, with heavy frowns on their faces.

“You think Knox had something to do with the arsonist's death?” Luc asks.

Cash nods, “Oh without a fucking doubt. I also think he knows exactly why they were all killed, and he killed the arsonist first in order to stop him from coming after him.”

“And for revenge,” Riot adds, and then smiles sharply, “If I were him, I’d do exactly the same.”

“Me too,” Rafe signs.

“Is it weird that I’m now more intrigued by him?” Cash asks. “Like, I want to know what really happened, and the only way to know that is to talk to Knox and get him to tell us.”

I sigh, “That’s because you’re into all of the true crime stuff, but I’m going to have to be a dick now and say that we leave it the fuck alone. We’ve got enough going on at the moment, and he’s clearly capable of taking out people who get in his way or threaten to expose his secret. As curious as I am, this is one that we stay away from unless he tells us himself.”

Cash practically pouts but sighs heavily and nods, “Yeah, I know you’re right, and I promise I’ll leave it where it is. We’ve got so much to deal with, adding in the drama of a town mystery, and it will all get really complicated really quickly.”

“So, we just leave it be?” Riot questions.

“Yep, we carry on like we don’t suspect anything because, in all actuality, all we have is theories and hearsay; there’s a very good chance that the media warped a lot of that story.” I reply.

“Shit, you’re right.” Rafe signs and then shrugs and adds, “I’m good with that.”

“Fine with me,” Riot agrees.

“Yeah, I’ll admit that you make a good point,” Luc smiles.

Chapter Sixteen

Trick

Cash gets distracted from the conversation as his phone goes off, and he pulls it out of his pocket.

He looks up at us, “It’s from Rachel. She sent back the photograph that we sent her and circled the guy who gave her friends the drugs.”

“And?” Luc questions, “Who is it?”

Cash’s eyes widen slightly as he uses his fingers to zoom in, “Fuck. It’s Boyd.”

“One of Billy’s inner circle, Boyd?” I ask, needing clarification because this is bad.

Cash nods, “Yeah, that Boyd.”

“Fuck,” Riot echoes me, “it’s a damn good job that we didn’t involve Billy he would have protected his guy.”

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