Page 35 of The Accidental Detectives

Smiling at him, I held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Simon. I get a good vice.”

Did I ever. I missed the hell out of my old vice, chicken wings.

He barked another laugh, a cloud of condensation puffing from his mouth. “Little Owen’s always saying how stinky myshirt is. He wrinkles that little nose up at me and gives me hell about it.”

Owen’s words rang in my ears.It’s stinky like that lady where daddy lived. She was stinky, too. She smelled real bad. So bad, I had to cover my nose with my arm.

Stinky like that lady where my daddy lived…

Shut the fucking front door.

Like a ton of bricks from the wall we kept slamming into, they all crashed around me, landing on my head all at once.

I had to go, and I had to go pronto.

Sticking out my hand, I grabbed Simon’s. “I hate to cut this short, sir, but I have to go. It was a real pleasure to meet you. We’ll check back in with you soon.”

I didn’t give him a chance to answer. I took off running to the car, stomping through the snow as fast as I could while my mind raced, trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

Jumping into Marty’s SUV, I dragged my phone out of my back pocket and started to text Marty and Wanda.

I think I figured this shit out. I don’t have all the pieces put together yet. I just need to ask a couple of questions. Meet me at?—

That was the last thing I remember before Marty’s car lifted off the ground, the windows imploding, glass shattering everywhere.

And then everything went dark.

Chapter

Twelve

How it’s going…

When my surroundings filtered into my unconscious brain, it took me a sec to get my bearings. My eyes didn’t want to open and my head felt heavy.

Wherever the hell I was, it was uncomfortable, as uncomfortable as that damn peacock blue settee Marty loved so much and had to have for the murder basement.

I tried shifting positions but something kept me from moving. My eyes finally popped open to find myself in total darkness.

Flaring my nostrils, I smelled the scent of damp and musty.

Pulling at my wrists, I felt the rigid clamp of something binding them together… Zip-ties? Yeah. They definitely felt like zip-ties.

I almost laughed. Seriously? What kind of moron thought zip-ties could keep me from escaping this bullshit?

Yanking at them, I tried to break them apart, but a sharp sting and an electric zap to my wrists prevented me from ripping them off.

Obviously, a smart moron.

“Ow! What the fuck?” I bellowed, my voice echoing in the inky darkness.

“Nina?” I heard someone groan in a weak voice.

I leaned into the room, realizing my feet were bound by whatever this was, too. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Brenda…it’s Brenda.”

I sat up straighter, clenching my fists. She sounded wiped out, thoroughly exhausted. Her normal lilting tone sounded dead. “Are you okay? What’s going on? Where the hell are we?”

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