Page 44 of Shrouded Past

Sandwiches were brought out. The case set aside long enough to share a meal.

“We had breakfast for lunch, now we’re having lunch for breakfast.” Piper laughed and bit into a chip.

Bryce liked the sound of her laughter. He wanted to hear more of it. He prayed for a time when her life would be filled with happiness. “It’s been a strange few days, for sure.”

“Yes, it has.” She wiped her fingers on a napkin. “Do you think Darby is the one who kidnapped me and killed Edmon? Who wore that awful skull mask and came at me with that knife?”

“It’s beginning to sound like it.” Still that little niggling at the back of his head told him it was just a little too convenient that they’d found Darby so soon.

Someone’s phone rang. Everyone picked theirs up.

“That’s me.” JT wiped his hands and answered the call. Something in JT’s demeanor had Bryce stopping what he was doing.

“Alright. Thanks for letting me know.” JT punched end. “That was Will. Darby’s ex-wife is missing.”

“You’re kidding?” Bryce couldn’t believe it. This case just kept getting more bizarre.

“I wish I were. The officer who went to her house said it looked like there’d been a struggle.”

“You think he took her against her will?” Why involve his former wife in his crimes?

“We’re acting on the belief she was taken by Darby until we can determine if she’s involved in what happened.” JT finished off his sandwich. “Let’s assume, considering Darby’s previous issues with his superiors, that perhaps he was working for Piper’s father, who had something on him and blackmailed him into killing Edmon and finding Piper.”

Bryce thought about the theory. “The thing that’s troubling me about all of this is what the kidnapper did to Piper. If this guy in charge is as powerful as it sounds like he is, Darby would have to be frightened of crossing him. Cutting up his daughter wouldn’t exactly ingratiate himself with the man.”

Beside him Piper winced, and he covered her hand. He’d been blunt and hadn’t meant to. To him, she was beautiful.

“True,” Rachel joined in. “It almost seems as if the kidnapper doesn’t care if he hurts you as long as he gets you there alive. Which seems to disqualify the personal connection of a father wanting his daughter back. Maybe the man in charge isn’t your father but someone else. Someone who knew your mother. Forgive me for saying this, Piper, but maybe your mother took something important of his and he wants it back and is willing to go to extremes to get it.”

“But what? I have nothing. I don’t know anything about what my mother might have taken or where she is. If she’s alive or not. I’m guessing Edmon didn’t have whatever they were looking for either.”

“Except that we don’t know what it is they may be looking for,” Katrina added. “Can we check with the police who searched Edmon’s home? See if there’s anything that might give a hint at what this might really be about?”

JT complimented Katrina on her hypothesis. “I’ll call Will now.”

Bryce ticked off the information they had so far that seemed to connect the worst case in his past with Piper, and he couldn’t believe this was all just some strange coincidence. He believed God had brought him and Piper together for a purpose. To figure out the truth about both their pasts once and for all.

???

He slammed his fist against the dashboard.He’d done everything he was told to do. He’d been ordered to handle the situation and he’d done it . . . or at least he’d thought he had until she’d gotten away. He’d killed for his employer. There was blood on his hands, and it had cost him dearly. That had to count for something.

He pulled off the road and parked out of sight. Had his time run out? Was there another hired killer dispatched to finish the job he couldn’t? If so, there would be a contract on his life. He wasn’t going to die for them.

He screamed at the top of his voice then screamed again before reaching for his phone. He could fix this. There was still time.

Dark clouds gathered over the ocean, boiling up from its surface like pictures he’d seen of what an atomic explosion looked like. He flipped through the radio stations of the stolen vehicle until he reached a local one that was broadcasting hourly updates on the hurricane that was predicted to strike the island and others nearby soon. When that happened, he’d be stuck here without any means of escape. He had to finish the job and get out of here.

But the last call he’d made to his boss had ended badly. He’d been told he was a disappointment and reminded of what happened to disappointments.

He glanced around as if expecting another replacement to appear out of nowhere to take him out.

He rubbed his damp hands on his pants and then reached for the phone. Scrolling through the burner phone, he hit Call.

One. Two. Three rings.

“Why are you calling me? I told you that your service is no longer needed. Besides, dead men can’t talk.”

Those simple words delivered without emotion sent chills down his spine. He had to think of something quickly or he’d be dead soon.

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