Page 34 of The Walls of Levi

“He runs an underground business. I’ve been trying to nail him for a couple years now. I knew before I got here you raced against him Friday night for money.”

“I did. He was talking noise, and I was tired of it. Ron here,” I point to Ron, “set it up and everything went down Friday night.”

“So, tell me how Danny Roberts’ daughter got caught up in all of this.”

I proceed to tell him everything that happened between Friday before the race until this very moment. He sits there, quietly listening while the officers take notes.

“What does Fred James have to do with any of this?” Hearing him say my father’s name throws me off a little, but I expected it. My hometown is two hours away. That isn’t far for Fred to drive to handle illegal business.

“I don’t know.”

Rick nods and scratches his neck.

“From what I can gather, the situations are separate. I think you just fell into the middle of another thing that Russell has going.” He sits back a little, a tad straighter on the stool and looks around before looking back at me.

“I’m going to tell you what I think happened. And right now, it’s just a hunch from what I’ve been gathering. I need you to know, so we are all on the same page. You look like a standup guy and even though I know your father, I know that you don’t have anything to do with him.”

“How do you know that?” I don’t have anything to do with Fred, but I do want to know what this guy knows about me.

“I follow you, and I hope you kick ass in a couple weeks at the Isle of Man TT.” I almost give him a grin, but I know Fred’s name is about to come up and that kills it.

“I also follow Fred. Mainly because he did business with Russell a couple years ago and that put him on my radar. But he’s a piece of shit.”

I listen as Rick spills just what my father has been up to lately.

“Fred borrowed some money from Russell a couple weeks ago. I don’t know what for. I just saw him take it from Russell, go around the corner and hand it to your mother.” My mother? I haven’t even thought about Mary. I’m not surprised that she is somewhere involved, though. Fred was always more important to her than taking care of her son.

“A week passed,” Rick continued, “and Fred didn’t have the money to give back to Russell. So, what I am gathering is Fred met up with Wilson, whom he has also worked with before, to kidnap a woman to pay back his debt.”

“How will kidnapping someone pay back his debt?”

“Russell is a black-market dealer for the sex trafficking group that runs out of Martinsville.”

My blood turns to ice, and I hear Chance curse beside me.

“So, Fred was going to get this girl kidnapped and hand her to Russell to be sold. Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes.”

“And I just happened to get in the way?”

“Yes,” he answers again.

Fate.

While I kept thinking the word in association with Kathleen. There it is. My one is her. I just know it.

“Where is she?”

“She’s hid well.”

“Are you sure?”

My heart drops.

Fred knows about my family.

Chapter 23

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