Page 14 of Special Agent Murphy

Chapter Ten

Kayti took her hand back and turned to the younger man standing alone by the door. If fleeing had been an option, she had no doubt his ass would be all they’d see as he hightailed it outta there. Embarrassment burned his cheeks red, and he flinched when she stepped closer.

“You were with her last night at Coopers.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, Ryan Stover. You mean the bar where she left me.”

“She left you… is that what you think?”

“Uh – yeah. Earlier in the evening, we met up with a couple downtown, Alex and Gina.”

Alex and Gina who?”

“Don’t know. They invited us to go there with them. We thought they were fun.”

“Where were you partying when you ran into Gina and Alex?”

“A place downtown where the kids hang out. I can’t remember the name.” He looked away and she knew something was up.

“I call bullshit, Ryan. Tell us where you and Misti were. We need to talk to those people and see if anyone can recognize the couple who we believe were working with the men who took her hostage.”

Ryan flinched, then found attitude, “Hostage? They didn’t take Misti. They were friends.”

“Look, bud, they were in on it. Don’t kid yourself, I heard the girls talking in the restroom. Your girlfriend wanted to leave, said you were plastered, and she was scared. The other put her off. When Misti insisted she was going to call a cab, I figure it alerted Gina and she must have signaled Draper that Misti planned to leave. That’s when they moved in on her.”

“Draper came to the table and bought us drinks.”

“Draper is scum. Neither Gina nor her friend tried to stop them from taking Misti, they were in on it. In fact, the one glance at your table I had time for, I saw you being held back by the guy next to you.”

“Alex.” Ryan pointed at her. “You were there. Fighting. I remember thinking it was – was awesome.”

Did he really say that?Kayti shook her head to clear out the urge to smack the kid’s head hard enough to wake up a brain cell. “Look you, Misti is with those creeps right now. God alone knows where they’re holding her, or what they’re doing to her. You have to tell us everything you remember.”

“That’s just it.” Tears filled his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbled ridiculously. Weakened, he slid to his knees, an aura of abject misery seeping from his body. “I only remember bits here and there. After she left to go with Gina, Alex crowded around me, said the girls were fine and they’d only be gone for a few minutes. He bought another round. Once I drank that, I passed out. When I came to, I had no idea where I was. Someone must have dropped me outside of an all-night service station. One of the workers woke me up and told me to go home.”

Murphy crouched down next to the younger guy and talked low, his voice like a hypnotist’s working magic. “It’s okay, kid. Relax. You remembered Kayti fighting. You need to man up here, admit your part in the hostage taking and help us find her. This is no blame game. You can deal with that later. We need answers. You have them. Let us help you dig them out.

Ryan looked into Murphy’s eyes and saw what Kayti did, what everyone did, a way out of the pool of shit he was drowning in. “I’ll do whatever I can, man. I want to help her, she’s my girl.”

“Not anymore, she isn’t.” Senator Bond’s low statement registered to Kayti.

Edna, who’d held back, took over at this point. “Senator, have you received any ransom notes, any phone calls?”

Shaking his head in a negative way, he admitted, “My wife and I were at an official function tonight and arrived home late to find this punk waiting for us.” The Senator’s disgust flashed over his features. “He’d been sick all over the driveway and passed out on our doorstep. I thought he was a lost drunk who’d ended up at the wrong house.”

“He told you about Misti?”

“No. He wanted to see her, apologize for getting plastered and letting her leave alone. Or, at least, that’s what he said.”

Edna moved over to where Murphy had hauled the kid to his feet and placed him on the nearest chair. She stood over him. “Tell us everything you do remember.”

Ryan swiped a shaking hand over the mess on his face and took a huge breath, one soaked in tears and self-pity. “We were at the Denver; you know the new place downtown with the strippers—”

Furious, the Senator kicked in, “You took my daughter to a strip joint? She’s only sixteen.”

“All the kids are hanging out there, sir. It’s… I’m sorry. She wanted to go. We weren’t even sure we could get in. But a group from the school planned to be there and – and I’m sorry.”

Edna cut in, “Never mind about all that right now. We need you to tell us how you met up with the other couple.”

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