Page 28 of Blood and Sand

He waved his hand, dismissing me.

Stepping out of the captain’s office, I took a breath. Rey and Amir were good at their jobs, but with the help of the FBI, the extra eyes couldn’t hurt.

And maybe I won’t die.

“Rey! Rey!” Amir called out, motioning for Rey to come to where their desks were located. His hand covered the receiver of the landline phone on his desk as he frantically waved Rey over. I followed Rey and sat at his desk while Rey grabbed the phone from Amir.

“Put it on speaker,” Amir whispered.

Rey nodded, hit the speaker button, then set the receiver down. “Detective LaCroix.”

“Tick-Tock, Detective. Tick-Tock. Your time is running out.”

The voice was a strained, southern accent, but not Louisiana southern. Maybe North or South Carolina.

“Excuse me?” Rey asked.

“Trade one for another before the clock strikes midnight,” the mysterious caller said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Rey shouted. The tension rolled off him. “Who is this?”

“She’ll die at midnight unless you give me Dana, detective.”

Rey stared at me. My eyes widened, and I mouthed ‘the killer’to him.

He nodded.

“Who will die?” Rey asked.

“Ask Detective Shaw. Does he know where his wife is?”

“You son of a bitch!” Rey shouted before dead air replaced the southern accent on the line.

Amir fumbled for his cell phone and dialed Delaney’s number. Concern, fear, and anger clouded his eyes as he gripped the phone tightly in his hands while he paced.

He ended the call and dialed it again.

Delaney was Black and around my height with tightly-coiled dark brown hair. We were mistaken for sisters often. Her name began with the letter D, like mine, and she was on the board of executives at the local hospital. She fit the victim profile perfectly.

While Amir worked to get Delaney on the phone, Rey informed Captain Broussard about the phone call and Delaney’s possible disappearance. I pulled my phone from my purse and dialed Mr. Steele’s number while they managed things on their end.

“This is Mr. Steele’s office. My name is Stacey. How may I help you?”

I hated to get the FBI involved. There was always a pissing match between the agency and the locals, and this time would be no different. There was no way Rey would give up control of this case, especially since I was the target, and Delaney had been kidnapped. This wasn’t going to go over well with my superiors.

“Hello, Stacey.” I sighed. “It’s Dr. LaCroix.”

“Hello, Dr. LaCroix. How may I help you?”

“I need to speak with Mr. Steele, immediately.”

I watched Amir storm out of the precinct. Rey’s head dropped, and his fists clenched at his sides. Anguish marred his features, and at that moment, I understood how much I wanted to make all his troubles go away. It had always been me and Rey against the world. We were going to make a difference. Now, it was up to me to get Delaney back.

“Dr. LaCroix, I didn’t expect to hear from you on your vacation. How can I help you?”

“Mr. Steele, we have a problem, and you’re not going to like it.”

He sighed. “I’m listening.”

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