Joe nodded.

“She was with the three men when they left the party.”

“Explain.”

Hick told him that after the bodies of the two victims were discovered near police headquarters, the young woman was rounded up from the villa along with all the other guests. He pointed to the folder under Joe’s arm. “She cooperated in exchange for anonymity, so you won’t find her name or photo in there. But she’s the one who IDed Shaw Kinnard.

“She told the investigators that just as the party was getting into full swing, Kinnard approached Frat Boy and confided that there was a guy he needed to meet, someone from a rival cartel who wanted to switch teams. To demonstrate his sincerity, this guy was willing to tell everything he knew about the rival’s operation, but it had to be right then before the rival caught on and silenced him for good.

“Our frat boy was reluctant to leave the sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but Kinnard impressed on him that this guy could decide that the life expectancy of a traitor was short and chicken out. They had to move on it or say bye-bye to a golden opportunity. So Frat Boy grudgingly went with Kinnard, and, at Kinnard’s suggestion, took only one bodyguard so the soon-to-be-traitor wouldn’t get spooked.”

“The frat boy chose his top guard, the chief of the state police.”

“Actually Kinnard made the selection,” Hick said wryly. “We know all this because the frat boy was all over the party girl during this discussion, and she heard everything. When the time came to leave, the frat boy insisted that she go along to ‘keep him company.’ Her words.

“They piled into the Mercedes. Kinnard behind the wheel. Just beyond the villa’s security gate, he stopped the car and ordered the girl to get out. Frat Boy objected, but Kinnard told him his hard-on should be for this guy who was going to supply them with valuable information, not for a chick when chicks could be had for a dime a dozen. The jefe agreed with Kinnard. Kinnard got out, opened the backseat door for her, and told her to scram.” Hick stopped to take a breath.

Leading him, Joe said, “Okay.”

“Why’d he do that? Why not just kill the girl, too? Which would have been quicker and neater.” He shrugged. “Maybe he has a soft spot for the ladies.”

Joe thought about it for a moment, then, grumbling again, said, “Don’t count on that, either.”

Chapter 9

As the car slowed and then rolled to a stop, Jordie pressed her spine against the back of the seat and used it as leverage to sit up. If he didn’t like it, too damn bad. “Where are we?”

Her best guess was that it had been close to an hour since he’d stopped to blindfold her. It seemed that they’d been driving in circles, but without her sense of sight, she could have easily become disoriented.

Without saying a word, he opened the driver’s door and got out.

“Where are you going?”

Her question went unanswered, but she could tell by his footfalls that he was walking away from the car, treading cautiously. What was he doing? What was he about to do?

Seized by panic, she struggled to free her hands and feet. To no avail, of course, but she had to do something or she would go mad with anxiety.

She jumped in fright when the trunk popped open, which he must have unlatched remotely using the key fob. As she heard him returning to the car, she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Checking things out.”

“Please take the blindfold off.”

“I’m busy.”

He walked away again and, a few seconds later, the silence was broken by the noisy clanking of metal against metal, followed by a scraping sound and a squeal that sounded like rusty hinges.

He came back to the car and replaced whatever he’d taken from the trunk. It landed with a heavy thud. A tire tool of some sort? He didn’t bother closing the lid of the trunk before getting back into the driver’s seat and engaging the gears.

“What was that racket? What were you doing?”

The car rolled forward slowly, its tires crunching over gravel. She knew the moment they entered some sort of enclosure. Even with the blindfold on, she could tell they were no longer in sunlight, and the air quality changed, becoming musty and dank, smelling faintly of motor oil and mice.

He stopped the car, turned off the engine, and got out. He was gone for a minute or more, but she could hear him moving around, then he returned to the car and opened the backseat door. When he touched her cheek, she flinched.

“Easy,” he said.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to turn your head.”

“What for?”

“I thought you wanted the blindfold off.”

She hesitated then turned her head away from him. He untied the bandana and caught it as it fell away from her eyes. As she blinked him into focus, he was tucking the corner of the bandana into the front pocket of his jeans.

Neither spoke as he squatted in the wedge of the open door and reached in to unknot the bandana around her ankles. As he straightened up, he looked into her face but didn’t say anything. He motioned her out of the car. It was awkward to do with her hands bound behind her back, but he made no move to help her, probably because she had rebuffed his previous attempts.

Once on her feet beside the car, she made a slow pivot to get her bearings. When she came back around to him, she said, “The view isn’t worth the long drive it took to get here.”

“Still mouthy.” He stepped behind her and snipped off the plastic cuff, then unwound the bandana he’d used to pad her wrists.

As she massaged feeling back into them, she asked, “What is this place?”

“Looks to be some kind of multipurpose garage. Today, it’s a hideout.”

The corrugated tin roof had seen better days. The walls were constructed of wood, unpainted and weathered. Daylight squeezed in between the vertical slats and shone like tiny spotlights through the knotholes.

For the most part, the cavernous space was empty, but a large oil stain in the center of the concrete floor indicated that at one time it had housed a piece of machinery or a vehicle of some sort. A stack of bald tires occupied one corner. Some fishing gear including a net hung from pegs nailed into one wall. There was also a bow, the string attached at only one end. She didn’t see any arrows. An outboard motor lay on its side against one wall. The end of one of its rusty blades had broken off, and the engine casing was covered with grit and cobwebs.