Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 168587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 843(@200wpm)___ 674(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 168587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 843(@200wpm)___ 674(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
Again, I shake my head. “No. We never collected him.”
He frowns. “But it was part of your initiation. How did you pass if you didn’t deliver?”
“We were instructed to do whatever was necessary,” I correct him.
“Meaning?”
“We killed two guards to gain entry to the property. There was a mother and a daughter inside. Word among the Lords was that the mother was helping her son lure these girls in so he could kidnap and torture them. If we did not get the Lord, we were to terminate everyone inside of the house. They figured if we killed those who helped him, it would put a halt to what he was doing.” I begin to pace behind my desk. “I killed the mother.”
“And the daughter?”
“Got rid of her as well,” I answer vaguely.
“This guy is either the original killer or a copycat.”
“Why her, though?” I ask, knowing he can’t answer that. “The Lord back then did not choose girls old enough to be chosens, let alone Ladies. His victims were locals and didn’t attend Barrington. The girls didn’t even know Lords exist. This has to be personal. No one goes to that much trouble to torture and hide the identity of a body, and it not be for a personal reason.”
“Her father is a Lord.” He shrugs.
“I’m not sure that matters here. I mean, Lords have had their daughters kidnapped over the years and killed. But I’ve never seen one tortured to this extent.” I start digging through the stack of papers. “What about drugs?”
“The toxicology results can take up to six weeks, but she was known to do cocaine and smoke weed. What did Lake have to say about her? Did she see anything?”
“Nothing. I told her she was missing, and that was that.”
He arches a brow.
I roll my eyes. “The less she knows, the better.” Plus, I didn’t want to give her any reason to speak to Collin. “Who has the body?” I continue.
“Parents wanted it to be hush-hush. She was cremated early this morning.”
I stiffen at his words, clear my throat, and ask, “Why are they stopping the investigation?”
“Word has it, the Lords have taken it over.”
“Good luck with that.” I shove the pictures back into the envelope. They didn’t find him last time, so I doubt they’ll have any luck this time. “What was the cause of death?”
“Exsanguination,” he answers.
“So he wanted her to suffer until he got bored, and then let her bleed to death,” I say. “What about the boyfriend?” I saw on the cameras that she left with the same guy she arrived with.
“He’s been very cooperative with the police. He was cleared after a Ring camera showed him taking her home and dropping her off.”
“She was taken from her home?” I ask. If so, that’s new. Because the others weren’t. They were taken while out and about. By themselves. Their cars later found abandoned.
He shakes his head. “It showed her leaving fifteen minutes afterward. They seem to think she was seeing someone other than him. Phone records came up clean, though.”
My cell rings, and I pick it up. “Hey, man, I’m a little busy …”
“Tyson, I’ll keep this quick,” A guy I know by the name of Marlin rushes out.
“What’s up?” I wonder why he’s calling me. We haven’t spoken in over a year. He runs one of the Lamborghini dealerships in town. He used to sell drugs in my club.
“I’ve got a Laikyn Minson here wanting to purchase a Urus. But your name is on the card she’s using. Do I need to call the cops?”
“That’s my wife,” I inform him, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket to see which card is missing. He’s silent for a long second making me think we got disconnected. “Marlin?” I ask.
“Sorry, man, but damn. She’s your wife?” He whistles. “Good job.”
“Is that all, Marlin?” I growl.
“Yeah. I’ll run the card. Hey, we should get together. Have a guys’ night—"
I hang up and sit back in my seat. Ryat starts to speak as it rings again.
“This is Tyson,” I answer, knowing who’s calling me.
“Hello, Mr. Crawford. We’re calling you in regard to your AMEX card. We have suspicious activity at a Westwood Lamborghini in the amount of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We’re calling to confirm you’ve made this transaction.”
“You can accept the charge,” I say and hang up, smirking.
“What’s so funny?” Ryat asks.
“My wife just bought herself a car.”
He looks around the room. “Like right this second?’
“Yeah. She snuck out this morning with an Uber and took my credit card with her.”
His eyes widen. “You allowed that?”
“Of course. Sometimes you have to give them the chance at confidence. Give them a little slack to their leash so you can remind them who they belong to.” She has more than usual right now because I’ve been ignoring her. “Plus, she’s with your wife. What could go wrong?”