Getting captured again was not a problem. Vic walked
off the elevator to find the same men who had grabbed him before waiting on
either side of the doors. As they had guns and he didn't, going with them was a
no-brainer if he didn't want to be shot on the spot. This time—thankfully, as
far as he was concerned—they didn't drag him off and beat him up before taking
him to their boss. They shoved him into their car, tied his hands tightly,
blindfolded him, and drove away from the building.
"I'm
right here," Paddy said. Vic
had the feeling Paddy had to be in the passenger seat, since the mechanic from
the garage was in the backseat with him.
"Thanks," he replied sincerely. He might have set himself up physically and mentally for this, but
knowing he had backup in the form of an angel went a long way toward making him
think his plan might actually succeed.
"This
is interesting… and not in a good way," Paddy commented a few minutes later.
"How
so?"
"I have
the feeling Mr Peake was not being exactly truthful with you before."
"You're
shitting me."
"Nope."
"Well,
I'll be damned."
Paddy chuckled. "That's
not my department, so I couldn't say."
"Yeah,
yuck it up."
The car came to a stop. When the doors opened, Vic
was rather unceremoniously pulled from the backseat. One of the captor's hands
gripped his upper arm and he was led into what he could only presume from
Paddy's comment was the auto repair shop.
He felt something hit the back of his knees.
"Sit," one of the men ordered. So he did. His hands were untied, then
retied behind the chair. When the blindfold was removed, he blinked at the
glare of light.
"Welcome, Mr Kingston." Virginia Peake
said.
Vic blinked again, only this time it was in surprise.
"Where's your husband?"
"Carl?" She smiled. "Undoubtedly at
home, watching whatever sports program is on at the moment."
Vic nodded slowly. "I gather the phone really
wasn't stolen? Were you trying to set him up to take the fall if it came down
to it?"
"Actually"—she stood and came around the
desk, looking down at Vic—"I was hoping you'd manage to track down
Jerry"—she nodded toward the mechanic— "and show up here, the way you
did. I planned to deal with you at that point, but unfortunately you brought
your friend with you. One disappearance could be explained. The two of you
together would have been more difficult."
"Sorry to have spoiled your plans," Vic
said, sneering. He almost said something about the men's orders to kill Evan
when they broke into the house, but realized in time there was no logical way
he could have known that. "So now what happens?"
"I have a few questions for you. Answer them
honestly and your death will be painless, more or less. Lie to me and my
friends here will be quite happy to make you see the error of your ways."
Vic smirked. "I'll do my best."
"First question. How did you find out Carl's
phone number?"
"That one's easy. When your goons tried to break
into Evan's house, one of them dropped a scrap of paper they'd written it down
on."
Mrs Peake glared at the two men. "First you lose
your gun, and then the number? What kind of idiots are you?"
When they didn't reply, Vic muttered, "I gather
that was a rhetorical question. Now I have one for you, Virginia. May I call
you Virginia?
And that wasn't the question. Who put you up to this?"
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