do that bad cop routine you do so well though,’ Scott said smiling.
‘Sure, what’s the plan?’
‘Just follow my lead.’
They both.
As they entered the room to see Joshua, they were surprised to see him sitting on the bed.
‘Hey, Joshua, how come you’re awake?’ Scott asked.
Still blindfolded, he looked in the direction of who was talking. ‘I dunno, just can’t sleep. When can I go home? You promised,’ Joshua asked and started to whine.
‘I did promise, and you will, soon. Now, I’m going to take your blindfold off, okay?’
Joshua nodded slowly, and Scott reached around and untied the blindfold. The kid blinked rapidly as light flooded his vision and his bound hands quickly rubbed his eyes as he tried to get them to focus.
Scott waited a moment as he let the kid adjust.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
Joshua turned to look at him, and again slowly nodded.
‘My friend and I have a job for you,’ Scott said as he looked at Vince.
Joshua followed his gaze and when he saw Vince standing staunch at the door, he immediately looked to the floor.
‘Don’t worry. He’s not going to hurt you.’
‘Not if you do as you’re told,’ Vince growled.
‘What do you want me to do?’ the kid asked timidly.
‘We want you to start a little fire for us.’
Joshua took a sharp intake of breath.
‘It’s okay; you’re not going to get hurt. You do this for us, and we can get you back with your mother. But, if you don’t do it, then I’m afraid you’ll never see your mother again; my friend here will make sure of that.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t hurt me,’ the kid protested.
‘It’s not you my friend will hurt, Joshua, it’s your mother.’
‘You can’t… You won’t…’
‘I can and I will!’ Vince roared as he smacked his fist into his hand.
Joshua shrunk back down on the bed.
‘Now, are you going to do this little favor for us?’ Scott asked, already sure of the answer.
The kid nodded.
Scott set about telling him what they needed.
Chapter 8
S ince there was little Daniel could do with the Joshua Costello case at the moment, he was in his home office working on a logo design for a new brand of mouth freshener. It had been over a year since he and Malone had set the business up, and he was now getting a regular stream of jobs — particularly with their newfound stardom.
The design business had been set up more out of necessity than any grand empire-building scheme. He often reflected on how he’d arrived here. He’d grown up in an orphanage turned Catholic school in San Francisco, and had been taken under the wing of one of the Sisters there. He had an aptitude for design, and she helped him nurture his gift, everything from simple pen and paper drawing to intricate creations on the computer. Unfortunately, when he left the orphanage, he found friends and he found petty crime — mainly shoplifting and boosting cars.
He was relocated to LA where he started a career in Computer retail sales with a company called the Computer Warehouse, and that was where he met Malone. Malone had been in desperate need of help in the wonderful world of online research. It turned out that Malone was looking for his abducted daughter, Mary, and for some extra cash, Daniel was happy to assist. Funny thing was, once again Daniel got into some trouble of his own, but Malone was there to bail him out — so as it panned out, they needed each other!
A fifty-fifty partnership was formed between the two of them; Malone provided the set-up funds and Daniel was to create a design company — getting paid for doing something he loved to do.
A loud knock at the front door made him jump. He got up from the computer and went to see who was there. Previous experience had made him cautious.
‘Hello?’ he shouted through the closed door.
‘Fedex. I’ve got a package for this address.’
Daniel looked through the spy hole and the impatient face of a man in a courier uniform filled the
‘Sure, what’s the plan?’
‘Just follow my lead.’
They both.
As they entered the room to see Joshua, they were surprised to see him sitting on the bed.
‘Hey, Joshua, how come you’re awake?’ Scott asked.
Still blindfolded, he looked in the direction of who was talking. ‘I dunno, just can’t sleep. When can I go home? You promised,’ Joshua asked and started to whine.
‘I did promise, and you will, soon. Now, I’m going to take your blindfold off, okay?’
Joshua nodded slowly, and Scott reached around and untied the blindfold. The kid blinked rapidly as light flooded his vision and his bound hands quickly rubbed his eyes as he tried to get them to focus.
Scott waited a moment as he let the kid adjust.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
Joshua turned to look at him, and again slowly nodded.
‘My friend and I have a job for you,’ Scott said as he looked at Vince.
Joshua followed his gaze and when he saw Vince standing staunch at the door, he immediately looked to the floor.
‘Don’t worry. He’s not going to hurt you.’
‘Not if you do as you’re told,’ Vince growled.
‘What do you want me to do?’ the kid asked timidly.
‘We want you to start a little fire for us.’
Joshua took a sharp intake of breath.
‘It’s okay; you’re not going to get hurt. You do this for us, and we can get you back with your mother. But, if you don’t do it, then I’m afraid you’ll never see your mother again; my friend here will make sure of that.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t hurt me,’ the kid protested.
‘It’s not you my friend will hurt, Joshua, it’s your mother.’
‘You can’t… You won’t…’
‘I can and I will!’ Vince roared as he smacked his fist into his hand.
Joshua shrunk back down on the bed.
‘Now, are you going to do this little favor for us?’ Scott asked, already sure of the answer.
The kid nodded.
Scott set about telling him what they needed.
Chapter 8
S ince there was little Daniel could do with the Joshua Costello case at the moment, he was in his home office working on a logo design for a new brand of mouth freshener. It had been over a year since he and Malone had set the business up, and he was now getting a regular stream of jobs — particularly with their newfound stardom.
The design business had been set up more out of necessity than any grand empire-building scheme. He often reflected on how he’d arrived here. He’d grown up in an orphanage turned Catholic school in San Francisco, and had been taken under the wing of one of the Sisters there. He had an aptitude for design, and she helped him nurture his gift, everything from simple pen and paper drawing to intricate creations on the computer. Unfortunately, when he left the orphanage, he found friends and he found petty crime — mainly shoplifting and boosting cars.
He was relocated to LA where he started a career in Computer retail sales with a company called the Computer Warehouse, and that was where he met Malone. Malone had been in desperate need of help in the wonderful world of online research. It turned out that Malone was looking for his abducted daughter, Mary, and for some extra cash, Daniel was happy to assist. Funny thing was, once again Daniel got into some trouble of his own, but Malone was there to bail him out — so as it panned out, they needed each other!
A fifty-fifty partnership was formed between the two of them; Malone provided the set-up funds and Daniel was to create a design company — getting paid for doing something he loved to do.
A loud knock at the front door made him jump. He got up from the computer and went to see who was there. Previous experience had made him cautious.
‘Hello?’ he shouted through the closed door.
‘Fedex. I’ve got a package for this address.’
Daniel looked through the spy hole and the impatient face of a man in a courier uniform filled the
Similar Books
