someone I know.”
“Someone here in Braden?”
“Maybe.”
Pep took a step back like he was going to leave again.
“Okay, yes. Your friend there came in with a woman named Diana Stockley.”
“And who is she?”
“Works at The Hideaway. It’s another bar. She should be there if she’s working tonight.” He held out this hand. “So can I get my twenty now?”
__________
T HERE WAS A woman behind the bar at The Hideaway when Pep walked in. From the other bartender’s description, she had to be Diana Stockley.
The Hideaway was packed, so the woman was kept busy, running around and making drinks. Pep took a seat at the bar. Over a twenty-minute period, he started up a conversation with her without ever letting on he knew her name or of her potential connection to Sara. Finally he showed her the picture, but unlike with the old man, there wasn’t even a hint that she’d ever seen Sara. So had the other guy been pulling a fast one just to get the money out of him? Or was this woman the one who was lying?
“Sorry. Who is she?” Diana asked.
“You don’t know her?”
She shook her head. “No. She a friend of yours or something?”
“Hey, Diana. How ’bout another beer?” someone called from the far end of the bar.
“Excuse me,” she told Pep, and walked off.
Pep hung at the bar for another quarter hour but was unable to grab any more time with the woman, so he began showing the picture around to the customers. Those that paid him attention showed no sign of having ever seen Sara. Finally, he decided he wasn’t going to get much further that night. He’d go find a room, come back early the next evening before the place got busy, and maybe he could have some quality time with the bartender to find out for sure if she knew anything or not.
The parking lot of The Hideaway was small, and had been packed when he arrived, so he’d had to park along the side of the road a block away. When he got to his car, he unlocked the driver’s door and pulled it open.
“You’re looking for Sara?”
Pep turned. The voice had come from down the gap between two abandoned buildings, but it was too dark to see anyone.
“Who’s there?” he called out, instantly alert. He’d only been showing Sara’s picture, not giving out her name.
“I…I know where she is.”
“Tell me who you are,” Pep said.
“I can’t. They’ll kill me if they find out I’m here.”
“Who’ll kill you?”
“Never mind. I…I shouldn’t have…shouldn’t have come.”
Footsteps moved toward the back of the building, quickly fading to nothing.
Pep ran after them. “No. Wait. Please, just tell me where she is. I need to—”
The board hit him square in the face, twisting him to the ground. Immediately, someone jumped onto his back, holding him down and hitting him in the ribs and head and kidneys. Stunned by the initial blow, he could do little to fight back.
“Stop looking for her,” a voice whispered in his ear as the world started to close in on him.
Then another blow, and another.
If the voice said anything more, Pep didn’t hear it.
C HAPTER T EN
L OGAN’S EYES SNAPPED open.
His phone was vibrating loudly against the nightstand, smacking against the hard surface. At home, a small tablecloth covered his stand, dulling the noise. That was definitely not the case here. He might as well have turned the ringer on.
He snapped it up and tapped the A CCEPT button.
“Hello?”
“Sorry to wake you.” It was Dev.
Logan swung his feet off the bed, and glanced at the clock next to where the phone had been. It was 3:42 a.m. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Pep.”
Pep? It took Logan a second, then he remembered—Pep, the man who Dev had arranged to check out Braden. “Did he find her?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
“Hospital? What happened?”
“I just got off the phone with a nurse a few minutes ago. Said Pep had asked her to call me. Apparently someone beat him up outside a bar. She
“Someone here in Braden?”
“Maybe.”
Pep took a step back like he was going to leave again.
“Okay, yes. Your friend there came in with a woman named Diana Stockley.”
“And who is she?”
“Works at The Hideaway. It’s another bar. She should be there if she’s working tonight.” He held out this hand. “So can I get my twenty now?”
__________
T HERE WAS A woman behind the bar at The Hideaway when Pep walked in. From the other bartender’s description, she had to be Diana Stockley.
The Hideaway was packed, so the woman was kept busy, running around and making drinks. Pep took a seat at the bar. Over a twenty-minute period, he started up a conversation with her without ever letting on he knew her name or of her potential connection to Sara. Finally he showed her the picture, but unlike with the old man, there wasn’t even a hint that she’d ever seen Sara. So had the other guy been pulling a fast one just to get the money out of him? Or was this woman the one who was lying?
“Sorry. Who is she?” Diana asked.
“You don’t know her?”
She shook her head. “No. She a friend of yours or something?”
“Hey, Diana. How ’bout another beer?” someone called from the far end of the bar.
“Excuse me,” she told Pep, and walked off.
Pep hung at the bar for another quarter hour but was unable to grab any more time with the woman, so he began showing the picture around to the customers. Those that paid him attention showed no sign of having ever seen Sara. Finally, he decided he wasn’t going to get much further that night. He’d go find a room, come back early the next evening before the place got busy, and maybe he could have some quality time with the bartender to find out for sure if she knew anything or not.
The parking lot of The Hideaway was small, and had been packed when he arrived, so he’d had to park along the side of the road a block away. When he got to his car, he unlocked the driver’s door and pulled it open.
“You’re looking for Sara?”
Pep turned. The voice had come from down the gap between two abandoned buildings, but it was too dark to see anyone.
“Who’s there?” he called out, instantly alert. He’d only been showing Sara’s picture, not giving out her name.
“I…I know where she is.”
“Tell me who you are,” Pep said.
“I can’t. They’ll kill me if they find out I’m here.”
“Who’ll kill you?”
“Never mind. I…I shouldn’t have…shouldn’t have come.”
Footsteps moved toward the back of the building, quickly fading to nothing.
Pep ran after them. “No. Wait. Please, just tell me where she is. I need to—”
The board hit him square in the face, twisting him to the ground. Immediately, someone jumped onto his back, holding him down and hitting him in the ribs and head and kidneys. Stunned by the initial blow, he could do little to fight back.
“Stop looking for her,” a voice whispered in his ear as the world started to close in on him.
Then another blow, and another.
If the voice said anything more, Pep didn’t hear it.
C HAPTER T EN
L OGAN’S EYES SNAPPED open.
His phone was vibrating loudly against the nightstand, smacking against the hard surface. At home, a small tablecloth covered his stand, dulling the noise. That was definitely not the case here. He might as well have turned the ringer on.
He snapped it up and tapped the A CCEPT button.
“Hello?”
“Sorry to wake you.” It was Dev.
Logan swung his feet off the bed, and glanced at the clock next to where the phone had been. It was 3:42 a.m. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Pep.”
Pep? It took Logan a second, then he remembered—Pep, the man who Dev had arranged to check out Braden. “Did he find her?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
“Hospital? What happened?”
“I just got off the phone with a nurse a few minutes ago. Said Pep had asked her to call me. Apparently someone beat him up outside a bar. She
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