around town, the less likely it was that some new dealer who tried to set up shop someday would be able to find anyone to work for him, either. But just in case . . .
Chops slapped another piece of tape over Benny’s mouth. He picked up a pair of tin snips, which he’d used a lot over the last few days, and knelt in front of the man. He untied Benny’s right boot and tugged it off. Benny grunted into the duct tape and whipped his head violently from side to side. He tried to kick out, but Chops grabbed his leg and gave it a quick, firm twist. Something snapped in the knee with the sound of a tree branch cracking, and something else tore with a popping noise, and Benny’s muffled scream faded away as his head dropped forward to his chest.
“It’s probably better for you this way, Benny,” Chops said. He wasn’t necessarily disappointed. It wasn’t like he needed Benny to be awake during this so Chops could get his rocks off. No, this was business. As long as he took what he needed from Benny, something he could use to send another message, it didn’t matter to Chops if Benny was asleep or awake when he took it. But before Chops could use the tin snips, his cell phone trilled in his pocket. He answered it.
“Hello?”
He listened to the caller for a few seconds.
“How do you know something happened to him? . . . Well, how long has it been? . . . Last night? That’s not long enough to worry about. You know Mike. He’s sleeping something off. Maybe he did too much of some kind of crap or another . . . No, just relax, I’m sure he’s fine . . . No, I have work to do. If you don’t hear from him by tonight, call me back.”
He put his phone back in his pocket.
“Now where were we, Benny?”
He pulled off Benny’s sock and counted in his head how many more people Benny had said were doing a little dealing on the side for Jacks . . . how many more people needed to receive a message.
CHAPTER TEN
THE EARLY AFTERNOON TRAFFIC HAD been light, allowing them to make good time. As they pulled off the highway, Josh began to pay closer attention to the GPS app on his tablet and the pleasant robotic female voice guiding them from the device’s speaker. They were on the outskirts of Smithfield now, a city in western Massachusetts that Josh knew to be one of the largest in the state. It didn’t appear as though Katherine Southard lived in the city proper, though, even though she had a Smithfield address, because according to the map on his device’s screen, they’d be at their destination in four minutes, yet Smithfield’s tallest buildings, which Josh could see up ahead, had to be at least ten driving minutes away. Instead, they were in a slightly more rural area on Smithfield’s western edge, and the turns were coming more often now, more quickly as they neared their destination. Caitlin was driving slowly, just under the speed limit. Josh looked over at her behind the wheel, the way she watched the road with one eye while apparently scrutinizing every single thing they passed with the other. A bus stop there on the corner. A bagel shop on the other side of the street. A nail salon with a huge photograph of a woman’s beautifully pedicured foot dominating its front window. A quaint but tired little movie theater that seemed to belong decades in the past. She slowed down even more to watch a sandwich shop drift past.
“Want me to drive so you can pay attention out the window?” Josh asked.
She shook her head.
“Anything look familiar?”
After a moment, she shook her head again.
“Not at all? Not even a little?”
She sighed. “Not even a little. Was I even here at all?”
“You tell me.”
She shook her head again slowly. “I don’t know. I was hoping that seeing this place would spark a memory, like I’d somehow recall grabbing a sandwich in that shop back there or something. Anything to break through this blank wall in my mind.” She sighed. “We got off the same exit just now
Chops slapped another piece of tape over Benny’s mouth. He picked up a pair of tin snips, which he’d used a lot over the last few days, and knelt in front of the man. He untied Benny’s right boot and tugged it off. Benny grunted into the duct tape and whipped his head violently from side to side. He tried to kick out, but Chops grabbed his leg and gave it a quick, firm twist. Something snapped in the knee with the sound of a tree branch cracking, and something else tore with a popping noise, and Benny’s muffled scream faded away as his head dropped forward to his chest.
“It’s probably better for you this way, Benny,” Chops said. He wasn’t necessarily disappointed. It wasn’t like he needed Benny to be awake during this so Chops could get his rocks off. No, this was business. As long as he took what he needed from Benny, something he could use to send another message, it didn’t matter to Chops if Benny was asleep or awake when he took it. But before Chops could use the tin snips, his cell phone trilled in his pocket. He answered it.
“Hello?”
He listened to the caller for a few seconds.
“How do you know something happened to him? . . . Well, how long has it been? . . . Last night? That’s not long enough to worry about. You know Mike. He’s sleeping something off. Maybe he did too much of some kind of crap or another . . . No, just relax, I’m sure he’s fine . . . No, I have work to do. If you don’t hear from him by tonight, call me back.”
He put his phone back in his pocket.
“Now where were we, Benny?”
He pulled off Benny’s sock and counted in his head how many more people Benny had said were doing a little dealing on the side for Jacks . . . how many more people needed to receive a message.
CHAPTER TEN
THE EARLY AFTERNOON TRAFFIC HAD been light, allowing them to make good time. As they pulled off the highway, Josh began to pay closer attention to the GPS app on his tablet and the pleasant robotic female voice guiding them from the device’s speaker. They were on the outskirts of Smithfield now, a city in western Massachusetts that Josh knew to be one of the largest in the state. It didn’t appear as though Katherine Southard lived in the city proper, though, even though she had a Smithfield address, because according to the map on his device’s screen, they’d be at their destination in four minutes, yet Smithfield’s tallest buildings, which Josh could see up ahead, had to be at least ten driving minutes away. Instead, they were in a slightly more rural area on Smithfield’s western edge, and the turns were coming more often now, more quickly as they neared their destination. Caitlin was driving slowly, just under the speed limit. Josh looked over at her behind the wheel, the way she watched the road with one eye while apparently scrutinizing every single thing they passed with the other. A bus stop there on the corner. A bagel shop on the other side of the street. A nail salon with a huge photograph of a woman’s beautifully pedicured foot dominating its front window. A quaint but tired little movie theater that seemed to belong decades in the past. She slowed down even more to watch a sandwich shop drift past.
“Want me to drive so you can pay attention out the window?” Josh asked.
She shook her head.
“Anything look familiar?”
After a moment, she shook her head again.
“Not at all? Not even a little?”
She sighed. “Not even a little. Was I even here at all?”
“You tell me.”
She shook her head again slowly. “I don’t know. I was hoping that seeing this place would spark a memory, like I’d somehow recall grabbing a sandwich in that shop back there or something. Anything to break through this blank wall in my mind.” She sighed. “We got off the same exit just now
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