That's the way I found it."
Tony frowned. Another sideways move. That didn't jibe with the enforcer he'd seen last night. That guy had been studying them like a pro. Tony had half expected gunfire when they left their house this morning in Carter's van, but the neighborhood was its normal weekday morning summer self.
"Thanks," he told Julie. "You did good." She stood there like she was expecting something else, and Tony realized the envelope had spooked her. "Seriously, you did good."
"Okay, Tony." He saw her make an effort to quit chewing on her lip. "You want me to get the tables set up?"
Setting up the tables meant making sure the napkin holders had napkins and the salt and pepper shakers weren't empty. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Just do your normal stuff. This is nothing to worry about."
He didn't quite force a smile, but he made himself take the intensity down a notch. Julie gave him a tentative smile in return.
He left her checking the tables and took the envelope back into the kitchen, closing the door Carter had left open. "We got something."
Carter dried his hands on the towel that hung from a belt loop.
Tony slit the envelope open with one of Carter's sharp kitchen knives. Inside was a piece of lined paper torn from a spiral notebook. The torn edge was frayed, one corner ripped off, and the paper was folded into thirds like a business letter. When Tony unfolded the paper, a lock of gray hair fell out of the paper and onto the kitchen floor.
Bess had gray hair that hung down to her waist. Tony couldn't tell if this was hers or not. The lock on his floor wasn't long, but that didn't mean it hadn't come from Bess.
"Son of a bitch," Carter muttered. He bent down and picked up the hair, put it in a baggie. "The bastard say anything, or he just sending us hair?"
"Yeah, he told us something."
There was only one line of printing on the notebook paper. An address and a time. Nothing else. No demand for money.
"This is fucking stupid," Tony said.
He read the address and time to Carter. Carter's eyes went flat, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"It's a fucking trap," Carter said.
"Yeah." It couldn't be anything else. The address was for a place a good twenty miles to the south. Tony'd have to look it up on a map to be sure, but it was a good bet the place was well off the beaten path.
Bess was the bait to lure them away from town and off by themselves.
The smart thing would be to turn the note over to the sheriff, but the sheriff would have a whole lot of questions Tony didn't want to answer. Like why them. And who was behind it. The sheriff wasn't dumb. He'd figure things out, and then they'd have to leave and start over somewhere else. Tony wasn't ready to do that. He liked it right where they were.
That left only one alternative.
Tony folded up the note and put it in his pocket. Carter put the baggie with the lock of hair in the back pocket of his jeans. Their eyes met. Tony saw the same thing in Carter's eyes that he knew was in his own, only in Carter's case there was a good deal of banked, smoldering anger behind his flat stare.
"What time we leaving?" Carter asked.
The note said 6:00 p.m. It was a little after eleven in the morning.
"Soon as we can get the place shut down."
He'd pay Julie for the day, tell her they decided to take a drive being it was such a nice day. She might not believe him, but she was a good kid. She'd keep her mouth shut. It was one of the reasons Tony hired her out of all the high school girls who had answered his ad for part-time help.
After Carter got the food put away, they'd go home and get their guns. They'd drive out early, find the place, and do a little reconnaissance of their own. The enforcer had checked them out good, probably more than just last night. He didn't think he could get at them on their home turf without drawing more attention than he wanted, so he set up this little kidnapping drama to lure them out to the sticks where a little gunfire was
Tony frowned. Another sideways move. That didn't jibe with the enforcer he'd seen last night. That guy had been studying them like a pro. Tony had half expected gunfire when they left their house this morning in Carter's van, but the neighborhood was its normal weekday morning summer self.
"Thanks," he told Julie. "You did good." She stood there like she was expecting something else, and Tony realized the envelope had spooked her. "Seriously, you did good."
"Okay, Tony." He saw her make an effort to quit chewing on her lip. "You want me to get the tables set up?"
Setting up the tables meant making sure the napkin holders had napkins and the salt and pepper shakers weren't empty. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Just do your normal stuff. This is nothing to worry about."
He didn't quite force a smile, but he made himself take the intensity down a notch. Julie gave him a tentative smile in return.
He left her checking the tables and took the envelope back into the kitchen, closing the door Carter had left open. "We got something."
Carter dried his hands on the towel that hung from a belt loop.
Tony slit the envelope open with one of Carter's sharp kitchen knives. Inside was a piece of lined paper torn from a spiral notebook. The torn edge was frayed, one corner ripped off, and the paper was folded into thirds like a business letter. When Tony unfolded the paper, a lock of gray hair fell out of the paper and onto the kitchen floor.
Bess had gray hair that hung down to her waist. Tony couldn't tell if this was hers or not. The lock on his floor wasn't long, but that didn't mean it hadn't come from Bess.
"Son of a bitch," Carter muttered. He bent down and picked up the hair, put it in a baggie. "The bastard say anything, or he just sending us hair?"
"Yeah, he told us something."
There was only one line of printing on the notebook paper. An address and a time. Nothing else. No demand for money.
"This is fucking stupid," Tony said.
He read the address and time to Carter. Carter's eyes went flat, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"It's a fucking trap," Carter said.
"Yeah." It couldn't be anything else. The address was for a place a good twenty miles to the south. Tony'd have to look it up on a map to be sure, but it was a good bet the place was well off the beaten path.
Bess was the bait to lure them away from town and off by themselves.
The smart thing would be to turn the note over to the sheriff, but the sheriff would have a whole lot of questions Tony didn't want to answer. Like why them. And who was behind it. The sheriff wasn't dumb. He'd figure things out, and then they'd have to leave and start over somewhere else. Tony wasn't ready to do that. He liked it right where they were.
That left only one alternative.
Tony folded up the note and put it in his pocket. Carter put the baggie with the lock of hair in the back pocket of his jeans. Their eyes met. Tony saw the same thing in Carter's eyes that he knew was in his own, only in Carter's case there was a good deal of banked, smoldering anger behind his flat stare.
"What time we leaving?" Carter asked.
The note said 6:00 p.m. It was a little after eleven in the morning.
"Soon as we can get the place shut down."
He'd pay Julie for the day, tell her they decided to take a drive being it was such a nice day. She might not believe him, but she was a good kid. She'd keep her mouth shut. It was one of the reasons Tony hired her out of all the high school girls who had answered his ad for part-time help.
After Carter got the food put away, they'd go home and get their guns. They'd drive out early, find the place, and do a little reconnaissance of their own. The enforcer had checked them out good, probably more than just last night. He didn't think he could get at them on their home turf without drawing more attention than he wanted, so he set up this little kidnapping drama to lure them out to the sticks where a little gunfire was
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