Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-two

Shelton was deeply asleep but alive. His pulse was steady and strong.

Relief briefly flooded Gideon’s senses. He left his uncle snoring on the dining counter and found some paper and a pen in the darkroom. He scrawled a quick note and positioned it where Shelton would see it when he woke up.

He took a quick look around, registering the toppled coffee cup near Shelton’s hand and the missing pistol. Then he went back outside and looked over the edge of the walkway barrier. Irene’s car was still in its parking spot. He continued down the hall to her door and knocked. He was not surprised when there was no answer.

He forced the lock and went inside. The soft hum of an aquarium tank broke the silence. Two goldfish watched him search the apartment but they lost interest when it became obvious he wasn’t going to feed them.

There was no sign of any tech—no laptop, no phone—but Irene’s car keys were on the console near the door.

He picked up the keys and left. It would be next to impossible to carry an unconscious woman out of the apartment complex without someone noticing. It didn’t take long to find an eyewitness.

The resident in the apartment between Amelia’s and Irene’s answered the door with a can of beer in one hand.

“Yeah, I saw ’em carry her out of here and put her in a van,” he said. “Rivers looked totally out of it. Her friend said she was sick. They were taking her to the nearest emergency room. Between you and me, I figured Rivers had OD’d. She was getting a little weird, know what I mean?”

“How many people are we talking about?” Gideon asked.

“Irene What’s-her-name from next door and the dude who drove the van. So, two.”

“What can you tell me about the man who carried Ms. Rivers to the van?”

“Looked like a gym rat. Steroid city. Never saw him before in my life. What is this all about?”

“I think Ms. Morgan and the man who drove the van kidnapped Ms. Rivers.”

“Holy shit.”

“Exactly.”