I squeezed harder and he strained against my hand.
“But if you ever lock anyone up in here again, I’ll find out and I’ll come back and I will make sure you can’t ever lock anything again,” I said, squeezing even harder.
He gagged and started squirming.
“And I still may tell Codaselli what you did to his kid,” I said. “I haven’t decided. So if I were you, I’d run. Fast. Because I’m nothing compared to him.”
He started kicking and grabbing at my hand, his face red, contorted.
I pulled my hand away and stood.
He coughed and sputtered, clutching at his throat.
I looked at Nate. “You have any questions?”
“None,” he said. “None.”
I glanced down the hallway one last time to make sure it was empty. Then I looked at Stevie and Boyd.
“We’re done here,” I said.
THIRTY-THREE
Isabel was already in the rental car with Marc and Jessica. I jumped in the driver’s seat, Boyd sat up front with me, and Stevie squeezed into the back.
“Where should I take you guys?” I said to Boyd.
“Back where we met you is cool.”
I U-turned through the snow and drove slowly through the vacant, icy streets. There was enough fresh snow to provide a layer of traction over the ice and I was able to navigate easily enough back to the corner where I’d picked them up. I got out with them and left the engine and heater running at the curb.
“You guys have a place to go tonight, right?” I said, the words coming out in icy swirls of air.
They both nodded.
“We’re good,” Stevie said. “Apartment isn’t too far away.”
“Okay.”
He glanced at the car. “So, what about Mr. Codaselli’s son?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’ll take care of it and I’ll let him know you were both helpful in finding him. Not sure what he’ll do at that point, but I think you’ll be fine.”
They both let out audible sighs of relief.
“And if you hear anything about Laser, you have my cell,” I said. “Call me. I don’t think you will. But just in case.”
They both nodded again and we stood there in the cold, silent for a moment, the only noise the buzz of the car idling behind us.
“I wanna know about my daughter,” I said to Stevie. “You’re clear. Talk.”
They looked at each other anxiously.
“What?” I asked, a million scenarios running through my head.
“I don’t have anything,” Stevie admitted, his eyes cast down. “I was told to tell you I did. To get you to help.”
It wasn’t a complete stomach punch. More like a shot to the chin. I’d been played. I should’ve expected it, but it still stung.
I turned and headed for the car.
“I’m sorry, man,” Stevie said. “I’m really sorry.”
My feet crunched against the snow. I stood at the driver’s door, stared over the top of the car at him. Both of them stood there with their shoulders slumped, maybe ashamed that they’d lied to me or maybe just cold. I didn’t know. I started to say something, cuss them out for lying to me, let them know how much damage that kind of thing could do.
But I didn’t. I got in the car instead.
There was nothing to say.
THIRTY-FOUR
“So now what?” Marc Codaselli asked.
We were sitting in an apartment at Isabel’s complex. They’d insisted they’d be fine on their own for the night but Isabel wouldn’t hear of it. We drove back to the apartments and in minutes she had them situated in an empty unit similar to the one she’d placed me in.
Marc was on the single piece of furniture in the apartment, a small sofa. I was on the floor, my back to the wall, across from him. Jessica was in the shower and Isabel was off hunting for blankets and who knew what else.
“Now, I’m trying to decide,” I said.
“Trying to decide what?”
“Tell me something,” I said, dodging the question. “Now that you know the money isn’t an issue and that your father isn’t holding anything over you, will you go see him?”
He folded his arms across his chest, leaned back in the couch and shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I hate who he is,” he said. Then he pointed to his swollen shut eyes. “This? He does this to people all the time. And worse. I don’t want any part of that. It’s not who I am.” He shook his head again. “I don’t have to be a part of it anymore. I’m old enough to get out from under him.”
I nodded. “Why’d you tell him you’d step in for him then? With the business?”
“I was desperate,” he said. “I needed that money for Jessica.”
“You love her?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah.”
“So she’s worth it? All of this?”
“That’s for me to decide, not you.”
“I know it is and I’m not criticizing,” I said. “I’m just asking. You say she is, I believe you.”
“She’s got problems.” He hesitated. “But she wants to get clean. I believe her. And I’m gonna help.”
“Okay.”
“She’s the only reason I’d ever go to my father. Did I like lying to him? No. But we were both screwed at that point.”
“What did you do with the money?” I asked. “After you borrowed it from your father, you didn’t go pay Miller.”
“I never had the chance,” he said. “That asshole Laser had Jessica. Claimed she owed him even more after we’d paid up the first time. I had to get to her before I could do anything else.”
I nodded. I admired his loyalty to Jessica, if not his methods.
“So, I went there. He tried to shake me down for more money and I told him no way,” he explained. “I knew she was locked up in one of those rooms, so I went banging on doors. They obviously didn’t like that. I think it was Nate that hit me in the back of the head. I went out cold. Next thing I knew, I was in the room with Jessica and I couldn’t see. Couldn’t move for three days. I actually feel decent right now compared to how I felt then.”
He was lucky. They could’ve killed him. Still, I liked his toughness.
“I’m glad you’re alright,” I said. “Both of you.”
“Thank you,” he said, clearing his throat. “For coming to get us. For helping Isabel.”
“She was really worried about you.”
His shoulders sagged a bit and he rubbed at his chin. “I know. I knew she would be. But I had no way to contact her. She’s awesome. She really is.”
“I’d like for you to go see your dad,” I said.
He sat there on the sofa and without being able to see his eyes, I couldn’t read his expression. I wasn’t sure if he was angry or frustrated or something else entirely. But I did want him to go see his father. I knew all too well that time could disappear in an instant and no matter how angry he was at his father, the pain of missing someone could be ten times worse.
“And before you say no, hear me out,” I said. “Yes, he asked me to find you. And I’ll tell him that I found you and that you’re safe. If you insist, I won’t tell him where you are. You’re right. You’re old enough to make your own decisions and I’m not going to force anything on you. That would only make things worse. I’m not disputing who your father is and I’m not here to argue that he’s a good guy. I don’t know him well enough to make that judgment.”
“How exactly do you know him?” Marc asked.
I ran down how I got in contact with him.
“So, even though he asked me to find you, I feel no sense of obligation to put you in a car and take you to him,” I said. “That’s your call. But I’ll tell you this. I think you should go see him.”
He ran a hand through his hair, then rubbed at his jaw again. “Why? I hate him. I hate everything he stands for.”
It wasn’t my place to share the news about his father’s health with him. That was his father’s and his father’s only. For all I knew, it might not even make a difference. Maybe he wanted his father to die. But either way, it wasn’t my place to tell him.
“My daughter’s been missing for a long time,” I said finally. “A long time. I would give just about anything to see her again. You were gone a few days. I met with your dad. I have no reason to lie to you. He was worried about you and needs to know you’re okay.”