Connie Cockrell
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dwight tried to tell them they didn’t know anything. That earned him a smack in the head with the gun. He was dazed for a moment, then could feel the blood running down the side of his face. Jean put her head on his shoulder, about the only thing she could do.
She was up against the door. Could she open it and get away? He sighed. No. Even if she did roll out of the car, she’d get even more hurt and they’d be on her in a heartbeat. No. That wouldn’t be a good move at all.
Jean tried to reason with them, but Fletcher just slapped her in the face. That really pissed him off. Fletcher was definitely on his shit list. Jean could see how angry he was and did her best to calm him down.
The route Norm took had Dwight lost in no time. That wasn’t hard as he wasn’t familiar with Las Vegas anyway but when they pulled up to a dark warehouse, his stomach sank. No good could come from this. They got them out of the car and were getting ready to take them inside when Jean’s phone rang. To be honest, it made him jump. From their reactions, it made Norm and Brandon and Fletcher jump too. They gave Jean permission to answer.
It sounded like she was talking to their son but that didn’t make any sense. Jim wouldn’t be calling her. He knew they were at the reunion this weekend. Fletcher made cutting motions and Jean ended the call. That’s when he grabbed her phone and smashed it. Brandon reached into Dwight’s coat pocket, pulled out his phone, and smashed that as well.
After shoving them along, they entered an old office space and were tied into antique gray-metal military chairs. Then they left, which surprised Dwight. He asked Jean about the call and was glad to hear she was quick enough to talk to the detective in code. It didn’t seem to him that the detective would have enough time to trace the phones of their abductors but who knew? Maybe they could. He appreciated the hope. He and Jean were chuckling over an unlikely scenario of the bad guys shooting each other when Fletcher came in. He couldn’t help but poke the bear a little.
He was instantly sorry, though, when Fletcher raised his fist to Jean. Thankfully, it was stopped by the Ari guy. Very thin, Dwight thought, but a good command voice. Fletcher moved away. The conversation went downhill from there. They were deciding to kill them when Jean offered to join them. He traded glances with her. Clever girl. He went along. What else was there to do? Unfortunately, they weren’t buying it and the decision was made. The only thing that Dwight could see that was good about it was that it would cost the gang money. Good. Hope it sucks them dry.
Again, Fletcher ticked him off when he hurt Jean for the second time tying her hands behind her. Fletcher was going to a special place in hell as far as Dwight was concerned. But eventually they were taken back out to the van. They let Jean get in on her own. He was hoping it hadn’t hurt her back too much when Fletcher pushed him hard into the van. Dwight landed awkwardly on his left shoulder. He could hear something snap and he cried out in pain. Fletcher jumped into the van and dragged him to a spot beside Jean. His eyes welled with tears of pain as Jean asked if he was hurt. Now they were both invalid.