Page 100 of Seven Deadly Sins

“Yeah, we had several pancake deliveries today.”

“Do you know whether one of those customers also had a burger order around five o’clock yesterday?”

“Hold on. That’ll take a minute.” She set the phone down with a clank.

Harper held up crossed fingers. “We really need something good here, Liam.”

“I can’t agree more.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “One step for us.” He hoped.

Muffled voices came through the phone line. He pulled a chair close to Harper and sat. The woman on the other end hadn’t lied about it being a bit. It had already been five minutes.

Harper rested her chin in her hands and stared off into space. “This better not be for nothing. And why haven’t we received a text?”

Liam glanced at his phone. “It looks like Reynold just finished eating. We should receive one soon…No wait. Someone dragged in a water hose. He isn’t shackled anymore.” From the slighter build, he guessed the person to be Lucy.

She sat the hose on the ground. “Strip to your underwear.”

“What?” Reynold’s eyes widened.

“You can’t run around all day in wet clothes. Strip. I’ll count to three. You won’t like it if I say three. One.”

Reynold started stripping. He’d learned quick not to mess with this woman. “Are you really going to shower me with a hose?”

“Yes. Here’s a bar of soap.” She tossed a green square at him. “You’ll smell all fresh. Brace yourself. Bet the water’s cold.”

The world watched as she kept a steady spray of water on the boy. Using the soap, he washed his hair and every other exposed part of his body. When he’d done, he dropped the soap and gave Lucy a belligerent sneer.

“Enjoy that?”

She laughed. “You wish. There’s a towel on the hook. Dry off and get ready for a whole new day.” She made him kissy noises, then the slam of a door.

Reynold flipped a bird in her direction, then started to dress.

“He’s getting defiant.” Harper shook her head. “Defiant teens often don’t follow orders. That won’t be good.”

“He seems to be a smart kid. He’ll realize that not following orders will get him hurt.” If not killed.

Harper held up a finger as the fast-food clerk picked up her phone. “Ok, Detective. We had two houses that ordered burgers for supper and pancakes for breakfast. How do I know you’re who you say you are?”

“Are you watching the news? Do you know about the kidnapped boy being recorded?”

She yelled out to someone about a kidnapped boy, then returned. “What’s the detective’s name on the case?”

“Harper Scranton. I’m with Agent Liam McConnell.”

“Okay, but anyone watching the news would know your names. Give me your phone number and I’ll text you the addresses.”

Liam gave her his number. Two minutes later, he had the addresses. He smiled at Harper. “Let’s go get em’.”

Chapter Nine

Lucy slammed herphone on the table. “Get the kid. We gotta go. Now.”

“What? Why?” Robert jumped to his feet, sloshing a bit of his drink on his hand.

“The detective’s tracker shows them headed this way. They found us somehow.” She started tossing things into a duffel bag. “We have ten minutes. I’ve got to use part of that to set this place on fire. Now go!”

Robert tossed a few things of his own in a bag, grabbed the filming equipment, and stashed it all in the trunk of Lucy’s Mercedes. Then, he thundered downstairs to the basement and turned off Reynold’s camera.