Page 44 of Seven Deadly Sins

“That’s my guess. Ring any bells?”

She nodded. “Her father owns a lot of land outside Oakdale. They’re probably our wealthiest family. How does knowing her identity help us get out of here?”

“To give us a sense of urgency.”

“I’d move as quickly as possible no matter who the person was.” She closed the laptop. “We’re missing something.”

And time was ticking away. “Bring anything that moves to the table.” He shoved aside the items they’d already used and started adding things from one side of the room while Harper did the other.

His foot nudged a toy truck. It started to move across the room, but not in a straight line. Someone operated it by remote control. He followed the truck to a chair where it stopped. Liam moved the chair and revealed a round hole cut in the wall big enough for his fist to fit through. He grabbed the iron bar he’d held the snake down with and inserted it into the hole.

Two blades snapped around the bar. This was no longer a childish game. He could’ve lost his hand. At his feet lay a plastic easter egg. His hand trembled as he picked up. Something rattled inside. He opened the egg to reveal a door key. “We’re out of here.” He glanced at his cell phone. It had taken two hours.

He unlocked the door and approached the mannequin. The note pinned to her shirt looked like GPS coordinates. “Harper, punch these into your phone.”

“It’s a location two hours away.” Her gaze locked with his. “We’ll never make it in time.”

“I don’t think we were ever expected to.” He shoved open another door and stepped into the night. They still had to get back to the jeep.

He took Harper’s hand and started running. The group of gang members they’d passed earlier had grown. The boys tossed out threats and taunts, finally giving chase.

Liam whirled and drew his weapon. “You do not want to start anything. We are not interested in you.”

The boys took a step back and held up their hands. “No worries, dude,” one of them said. “We don’t like cops around here.”

Liam shook his head and continued to run alongside Harper until they reached the jeep. Thank God, the tires were still there. He’d been afraid the vehicle might have been stripped.

Harper shouted out directions as he sped from the city. “The map shows an old motel at these coordinates. The place has changed owners more time than one can count.”

“If the manager hasn’t seen Ashley, which I doubt, the killer wouldn’t have had her with him when he placed her in a room, we’ll have to search every room.”

“Let’s hope there aren’t many.”

They arrived at the motel with fifteen minutes to spare. The manager hadn’t seen Ashley but did recall a woman renting a room.

“We need to check all rooms unless you know for a fact there’s no one in them.” Liam explained their urgency. They’d never find her in time.

“I saw that the girl was missing on the news. You want to check all twenty?” The manager shook his head. “We’ll have to split up.” He handed Liam keys to one end and Harper the other. “How much time did you say we had?” The man paled.

“Less than fifteen minutes. You stay here and call the police. Tell them who we are and what we’re searching for.” Liam whirled and thundered toward the rooms he held the keys for.

He startled a family in the first room. He called out an apology and kept moving. Four doors later, he burst into a room where a young girl sat up, eyes wide over the gag in her mouth. She shrieked and shrank away from him. Thank you, God.

“I’m Agent McConnell. I’m here to get you out of here. Come on, sweetheart. We don’t have much time.” He glanced at his watch. Three minutes. He scooped her into his arms and sprinted from the room, expecting a booby trap.

When one didn’t come, some of the tension left his shoulders. He removed Ashley’s gag and cut the zip ties holding her hands and feet. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay. I don’t know what happened. I was on my way to practice when this woman asked me for directions. The next thing I knew, you barged into the room. Where are my parents?”

He handed her his cell phone and waved Harper over. He didn’t have much experience with traumatized young girls. “We need to get her to a sketch artist.”

When ten minutes past the twenty-four-hour mark arrived, he entered the room again. On the dresser holding the TV was a note that said, “I don’t kill children. I’ve my eye on someone else. Someone more important.”

Chapter Seven

So, the assassinhad a conscience. Carl shrugged, twirling the amber-colored whiskey in his glass. “Who do you have your eye on? I must know that they deserve to die. That this person is coveting something they can’t or shouldn’t have.” He didn’t like her calling the shots. When had he lost his grip on his mission?

It had also been too long since he’d had a meeting with his followers. He would remedy that and set up a time for the next evening. He needed to get someone else involved. Lucy had too much power.