Page 95 of Seven Deadly Sins

Her screen flickered to life after she pressed the link. Reynold, eyes wide over his gagged mouth, stared straight into the camera. The room looked as if it were made from cement blocks. His hands were bound with zip ties. She hoped the boy watched a lot of movies. Zip ties were one of the easier things to get out of.

From off to the side, Robert spoke. “Reynold has one hour to free himself and complete the task. A simple task, really. He must get to the tree by the lake in Oakdale that had been struck by lightning last year. Under that tree is a bag. An empty bag.” He laughed. “Reynold, along with Agent McConnell and Detective Scranton, must put their hands on the bag at exactly the same time. One o’clock this afternoon. If not, my assassin will shoot Reynold.”

The teen bounced in his chair, screams emanating from his gag.

Harper glanced at the time on her phone, then at Liam. “It’s exactly noon.” She set the timer on her phone.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Let’s pray the boy makes it.”

“He’ll never make it on foot. This is all a ploy to keep us from searching that warehouse.”

He nodded. “We’ll have to find the time. I see a lot of sleepless nights in our future.”

So, did she. She turned her attention back to her phone screen.

Reynold had watched television or at least videos. He made short work of using his shoestrings to saw through the zip tie before yanking the gag from his mouth. “Help me! That freak isn’t here right now.”

A horn blared, then Robert’s voice boomed over a loudspeaker. “Better get going. You’re wasting time. Now, put that camera set around your neck.”

Reynold slapped his hands over his ears, then raced out of the camera’s view. A minute later, the screen showed not only Reynold’s viewpoint, but his terrified face.

He ran through a patch of trees and burst onto the highway, waving his arms. A semi-truck swerved, then slowly came to a stop.

Reynold raced toward it. “I need a ride to Oakdale.”

“What’s that around your neck?” The bearded driver frowned.

“College initiation.”

“The boy’s quick thinking. He didn’t alert the driver to possible danger.” Liam breathed sharply through his nose. “Let’s hope he keeps his wits about him.”

“Okay, college kid, where to?”

“Oakdale lake or as close as you can get me.” Reynold stared out the passenger side window.

The fear in his eyes ripped at Harper’s heart. If he didn’t keep thinking straight, keep doing what Robert told him to for however long it entertained the man, the boy would die by a sniper’s bullet. Simple as that. She wanted so much to put a stop to the terror the boy endured.

“How long will it take for us to get to the lake?”

She tore her gaze from the screen as Mayor Sharpe rushed toward them. “Ten minutes. Here comes the frantic father.”

The mayor, tall and fit, with light brown hair swept away from a strong forehead stopped in front of them. “I want to know what you’re doing to help my son, Detective.”

“Agent McConnell and I are going to do our best to follow this man’s orders until an opportunity to grab Reynold presents itself. Otherwise, your son will die.” She met his angry stare with a stern one of her own. Realizing how frightened the mayor must be, she softened her tone. “We will do everything in our power, Mayor Sharpe. I promise.”

His nostrils flared. “Make sure you do. What kind of a madman makes a young man run for his life live on every social media and news station around?”

“You said it, sir. A madman.” She glanced back at her phone as the truck driver let Reynold out in the parking lot of the lake. “Time to go, Liam.” She didn’t want the boy out there alone if she could help it. “Mayor, why don’t you go over there where the chief is? You’ll be kept up on anything that happens.” Without waiting for an answer, she marched to her jeep.

“How much time do we have?” Liam asked, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Fifteen minutes and twenty seconds.”

~

Robert rubbed his hands together and sat back in the leather chair of the country cabin that remained in Lucy’s family despite everyone being dead but her. Until they discovered her real last name, which even he didn’t know, they should be safe there. Plus, the house had a basement perfect for the games. His phone rang. Lucy.

“How do you expect to get the boy back her for the night?”