Second update, third chapter.
Danny had trailed in his brothers footsteps since he had called his dad. He had talked to the bartender at the Black Penny and a couple of cops that were seen in the bar. Now, every available officer in the area was knocking on doors in the neighborhood, hoping to find some witnesses.
"Sergeant Renzulli has arrived, Detective," said an officer to Danny and he left what he was doing at his desk, looking up at his brother's old training officer and partner.
"Reagan," Renzulli nodded, uptight and tense. Danny waved him to the chair next to his desk.
"When did you last see them," Danny asked jumping straight to the question.
"Last night, at the Penny. They left around midnight. Officer Reagan was giving Janko a ride home," he said. "Her car is in the shop," he explained, when Danny's eyes went up.
"Do you recall anyone who might have said or done something suspicious in the last couple of days?" Danny asked impatiently. Renzulli shook his head.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, except for a couple of very quiet days on the street," he answered.
"Anything, at all?" Danny asked, almost sounding desperate. It was almost dark, only seven hours until they passed the 24-hour mark. His cell phone vibrated on the table, he grabbed it, hoping for some news. "Reagan," he answered.
"We have a witness," Baez said and talked to someone in the background. "Scratch that, we have two witnesses, Danny," she said. "A young woman saw four shapes on the parking lot, out of her window across the street, just after midnight. Two of them were pointing at the other two's back. One of them was an old man, with a limp and a cane the other one was twice the size of Janko and looked like a boxer with a broken nose," Baez said as Danny scribbled down.
"Go on," he said, finally getting somewhere. Renzulli craned his neck, trying to read the notes and listen in on the conversation, worried about two of his best officers.
"Witness number two is a middle aged man, returning from work. He saw two men, same description as before, cane and broken nose, load a van with something he couldn't see, but he could tell it was heavy. The van is a dark blue or black Chevy Express, older model or badly maintained. Partial plate 9 – 9 – 8 – 7," she ended and left Danny speechless for a second.
"Hold on," he told Baez. "We have a partial plate," he told Renzulli and entered the DMV on his computer. Four long seconds later a result popped up. "Get the two witnesses over here, and meet me on the address I'll text you, in fifteen," he said and hung up. He wrote down the name of the owner on a piece of paper. Taylor Huntington. "You up for a ride, Sergeant?" he asked Renzulli without looking at him while searching for the background belonging to the name and calling his dad. Danny had promised him updates.
"Dad?" he asked as soon as the phone clicked. "We have two witnesses, a van and a name," Danny said, still looking at the screen.
"Anybody we know?" Frank asked, thinking of the question as if the name had an arrest record.
"Taylor Huntington, 36, no priors, mother's deceased, brother was killed…" Danny trailed off, reading the following paragraph, opening other files, not hearing Frank.
"Huntington? As in Theo Huntington?" Frank asked. Now it was his turn to be speechless.
"You know them?" Danny asked both his father and Renzulli, who moved closer to the screen, so he could read to file as well.
"Fifteen years ago, 17-year-old Theo Huntington was dealing on a street corner. My partner and I intervened, shots were fired, we fired back, killing both of them," Frank said and dug through the hazy memories. "His father, Peter, didn't cope well with the loss," Frank paused, a throb in his throat.
"Dad?" Danny asked, not sure what to think.
"Danny, you have to find Jamie, now," Frank said with anxiety in his voice. He was nervous. And terrified. The only thing that ran through Danny's head was that he couldn't lose another brother. Not now, not ever.
Jamie was still wheezing. Eddie was silent. They didn't talk. It was like time stood still. Hours had gone since Jamie was dragged back to the room. He was dry, he was warm.
"Drink some water," he said quietly and Eddie took a sip of the bottle. Next, she held it to Jamie's lips so he didn't have to move. He realized how thirsty he was. She could see he was in pain. She hadn't said anything. "What are you thinking about?" Jamie asked her and she looked up at him. "You are never this quiet, not even when you're hungry," he continued and smiled. Eddie could eat more than him and still be hungry.
"If we are going to live long enough to get out of here," she said quietly and got to her feet. Jamie felt the chill breeze on his bare skin when she moved and he trembled slightly.
"I'm sure a lot of people are looking for us by now," he said and rolled his sore shoulders under the blanket, his whole body was stiff. The door opened, Eddie stepped back and Jamie straightened. Taylor was back, with a gun in his hand.
"Get up, Reagan," he said, still sounding nasal. When Jamie didn't get up right away the gun trailed to Eddie. "Help him up," he said and she turned to Jamie. With huffs and groans they succeeded and Jamie was leaning on Eddie's shoulders. "Walk this way, both of you," Taylor said. Jamie and Eddie walked ahead to the big area with the ring. They stopped walking when they were halfway between the door and the ring. Jamie started trembling again because he was wearing nothing on his upper body. He looked for windows, doors, anything that might help. He knew Eddie was doing the same thing. Assessing the situation.
"Reagan… Jamie… and Edit Janko, right?" Peter was behind them, also with a gun in his hand. Jamie and Eddie turned to face him, awkwardly because of Jamie's restrained movement. "Oh, she is pretty, Taylor. Blonde and beautiful, just like you said," Peter said. "Just the way you like them, right?" He grinned. Jamie tightened his grip on her shoulders.
"Don't touch her," he said quietly as a warning. His voice was still weak and his breathing was laboured by the hard work of walking, but it was audible.
"Ooh, you hear that, T. He's a little protective of her," Peter said, entertained. He clapped his hands and smiled.
"I have an even better idea, now," he said, looking at his son, then Eddie and then Jamie. Jamie didn't like the way he grinned, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't like the new idea. Not even the slightest. "How about we string him up again, and then you do what you want to do, with Bambi here, out back?" he asked his son, who didn't reply. He was just looking at Eddie. Hunger and thirst in his eyes.
"Get away from her," Jamie said when both men stepped closer. Eddie pulled Jamie a step back. He was already hurt. Another, as they came closer again. Then another, and another, until they reached the ropes of the ring and couldn't back up any further. "Eddie, run," Jamie wheezed at her, but she didn't move. She wasn't leaving him alone with these two madmen.
"Taylor," Peter said, suggestively, and the ugly man moved closer, gun raised high in one hand, pointing at Jamie, the other reaching for Eddie's wrist. But Jamie was quicker, even though he was slowed by the pain and he had a gun in his face. He grabbed the gun, pointed it in the air, saw the left hook coming, spun away, twisted the gun and missed the punch. He butted Taylor's already broken nose with the butt of the gun still in both of their hands. He whirled back, grasping his nose, screaming in agony. Taylor was big and slow, like Jamie had hoped. Peter was quicker, Jamie realized too late, as the cane hit him on his back, leaving a red mark. He arched and almost screamed in pain, dropped the gun and fell to his knees. Eddie didn't dare to move because of the gun, Peter was pointing on her. Taylor got himself moving again, his hands grabbed a rope, tied Jamie's hands tight. He was lying on the cold floor, trying to breathe carefully. Eddie almost let go of a tear.
"Let him go!" she almost yelled at Taylor, but didn't move, not with a gun pointed at her. Taylor looked at her, lifted Jamie, as if he weighed nothing, crossed the ropes and secured the hook in the rope, just like before.
"You deal with him," Peter said angrily, stepping closer to Eddie. Jamie grunted and squirmed in the air, he felt helpless.
"No," he said, almost silent. "Stop," he said, louder. The rope burned his wrist. "Don't harm her," he said, almost yelled. He panted, it hurt to speak, to breath. "Please, just let her go," he talked at no one, as he dangled around. He could hear they stopped moving, all three of them, surprised by his words. Next, Peter walked in front of him in the ring, smiling.
"You actually care about her," he said, as if he was impressed by Jamie's begging. "Are you begging for her life, Officer Reagan? Do you care about her wellbeing?" he asked, raising Jamie's chin with the handle of his cane. Eddie looked at Jamie's back, stunned. Taylor was holding her arm tight, so tight it would probably bruise.
"Yes… more than anything," Jamie said, looking Peter straight in the eyes, daring him to throw another punch.
"Your father should have thought of that before he killed my kid," he said in a low voice, disgusted by the words he said.
"Whatever your son did… he deserved it. My dad wouldn't kill anyone without reason," Jamie said knowingly, proud of his father.
Eddie just looked at Jamie's back. Dark purple and red bruises were showing. What Jamie had just said about her, gave her a knot in the stomach and a throb in her throat.
A chapter a day, keeps the doctor away :)