“You really need that geek?” Zane jerked his head behind him. “Ain’t all this bringin’ in enough?”
“It’s never enough!” His sharp retort echoed in the suddenly silent office.
How dare Zane question him?
“Mitch and I spent years building this business. Years. We’ve finally earned the respect and reputation we deserve. I’m not throwing all that away.”
Not unless he had to.
Sure, he’d thought about disposing of Mitch, but it wasn’t that simple.
He raked his hand through his hair. “Mitch is the face of our business. He’s the one with all the contacts. He’s the master negotiator. He’s the bookkeeper. Business will suffer without him.”
Suffer was putting it nicely. Without Mitch, everything they’d spent years building would collapse.
Why hadn’t he bothered to meet with clients over the years? Why had he left everything to Mitch?
Because he never saw this coming. He never thought the day would come where Mitch might betray him.
And that one oversight might cost him everything.
₪ ₪ ₪
The door chimed as Dak stepped into the blood bank.
State of the art equipment met his eye. About ten chairs, oversized and plush, were spread throughout the room. Instead of the standard industrial florescent lights, decorative pendants hung strategically to bathe most of the room in soft lighting. Beside each chair, an adjustable lamp provided the option for additional light.
White tile gleamed beneath his feet.
Three of the chairs were occupied, two of them in a slightly reclined position.
Pretty extravagant. Was this a spa or a blood bank?
He could see why Boggess would choose to donate here.
“Hi. Are you here to donate?”
A woman’s voice drew his attention.
Seated behind a glass and stainless counter to his right, she smiled expectantly.
He pulled his badge. “Actually, I’m looking for someone who works here. Female. Mid to late twenties. Short blonde hair, a bit of a southern drawl…?”
“Sounds like Lorelei.” The woman craned her neck to look around him. “She might be on a break… oh, there she is.”
He turned in time to see a woman with generous curves step into the room. Honey colored hair bobbed around her head and her white smile lit up her face.
Yeah, he could see why Jason Boggess had been excited to go out with that one.
Lorelei approached them, smile still firmly fixed. “Here to donate some blood?”
“Actually, I’d like to speak with you.” Dak flashed his badge.
Her eyes widened. “Sure, hon. Though I don’t know why the FBI would wanna talk to lil’ ol’ me.”
“Is there somewhere we could speak in private?”
She led him past the chairs and down a hallway, around a corner, and into a bright breakroom decorated with prints of Seattle landmarks. Pulling out a chair at a table by the vending machine, she sat lightly, folding her hands on the table in front of her. Thick fingernails with white tips spoke of time spent at a salon.
“How can I help?”
He pulled out a picture of Jason Boggess. “I’m told you had a date with this man.”
She looked at the picture and her bright pink lips pulled down in a pout. “If you call being stood up a date, then sure. Left me sittin’ there by my lonesome all night.”
Somehow, he doubted she’d been sitting by herself all night. She’d probably had multiple guys try to buy her drinks. “What time was he supposed to meet you?”
“Seven. I was even a few minutes late, but he wasn’t there.” Her blonde curls bobbed around her face as she shook her head. “As much as he hounded me for that date, I was really surprised when he didn’t show.”
Did the woman live in a cave or something? How had she not heard about such a high-profile abduction?
“He was abducted outside a gym at six-thirty.” Dak let the words drop.
“Well, I declare!” Lorelei’s eyes bugged. “Abducted?”
Seriously? This had been all over the news. “You’re telling me you didn’t know? The media has been all over this.”
She lifted one narrow shoulder. “I look like the kinda girl who wastes time on the news? If it’s not celebrity gossip, I really don’t care.”
Deep.
“That explains a lot, though. I mean, I couldn’t believe Jason had stood me up. I could tell he was totally into me.”
Deep and humble. Aside from her pretty exterior, he really couldn’t see what had attracted Jason to her. “So, you’d never gone out with him before?”
“No. He’d asked me a few times, but I always turned him down. I try not to get involved with people I meet at work, but he was persistent as all get out.”
“So why’d you say yes?”
She smiled, dimples indenting her cheeks. “I mean, did you see him? He’s cute. Plus, he’s in here all the time and could make me laugh. I thought I’d see if he was worth my time.”
He blinked. Nothing like brutal honesty.
In a weird way, maybe getting abducted had saved Jason from a lot of trouble with this woman.
₪ ₪ ₪
He hadn’t seen Zane all day. Well, not since first thing in the morning, anyway.
Maybe Tio had finally let go of his crazy paranoia.
Although, was it really paranoia if it was true?
Mitch stretched as his laptop shut down. A shipment of designer perfumes was due within the hour. He was tired and his eyes hurt, but he wanted to be on hand to receive the shipment personally. This one was worth the last two shipments combined.
Tio had left over an hour ago. He’d bought tickets to a Mariner’s game for his youngest son’s birthday.
If Zane wasn’t here, maybe Mitch could get more information. Like where Tio was keeping the people he’d abducted.
He’d overheard Tio say something about five-thirty earlier.
What was happening at
