False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [86]
“You’re kidding.” Jude scanned the report. And then scanned it again. “So this Cowen character who was involved in Remy’s hanging is also the drug dealer who came to collect from Zoe?”
“Exactly. But it makes no sense.”
Jude arched his eyebrows. “Not yet. Let’s get busy and connect the dots.”
“I’m already on it. I’m assembling a team to dig deeper into Cowen’s background.”
“He told Zoe he was a master of disguises.” Jude picked up his cell phone and accessed the photo Aimee had sent him. “It’s hard to know who we’re dealing with. He could be anybody.”
CHAPTER 27
Vanessa trudged through the high grass to the metal shed, her face dripping with perspiration, her shoes suddenly feeling as if they were made of cement. No way was she going in there with Shapiro.
“Stop right there,” he said. “Kneel down and put your hands behind your head. I need to get something out of here. If you so much as blink, I’ll blow your head off.”
Everything in her wanted to run, but she couldn’t make her feet move.
“I said down on your knees.”
Vanessa complied. She looked out in the distance, beyond the row of live oaks to the sugarcane fields that lay between them and the Langley property. How far was it? Maybe a quarter mile?
She heard a squeaky door slide open. She glanced over at the shed and locked gazes with Shapiro, his arm extended, the gun pointed right at her.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said.
But she did think about it. Even getting shot sounded better than being tortured or raped or whatever else he had in mind. Images of Ethan and Carter popped into her head, and her vision blurred. Would she ever see them again? Why couldn’t she remember what her mother told her to do or not do if she ever found herself in a life-threatening situation?
Lord, I need a way out of here. Unless You help me soon, I’ll be seeing You face-to-face.
Was it death that scared her—or just the idea of being murdered? And of leaving Ethan and Carter to fend for themselves?
She heard the metal door slide shut.
“All right, get up. Keep your hands behind your head and walk in a straight line, toward the trees.”
Vanessa rose to her feet. “Please. You have to believe me. If I could help you, I would.”
“Yeah, I heard you.”
“Why won’t you believe me?”
“I believe you. Feel better?”
Vanessa was taken aback for a moment. “So why aren’t you letting me go?”
“You know too much.”
“How can I know too much when I don’t know anything?” Vanessa heard the desperation in her voice. “Please. I have a little boy who needs me. Letting me go won’t pose a threat to you. You’re obviously good at not getting caught.”
“That’s because I don’t leave eyewitnesses behind. Now keep walking until I tell you to stop.”
“Please … you don’t have to do this!”
“Yeah, I do.” He prodded her with the barrel of the gun. “Shut up and keep moving.”
Vanessa was curious what it was he had taken out of the shed but was afraid to turn around and look. She found the strength to move one foot in front of the other, her mind racing faster than her pulse. Why didn’t he just shoot her and get it over with? What was he waiting for?
She looked out across the cane fields and could barely make out the Langley property on the other side. How ironic that they were this close to Zoe and Pierce, yet Shapiro was clueless. At least they would survive this ordeal. There wasn’t anything she could do to save herself. Or was there?
“All right,” she blurted out. “I-I haven’t been truthful. I’ll tell you where the Broussards are.” What did she have to lose by making something up? Maybe she could buy some time. “They’re staying with Pierce’s cousin in New Iberia. Their credit isn’t any good, and they’re trying to borrow the money from someone in his family. I can take you to them. I know where it is.”
“I thought you hardly knew them.”
“I was afraid to tell you. I thought you’d hurt them.”
He laughed. “You thought right. That’s far enough. Stop here.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,