Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(48)

*

After Josie had forwarded the kidnappers’ messages to both Otto and Agent Haskins, she walked outside to where Nick stood behind Becka as she examined the deadbolt on the kitchen door.

“You haven’t slept here since the break-in, have you?” Becka asked.

Josie shook her head. “I stayed up the lane, at a friend’s house.”

“Mr. Drench has put a rush on this job. If you can give us tonight and tomorrow to work, we’ll have you locked up tight by the time you get home from work in the evening.”

The tense muscles in Josie’s shoulders loosened somewhat at the news. She was surprised at the amount of relief she felt. “I appreciate it. That’s great news. I can stay up the lane again tonight.”

Becka gestured toward Dell’s house. “Does he have security?”

“No, and he refuses to get it.”

She winced. “Me personally? I wouldn’t stay out here without it.”

Josie smiled. “Dell has his own form of security.”

While Becka walked back to her truck to call in help and order equipment, Nick and Josie went inside to iron out details before he returned to Mexico. As they walked through the kitchen door, he said, “Security team will be here all day. I’ll come back tomorrow at four. We’ll talk then about ground rules.”

She gave him a wary glance. “For what?”

“You got a spare bedroom. I’ll take that for my personal space, but we need an incident room. Somewhere I can work. Probably take over your dining room table.”

“For what?”

“I can’t run this operation from Mexico. I’m moving in.”

“Oh, really?” she said, trying to keep the shock from her voice. She had not expected this and wondered suddenly what other surprises awaited her. She sat down across from him and folded her arms against her chest, processing the idea that she would have someone living with her. Two years ago she had turned down her own mother’s request to move in, although the reasons for her decline were far more complex than space and freedom. She and Dillon had separate houses because of Josie’s reluctance to give up her independence. Now, this stranger had invited himself to stay in her spare bedroom. She noticed him staring at her and realized that a response was required of her.

“For how long?” she asked.

“Until we get Mr. Reese home. Or until your Mr. Drench pulls the plug. Now, back to the case.”

Her eyebrows arched in reply.

“You’ve had time to recover since you listened to the ransom contact. You ready to watch the video with me? We need to dissect it. There’s some wordplay that bothered me.”

She got up and took the seat next to him, their arms almost touching as they leaned in toward the laptop.

“You watch this with two sets of eyes. One as the girlfriend, one as a cop. What is he telling you? Any body language that’s off? Anything that might signal something to you?”

He clicked the Play button, and they watched the grainy image that filled the fifteen-inch computer screen. The video showed only his naked body from the waist up. He was facing forward wearing a black headband over his eyes. After several seconds she heard his voice.

“Why didn’t you send money? They’re going to kill me. Don’t you love me? I’m wrecked unless you do something.”

He paused after each sentence.

Josie said, “Play it again. I’m not hearing it right.”

She listened again and the significance of his words stunned her. “Does he say, I’m wrecked?”

“That’s what bothered me.”

She stared at Nick intently, desperate to find meaning in Dillon’s words. “It’s just not something he would say. Why not, I’m desperate? Wouldn’t that make more sense?” she said. “Or, even, I’m frantic?”

“Notice the break between sentences.”

She nodded, trying to understand.

“Why wrecked?” he said. “Why would he use that word?”

Suddenly the hair stood up on her arms. She scooted her chair back so that she could turn and face Nick. “The day after Dillon was kidnapped he received a summons to federal court in El Paso for the indictment of Wally Follet. Guess what Wally does?”

“What?”

“He was indicted for selling wrecked cars across the border to Mexico.”

“What do you mean wrecked? Totaled cars?”

“Exactly. The sign in front of the business says wrecks and rebuilds. Wally buys the cars from insurance settlements for cheap, and then either rebuilds them or sells them to dealers across the border for a profit.”

Nick nodded slowly, thinking for a moment before responding. “Is there a confirmed connection between Wally Follet and the Medranos?” he asked.

“We’ve just started to focus on Follet. His son, Hector Follet, is staying in a trailer at the salvage yard. He’s basically hunkered down. His dad took off over a week ago, leaving no word about where he was headed. No phone. The kid knows more than he’s telling us, but he doesn’t trust the police. We’re working on him.”

Nick glanced at his watch and seemed to notice how late it was. He got up from the table. “You hear anything more tonight, you call me immediately. My cell phone is never off.”