Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(75)

“There’s no bargaining. No negotiating. The Medranos will trade the money your dad stole for Dillon Reese’s life.”

Hec said nothing.

Nick blew out air in frustration. “Okay. Let me draw you a picture here. The Medranos, they took you for a week, roughed you up, and let you go. Let’s talk about long-term kidnappings.” He pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and swiped through several screens. “I want to show you a picture of a friend of mine. His name’s Dave Mead.”

Nick leaned forward and turned the screen around to show Hec.

“Nice-looking guy, right? Smiling, holding hands with his little girl. That’s his wife next to him. Nice happy family.” Nick took his phone back and swiped his thumb across the screen once and gave it back to Hec. “See that? That’s Dave after seven months in a box thanks to the Medranos. Can’t even recognize him, can you? That picture was taken by his wife a week after he was returned home. He walks with a permanent limp, still has nightmares that terrorize his whole family. The Medranos? Your dad’s business partners? They kept Dave in a wooden box, shaped like a coffin, for seven months.”

Hec dropped his head and stared at his tennis shoes.

Nick sat down beside Hec on the bed. He put his lips to Hec’s ear. “And you know what the crazy thing is?”

Hec flinched at Nick’s breath against his face.

“The crazy thing is, Dave considers himself lucky. For seven months he waited to die. Every single day. They kept him alive, just enough, to send gruesome pictures home to Dave’s wife. Every day he waited for them to carry out their threats, or for his body to finally give up the fight.” Nick stared at Hector’s profile. “Seven months of dying.”

Hec still said nothing.

“This is what Dillon is facing unless you help us find that money.” Nick swiped at his phone several times, then glanced up at Josie, but she couldn’t read his expression. Josie saw Hec close his eyes for a moment and grip the blanket on the edge of the bed. Nick tapped the screen and held it in front of Hec.

As soon as she heard background noise start, Josie knew exactly what Hec was watching. She had studied it herself a hundred times, watching Dillon’s body, unaware of what was to come, his head completely covered.

Dillon screamed and the knife turned in her heart one more time, pushing a little deeper. The pain was as real as any physical trauma she’d ever endured. She watched teardrops darken the thighs of Hec’s jeans.

“You have to help us save Dillon,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I think you’ve talked to your dad. You have to tell us everything you know. Even if it doesn’t seem important, tell us.”

Hec sniffed loudly and ran both hands under his nose, one after the other. He stood from the bed and walked to the back of the room, trying to put distance between himself and Josie.

“A man called me the night that Dillon was taken. He said he was a Medrano. He said they kidnapped Dillon and they would take me next if my dad didn’t bring back the money.”

“Why didn’t you tell us that? We wasted days trying to figure out what happened, and you knew all along?” Josie asked.

“They said if I went to the police they’d kill me and they’d kill Dillon! I didn’t know what else to do except hope my dad came home.”

Josie lowered her voice. “Have you talked to your dad?”

Hec pressed his back against the wall and stared at her as if his world was falling apart. He nodded.

“Do the right thing,” Nick said. “Tell us what you know.”

“Dad called to check on me while I was in that house in Mexico. I swear, before then I hadn’t talked to him. He called the phone at the trailer a bunch of times and thought I was just mad at him and wouldn’t answer the phone. He called again the night I came back home. He was pretty upset.” Hec’s voice was soft, regretful.

Josie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Wally was upset, but not enough to come home and save his own son.

“Then for a while he was calling every day to check on me.”

“For a while?” she asked.

He nodded. “Dad called the night they took Dillon and I told him what had happened, about Dillon and the man calling me. I haven’t heard from my dad since then.” Hec’s tone of voice and expression were guarded. Josie couldn’t tell if it was anger at his father he was feeling, or dread over the trouble he might be in with the police for withholding information.

“He never gave you a number to get ahold of him?” she asked.

“No.”

“Did he give you any indication about where he’s staying? Even what state he might be in?” Nick asked.

“He never told me where he was. I swear that’s the truth. If I knew where he was I’d tell you.”

“Do you have the last phone bill you got in the mail?” Josie asked.

“Yeah, back at the trailer. I already checked. The bill is for last month and doesn’t include any of the dates from when Dad left.”

The information was a huge break, and Josie didn’t want to lose the momentum. She changed her line of questioning to throw him off. “Who else are you in business with?”

“I don’t know. My dad takes care of that part.”

“I’m not buying that. You’re a smart kid. You’re observant. You know who your dad works with.”