Page 57 of Without Warning
“Did you find her?”She’s sobbing.
“No.I’m going to have Cronus send Hades to you.”
“Okay.”
I hang up, and Cronus nods as he walks in, catching the end of the call.
My cell phone rings again.Thompson’s name flashes across the screen.
“Where the fuck is she?”I growl into the phone.
“He tried to take her,” Thompson says, his voice weak.“He shot Grand and me.”He’s quiet for a moment.“The car went off the side of the road.I got out before it crashed.I can’t get to her.”
My knees give out.I fall to the floor, a loud cry echoing from my chest.Not another car accident.
Cronus is trying to help me stand.Jethro has tears rolling down his eyes, and my breath catches.
“Get me there.I need proof.”
“I’m calling the police now.”Jethro hiccups as he dials 911 and reports the accident.
Cronus drags Spencer behind him as we head down to the parking garage where Totten is waiting.
“Take him to my building,” Cronus tells Totten when he shoves the man into the back of the car.
“I don’t know what’s going on.This is kidnapping,” Spencer yells, but I know he was the distraction.Everything was too convenient.
“You had something to do with this, and I’ll prove it,” I bark at him.
His whole demeanor instantly changes.“He paid me.Said it was a prank.I didn’t know he was going to shoot anyone.I swear.”
“Take him away,” I order Totten.
Cronus and I get into his car, and we take off for home.Before we pull up, Lyla calls.
“Hello, Darrell.By any chance did Daphne decide to stay home today?She called and said she had an appointment.I know she’s been sick off and on for a week now.But she isn’t here yet.”
“No.I’m trying to find her.If she shows up there, please have her call me.”
“I’ll call the police.”
“They’ve been notified.I’m heading up to the accident scene now.”
“Accident?Oh my God.I’ll say some prayers.Let me know if we can do anything to help.”
“I will.”
We pull up, and I see the car off the side of the road.The inside was set on fire, but the fire department put it out.I spot a body in the driver’s seat and what appears to be a blond woman in the back.I can only see her head, but my intuition tells me it’s a decoy.
I approach the ambulance and overhear Thompson giving the police his version of events.A man came up and shot them all, then pushed the car over the side after throwing a Molotov cocktail into the interior.He identifies the body as Daphne, but I remember Delphi’s words.The guy told her to get out of the car.
“It’s not her,” I bark at him.“That isn’t my wife.”I face the cops.
“Are these hers?”One of the cops walks up with Daphne’s wedding rings.They don’t look like they were in a fire.
“Yes.Where did you find them?”
“On the floorboard of the car.They must have fallen off.”
