“What do you think, Chase?”
The elder brother grinned. “It would be risky, and I’d have to make sure that one of my contacts needed organs that quickly—”
Teddy interrupted. “Not as risky as it would be during the daytime, and what contact wouldn’t want organs on a regular basis? They have plenty of buyers, and it’s a shit ton of money in everyone’s pockets.” Teddy pointed at the cell phone lying on the coffee table. “Make some calls. We have an hour before the mall closes.”
Chase tapped the phone’s keys, spoke to several people, while Teddy listened in on his brother’s side of the conversation. A thumbs-up told him it was a go.
Chase hung up after the third call and stood. “It’s on, so that means we have to plan this out to the letter. Mr. Harris wants delivery in Augusta by five a.m.”
“That’s pushing it. We need to wait until the mall closes and the last few people walk out. That’s when we’ll make our move,” Teddy said.
“But there won’t be time to bring the woman here, kill her, remove the organs, dump her in the marsh, and drive two and a half hours to Augusta. I’ll have to call him back and tell him we can’t make the deadline.” Chase lifted his phone. “We might lose a customer, though.”
“Wait. I have a better idea. Grab the keys, and we’ll get the van ready.”
At a quarter till ten, the brothers left for the mall. The stage was set. They had everything they needed in the back of the van, and after finding and killing the next victim and removing the organs, they would head directly to Augusta and make it with time to spare.
Teddy found a lone car parked much farther out in the lot than the rest. It wasn’t a high-end vehicle, but it did look new.
“There. That car will do just fine,” he said as he parked next to an empty space. They needed room between the van and the chosen vehicle to jump out, take the owner by surprise, and disable or kill them immediately. “Now we wait.” Teddy grinned at Chase. “It’s like fishing, brother. We get that nibble, then we set the hook.”
It was ten o’clock, and they watched as people exited the building, walked to their cars, and drove away.
“Come on already,” Chase said as the lot cleared.
“Don’t worry. The fewer people around, the better for us.”
They finally saw two women walk out together and head in their direction.
Chase pounded his fist on the dash. “Damn it. There’s two of them!”
“Just hang on,” Teddy said. “It looks like they’re slowing down at that car in the middle of the lot.”
They watched as the trunk lid lifted and bags were placed inside, then the women talked as one climbed in behind the wheel. Minutes later, she drove off, and the other woman continued toward them.
“Ha! Here she comes.” Chase rubbed his hands together.
“Settle down, bro. We have to think fast, act even faster, then get the hell out of here. You jump out, stab her, and toss her in the van. Then you’ll follow me in her car to that abandoned school on the south side of town. Nobody ever goes out there. We’ll harvest her organs, put them on ice, then place what’s left of her carcass in the driver’s seat of her own car and be on our way.” Teddy looked out the blackened windows. “She’s thirty feet from the car and with a coffee cup in hand. She’ll climb right in, so get ready to jump out.”
“I’m ready and can visualize those stacks of cash in our hands. We’ll be getting that boat a lot sooner than you think.”
“Good. Got your knife?”
Chase grabbed the door handle. “Got it.”
“Okay. Ready, set, go!”