Josh unlocked the front door and entered the house, then he grabbed the knife from the table and turned down the hallway. He heard Jesse’s muffled pleas from the dining room.
“Shut up, McCord. You have no control over what I do to, or with, your lady friend.” He chuckled. “It’s been more than ten years since I’ve been with a woman, and that bitch will do just fine.”
He walked into the guest room and closed the door behind him. After pulling the desk chair next to the bed, Josh took a seat and stared into Hanna’s petrified-looking eyes.
“I need answers, so I’m going to remove the tape from your mouth. If you do anything that pisses me off, or yell out for help, I’m going to beat the shit out of you. Do you understand?”
Hanna nodded.
Josh grinned when she saw the knife. “Better not move. I’d hate to cut that pretty face of yours. Now just stay still so I can lift the corner of the tape.”
When the cold blade scraped her cheek, she flinched.
Josh glared at her. “What did I just say? If you aren’t going to follow my instructions, I’ll make you watch me kill McCord.”
Hanna lay motionless as he lifted the corner of the tape then yanked it across her mouth. Her lips bled.
“I bet that hurt, didn’t it?”
She remained stoic.
“Now, let’s begin. I want to know how you got home from the campground since your SUV is in the garage and it was me that put it there.”
“I got a ride.”
He slapped her across the face and left a red imprint of his hand on her cheek. “You want to be cute, you’ll get more of that. Details, bitch, details. Who drove you back to Chicago?”
“The police commander.”
Josh ran his thumb along the knife blade. “From where?”
“From Chicago. I called Jesse’s commander after he went missing. Commander Lutz and Jesse’s partner, Frank Mills, drove to the campground and helped look for him.”
Josh laughed. “How could any of you find a thing when your heads were up your asses? We were long gone by then.”
“We realized that by Sunday.”
Leaning in closer, Josh continued firing off questions. “Where are they with the investigation?”
“Not far.”
He raised his hand to slap her again, but she yelled out that she had more to say.
“You’re damn lucky. Now go on.”
“We got back a few hours ago, and the commander wanted me to stay at Jesse’s house since it was safer. He called ahead for police to station themselves there. We saw the damage to Jesse’s car as soon as I raised the garage door.”
Josh chuckled. “I bet the cops damn near shit themselves. How did you like the house?”
Hanna glared at him. “You’re an evil man.”
“Yeah, too bad. I’ve spent over a decade in prison because of McCord. I’d say I owe him some comeuppance. So nobody expects anyone to be here, right?”
“No.”
“Whose Lexus was that?”
“My mom’s. The commander said I could stay with her. I only came here to pick up more clothes.”
“Ha! And you found us instead. Does your mom know where you went?”
“I told her I was going to the mall to buy a new phone.”
“Yeah, I already got rid of that phone, along with your old one, and the car. Right now, some lowlife crook is probably driving that car around and calling all his boys with your new phone. I can just see the cops’ faces when they track it to the Chicago projects.”
“I didn’t have time to set it up, so I doubt if the locations are on.”
“Yeah, but if there’s a will, there’s a way. How soon will your mom begin wondering why you aren’t back and start making calls?”
“She’s at her friend’s house and won’t be expecting me to pick her up for another hour.”
“What about a hidden house key and the garage code?”
“I don’t—”
Josh interrupted. “Choose your words carefully. If I search around the front door or you give me the wrong door code, I’ll gut the detective right in front of you. Now, you can be straight with me so I don’t have to waste my time or—”
“Fine! The hidden key is under the big rock that has Welcome etched on its surface.”
He laughed. “Ironic, right? What about the garage code?”
“It’s four-one-eight-five.”
“Good. That’s about to change.” He gave her a long once-over. “Now I have to decide what to do with you.” He leaned forward and squeezed her cheeks between his fingers. “You messed up everything by coming here, you know that? McCord has already been tried, convicted, and is getting the death penalty, but you? I’ll have to give that some thought.” He rose and knocked over the chair, then he grabbed the rag and jammed it back in her mouth.
Hanna turned her head and tried to resist him.
“Look at me and close your mouth, or I’ll knock your teeth down your throat.”
With tears streaming down her face, she complied, and he secured the tape over her lips.