Pieces of the Past (Witness Security Book 1) by Jamie Hill

Author:Jamie Hill [Hill, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Books We Love Ltd.
Published: 2014-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

* * * *

It was after midnight when Ben Markham showed up at the safe house. Doug let his co-worker in and pumped his hand. “Good to see you, man.”

“Sorry you’ve had it so rough.” Ben dropped his duffle bag in a corner and glanced around. “Wow, this is nice.”

“Everything is better in Chicago,” Doug replied sarcastically.

“Right.” Ben snorted. He glanced at the sofa, where Christine, Peyton and Stan had fallen asleep in a huddle. “No one wanted to go to bed, huh?”

“Nope. Probably didn’t trust me to keep them safe.” He went into the kitchen and opened a soda.

Ben followed, reaching for his own can. They sat at the table. “Don’t blame yourself, Doug. This thing’s been planned for a while. According to our intel, Lillian White has been in the crosshairs for months. She might have been nabbed whether you were here or not.”

Doug groaned. “And no one saw this coming? The Whites should have entered Witsec last year with the rest of the family.”

“Reports say they didn’t want to go. Can’t force people to do what they don’t want to do.”

“Tell me about. I’m not sure anyone understood how serious their situation was. Finding out Peyton was Facebook friends with her grandparents nearly blew my mind.”

“No doubt it helped someone trace them to Topeka. The man in the white sedan was obviously watching them. Now he’s followed you here. To Chicago, anyway. There’s no evidence he’s aware of this safe house.”

“Good. So who hired this guy?”

“I read the case notes on the plane. There are a couple of people who have a vested interest in Larry Stewart’s testimony at Martin Newsome’s trial.”

“Who besides Sal Russo?”

“Apparently Newsome was involved with drug trafficking. Rumor has it he was moving stuff for a very big Columbian cartel.”

Doug’s frustration and rage bubbled out. “Damn it all to hell! That makes this thing ten times more dangerous.”

“No kidding. I’ve got something to show you. Wilson was going to send it to you, but I arrived and I said I’d bring it.” Ben pulled his smartphone out.

“What?” Doug looked at the screen.

Ben gazed at him. “You need to remain calm.”

“You need to show me whatever the hell you have.”

His friend bit back a smile. “Here you go.” He held the phone out and pressed a button which started a video.

A shaky image of what appeared to be Ethan and his grandmother appeared onscreen. Both were handcuffed with duct tape over their mouths. A Chicago Tribune with the current date was perched in front of them.

A synthetically altered voice said, “Larry Stewart knows what he needs to do. If he does it, they’ll be released unharmed. If he doesn’t, they’ll be released in pieces.”

The video ended.

Doug closed his eyes. “Oh for flying fuck’s sake!”

“Yeah. The video confirms our worst fears. Chief Wilson is talking to the District Attorney regarding the best way to proceed.”

“Raise your hand if you think they won’t make Stewart testify.”

Ben’s gaze was level as he slowly shook his head.

Doug groaned.

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