Rising Spirit by Wayne Stinnett

Author:Wayne Stinnett [Stinnett, Wayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wayne Stinnett
Published: 2019-10-29T01:22:57+00:00

Aiden Pritchard paced the floor of his home office. Saturday was usually date night for him and Susan. When the babysitter had called earlier to say she was sick, Susan started to call her sister as a backup, but Aiden had stopped her, telling her he could skip tonight if it wasn’t a big deal to her. He was behind on his work and could get caught up. She’d agreed, but only if they could watch a movie together after the kids went to bed. Saturday date night had always been important to her.

Stretch Buchannan was a problem. He’d Googled the man’s name on his computer and found dozens of news stories. He seemed to be a mid-level player in the south Florida drug scene. Some stories cited rumors that the man had a violent streak.

They needed Stuart back in Staunton. But he hadn’t checked in since just before boarding the third leg of his flight to Miami. The man thought himself a computer hacker, and he could get around some firewalled systems and access people’s email accounts. When he couldn’t, he knew others who could. These people had their own network and sometimes traded jobs. Some charged exorbitant fees for their time.

Aiden wanted to know who Buchannan had told and who had access to the videos he claimed to have. He didn’t need the man to show proof of either—just the mention of the conversation around the firepit was enough, and Lou had confirmed that he’d seen the other. Once they knew who Buchannan had told, then those people could be eliminated, right along with the bothersome drug dealer from Florida.

When the phone on his desk rang, Aiden jumped, but he composed himself as he put the receiver to his ear. “ACA Pritchard.”

“It’s Lou. Have you heard from Stuart?”

“I was actually hoping you were him. No, the last time he checked in was when he was boarding at Newark Liberty.”

“He should have gotten there hours ago,” Sheriff Taliaferro said.

Aiden checked the antique grandfather clock by the door. It was nearly ten. “He probably went straight to work. You know how he gets.”

“Yeah,” Lou replied. “He gets completely off the rails if there’s a skirt involved.”

“I spoke to him before he boarded. No shortcuts, no tracks, and no fucking around.”

“You should have sent Jeb.”

“That old man?”

“He’s done this kind of thing before, and he’s level-headed. You know Stuart; you were his attorney the night he strangled the hooker and shot the—”

“I’ve told you not to bring that up, Lou.”

“The man attracts attention,” Lou said, scoffing. “That Uncle Fester head and face of his.”

“On a Saturday night in Miami, he’d blend right in.” Aiden didn’t know why he was defending his decision to send Stuart to Miami. “He’s probably at the woman’s house now and will be back tomorrow.”

There was a moment’s pause.

“Are you really just going to let this guy muscle in and take over?” Lou asked, finally getting to the real reason he’d called.

“Absolutely not,” Aiden replied. “You know me better than that.

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