Facing Reality

Chapter 6

    I had one of my employees close up the cafe for the time being and went with Riley to the house where the murder had happened.

    As we circled the house, I glanced sideways at Riley. "Did George tell you anything about the murder?" I asked.

    Riley narrowed her eyes at one of the windows. "Yeah. He said the man was shot twice in the chest. There were signs of forced entry, but they didn't quite match up with the scene."

    I raised an eyebrow. "Girl, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

    She pursed her lips. "Whoever did it tried to make it look like a home invasion and didn't do such a good job of it."

    "Or," I continued for her, "they did a bad job on purpose, trying further their case against John. I know for a fact that anyone around here would gladly welcome John into their homes, knowing who he is. By making it seem like someone was trying to cover up the fact that the person let them in, they just made it incriminating evidence for John."

    Riley nodded in agreement. "I'd guess it was the second one."

    We finished circling the house and headed back to the car. "So, who do you think would want to do this to John?"

    Before Riley replied, I felt myself being tackled to the ground. My jaw, side, and knees hit the pavement hard. Something cold pressed against the side of my skull, and I heard a voice from behind me saying, "Move and she dies."

    I froze, realizing there was a gun to my temple. My head was pounding as the man jerked me up and pulled me against his chest.

    My eyes met Riley's, and I saw the fear in them. Then, the world went dark and a bag came down over my head.

***

    I felt the ground beneath me swaying. I didn't know how long I had been tied to the chair or how long it had been since the man had thrown me into a van and driven away from Riley, but everything ached. My jaw felt like it had taken a couple in a boxing ring.

    A creak alerted me to someone close by, and I stiffened.

    "There is a bomb."

    My throat dried at those four words, and I kept silent.

    "It's in the police station, armed and ready for us to press the button." Footsteps came closer to me. "And, if you don't want those people to die, you're going to do me a favor."

    I gasped and recoiled when I felt him touch my arm.

    "You're going to tell John to leave and never come back."

    Anger flooded through me, and I couldn't keep my mouth shut. "Heck no!"

    Something hard slammed into my already aching jaw, making me cry out. "You will, or those police officers will die along with your three friends. You won't want John to have their blood on his hands as well, would you?"

    My shoulders drooped. There was no way out of this, and whoever was bent on ruining John's life seemed like he was going to win. "Okay," I whispered quietly. "I'll do it."

    The man chuckled. "Good girl. Now, one of my men are going to take you back to your place. John needs to be gone by tomorrow afternoon, understand?"

    I nodded silently. So much for trying to help him, I thought sadly.