Free The Abduction by James Grippando Page B

gonna stand here and shit your pants? Or you gonna act like a man? This is no big deal. We just gotta dump the body, that’s all.”
    “I ain’t dumping the body. It’s Johnny’s body. He can dump it.”
    “Just leave it here,” said Johnny. “We’re leaving the van here anyway.”
    Tony shook his head. “The van is one thing. We can wipe it clean. But dead bodies leave too much evidence. After that fight, the old man could easily have enough of your skin under his fingernails for some geek with a microscope to identify your DNA. He’s probably got some of your blood on him, too.”
    Johnny grimaced, concerned. “That means we can’t leave the van here, either. We can’t leave nothin’ that shows we were here. They might find a little drop of my blood on the floor.”
    Tony glared at his brother. “Damn it, Johnny. You fucked up already.”
    “Me? You helped.”
    “Shut up!” said Repo. “Here’s the deal. We need to get the girl out of Nashville—now. I say Johnny takes the van and dumps the body. Me and Tony take the girl. We all meet up later.”
    “I can’t drive the van around Nashville,” said Johnny. “I’ll get caught for sure.”
    Repo checked his watch. “Kristen’s class just started five minutes ago. The van isn’t due back at the middle school for another fifteen. It’ll be at least that long before the school confirms she isn’t sick or skipping class, or that the van isn’t just stuck in traffic. I figure Johnny’s got at least that long to dump the van, before the cops put out an APB.”
    The Delgados exchanged glances, then Tonynodded. “You gotta do it, Johnny. We’ll meet up in Maryland. You know the address, right? Forty-six Commonwealth Boulevard.”
    Johnny scoffed. “How the hell do you expect me to get there? School bus?”
    “I don’t care how,” said Tony. “Just make sure you’re not being followed. If you fly, make a connection. If you drive, change cars at least once.”
    “What about my shoulder?”
    “It’s a scratch,” said Tony. “Just don’t go around wearing that jacket with the knife hole in it. Take the old man’s coat.”
    “I ain’t wearing no nigger’s clothes.”
    Repo shoved him in the shoulder. Johnny shrieked in pain.
    “Who the hell are you,” snapped Repo, “Calvin Klein? Enough with the fucking wardrobe already. Just shut up and dump the body.”
    He rubbed his sore shoulder, glaring at Repo. “Where am I supposed to dump it?”
    “You should have thought of that before you kicked his teeth in.”
    Tony grumbled. “Just dump it somewhere that will throw the cops off our trail. And do it soon. Like Repo says, you got only about fifteen minutes before word gets out she’s missing and the cops start searching for the van. Now, let’s move it.”
    Repo and Johnny exchanged glares, then looked away. The Delgados loaded the body into the van. Repo gently carried Kristen from the van to the car, placing her comfortably in the trunk. He was glad she hadn’t heard any of it, as she was still unconscious from the injection. The garage door opened. Johnny drove the van out, followed by Tony in the Buick. Repo jumped in the passenger side, beside Tony.
    Steering down the alley, Tony lit up a cigarette and handed it to Repo. He lit another for himself. “You know we had to kill that guy. He saw Johnny’s face. Mine, too.”
    Repo took a drag from the cigarette, held it, then exhaled a huge cloud of smoke. “You should have given him a shot, knocked him out good, like the girl.”
    “That’s risky with old people. If he was on some kind of medication, a shot could have killed him.”
    Repo shook his head, nervously puffing his cigarette. “I don’t like this, man. Wasn’t nobody supposed to get killed.”
    Tony turned deadly serious. “Deal with it, partner. The rules just changed.”

10
    Allison spent Tuesday in Indianapolis. At 3:35 P.M. she received an emergency telephone call from James O’Doud, director of the FBI. He