Free Sin (The Waite Family) by Kathi S. Barton Page A

the family followed since he’d been arrested and Carl was no closer to finding his accuser than he’d been that night. There were pictures of his mother going to meetings, to dinners. There were pictures of his sister going with her on some, but mostly Mrs. Cooperider with her bevy of bodyguards. He raked his hand across the entire mess and threw them to the floor.
    “ How can one near death man just disappear like that? He would have had to go to the hospital somewhere. He had a gut shot that would have required surgery. I know , I put that one there myself. This was planned out and planned.” He closed his eyes. “How did whoever pick ed him up know where to find him? And better yet, how did the c hief find out?”
    “Maybe he used his own phone to text someone? You were listening in , right? Wouldn’t take much to text , say … the chief then have him bring somebody in to save him.” Carl looked at the man who’d just figured out what he’d been working on for weeks. “I mean, that’s what I’d do.”
    Carl toyed with the idea of shooting his bastard too , but glanced over at the bloody mess already staining his carpet and the chair he’d been standing near. He saw the two men start to move and decided that for now they would both live. For now. He stood up again and took out his gun. He smiled to himself when they both backed up a step.
    “I’ve thought of that too. But who would he trust besides the c hief ? His list of buddies in the department is less than zero, I made sure of that. Who else then?” Carl wasn’t expecting an answer and wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get one. “His sister, mother ? Surely he wouldn’t bring his family into a hostile place to save his pansy ass, would he?”
    “My mom would be the last person I’d trust, but by all accounts this feller has a good relationship with h is . Could be she pulled some strings and had her baby boy put on ice somewhere outta state.” Carl looked at the other man. “She wasn’t from around here, right?”
    Carl got up and got the file. “No, she was from Ohio. Do we know anyone in Ohio who could do s ome searching? Or better yet, you go. I need someone I can trust.”
    “What about me? I can help him.” The second guy actually raised his hand. “I’m pretty good with searching.”
    Carl glanced at the other man. He gave a small shake of his head. Carl nearly laughed out loud. He didn’t know any of their names, but he thought he might like this guy. “No, I have something else you can do. After you get rid of this body.” He looked at the smarter one. “What’s your name anyway?”
    “Shipley, Roger Shipley.”
    “Well, Shipley, you can look up someone else for me while you’re doing some searching in Ohio. I have a wife there that I’d like to know the whereabouts of. Her name is Quinn Waite. She was supposed to have married some dick a few months back , but don’t know if that panned out. See what you can find out about her and there’s a bonus in this for you.” Carl took out his wallet and gave Shipley five grand. “Use this to get the balls rolling on either of those assignments. Keep me updated on anything you find. Use my personal number.”
    Shipley nodded as he took the money. He simply opened his own wallet and slipped the cash inside. After a few more instructions Shipley left. Carl was just going out the door himself when the idiot spoke up.
    “How do I get rid of this body, Mr. Wickett? There anyone in particular I can call?” Carl was tempted once again to shoot him , but didn’t. The mess wouldn’t get cleaned up and he’d have two bodies to get rid of instead of just the one.
    “I don’t give a good fuck, it just had better be gone when I return. And make sure you get this carpet cleaned too. I can’t have all this blood messing up my décor.”
    Carl thought he might hurt himself thinking about the expression on the guy ’ s face when he’d told him about the décor. He was still laughing