Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“No. We found something in your brother’s things, and I wanted to return it to you.”
“Something?”
“Money,” she said, thrusting the bag toward her.
Louise frowned, blinking in confusion before she unzipped the bag and peeked inside. She sucked in a small breath. “This is—”
“Over ten thousand dollars. My dad apparently paid Dow for a job in cash, so, um, it’s yours.” Noelle gave her a smile. “I wish you the best, Louise.”
She started to head back to her car when Louise called her name. Noelle turned, tilting her head to the side in question.
“Hold on one sec,” the woman said, pulling at the scarf on her head the way she’d done before and then turning and disappearing for a minute. Noelle took the few steps back to her door, and Louise reappeared, holding something out to her. An iPad. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t totally honest. This was in Dow’s things. It was near the top of the box, and I found it when I moved. I even charged it a week and a half ago so I could wipe it and then sell it. I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.” She looked momentarily embarrassed. Noelle pulled in a breath, reaching for the electronic device. “Sorry,” Louise said. “I really needed the money.”
Noelle shook her head. “Don’t be. I understand. I’ll . . . I’ll look at this, and then I’ll return it. You can still sell it if you want to.”
Louise shook her head and nodded to the duffel bag she’d placed on the floor near the door. Tears filled her eyes, and she tugged on her scarf again. “No. Keep it. Do whatever you want. His code was our dog Scout’s birthday, oh four eleven. Stupid man loved the hell out of that dog. Still cried when he talked about him until . . . well, until the last time I saw him. For someone so technical, he sure did pick an easy password, but that was Dow for you. Brilliant and stupid as hell. Anyway, I hope there’s something on it that will help. Thank you for that.” Again, she nodded toward the duffel bag. “You have no idea how much it will help.”
Noelle walked to her car in a slight daze. Well, that was the last thing she’d expected. An iPad. Not a phone, which would have given her more hope of finding something. For all she knew, Dow had used this to download books to further impress that female friend. And yet even so, her heart sped up with excited hope. Anticipation of what might be on it.
She got in her car and cranked up the air and then turned on the iPad. It still had 10 percent charge. She let out a long slow breath as she typed in the code Louise had given her. The programs and apps popped up on the small screen, and Noelle opened the photos. There were only a handful, and at first, she didn’t comprehend what they were. When she did, her eyes widened, and she almost dropped the device. “Oh my God,” she breathed. She couldn’t search much more right then, as anything else would require a wireless connection. She set the iPad on the passenger seat, and with shaking hands, she gripped the steering wheel. Was this the link they’d been looking for?
CHAPTER FORTY
Cedro let out a small yelp as the door slid open. He’d been drifting into a disturbing dream, and the sound had pulled him quickly from slumber. He watched as two guards entered this time, the man who had taken him out of there and the one who stood guard in the other room. One was holding Grim under his shoulders, and the other was carrying his feet. Cedro’s pulse jumped, and he stared as they carted him over to his cage, tossed him inside, and then brought the door up and secured it.
Cedro waited for the men to leave before hurrying to the far side of his cage. “Hey! Hey! Are you alive?” he called. Panic rose in his throat. He didn’t want to be alone. Please don’t be dead.
Grim lay on the floor of his cage. He was soaking wet, and his skin was bright red. As Cedro stared, trying to see if he had injuries anywhere, the old man started laughing. It was soft at first, but then it rose. Cedro blinked. Had he gone insane? What had happened to him to drive him out of his mind? Grim wrapped his arms around his waist, turning onto his side and howling with laughter.
“What’s wrong with you?” Cedro yelled. He wished he had something to throw at the man. His laughter was confusing and scary.
As if the older man had read his mind even while he was having fits of laughter, the sounds grew softer, the laughs turning to gulps and then to shallow breaths. He groaned, removing his arms from his waist and then turning onto his stomach, his cheek against the cold cement floor. For several minutes, he simply breathed that way, drops of moisture rolling down his cheek. Was he soaked in . . . sweat? What had they made him do? “I thought you were dead,” Cedro said.