Stand Of Redemption(39)
She had narrowed it down to a few possible addresses and took a chance. “Does he still live on Hillcrest?”
“That’s the street he grew up on,” the man replied. He seemed to relax, hopefully because now he believed they were truly old acquaintances.
Ria tried to hide her relief. “Oh, where does he live now?”
“Over on Meadows.”
That was another address she had seen associated with a John Maxwell.
“Oh, that’s right. I remember that now,” Ria said gratefully. “Did he say why he quit?”
The man leaned over the counter and spoke quietly. “I think he may have been in some trouble. He didn’t give any notice, just said he had to get away. I know he has family in Port City.”
“Yes, he does,” Ria agreed as if she knew all about this John Maxwell. “Thank you so much!”
Ria looked at the flavors again. “What do you recommend?”
The man mentioned the flavor of the month, and Ria paid for the ice cream then tossed it in the trash on the way back to her car. Her hands were shaking, but she had made some headway. She would start with his house on Meadows and see if she could find any clues that would help track him down. She assumed he was in Port City, or at least, she sure as hell hoped he was.
She looked up the directions to his house and passed by it once before parking a little way down the street. She had purposefully waited until it was dark so it would be easier to approach. She had dressed in exercise gear, hopefully giving the impression that she was merely out for a walk.
As she approached the house, she noticed all the lights were out, which was good; it would be difficult for anyone to see her at the door.
Walking casually to the door, she looked around the outside carefully. She was hoping he left in such a hurry that he would’ve put a key somewhere so a friend could get his stuff. Taking a chance, she raised the welcome mat, practically jumping up and down when she saw the key lying there.
She gave a silent thanks to John.
She put the key into the lock then slipped inside, locking the door behind her. She pulled out a small flashlight and started looking at mail and any papers that would provide any clues to his whereabouts. It was all normal, a mixture of bills and advertisements.
She went back to search through the bedrooms and started looking through drawers, but still nothing. She went through a desk and did find a birthday card addressed to him from Port City. She memorized the address and put the card back where she’d found it. It still wasn’t enough, though.
She started searching harder, lifting mattresses and looking through the closets; however, she couldn’t find anything. She was getting desperate until something caught her eye. One of the picture frames on the bedroom wall was just slightly crooked.
She held her breath as she walked up to it and pulled it off the wall, revealing a hole.
She looked through the stack of papers, which were invoices of how much product was given to him and the dollar amounts based on quantity. From what she could tell, he was making a good profit, so why he was taking more didn’t make sense to her. Why risk having members of a murdering cartel come after you?
She went through each piece of paper until she finally found one that had additional information. It was an address with a date and time. It was tomorrow afternoon at one p.m., outside of Port City.
Mitchell told her that, once she located him, to call him, and they would send their collector out immediately. But he warned her not to waste their time on false leads. Her job was to make it easy for the collector. She wanted to call and tell him the information she found, but if John wasn’t there tomorrow, Mitchell would tell Emiliano she had failed. She had to be sure before she called Mitchell.
Ria took all the paperwork John had kept about the drugs, shoving the papers under her top before letting herself out of the house. She made it back to her car without running.
Once home, she set the alarm so she would be there an hour before the meeting. Once she laid eyes on him, she would call Mitchell.
She lay on the bed, tossing and turning for the next several hours before she finally fell asleep. Her last thought was of Nicholas, craving his touch, but at the same time, glad he wasn’t here to witness her actions. She didn’t want him to think less of her. She was turning another man over to the cartel to release Nicholas.
Ria consoled herself that Nicholas was innocent while this man had worked for the cartel. He had known what he was getting involved in. Nevertheless, none of her thoughts eased her guilt.
Finally giving up on sleeping, she got out of bed and dressed.
* * *
Ria sat in her car across from the meeting place. She looked at John’s picture again. He was such a normal looking guy. He looked more like a surfer than someone who would steal money from a drug cartel. That was why he had probably never gotten caught dealing. She looked at the time again. He should be there in five minutes.