Chapter 29 - The Golden Boy's Bargain
Before we could reach the turnoff for Route 50, Detective Ruiz’s phone buzzed with an urgent priority tone. He put it on speaker and held it between the front seats.
"Ruiz, this is Dispatch," an agitated dispatcher’s voice crackled through. "We have an inbound 911 transfer from a burner phone claiming to be Richard Bradley. He’s demanding to speak directly to Elaine Bradley or Detective Ruiz. He says he has ten minutes to live."
Julian’s eyes narrowed sharply. "Put him through, Ruiz."
There was a series of clicks, followed by frantic, ragged breathing and the sound of wind whipping through an open car window.
"Elaine?! Elaine, are you there?!" Richard’s voice was hysterical, trembling on the verge of madness.
"I'm here, Richard," I said, leaning toward the console, my voice cold and steady despite the storm inside my chest. "Where are you?"
"They lied to me, Elaine! Vance lied to me!" Richard sobbed, coughing violently. "He told me he was helping me get out of the country! He told me Bernice had a safety deposit box with bearer bonds that could pay off my bookies and set me up in Costa Rica! But they didn't put me in a car for the airport... they put me in a warehouse off Curtis Bay!"
"Who is with you, Richard?" Ruiz barked into the phone.
"Nobody! I escaped... I jumped from the loading dock while Vance’s private security was burning the paper trail!" Richard’s voice was breaking into ragged gasps. "Vance is heading to the Hastings cabin! Elaine, he knew the general area around Route 50 all along! He didn't need the exact coordinates because he put a tracking beacon on your brother's car hours ago!"
Lucas’s head snapped up. "My car was parked three blocks from Elaine's office..."
"Vance tracked you to the office, and when the assault team failed, he diverted straight to the cabin to lay an ambush!" Richard shrieked. "He's going to burn the whole ridge to the ground! Elaine... please, you have to tell the judge I cooperated! Don't let them kill me! Bernice made me do it... she made me put the aconite in the tea!"
"Where is Bernice, Richard?" I demanded, the memory of her twisted, hateful face searing into my mind.
"She’s at the county medical prison ward... but Elaine, Vance doesn't care about her anymore! He’s going to destroy the cabin before midnight! Before your twenty-seventh birthday tomorrow!"
A loud crash exploded through Richard’s end of the line, followed by the screech of grinding metal and a sharp scream before the call went dead with a high-pitched electronic hum.
"Richard!" I yelled, but only static answered.
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"His signal triangulated near the harbor docks," Ruiz said, his jaw locked tight. "State units are rolling there now. But Richard was right about one thing."
Julian pressed the gas pedal to the floor, the engine roaring into life as we surged past Mile Marker 10. "We aren't going to let Vance burn down Clara's truth."
