Superheroine - Chapter 23
As the sun rose above the horizon, Steve Freeman wondered if Rick Malone’s information was correct. Freeman had been hiding in the bushes near Stanley Devor’s garage for what seemed like hours, but was probably less. There had been no sign of the old man. With daylight approaching it would soon be difficult to stay hidden.
He wondered if Malone was making out any better. His partner‘s job was easy. Malone only had to nab one little college girl. Freeman needed to kidnap two targets at once.
Freeman felt the gun in his jacket pocket. He wished he could just shoot them and be done with it. But Dominick’s orders had been clear. He wanted them alive so he could question them. That made this harder.
As he contemplated calling his partner to tell him his information was wrong, Freeman caught movement to his right. He looked toward the garage and saw a man tapping on the garage keypad. Freeman swore under his breath and waited for the man to show his face. After a few seconds, the figure turned so that the dim morning light fell across his face. Stanley Devor. The old man ran a hand through his unkempt hair before taking three steps and disappearing around the edge of the building.
Shit. How had he missed him? How had Devor gotten so close without being detected? And where was his car? At least the old man hadn’t seen his unwanted guest yet.
Freeman stumbled out of the shrubs, his legs tight from lack of movement. He reached the edge of the house and peered around just as Devor disappeared around the back corner of the structure.
Hurrying now, Freeman lumbered toward the back of the building. As he turned the corner, he saw an object moving toward his head. He was too slow, and a large block of wood thwacked him on the side of his skull. His vision blurred as he fell sideways to the ground.
He looked up, trying to focus. It was Devor standing above him.
“Wait…” Freeman said, but Devor swung down again. The wood crushed into Freeman’s face, and all went dark.
After securing the man’s wrists and ankles, Stanley bent to check his wounds. He would live. The man’s breathing was steady, and his pulse was strong.
Stanley would have preferred to keep the mugger awake for questioning, but that wasn’t possible. Stanley was no longer a young man, and he couldn‘t subdue the mugger without incapacitating him.
The older man would rely on other means to get information from the mugger. Stanley certainly had those means. He searched the man’s pockets and found a smartphone. He pulled it out and placed the man’s finger on the phone’s fingerprint sensor. After the phone unlocked, Stanley accessed the phone’s settings and changed the passcode, which required one more use of the man’s fingerprint.
Stanley had a dilemma now. The police might get additional information from the man. But reporting the mugger through public channels, such as calling 911, would delay Stanley in what he needed to do. The police would require Stanley to remain at the scene for questioning. With Beth missing, he didn’t have time for that. He could make progress on his own with the man’s phone.
He pulled his iPhone out of his pocket, opened the contacts app, and dialed a number. A gruff, scratch voice answered.
“Brommer,” the voice said.
“Wesley, it’s Stanley Devor. I need a favor.”
Brommer sighed. “I owe you, Stanley, so go ahead.”
“I have a man subdued and unconscious outside my home. I need someone to pick him up and bring him in, but I can’t stick around. I promise I’ll come by the station as quickly as I can to answer questions.”
“You need to give me more info than that, Stanley.”
“The guy was planning to mug me, but I turned the tables on him. I need you to find out what he knows about the kidnapping of a young woman named Beth Harper.”
“Kidnapping?” Brommer asked, his voice rising.
“Yes. Well, I don’t know for sure. But she’s missing, and I think this guy and his friends were targeting me and her.”
“Isn’t that the girl involved in the Fizzure thing?”
“Yes. I promise I’ll give you the scoop on that as soon as I can. But right now, I need to use my skill set to find her. Please get this guy and interrogate him. He’s out behind my house tied up.”
“I’ll get right on it, Stanley.”
Without waiting for further confirmation and without saying goodbye, Stanley hung up the phone. He darted into his house and hurried to his office. He gathered two laptops and stuffed a few other odds and ends into a bag, and rushed up to his bedroom to back a bag for himself and one for his wife. Ten minutes later he summoned another Uber, and five minutes after that climbed into the back of the driver’s Subaru. As the driver pulled away, Stanley pulled out his MacBook, attached a cable, and plugged in his would-be assailant’s phone. It was time to find Beth.