Page 15 of The Hitman and the Psychic

Joint stayed at the door, blocking us in, and the other guy sat down behind us. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, but I tried not to show any fear. Besides, Stone could take them all out, right? After his greeting, Razor sat back in his chair like he was a king holding court.

Stone didn’t seem fazed by any of this, and his voice had a hard edge to it. “I’m looking for the guy who sent me the text that nearly got me blown up. As you said before, it wasn’t you. But it had to be someone who knows we have a working relationship.”

Razor set the rag on his desk and leaned toward us. “You think it’s one of my men?”

Stone shrugged. “Who else would use your number? That’s why I’m here. I’m sure it’s not someone loyal to you, but I’m wondering if you have anyone new… say… in the last month or so.”

Razor glanced behind us at Joint. “What do you think?”

“We have a couple of newer recruits, but I doubt they’d be dumb enough to go against Stone.”

I sat forward. “Do any of them have short hair and a beard?” Glancing at the men around me, I realized they all wore beards, and my eyes bulged. “Uh… and who also wears a ball cap?”

Razor smirked. “Not everyone’s here today, but you can talk to the guys out there.” He shook his head. “But I don’t think it would be any of them.” Rubbing his beard, he pursed his lips and met Stone’s gaze. “I can’t imagine any of my crew setting you up.”

Stone nodded. “I get that, but it only takes one.”

Razor scowled. “Fine… do what you gotta do. Let me know if you figure it out; that way I’ll know how to handle the situation.”

He was warning Stone to let him take care of it, and the way Stone grumbled under his breath, I knew he didn’t want to do that.

Stone glanced my way. “Anything here you want to touch? Like that rag?” He motioned to the greasy rag sitting on Razor’s desk.

“Uh… no.” I narrowed my eyes at him so he’d know it wasn’t funny.

He shrugged. “Fine.” He turned to Razor. “Thanks for your help. We’ll go talk to the others.” Pivoting, he faced Joint. “I might want to meet your new recruits. When would be a good time for that?”

Joint glanced at Razor for his okay before answering. “Come to the park tonight around eleven. They’ll be there then.”

“Thanks.”

Joint moved aside to let us pass, and we stepped into the garage. Stone leaned close to me and spoke in a low tone. “Feel free to touch anything you want out here.”

My lips turned down. “I know how to do my job.”

He ignored that and continued around a couple of cars to one on the opposite side. The man working on the engine glanced up, then did a double-take. He grabbed a rag and wiped his hands. “Stone… what are you doing here?”

“Hey, Cash. I’m looking for someone. This morning, I got a text to meet Razor at a condemned office building. But Razor didn’t send me the message, so I’m asking around if anyone knows who sent me the text. Was it you?”

“Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Stone glanced my way and lifted an eyebrow. I knew he wanted me to touch that dirty old rag Cash was holding. Knowing I couldn’t put it off forever, I held out my gloved hand.

“Can I see that rag for a minute?”

Cash wrinkled his nose. “This thing?” At my nod, he handed it over.

“Thanks.” I took the stinky cloth, but didn’t take my glove off.

Stone raised a brow, so I beckoned him a few paces away and lowered my voice. “I’ll check it in a minute.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not now?”

“I don’t like having an audience. I’ll check it before we leave.”

He opened his mouth to object, but shook his head instead. “Fine… whatever.”

We made the rounds to the other workers, and I picked up two more rags. I kept them in order so I wouldn’t get them mixed up, and hoped there weren’t many more. I was probably doing this all wrong, but it was too late to change direction now.

---