Page 128 of Ozzie

“No Trip searched for a location for their phones, and both came up at the bottom of a lake.”

After Mrs. Walton and JB gave statements that freed Durango and me from custody and pointed the finger at Senator Walton, they disappeared. I’d hoped they had gone into hiding but finding their phones where we did worries me that they’ve been found.

“Is there anything you know about Bennett that we should?”

She sighs. “Always.”

I roll my eyes.

“But in this case, yes. Let me deal with this, and I’ll get back to you.” She ends the call before I can ask anymore.

I continue to direct Lightning until we arrive at a house in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. Harding texted the entry code, so I jump out and punch it in, opening the garage door. Lightning pulls in.

Once we are inside and have verified all windows and doors are secure, I relax for a minute as I go through everything Walton told us over the past several weeks.

“Bennett was the one who had your son kidnapped?” I ask. “Because you said the demands were specific to what you could provide a terrorist organization. And those men coming for us in Istanbul weren’t looking to just say hello.”

“Bennett was behind all of it. But there really were terrorists coming after my family and me. Bennett was ready if I gave in to their demands. Bennett would have made sure I was caught. It’s always been about me going down for a serious crime. Something I can’t come back from. He wanted to ensure that even if I wasn’t convicted, I’d still be removed from my committee assignments in the Senate.”

“And would Bennett step into your place?” Lightning asks.

Walton opens the refrigerator door, peers in, then closes it. “He’s already on the committee. He wants my position as chair.” He opens the cupboards and searches through each one. “There’s no food here.”

“Try the freezer,” I say.

He opens it. Inside are about a dozen frozen meals. “I see we will be roughing it.” He grabs one out and stares at it. His lip turns up, and he shakes his head. “Why do people eat this?”

Lightning walks over to him, grabs it, and tosses it back into the freezer. “Because not everyone can afford to eat at the fancy restaurants you do. These last a long time and are perfect for a safe house.”

Lightning moves to the living room and opens the curtains a little to check outside.

“We can get something delivered.” Walton pulls his phone from his pocket.

I grab it out of his hands before he even gets it unlocked. “Not an option. I thought you gave your phone to Lightning when we were running to the car.”

“I did. That was my business phone. This is my personal one.”

“Dammit! This location has been compromised. I’ll call Harding.” I walk back to a bedroom to make the call.

I explain what happened with the phone. She gives me another address about an hour away.

When I walk back out, Walton is yelling at Lightning to give him his phone back.

“Got a new address,” I say.

“Let’s go,” Lightning says. “Ozzie, you drive. I’m going to take care of this.” He holds up the phone.

He goes out the front door while Walton and I go to the car. I open the garage door and pick up Lightning outside.

“Where’s my phone?” Walton asks.

“In the trash. You can be traced here. Do you understand that? You cannot have a phone. Do you have any other devices?”

“No.”

“Let me see your wrists,” Lightning demands.

He pushes his sleeves up. No watch that I can see from the rearview mirror.

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