Page 138 of Ozzie

“Hey.” Durango’s hand is on my shoulder.

I turn my attention from the chair to him.

“She’s going to be okay. She has to be.”

I nod, then check the desk and garbage for anything that will help us. There’s nothing.

Lightning grabs the pad of paper on the desk and squints at it. He pulls something from his pocket. A pencil. And begins to shade the paper.

“That doesn’t really work, does it?” I step up behind him.

His shading reveals an address in New Jersey.

“You think they took her there?”

He shrugs. “Let’s ask Trip what’s at this address. It’s our only lead.”

“There’s nothing else here,” Durango says as he comes out of the bathroom.

Lightning steps into the hall and calls Trip.

I turn my attention to the woman in the room. “Did you see anyone coming in or out of this room?”

“No, I don’t normally work this floor, but I got called in to help today.”

Dammit. Hopefully, Lightning gets good information on that address. I walk into the hall with Durango.

“You’re sure it’s a house?” Lightning asks.

He holds the phone away from his mouth. “It’s a house, and Trip is looking up the owner now.”

His eyes widen. “You’re sure? Thank you!” He ends the call. “Let’s go. Turns out John Williams bought that house two weeks ago.”

My mind is working overtime, wondering why he would buy a house in New Jersey. Did he think Piper would go back to him if he were close by? Would she have? I take a deep breath. Of course she wouldn’t.

We run out of the hotel. The address is on the other side of the Lincoln Tunnel, so we opt to take the subway since it’s faster. As we approach the house, I’m struck by the fact that it’s noticeably more run down than the other homes on the street.

Hoping not to be noticed, we work our way to the back, which isn’t an easy feat, considering how overgrown the bushes are. But we make it.

At the back of the house is a door that is up threeconcrete steps. Durango steps up to the door and peers in through the window next to the door.

“Shit,” he says as he tries to open the door. “Piper’s on the floor.” He takes a step back on the small porch and then kicks at the door. Unfortunately, it doesn’t open. He kicks again. Nothing.

“Let me try,” Lightning says.

He kicks the door but it doesn’t budge.

I search the backyard, but there’s nothing to break the window. Then I remember the neighbor had decorative rocks. I make my way around the front, through the overgrown bushes, and grab one of the rocks.

By the time I get back, Durango is still kicking the door with no luck. Lightning is trying to open a window also with no luck.

“Step back!” I yell.

Then I smash the window next to the door. Glass flies in, and I hope it doesn’t hit Piper. I reach in and unlock the door, but it still won’t open. The window I smashed is too small for us to get through.

“Fuck this!” Durango grabs the rock from my hand, jumps off the back porch, and runs around to the front.

Lightning and I follow. He smashes a larger front window, knocking the glass aside until we are able to step through.

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