Page 87 of Tide and Seek
“I just mean, what exactly are we going to do to him?”
Stiles gave an exasperated sigh.“I’m going to drug him and then the poor slob is going to drown in those rock cave things at the end of the beach.”
Ethan’s face twitched.“Oh.”
“Now go get some rope out of your van so we can tie this mother fucker up and get on with our work.”
“Yes, sir,” Ethan said.
Stiles kept the gun trained on me while Ethan was gone.He didn’t say anything, which surprised me.He seemed like the type who’d run his mouth to show what a big man he was.But he was silent, just staring at me with his cold, dead eyes.
When Ethan returned, he led me to a chair at the dining room table.I figured if I was going to fight them, now was the time.Once I was tied up, I’d be easier to kill.Ethan moved toward me with the rope, his hands shaking.I pretended like I was going to obediently sit down in the chair, but as Ethan reached for my arm, I swung hard with my right fist, catching him square in the jaw.His head snapped back and he stumbled, dropping the rope.
“Damn it,” Stiles cursed, raising his gun.
I lunged for Ethan again, hoping to use him as a shield, but my reflexes were still sluggish from last night’s champagne.Ethan recovered faster than I’d expected, grabbing my wrist and twisting hard.We went down in a tangle of limbs, crashing into the coffee table.
I got in one more good hit to his ribs before Stiles joined the fight, using the butt of his gun to clip me behind the ear.Stars exploded across my vision, and my coordination went to hell.With two of them pinning me down, the fight was over before it really began.
“Hold still,” Stiles panted, pressing the gun barrel against my temple.“Try that again and I’ll put a bullet in your head right here.I don’t give a fuck about the blood.”
They hauled me into the chair and my arms were yanked behind the chair back, the nylon rope biting into my skin as Ethan secured the knots with shaking fingers.Once my arms were secured, Stiles wandered away, and Ethan tied my ankles to the chair legs.He avoided my eyes the entire time, his breathing shallow and quick.
Once he had me secured to the chair, he whispered so quietly that I almost didn’t hear it, “I’m sorry.”
“Then why are you doing this?”I hissed back.
“My wife.”
“Ethan, get your ass over here,” Stiles growled from the hallway.
He hurried away, and after a few moments of muffled conversation they went upstairs.I heard the attic ladder come down with a metallic clatter.Next, I heard the thud of footsteps as someone, most probably Ethan, climbed up into the space above.
The next twenty minutes were a blur of activity as they climbed up and down that ladder, carrying cardboard boxes down the stairs and into the room where I was.The boxes were of various sizes, some small enough to tuck under one arm, and others required both hands.There were twenty boxes in total, each one presumably packed with drugs.Stiles mostly supervised, occasionally making trips to load certain boxes into Ethan’s pest control van.
When the last box disappeared out the front door, Stiles came back alone.He pulled a small syringe from his pocket.
“What’s that?”I growled, eyeing the syringe with apprehension.
“Fentanyl.”
I clenched my jaw.“No one is going to believe I used fentanyl.”
He laughed.“People will believe anything if you set the scene just right.”He sounded like he was speaking from experience.“Besides, I doubt they’ll even do an autopsy.”
“I think you’re wrong about that,” I said coolly.“I’m a cop, that means higher scrutiny.I don’t use drugs.The toxicology report will show fentanyl in my blood.”
He shrugged.“Okay, so what?You used drugs.It happens.I know lots of cops who use drugs.”
“I don’t and Max knows that.”
“Well, he’ll probably try and raise a stink, but the dose isn’t enough to kill you.”Stiles smirked.“You’re going todrownwhen the tide comes in.Nobody will be able to prove it was anything other than a heartbreaking accident.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“You’re such a negative Nelly.”He sighed.“Look on the bright side.The spot I’ve picked for you to die in is actually pretty nice.It even has an oceanfront view and everything.”
“People will look for me.Max isn’t going to just accept that I disappeared into thin air.”
