Bad Penny by John D. Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

details later. Right now I want to focus.”
    They drove past the ridge of short cliffs and the strip mall. Frank searched the parking lots. They passed pickups and SUVs and an old Honda coming the other way. There was no Tony.
    “I figure it’s not some random kidnapping,” Sam said. “Who kidnaps teenagers in broad daylight?”
    “Not too many people around here.”
    Sam weaved past two vehicles that were slowing for a turn. He said, “A car pulled up to your house after I’d dropped off that plate. Colorado plates. They didn’t look much like choir boys, Frank.”
    “They’re not, Sam. Either one would kill you. They had a girl in their trunk. Tony sprang her.”
    Sam’s mouth hung open in surprise. Then he recovered. “So they caught him, and abducted the both of them?”
    “No, Tony and the girl made an escape in the Nova.”
    “So he wasn’t abducted?”
    “She’s holding a box cutter to his throat. She didn’t want to go to the cops. Our choir boys are after them.”
    A car pulled into their lane up ahead, and Sam juked into the lane next to it. “Choir boys, huh? I can do choir boys.”
    Frank looked over at him. Looked at the toys in the back, the princess DVDs in a case in between the seats. Some unicorn and star stickers clung to the glove box where one of Sam’s numerous small kids had undoubtedly put them. Frank had a nose for people. No way Sam had some ulterior ex-con crime connection scheme going. No way. Which meant Sam probably got his ideas about choir boys like Jesus and Ed from TV. He’d probably never seen a real bad guy in his whole life. Never been in a situation where the wrong move meant somebody died. “Well, Sam,” Frank said, “then it’s good thing you’re along. Now we just need to find Tony.”
    “Roger that,” Sam said. He picked up a blue bottle from a holder, took a long drag, then held it out to Frank. “Vitamin water?”
    The lip of the bottle glistened with the residue of Sam’s sucking lips.
    “Thanks, I’m good. You watch the road.”
    Frank gave this rescue chase 50-50 odds. Then he thought of all that could happen to Tony before he got to the interstate, and those chances started to plummet.

4
Nova
    FRANK LOOKED AHEAD at the I-80 interchange. Tony knew the Nova wasn’t a freeway car. Not only did it start to shimmy like a hoochie when the speedometer hit sixty-two, but the old engine was tired. You had to be going downhill to even reach that speed.
    There was nothing but interstate and high country desert for a hundred miles east of Rock Springs. Everybody drove eighty-five. So if he tried an interstate escape that way, the Nissan would soon catch up without even breaking the legal speed limit. East was no place to run. Frank had to assume Tony would see that.
    On the other hand, if he went west, it was only seventeen miles to Green River. Lots of streets. Lots of hiding places. More cops.
    Tony had been heading south-east when Frank had last heard him. Probably to get on I-80 at the east end of town. Frank was on the west end.
    Frank said, “I want you to go east on I-80. I think he’s going to be coming our way. We can get a visual, and I’ll call the cops—there’s always at least one highway patrol watching the stretch between Green River and Rock Springs.” Although that might not be exactly how it played out. The median on the interstate wasn’t too bad. If worse came to worse, he’d have Sam cross it. And then what? The mighty minivan against a Nissan and at least two semi-automatics?
    “Are you carrying?” Frank asked.
    “Carrying?”
    “A gun.”
    “No,” Sam said. “I’m really not a big gun guy. The best I’ve got is a spud gun in the back. It’s for the Cub Scouts.”
    That was splendid news. If this thing went south, Frank would show up to the rumble with vegetables.
    Sam shook his head. “All these years laughing at the gun heads, and now I need one. I used to go paintballing all the time.”
    “It’s not a