Lost and Found by Dallas Schulze Read Free Book Online Page B

important was an order for a pizza with everything but green peppers, though the thought of the snotty Ms. Malone breaking out in hives had a certain appeal to it. With food on the way, he dialed the number for the Malone family residence. It wasn't the number that had been given with the reward information but Sam didn't like dealing with a middleman if he could go right to the source. It hadn't taken him long to track down the unlisted number. It paid to have connections.
    He kicked off his shoes and lifted his feet onto the bed, leaning back against the headboard and closing his eyes while he waited for the long-distance connections to go through. This was the last job. He was getting too old for this kind of thing.
    "Hello?" The voice was old and quavery.
    "Could I speak to a relative of Babette Malone?"
    "I'm her aunt Bertie. Who is this?"
    "My name is Sam Delanian. I'm calling to let you know that your niece is safe and sound."
    "Well, of course she's safe and sound."
    Sam hesitated a moment, thrown off balance by the certainty in the reedy tones. "I „.. your niece was kidnapped."
    "That's right." He could have just mentioned that it looked like rain, for all the concern in her voice.
    "Well, I've...rescued her and I wanted to assure her family that she's safe and sound." He waited for thanks, possibly sobs of relief.
    "Oh, my goodness! You took her from the men who kidnapped her?"
    "That's right. She's not hurt and—"
    "Well, of course she's not hurt. Oh, dear. Oh, dear, this is terrible. We didn't plan on this at all. Not at all. You'll just have to give her back. At once, do you hear me? At once! This is terrible."
    The thin voice babbled on but Sam wasn't listening. He held the receiver away from his ear and stared at it. He was so tired he was hallucinating. That would explain it. Otherwise, it didn't make any sense.
    He cut into the flow of fluttering protests. "Ma'am, I don't think you understand. I've rescued her. I'm not one of the kidnappers."
    "Oh, my. This is terrible. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go at all. Dodie, my dear, we have a terrible problem. There's a man on the phone who says he's rescued Babette. I've told him he'll have to give her back at once."
    Sam rubbed his fingers across his forehead. Somehow, he had the feeling he'd lost track of this conversation. There was some vital piece missing.
    "Whom am I speaking to?" The new voice was strong and forceful and Sam almost sighed with relief.
    "My name is Sam Delanian."
    "This is Dodie Davis. What do you know about Babette?"
    "I tried to explain to the other lady, I have your niece safe and sound."
    There was a long pause at the other end of the line and Sam felt an uneasy tingle start at the base of his spine and work its way up until the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. Something was not right here.
    "I'm afraid you've put quite a crimp in our plans, Mr. Delanian. You see, we paid those men to kidnap Babette."
    "You paid them?"
    "Yes. It was necessary to keep her out of the way for a short time. My niece can be less than cooperative and this seemed the only viable way to accomplish that."
    "By kidnapping her?" Sam lowered his voice, glancing at the bathroom door, listening to make sure the shower was still running. "Kidnapping is illegal, Mrs. Davis."
    "This was merely a temporary measure. She would have been released unharmed. Perhaps the small fright will make her a bit easier to deal with."
    Sam took a deep breath, swallowing his anger. He thought of the disastrously short rope of sheets that could have ended in Babs breaking a leg—or her neck. He thought of the way she'd trembled against him when they'd hidden in the roses, waiting to be discovered. He might find Ms. Malone more than a little difficult to deal with but that didn't mean that he would condone kidnapping as a disciplinary measure.
    "Mrs. Davis, your niece overheard the kidnappers planning to kill her."
    "Nonsense. She's always had an overactive