The Last Detective by Robert Crais Read Free Book Online

strangers had taken him.
    The man who had taken him said, “Roger that. I see him.”
    The man who held him said, “I can't see shit from back here. What's he doing?”
    “He's moving down the slope.”
    Ben realized that they were talking about Elvis. The three men were watching Elvis Cole. Elvis was looking for him.
    The man with Ben said, “This is bullshit, sitting back here.”
    The rough voice said, “He found the kid's toy. He's running back to his house.”
    “I wish I could see.”
    “There's nothing to see, Eric. Stop bitching and settle down. Now we wait for the mother.”
    The Abduction: Part Two
    W hen they mentioned his mother, Ben felt an intense jolt of fear, suddenly terrified that they would hurt her. His eyes filled and his nose clogged. He tried to pull his arms free of the tape, but Eric weighed him down like a heavy steel anchor.
    “Take it easy. Stop it, goddamnit.”
    Ben wanted to warn his mom and get the police and kick these men until they cried like babies, but he couldn't do any of that. Eric held tight.
    “Jesus, stop flopping around. You're going to hurt yourself.”
    They waited for what seemed like hours, then the rough voice said, “I'll make the call.”
    Ben heard the door open and somebody get out. After a minute, the door opened again and whoever it was got back in.
    The rough voice said, “That's it.”
    They drove down out of the hills, then back up again on winding streets. After a while, the van braked. Ben heard the mechanical clatter of a garage door opening. They eased forward, then the engine shut off and the garage door closed behind them.
    Eric said, “C'mon, kid.”
    Eric cut the tape holding Ben's legs, then Ben was jerked by his feet.
    “Ow!”
    “C'mon, you can walk. I'll tell you where.”
    The man held tight to Ben's arm.
    Ben was in a garage. The hood pushed up enough for him to glimpse the van—white and dirty, with dark blue writing on the side. Eric turned him away before he could read what was written.
    “We're coming to a step. Step up. C'mon, lift your goddamned feet!”
    Ben felt for the step with his toe.
    “Shit, forget it. This is taking too long.”
    Eric carried Ben into the house like a baby. Being carried made Ben mad. He could have walked! He didn't have to be carried!
    Ben glimpsed dim rooms empty of furniture, and then Eric dropped his legs.
    “I'm putting you down. Stand up.”
    Ben stood.
    “Okay, I put a chair behind you. Siddown. I've got you. You won't fall.”
    Ben lowered himself until the chair took his weight. It was hard to sit with his arms taped to his sides; the tape pinched his skin.
    “Okay, we're good to go. Is Mike outside?”
    Mike. Mike was the man who had taken him. Eric had waited in the van. Now Ben knew two of their names.
    The third man said, “I want to see heez face.”
    Eye-wahnt-tu-see-heez-fehss.
    His voice was eerie and soft.
    “Mike won't like it.”
    “Stand behind him if you are afraid.”
    Stand-beehighnd-heem.
    The voice was only inches away.
    “Christ. Whatever.”
    Ben didn't know where he was or what they were doing, but he was suddenly scared again, just like when they talked about his mother. Ben had not yet seen any of the three men, but he knew that he was about to, and the thought of seeing them scared him. He didn't want to see them. He didn't want to see any of this.
    The hood was pulled off from behind.
    An enormously tall man stood in front of him, staring down at Ben without expression. The man was so tall that his head seemed to brush the ceiling, and so black that his skin drank the room's dim light and glowed like gold. A row of round purple scars the size of pencil erasers lined the man's forehead above his eyebrows. Three more scars followed the line of his cheeks below each eye, each scar a hard knob like something had been pushed under the skin. The scars terrified Ben; they looked creepy and obscene. Ben tried to twist away, but Eric held tight.
    Eric said, “He's an African,