Jessie beeped again.
Kendra thought she was doing it to rattle Powers, but she quickly saw that it was a warning for a supermarket delivery truck slowly pulling out of the alleyway ahead.
Powers saw it an instant later. He swerved to avoid the truck, but overcompensated and jumped onto the sidewalk. He tried to correct his course, but it was too late. He plowed into the brick wall of a diaper factory.
Jessie winced. “That’s gotta hurt.”
They circled the smoldering wreck as Lynch stopped and climbed out of his car.
He looked at the wreck. “How is he?”
“Still breathing,” Jessie said. She and Kendra dismounted the cycle. Powers was slumped in his smashed car, partially covered by an airbag. He moaned in pain.
Jessie reached in and pulled the airbag forward, revealing Powers’s swollen and bloody face. “He’s not going to be winning any beauty contests anytime soon, but he’ll survive.”
Police sirens wailed in the distance.
“I called them in,” Lynch said. “They’ll be here in under a minute.”
Jessie leaned down to face Powers. “Where’s Waldridge?”
He wrinkled his brow. “Who?”
“Dr. Charles Waldridge. Thin British guy, late forties. Where is he?”
“Can’t help you.”
Jessie jerked her thumb toward Kendra. “Then why did you try to kidnap her the other night?”
He glanced at Kendra before looking away. “Didn’t … have a choice.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He closed his eyes. “I’m not saying another damn word.”
Lynch stepped forward and placed his hand gently on Powers’s shoulder. “You’re pretty beat-up. Where does it hurt. Here?”
“Yeah.”
Lynch squeezed his shoulder.
“Aaah!” Powers cried out.
Lynch squeezed harder. “I suggest you tell these ladies what they need to know.”
“I … can’t…”
“Sure you can.” He applied more pressure on the shoulder.
“Aaah! Shit!”
Kendra flinched at the sheer agony in his voice. She braced herself, tensed, then leaned in closer. “We know it was you who tried to take me the other night. Why?”
He gasped. “I can’t say any more.”
Lynch squeezed his shoulder again.
“Owww!” Powers grimaced. “Keep it up, and I’m gonna pass out. Then you won’t get anything from me.”
“We’re not getting anything from you now,” Kendra said. “And I have to say, I’m really enjoying this,” she lied.
“I’ll bet you are, you b—owww!” He looked up at Lynch. “I’ll have you brought up on police brutality charges.”
Lynch smiled malevolently. “I’m not the police. Just a concerned citizen who’s extremely annoyed with you for what you did to my friend.” He slowly increased the pressure on Powers’s shoulder. “And if you think you’re hurting now, what do you think of this? It’s all in the fingers…”
Powers eyes bulged, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Lynch released his shoulder. “Just a little sample. So tell us why you tried to kidnap my friend here.”
Sweat rained down Powers’s face. “We weren’t going to hurt her. We just had to bring her there. They told us they needed her. I promise.”
“Where were you taking her?” Lynch asked.
He shook his head. “Do whatever you want, but I can’t say any more. My life is at stake here.”
“Your life?” Kendra said.
“Yeah.” He was pale and shaking. “Excuse me, if I don’t feel like dying.”
Kendra’s eyes narrowed on him. “Who are you working for?”
He stared at her for a long moment. “For your sake, I hope you never have to find out. But you probably will, they want you real bad.”
“Who? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Not another word.” He looked at Lynch. “Do whatever you want with me.” He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw squad cars coming down the street. “I’m not talking.”
“No?” Lynch smiled. “I’d barely started. Those time restraints really hampered me. Oh, well, there will be another time.”
Behind them, the four squad cars and Metcalf’s car rolled up. The police cars cut their sirens, but the flashers stayed on.
Lynch called out to them. “Get a paramedic unit out here. This man needs a hospital.”
Metcalf jumped out of his car and ran up to them. “Is it him?”
Kendra nodded. “Yes, but he’s not overly talkative. I need to know everything about him we can find out.”
“We have cops swarming through his house, and we’ll subpoena phone records.”
“Good.” She turned back to Powers. She tensed, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. “One last question. Is Dr. Waldridge still alive?”
Powers didn’t answer. He closed his eyes and slowly leaned back against the headrest.
No use, she realized in frustration as she turned away from him.