“These results puzzle the hell out of me, Bennett,” Jon said as he handed him the envelope.
“Why?” Bennett asked as he pulled out the papers. Only he knew which number represented which brother.
“They all have a different mother, but all mothers are from the same town.”
Holy shit. Six women, one place. I don’t like what those odds are telling me. Bennett looked up at him. “Is it local?”
“Not even in this country. It’s a very poor place. To have six children from different women from the same small country is highly unlikely. Unless he went there,” Jon said as he sipped his beer.
Bennett looked over the paperwork carefully. He was hearing what Jon was saying, but it didn’t make any sense. Why would Henderson go to such a place, not just once, but six times? Hell, maybe more for all I know.
“What else can you tell me about these women that will help me locate them?”
Jon downed the rest of his beer before answering. “That whoever this guy is, he should be shot.”
Bennett was shocked by Jon’s candid response. He had no idea it was James Henderson, but he sure acted as if he did. “Because?” Bennett asked as coolly as possible.
“We can tell a lot about the testing we’ve done. Things that haven’t been released to the public. Only the government is aware of the capabilities.”
“Okay. And what did these secret capabilities reveal that has you—?”
“Wishing the man dead?” Jon asked, his voice filled with disgust.
Bennett nodded. Your wish came true. He’s already a goner. “Yeah.”
“It gives the approximate age of the girls.”
Girls? “Not women?”
“Barely women. We’re dealing with girls between eighteen and twenty years of age. That’s why some asshole would want to leave the country.”
Fuck! Bennett felt sick to his stomach. They were legal age, but an older man with such a young girl wasn’t right, legal or not. Then another thought went through his head. Had he raped the girls? Wouldn’t put it past the sick motherfucker. “You’re positive on this, right? No chance of error?”
“I wish. You want to tell me who this asshole is so I can pay the sick bastard a visit?” Jon said between gritted teeth.
“He’s dead,” Bennett said flatly, thinking that death was too good for the man.
Jon shook his head. “A shame. I’d have enjoyed meeting him and showing him exactly what I think of a—”
“You’d have to get in line.” He could see Jon questioning what James’s motives were as well. Bennett got up and threw a twenty-dollar bill on the bar. Holding up the envelope, he said to Jon, “Send me the bill for this.”
Jon raised a hand and said, “I’m sure there’ll be a day that I need your services.”
As Bennett left the bar, he pulled out his cell phone. “Doug. I’m going to be longer than I thought.”
“So what happened?”
“I can’t even tell you on the phone. This clusterfuck just keeps getting worse. I need to go find these mothers,” Bennett said, his voice filling with tension and disgust, and he knew Doug heard it.
“Want some company?”
Having someone like him on this delicate research expedition was probably wise. Even if it’s just to calm my ass down so I don’t kill anyone. Because if he was right, the truth was going to be more perverted than anyone could imagine. He also needed to remind himself that when they found the mothers, they too were victims of Henderson. Hearing his name, or news of their children, wasn’t going to be easy for them. Having Doug with him became a necessity.
“Get your passport and meet me at the airport. We leave tonight.”
Bennett ended the call and searched for Zoey’s number. He wanted to call her, but right now he didn’t want her to hear his voice. Some things are just best done in a text.
Sorry, sweetheart. Got called away on a job. Leaving the country but will be back. I promise. Bennett.