Chapter 2
Daphne balked. "No. No way. You're out of your mind.
Without the two of them, you don't have a case.
This whole thing falls apart. Not like those two idiots have a lot of credibility to begin with.
" She leaned back. "I'm more than happy to sit in that cell, take this to court, and walk away scot free.
If what you're alleging is true, and I do know where that dagger is, I'll be a very rich woman. You don't want that, do you?"
She had a point.
"I'll help you find Dane and Brock, but I want full immunity. For everything up to this point, known or unknown. A clean slate.”
If I were in her shoes, I would ask for the same thing. "And you take us to the dagger."
"I'm not admitting that I know where said artifact is, but if you come back with a deal, in writing, I'm sure I might be able to develop psychic powers and lead you right to it."
I gave her a flat look.
"And there's one more thing. I get out of here right now. You need me on the street to help find them.”
I laughed. "The last thing anybody needs is you on the street.”
She sneered at me.
“I'll talk to the state’s attorney and see what I can do about the immunity.”
"The clock is ticking. The longer it takes you to find Dane and Brock, the higher the odds they get away.
You gotta ask yourself, how bad do you want them?
" Daphne shrugged. "I mean, they did kill a corrections officer.
That's gotta be pretty high up there on the list. In the scheme of things, I’m nothing. "
I leaned close and stared into those mischievous eyes. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to."
"What am I up to?" she said in as innocent a voice as she could summon.
"You want to get out of here, find the dagger, and escape before Dane gets it."
"If you get me a deal for full immunity, why would I want to risk my freedom? I wouldn't try to escape. I'll be on my best behavior, scout’s honor.”
"You're no scout. And $30 million is a lot of money."
She smirked.
“You want to tell me what makes that dagger worth $30 million dollars?”
She grinned. “Well, that’s a story. Get me out of here, and I’ll tell you.”
I pushed away from the table. "I'll see what I can do."
"Time is wasting," she replied.
I knocked on the door, and a guard buzzed us out. We stepped into the hall and rejoined the sheriff.
The look on his face told me exactly what he was thinking. "There's no way she's getting out of the pod."
"Without these two scumbags, she's going to walk eventually," I said.
"How long has she been in there?" JD asked.
"A week now. Bail was set at $500,000. I don’t think she’s got it.”
"Something tells me she's not cut out for the long haul."
"I don't care what she's cut out for," the sheriff grumbled. “I don't particularly want to see her back on the streets."
"Like she said, how bad do you want Dane and Brock?" I asked.
The sheriff’s face tightened. “Let’s put it this way. Those two dirtbags living the rest of their days as free men is not an option.”
“Well, then you better work something out.”
We left the station and headed back to the Avventura. We had no sooner pulled into the parking lot when the sheriff called. "I need you two nitwits to get to Taffy Beach."
"What is it now?”