Read Twelve to Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery) for Free Online Page B

asked.
    “Fill me in.”
    “It’s all in my book.” Zachery reached into the valise he had set next to his chair and whipped out a hardback book with a picture of a handsome teenaged young man with fiery red hair on the cover. The title read: Kidnapped: The True Story of the Lenny Frost Abduction. He slapped the book down on the tabletop. “Read it.”
    Mac set the book aside. “Give it to me in bullets.”
    “Lenny was fifteen when he got the starring role in that television show and made all of the teen magazine covers overnight,” Zachery said. “From child movie star in the eighties to teen idol of the nineties.”
    “Were you a fan?” Mac wondered if this writer had been obsessed with Frost. Why was he so passionate about this case? Why wasn’t he writing about current events or important cases? Kidnapped teen stars?
    “Kind of.” Zachery plunged ahead. “Two years later, Lenny was snatched while out partying with his friends—Derrick Stillman being one of them. One minute he was drinking and dancing, and the next minute he was gone. The studio paid the ransom, and after the ransom was paid, Lenny called the police from a cabin in the hills. Lenny identified Carson Drake, his assistant on the crew of his show—”
    “I thought Drake was an actor,” Mac said.
    “So you are familiar with the case.” The corners of Harris’s lips curled. “It’s all in the book. The whole truth about how it happened.” He slid the book toward the detective.
    Mac continued to ignore it. “Tell me.”
    “Drake had a family to feed,” Harris said. “Between jobs he would work on the crew of Lenny’s show. Drake was Frost’s assistant. They became friends. He trusted Lenny…and Janice Stillman.”
    “I’m assuming his trust was misplaced.”
    “You’d be surprised by how they manipulated him,” the writer said in a whispered tone that sounded like the two of them were hatching a conspiracy. He inched the book closer to Mac’s elbow. “The way I laid it out, you’ll think, ‘How could someone be that gullible?’ Truth is, when you want something badly enough, whether it be success, fame, or even revenge, you’d be surprised by how blind you can be to the truth.” He flashed Mac a grin. “Or to what lengths you would go for revenge after being the victim of said manipulation.”
    Mac finally picked up the book. “Is that the purpose behind your book, Harris? Revenge?”
    “I consider it justice.” Harris took the book and Mac’s pen from his hand. “Consider this yours to keep. Read it. You will find it enlightening.”
    “I’d still prefer you told me the condensed version.”
    “I’ll be more than happy to give you the highlights, but you’ll still need to read the book to get the full story.” After signing the inside front cover, Harris slid the book back across the table to Mac. “After the kidnapping, neither Carson Drake nor the million-dollar ransom was ever found. Lenny told the police that he was in a drugged state most of the time, but he heard Drake on the phone telling someone that he had the money and setting up a meeting to split it. His partner, someone on the inside, had plane tickets, and they were going to go their separate ways.”
    “Why do you think the Stillmans were the ones on the inside?” Mac asked.
    “Carson’s widow told friends and the police that she thought her husband was away on location for an acting gig,” Zachery said. “She was a model and actress. Of course, after the kidnapping, her career was over. Less than a year later, she went missing. Her body was found in an abandoned warehouse used for trendy drug parties by Hollywood brat-pack types. She had been tortured and killed. Detectives claimed she was killed by drug dealers who Drake used to work for.”
    “Did he owe them money?” Mac asked.
    “It’s all in the book.”
    “I’d rather you told me. That could be a strong motive for kidnapping Lenny Frost and holding him for ransom,” Mac