Detective Reverty Walker in Adventure in Action

Chapter Five: Prompt from Crime

Detective Reverty Walker stared at the text message which he had just opened.

I know what you did!, he read from an unknown number.

Rev was puzzled.

Got to be a bit more specific, he text back.

"Done quite a bit of bloody business, ain't I?", he grumbled out loud. "If you're gonna threaten, you better be direct about what your threat is, yeah?"

A text reply came back- If you want to keep me silent, you're going to have to do something for me.

"What in the bloody...".

Rev felt his blood pressure rise.

"I AIN'T DOIN'...bloody well keep you quiet!... I DON'T THREATEN!!!!", Rev sputtered and raged at the phone in his hand.

After taking several deep breaths, he calmed down enough to reply, No.

"Bloody well put that in yer pipe and smoke it", he grumbled.

His phone rang. The incoming call was from the number that had been texting him. His curiosity piqued, he answered his phone.

"What?", he snapped.

He wasn't really expecting a certain type of person in particular on the other end, but if he had been anticipating someone, it certainly wouldn't have been the slight voice of a young woman.

"Don't you care that I could go to the police right now? Don't you want to find out what I need?" She sounded baffled.

"Look, sweetheart", Rev started, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his forehead where a headache was starting, "I dunno what you do or don't know, and I don't much care, do I? Mosta what I do is off the record on behalf of law enforcement, so I ain't worried, yeah? Go bark up someone else's tree".

Rev hung up and shook his head, setting his phone down on the counter and heading for the refrigerator. He needed a drink.

He hadn't gone more than two steps when his phone rang again. He snatched it off the counter and saw the number calling him.

"Bollocks!"

It was her again.

"Look kid", he answered, "I dunno what you're bloody playing at-".

"My sister's been kidnapped", the girl interrupted.

"Did you-?"

"Go to the police, yes. She's an addict, a... a call girl, and she's not a priority. They aren't taking it seriously".

"But you are", Rev pointed out. "Why?"

"Because I knew where to find her and how, and now I can't. She's completely disappeared. I'm pretty sure someone took her. A man. A client".

Rev hesitated. He heard the angst in her voice. His little sister popped into his head. It was likely this girl's sister had simply run off with someone, or had overdosed, but if not...

"How'd ya get my number?", Rev asked.

"I know a guy".

Rev waited in silence until she sighed and confessed, "There's this guy I used to date that was friends with this cop who said you did vigilante stuff, and that maybe you could help".

Rev waited patiently until she gave him their names. Yeah, he knew the name. Not well, but he knew it.

"So, texting me a threat instead of bloody asking for what you actually needed help with seemed like a good idea, yeah?", Rev snapped, exasperated.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you would take me seriously otherwise". She did sound regretful.

"And what were you going to supposedly have known about me?", Rev asked.

"That you kill sex traffickers".

Rev snorted. "Common knowledge, love. Anything else? No details?"

"No", she replied in a very small voice.

Rev felt the guilt he had over the death of his sister sneaking up on him, and knew he was caving.

"Where you at?", he asked.

She told him.

"I'm thirty minutes away", he said. "I'll call when I'm close and tell you where to meet. I want every piece of information you have, pictures of your sister, and I want you alone".

"Oh, thank you, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, kid. Let's see if I can get her back first, yeah?"

"I appreciate you even trying! Thank you so much, Detective Walker!"

"Just Rev. See you soon".

Rev hung up on her and shook his head. It came as a surprise that he did, apparently, still have a heart.

He loaded up his typical arsenal, forgot about that drink he had wanted, and headed from his one room flat out to his black F-150.

"Must be outta my bloody tree", he grumbled. "Probably ain't no actual crime here at all".

You don't believe that or you wouldn't be driving to meet this kid, he contradicted himself.

"Touché", he replied out loud, shifting into drive.

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