"I had one clean cup left." Coffee pot in his right hand, Cox was circling the small kitchen of his apartment in his stocking feet.503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhbQsSdZQh
He studied the contents of the sink again, and poked at the scatter of unwashed dishes and cups. The drainboard was empty, likewise the cupboard shelf where he kept meaning to store his clean dishware.
Setting for a cup that looked relatively clean, and swishing it out under the tap, he poured himself a cup of coffee. He set the pot on the stove and returned to his little living room.
He'd brought his collection of maps home, and spread them out on his unmade sofa bed. Using Houston as the center dot, he'd drawn a circle with a radius of 300 miles on a couple of the more detailed maps.
Balancing the cup on his knee, Cox sat on the edge of the bed and commenced studying the maps.
It was a warm night and some kind of insects were making tiny chirping sounds outside his window.
Cox went over the circle with his fingertip. "Gotta be somewhere around here," he murmured, "'cause Hikaru's good with numbers and...."
Wham!
The front door to his apartment came smashing open. Three burly men leaped in, all armed with pistols.
The largest of the three swung and pointed his .38 revolver at Cox. "Freeze!" he ordered.
"Frozen," said Cox, eyeing the three dark-suited men. "And who might...."
"You Ronald A. Cox?"
Cox swallowed. "Yeah," he said. "Who the hell are you?"
"County police. We have a warrant to search your apartment."
"I'm going to stand up now," said Cox, gingerly rising. "Now, can I see some kind of proof you fellas are who you claim!"
The spokesman kept his gun leveled at Cox's chest. "Show him."
Another of the big men produced an I.D. and a very official looking warrant.
"Now, what is it I'm....."
"Where is she, Mr. Cox?" demanded the officer who talked.
The other two went to work on his apartment. They grabbed the maps off the bed, then the sheets. One of them took the cushions off the chairs. The other looked behind the pictures.
"I don't know who you mean, sir."
"I think you do, Mr. Cox," said the cop who stood with the .38 aimed at Cox's chest. "We have witnesses that say you kidnapped her. They can identify you."
"Do I get in trouble if I ask you who the hell I'm....."
One of the other cops called from the bathroom. "I got her, sarge."
"Would you come with me, Mr. Cox?"
Cox followed him into the small bathroom, and his mouth dropped nearly a foot at what he saw. "What in the world.....?"
Standing by the cop who was already in there was a 13-year-old girl with brown eyes, a fair complexion, and wavy auburn hair cut short. She was a little short and quite heavy. "We also found this," he said, handing to the man he'd called "sarge" a plastic bag filled with blurry snapshots. "Sarge" opened the bag, took out the snapshots and looked at them one at time, a disgusted look on his face. When he finished, he placed the snapshots back in the bag and handed the bag back to the third cop.
This man went through the same routine, taking the snapshots out of the plastic bag and looking at them. "Ronald Cox, you are under arrest for kidnapping, child endangerment, and possession of child pornography."503Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDaRQFvEoz
"I don't believe it," said Cox. "Where did she come from? I never saw her before in my life! I mean, 13-year-olds aren't my style, if you know what I mean. And I never read a porn mag in my life. What the hell is this? You guys come in here and plant...."
"You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney."
"Listen, you know damn well that girl and those pictures weren't here until you...…." Watching their faces, he let that accusation die on his lips. "Is this what happened to Hikaru? Did you frame him on some asshole charge and...."
The third man came into the bathroom, twisted one of Cox's arms behind her back, and started to apply handcuffs.
"Hey, that hurts. You don't need to cuff me, I'm not a...."
"Mr. Cox, the charges against you already are very serious," advised the man with the gun. "Don't add to them by resisting arrest."
"Saying ouch is resisting arrest? Jesus!" He didn't say anything more. He kept quiet while they took him away.
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