Beer Money (A Burr Ashland Mystery) by Dani Amore Page B

through it I could feel the vibrations of an engine. I was in a van. We hit a pothole and my head bounced off the floor.
    I heard no voices coming from the front of the van, no radio, and no music. I may have passed out because seemingly seconds later the van came to a sudden halt and doors slammed again, then the rear door was opened and I was dragged from the back of the van, pulled out and dropped onto the asphalt. My forehead scraped raw. They shut the van doors, jerked me to my feet and pulled me until I heard the sound of a door being unlocked. It was thrown open, and I was pushed through then tossed down yet another set of stairs. The terrifying feeling of the ground flying out from beneath me unnerved me and I braced myself as much as possible, but the steps were cement and they crashed into my chest, the wind knocked from me once again.
    As I gasped for air and felt blood trickle from my nose, I heard laughter behind me.
    Blood seeped from my nostrils and as it did so, the smell of sour bread came to my nose. No, it wasn't bread. It was yeast.
    I rose to my knees, my forehead pressed against the cement floor, its pebbled surface raked the soggy mess that was my face.
    A hand grabbed the back of my shirt. I was dragged across the floor until my head rammed into a metal pole. I heard the sound of hard-soled shoes climbing a short ladder above me, and then I was heaved and pulled upward by the neck and belt. My wind was cut off until I was dropped onto a steel mesh platform.
    Hands now grabbed my ankles. I was slid off the platform and thrust underwater. I clamped my mouth shut just as the warm water raced over my face and up my body. I had held my breath instinctively but there hadn't been time to get a good breath and my air ran out quickly. I kicked, panicking. My heart beat a million miles an hour and I wanted to scream. With what little willpower I had left, I shot a quick burst of air from my lungs, barely managing to stop from inhaling. I stopped thrashing.
    I was pulled out, sucking air and along with it, a mouthful of the water. It wasn't water, of course. But it wasn't beer, either. It was somewhere between the two.
    Instead of bothering to take me back down the ladder, I was kicked off the platform. I landed awkwardly on my elbow and pain shot through my arm.
    The hard-soled shoes came down the ladder and clacked across the cement floor to me. I was pulled across the floor, down another short flight of stairs, across another room and then suddenly stopped.
    I was lifted and thrown into a chair. My legs were tied to the chair legs, my arms pulled behind me. The tape was stripped from my eyes; chunks of skin near my temples went with it.
    The air felt cool, almost refreshing against my face. As my vision cleared, I saw a cement block wall. It had been painted white at one point, but was now a dull, dirty taupe. The paint was peeling near the bottom.
    A door shut behind me.
    The only sound in the room was the drip-drip-drip of my clothing. I shifted in my chair, my wet ass squeaked in a puddle and I tried to break loose but once again, my hosts had been very thorough with the restraints.
    The door opened behind me, and then closed again with just a whisper of sound. I heard a match struck and soon the smell of a cigarette reached my nose.
    "Your friends call you Burr." The voice was deep and slightly aged.
    I tried to make a stinging reply but when my vocal cords collided, the acidic burn of wort produced only a muted gargle in my throat.
    I said, "No shit," but it came out garbled. I don't think he understood me.
    "You have something I would like very much."
    I heard him pace gently, the sound of slacks whishing gently against thigh, the soft fall of his shoes. I strained to get a better look at him, but he stayed behind me.
    "Now," he said, "Why don't you save yourself a great deal of trouble, not to mention, pain, and tell me where it is."
    "Who are you people?" I said, or more accurately, croaked.
    "With so