Arthur drove in the direction of the beach, but turned three blocks too soon. He parked the car in front of a shabby looking motel. Looking around to make sure no one saw him, he climbed out and approached one of the rooms. He knocked three times, hesitated, then knocked four times.
A shirtless teenager answered the door, and looked the older man over.
"Yeah?"
"Tell Frank I want to see him." Arthur said.
"What about?" the boy asked.
"I'll discuss that with your brother!" Arthur replied.
"Tommy, let him in!" came a gruff voice from the other side of the door.
With a smirk, the boy stood back and held the door open.
Arthur walked into the darkly lit room, and saw Frank stretched out on the bed with a magazine in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
"You weren't supposed to come for another week." Frank said, then laid the magazine down, "With the girl."
"The girl is missing." Arthur said.
Frank sat up quickly and Tommy took a seat on the desk behind Arthur.
"Told you he was too old for this line of work." the teenager said.
"Shut up, Tommy." Frank shouted, then looked at the older man, "What do you mean she's missing? You were supposed to keep an eye on her."
"She left a note for the old lady that she was going to the beach." Arthur said, "That was yesterday. She hasn't been back since. I thought maybe you decided to make a move without me."
"Apparently I'm the only one around here who sticks to the plan." Frank exclaimed, then got up and paced.
"What are we gonna do, Frank?" Tommy asked, "We were counting on holding her for ransom."
"Don't you think I know that? I know that!" Frank yelled, tossing his cigarette in the ash tray and running his fingers through his hair. "You say she went to the beach?"
"Yes, I looked for her there yesterday, but saw no trace of her." Arthur said.
"Maybe she got smart and decided to run away from the old bag." Tommy chuckled.
Frank glared at his young brother, and the boy quickly stopped laughing.
"This isn't a laughing matter, Tommy. We were counting on that money." Frank said, then walked over to the window and parted the blinds. "We'll go out to the beach ourselves and scout around."