Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine
Josh Collins
 
     Mr. Collins had no call waiting and lied to Peter because he didn't want the conversation to reach a point where he couldn't respond; he simply wasn't in the mood to talk. When Josh parked his car on the side of the road to go to the police station and meet with a sergeant who was a friend of his, he got out of the car; his mobile rang; there was a message for him; he checked his phone; the message was: "If you don't want your wife to get hurt, don't meet with any police; also, if you want to see your dear wife, sit behind the wheel of your car right now and step on the gas; wait like this until the next message arrives, which is the address where I'm waiting for you."
   Josh did just that, and after five minutes, the second message came, which was the same address; Mr. Collins' anger peaked, so he drove at full speed towards that address. When he reached the address, which was a white duplex with a black door in the middle of the city, he turned off the car and took a deep breath; after a few moments, he got out. When he reached the front door of the house, he hesitated for a moment as if he was unsure how to confront this event, the house, and his fate; but he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it; the door opened easily. Josh entered the house with hesitation and fear. It was an empty and relatively dark house; he approached the staircase that was right in front of him.
    Someone was coming down the stairs from the darkness, but only discernible things were visible as if he was attaching a silencer to his gun. Now his face was clear with the little sunlight inside the house; that person was none other than Scott.
   Scott said, "I was watching you from the upstairs window; you hesitated to come here, but you came. I doubted whether you cared about your wife and would come here." Then he aimed at the center of Josh's forehead.
   Mr. Collins was shocked and finally said, "Scott, why did you trick me into coming here? Did you kidnap Christine? Is she alright?"
   "I tricked you into coming here to ask you an important question. Christine isn't here."
   Mr. Collins shouted, "It's clear what you're saying; you've just wasted my time."
   "Tell me where Amy is?"
   Josh shouted, "Damn it, I don't know where Amy is." He turned and took a few steps away from the stairs.
   Scott said, "You're lying; you know well where Amy is; tell me where Amy is before I lose my control."
Now Scott's voice was very close.
   Josh, frustrated, turned again and saw that Scott was now standing in front of him; so before his brother could really shoot, he attacked and knocked Scott to the ground. The gun slipped from Scott's hand and fell far away from them on the ground. Josh and Scott were hitting each other; Scott, feeling powerless, kept retreating until he reached the wall and leaned against it half-standing. Mr. Collins, although older than Scott, had bloodied and bruised his face and now that he had a chance to escape, he sat on Scott, grabbed his collar tightly, and readied his fist in the air for another blow to Scott's face.
   Scott, in that bad state, said in a soft and weak voice, "Tell me where Amy is? I want her to come back home."
   Mr. Collins paused in the same manner and said, "Amy said she 'will never return to that house because of all the lies you told her.'" Then he added, "For Amy and her children, I dedicate this strong punch to you." He hit him hard in the face and fell to the ground from exhaustion; he struggled to get up, picked up the gun, emptied the magazine, and threw the gun back on the ground. Josh had not yet reached the door when he heard Scott's loud laughter mixed with a groan; he said, "You're not a good person. Did you believe this lie that you had no role in this affair? The truth is, you are as dirty as me, or even more. It won't be long before your time comes to pay for your actions."
   Mr. Collins, without turning around, gave a nervous laugh and said, "There is no such thing as absolute good or absolute evil; besides, your words didn't worry or upset me at all." Then, using the corner of his sleeve, he wiped the blood from the wound at the corner of his mouth, turned his head while his hand was on the doorknob, and saw that Scott, still in the same position with a bloody face and body, was leaning against the wall and had become very weak; for this reason, he sighed and said, "I tried to help you, but I failed; I'm sorry." Then he left.