Panic (7 page)

“Did you recognize the kidnapper’s voice?”

“No, his voice was electronically altered.”

“Christina is in college. Columbia, I assume?” said Leopold, looking into Logan’s eyes.

“Yes, she’s a senior there. How did you know?” said the senator, his eyes flicking away back to the bottle of liquor on the nearby table.

“We know she lives in New York, and Columbia is the best the state has to offer, so naturally I took a shot. Can you tell me the names of any of her close friends at college? We’ll need to speak with them immediately.”

“Of course. Stark and his team have been kind enough to brief me fully on my daughter’s friends. I have to make sure she’s moving in the right circles, you understand.”

The senator rose from his chair, scribbled a few names on a piece of note paper, and handed it to the consultant, who folded it and placed it inside his jacket pocket.

“Thank you,” said Leopold. “We’ll get in touch when we know more.”

“That’s it?” said Logan. “You don’t need anything else?”

“I’ve seen plenty already, thank you,” replied Leopold, turning to leave. “We’d better get going.”

“Wait a minute. I insist you take Stark with you. If there’s some madman out there, you’ll need some protection. I’ll be traveling into Manhattan later this afternoon, so we can arrange to meet again later. I’ll be at my townhouse in Park Slopes,” said Logan.

“No need, I have my own security.” Leopold gestured toward Jerome. “We’ll call you when we have an update.”

He noticed the senator’s jaw clench. They each rose from their seats said goodbye to the senator, who insisted that Dolph escort them back outside. The blond security guard shut the heavy door behind them as they stepped out onto the gravel driveway and up to the ruined SUV that sat waiting for them.

“Nice ride,” said Mary. “Any chance you want to tell me what happened?”

“I’ll tell you on the way. Jump in,” said Leopold.

Mary got into the back seat. Leopold and Jerome sat in the front and shut the doors. The bodyguard started the engine and they rolled back in the direction of the main road.

“Did you get everything you needed?” asked Mary.

Leopold turned and nodded. “Enough to know he was lying through his teeth.”

Chapter 11

Colonel Jack Stark watched Dolph shut the heavy front door and brushed away the pang of anger that came over him. It wasn’t like the senator to have visitors without clearing it with him first. This was a definite security breach. He would have to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“Can you confirm our guests have left the perimeter?” said Stark, holding a finger up to the tiny speaker in his ear.

“Affirmative.” The voice over the earpiece was clear, as though the person speaking were standing close by.

Good. Stark was always uneasy when the senator had visitors; there was too much at stake to allow people into the house who hadn’t been through a full security sweep. That applied double to cops and trained bodyguards.

“Stark, Viktor. I need you to keep tabs on Blake and the others,” the senator’s voice echoed down the hallway as he approached.

“Yes, sir,” said Stark, turning to Viktor. “Get the comms team to keep the tracer running at all times. Report back every thirty minutes.”

Viktor nodded once and marched away upstairs and out of sight. Stark turned back to face the senator.

“We planted a tracker on their vehicle after they arrived,” explained Stark. “We can trace them wherever they go to within a couple of meters. If they get out of the car, we can follow them on foot. I’ll send a small team.”

“Very impressive,” said Logan.

“It’s standard protocol, sir,” replied Stark.

“Make sure you keep Blake in your sights at all time. I want regular updates, and inform me immediately if he sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“Yes, sir. Just like we discussed.”

“Good. And don’t forget we have one more set of guests arriving before we head back to the city. I want you to make sure they don’t try anything stupid while they’re in my house. Understand?”

Stark nodded and watched the senator return upstairs. He called Dolph over from his position by the door.

“Take four men and keep a tail on Blake and the others. Take two cars in case they split up. Report in every thirty minutes, and once you get into the city, keep them in sight at all times. And get Vinnie down here. I need to brief him on our next set of visitors.”

Dolph confirmed his orders and stalked off, his huge stride taking him across the width of the atrium in just a few steps. Stark could already guess whom Dolph would pick to take with him. Dolph was a fierce soldier, but he was predictable and a little slow on the uptake. No matter; a blunt tool was more than sufficient for the job at hand.

Chapter 12

“Whoa, hold on a minute,” said Mary. “What do you mean, ‘lying’?”

They had barely begun their drive from the senator’s house back toward Manhattan before Mary let loose a torrent of questions. Leopold had yet to provide a satisfactory answer, and Mary wasn’t trying to hide her irritation.

“Spit it out then,” she pressed. “We can’t go round accusing senators of lying without any evidence!”

“I’m not going to accuse him of anything,” Leopold replied calmly, turning in his seat to face her. “I know he’s lying, which will help us figure this whole mess out. I’m not saying I know what the truth is. Yet.”

Jerome turned onto the main road back to the city and put his foot down. The SUV reached cruising speed quickly, the sound of the engine and the wind noise coming through from the gaps in the crumpled chassis forcing Mary to raise her voice.

“Fine. Then at least tell me why you’re so convinced he wasn’t being honest,” Mary demanded.

Leopold sighed. He had hoped that Mary would simply trust his judgment, but he supposed he was far too used to Jerome’s unquestioning loyalty.

“First of all,” he began, “picture what the senator was wearing.”

“Yes, I remember,” said Mary. “He had been up all night, still dressed in the same clothes he was wearing the day before.”

“That was the intended effect,” the consultant explained, “though his shirt was a creased mess, it was clean on that morning – I could smell the laundry detergent. A man doesn’t wear the same shirt for more than twenty-four hours and still smell like he’s just put on freshly washed clothes.”

Mary didn’t look convinced.

“Add to that,” Leopold continued, “his behavior throughout the visit. Take his drinking, for example. He poured himself a measure of scotch from a sealed bottle. Why wait until we’d arrived to start drinking? I didn’t see any empty bottles or used glasses in the other parts of the house, and the scotch was the only bottle in the cabinet.”

“So what?”

“So, he’s either running out of booze, or he simply wants to be
seen
to be drinking. As though that will give him the appearance of a desperate man.”

“I’m not buying it,” said Mary.

“Why else would he only start drinking when we arrived, except to be sure we would be there to see it?”

“It seems like reasonable behavior to me,” said Mary, “considering the circumstances.”

“By itself I wouldn’t have thought twice, but it was other things too. His bed was unmade, but he hadn’t slept last night? A sloppy mistake.”

“He’s just distracted, that’s all.”

Leopold leaned in closer to the police sergeant, his voice becoming more animated. “Do you remember what he asked us to do, Mary?”

“Of course,” she replied. “He asked us to find Christina.”

“Think carefully. The senator’s actual instructions to us were that we needed to find the
kidnapper
, not his daughter. He couldn’t even bring himself to mention Christina’s name. I’d bet my life Senator Logan knows exactly who the kidnapper is, but what I can’t figure out is why he wouldn’t tell us.”

“If he’s involved, why would he hire you?” asked Mary.

“He’ll want to be seen doing the right thing. It’s better to have someone like me – someone you’re paying – working for you, rather than getting the FBI involved,” said Leopold. “Unfortunately for him, he thinks I’m the kind of person who would allow himself to be controlled.”

“Say you’re right, and I’m not saying you are, but let’s pretend what you’re saying makes
any
sense – how do we get some answers? I’d like to avoid getting into any car chases, if I can help it.”

“Oh, that’s easy. We go find Christina and ask her a few questions,” said Leopold, pulling the folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. “These two names are a good place to start looking.”

“What if someone’s tracking us? Those guys that ran you off the road probably aren’t the only ones looking for you.”

“We can do a sweep for any tracking units once we get into the city,” said Leopold. “If we find anything, there shouldn’t be any issues removing it. Anyone wanting to follow us is going to have to use a more old fashioned approach.”

Chapter 13

Christina’s eyelids flickered, letting in some of the dim light. She was sitting upright, that much she could tell, and the chair was cold and hard. She tried to stand up, but found she couldn’t move. A quick glance confirmed she was tied to a chair with some kind of rope, unable to move her limbs or hands. The room where she was sat was warm and smelled of dust, as if it hadn’t been used in quite some time.

She blinked hard several times and the room shifted slowly into focus as her eyes tried to make out familiar shapes in the gloom. A gray shadow moved in the corner. There was something else in the room with her.

“Are we awake?” asked the shadow.

Christina tried to speak but couldn’t find the words. The shadow moved again, drawing nearer. She could make out a face now, and eyes flecked with silver, catching the little light available in the room.

“We’re going to have some fun with you,” said the shadow.

Christina felt a hand on her shoulder. The shadow caressed her bare skin with thick, rough palms, gently stroking her neck and arms. She wanted to be sick. Whatever drugs were in her system were playing tricks on her mind. This wasn’t happening.

Then Christina saw the knife and screamed.

 Chapter 14