Suspicions (20 page)

Feeling impatient as the mother slowly
spooned ice cream into a toddler's mouth, he kept looking at his
watch, his only concern Kyle's safety. Once they finally left, he
calmly walked over to the table they had occupied and reached
underneath, feeling around before he found the paper taped there.
He sat down and pulled the bag with the money onto his lap, then
unfolded the note and quickly read the instructions.

It said to go to the sports shop on the upper
level, set the bag on the bench in the back of the store, then go
into a dressing room. He was then to wait for two minutes before he
could come back out and be on his way.

That sounded simple enough. He stood up with
the bag and walked back out into the mall. Deciding to do a little
observing before the final drop to make sure he wasn't being
watched, he climbed onto the escalator and slowly looked around as
it moved upwards. Everyone seemed to be occupied with their own
errands. After he stepped off the escalator he walked toward the
sports shop. He found a planter box located nearby and sat on the
side facing the shop. Only a few people were in the store where the
drop was to take place and he did not see the man with the blue
shirt anywhere.

After several minutes he knew it was time. He
had to wipe his sweaty hands on his jeans before proceeding. There
were only a few customers and a salesman came right over as Jason
walked in.

“Can I help you, sir?” The salesman eyed the
bag in Jason's hand.

Jason was unnerved at the attention. “No, I'm
just looking.” He walked over to a display of sport shirts and
grabbed three without even glancing at them.

The salesman intercepted him on his way to
the dressing room. “You can't take that bag into the dressing room,
sir.” He held his hand out for the bag.

Jason quickly pulled it out of his reach.
“Can I leave it over there?” He pointed to the bench in the
back.

“I suppose.”

“Thank you.” He carried the bag over to the
bench and set it down, then looked around to see if anyone besides
the salesman was watching him. Nobody was so he took the clothes
into the dressing room and threw them on the chair. He tried to
peek through the slats on the dressing room door but was annoyed to
see they were angled the wrong way. He couldn't see anything. He
stared at the second hand on his watch instead.

The man walked into the sports shop through a
back entrance and went directly to the bag sitting on the bench. He
had an identical one in his hand. He set his down on the bench and
picked up the one with the money. Within ten seconds he was on his
way after leaving through the back door.

Jason came out of the dressing room and was
startled to see the bag still sitting on the bench. He didn't
understand why the kidnapper hadn't picked it up. Knowing he would
be in trouble if he screwed this up, he wasn't sure what to do.

Glancing around for the same snoopy salesman,
he didn't see him anywhere. He licked his lips as he bent over and
unzipped the bag, looking inside.

It was full of blank paper. He knew the money
had been there; he had put it in himself from the briefcase.
Zipping it closed, he stood there a minute wondering what to do,
then picked the bag up and walked out of the store, sitting back
down on the planter. His hunger had vanished and now he was worried
about the FBI's reaction. He knew this didn't bode well for
him.

They'll still think I'm a suspect, he
worried.

After several minutes a man appeared next to
him and Jason looked at him in surprise. Jason recognized him from
the Stone's house. “How'd you guys know where I was?”

He spoke to Jason out of the side of his
mouth. “What're you still doing with the bag?”

Jason felt the blood drain from his face,
worried he had blown it. Staring straight ahead, he said, “I
followed the instructions and this bag was there after I came out
of the dressing room.” He turned toward the agent. “It's full of
paper.”

The agent looked panicky. Grabbing the bag
from Jason, he yanked the zipper open, then threw back his head and
let out a big breath.

Jason watched as the agent spoke into his
cell phone, then grabbed Jason by the arm.

“Let's go.”

“Wait a minute.” Jason pulled the agent's
hand off of his arm. “You didn't answer my question. How did you
guys know where I was?”

The agent looked annoyed. “You did a good job
of losing us but a police officer reported seeing your car in the
mall lot so we came over.”

Jason was angry. “Does Mark know about
this?”

The agent gave Jason a patronizing smile.
“This operation is not under Mark Stone's command.”

“I'll bet you guys didn't see who left with
the money, did you?”

The agent looked him full in the eye. “How do
we know it wasn't you all along?”

Jason clenched his jaw. “It wasn't me.”

The agent just raised his eyebrows. “Let's
go, Mr. Hunter.”

Jason shook his head angrily as he followed
him out of the mall.

The man with the Valley Health Club bag drove
right by the agreed upon meeting place and smiled to himself when
he saw she was waiting there for him. She didn't seem to notice him
going by.

Driving on to the bus station, he walked over
to the lockers, then placing the bag inside an empty locker, he
dropped some quarters into the slot and put the key in his
pocket.

Then he drove back to the meeting place.

By now she was pacing next to her car.

“Where have you been? You were supposed to be
here half an hour ago.”

He frowned with feigned remorse. “Things
didn't go quite as planned.”

“What?!”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn't
there.”

Fuming now, she stalked back and forth then
stopped directly in front of him. She looked at him and he felt
beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“You'd better not be trying to double cross
me.”

He laughed nervously. “Do you think I'm
stupid?”

She just glared at him.

“What about the kid?” he asked.

“We’ll have to get rid of him, of course,”
she said impatiently.

“I think we should let him go.”

“What for?” Her eyebrows formed a V on her
forehead. “They didn't hold up their end of the bargain, why should
I?”

He swallowed hard. “How are you going to do
it?”

She laughed menacingly. “I'm not going to do
it. You are.”

He shook his head. “I can't do that.”

“Get over it.”

“Okay. I'll do it.” He looked at her under
lowered lids. “But I'm going to do it my way.”

She waved him away impatiently. “Whatever.
Just get it done.”

He climbed back into his car and drove to the
house where they were keeping him. After mixing the drink, he put
on his ski mask and went into the room. He felt kind of bad for the
kid. He looked so scared.

“It's okay, Kyle. You're going to go home
today.”

Kyle's eyes lit up.

“All you have to do is drink this first.” He
held out the glass. “Can you do that?”

Kyle reached out and took the glass. He
gulped it down.

The man waited until Kyle had fallen asleep,
then loaded him into his car and drove away.

A short time later the man went home to
shower and have a bite to eat, then hid the key where he hoped no
one would think to look. He then drove to the meeting place.

“Did you do it?” She was looking nervous
now.

“I took care of it.”

“Good.” Her eyes became suddenly cold and she
held out her open hand. “Give it to me.”

He was confused. “What?”

She walked closer and he felt his armpits
grow moist.

“I want the money.”

His mouth had gone dry. “I told you I don't
have it.”

She raked her fingernails across his
cheek.

He touched the spot and his hand came back
with drops of his own blood on them. “What are you doing? I told
you I don't have it.” Now he was beginning to question the wisdom
of his choice.

“Liar!” Her teeth were clenched and her eyes
looked wild. She reached into her purse and pulled out a gun.

He held his breath.

“Now. Are you going to tell me where you put
it or do I have to shoot you?”

“Okay, okay.” He held up his arms. “I'll tell
you where I put it.”

She leveled the gun at his chest. “That's
better.”

“I put it in a locker at the bus
station.”

“Which one?”

He told her.

She held the gun with one hand and reached
out the other. “Give me the key.”

He shook his head. “I don't have it with
me.”

Rage filled her eyes. “Where is it?”

“I. . . I left it at home.”

Those were his last words.

Stacey had been playing games with Robby and
Nikki all morning to keep herself, as well as them, occupied. She
kept checking the driveway to see if Jason was home yet. It was
early afternoon before he finally arrived.

Sending the kids outside to play and
forgetting her earlier feeling of despair, she eagerly asked him
what had happened.

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh. You're talking
to me now are you?”

She closed her eyes, willing herself to calm
down. “Just tell me what happened with the ransom.”

“Okay, okay.”

Stacey stared at Jason in disbelief as he
relayed the events of his morning at the mall. “So they have no
idea who got the money?”

Jason's mouth turned down into a frown.
“Nope.”

Stacey felt like everything was wrong. The
mystery hadn't been solved at all. They still had no idea who had
taken Kyle.

Kyle!

“Have they heard anything about Kyle?”

With concern in his voice he said, “No, they
haven't. Amanda's pretty freaked out.”

“Maybe I should go over there.”

“Go ahead. I've had my fill of excitement for
the day.”

Worry lines marred her forehead. “Are you
still a suspect?”

“I don't know. I took a polygraph test after
the ransom drop. Maybe that will clear me.”

“Why didn't you take one before?”

“I . . . I wasn't ready to tell you about
Patricia. I was afraid they'd find out and then you'd find
out.”

She closed her eyes, feeling like the
nightmare would never end. “I'm sorry, Jason. I thought after the
money was delivered you'd finally be off the hook.”

“So did I.” His seemed resigned to his
fate.

“I guess I’ll go over to Amanda’s and see
what’s going on.”

Reporters surrounded her, shouting questions.
“What is your husband's involvement in this?” “Why was he here this
morning?”

Ignoring them, she knocked on the door. One
of the agents let her in. Amanda was pacing around the room,
chewing on her finger. She stopped when Stacey came into the
room.

“Stacey, I can't stand this.”

“Have faith, Amanda. I'll bet he'll be home
before dinner.” Stacey gave her a warm hug.

Tears dampened Amanda's cheeks and she
started pacing again. “Ohhhh. I hope so.”

There were several agents in the living room
and kitchen. Everyone was speaking in hushed tones. Mark was
sitting on a chair by himself, staring off into space. Amanda sat
down on the couch and Stacey sat next to her.

Then Amanda turned to Stacey. “What am I
going to do?”

Having no idea what to say, Stacey searched
her memory for some kind of wisdom. Then, remembering a comment
she’d once heard, she took Amanda's hands in hers and said, “I
believe we’re never given more than we can handle. I know you’ll
get through this.”

“I don't know, Stacey. I think this is more
than I can handle.”

Rubbing Amanda's icy hands, Stacey continued.
“I believe you can. You need to have faith in yourself.”

Amanda smiled.

After sitting quietly next to Amanda for
several minutes, Stacey asked if she could do anything for her.

“The only thing I need is for Kyle to be back
home.”

Stacey stood to go. “I have a good feeling
about this. I really think Kyle will be okay.”

Walking Stacey to the door, Amanda smiled.
“I'll feel good as soon as Kyle's back home with me.”

“And he will be soon. You'll see.”

Amanda looked at her with appreciation.
“Thank you.”

Stacey smiled back. “Will you let me know as
soon as Kyle gets here?”

“Yes, I will,” she said, tears filling her
eyes once more.

As Stacey walked back to her house she felt
overwhelmed with sadness. Whoever had taken Kyle deserved a long
stay in jail. But then she felt a prickle of fear. What if that
person turned out to be her husband? No! She yelled silently. Jason
is innocent.

When she got home, she saw Jason had fallen
asleep on the recliner. As Stacey looked at him lying there, she
felt her heart contract with love and she knew he couldn't be
responsible for the sadness and terror of the last week.

She checked on Robby and Nikki in the
backyard and then went into the office. Pulling out the list she
had made about Mark, she read it over and felt unconvinced he was
the one who had taken Kyle. And after all Amanda had been through,
she really hoped he wasn’t involved.

But what about Deanna? Could she be involved?
Stacey took out the phone book and looked up Deanna Everett's
number and address. Gently waking Jason, she told him she would be
going out for a while. Then she brought the kids in to watch a DVD
so Jason could still doze in his easy chair.

She found the apartment complex without much
difficulty. There were about two hundred units and Stacey realized
it might take a few minutes to find the right one. She wandered
around, noticing the beauty of the day despite the errand she was
on. Once she found Deanna's place she hesitated before knocking,
not sure what she would say. When a woman she hadn't seen before
answered the door, Stacey was surprised.