The Ransom (5 page)

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured, handing the picture back.

The Attorney General took the photo and smiled with pride. “Yes, she is. This was taken a few years ago, on the night of her high school graduation. She finished top of her year.”

“You must be very proud of her.”

“I am. I’m proud of both of my daughters.”

Setting Zara’s picture down, the Attorney General picked up the other one. Staring at the photo, his lips compressed and his eyes filled with emotion. “And this is my baby. This is Brittany.”

He handed the frame across the desk and once again, Lane was forced to contain his surprise. Brittany Dowton looked nothing like her sister. A cloud of golden blond curls framed the tiny heart-shaped face of a child who looked about four or five. The only similarity between the sisters was their dark brown eyes. Brittany stared out at the photographer, her eyes alight with mischief.

“I know what you’re thinking. My girls, they’re like night and day. Zara’s mother was my first wife, Anna. She died in childbirth a few hours after Zara was born.” He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. “God, I can’t believe it’s been twenty-five years.”

Lane refrained from offering commiserations and waited for the Attorney General to continue.

“I met my second wife, Allison, eleven years ago. Brittany’s our little girl.”

Lane nodded and recalled the information he’d been supplied on his way to the scene. “She’s ten.”

“Yes, Britt turned ten a couple of months ago. As you can see, this photo was also taken a long time ago. I really should update them,” he murmured, almost as an aside.

Lane sat forward, ready to get down to business. “Tell me what happened this morning.”

Dowton sighed, his expression troubled. He steepled his fingers and rested his forehead on them, staring down at his desk. He didn’t look up when he spoke.

“Brittany went to the Westfield Mall today with her friend, Olivia Munro and Olivia’s mother, Ellie. Stepmother, actually,” he corrected.

“Yes, I know them.”

The Attorney General lifted his head, momentarily surprised. “Really? They haven’t been in Sydney long.”

“That’s right, but I’ve known Clayton Munro for years, along with some of his brothers. They’re all in law enforcement.”

“Oh, then you know him better than I do. Brittany and Olivia became friends only recently. We met through mutual friends. The girls have been spending a lot of time together during the school holidays. I’ve only met Clayton a couple of times. It’s usually Ellie who’s in charge of the play dates. I understand Clayton’s a highly respected profiler with the AFP?”

“The best in Australia,” Lane agreed, regarding him steadily.

The Attorney General fussed over the papers on his desk. “Yes, well, I can’t imagine what he and Ellie are going through. I mean, their daughter seems to have vanished into thin air. One minute she was there and the next, she was gone.”

Lane kept his heart rate even. “You’ve spoken to Brittany.”

Dowton nodded. “Yes, briefly. She’s still quite shaken. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course,” Lane agreed. “You’d better start from the beginning.”

The Attorney General folded his hands on the desk in front of him and sighed. “Ellie called last night to invite Brittany to go to the mall with her and Olivia. It’s something the girls have done at least three or four times over the holidays. They usually go to a movie. Ellie collected Brittany about eight-thirty this morning.”

“Where were they going?”

“To Chatswood Chase. As far as I know, they were shopping in Myer when Olivia disappeared.”

“I’ve already spoken with Ellie. She’s verified your information.” Lane cleared his throat, wanting to cut to the chase. “When you called Detective Superintendent Collins, you said you thought Brittany might have been the target. I agree that the girls look alike. Are you saying you think it’s a case of mistaken identity?”

Dowton averted his gaze. After a slight hesitation, he nodded.

“What makes you think that? I assume Brittany’s okay?”

“Yes, thank God!” The Attorney General’s relief was palpable. “Apart from a graze on her forehead. She was given the okay by the doctors. I brought her home and then called your superior.”

“Where is she now?”

“Resting upstairs. I asked Zara to sit with her.” He pushed his hair back off his forehead and sighed. “Allison is visiting her sister interstate. I called her to let her know what’s happened. She’s anxiously waiting to catch the next flight home. Unfortunately, there’s only one flight in and one flight out a day, but she’ll be here as soon as she can.”

“I’ll have to interview Brittany.”

“Of course. I understand. I’ll send word up to Zara.” He picked up the phone near his elbow and spoke quietly to the person on the other end.

Lane tugged a notebook out of his pocket and jotted down some notes. When the Attorney General had finished on the phone, Lane spoke again.

“You still haven’t explained why you think your daughter was the target.”

“I’m sure you’ve read it in the papers, or heard it on the news. I’m pushing for tougher controls on outlaw motorcycle gangs. They’ve had a free run in this State for far too long. It’s time we clawed back whatever power we can.”

“You won’t get any argument from me. All of us are right behind you. The sooner the better.”

“Yes, well unfortunately, not everyone feels that way. I’m ashamed to admit that if I’d had the slightest inkling my actions could cause so much angst, I’d have been a little more cautious.”

Foreboding trickled through Lane’s veins, followed by a surge of impatience. He wanted to shout at the man, to shake the words out of him. Olivia Munro was missing. Every second counted.

“I’m still at a loss to connect this with the disappearance of Olivia Munro. With all due respect, Attorney General—David—you need to get to the point. A little girl is missing. Her parents are sick with worry.”

“Of course. I’m sorry. I’m not doing a very good job of explaining myself.” He drew in a breath and scrubbed at his face with his hands.

“Last night, I-I took a call from an unidentified male. It was late. I was trying to catch up on paperwork. He warned me about continuing with my quest for the proposed law reforms. He told me there would be consequences. He implied my family was at risk.”

Lane frowned. “Did you recognize the caller? Did you report the call?”

“No. The voice wasn’t familiar. I couldn’t place it. But the threat sounded legitimate. It shook me up. I couldn’t sleep for hours.”

“And you think he might have been a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang?”

Dowton shrugged, impatience in his eyes. “I don’t know. You’re the detective. But that’s my guess. Who has the most to gain if these reforms disappear? No one has been more vocal about them than I have. What I do know is that last night I received a threatening phone call and the very next day, my daughter’s attacked and her friend disappears.”

“Why would they take Olivia?”

The Attorney General briefly closed his eyes and drew in another breath. “As I said, I think they made a mistake. The girls look alike.” He spoke slowly, enunciating every word, as if he were talking to a simpleton.

Lane’s anger stirred at the AG’s tone, even though he understood the man’s frustration. He thought back to the last time he’d seen Olivia. It hadn’t been that long ago; the girls definitely shared a number of similarities. The photo of Brittany was dated, but he assumed her fair coloring and cloud of blond hair hadn’t changed. To someone unfamiliar with either of the girls, it could have been a simple mistake to make.

“I’d like to speak with Brittany now, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course. I’ve already asked Mrs Harrow to let the girls know you’re here. It might be best if we go upstairs. I don’t think Britt’s up to coming down.”

“That’s fine.”

The Attorney General pushed away from his desk and Lane did the same. He followed Dowton through his office and into the airy living room. An ornate marble staircase stood off to the left. Their footsteps were muffled by a rich, gold-and-navy carpet stair runner. More valuable art works lined the wall. Lane wondered again about the Attorney General’s prosperity.

“You have great taste in art, David.”

“Thank you. Most of them I inherited from my father. He was one of the founding fathers of Sydney Legal. He was the reason I went into law. Among other things, he prided himself on having an eye for art. He was a collector.”

Lane relaxed. Dowton came from old money. That explained the opulence. It wasn’t at all what he’d been thinking.

Turning right at the landing, the Attorney General came to a stop outside the second door along and tapped his knuckles on the closed panel. It was opened almost immediately.

CHAPTER FOUR

Saturday, January, 27, 12:20 p.m.

Lane gasped. A strikingly beautiful woman who barely came up to his chest stared back at him. Although she bore a close resemblance to the photo he’d seen on her father’s desk, Zara Dowton had done some growing up since her high school graduation.

She wore a knee length dress made out of some kind of floaty floral fabric. It was cinched in at the waist with a matching belt and caressed her slender curves. A pale gray silk scarf embroidered with fine silver thread circled her neck. The form-fitting bodice emphasized the generous swell of her breasts, but it was her eyes that held him arrested.

So dark they were almost black, their perfect almond shape widened at the sight of him and flared with an indefinable emotion. Lane stood rooted to the spot, unable to drag his gaze away. The Attorney General broke the spell when he cleared his throat and addressed her.

“Zara, this is Detective Black. He’s here to speak with Brittany.”

The woman angled her head in Lane’s direction and offered him the slightest nod before she returned her attention to her father.

“She’s still in shock, Dad. I don’t know how much she’ll be able to help you.” The last was directed toward Lane. He finally found his voice.

“I won’t be long, but I’m sure you understand how imperative it is we find out what she remembers.”

Zara nodded and turned away. Lane followed her into the room. The scent of orange blossom and jasmine trailed in her wake. It smelled as exotic as the woman who wore it. He filled his nostrils and then silently berated himself, hoping it wouldn’t set off another bout of hay fever.

A blond-haired princess lay curled up on a huge four poster bed which was decorated in reams of pink and white fabric. An iPod dock sat on the white cane nightstand, along with a remote control, presumably to the huge flat-screen TV fixed to the wall opposite.

Lane approached the bed with caution, feeling more than a little out of his depth in the girly room. He was the oldest of four boys. Pink had not been a color of prominence in his family home. Even now, his condo reflected his solitary male existence. Sparsely furnished, it was a place to rest and recover from the events of the day. Nothing more, nothing less.

Occasionally, he’d let a woman sleep over for the night, but that was the extent of his willingness to cohabitate. It didn’t do to get too attached when he had no intention of turning it into a permanent commitment. That was something that worried him about accepting another date with Katie Leeds. It was obvious she wanted to share more than a meal with him. It probably wasn’t fair to let it go any further without having ‘the talk.’

His gaze strayed to Zara and then flicked quickly away when she caught him looking at her. He quelled the sudden surge of interest that pumped straight to his groin, and attempted to focus on the girl in the bed.

“Hi, Brittany. My name’s Lane. I need to talk to you about what happened this morning at the mall. Olivia’s missing, Brittany. We need to find her. Do you think you can help me?”

A tiny nod was the only sign that she’d heard him.

“I know this is difficult for you, but it’s really important that you to tell me everything you remember.”

It took the young girl a few moments to respond. She turned her head on the pillow and looked toward her sister. Zara gave her an encouraging smile. Brittany’s gaze slid back to Lane.

“I’ll try,” she whispered.

Uncurling her slight body, she reached for Zara’s hand and clung to it. The older girl leaned over and smoothed back the golden halo of hair from Brittany’s forehead.

“Just take it slowly, sweetheart,” she murmured.

Brittany took a huge breath and exhaled with a shudder. Lane stepped closer and perched on the end of the bed, his notebook and pen at the ready.

“Your dad said you went shopping in Chatswood this morning with Olivia and her mom. Is that right?”

Brittany nodded. “Stepmom, actually.”

Lane bit down on his irritation. No one could ask for a better mom than Ellie. Pressing on, he tried again. “Did you buy anything?”

Brittany shook her head.

“Did you stop anywhere? Like for an ice cream or a milkshake?”

“No.”

“Tell me what happened,” he urged as gently as he could.