Chapter 11 - THE MAN IN THE SUV
“Where is my sister?”
The man laughed quietly.
“She’s right here.”
“Let me hear her.”
“No.”
“If you hurt her—”
“Everybody keeps making this emotional.”
Sarah felt sick.
“You threatened my child.”
“Business is business.”
Rebecca was already texting the investigator.
Trace the call.
Sarah kept talking.
“What business?”
“The kind your husband owes money for.”
There it was.
Not Mark’s employee.
Not exactly.
A creditor.
“How much?”
“More than he has.”
“How much?”
“Six hundred twenty thousand.”
Sarah remembered Daniel’s records.
The debt.
“You’re one of the investors.”
“Used to be.”
“What happened?”
“Mark sold us a project that didn’t exist.”
Sarah shut her eyes.
Of course.
“Where’s Rachel?”
“Safe.”
“Where’s Lily?”
“With Mark.”
“Where?”
“You really think I care?”
Sarah’s anger rose.
“You’re working together.”
“Not anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your husband promised me money tonight.”
“And?”
“He doesn’t have it.”
“Then why take Rachel?”
The man chuckled.
“Insurance.”
Sarah looked at Rebecca.
“What’s your name?”
Silence.
“You already know mine.”
“You don’t need mine.”
“I think I do.”
“Why?”
“Because if you hurt my sister, I want to know exactly whose face I’m looking at when you’re sentenced.”
The laugh disappeared.
Rebecca gave Sarah a subtle thumbs-up.
The police had a trace.
The man spoke again.
“You’re brave on the phone.”
“No. I’m angry.”
“You should be angry at your husband.”
“I am.”
“He told us about the trust.”
Sarah’s heart stopped.
“When?”
“Months ago.”
“He promised you access?”
“He promised he could borrow against it.”
“He can’t.”
“I know that now.”
“And now you’re blaming me?”
“No.”
His voice turned cold.
“I’m giving you a chance.”
“To do what?”
“Bring two hundred thousand cash.”
Sarah almost laughed.
“You think I have two hundred thousand dollars lying around?”
“Figure it out.”
“You kidnapped my sister for money I can’t access?”
“You can access some of it.”
“How?”
“Ask Daniel.”
Sarah froze.
How did he know Daniel’s name?
The man continued.
“Thirty minutes.”
The call ended.
Rebecca immediately called police.
“Did you get him?”
A pause.
Then:
“Good.”
Sarah looked at her.
“Where?”
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed.
“Rachel’s house.”
Sarah stood.
“What?”
“He called from inside Rachel’s house.”
Police were already moving.
Ten minutes felt like ten years.
Then Rebecca’s phone rang.
“They’re inside.”
Sarah gripped the dashboard.
“And Rachel?”
Rebecca listened.
Her shoulders dropped.
“She’s alive.”
Sarah cried out.
“Thank God.”
“Suspect fled through the back.”
“Rachel’s okay?”
“She’s shaken. Minor injuries.”
Sarah covered her face.
One person safe.
Now Lily.
Then the investigator called Sarah directly.
“We have something else.”
“What?”
“The suspect left his phone.”
Sarah looked at Rebecca.
“And?”
“There are texts between him and Mark.”
“Can you use them?”
“We already are.”
“What do they say?”
The investigator paused.
“One from Mark says, ‘If Sarah won’t cooperate, scare the sister.’”
Sarah closed her eyes.
There was no coming back from that.
Then another message.
“And this one was sent fifteen minutes ago.”
“What does it say?”
“‘Change of plan. Meet me at the airstrip.’”
Sarah’s eyes snapped open.
“What airstrip?”
“We’re working on it.”
Sarah remembered something.
A conversation.
Years ago.
Mark and his friend Jason had gone hunting near Tucson.
Jason flew small planes.
“Marana.”
Rebecca turned.
“What?”
“Marana Regional Airport.”
Sarah grabbed her phone.
“Mark’s friend Jason keeps a plane there.”
The investigator said, “We’re checking.”
Seconds later, Sarah received a video.
From Mark.
Lily sat in a small airplane seat.
Headphones too big for her head.
Mark was beside her.
He looked into the camera.
“You have forty-five minutes, Sarah.”
May you like
Then he smiled.
“After that, you may never see us again.”
