“If they don’t get the money out of us, are they going to pick us off one by one? Are we in danger?”
“I don’t think so, but it wouldn’t hurt to be vigilant.”
“You’re here,” I said. I stared out the window into the backyard where the dogs were playing. Thea was throwing a ball with all three of them scrambling to get to it first. “You don’t think this ends well.”
“I think we need a Plan B,” he said.
“And what does that look like?” I asked.
“I’m not sure yet,” he said. “If I can find another way to get him out of there, money isn’t going to be an issue.”
I turned around to look at him. “We can afford a private team,” I said. “I’ve heard about various agencies that specialize in this kind of thing. They charge a fortune, but it would be less than the sixty billion.”
“I thought about that,” he said. “It’s another option I’m looking into.”
“What can I do to help?” I asked. “I feel like a bump on a log.”
“I need you to find that Singapore deal,” he said. “I need names, addresses, contacts. Information is power. The more I know, the better I can strategize.”
I nodded. “I’ll head over now.”
“I’m confident I can find a way out of this, but we need to stall. I need time.”
“He’s been with them for almost two months,” I said. “How much time does he really have? We don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“They have to know we would demand proof of life,” he said. “I’m expecting a follow-up call with more information about where to send the money. I’m going to make them believe we’re putting the cash together. If they think the money is coming their way, they’re going to keep him alive.”
“Okay,” I said. “Do we go to the cops?”
“No.”
There wasn’t even a question in his voice. He was adamant. In this, I was taking his word for it. He would know best. “This is bullshit,” I muttered.
“It is, but it’s our bullshit. I’ve got to go. I’ll be in touch.”
“Call me if you hear anything,” I said. “I’m going to head over to his place right now. Do you want to come with me? You might know better what we’re looking at.”
“I can’t,” he said. “I’ve got some things to take care of.”
“Okay.”
He got up and paused at the door. “I know this is hard. You can’t blame yourself. The shit that is happening has nothing to do with you. It wouldn’t matter if we found out two hours after he’d been taken or two weeks. All we can do now is focus on getting him out of there. To do that, I have to find him. I expect I’ll be leaving town soon. I’ll try and let you know. If you don’t hear from me, you’ll know why.”
“Understood,” I said. “If you need backup, let me know. I’m not any use, but I can hire someone who is.”
“Thanks. You better clean that shit up.”
I smirked. “I don’t think I’m quite finished yet.”
“I’ll show myself out.”
He left the office, closing the door behind him. I wasn’t done raging. I looked around my office. The picture of us together on the wall stared back at me. The rage burned deep in my gut. The audacity of someone to do this to us. We were the Bancrofts. We were a respected family.
An idea occurred. I could call Kathy. I was certain she would help resolve this. Between our two families, we could surely come up with the cash.
But who was going to give away sixty billion dollars? It would break us. It would be the end of the real estate company. I would have to back out of Sky Tower East. Thea’s animal shelter wouldn’t happen. I would need to sell my house. Even if I did all of that, I couldn’t come up with that kind of money. To me, they weren’t really after the money. It was an obscene amount. They weren’t actually expecting to get paid. They were going to kill him.
“Fuck!”