The discussion was over, at least for now. As the chef and baldy set up the table for Ed’s dinner, Ed finished his beer, then told Jazz to cut him loose.
“Take him into the cabin and cuff him next to his girlfriend.”
Michael didn’t show his relief. All he cared about now was making sure Tate was okay.
WILLIAM BAXTER STOOD in his upstairs closet, staring at the shelves of his safe. He’d never given much thought to the heft and weight of five million dollars, but he did so now. He knew, because it was important to know such things, that one million dollars in one hundred dollar bills weighed twenty-two pounds. Therefore, five million dollars would weigh one hundred and ten pounds. He needed a vessel, something he could fit into a public trash Dumpster, something that wouldn’t look suspicious to someone passing by, something that would hold one hundred and ten pounds of hundred-dollar bills. It was a serious matter. One, if he got it wrong, that could mean his daughter’s death.
His eyes closed as he tried to regain his bearings. He kept remembering the phone call. The electronically altered voice.
Your daughter is ours. Bring five million in unmarked hundreds to the Central Park carousel. At two-thirty this morning put the cash in the Dumpster with the red X. No police. No tracking chip or dye packs. You deliver the money by yourself. One thing goes wrong, Tate is dead.
He had to get a grip on himself. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his daughter, including giving these people his money. If only he could believe that following the instructions to the letter would be enough.
He knew only too well that if a man was capable of kidnapping, he was capable of murder.
It occurred to him that the vessel he was desperately searching for had been so obvious, if he hadn’t been this close to tears. He would use an old gym bag. There were a couple downstairs.
But to go downstairs would telegraph that something was wrong. The last thing he needed was for the staff to gossip. Any oblique reference at all could be enough to cause damage.
He would have to call Stafford, his majordomo. Just as he stepped out of the closet, his intercom buzzed. His heart leaped in his chest, but he made it to the phone. “Yes?”
“Sara Lessing returning your call, sir.”
“Yes. And, Stafford, please come to my room and bring one of those old gym bags from the storage room. Discreetly.”
“Sir.”
William pressed the lit phone line. “Sara.”
“Hi, Mr. Baxter. Is something wrong?”
“Is Tate with you?”
“Uh, no.”
“Would you happen to know where she is?”
“She didn’t say anything to me about having plans.”
“I see,” he said, sitting down before his knees gave out. He hadn’t realized how much stock he’d put in the idea that Tate was simply with her friend and this was all a prank.
“Mr. Baxter, have you tried her cell?”
“Yes. I have.”
“What about Michael? Or Elizabeth? They’d know.”
“Mr. Caulfield is also not available by phone, and Elizabeth suggested Tate was with him.”
“Oh. Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Okay, nothing’s wrong. Not really. Except…well, I wasn’t supposed to tell you…”
“Sara, please-”
“Of course. I’m sorry. Tate is participating in this, well, sort of stunt.”
“Pardon me?”
As William listened to Tate’s best friend outline the lunatic plan, every part of him wanted her words to be true. He hadn’t wept since his wife died twenty-two years ago, but he wept now, knowing that the silly plan to fake Tate’s kidnapping had gone so horribly wrong.
“Sir?”
“Thank you, Sara. I appreciate your explanation. However…”
“Yes?”
“An hour ago I received a ransom call.”
Sara didn’t say anything for a long time. “Michael is with her. He’ll make sure she’s safe. I know he went after her. He was against the whole idea.”
“Was he?”
“Oh, God.”
“I have to go. Needless to say, if you hear-”
“Of course. And if there’s anything-”
“I’ll call you.” He hung up, and only then did Stafford enter the room, carrying a large black gym bag.
“Is this fine, sir?”
It was perfect. All five million dollars fit inside with just enough room to zip it closed. He had several hours to kill until the drop-off. Plenty of time to imagine the hell Tate was in.
THE DOOR OPENED AND all Tate’s bravado vanished. Before she could even see who had opened it, she was hit by a massive panic episode. Heart, lungs, legs, brain…all the things she had counted on were no longer under her control. The fear had her tight and the room dimmed.
“Tate.”
She opened her mouth, but his name wouldn’t come.
“Tate, look at me.”
The side of the bed dipped, and she felt his cool fingers on the side of her face. The tunnel vision, which blocked out so much, softened and let her see who it was. “Michael.”
He smiled. He wasn’t wearing his sunglasses, either, so she could see his eyes. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s okay. You found me.”
“I did.”
“Thank you. I was so scared. I was sure…Is my father here?”
His smile sank and the light in his eyes went out. “Oh, Christ, Tate, I’m sorry. I can’t take you home. Not yet.”
“What?”
“Lover boy here is joining the party.”
Tate looked just past Michael. The small man was there, leering at her as if her heartbreak was better than cable.
“I’m sorry. I followed you, but when I got to the boat, they found me.”
“It’s all right,” she said, even though she could hardly understand. It was Michael, and he was supposed to save her.
He leaned down close. “Don’t fret,” he whispered. “I’ll get you out of this. I promise.”
“Come on, my dinner’s getting cold.”
Michael spun away from her and stood up to Jazz. “Get that cuff off her now so I can clean her up. In case you’ve forgotten, you still need her. Then, when she’s clean and there’s a bandage on that wrist, you can bring in our dinner.”
For a moment it looked as if Jazz was going to shoot Michael, but then he burst out laughing. “Man, you got you some pair.”
“Whatever. Just get the cuffs off her.”
Her breathing grew more stable as each moment passed. Well, as long as she kept her gaze on Michael. He took her into the head to wash her wrist, but then he must have noticed her discomfort, because he left her there, closing the door behind him.
She trembled so violently it was difficult to do the most fundamental things, but she managed, and then Michael joined her again, washing her wrist as if she might break. Which, when she thought about it, was entirely possible.
“I know that has to sting like hell.”
“It’s okay. This is the best pain I’ve had since-”
“I let you down. I’m sorry.”
“You couldn’t have known. Brody has a great deal to answer for. He’s behind this, you know. He might not be here, but he’s the only one who knew about the plan, so it follows.”
He didn’t say anything, but she watched his lips narrow and become pale. Never, though, was his touch anything but gentle.
“Michael?”
“Yes?”
“Did they call my father?”
He turned off the small faucet and got her a towel from a silver bar on the wall near the enclosed shower. With the same care, he dried her. “Don’t touch that,” he said, nodding at the very red and raw flesh.
He looked in the cabinet above the sink, choosing a bottle of aspirin, then in another cupboard near the door he found a first-aid kit. “Let’s go sit. I want you to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t care. You need to eat. To be strong.”
She sighed. “No amount of food is going to help with that.”
“Let’s do this before our friend Jazz gets too antsy.”