“Why not call the police?” Maggie asked.
“I was about to do that when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but — I don’t know — somehow I knew I had to answer it. When I did, I heard Chelsey on the other end. She was screaming, terrified. Then she got cut off with a cry, like somebody hit her. And there was this voice. It wasn’t a real voice. It was electronic. This voice said, we have your wife. If you call the police, she’ll be killed immediately. Follow instructions, and you can get her back.”
“The caller said we?”
Gavin nodded.
“When you were driving home from Rice Lake, did you notice anyone following you? Did you see anyone parked on the street near your house?”
“No, but it was dark, so I’m not sure I would have noticed.”
“What instructions did the kidnappers give you?” Maggie asked.
“They gave me two days to gather one hundred thousand dollars in cash. They said I’d find a small red backpack in the kitchen. I was supposed to put the money in there after I got it.”
“And then?”
“And then wait. They said they’d call back on Thursday evening with further instructions on where to drop the backpack. Then they told me again that if I brought in the police, I’d never hear from them. Chelsey would be killed.”
Maggie eased backward, the front legs of her chair lifting off the ground. She studied Gavin over the steaming top of her foam coffee cup. “Did they give you any clue about who they were? Or anything that indicated their motive or their connection to you?”
“No, there was nothing like that,” Gavin replied. “It was a short call. They made their demands and hung up.”
“Have you received any threats lately?”
“No.”
“What about unhappy clients?”
Gavin shrugged. “If I lose a case, clients are always unhappy.”
Maggie nodded thoughtfully as she took another sip of coffee. “One hundred thousand dollars? That was the ransom demand?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s what you gave them?”
“Yes.”
“I have some questions about that.”
“I’m sure you do.”
She dropped the front legs of the chair back on the floor and leaned across the table. “No offense, Gavin, but you’re not some corporate partner. I see your ads on bus-stop benches. I can’t imagine you coming up with a thousand dollars to pay off a ransom, let alone a hundred grand. Where did you get that kind of money?”
Gavin glanced around at the empty tables in the breakfast room, as if invisible people were listening to them. “My circumstances have changed recently.”
“How so?”
“A few months ago, my only sister died of cancer. She was a widow and had no kids. She and I were close. I was her sole beneficiary.”
“How much money are we talking about?”
“Around three million dollars.”
Maggie whistled softly. “Who knew about this windfall?”
“I don’t know. Probably a lot of people. Chelsey and I told a few friends, and I suppose my parents did, too. I have no idea how far it went from there, but gossip travels fast.”
“So people knew you could afford a sizable ransom.”
“I guess so.”
“Bank accounts are one thing, but getting your hands on cash is another. You go to a bank and ask for that kind of money, they’re going to ask questions. There are required disclosures. How’d you get it?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Gavin replied.
“Why not?”
He shrugged and still didn’t answer.
“Attorney-client privilege?” Maggie guessed. “You went to one of your clients.”
“No comment.”
“Who was it?” she went on. “Someone in the drug trade who traffics in illegal cash? I imagine you paid a hell of a premium. What was the vig? A hundred and fifty will get you a hundred?”
“No comment,” he repeated.
“Come on, I need a name, Gavin.”
“I can’t give you one.”
“Hasn’t it occurred to you that the kidnappers might be connected to your client?” Maggie persisted. “There aren’t many ways to get your hands on that kind of cash, and yet these people knew you could do it quickly.”
He shook his head firmly, refusing to tell her more. “The bottom line is, I got the money I needed. I had one hundred thousand dollars in cash stuffed in the red backpack.”
Maggie frowned. “Go on. What happened next? When did they call?”
“Nine o’clock last night.”
“Same phone number?”
“No, it was a different number this time, but the same electronic voice.”
“Did you talk to Chelsey?”
“Yes. I said no money unless I talked to her. They put her on the phone for a few seconds and then cut her off again.”
“So as of six hours ago, she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“What did they tell you to do?” Maggie asked.
“At exactly midnight, I was supposed to park on Harbor Drive where the road curves between the aquarium and the DECC. They said they’d be watching me. When they were sure I was alone — no cops — a car would come up beside me with its passenger window open. I was supposed to toss the backpack inside. When they verified the cash, they said they would call back and let me know where to find Chelsey. So I locked the backpack inside my briefcase and did what they said. I drove down here in the rain and waited.”
“Why the briefcase?”
He shrugged. “It was a Hello Kitty backpack. If anyone saw me, I figured that would raise questions.”
“Did the car show up?”
Gavin shook his head. “No. There was no car. They switched the drop. I got a second call at twelve fifteen, and they told me to take the backpack and get out of the car. I did. There was a motorboat in the bay right near where I was parked. The caller said to take the backpack to the water’s edge and toss it to the person in the boat. So that’s what I did. Once he had the backpack, he gunned the boat’s engine and left.”
“Toward the lake? Through the lift bridge?”
“No, the other way. Back into the harbor.”
“How many people were in the boat?”
“Just the one.”
“Did you see what this person looked like?”
“No. He wore a hood.”
“You’re sure it was a he?”
“Well, the build was male. Otherwise, I couldn’t see any distinguishing features. He had a hood, raincoat, gloves. I couldn’t tell you how tall he was or whether he was fat or skinny.”
“What about the boat?”
“It was dark-colored, probably blue or black, but in the rain, I couldn’t be sure. Sleek, very powerful, lots of speed. I only saw it for a few seconds, and it was gone.”
“And then?” Maggie asked.
“And then nothing. I waited in my car to get the phone call. When it didn’t come, I tried calling back the phone numbers they’d used. Neither one was in service. I imagine the phones are somewhere on the bottom of the bay. That’s it, Lieutenant. That’s all I can tell you. When almost three hours had gone by, I realized they had no intention of giving Chelsey back to me. That’s when I finally did what I should have done at the beginning. I called you.”