Andrea Kane - The Girl Who Disappeared Twice

“I guessed.” Casey hated this part of her job. On the other hand, she was far from ready to give up. “I came alone,” she explained, putting Hope’s mind at ease about the thought of a posse scaring off the kidnapper. “I didn’t tell a soul. But, Hope, they’re not delivering Krissy to you, no matter what they said. That’s way too amateurish for such a sophisticated kidnapping. That doesn’t mean they’ve harmed Krissy. It just means they want something more than they’ve gotten.”

“More than a quarter of a million dollars?”

Casey winced at the large sum Hope had gambled away on nothing.

“Yes,” she responded honestly. “It might be more money, although I doubt it. I’m sure they realize that, at this point, you’re going to fill the authorities in on the ransom scheme. And that the FBI task force will be all over any future ransom attempts. More likely, they want to see you suffer. Especially since we know this crime is personal. The whole ransom thing gave them a ton of cash, plus the opportunity of twisting a knife in your heart.” Casey paused. “It’s also possible that this entire plan was orchestrated by some news junkie who conned you into supplying him or her with some quick and hefty cash.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Hope managed. “But they had so much personal information…I just don’t think so.”

“Tell me the details leading up to the drop-how they reached you, what they said-everything. Then, we’ll go back to the house and tell the FBI what happened.”

The FBI task force was deep into their investigation of Henry Kenyon and his construction company, when Casey and Hope walked into the house.

Hutch nearly mowed down Ashley as she sprinted toward her employer.

“Where did you two disappear to?” he demanded.

Hope glanced at Casey, who nodded, urging her to tell the truth as they’d discussed.

“I got a call from the kidnappers,” Hope said quietly. “I paid the ransom they asked for. They didn’t return Krissy. The whole thing was a reckless dead end.”

“She wasn’t with them?” Ashley asked, her voice trembling.

“No. They took the duffel bag of cash. But Krissy never showed up.”

Casey could see Hutch visibly controlling himself. “When did you get this call, and who knew about it?” he asked.

“I got the call yesterday.” Hope wasn’t hiding anything at this point. “It came in on Ashley’s cell phone, so the FBI couldn’t trace it. I was the only one who knew the details. Ashley just handed me the phone. I swore her to secrecy. And Casey spotted me as I was leaving the house, and followed me on a hunch. I didn’t even tell Edward. I was afraid to. The kidnappers said they’d kill Krissy if I…” Hope’s voice broke, and fresh tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Have I pushed them over the edge? Is this what they wanted? Now that they have the two hundred fifty thousand dollars they asked for, will they-”

“I don’t think so,” Hutch interrupted her. “It doesn’t fit the profile of these kidnappers. If they wanted money, and money alone, why would they wait until the FBI and the police were so heavily involved before asking for it? They’d have better luck dealing with you alone, and right away, when the first horrible realization punched you in the gut.” He signaled to Grace, as well as to Peg Harrington, who both strode right over.

Hutch filled them in with a few terse sentences.

“Tell us everything you remember,” Peg instructed Hope.

Once again, Hope repeated the scenario verbatim, from the details of the phone call to the specifics of the drop.

“This plan is way amateur,” Grace murmured. “It doesn’t fit the sophistication of the crime.”

“Neither does the amount of ransom money they demanded,” Hutch added. “They know that you and your husband are good for a lot more than a quarter of a million dollars. And playing you Krissy’s voice on tape? That’s weak. They could have recorded her anywhere and spliced her words together. Again, an amateurish move. For all we know, it was all a hoax, and whoever called you doesn’t even have Krissy. Instead, they freaked you out and made themselves a nice chunk of cash.”

Casey was well aware that Hutch was intentionally softening some components and leaving out some biggies. Like the fact that, if Sidney Akerman’s ties to organized crime had incited Krissy’s abduction, this whole extortion scheme was either a dead end or the horrific tip of the iceberg. Scoring some quick cash wouldn’t cut it. The mob would want major payback, just like they had when they kidnapped Felicity- if they’d kidnapped Felicity. And if they had…the mob didn’t deal in idle kidnapping. They dealt in human trafficking, torture and murder.

Before Casey’s thought process could continue, Edward emerged from the kitchen. Spotting his wife, he went over and caught her arm. “Where were you?”

He was livid at the answer.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped. “That’s why we have the FBI here. Do you realize you could have gotten Krissy killed?”

“We don’t believe that’s the case, Mr. Willis.” Casey stepped in, seeing the white fear return to Hope’s eyes. “Not in such a well-planned, cleverly executed abduction. We think this was just step one, or even an unrelated act.”

Edward’s gaze shot to Casey, suspicion clouding his stare. “You knew about this.”

“No, sir, I most certainly did not.” Casey spoke as respectfully as she could. But she really didn’t like this man. “If I had, I would have told you and the task force about it immediately. I followed Hope. I’d planned to try to stop her. I was too late. I realize how upset you are, and that emotions are running high. But, the bottom line is that Hope wasn’t intentionally undermining you or the FBI. She was behaving like a terrified mother. She wasn’t thinking clearly. And now she’s beating herself up enough for everyone. So I suggest we not waste time with accusations, but move on to finding your daughter. I know that’s what you want. Please, Mr. Willis, let’s just find Krissy as quickly as possible.”

Her words seemed to placate Edward a little, because his jaw snapped shut and he nodded. “Fine.”

The tension was still crackling, when there was a brief knock at the open door, and Patrick stepped inside. Behind him was a nervous, weathered-looking man who had to be Sidney Akerman.

“We’re here,” Patrick announced. “Ready to get started.”

“Sidney?” Vera Akerman rose from the living room sofa and made her way out into the hall. “My God, it is you.” She looked torn between relief and disgust.

Hope harbored no such torn loyalties. She whirled around, facing her father with blazing eyes. “How could you?” she demanded. “How could you compromise your family like that? Felicity and I were innocent children- your children. And now Krissy-she barely knows of your existence, yet she’s become part of your collateral damage. How can you live with yourself?”

“I can’t,” her father replied without flinching. “That’s why I’ve spent my life inside a bottle. And that’s why I’m here now, even knowing you hate my guts. If I can help bring Krissy home safely, I’ll do anything, sacrifice anything, to make it happen.”

“How valiant. Unfortunately, it’s thirty-two years too late for my sister, and my daughter…my baby…” Hope’s voice quavered, and she turned away.

“Hope.” Vera went to her daughter, put her arms around her. “I feel what you feel. But put it aside. We have to find Krissy.”

Sidney met his ex-wife’s gaze, and he was clearly speaking to both her and Hope. “To tell you that I was a stupid, naive pawn would be the truth, but meaningless. It changes nothing. Please-I’m not asking you for forgiveness. I’m just asking you to accept my help. Let me look at mug shots. Let me work with a sketch artist. Let me try to aid this investigation.”