Danielle Steel - Fine things

“Can you find her?”

“Maybe.” The investigator had a drooping mustache and a manner which suggested that he wasn't very bright, but his eyes were as sharp as any Bernie had ever seen. And the woman seemed to have the same interesting combination. She was plain but she wasn't stupid. “I suspect he went to Mexico or some place like that.”

“Why?”

His eyes bore into Bernie's. “Just a feeling. Give me a few hours and I'll put some possibilities together for you. You don't have any pictures of him, do you?” Bernie shook his head, and he didn't think Liz had any either, and if she did, he had never seen them.

“What'll I tell him when he calls?”

“That you're getting the money together for him. Keep him busy …keep him waiting …and don't sound too scared. It'll make him think you've got the money.”

Bernie looked worried. “I already told him I didn't.”

“That's all right. He probably doesn't believe you.”

They promised to contact him by the end of the day, and suggested he try to relax while he waited. But he had to ask them something before they left. He hated to ask the question, but he had to.

“Do you think …could he … do you think he might hurt her?” He couldn't say the word kill. It was too much for him by five o'clock that morning. And Gertie spoke to him in a soft voice, as she looked at him with wise eyes. She was a woman who had seen a lot, and he knew it.

“We hope not. We're going to do everything we can to find him before he does. Trust us.”

He did, and they were back twelve hours later. It had been an interminable wait for Bernie. He had paced the floor, drunk more coffee, more brandy, more tea, and finally fallen into bed at ten o'clock the next morning, hysterical and exhausted. Nanny had never gone to bed at all but had taken care of Alexander all day, and was feeding him dinner when the doorbell rang and the investigators returned. Bernie didn't know how, but they had collected a fascinating portfolio of information, and they couldn't have had much sleep either.

They had all of Scott's mug shots and prison records. He had done time in seven states, always for theft or burglary or con games or bunko. He had lots of arrests for bad checks as well, but most of those had been dropped, maybe he had made up the money to the people involved, but they weren't sure and it didn't matter.

“The interesting pattern here is that everything this man does is for money. Not drugs, not sex, not passion …but money. You might say it's his hobby.”

Bernie looked at them mournfully. “I wouldn't call half a million dollars a hobby.”

Winters nodded. “Now he's hit the big time.”

They had checked with his parole officer, because he was an old friend of Jack's, it turned out, and they had hit on the right one the first time around, which was good luck on a Sunday, and they knew where Scott had been staying. He had checked out the day before, and he had said something to someone about going to Mexico. The stolen car had been located at the airport. And three stolen tickets had turned up on a flight to San Diego, and the threesome had been long gone by then, and the stewardess whom Gertie had talked to between flights that day thought she remembered a little girl, but she wasn't certain.

“My guess is that they've gone to Mexico. And they're going to sit on Jane till you come up with the money. And to tell you the truth, I feel better now looking at this guy's record. There's not a single act of violence here. That's something at least. If we're lucky, he won't hurt her.”

“But how the hell do we find him?”

“We'll start looking today. If you want us to, we could be on our way down there tonight. I'd like to start from San Diego and see if I can pick up the trail there. They probably stole another car, or rented one they aren't going to return. They're not as smooth as you'd think. I think he knows he's in no real danger. He's not facing kidnapping charges here. We're talking child stealing—in the eyes of the law, that's peanuts.” Bernie got angry just hearing it, but he knew it was true. And he was ready to do anything to find her.

“I want you to start right away.” They both nodded. They had already made tentative arrangements, in case he said that. “What do I say when he calls me?” He still hadn't.

“Tell him you're working on getting the money. That it may take some time, a week or two. Give us some time to get down there and start looking. Two weeks ought to do it. We should have located them by then.” It was an optimistic assessment but they also had a good description of his girl friend, who also had a record and was on parole and had been living with him at the hotel he had checked out of the previous morning.

“Do you really think you'll find him in two weeks?”

“We'll do our damnedest.” And he believed they would.

“When are you leaving?”

“Maybe around ten o'clock tonight. We have to make a few more arrangements.” They had three other jobs they were working on, but this was the biggest and they had other operatives to take over on the others. “Speaking of which—” He mentioned their fee, and it was a big one, but Bernie wasn't going to quibble. He'd come up with it somehow. He had to.

“That's fine. Where can I reach you if he calls me?”

They gave him a number where they'd be until they left, and twenty minutes after they left he got another call from Chandler.

“How's it going, old pal?”

“Fine. I'm working on getting the money.”

“Good. Glad to hear it. When do you think you'll have it?”

He had a sudden flash of genius. “Probably not for a week or two. I've got to go to New York to get it.”

“Shit, man.” Scott sounded pissed and Bernie could hear him confer with his friend for a long time, and then finally he came back on the phone. They had bought the story. “All right. But two weeks is it. I'll call you two weeks from tonight. Be there. Or I'll kill her.” And with that, he hung up, without even letting him talk to Jane. He was panicked but he dialed Winters' number.

“Why'd you tell him you were going to New York?” Winters was puzzled.

“Because I want to come with you.” There was a brief silence.

“Are you sure? It may be rough. And he'll recognize you if you get close.”

“I want to be close to Jane, if she needs me, when you get there. I'm all she's got left now. And I couldn't stand sitting here waiting.” Bernie didn't see Nanny standing in the doorway, listening to him, and she quietly disappeared. She approved of his idea of going to Mexico to help find her. “Can I come? I'll still pay you the same fee.”

“I'm not worried about that. I'm thinking about you. Wouldn't you be better off staying here, trying to continue your normal life?”

“My life stopped being normal at seven o'clock last night, and it won't be normal again until you find my daughter.”

“We'll pick you up in an hour. Travel light.”

“See you then.” He hung up, feeling better. He called Grossman, who promised to report the entire disaster to the court the following morning. And he called Paul Berman in New York and his assistant at the store. And then he called his mother.

“Mom, I've got bad news for you.” His voice trembled at the prospect of telling her. But he had to say something. Thanksgiving had just been all shot to hell, and maybe even Christmas and New Year's …and the rest of her life….

“Something happened to the baby?” Her heart stopped.

“No. It's Jane.” He took a deep breath and plunged in. “I don't have time to explain it all to you now. But Liz' ex-husband appeared a while back, he's a real sonofabitch and he's spent most of the last ten years in and out of jail. Anyway, he tried to blackmail me out of some money, and I wouldn't pay him. So he kidnapped Jane. He's holding her for half a million dollars ransom.”