Miracle at Colts Run Cross. Joanna Wayne

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СКАЧАТЬ anyone talked to Eddie?” Langston asked.

      “Not yet. At this point I’m following Nick’s instructions to hold off, but I think it’s imperative that we get a description of the car.”

      “I agree,” Matt’s wife, Shelly, said. “That information could be critical. So is speed in getting the search under way. That’s one thing I definitely learned while with the CIA.”

      Nick’s cell phone rang. The room grew deathly quiet. He checked the caller ID. Unavailable. His hands were clammy as he punched the button to take the call.

      “Just listen. No questions.”

      His gut hardened to a painful knot. There was no mistaking the abductor’s voice.

       Chapter Three

      “Here’s the deal. Five million in small denominations, unmarked, and a flight into Mexico on the Collings-worth’s private jet.”

      All doable, though it surprised Nick for the man to mention the private jet. It made him wonder if the man could live in Colts Run Cross. “Before I agree to anything, I want to talk to my sons.”

      “No can do.”

      Nick’s body flexed involuntarily. “Why not?”

      “They’re not with me at the moment.”

      Dread kicked inside him, but it had fury for company. “Either I talk to the boys and know they’re safe, or there will be no deal of any kind.”

      “You’re not calling the plays, Ridgely.”

      “Put the boys on the phone, or I call in the FBI right now.” It was a bluff at this point, but he certainly hadn’t ruled out that option. His threat was met with silence, a match for the still, breathless tension that surrounded him.

      “Screw yourself.” The man’s voice reverberated with anger.

      Nick waited. Angry or not, if the boys were alive and safe, the guy wouldn’t blow this deal by refusing to let him talk to them—not if he was sane. And heaven help them if he wasn’t. There would be no way of predicting the behavior of a crazy man.

      Becky had moved to his side, standing so close she could probably hear the hammering of his heart. She didn’t touch him, but somehow it made him stronger just to have her near.

      “I’ll call you back in a half hour.” He broke the connection before Nick could respond.

      Nick hadn’t realized until that moment how tightly he’d been holding on to the phone, as if it were a tenuous tether to his sons. He walked to the window and stared out at the wintry view of bare branches mixed with the green needles of the towering pines, keenly aware that everyone in the room was watching and judging his actions.

      Before his marriage had hit the rocks, he’d considered himself as an integral part of the close-knit Collingsworth clan. On the last few visits, the tensions between him and Becky had left him feeling as if he were hovering on the outer rim.

      Today all he felt was relief that he was among people who loved his sons and whom he knew would put their lives on the line in a second to save them. Still, he was the father. The final responsibility rested with him.

      Trish and Jaclyn returned with the coffee. He waited until they’d served it before he delivered the abductor’s message—word for word—or as close as he could remember them. No one interrupted, not even Becky, though she seemed to grow more distraught at every syllable he uttered.

      She dropped to the sofa next to her mother. Lenora reached over and took her daughter’s hands, cradling them in hers.

      “I’m really uneasy with a no-cops policy,” Langston said. “There’s a lot of knowledge about situations like this that we’re not tapping into. I could call Aidan Jefferies. This is out of his jurisdiction, but he’s a hell of a homicide detective, and I know he’s had experience with abductions as well.”

      “I think we should let the sheriff’s department handle this,” Zach said. “We can put out an AMBER Alert, question anyone who may have seen the boys get into the abductor’s car and start investigating any child molesters presently living in the area.”

      Nick’s insides coated in acid at the mention of child molesters, though he’d already thought the same. But his gut feeling led him in another direction. “It seems likely that the abduction was a spur-of-the-moment decision spawned by the media attention yesterday, maybe someone desperate for cash.”

      “That makes sense,” Bart agreed. “The man probably saw the boys’ picture on TV.”

      “No sane person would let a picture of Nick and the twins lead them to kidnapping,” Matt said.

      Nick shoved his hands into his pockets. “That’s my concern and the reason I hate to blow off his demand that we not bring in the authorities. The guy could be a mental case tottering on the edge.”

      “How will the abductor know if you talk to the cops?” Jaime asked. “I mean as long as they don’t come roaring out here in squad cars or show up at the door in uniform.”

      “If we bring in law enforcement, the kidnapping could get leaked to the media,” Nick said. “I don’t think we can risk that—at least not yet.”

      Lenora leaned forward. “But surely it wouldn’t hurt for Zach to do some unofficial investigating.”

      Nick was amazed at how well his mother-in-law was holding up under this. He knew how much she loved David and Derrick, yet she had a quiet strength about her that he envied. Thank God she was here for Becky since his wife didn’t seem to want any comfort or reassurance from him.

      “I could fly under the radar,” Zach answered, “but we’ve got to agree on what we’re doing here.”

      “I say pay him off, get the boys back and then we hunt the bastard down,” Matt said.

      “I’d like to see the FBI brought in,” Langston countered. “I have connections. I can make a call right now and have someone come out here from the agency. But Nick and Becky are the ones with the deciding votes. I know I’d make the decisions if it was Gina or little Randy here.” He kissed the top of his son’s head.

      “Where is Gina now?” Jaclyn asked. “Does she know about the abduction?”

      “Not yet,” Trish said. “She’s spending the night in Houston with a girlfriend from her high school who’s hosting a Christmas party tonight.”

      “With a protection service secretly watching her and the house she’s in,” Langston said. “I’m taking no chances until this crazed abductor is apprehended.”

      “I curse myself a hundred times an hour for not thinking to do that,” Nick said.

      Jaime walked over and placed a hand on Nick’s arm. “Don’t blame yourself for this. How could you possibly have foreseen something so bizarre?”

      Jaime was Zach’s twin sister. She was the party girl, but Nick had always suspected she had СКАЧАТЬ