American Heroes Series - 01 - Resurrection by Kathryn Le Veque Page B

frankly. “What’s the FBI doing here?”
    Cydney told him what she knew. The detective made notes in his book, looking both annoyed and skeptical. As Cydney spit out the last of the story, her cell phone suddenly rang. Jolted, she raced for her purse in the entry. It was sitting on a decorative table which she knocked over in her haste. Yanking the phone out of her purse, she looked at the incoming number and realized that it was Olivia’s phone. She answered it on the fifth ring.
    “Hello?” she almost shouted.
    There was a long pause. “Mom?”
    Cydney burst into tears of relief and terror. “Olivia, where are you?”
    “Um….” Olivia faded off and the next voice that came on the line was not that of her daughter. “Mrs. Hetherington?”
    Cydney’s blood ran cold. It was a male voice she did not recognize. “Who is this?” she demanded. “Where is my daughter?”
    “Your daughter is perfectly safe,” the man replied. “In fact, I called just to let you know that Olivia is safe, warm and fed, and will be my guest for a time. She’s completely sound and whole providing you do as you are told.”
    Cydney felt a jolt of terror, as if all of her fears had just been confirmed. By this time, Ethan had come back in the house and the detective motioned to Cydney and the phone. Understanding the gist of the man’s hand signals, Ethan got up alongside her and put his head against hers, his ear against her cell phone so he could try and hear some of the conversation.  He looked at the detective and mouthed the words.
    Get a trace.
    Pressed against Ethan, Cydney was trembling as she struggled to not fall apart completely. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, fighting off the sobs. “God, please don’t hurt her. She’s all I have. She’s just a little girl.”
    “And she’s perfectly safe,” the man reiterated calmly. “She had macaroni and cheese for dinner, although she didn’t eat very much of it. She seemed to want to talk more than she wanted to eat.”
    “Talk?” Cydney repeated. “Talk about what?”
    “The Lucius Robe, of course. She says that she has seen it up close. She also says that you are in charge of its security.”
    Cydney’s heart sank; she could feel Ethan’s muscular arm go around her, giving her an encouraging squeeze.
    “I’m in charge of the exhibit,” she answered with a quivering voice. “Security is included with that. Please, can you just bring her home? Or drop her off somewhere and I’ll pick her up. I swear I won’t press charges.”
    The man laughed softly. “Somehow, I think that would be out of your hands.”
    “Then what do you want? I don’t have a lot of money, but I’ll do whatever it takes. Just don’t hurt her.”
    She was starting to cry again and Ethan hugged her gently.  The man on the other end of the phone didn’t seem moved by her tears.
    “I don’t want money,” he said frankly. “But I do want your help.”
    “Help with what?”
    “The Lucius Robe.”
    “What do you want me to do?”
    “Give it to me.”
    “ Give it to you?” Cydney repeated, growing agitated. “But it doesn’t belong to me or even my museum. It belongs to the Bristol Museum of Antiquities. We only have it on a four-month loan.”
    “Is it worth the life of your daughter?”
    “Oh, my God!” Cydney shrieked. “You would kill her if you don’t get it?”
    The man on the other end of the phone remained quite calm in the face of her hysteria. “She’s perfectly safe. But if you can’t provide me with the Robe, I cannot vouch for what will happen to her.” His voice suddenly turned hard. “Olivia for the Robe, Mrs. Hetherington. And if you involve those FBI agents in this, you’ll never see your child again.”
    The line abruptly went dead. Ethan pulled the phone from her grip, handing it over to the detective as Cydney let out a scream of horror.  Ethan put his arms around her, picked her up, and began to carry her down the hall.  He called back