Speak Now by Margaret Dumas

Jack hadn’t been expecting to be yelled at.
    “Jack!” The latte I’d just drunk began to re-froth in my stomach. “What’s happened?”
    “I’m not sure. Harry called and told me a car was on its way to pick me up. He’s at his apartment in the city.”
    “Has there been another call? What about Cece?”
    “I don’t know. He just said that I was supposed to come over and you were supposed to stay here and he’d explain when I got there. The car’s probably downstairs by now. I should go.”
    “Wait!” I yelled, scaring the seagulls, “I’ll meet you there! At Harry’s!”
    “Charley, I don’t know what’s up, but he said he wanted me to come alone. You should come back here and I’ll call you when I know what’s going on.”
    “Like hell!” Now tourists were pulling their children away from me as I ran toward the street, looking for a cab. “I’m not going to sit around waiting while—”
    “Charley.” Jack’s voice stopped my crazed dash. “Listen to me. Do what Harry says. Come back here and I’ll call you when—”
    “What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded. “What’s going on?”
    “Just do this,” he said. “Just do this.” He hung up.
    “Shit!” It not being possible to slam a cell phone receiver, I threw the phone at the ground. “Shit!”
    “Ma’am?” A young woman was looking at me with mixed concern and fear. Maybe they didn’t have lunatics in spandex who scream obscenities in public where she came from. “Are you all right?”
    I took a deep breath. I picked up the phone. I nodded at the woman. I went back to the hotel.
    ***
    Jack didn’t call until he left Harry’s, and then it was only to say he was on his way back to the hotel.
    The instant the door closed behind him I pounced. “What did he say? What did he hear? Why did he want to talk to you and not me? What’s going on?”
    Jack kissed me quickly on the cheek and said “Cece is alive.” Then he headed for the bedroom. He pulled his gym bag out of the closet and dumped its contents onto the bed.
    I followed him to the doorway. “And?”
    He was sorting through the drawers where his clothes were neatly stacked. “She’s been kidnapped.” He looked up at me briefly. “They made contact this afternoon. They’ve made their demands. Are you all right?” I was hanging onto the doorpost, but I nodded mutely. “They want six hundred thousand in cash. Harry’s getting it now. We don’t know when they’ll call back and tell us the terms of the exchange. You’re not all right.”
    He took me by the arms and led me to a chair. “Put your head between your knees if you need to—you look like you might pass out.”
    I took a few deep breaths instead. “I’m fine. It’s just…”
    Jack nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on mine.
    I straightened my shoulders and pulled myself together. I’ll be damned if I’ll faint in a crisis. “Well,” I said. “What are we going to do to get her back?”
    Jack gave me a careful look, which I didn’t like one bit. He resumed packing. “Your uncle has asked me to take care of it.”
    “Uh huh.” I pulled another bag from the closet and started throwing things at random into it. “How are we going to do that?”
    “Charley.” Jack grabbed my bag and threw it back into the closet. “There’s no time. I don’t know how long this is going to take or where I’ll have to go, but I have to leave for Harry’s right now. They expect him to be at the Hillsborough place in—” he looked at his watch— “twenty-three minutes. They could call any time after that. I have to be there.”
    “Alone?” He couldn’t be serious. “You and Harry?” Harry had asked Jack to deal with the kidnappers? And Jack had agreed? “Why?” I said it like an accusation. “Why did Harry ask you for help? Why didn’t he call the cops? Or one of his famous detectives?”
    “We don’t have time for this now,” Jack said.
    “If you think I’m going to let you go alone