we had come up with a short list. It was a distressing process. The short list had some of my parents' oldest and dearest friends on it. We were all exhausted when Archie and the FBI agent went to catch a little rest before they started quietly investigating. Meanwhile, we all waited for the call that would take us to the next step. When were we going to find out what the kidnappers wanted?
Dad leadenly crawled up the stairs when we decided there wasn't going to be a call that night. Kwan and George went down stairs to snooze while Hoc, the third bodyguard took up a watch on the steps. Tristan didn't really think we were going to see any trouble, but wasn't taking any chances.
"Let's get some sleep, too," I told him as I took his hand and led him up the stairs. "It's only a few hours until sunrise. You have to be as exhausted as I am."
"Someone needs to take the call."
"Tristan, I have Mom's cell, Dad's cell and you have yours. We'll put them all on the nightstand." Even though he looked like he wanted to argue with me, I could see the glaze of fatigue all over his face. I led him to my old room and opened the door.
It was pretty much the way I'd left it when I went off to college. Mercifully, I had gotten rid of the most embarrassing reminders of my teenage years, but the room still reeked of youthful innocence. Tristan grinned with delight when he took a look around.
I was never much for stuffed animals, bu t I loved my American Girl collection. The dolls still occupied an entire shelf above my dresser. On top of the dresser was my jewelry box. Tristan opened the white wooden lid and up popped the ballerina who still danced to the Nutcracker Suite. He fingered a couple of the trinkets inside--a heart shaped rainbow colored pendant, a broken silver bracelet, a key ring with a monkey hanging from it.
He placed them all back inside and gently closed the lid. "You spent a happy childhood in this room, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. I never felt deprived of anything."
"I felt deprived of everything." He sat down on the well-loved quilt my grandmother had made long before I was born and stroked his hand across the faded squares. "My bedroom looked more like a hotel than a kid's room, at least after we moved into the city. A lot of my stuff got left behind. At the time, I didn't care and I think my father was just as happy not to be reminded of our life with my mother."
I took off his shoes and put them beside the bed. Then I gently pushed him back against the pillows. The double bed seemed terribly intimate after spending nights with him on board his plane and boat with their giant mattresses. He scooted over and made as much room for me as he could and I crawled in beside him. We lay there fully clothed and shifted into a spooned position, my back to his front.
I heard him sigh and remembered his caustic comment about his "delicate, damaged soul" on the way to Carcassone . Sarcastic, yes. But also true. He'd lost the two women he had loved most in the world. As I felt his body relax against me I told myself that I would do anything I could to make sure that he didn't lose me.
***
My mother's cell phone rang at 6:30. Tristan and I both became instantly alert.
"Answer it."
I pressed the button to answer the call and held my breath. "Hello?"
"It's me, sweetie." I was thrilled to hear my mother's voice even if she sounded ragged and scared. "I'm okay. Tell your father I'm okay." Then another voice came on the phone. I held the phone so that Tristan could also hear what was being said.
"No harm will come to her if you follow my instructions to the letter. "
"What do you want?" I couldn't help but sound belligerent.
"You listen. I talk. One million, cash, circulated, non sequential $100 bills. Get it together and you'll get your instructions in 24 hours." Click.
I dropped the phone into my lap. Dad was standing at the door. He must have been sleeping with one ear straining like we were and heard the phone.
Dad leadenly crawled up the stairs when we decided there wasn't going to be a call that night. Kwan and George went down stairs to snooze while Hoc, the third bodyguard took up a watch on the steps. Tristan didn't really think we were going to see any trouble, but wasn't taking any chances.
"Let's get some sleep, too," I told him as I took his hand and led him up the stairs. "It's only a few hours until sunrise. You have to be as exhausted as I am."
"Someone needs to take the call."
"Tristan, I have Mom's cell, Dad's cell and you have yours. We'll put them all on the nightstand." Even though he looked like he wanted to argue with me, I could see the glaze of fatigue all over his face. I led him to my old room and opened the door.
It was pretty much the way I'd left it when I went off to college. Mercifully, I had gotten rid of the most embarrassing reminders of my teenage years, but the room still reeked of youthful innocence. Tristan grinned with delight when he took a look around.
I was never much for stuffed animals, bu t I loved my American Girl collection. The dolls still occupied an entire shelf above my dresser. On top of the dresser was my jewelry box. Tristan opened the white wooden lid and up popped the ballerina who still danced to the Nutcracker Suite. He fingered a couple of the trinkets inside--a heart shaped rainbow colored pendant, a broken silver bracelet, a key ring with a monkey hanging from it.
He placed them all back inside and gently closed the lid. "You spent a happy childhood in this room, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. I never felt deprived of anything."
"I felt deprived of everything." He sat down on the well-loved quilt my grandmother had made long before I was born and stroked his hand across the faded squares. "My bedroom looked more like a hotel than a kid's room, at least after we moved into the city. A lot of my stuff got left behind. At the time, I didn't care and I think my father was just as happy not to be reminded of our life with my mother."
I took off his shoes and put them beside the bed. Then I gently pushed him back against the pillows. The double bed seemed terribly intimate after spending nights with him on board his plane and boat with their giant mattresses. He scooted over and made as much room for me as he could and I crawled in beside him. We lay there fully clothed and shifted into a spooned position, my back to his front.
I heard him sigh and remembered his caustic comment about his "delicate, damaged soul" on the way to Carcassone . Sarcastic, yes. But also true. He'd lost the two women he had loved most in the world. As I felt his body relax against me I told myself that I would do anything I could to make sure that he didn't lose me.
***
My mother's cell phone rang at 6:30. Tristan and I both became instantly alert.
"Answer it."
I pressed the button to answer the call and held my breath. "Hello?"
"It's me, sweetie." I was thrilled to hear my mother's voice even if she sounded ragged and scared. "I'm okay. Tell your father I'm okay." Then another voice came on the phone. I held the phone so that Tristan could also hear what was being said.
"No harm will come to her if you follow my instructions to the letter. "
"What do you want?" I couldn't help but sound belligerent.
"You listen. I talk. One million, cash, circulated, non sequential $100 bills. Get it together and you'll get your instructions in 24 hours." Click.
I dropped the phone into my lap. Dad was standing at the door. He must have been sleeping with one ear straining like we were and heard the phone.
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