Where's Ellen? (Mystery) (MPP A JOE MCFARLAND / GINNY HARRIS MYSTERY Book 1) by Stuart Safft Page A
Authors: Stuart Safft
Ads: Link
important.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure that Detective Harris gets the message. Have a good day.”
CHAPTER 17
S ure enough, Ginny called Steve about 6:10 that evening. Steve brought Ginny up to date about the kidnap note and asked for her help.
“Hang on, Mr. Sanders. I’ll try to get hold of Detective McFarland. Either both of us or just I, if I can’t reach him, will be at your house in about half an hour. In the meantime, don’t do anything or talk with anyone, and don’t touch the note or the earring or envelope any more than you already have.”
“OK,” responded Steve.
True to her word, Ginny and Joe pulled up and parked in front of Steve’s house 35 minutes later. A few minutes later, the three of them were again sitting in the family room and Joe was reading the note aloud, taking care to hold it only on its edges and to not touch the envelope or the earring to avoid smearing any possible fingerprints. Seeing this, Steve kicked himself mentally for not thinking of this fingerprint possibility earlier as he repeatedly held the note and the earring in his bare hands. So much for his extensive education from TV crime shows.
“OK, Steve. This note is pretty clear. Any idea who might have sent it?”
“No idea,” responded Steve.
“We’ll want to talk with your paralegal and with others in your office in case one of them saw who dropped it off. We’ll also check for video cameras outside your building. Whoever left the note might have been videotaped.”
“Sure,” said Steve. “I’ll call my paralegal. She can arrange everything for you, but she probably can’t line up many others for you to talk to until first thing tomorrow morning.”
“That’ll be fine,” said Ginny. “Have you thought about the money being demanded? Do you have or can you get that amount of cash? Do you want to agree to this or do you want to try to negotiate the price down? You should also seriously consider refusing to pay anything. It is often most dangerous for the kidnap victim after the ransom is paid.”
“No, no. I want to pay the amount asked for. I’ve been thinking about this since I received the note. I don’t want to do or not do anything that might upset the kidnappers,” responded Steve.
“You said ‘kidnappers,’ ” said Joe. “How do you know that there’s more than one kidnapper?”
“Uh, I have no idea. I just said ‘kidnappers’ without even thinking about it.”
“Understood,” replied Ginny. “In fact, since most kidnappings involve more than one kidnapper, we initially tend to think in terms of kidnappers — until such time that the evidence indicates it’s only one kidnapper working alone.”
“OK,” said Joe. “Let’s keep moving. Steve, when you called us, did you also call the FBI?”
“No. I trust you two more than the FBI. Those two agents made it very clear that they see me as their prime suspect. They even gave me a lie detector test.” Joe did not visibly react to this, not wanting to emphasize that Joe and Ginny, especially Joe, also considered Steve a suspect in his wife’s disappearance. This suspicion had grown since Steve had received the phone call from Ellen. Ginny waited until Steve was clearly looking at Joe rather than her before she gave Joe one of her raised-eyebrow looks, followed by a quick smile. Joe instantly read the look to mean, “Now that you know how much he likes you, don’t you feel horrible about all the bad things you’ve said and thought about Mr. Sanders?”
“Steve, I think you, or we, need to inform the FBI. In addition to kidnapping being one of their specialties, your wife’s disappearance is officially an FBI, not a local police department, case.”
“Well, if you have to, go ahead. I’d prefer that you call them. I’d rather not,” replied Steve.
Joe took out his cell phone and was soon bringing Martin up to date. Martin indicated that he and Florio would meet them at the Sanders’ house in an hour or so
“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure that Detective Harris gets the message. Have a good day.”
CHAPTER 17
S ure enough, Ginny called Steve about 6:10 that evening. Steve brought Ginny up to date about the kidnap note and asked for her help.
“Hang on, Mr. Sanders. I’ll try to get hold of Detective McFarland. Either both of us or just I, if I can’t reach him, will be at your house in about half an hour. In the meantime, don’t do anything or talk with anyone, and don’t touch the note or the earring or envelope any more than you already have.”
“OK,” responded Steve.
True to her word, Ginny and Joe pulled up and parked in front of Steve’s house 35 minutes later. A few minutes later, the three of them were again sitting in the family room and Joe was reading the note aloud, taking care to hold it only on its edges and to not touch the envelope or the earring to avoid smearing any possible fingerprints. Seeing this, Steve kicked himself mentally for not thinking of this fingerprint possibility earlier as he repeatedly held the note and the earring in his bare hands. So much for his extensive education from TV crime shows.
“OK, Steve. This note is pretty clear. Any idea who might have sent it?”
“No idea,” responded Steve.
“We’ll want to talk with your paralegal and with others in your office in case one of them saw who dropped it off. We’ll also check for video cameras outside your building. Whoever left the note might have been videotaped.”
“Sure,” said Steve. “I’ll call my paralegal. She can arrange everything for you, but she probably can’t line up many others for you to talk to until first thing tomorrow morning.”
“That’ll be fine,” said Ginny. “Have you thought about the money being demanded? Do you have or can you get that amount of cash? Do you want to agree to this or do you want to try to negotiate the price down? You should also seriously consider refusing to pay anything. It is often most dangerous for the kidnap victim after the ransom is paid.”
“No, no. I want to pay the amount asked for. I’ve been thinking about this since I received the note. I don’t want to do or not do anything that might upset the kidnappers,” responded Steve.
“You said ‘kidnappers,’ ” said Joe. “How do you know that there’s more than one kidnapper?”
“Uh, I have no idea. I just said ‘kidnappers’ without even thinking about it.”
“Understood,” replied Ginny. “In fact, since most kidnappings involve more than one kidnapper, we initially tend to think in terms of kidnappers — until such time that the evidence indicates it’s only one kidnapper working alone.”
“OK,” said Joe. “Let’s keep moving. Steve, when you called us, did you also call the FBI?”
“No. I trust you two more than the FBI. Those two agents made it very clear that they see me as their prime suspect. They even gave me a lie detector test.” Joe did not visibly react to this, not wanting to emphasize that Joe and Ginny, especially Joe, also considered Steve a suspect in his wife’s disappearance. This suspicion had grown since Steve had received the phone call from Ellen. Ginny waited until Steve was clearly looking at Joe rather than her before she gave Joe one of her raised-eyebrow looks, followed by a quick smile. Joe instantly read the look to mean, “Now that you know how much he likes you, don’t you feel horrible about all the bad things you’ve said and thought about Mr. Sanders?”
“Steve, I think you, or we, need to inform the FBI. In addition to kidnapping being one of their specialties, your wife’s disappearance is officially an FBI, not a local police department, case.”
“Well, if you have to, go ahead. I’d prefer that you call them. I’d rather not,” replied Steve.
Joe took out his cell phone and was soon bringing Martin up to date. Martin indicated that he and Florio would meet them at the Sanders’ house in an hour or so
Similar Books
