By eight-o’clock that night, no ransom call had come in. Sam had set up a computer to play 911 calls for Chad as they came into the system. They sat for hours listening, searching for any hint of the kidnappers’ whereabouts, but so far there was nothing.
Searching for something to do, Jack turned to check with Andrew on the status of the money.
“I’ve scheduled a few things for the morning. I’ve transferred my money into your account. Chad’s available funds are being transferred over to your account now,” Andrew answered.
Jack held his friend’s eye for a moment, and both men knew there was no need to thank Andrew for the money. No way a ‘thank you’ could, or would ever be enough.
“Boss,” Samantha said to Chad. Chad paused the playback of the 911 calls and turned to Sam. Jack felt as if everyone in the room was moving in slow motion.
He wanted to shake them, to scream and yell until they produced something to lead to Kelly, but he knew there was nothing more they could do. There wasn’t a damn lead in sight.
Sam spoke to Chad in a hushed voice, but they could all hear what she had to report. “I’ve got chatter on several sites. Five women for sale. Bidding starts tonight and ends in twenty-four hours. It’s them. There’s a market for everything nowadays. Sometimes it’s virgins or teens. They’re bragging that the women are high-class socialites who, um, need to be put in their place.”
Samantha winced as she said this last part, but she went on. “They said they have powerful, well-connected families so the risk in grabbing them was high, and they want top dollar for them. I can try to get us into the bidding, but it’s by invitation only so I’m not sure I can manage it in time.” Her eyes skittered over to Jack’s face as she talked, as if she wished she weren’t the one to have to report the news.
Jack’s jaw clenched so tightly he thought his teeth would crack as he listened to Sam. He made eye contact with Kelly’s dad who tried to hold Kelly’s mom together.
Chad nodded to Sam. “Keep working on it.”
He turned back to the computer and started up the 911 calls, and they all listened as calls came in reporting a lost child, kids tagging a building with graffiti, and a store alarm going off downtown.
Chad cursed under his breath and Jack’s shoulders dropped. He knew if they didn’t find a lead, their only hope would be to get into the auction and buy Kelly back. Since Jack doubted the sellers let anyone in they hadn’t dealt with in the past, it was a long shot at best, and he didn’t like long shots. He liked stacking the deck in his favor and going into things with more than one plan up his sleeve.
Suddenly, Kelly’s sister, Jessica jumped off the couch. “That’s it! That’s her. That’s Kelly.”
Everyone turned to her as they tried to understand what she was saying, what she meant.
“The water leak. The call that just came in about a water leak. The lady said there was a water leak from the third floor of her apartment building and that floor is empty, under construction. She couldn’t reach the landlord, and the floor is locked so she can’t get up there herself.”
They all stared at Jessica, not able to understand how a water leak could mean Kelly was at that apartment building.
Jessica gestured frantically at the computer in front of Chad. “That’s Kelly. Mom, Dad, you guys used to play us that safety video when we were kids.” She turned to her brothers now and urgently tried to get them to remember, to get everyone to understand that Kelly could have started the water leak.
“You guys remember it. The video with that safety guy wearing the cape. If you’re being held on a floor above the first level in a hotel or apartment, you turn the water on to try to flood the lower floor and draw someone up to help you. It’s her! It’s got to be her!” Jessica tried to get them to understand.
Jack looked at Chad, and the two men nodded at each other.
“We’ll check it out.” Jack said to Jesse. He gave a small nod to Kelly’s father, and then he and Chad left the room and ran out the door to Chad’s SUV. As Chad pulled from the driveway, he turned to Jack. “Climb over the back seat and pull up the rug in the back.”
He waited while Jack climbed into the back and lifted the rug. “See that ring? Pull up on it,” he instructed and Jack pulled up on the ring in the floorboard of the vehicle.
“You’re a little scary, Chad. I’m glad you’re on my side,” Jack said as he looked down into the hidden space.
Jack pulled out two bulletproof vests, a handgun for each of them, and extra magazines. He put on the vest, loaded the handguns, and shoved extra ammo into his pockets. He held onto Chad’s stuff until they pulled over down the block from the location of the reported water leak.
Chad eased the car to the side of the road and he and Jack got out. Chad took the vest and guns from Jack and put them on, then he checked his pockets for the extra clips.
“Listen, Jack. Even if we call the FBI right now, they can’t get a warrant on the little bit of information we have, so there’s no point in us calling them yet. We’ll go in and see what we see. If it looks like they’re there, we’ll call in the FBI for backup. If we’ve spotted the women, they won’t need a warrant.”
Chad tossed Jack a windbreaker and baseball cap he’d pulled out of the SUV and put a windbreaker on himself. “Put this on to cover the vest in case they spot us coming into the building. We’ll go in casually as if we’re visiting someone and get up to that third floor.”
They walked toward the building and pushed buzzers for apartments on the first and second floors. Within minutes, someone had buzzed them into the building, and they headed for the staircase at the back of the hall.
They climbed to the third floor and found a chain with a master lock on the stairwell door. The lock had been picked and the chain hung loose. They opened the door and could see drop cloths and saw horses from the construction cluttering the floor. It appeared that the construction was on hold as there wasn’t a sign of workmen or any noise coming from the apartments as they walked down the hall.
Jack and Chad walked quietly down the length of the hallway and listened for anything that might give them a clue as to the whereabouts of the women and the kidnappers.
As they approached apartment 307, Jack jerked his head toward the door to indicate to Chad that he heard something. They stopped and listened closely, then nodded at one another. They heard men. Several men in the apartment talking in hushed voices.
Jack’s gut told him Kelly was also in there.
They stood stock-still and listened intently for several minutes, and then looked at each other in silent communication as they backed out to the stairwell they had just come through.
Once there, Chad spoke in a hushed voice. “I count at least four in the room, maybe five. Since this floor should be empty, I can see if my friend at the FBI thinks this is enough to come in without a warrant. In reality, they have a complaint from the neighbor, so they should have a basis for at least sending a black-and-white to check out the complaint. I can probably get the FBI to escort that black-and-white. Not totally legit, but they might get away with it.”
“I can’t leave her in there, Chad. What if they’re.…” Jack couldn’t voice his concern, but he knew Chad would understand what was running through his head.
“No, Jack. If they’re planning to sell the women, they’ll have a hands-off policy. They need them healthy and uninjured. The women should be safe for the immediate future. If we go in without any backup, we could get the women hurt instead of helping them. I know you want in there, but we have to be smart about this, cousin. We’ll wait here and make sure they don’t leave with the women while we wait for law enforcement,” Chad reasoned.
Jack knew Chad was right, but it took all of his restraint to wait. He listened as Chad called his friend and relayed what they had found. He doubted the FBI would normally act under these circumstances, but Chad had a longtime friend in the agency who had come to rely on Chad’s instincts when they had served in the military together; those instincts were well-honed and reliable.
Chad hung up the phone and turned to Jack. “Eight minutes out. Let’s sit tight so we have a better chance to get the women out safely, Jack.”
Jack clenched his teeth and fists. It took all his control not to run down that hall and bust down the door to get to Kelly, but he knew Chad was right.
They needed to be careful and smart to get Kelly out safely—and that meant going against all his instincts.