“Happy birthday, girl!” Jack said, raising his coffee mug when Celeste entered the kitchen wearing a creamcoloured silk nightgown and fuzzy pink slippers.
Celeste smiled. “Thanks, let’s hope it will be,” she replied. She poured herself a cup of coffee before joining Jack, Skye, and Derek at the kitchen table. Peter and Horace were in front of the television playing a video game, as usual.
“How’s our guest? I heard whispering from your room this morning.”
“You did. I learned some things,” Jack said. “Our guest has a sister by the name of Laura.”
“Why’d she tell you that?”
“She’s worried about her mom being able to come up with all the money so quickly, since she’s starting to suffer from senility or dementia.”
“Shit, that’s all we need,” Skye said.
“The good news is that this Laura is married to some rich dude and could likely chip in a couple hundred grand right away. I’m sure both Mason and Laura will be there when I call. I think I should talk to Laura and put a little pressure on her.”
“Is there any chance of Laura going to the police?” Celeste asked.
“I asked that.” He smiled. “Her answer was ‘not if she wants to remain in Mom’s will.’”
Celeste thought for a moment, then shrugged. “So nothing really changes. Talk to Laura instead. If they have the money, then great. Get her to deliver the ransom. If they don’t have it … well, you know what to say.”
* * *
The rest of the morning was spent sitting around the kitchen table discussing various money drops and routes for the ransom payment. Jack had little to say about the matter, but he pretended to be pleased when Peter announced that he’d found his watch on the mat in the bathroom.
Lunch consisted of peanut butter and jam sandwiches, then Celeste announced that it was time to put Ally back in the trunk so Jack could make his call. Once that task was completed, everyone started to exit the trailer.
Out on the porch, Jack tapped Celeste on the arm and motioned for her to wait as the others walked toward the van.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Because of you, I couldn’t sleep all night. I kept thinking about what you said to me.” Jack shook his head for effect. “Talk about my imagination running wild. You don’t know how many times I wanted to get up and knock on your door.”
Celeste smiled. “I was thinking about you, too. Very much looking forward to tonight.”
“What you suggested damn near drove me crazy afterward. Thinking about bringing two women to orgasm at the same time …”
“So you’ve changed your mind about including Ally?”
“I gave it a lot of thought. I mean … if I please her, what’s she going to say? That some guy aroused her and she wanted more?”
“Exactly. She’s not going to tell anyone about it.”
“We should keep her blindfolded, though. It would still be better if she never saw your face.” Jack tried to sound enthusiastic. “I can hardly wait.”
“Good. Anticipation is all part of it.” She kissed him, and he let her slip her tongue into his mouth as she pressed her body up to his. “It sounds — or, should I say, feels — like I’m going to have a good birthday one way or the other.” She looked at him coyly as she stepped back.
“About your birthday. I want to talk to Skye and get him or someone else to go out and get some stuff. Let’s have a party. Everyone is feeling the pressure. It would be good to have something to take our minds off of things, especially if it takes longer to get the money. I’d also feel better if everyone was partying and not paying too close attention later, when you and I slip away to the bedroom. Less of an audience, if you know what I mean.”
“I could go along with that.”
“I’ll do the cooking. Sort of my way to thank everyone for helping me get my money back. We’ll need some balloons — green, of course. I have a delicious recipe for ribs, and I also make a great Caesar salad. If you’re real lucky, I might even make my secret punch, providing someone can pick up the booze for me.”
Celeste looked pleased. “Write out a list of what you need when we come back from making the phone call, and I’ll have Horace get it all.” She raised an eyebrow. “Secret punch, huh? What’s the secret?”
“It’s my version of a jade cocktail. I won’t disclose the exact recipe, but I can tell you that it’s jade green and a great aphrodisiac.”
“Really?”
“It really livens up the, uh, senses.”
“Well then … that’s definitely something we’ll have to try.”
* * *
Sitting behind her desk at the triple one office, Laura glanced at her watch as Rose and Mason arrived. It was 12:00 p.m.
Rose had added some grey to her hair and slapped on an abundance of makeup to make herself look older, old enough to portray Alicia’s mom when she delivered the money. Normally Laura might’ve teased her, but nobody was in the mood for humour today. Instead, she said, “You look good. Ten years older, for sure.”
“Who knew that’d be a compliment,” Rose replied sardonically.
All eyes turned to the door. Connie Crane, Ned Hawkins, and Inspectors Dyck and Crimmins had arrived together.
Laura wheeled in extra chairs from Jack’s office.
“I’ve obtained the money,” Dyck said as he sat down. “A million bucks, all in hundreds. It took nine banks to get it together. It’s in a safe at my office.”
“And Ottawa?” Rose asked.
“Spent most of last night on the phone. Approval came through this morning. The ransom can be paid with the hope of recovering it after our people are safe.”
Laura exchanged a glance with Mason and Rose. They all breathed a sigh of relief that Jack and Alicia’s safety would come first.
“I sincerely hope the money can be recovered,” Dyck added.
Because your career will be over if it isn’t.
“Any changes since yesterday?” Crimmins asked.
“Not a word from Jack,” Rose said, sounding stressed. “Special O has had a watch on Derek Powers’s address. Neither he nor his brother have been seen. Same for his office. His surveillance van is still in the underground lot and hasn’t moved.”
“We also have the tactical teams on standby,” Laura noted.
“So they’ll be ready to go once our people are freed and can tell us where to go,” said Crimmins. He turned to Rose. “I still don’t like the idea of not having you in sight of any ground surveillance.” He glanced at Hawkins. “Having you up in the air is one thing, but a lot could go wrong that you wouldn’t be able to see. Constables Short and Dalton are prime examples.”
“I’m not worried,” Rose said. “I’ll hide a pistol in my car, but even that I don’t think is necessary. It’s Alicia and Jack we need to protect. The best way to do that is to pay the money and hope the kidnappers follow through with their promise.”
Crimmins nodded.
“Or, with luck, to have the plane spot where they go and get ERT to do a raid. Hopefully one that doesn’t turn into a hostage situation,” Dyck said.
Laura checked her watch. Forty minutes to go. You could cut the tension with a knife.
“Anyone like a coffee?” Mason asked.
Laura’s stomach felt acidic, and coffee was the last thing she wanted, but she decided that anything to pass the time until Jack called would be better than sitting in silence or trying to make small talk. Everyone else wanted a coffee, as well. Guess I’m not the only one.
It was exactly 1:00 p.m. when Rose’s phone buzzed. She put it on speakerphone.
“Before you say anything, shut up and listen!” Jack said harshly. “Is Ally’s sister, Laura, there?”
Oh, man. Something’s not right. Why does he want to speak to me? Rose was looking at her for a response, so Laura nodded.
“Yes, she’s with me,” Rose said.
“Let me speak to her.”
Laura pulled the phone toward her. “This is Laura.”
“Ally tells me your mom is suffering from senility, so let me make this perfectly clear to you. If you deliver the money, your little angel in the full moon will be returned exactly as she is. Fuck with us and things will go real bad for her, do you understand?”
Angel in the full moon? Laura stared blankly at Rose as her mind raced. That’s the English translation for the name of the Vietnamese girl Jack and I tried to save years ago. She ended up being murdered. Pay and Alicia will end up exactly as she is … murdered. Laura swallowed the mixture of bile and coffee which slid up her throat.
“Are you listening to me?” Jack yelled. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes, but it takes time to get that much money. Our investments require a minimum of two or three business days.” Crimmins poked her arm and turned his palms upward, asking what she was doing. She glared at him and mimed slashing her throat with her index finger, then continued. “We also have to go to different banks because we don’t want anyone to know how much we’re taking out or for what reason.”
“I’ll give you until one p.m. tomorrow. After that, for every hour you’re late, Ally will lose a finger. After ten hours we start on her toes. You got that?”
“I’ll have it by tomorrow. Please, please don’t hurt her. We’re doing our best. Honest. We —”
Laura stopped talking after Jack had ended the call.
“What the hell are you doing?” Crimmins demanded. “We told you, we’ve got the money!”
Laura explained what Jack meant when he’d mentioned an angel in the full moon.
“So he’s saying that they intend to kill Constable Munday once the ransom is paid?” Crimmins said.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“If Sergeant Taggart is warning us that they’re going to murder Constable Munday, I believe we can rest assured that he believes they’re going to murder him, as well,” Dyck stated. “There’s no way he could even pretend to go along with it. His resistance would mean he’d be killed, too.”
“I agree,” Laura said. “I’m sure his script was laid out for him. When he squeezed in the bit about the angel in the full moon, I think he was taking as much risk as he dared.”
“So where does that leave us?” Mason asked. “If we pay the ransom, they’ll both be killed, yet if it’s not paid by tomorrow, they’ll start cutting off body parts.”
“It doesn’t leave us with much choice,” Rose said. “Tomorrow we’ll have to pay the ransom, then try to follow whoever picks it up.”
“I see another potential problem,” Hawkins said. “Whoever picks it up could be some chump who doesn’t even know where Jack and Alicia are.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Rose eyed Laura. “You know Jack the best — what do you think?”
“Jack stalled for a reason … perhaps only to give themselves time. I think we need to be prepared to pay tomorrow and make the arrests, but I’ve got a feeling that Jack and Alicia’s survival is dependent upon whatever he plans to do between now and then.”
“Maybe he has a plan or is hoping an opportunity will arise to call for help,” Crimmins suggested.
“Maybe,” Laura replied.
“I’d better call Assistant Commissioner Lexton and let her know,” Dyck said. “She wanted to be kept up to date.”
Especially if any bodies turn up, which is quite likely. Laura felt nauseous. Was it from being pregnant? Who am I kidding? It’s from worrying that the bodies that turn up might be Jack and Alicia’s.