The Merger – 23

 

"Mr. Harte," Rupert Osborne said, standing as soon as his secretary had ushered Mike into his office then retreated, closing the door behind her. He appeared to be both distraught and afraid.

Mike shook Osborne's proffered hand before taking a seat across the large oak desk from him. He set his bag on the floor by his feet, looking inquiringly at Osborne.

"Sometime between eight forty five and nine this morning, as my daughter was on her way to school, she was kidnapped," Osborne began without preamble. "At nine fifteen, my wife received a call from Bethany's school, asking if she was sick as she wasn't in class. My wife panicked, of course, and immediately called me. I was trying to calm her down when I received another call on my personal phone from an unlisted number. A man told me he had Bethany and would be in touch with me again to arrange the terms of her release. He warned me I was not to go to the police or to act any differently than normal if I didn't want her dead body dropped on my doorstep."

"I presume he got in touch again," Mike said.

Osborne nodded. "The first thing I did after telling my wife about the call was to convince her to let the school know that Bethany had shown up at home, just after the school had called her, saying she wasn't feeling well." Osborne clenched his hands together. "Twenty minutes later, I received a second call from the kidnapper."

"What does he want in exchange for her release?"

"Access to the bank's vault and the safety deposit boxes tomorrow night—after we're closed and I've disarmed all the security."

"A tiger kidnapping," Mike said. When Osborne asked what he meant, he explained it was a type of kidnapping where a family member is taken with the promise they'd be returned, unharmed, when the individual did something for the kidnapper—in Osborne's case giving him access to what the man wanted in the bank. "I presume, as the president, you can do that."

"I can," Osborne replied succinctly. "Of course, I have no way to open the safety deposit boxes themselves without the owners' keys. In the event an owner loses their key, the bank has to drill the lock in order for them to access the box."

"Which the kidnapper and his associates undoubtedly plan to do. Did he say why tomorrow night rather than tonight?" Mike asked. "It seems to me the less time he has to keep your daughter hidden somewhere, the better for him."

"He didn't say. I can only presume he knows, or suspects, that there will be a larger amount of cash in the vault than normal tomorrow night because Thursday is the middle of the month. That's when many companies pay their employees, who will then either cash their checks or deposit them but take some cash as well."

Mike nodded. "He also might have taken your daughter today to up your tension so that you will do exactly as he asks. I presume he wants you to disable all the security on the premises before he and his associates arrive and while they're here."

"He didn't say so, specifically. He only said he would be in touch again this afternoon at four with the details of what I'm to do."

"Obviously, you haven't contacted the police since I'm here. May I ask why you want to hire me, rather than using whoever handles security for the bank?"

"A friend of mine used your services about six months ago and had nothing but praise for your abilities. He said you took a very personal interest in solving his problem, which is what I want. Personal and, obviously, without letting anyone else know that you are working for me."

"I try my best to do that with all my clients," Mike replied with a brief smile. He checked the time then said. "It's two o'clock. He told you he'd call you at four and you said that his phone number showed up as unlisted."

"Actually, as Unknown."

"All right. Any number can be tracked with the right equipment, which my partner has. With your permission, I want to bring him in on this."

"That's fine with me."

"Thank you. We'll be back at three thirty so he can set up whatever he needs to locate where the call is coming from and who owns the phone. Once we know that, we're one step closer to finding your daughter."