Allyn and Ransom – 28

 

"All right, everyone," Ransom said when he and Allyn entered the conference room. The members of his team were there already, and Ransom made the introductions before saying, "As I told you, Allyn has agreed to help us out tomorrow night."

 

"Because you know what our perp looks like," Thornton said to Allyn. A statement, not a question.

 

"Yes." Allyn took the seat Ransom pointed to, while Ransom sat at the head of the table.

 

"You'll be wired so we can track you, if he does take you," Daniels told Allyn.

 

"I think he will," Allyn replied. "We made a connection of sorts at the masked ball. Tenuous, but it was there. Sort of like, if he hadn't already chosen Ellis as his victim, he might have taken me instead. At least that's the way it felt to me, after I found out about what's going on and had a chance to think about it."

 

"Makes sense," Johnson commented.

 

"What kind of wire?" Allyn asked. "Depending on why he's abducting people, he may or may not strip them down, especially if he's sexually abusing them. He'd find a wire real quick if that's the case."

 

"He's taken a woman as well as men," Hanna Lane put in.

 

Ransom nodded. "We talked about that, Hanna. He may be an equal opportunity rapist, or that may not be what he's doing to his victims. Allyn, we could use an ear bug, but that's iffy too, if he knows what to look for."

 

"Do you have something small enough I could hide it in my hair?"

 

"Yes," Ransom replied. "Obviously it would be for listening only. We wouldn't be able to communicate with you, but we'll hear everything that you, and anyone with you, says."

 

"Okay." Allyn tapped a finger on the table. "Does it have a GPS function?"

 

"Yep." Ransom smiled briefly. "So you won't have to figure out how to work your location into a conversation. That would be a dead giveaway."

 

"No kidding. Are all of you going to be at the airport?"

 

"Yes," Ransom replied. "Daniels and Johnson will be in charge of our officers watching the outside of the terminal. Thornton and Hanna will be inside with us. They'll look like just another couple attending the ball."

 

Hanna sighed. "The things I do. Do you have any idea how much a dress costs that works for this?"

 

Allyn chuckled. "Since my sister's going to be there too, I'm well aware it's not cheap."

 

"I don't like the idea of her attending," Thornton commented. "What if our perp does home in on you, Allyn, realizes she's your sister, and decides to grab her as bait?"

 

"First off, if he approaches me, I'll go willingly. That is why you're using me. Secondly, she's being accompanied by John, her…boyfriend." Allyn decided, since Miranda had said no one knew about her engagement, he wasn't going to be the one to announce it. "He's no one to fuck with."

 

"Neither is she," Ransom murmured. Allyn knew what he meant, but when Daniels, who didn't, asked, Ransom rolled his eyes. "She read me the riot act a week or so ago. I had the feeling she'd have laid into me with more than words if I hadn't listened."

 

"Oh, yeah," Allyn agreed. "She may be small, but John has trained her well." In her human form. He wouldn't stand a chance against her when she's a wolf.

 

"The doors open for the ball at eight. We'll be set up at seven. There will also be security guards, since one of the items being raffled off is a twenty-thousand dollar necklace. The guards know we're going to be there too. Not that they'll leave their posts, but they will be another set of eyes—or sets, I guess. They'll have our artist's rendition of what he looks like, after I get Allyn to sit down with her."

 

Allyn looked at him in surprise. "When will that be?"

 

"It's next on my agenda," Ransom replied. "Once we're finished here." Turning to the others, he asked, "Can you think of anything Allyn needs to know that we haven't covered?"

 

"I have a question," Allyn put in. "Did you ever find Liam's car?"

 

"Yes," Ransom replied. "It was in a lot a block from the Board of Trade building, which tells us he was taken away from the site in the perp's car."

 

"Probably thought he'd gotten lucky," Allyn muttered.

 

"Probably," Ransom agreed. "All right. Anything else, anyone?" When the team members shook their heads, Ransom dismissed them. Then he took Allyn down to the police artist's office where Allyn spent the next half hour telling her every detail he could recall about the man in black.