The Airnapped Child

by Sandra Ryan

“Do you think the change in the seating arrangement may have affected the kidnap or something? I would hate to think that something I did contributed to the loss of your child.”

  “It is okay, Melvin. Technically, it was not your call. Thank you again for telling me.”

  “You are welcome, Mrs. Benson.”

  “And Melvin, would you please not let my husband know that this conversation happened?”

  “Definitely. I understand.”

  She could hear the query in his voice as he spoke. She hung up the phone.

  “Who were you talking to?” a voice said.

  Chapter 12

  My Life is not what I thought it was

  Elizabeth knew it was Nathan who was standing at the door, but there was something menacing in his voice. It was the voice he used with his employees or whenever he was driving a hard bargain with any of his investors. He had never used it with her again.

  “Elizabeth, who were you talking to, and what are you doing in my office?” he was still standing behind the closed door. The room was still shrouded in darkness.

  “What the hell, Nathan! You scared the crap out of me! Why don’t you come in and turn the light?” she tried to keep her voice light and carefree as he hands worked furtively to turn off the computer and return everything to normalcy before Nathan came in.

  “I’m all sweaty and smelling. I didn’t want to mess up the carpet,” Nathan said when he opened the door and put on the light. “What are you doing here anyway?”

  “I sometimes come here to connect with our baby. You know, this was one of the few places in this house where he did not cry a lot. Whenever I brought him to this place to be with you, he always had this air of contentment.”

  Nathan stared at her for a long time. She found it hard reading what was going on in his head. He had his poker face on.

  “But I heard you speaking to someone. I think I heard you speaking to Melvin?”

  “Of course I was speaking to someone. That’s the whole point of coming here? Why would you think I was speaking to Melvin?”

  “I don’t know. Even the first time when I thought I heard someone here, I called out but nobody answered. I mean, the door to the basement was open, how did you walk past without as much as a hello or something?” his voice was beginning to sound accusatory and whiny.

  She forced her hands to become still because she could see that he was monitoring every move she made and the slightest move would alert him to the fact that she was unto him. If her suspicions were true, it meant that he was capable of doing anything to prevent her from standing in his way.

  “Forgive me if I was so focused on coming here to be with my son that I did not stop by and say hello to you. Forgive me that I was so lost in thoughts that I did not hear you when you called my name. Fucking forgive me for even coming here in the first place, Nathan. Now, is there anything else you would have me apologize for?” she put her face in her hands and fake cried to put him of balance, hoping he would not ask anymore questions.

  She saw between her fingers the fight go out of his shoulders.

  “I’m sorry, I did not mean to be insensitive.” He came to stand beside her, and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

  “Really, I do not understand. You were hounding me like a taskmaster, as though I was not supposed to be in this room in the first place. I mean, is there something here you do not want me to find?”

  It was her turn to put him under the microscope. He squirmed under her watchful gaze and stuttered, “No, not exactly. There are just some files here that are classified and thus it would be unethical for anyone outside of the company to set their eyes on them.”

  “I see,” she said, marveling at how quickly he had come up with that excuse. Who knew if that was how he had been deceiving her the entire time, lying straight to her face?

  “In any case, I am heading straight to bed; you have spoil the mood of the evening.”

  “I am sorry, that was not the intention,” he said, taking the seat she had just recently vacated.

  “Are you not coming?”

  “No. I have a couple of things I need to fix on the computer.”

  She had no doubt he was going to delete the documents as soon as she left. Too bad he had not thought of doing that earlier. He probably had been so sure that she could not come into the office that he had become sloppy.

  “Very well, then. I am going to be sleeping in the spare bedroom.” She said as she walked towards the door.

  “Why?” he asked. He had paused what he was doing and was looking straight at her. The wary look had returned to his eyes.

  She turned to face him.

  “I want to be alone this night. Do not take it personally, but I just want to have my space. I’ll be back to the master bedroom tomorrow, and who knows, I may even be back to your bed too?” she gave him a sly grin.

  “I’d like that very much,” he replied, returning her grin.

  Elizabeth walked quickly to the bedroom and pulled out her phone. She felt all the false bravado she had felt in the office crumbling. She knew that for her to survive unscathed, she needed to get help from somewhere else. And there was just one person she trusted enough to totally be on her side in the debacle. She began dialing.

  *********

  “What do you need?” Olga asked.

  “I need you to look into Mr. Benson for me. Go back as far as you can. If he has ever had a speeding ticket, I want you to find it.” Holly said.

  “Sure, boss. I know you just said I should look for everything, but it would help if there was something specific you need me to find out exactly.” Olga said.

  “That’s the thing; I am not sure what I am looking for. My gut tells me that Mr. Benson is complicit in this kidnap in some way. I need you to confirm my gut feeling, and also in the event that I am wrong, also prove that.”

  “Okay. I can work with that.”

  “And I do not need to tell you how urgent this task is, of course.”

  “Sure, I got it,” Olga responded.

  “Thank you so much,” Holly said. Then added, “I’m sorry if this job had anything to do with the rift between Sandra and you. Heartbreak is an occupational hazard in this line of work.”

  “That I am learning,” she replied with a laugh. “Don’t worry about me, boss. Sandra and I will eventually sort out our issues. I just need this case to be done and over with.”

  “You and I both,” Holly replied.

  She stood outside the door for a few minutes after Olga hung up. She was not ready to go in yet to confront Samuel’s stony silence. It was as though as the days raced by and she was unable to solve the case that she failed him. She was still standing outside when her phone began ringing. It was an unknown caller, and the number was blocked so she could not see who it was that was calling. She contemplated turning off her phone, thinking that it may be the police trying to use that ruse to get to the location where she was. But on second thoughts she answered the call.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello,” a voice answered. The person on the other side sounded vaguely familiar. Holly tried to place where she had heard that voice before.

  “Good evening. Am I speaking to Holly Hackett, please?’ the person on the other end sounded quite cultured and formal. She also sounded as though she was whispering.

  “It depends on who wants to know,” Holly answered evasively.

  “Oh crap, please forgive my manners. This is Elizabeth Benson. I recently became acquainted with Ms. Hackett and she gave me her cell number. Is this the right one?”

  Recognition hit Holly immediately. Of course, it was Elizabeth Benson. Years of being in the corporate world and acting as an attorney had sharpened her tone such that anytime she spoke on the phone she sounded almost formal. Holly had dropped her card with the woman the day she and Samuel paid her a visit.

  “Hello, Mrs. Benson. This is Holly. I am surprised at your call.”

  “I know it is late in the ev
ening, I am sorry about that. Something urgent just came up and I had to speak to you immediately.”

  “Yes and your number is also blocked.”

  “Oh dear, I must have fiddled with my phone the wrong way.”

  Holy did not have anything to say. She was trying to judge from the woman’s tone if she was genuine or if she was working with the police.

  “Mrs. Benson, did the police put you up to this? Are they making you call me in the bid to flush me out?” Might as well get it out in the open.

  “Flush you out? What the hell are you talking about? I just told you that I just made a discovery that could potentially impact the case and you are accusing me of collusion with the police? Never mind, I guess I was wrong about you.”

  “Wait!” Holly shouted before she could cut the call. “I am sorry I jumped to a conclusion so fast. You said you found out something that could potentially affect the case?”

  “Yes. But I cannot speak about it over the phone. I am not in a very secure environment and in any case, I do not trust that this connection is secure.”

  “Are you okay where you are? Are you sure you are not in immediate danger?” Holly asked, her protective instincts kicking in.

  “I am fine. I would feel better though once this has been taken care of.”

  “Okay. So what do you suggest?”

  “Is there a way we could meet? Just you and I?”

  “I’m not sure if that is possible. I haven’t been at the office for the last couple of days. I have a situation I am trying to get a grip on.” Holly said.

  “Yes, I am aware of that. Very well then, I think I could find some other way to take care of the situation then.”

  “Well, I could find a way for us to meet. But because of the peculiarity of the situation, I will let you know the venue for the meet just a few hours before we actually meet. I am big on security right now. I’m sure you understand.”

  “I do understand,” Elizabeth replied. “Thank you so much for listening.”

  “I have one more question though. Why did you call me? Why did you not take whatever it was you found out to the police?”

  “I trust you, Holly. The woman I saw in my house that day was not someone who was big on bureaucracy and shenanigans. You seemed to me like a straight shooter, and that is one thing I have come to appreciate. I have been an attorney for too long to tell when people are full of shit.”

  Elizabeth paused.

  “And another thing, you were one of the few people I am sure is not already already on the take. Right now, I’m not sure I could trust anyone on the police force.”

  “I see,” Holly replied.

  “So you said tomorrow then?”

  “Yes, tomorrow. I will keep you updated about the time and location.”

  *********

  “Are you sure that she is coming?” Olga asked.

  “I texted her the time and location. She is supposed to meet us here,” Holly replied. “Meanwhile, how do I look?”

  She turned from side to side. Olga gave her a cursory look, taking in the wig she had on and the heavy makeup and fake lashes.

  “I wouldn’t even recognize you myself. And when you put on those glasses, I am sure you wouldn’t recognize yourself either.”

  “Meanwhile,” she added, “Was all of these necessary? I mean, the police are after Samuel, they aren’t after you. You do not have to sneak around.”

  “Oh, you are just complaining that I dragged you out to be my chauffeur. I told you, this is all part of the job.”

  “Driving my boss around to clandestine meetings is part of the job? Right.” Olga said sarcastically.

  They settled back in silence. The car was hot and cramped. The entire night Holly had wrestled with the thought of whether she should cancel the meeting or not. Finally when she decided she wanted to go thru with the meeting. She found out that she could not find Elizabeth’s number in order to text her the address and time. She had had to call Olga who had then traced the call and recovered the number. She had then subsequently commandeered Olga into driving her to the venue of the meeting and staying with her the entire time.

  “Is that her?” Olga asked. Holly peered at the direction where Olga was pointing. A woman was stepping out of a Lexus.

  “Yes, that is her.”

  “Damn, the woman is definitely not turning down,’ Olga said, admiration in her voice.

  “Damn, she was supposed to be discrete.”

  “Well, she definitely did not get the memo.” Olga replied. They watched as she climbed out of the car and then crossed the road to the diner where they were supposed to meet.

  “Now do your thing,” Holly said to Olga.

  Olga retrieved her laptop from the backseat of the car and clicked on a few keys. The idea was for her to tap into the police scanner to see if there was any operation being conducted in their area. Holly had come up with the idea that if the police were using Mrs. Benson to try to flush her out, the police scanners would be alive with the chatter as they communicated.

  “All clear,” Olga declared. “Nothing unusual is happening at the moment.”

  “Well, I guess it is time for us to go in.”

  “We?” Olga asked. “That was not part of the plan. I was agreed to be your chauffeur not your side kick.”

  “Well, your job description has just changed, get your ass up and let’s get moving.”

  *******

  Elizabeth looked around at the other customers at the diner. She was feeling a little uneasy and conspicuous in the outfit she had chosen. It had been such a long time since she dressed up to go anywhere that when she was deciding on what to wear, it had not occurred to her that she was supposed to be informally dressed for the meeting. Besides, she had not even known the location of the diner till she had been ready to leave the house.

  “Hello,” a waitress said to her. She was a young girl, perhaps one of those who worked as a waitress during their holidays.

  “Hello, Megan,” Elizabeth said, reading the tag on the girl’s dress.

  “Are you here for a meeting or…?”

  “I am supposed to be meeting a couple of friends here.”

  “Okay. Do I get you something while you wait?”

  “Sure. I would appreciate if I could get an iced tea please.”

  The girl flashed her a smile and then walked away. Elizabeth buried her head in the magazine she had brought along with her. It had been a last minutes decision to come along with something to read. One she was grateful for at the moment. She resisted the urge to take out her phone and dial Holly’s number. She had been expressly told not to do that.

  “Hello there.”

  Elizabeth jumped, almost knocking over the glass of iced tea the waitress had dropped on the table. Her glance alternated between the two women seated opposite her. Even with all of the makeup she could still point out which of the two was Holly Hackett. Her face broke into a smile.

  “I told her too that she looked horrendous,” the woman with Holly said on sighting Elizabeth’s smile.

  “No, not exactly. That was not the reason for the smile. She did quite a good job,” Elizabeth said.

  “Thank you,” Holly answered, throwing a dirty look at the other woman.

  “You did not tell me you were going to come with anyone.”

  “I am sorry about that. It just happened that I needed someone to drive me around. Her name is Olga. She works with me. You can totally trust her discretion.”

  Olga flashed her a smile, trying her best to look as professional as possible.

  “Well, it doesn’t look like a have a lot of options in the matter.” Elizabeth replied.

  “Now you said you had something you wanted to share with me?”

  “You may have to put a pin on that. I think the little lady over there is trying to get your attention,” Olga said.

  Elizabeth looked up to find the waitress hovering just beyond the periphery of their vision. She beckoned her over.
/>   “Do you guys want anything?”

  “Nothing for me,” Holly said.

  “Just a doughnut and an iced tea please,” Olga said.

  “Yes. Like I told you, I have some information I need to share with you. But first I must tell you that I have no interest in this case beyond the peaceful return of my child, everything else is secondary, including proving the innocence of your client. I am sorry if that sounds callous but that is how it has to be. Are you comfortable with that?”

  The two other women nodded.

  “Also, a lot of the things I would tell you might just be the speculations I have made using the pieces of information I have gathered together, so I would appreciate if you treated what I told you with discretion.”

  “Understood,” Holly said while Olga made a zipping motion with her hand over her mouth.

  Elizabeth reached into her handbag and brought out some documents. She handed them to Holly who when she was done, handed the documents to Olga.

  “Where did you get this?” Holly asked.

  “I got this from the personal computer my husband uses at home.”

  “Is he aware that you have them?”

  “I do not think so.”

  “Damn! That must have taken some major balls on your part,” Olga said, admiration in her voice.

  “Where did the money come from?” Holly pressed.

  “My parents set up a trust fund when I was a child. The money apparently has run into millions without me being aware of it..”

  “Who had access to the account?”

  “Ordinarily, it ought to be just me and my money manager, but then something must have gone wrong if he has his hands on these documents.”

  “No kidding,” Olga interjected.

  “I understand how damning these documents may appear, but the only thing they show is that you husband committed fraud. And that he has been going at it for a while now. So, while you could sue him to recover your money, it does not impact on the kidnap case. It does not suggest at all that your husband kidnapped your child or give any reason why he would do something like that.” Holly said.

  “That is not all,” Elizabeth replied solemnly.

  “There is more?” Olga asked.