Riley turned and started back to the front door of his building. He decided to stop at his mailbox in the lobby before he went down to the garage below and leave for his own work. He took out the mail and closed the box, when a black Town car pulled up in the driveway. A tall blond man stood up from the driver’s side and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.
When Riley’s phone rang, his heart stopped. He dropped his mail and briefcase and bolted out the glass doors.
“Hi, Mr. Frost. Is Miss Pantagen almost ready?”
Riley’s blood froze. “Call Hejazi now. We have a huge problem,” he shouted at the man.
While the driver tracked down the head of security, Riley called 9-1-1 and reported Sophie was just kidnapped. When the driver had Hejazi on the phone, he passed it to Riley.
“Hejazi, just listen. A black Town car pulled up with a blond driver. I didn’t pay attention. I didn’t recognize the guy, but was distracted. He took her. I texted her, so I think her cell phone may be on. Can you track the GPS?”
“On it, I’ll call you back.”
The line went dead and Riley tried to breathe. He handed the phone back to the driver.
“I’ll park my car, sir, and be right with you.” The driver got into the car and pulled into a parking slot. He ran back up the drive. “Mr. Frost, let’s go back inside. I’ll need to get some details.”
“I called 9-1-1. The police are on the way. I should wait here.”
“All right.” Dale took out his cell phone. “Can you give me a description of the man?”
Riley could only stare at this guy. Why wasn’t the idiot doing something?
* * * *
Sophie started to come around. She tried to get her head cleared and figure out what the hell happened.
She wore a blindfold and couldn’t move. She sat up straight in a hard chair. Her arms were held to the armrests and her legs rubbed against the legs of the chair. She tried to wiggle her ass and found she was braced around her pelvis and ribs. Someone didn’t want her to move.
She heard something going on behind her. It sounded like some sort of construction site and she kept hearing metal clang against something. As she unfogged she thought they were putting up a building behind her, but it didn’t make sense.
That was until she heard her father’s voice and it became clear. Edgar Allan Poe. She remembered her father’s obsession with classic horror stories and felt as though Edgar Allan Poe walked into the room. Sophie became frightened.
“Are you going to kill me, Father?” she shouted.
“Ah, you’re finally awake.”
“Why am I blindfolded? Are you too afraid to look me in the eye?”
“No, Sophie. There are some men here and in the off chance you get out of this, you won’t be able to identify them.”
“Why are you doing this? Why did you murder Jeff?”
“Both of you showed your true loyalties which were not with the family. Your acts of treason with that attorney told me you could never be trusted. And I should have known your brother would defy me.”
“Well, gee, Father, you were breaking the law,” she snarled.
Because of the blindfold, she didn’t see his hand swing up and crash on the side of her head. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back.
“You turned into a fucking whore, just like your mother.”
“My mother is not a whore, you piece of shit. You lied to Jeff and me all of our lives that our mother was crazy when it was you all along who’d become nuts.”
He tightened the hold on her hair and yanked it again. “Listen to me, little girl. I’m not crazy. I’ve given everything to make Pantagen a successful business...everything. Then I find out my two spoiled children are plotting against me. What are the code numbers for the new accounts?”
“I was wrong. You’re not nuts, you’re paranoid, Daddy. What are you talking about? Codes? What codes?”
She knew she might be crossing a very dangerous line with him, but felt so angry. She would have kicked him in the nut sack if she wasn’t restrained.
He hit her again, this time in the stomach. Her breath caught and she wanted to roll into a ball.
“What are the fucking codes?” he shouted in her ear.
“Big man, you fuckwad. Is this what you did to mother to drive her away?” she hissed at him.
She felt him let her hair go and move away from her.
“Booth, sedate or gag her. I don’t want to hear her anymore. My children are dead.”
Sophie felt shocked. This was the second time he’d ever hit her, the first in her office a couple of months ago and he never walked away from an argument. She wondered why he wouldn’t face her.
“Gee, Dad, you’re giving up awfully easy. What gives? Has age sucked out some of your testosterone?” she snipped.
“Mr. Pantagen, she’s just yanking your chain. Ignore her,” another voice said.
“That’s right, if you’re going to kill me, don’t you think I should air out my feelings for you, Daddy. I’d hate to die with all this anger and have to haunt you.”
A rough hand grabbed her jaw and jammed a thumb into her mouth. Before she could think, a piece of fabric that smelled like gasoline got pushed in and some sort of tape wrapped around her head several times to keep her from spitting it out. Another hand grabbed her hair and she felt warm breath on her neck.
“You’d better not throw up, Sophie. You’ll end up choking to death,” the voice whispered in her ear.
“Mr. Booth, we’re ready,” a voice behind her said.
Sophie felt ready to gag and tried to scream, but all that came out was a pitiful moan. Her chair started to move and she realized she was being lifted. She was put down a short distance away and it felt cold.
“Too bad we can’t have some fun before we seal her up. Did you see her lips?”
“Shut up. No one touches her,” the voice she knew as Booth’s said.
She heard the wet slap and the metal scrap again and tried to figure a way to get loose. Then something poked her arm and she started to fall into blackness.
Chapter Sixteen
It was almost twelve hours since Sophie was taken. Riley tried to keep his cool, but it wore thin and he wanted to hurt someone.
Hejazi and his group and the FBI took over his living room and kitchen. It amazed him how quickly they’d set up equipment and it seemed they were all on the phone.
Riley went over every detail from this morning in his head and felt a headache build. A few things weren’t making any sense.
“Hejazi?” He stood up and saw the chief turn to him.
“One second,” he said into his phone and focused on Riley.
“How did they know what time to pick her up?”
“I’ll call you back.” Hejazi shut his phone off and grabbed a chair from the table.
Riley watched him approach and sat back down.
Hejazi put his elbows on his knees. “We’ve been working on that, Mr. Frost. Before I answer, could I see your cell phone?”
Riley frowned, but complied and handed over his phone. Hejazi pulled out a pocket knife and pried it open. He looked at the insides and then moved the point of the knife in and out. On the tip was something round and shiny.
“Jake,” the security chief said.
Another man walked over and pulled a small plastic bag from his pocket. Hejazi put the shiny thing into the bag.
“See if you can get anything useful from that. Look for a serial number we might trace.” The man nodded and walked away. Hejazi closed up the cell phone and handed it back to Riley. “My group reviewed the security cameras from this building and a couple around the neighborhood. About two weeks ago there was an electric company truck that did some work on the lines across the street.”
“I remember that. They had the road blocked with orange cones.” Riley held onto his phone.
“We checked the line and a receiver and antenna were connected to it. That button I just took out
of your phone sends a signal. If you make or receive a call someone is listening. Can you think of anytime your phone hasn’t been on your person?”
“There’s the gym, but it would have been locked up with my clothes. Oh, shit,” Riley said and fell back into his seat. “At Club Frek, when Sophie and I went to the dance floor or to watch a scene. God dammit, I should have been more careful.” He raked his hair with his fingers.
“You can’t blame yourself, sir. There was no way you could have known. Now think back the last couple of weeks. I know you and Miss Pantagen just got back together, but can you think of anything, weird or not weird? Does anything mundane come to mind that could be over looked?”
Riley thought a minute. “It may be nothing, but Sophie mentioned just this morning that Pantagen was having computer problems. Some files were blocked. She tried to change some, but they reverted back to the original document. She said their I.S. department was trying to get it figured out.”
Hejazi nodded. “Ray,” he said and looked over his shoulder. “Where are the schematics for the Pantagen building?”
“Down in the van, sir,” a man said. “Do you want me to get them?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Mr. Hejazi.” Another man stood with a phone to his ear. “Burk and Griggs have found the Town car. It’s in a parking lot at a private airstrip up north. Griggs said they’re going through the security footage. Miss Pantagen’s cell phone was jammed between the seat cushions and her purse sat on the floor. No sign of the briefcase. They’ll bring the stuff back. Griggs says no flights have left that airport in the last twelve hours. They canvassed the grounds and found nothing.”
Hejazi nodded. The man who’d gone down to the van came back in with a cardboard tube.
As Hejazi stood, Riley got up and they circled around the dinner table. The security chief took the plans out of the tube and rolled them out on the table. He let a couple roll up and mumbled no, no several times. He seemed to find what he’d been looking for and grabbed two staplers to hold down the ends.
“What are we looking at?” Riley asked.
“Something’s been gnawing at me about this parking garage.”
Riley watched as Hejazi stared at the architectural drawings. The man moved his hand over the paper and continued to mumble, “no, no, no” over and over.
Riley wished he knew what he looked for, but all he saw were lines. Several other men stood around the table and waited patiently.
Hejazi tapped a section of the plan. “When I’d take Miss Pantagen to her work, we’d park in this garage. My cell phone wouldn’t work in there, which made no sense. It’s open on all sides and signals shouldn’t be blocked. My ear-bud also registered a lot of feedback.” He put his finger on a spot. “Why does this outside wall have air ducts?” He looked up at his men.
Riley felt lost. He knew corporate law, not anything to do with architecture.
One of Hejazi’s men shook his head. “There’s something under that garage, sir.”
“I have to agree. We leave in five.” Hejazi stood up straight as his men started to move.
“I’m going with you,” Riley said.
“No, Mr. Frost. You need to stay here. The Feds are going to be there and the police and you won’t be able to help.”
“Hejazi, if Sophie’s down there...”
The security chief grabbed his arm and dragged him from the table. “Sir, I understand your concern, but I can’t have you in the middle of who knows what.”
Riley could hear the tension in Hejazi’s voice even though the man remained calm. “I’ll sit in the fucking car, but I’m coming with you,” Riley said.
Hejazi took a breath. “Tell you what. I’ll set you up with an ear bud. You can listen in, but you’ll stay here. We have to get Miss Pantagen safe and I won’t have time to worry about you.”
Riley didn’t like this feeling. He wasn’t helpless. He knew Sophie’s safety was the most important thing. He looked at the man he’d put so much trust into for ten years.
“Fine, I’ll stay, but Hejazi...” He didn’t want to ask a question that plagued him. “It’s been over twelve hours. I know the timing break down.”
“Mr. Frost, I know what you’re going to ask. I can’t answer, but don’t lose hope. That’s all we have,” Hejazi said and had sympathy in his eyes.
“Fine.”
* * * *
Sophie felt frustrated. Since she’d come out of her drug induced state, she’d tried to free her arms. She figured out she’d been taped to the chair and she’d gotten a Charlie horse in her hand from twisting her thumbs back to try to create a tear.
She still wore the blindfold and all she could smell was gasoline. It was stronger than when the gag first got jammed into her mouth. It didn’t seem like it came from the gag. The smell hung all around her.
She could hear no sound and it was dead quiet. Her ears buzzed. Her mouth felt dry and she tried to think of something to get her salivary glands to spill, but couldn’t focus. Even picturing Riley’s cock did nothing for her.
She couldn’t believe what her father did and how he’d left her. The fact that she didn’t know what codes he spoke of pleased her, but she didn’t know why and still felt scared out of her mind.
Where did he put her? Why couldn’t she hear anything?
She tried to move the chair to see if she could get her legs to loosen. The chair moved forward a little and her toes hit something. She moved her foot as much as she could and felt a block. Her right hand moved away from her and the tips of her fingers touched something rough. She did the same on the left and felt the same.
She bounced a little to move the chair back and crashed into a wall. She realized she was in a space smaller than a telephone booth and freaked. She moaned over and over as loud as she could.
Chapter Seventeen
Riley stood at his windows and listened to what Hejazi and his team found. The FBI participated and everyone was on edge. He could tell from the voices he heard on the ear bud. Three men sat or stood behind him and he could see their reflections in the window. They made quiet comments he didn’t pay any attention to, not that he’d understand.
From what he could tell, one of the men from Hejazi’s team found a hidden entrance under a stairwell on the ground floor of the garage. They made their way down and discovered a catacomb of hallways. They continued on and Riley kept hearing men say clear over and over which told him they’d found nothing. He knew it was good, but it killed him.
“Chief, I can smell gas down here,” a voice softly reported.
“Which hallway?” Hejazi answered.
“Hallway C. I’ve got an electrical burning smell.”
“Hold, Hallway A, move to C.”
Riley took in a breath and realized he’d started to sweat. The silence breaks drove him nuts. He started to pace back and forth in front of the windows.
“Chief, I have a room with computers. It looks like someone tried to fry the hard drives. There’s a strong gasoline smell. God, it stinks in here.”
“Hold team C. We’re coming in behind you.”
“The room’s clear, sir.”
Again, there was a long silence. Riley stopped and waited. The minutes stretched. He heard someone ask What’s the chief doing? and then—Hell if I know.
“Pull down that piece of drywall,” he heard Hejazi say. There was noise of something being dismantled.
“What gives, Chief? It’s a wall.”
“Those are new staples. The other ones around the room have rusted,” Hejazi answered.
“Chief, it’s cinderblock behind the dry-wall.”
“Let me see.” Silence. “Ray, go up to the truck and bring down a couple of sledgehammers and an oxygen tank.”
“Sir, it’s a cinderblock wall.”
“Explain to me why the concrete is still wet,” he heard Hejazi’s voice.
Riley turned to the other three men. “If you don’t fucking take me over to Pantagen now,
I’ll drive myself.”
One of the men stepped forward. “Mr. Frost, the chief will kill us.”
“I don’t give a shit. Get me over there,” Riley snarled.
One of the men drove Riley to the building site. He continued to listen to the brief conversations with the security team. He could hear metal slams and crashes and his mind ran crazy. All he could see was Hejazi swinging the sledgehammer and a wall breaking down like on the Roadrunner cartoons.
“Hold,” a voice said.
“Give me a flashlight.”
Riley held his breath.
“She’s in there. Get these bricks pulled away and be careful. The floor is covered in gasoline.”
“Is she breathing, sir?”
There was nothing but silence. When the Land Cruiser pulled up to the garage, Riley practically jumped out before it stopped. There were several police cruisers and black sedans parked at one end with lights flashing. He saw one of Hejazi’s men talking to some guy in a dark suit. He moved to them and grabbed the security team man.
“Where is she?”
“Mr. Frost, I...”
“Where the fuck is she?” Riley tightened his grip on the guys arm.
“Hang on a second, sir. Hey, Chief? This is Scott up top.”
“Go.”
“Sir, Mr. Frost is here.” The guy tried to get his arm free from Riley’s tight grip.
“Shit. I told him to stay put.”
“You can tell Hejazi I heard that,” Riley snarled.
“Sir, Mr. Frost is on-air with us.”
There was silence for a few seconds.
“Bring him down,” Hejazi said in his ear.
The man called Scott led the way. They went to a stairwell and down through an opening in the floor. Metal stairs went down a level and Riley couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There were five hallways leading off in several different directions.
“This way, Mr. Frost.”
They turned into one of the hallways and more people started to appear. When they arrived at a doorway that was well lit, he saw Hejazi stood in the hall with a scowl on his face.
A Risky Dance Page 11