The Shield of Darius

by Allen Kent

  Her late teens had done wonders for her own face and figure. Gangling had become statuesque, and her mouth and eyes now turned the heads of every man she passed on campus. They also brought the infield coach out of the dugout for special fielding demonstrations, then into the bleachers to talk baseball, then business, and finally more personal interests with his most ardent fan. Kate found in Ben a man who thought she was beautiful, respected her independent nature, admired her business sense, and loved her companionship. She kept him a secret until her senior year, then took him home to meet Elsie. The rest – despite her mother – was history. A wonderful history.

  “Mom! Jenn! You oughta see this hole in the ground over here.” PJ sprang around the corner of what remained of the west range of the castle and dashed across the lawn. “They’ve dug out this place and you can see old steps going down and everything!”

  “Where’s your father?” Kate asked. “I thought you were with him.”

  “He’s down by the river. I saw him a minute ago.”

  “We’d better find him and get started. We want to stay at the seashore tonight, and it’s a couple of hours away.”

  She eased Jenn up, and the three started for the small ticket booth that stood beyond the main gate.

  After scouring the castle grounds for more than an hour searching for her husband, Kate drove to the constabulary in Sherborne village. The constable, a ruddy-faced man with a thick rusty mustache and bushy brows, was polite and sympathetic, but didn’t seem overly concerned.

  “Oh, I suspect he’s just wondered off. Got himself a bit turned about and soon he’ll find his way back to the castle. You’d be surprised how many tourists we lose for a few hours. In fact, he’s probably back there now waitin’ for ya.”

  “Ben’s not a man who gets himself ‘turned about,’” Kate said emphatically. “He’s lived all over the world and has been through Dorset before. He didn’t just get lost. And we looked over every inch of that castle grounds before we came here.”

  “So what do you think happened?” The officer’s unruffled good nature added to Kate’s frustration.

  “I don’t know what happened. That’s why I’m here. He just…disappeared! I’d insisted he leave his cell phone in the van so he wouldn’t be tempted to be on it all the time we were at the castle, but he was expecting a couple of important calls this afternoon. It was still in the van and he wouldn’t have taken off without it.”

  “And just before you got ready to leave the castle, your son saw him standing by the river. Was he alone?”

  “Yes. We didn’t see anyone else the whole time we were there – except the woman in the ticket booth.”

  “Well, if you’re concerned he fell into the river, I wouldn’t be worried about that. As shallow as it is there, he wouldn’t get more than his ankles wet.”

  Kate hesitated. “Could someone have taken him?” she suggested, trying to mask the quiver in her lip. “He wouldn’t just disappear like that.”

  “Taken him?” The officer’s smile was patronizing.

  “Yes. Something like that.”

  “But you said no one else was at the castle.”

  “I said we didn’t see anyone else. But the little woman in the ticket office said she heard another car come into the lot. She couldn’t see it from where she was, but said it stayed about ten minutes, then drove away.”

  “Did she see your husband get into the car?”

  “As I said, she didn’t even see the car! The booth doesn’t face the lot and she was watching something on TV. We had to get her attention to even buy our tickets, but she did say she heard it. Wondered why no one came to buy tickets.”

  “Could someone have gone around the ticket booth without being seen, kidnapped your husband and dragged him back to the car?”

  “Oh I don’t know.” Kate felt her throat tighten and tears begin to well in the corners of her eyes. “I just know he wouldn’t wander off. And whoever stopped didn’t come into the castle grounds. What were they doing there?”

  “They may have taken a look at the ruins and decided it wasn’t worth paying to go inside. There really isn’t much you can’t see from the lot. And do you know of a reason someone would want to kidnap your husband?”

  Kate shrugged. She wasn’t sure herself. “We have a successful business that deals in high tech development...,” she offered

  The constable scratched his chin in an exaggerated show of thoughtfulness. “If I were a kidnapper, I think I would have taken one of the children. That’s more often the pattern. And why in England? Does anyone here know you have this successful business?”

  “Some of the people at our Leeds office….” The whole thing didn’t make any sense to her either, and the more she talked about it, the less clear it all seemed.

  “And isn’t it a bit odd that someone would follow you all the way down here from the north to kidnap your husband?”

  Kate slumped forward with her face in her hands, feeling as though someone had pulled a plug at the bottom of her feet and drained her energy and will. They had stayed at the castle until almost five-thirty, searching until they were all exhausted, then driven into the village to the station. By some stroke of luck, Kate had driven to Sherborne from Salisbury and had the van keys in her purse.

  “I don’t know what happened to him,” she sniffled. “I just know that he isn’t lost.”

  The constable stood and walked around his scarred oak desk, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Leave a picture with me if you have one, and I’ll send it to the villages about. Then go back to the castle. He may have found one of the pubs nearby and was with some lads havin’ a pint. If he hasn’t shown up there, find a place to stay. There’s a caravan park a mile past the castle on the other side of the road, and I’m certain he’ll be back soon. Men sometimes have a way of taking a bit o’ time off by themselves. There’ll be some simple explanation.”

  She turned her shoulder from beneath his hand and stood as the officer retreated a step. “There may be some simple explanation,” she said, the quiver gone from her lip and shivering down her spine. “But it won’t be that he decided to leave his family in the middle of some ruined castle so he could ‘go have a pint with the lads.’”

  “I understand, Mrs. Sager.” The constable’s voice assumed a new note of respect. “I have his description here in my report, and I’ll start passing it about just in case. Things will work out.”

  Things did not work out, and Ben was not back by morning. At 8:30 against her better judgment, Kate called her mother in Baltimore on her cell from beside the Sherborne constabulary. Elsie Fitzgerald’s “hello” was slurred with sleep and Kate realized that it was still the middle of the night in Maryland.

  “Mother, I’m sorry to call this late, but something terrible has happened.”

  Her mother’s voice cleared instantly. “What is it Katie? What’s happened?”

  Though she had promised herself she wouldn’t, Kate began to sniffle. “Something…something’s happened to Ben. He’s disappeared.”

  “What do you mean – disappeared?”

  “Just that! He’s gone! Yesterday we were visiting a castle here and when we got ready to leave, we couldn’t find him and he hasn’t shown up.”

  There was a long silence. “Katie, has Ben left you?”

  “Mother – I knew I shouldn’t have called you! I need help. Not one of your lectures. Of course he hasn’t left us.”

  “Katie, you know I’ve been concerned about….”

  “Mother – please! Something’s happened to him. I think he’s been taken by someone.”

  “And why would anyone take him in Eng….”

  Kate punched the “end call” button and leaned heavily against the stone side of the building. Could things have changed so little in twenty years? The woman hadn’t given an inch since Kate first brought Ben home over a spring break. Her mother had been coolly polite, but called Kate into a back room just before the couple left to return t
o school.

  “I know you’re old enough to make these decisions, Katie, but this isn’t the right man for you.”

  “Mother, he’s a wonderful man. If you’d only given him half a chance….”

  Elsie had smiled sympathetically and placed a motherly hand on Kate’s arm. “I know he’s good looking – in a dark sort of way. Does he have some eastern blood somewhere? But he isn’t even as tall as you are.”

  “His family came from Yugoslavia about the same time ours came from Ireland. And who cares if he’s shorter? Paul Newman’s short. Redford’s short.”

  Mrs. Fitzgerald had rolled her eyes and given Kate her most irritating slack-jawed “you’re talking to an expert here” expression. “Believe me Katie. This is no Paul Newman. And no matter what they say, size makes a difference.”

  Kate already knew that Ben was completely satisfying, but wasn’t going to involve her mother in that.

  “And….” The woman was unrelenting. “Even though he’s seven years older, the man’s still in college! What’s he been doing all this time?”

  “He played minor league ball for a few years. I told you that. But he decided he wasn’t going to make the majors, and came back for an MBA.”

  “Sounds unstable to me. Jumpin’ from one thing to another….”

  Kate decided she’d heard enough. “Mother, he’s bright. He’s sensitive. He’s fun! Most of the Business Admin guys are snobs and the computer guys are weird and bookish, but Ben’s just…well, exciting! He’s been everywhere and has this natural sense of adventure about him. Plus, he has the greatest ideas! Trust me, mother. He’s going to be more successful than any of those other guys.”

  He had been, but Elsie Fitzgerald had never found that sufficient. And where in the world was Ben now? She felt so helpless and alone – and so angry! Both at her mother and at Ben. She couldn’t imagine that he could leave her and the children out in the English countryside... but could that other car possibly have been someone coming to pick him up...?

  As she walked dejectedly back toward the van, the children pressed expectantly against the windows; PJ curious and confused, and Jenn frightened. Kate forced a smile, then paused and drew a deep breath. She needed to get a grip on herself. Signaling the children to stay where they were, she walked quickly out of range of the van and called David King, Sager Tech’s chief product engineer, at his home in Columbia, Maryland.

  “Dave, I know it’s the middle of the night there, and this sounds crazy, but Ben’s disappeared.”

  “Disappeared?”

  “Gone! Just gone! Vanished! He’s been gone since yesterday afternoon. We’re in Dorset at a place called Sherborne. We got separated for a few minutes touring an old castle and he just disappeared. I don’t know what to do.”

  Dave King was silent for a few seconds. “Jeez, Kate. I…I don’t know what to tell you. Have you been to the police? Any idea what might have happened to him?”

  “No idea. And they now seem to have every policeman in two counties looking for him. His picture’s in today’s paper. The constable got a special investigator in from Dorchester and they are even dragging the river. It’s about as deep as a wading pool, but they haven’t got any better ideas. I think he’s been kidnapped.” Kate wondered if she was being coherent.

  “In England? That doesn’t sound likely to me, Kate.”

  “Please Dave. Just listen.” Her voice was again beginning to waiver. “There just isn’t any other explanation.”

  “Any ransom note?”

  “No. In fact, one reason I called was to see if maybe you’d been contacted. Guess not, eh? But are you working on any product ideas that someone might be after? Anything a competitor might really want? I know I’m grasping for straws here, but I’m trying to think of anything.”

  “You know everything that’s on the drawing board, Kate. I don’t think we’re far enough along with anything new to lead to this.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think so either. Well, if nothing turns up today, I’m driving back to London to talk to the Embassy people and check in to a place where I can sit at a computer rather than try to do everything on this phone. I’ll let you know where I am. Listen, I’m sorry for calling so late and worrying you about this. But I’m so uptight I’m about to pop. I needed to talk to someone.”

  “You did right, Kate. Call me as soon as you learn anything, and I’ll do the same. By the way, did they think to try to track his phone? If it’s used, they can get an approximate location.”

  Kate reddened. “He’d been on it all the time, Dave, and when we went into the castle, I insisted he leave it in the van.”

  “Bummer,” Dave muttered.

  Inside the gray stone Sherborne constabulary the constable faced her with withering resolve.

  “No news, I’m afraid. Have you seen the papers? We have the picture you gave us all over the country. Calls have started to come in, and we’re following every lead.”

  “That’s not enough. I’m going to London tomorrow to see what the Embassy can do. Please let me know immediately if anything turns up.”

  The policeman nodded with mild relief. “Tomorrow’s Sunday. You won’t get anyone until Monday. Why don’t we put the family in a hotel here overnight, and you can all get a good rest. If you drive up to London tomorrow the traffic will be lighter and you can be at the embassy early Monday morning.”

  She had forgotten about Sunday and nodded with resigned disappointment. “We’ll do that.” She started for the door then turned again to the constable. “I know you’ve done everything you can,” she said, managing a weak smile. “And I haven’t made it easy. But I’ve never been in a mess like this before.”

  “That would be both of us,” he said.

  THREE

  Before noon on Sunday, Kate loaded Jenn and PJ into the rented caravan and drove back to London. She had started to drive on English roads during their last visit and was finally feeling moderately comfortable with cars whizzing by on her right side. She still hated roundabouts – the ingenious British substitute for intersections where traffic converges on a first-come, first-serve basis, loops left at breakneck speed and by some law of centrifugal force, is thrown off again at the proper exit. But the van had a standard transmission and, thank God, English auto designers had left the brake and clutch peddles where they belonged and the gear shift pattern the same.

  She returned the caravan two weeks early to Brooks and Sons rentals in South Kensington. By four o’clock they were checked into the London Hilton on Park Lane, five blocks from the U.S. Embassy. She spent the late afternoon walking with the children through Hyde Park immediately across the street, trying to explain what she could about their situation without making things worse.

  “I’ll need to visit some people by myself tomorrow,” she concluded, “but it won’t take long and the hotel has helped me find someone good to stay with you. I’ll need you to be helpers.”

  “Will daddy ever come back?” Jenn asked and started to sob.

  “Of course he will.” She didn’t sound convincing, even to herself.

  While Jenn sat hunched over her cell phone and PJ played fitfully at a computer game in the hotel room, she placed another call to Dave King.

  “Any contact with you there?”

  “Nothing. I take it you don’t have anything.”

  “It’s incredible, Dave! A man can’t just totally disappear like this – especially out in the middle of the English countryside! There’s no sign of him anywhere.”

  “What can I do to help? You’ll need to be there awhile.”

  “Two things. Look again at the product line and think about whether we’re working on something that someone might desperately want – or want to stop. And see if you can keep this quiet at home ‘til I figure out what’s going on. I really do believe Ben’s been abducted and expect some kind of contact. If anything shows up, call me here at the Hilton. We’re in 2212. I want to be careful about this so we don’t make things worse for
Ben.”

  On Monday morning at 9:00 a nanny was at her door, a smiling ruddy woman of about fifty who immediately gathered the children about a large shopping bag full of assorted treasures.

  “Have you been to see the Horse Guard?” she was asking as Kate slipped out the door. “Now, this piece of brass is from one of the halters….” Kate quietly pulled the door closed and caught the elevator to the lobby.

  She left the Hilton and walked down Park Lane, away from the swirl of morning traffic that wheeled recklessly around Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. The noise and the press of heavy traffic added to her depression and she turned down Pitt’s Head to get away from the park-side avenue, turning left again on Audley Street to Grosvenor Square and the U.S. Embassy. She had called for an appointment, but wasn’t certain what she would do once she went inside. Explain her situation, at least, and insist that the Government get involved. As long as she could complain, she felt that she was doing something.

  She cleared a security network that would have adequately protected the White House and entered the long, rectangular stone building with its imposing eagle spread above the entrance. A receptionist immediately ushered her to the office of the Attaché for American Services, a flinty woman of about her age, possibly a few years older. The Attaché wasn’t wearing a ring. The habit of checking embarrassed Kate mildly but she did it anyway. It helped her establish some initial sense for the woman.