Where's Ellen? (Mystery) (MPP A JOE MCFARLAND / GINNY HARRIS MYSTERY Book 1)

by Stuart Safft

  “Yeah, OK. It is what it is. Anyhow, back to the issue at hand. In addition to all these trips to Turkey by her parents, with Mrs. Sanders’ frequent travels around the world on business, and her frequent visits to her parents, using her parents to transfer secrets that she took from work would be a no-brainer,” added Martin.

  “I know. And very hard to spot, much less prove,” said Florio. “The espionage angle is clearly still on the table, especially in light of her phone call to hubby.”

  “It’s a long shot, but I’m going to have our office submit a request through Interpol asking the Belgian police to put a surveillance team on her parents. That may be the only way we’ll find evidence of Mrs. Sanders passing info through them.”

  “Good idea,” responded Florio.

  At 9:15, Martin and Florio met with the polygrapher for about 15 minutes. They provided him with a summary of the case and their suspicions so that he could formulate appropriate questions for the exam.

  At 9:45, Martin and Florio were told that Steve was there to see them. They walked out to the lobby. “Good morning, Mr. Sanders,” said Martin. “Thanks for coming in. Let’s head over to the lab and meet Dr. Weiss.”

  “Good morning again, Doctor,” Martin said as he and Florio ushered Steve into the polygrapher’s office. “Thanks for scheduling this so promptly. I’d like you to meet Steve Sanders. Mr. Sanders, this is Dr. Weiss.”

  The two men shook hands and Weiss led Steve into a small room. Martin and Florio waited in an even smaller room just outside the lab, where they could watch through a one-way mirror and listen through a speaker.

  “Mr. Sanders,” began Weiss, “please have a seat. I’d like to discuss a few things with you before we start the actual test. This will help you better understand what’s going on and to not be overly nervous. And it will help me better evaluate the test results once we’re finished.”

  “OK,” said Steve. “Whatever you say.”

  “Let me first explain the test. Although it’s often called a ‘lie detector,’ it, in fact, is not. There’s no such thing as a lie detector. This test, more properly called a polygraph, measures several of your physiological reactions, and these let me evaluate whether or not you are displaying deceptive behavior. We’ll be monitoring your heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and degree of sweatiness as you answer questions that I ask.”

  “OK. I’m ready to get started,” prompted Steve.

  “We need to spend a few minutes talking first. This will guide me in selecting the actual questions to ask. It will also let me better gauge how you answer questions, and this will be a great help in my evaluating the results. As I’m sure you know, these tests are not 100 percent certain. Although quite reliable when performed by a qualified professional, the evaluation of the results is somewhat subject to interpretation. That’s why the results are so rarely allowed into evidence in a trial.”

  “Then why bother doing the test?” asked Steve.

  “The agents or detectives often find it very useful in directing their efforts, even if the results can’t be admitted to the courts.”

  “OK. What do you want to know?”

  Weiss then led the discussion for the next 30 minutes or so, asking Steve several questions about his wife, his relationship with his wife, the details of the morning of Ellen’s disappearance and what Steve thought might have happened. He was then ready to begin the actual polygraph exam. “Mr. Sanders, we’re about ready to start. Let me hook up these various wires and this clip to measure your body’s various responses. Remember, please answer each of my questions only with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’ ”

  “OK.”

  “All right, we’re beginning now. Are you Steven Sanders?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you live at 14 Oak Knoll Drive in Jasper Creek?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you married to Ellen Sanders?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you been married before?”

  “No. As I told you earlier, I….”

  “Mr. Sanders, please. Just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.”

  “Uh, sorry. No.”

  “Do you know where your wife currently is?”

  “No.”

  “Did your wife call you yesterday?”

  “Yes, but I....”

  “Please, Mr. Sanders. Just ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ ”

  “Uh, sorry. Yes.”

  “Did she say where she was?”

  “No.”

  “Did you have anything to do with her disappearance?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know what caused her to go missing?”

  “No.”

  This back and forth went on for another 20 minutes. Weiss glanced at the monitor after Steve answered each question and made some notes on his pad relating to the various reactions showing on the monitor and being recorded. Some questions were re-asked, others were re-asked but with different wording and still others were asked only once.

  “OK, Mr. Sanders, we’re finished now. Let me help you take off these contraptions. Agents Martin and Florio will be right in to take you back to their office area. I’ll need about a half-hour to complete my evaluation and conclusions. Thank you for your cooperation.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  And with that, Martin and Florio entered the testing room, thanked Dr. Weiss and escorted Steve back to the lobby. While waiting, Martin and Florio stopped by to see Elliott Atkins and Lou Jensen.

  “Hi, guys,” said Martin. “How’re you coming on our little project?”

  “We were going to call you later this morning,” said Lou. “We’ve finished and we have details of every international trip that Mrs. Sanders took over the past 24 months. We were just double-checking and prettying up the report before getting back to you. For every trip, we have the dates, her flight details, the hotels where she stayed, meals she ate — at least those that she put on her expense accounts or were noted on her calendar — people she met with and telephone calls she received or made from her hotel room or cell phone.”

  “That’s great,” said Martin. “If you were still at the academy, we’d give you an ‘A’ on this assignment. Well done. Please try to get the report wrapped up by the end of today. We want to have these details at our fingertips if and when we need them. Thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome. Glad we could help,” said Lou.

  “Yeah. And thanks for giving us the opportunity,” chimed in Elliott.

  Fifteen minutes later, Martin and Florio were back in Weiss’s office.

  “So what do you think, Doc?” asked Florio.

  “I’m pretty sure he was telling the truth and knows nothing about his wife’s disappearance.”

  “Damn. What do you mean ‘pretty sure’?” asked Florio.

  “As you well know, these tests aren’t 100 percent certain. They depend on a lot of variables, and the test results must be subjectively determined. I’m not infallible, but I’m pretty darn good at it.”

  “Hold on, Doc,” jumped in Martin. “We weren’t questioning your skill here. We’re just trying to get a good handle on the test results and what they mean.”

  “Well, you’ll have my written analysis in two or three days. But it will basically conclude that, although we cannot be certain, it is very likely that Mr. Sanders is not involved with his wife’s disappearance. In other words, don’t totally eliminate him as a suspect, but, if you have any other possible leads, I’d focus my efforts on those other areas.”

  “Got it, Doc. And thanks,” concluded Martin.

  Martin and Florio returned to the lobby, gave Steve a brief and incomplete summary of the test results, thanked him for coming in and sent him on his way.

  CHAPTER 16

  Back
in his office after a troubled hour on the highway, Steve kept thinking about the brief phone call from Ellen. What could it mean? Was she OK? Was she being forced to make that call? What if she’s dead and that was a recorded message that they had made her say earlier? And then why hadn’t she shown up at the restaurant? Had something happened to her? Had she ever, or had they, whoever ‘they’ are, intended for her to show up? Was she in an accident on the way to the restaurant? With dozens of questions and no answers, Steve felt as if he were close to losing it. He couldn’t sit in his chair for more than 10 minutes without getting up and pacing his office or making another trip to the restroom.

  Nothing else of significance happened until that afternoon around 3 o’clock when Steve’s paralegal brought in a sealed envelope with Steve’s name written in block letters on the front.

  “This is for you,” she said.

  As he stretched his arm out, Steve responded, “Thanks. What is it?”

  “I have no idea,” she responded as she handed the envelope to him. “It was sitting on my desk when I returned from making a bunch of copies down the hall. I asked a few people who sit near me, but no one noticed anyone leaving anything on my desk.”

  Steve opened the envelope and took out a single piece of paper. As he unfolded the paper, one of Ellen’s small diamond earrings fell out onto his desk, instantly turning his casual manner to one of fear and shock. After a quick glance at the note, Steve dismissed the paralegal and then read the brief note, handwritten in block letters:

  YOUR WIFE IS WELL. HER REMAINING SO IS UP TO YOU.

  $5 MILLION TO SET HER FREE UNHARMED.

  USE YOUR OWN MONEY OR KIDNAP INSURANCE MONEY FROM WIFE’S EMPLOYER.

  WILL CONTACT YOU SOON HOW TO PAY.

  YOUR WIFE’S LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS. DON’T BE STUPID!

  Steve called his boss and told him that he wasn’t feeling well and that he was going home. The drive home was a blur as Steve’s mind went through a rush of unanswerable questions. By the time he reached home, parked his car in the garage and walked inside, he couldn’t remember any of the red lights, traffic or other details of the drive home.

  Steve spent the rest of Friday, along with all of Saturday and most of Sunday, just sitting in the house and pacing in the backyard, worrying and trying to figure out what to do. He did some checking and calculated that he could come up with almost $400,000 immediately by selling some investments that were solely in his name and with another $3 million by selling or borrowing against the mutual funds and money market funds that were either owned jointly by Ellen and him or were owned by one of the three trusts that he and Ellen had set up for estate-tax planning purposes.

  Fortunately, he had a power of attorney that would allow him to sell the jointly owned assets and, as one of the trustees of all three trusts, he could authorize the sale of the trusts’ assets. But these sales would take a few more days to complete than the quick sale of the relatively small amount of assets held solely in his name. Steve was confident that he could borrow the remaining amount if he had to. But this also would take a few days to get done. If the ransom had to be paid quickly, Steve knew that he would have to contact Ellen’s employer to try to get money, either from the company directly or from the kidnap insurance policy he knew they had. Fortunately, with the copy of Ellen’s contact lists in the kitchen drawer, Steve could call Ellen’s boss on his cell phone rather than waiting for the Tycon offices to reopen on Monday.

  Before calling Ellen’s boss, Steve struggled, trying to decide whether or not to inform the police or FBI. He re-read the kidnap note once again and reconfirmed for himself that it did not say anything about not contacting the authorities. Although he knew that the FBI was more experienced than the local police with kidnapping cases, he decided to contact the local detectives. He knew that both the FBI and the police considered him a prime suspect, but Steve felt at least some level of comfort with Detective Harris. She didn’t disagree when her partner remarked about the insurance money making Steve a suspect, but neither did she explicitly accuse him. Steve looked up and dialed the non-emergency police department number.

  “Hello. Jasper Creek Police Department. Sergeant James speaking. How may we help you?”

  “Detective Harris, or if she’s not in, Detective McFarland, please,” responded Steve.

  “Sorry, they’re both off duty today. Detective McFarland’s not expected back here until 8 o’clock tonight. Detective Harris is expected back in at 6 this evening. May I take a message for her?”

  “Yes, please. Ask her to call Steve Sanders. She has my home phone number. Tell her it’s about my wife and is very important.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll make sure that Detective Harris gets the message. Have a good day.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Sure enough, Ginny called Steve about 6:10 that evening. Steve brought Ginny up to date about the kidnap note and asked for her help.

  “Hang on, Mr. Sanders. I’ll try to get hold of Detective McFarland. Either both of us or just I, if I can’t reach him, will be at your house in about half an hour. In the meantime, don’t do anything or talk with anyone, and don’t touch the note or the earring or envelope any more than you already have.”

  “OK,” responded Steve.

  True to her word, Ginny and Joe pulled up and parked in front of Steve’s house 35 minutes later. A few minutes later, the three of them were again sitting in the family room and Joe was reading the note aloud, taking care to hold it only on its edges and to not touch the envelope or the earring to avoid smearing any possible fingerprints. Seeing this, Steve kicked himself mentally for not thinking of this fingerprint possibility earlier as he repeatedly held the note and the earring in his bare hands. So much for his extensive education from TV crime shows.

  “OK, Steve. This note is pretty clear. Any idea who might have sent it?”

  “No idea,” responded Steve.

  “We’ll want to talk with your paralegal and with others in your office in case one of them saw who dropped it off. We’ll also check for video cameras outside your building. Whoever left the note might have been videotaped.”

  “Sure,” said Steve. “I’ll call my paralegal. She can arrange everything for you, but she probably can’t line up many others for you to talk to until first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “That’ll be fine,” said Ginny. “Have you thought about the money being demanded? Do you have or can you get that amount of cash? Do you want to agree to this or do you want to try to negotiate the price down? You should also seriously consider refusing to pay anything. It is often most dangerous for the kidnap victim after the ransom is paid.”

  “No, no. I want to pay the amount asked for. I’ve been thinking about this since I received the note. I don’t want to do or not do anything that might upset the kidnappers,” responded Steve.

  “You said ‘kidnappers,’ ” said Joe. “How do you know that there’s more than one kidnapper?”

  “Uh, I have no idea. I just said ‘kidnappers’ without even thinking about it.”

  “Understood,” replied Ginny. “In fact, since most kidnappings involve more than one kidnapper, we initially tend to think in terms of kidnappers — until such time that the evidence indicates it’s only one kidnapper working alone.”

  “OK,” said Joe. “Let’s keep moving. Steve, when you called us, did you also call the FBI?”

  “No. I trust you two more than the FBI. Those two agents made it very clear that they see me as their prime suspect. They even gave me a lie detector test.” Joe did not visibly react to this, not wanting to emphasize that Joe and Ginny, especially Joe, also considered Steve a suspect in his wife’s disappearance. This suspicion had grown since Steve had received the phone call from Ellen. Ginny waited until Steve was clearly looking at Joe rather than her before she gave Joe one of her raised-eyebrow looks, followed by a
quick smile. Joe instantly read the look to mean, “Now that you know how much he likes you, don’t you feel horrible about all the bad things you’ve said and thought about Mr. Sanders?”

  “Steve, I think you, or we, need to inform the FBI. In addition to kidnapping being one of their specialties, your wife’s disappearance is officially an FBI, not a local police department, case.”

  “Well, if you have to, go ahead. I’d prefer that you call them. I’d rather not,” replied Steve.

  Joe took out his cell phone and was soon bringing Martin up to date. Martin indicated that he and Florio would meet them at the Sanders’ house in an hour or so and he urged Joe to ensure that Steve did nothing until then.

  In their Cincinnati office, Martin complained to Florio that Sanders had called the local police, not the FBI. But since the police quickly called the FBI and brought them up to speed, he had decided that he wouldn’t raise the issue with Sanders or with the two cops. Martin and Florio chuckled about the fact that neither Steve nor the local-yokel police seemed to have realized that the FBI would have already been aware of Steve’s call to the police through the taps that the FBI had placed on all of Steve’s phones.

  An hour later, the two detectives, the two FBI agents and Steve were vigorously debating how to proceed. Steve wanted to start getting the $5 million together so he’d be ready when the kidnappers contacted him again. The two FBI agents wanted Steve to try to negotiate the amount of the ransom if the kidnappers contacted him by phone or e-mail. This stalling tactic would provide the FBI with more time to try to trace where the kidnappers were and who they were. And, while not saying so out loud, Joe wanted to aggressively interrogate Steve to determine whether he was involved in this real or fake kidnapping. In the end, all agreed that Steve should proceed to gather the funds. Neither the detectives nor the agents had altered their opinions, but they concluded that getting the funds ready would provide them the most flexibility without yet committing to any specific course of action.

  Steve picked up his cell phone and dialed the cell phone number of Ellen’s boss, using the speaker on the phone so that the detectives and FBI agents could hear both sides of the conversation. Ellen’s boss answered on the third ring. Reception was only mediocre as he was in a fancy restaurant in New York City, where he was spending the weekend with his wife.