“Not for some time,” Jay replied. “By then it might be too late. We don’t even know how to get Courtney away from Manny.”
“We have to think of another way,” Zack said grimly. As he stood there thinking, he suddenly had that far away look that always crept into his eyes when his intuition was telling him something.
Jay recognized the look. “What is it, Zack?”
“I think I know what Gregory and Lilli are after,” Zack told them. He began to pace. “It’s not money. Lilli has plenty.” He sat down again and looked directly at them. “I’ll bet they want to reclaim Gregory’s title of Count, along with everything that goes with it. The Chateau in Biarritz—the Chateau in Amboise—the pomp and ceremony—people bowing and scraping—all the perks. And they’re using Courtney to accomplish it. I’m afraid they’ll do away with her once they have it. She knows too much. If she blabbed, they’d go back to jail! You can bet they’d do anything to keep that from happening!”
“I’d gladly give up my title!” Jeremy exclaimed. “It’s a hollow honor compared to losing my daughter!”
“I think you’d be putting her in more danger if you agreed to that,” Zack told him. “Remember what happened to Cammie in a similar situation twenty-one years ago. Gregory planned to kill her once he got what he wanted.”
Glen had been sitting quietly, taking it all in. But he couldn’t stay quiet any longer. He rose and walked over to Zack. “Where is this apartment building where Manny is holding Courtney?”
“About a mile from here,” Zack informed him. “We followed them to 221 Rue de la Parc. As soon as they went up in the elevator, we went into the lobby and looked on the roster. Manny is listed on it as Mario Sanchez, the alias he used before he became Manny. He’s in apartment 2B. I don’t know how long Lilli and Gregory will be there, but at least we know where Manny is staying and where Courtney is.”
“Can’t we drive around there and rescue Courtney?” Glen asked anxiously.
“That’s a bad idea,” Renee cautioned him. “We have to be careful. If he should see us he’d probably be off like a shot and take Courtney with him.”
“Now that she’s been found we can’t take any chance on blowing it,” Jeremy agreed.
Glen went back to his chair and nervously tapped his fingers on the end table. “We can’t just sit and do nothing!” he exploded. “What’s our next step?”
“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought,” Zack told him. “I haven’t come up with anything yet, but I’m working on it. I don’t mean to scare you, but she’s with some very dangerous people.” He looked at the grandfather clock in the corner. “It’s seven o’clock. We have to be careful we’re not seen, so we should stay here while we get something to eat and try to come up with some ideas. Renee, what do we have in the fridge?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Glen spoke up. “Manny has no idea what I look like. Neither do Lilli and Gregory. Why don’t I go to that restaurant around the corner and bring something back? I might spy Courtney and Manny. If I should run into them, she’s the only one who would know me, and you say she’s pretty spaced out, thanks to Manny! She might not even recognize me. I think it’s safe.”
“Do you have dark glasses with you, Glen?” Renee asked him.
Glen pulled them out of his pocket.
“I suggest you wear them,” Renee advised him. She handed him a visored cap that she sometimes wore to shield her eyes from the bright sun. “Here,” she said. “Wear this, too.”
Glen nodded. “I’ll be back shortly.” He put on his jacket, donned his dark glasses and the visored cap, pulled it part way down to shade his eyes, and left.
“I think we all need a little something to soothe our nerves,” Renee announced. She went over to the wet bar at the back of the room. “What would you like? I have the makings of everything here. Name your sedative,” she joked, trying to put a light touch on a most difficult situation.
“Our stomachs are rather empty,” Jay said, “so why don’t we all settle for a small aperitif?”
Zack walked over and took down some small, dainty glasses from the cabinet.
Renee filled them with some special port.
They sat there sipping, and waiting for Glen to return.
CHAPTER XXIX
Glen walked briskly around the corner to the outdoor cafe. He glanced briefly at the tables as he passed by, doing his best to act unconcerned.
No Courtney.
He entered the cafe.
No Courtney there, either.
He approached the maitre’d. “I’d like to order seven dinners to go,” he told him.
“Oui, Monsieur,” he replied, handing him a menu. “What would you like?”
Glen scanned it, at the same time exercising his peripheral vision to watch for Courtney if she should happen to appear on the scene.
While the dinners were being prepared and packaged, Glen walked over to the door and looked out. He was so angry with Manny he had hard work to keep from walking to the apartment building where Zack said she was and demanding that they release her. What was that address? Oh, yes. 221 Rue de la Parc.
No, he decided. Going there could only make things worse. The last thing he wanted to do was to endanger Courtney’s life, or frighten her abductors into fleeing and taking her with them.
As he pondered this, the maitre’d motioned to him that the meals were ready. He gave him his credit card and signed the tab.
He walked outside carrying the meals packed neatly in individual boxes and put into two huge plastic bags with handles.
He looked around again.
Still no Courtney.
His spirits began to spiral downward. What if we don’t find her? What if we do and she won’t listen to us? Worse still—what if Manny harms her before we can get her away from him?
And the bottom line—what does he want with her, anyway? Could Zack be right? Does Gregory want his title of Count back, and is he using Courtney to get it? His mind was spinning with questions.
While they were still on the plane on their way to Paris Cammie had filled him in on what had happened to her and Hildy years ago. “You have a right to know,” she told him. “You’re going to be part of our family.”
“You think what happened to you and Hildy is happening now to Courtney?” He shook his head in bewilderment. “Déjà vu! All three of you! Only you weren’t hypnotized.”
Cammie’s eyes filled with tears. “Well, we were in a way. We were completely taken in—first by Gregory Wilcox, Sr., then by Gregory, Jr. and Countess Lilli. It took some doing to convince us that they were up to no good. I just hope Courtney wakes up before it’s too late.”
Glen pondered this as he walked back to the apartment. By the time he arrived, Renee had already poured the wine and put the glasses on the table. The crystal goblets filled with burgundy wine sparkled merrily as if to say, Don’t worry—everything is going to turn out okay. How Glen wished he could believe that!
His emotions were seesawing—first high with hope, then dipping down to despair. He didn’t know what he would do if anything should happen to Courtney.
He brought the meals out to the kitchen, took them out of the bags, and placed them side by side on the counter top.
Zack took down seven beautifully designed, Royal Dalton China plates from the cabinet—floral designs of blue and rose on white. Renee loaded the plates with the food.
Hildy and Jay took the food to the dining room table, and they sat down to enjoy the delicious French food.
They were all quite hungry, but they would have relished the food more if only they could convince themselves that Courtney would be all right.
They tried not to think about it, but it was hard to ignore the fact that she was under the spell of murderers—one who had already tried unsuccessfu
lly to kill Julia and Nate, and two others who, years ago, killed Vivienne, Fran’s wife, and tried to kill Cammie! Not to mention Gregory, Sr. who started the whole thing by trying to kill Hildy and Roger! Where would it end? they wondered.
Cammie couldn’t help thinking that when Gregory kidnapped her twenty-one years ago he intended to kill her the minute he got what he demanded from Hildy. What will Manny and Gregory and Lilli do to Courtney if we give him what he demands? They’re all in this together. Will they kill her?
Zack had a hunch that Manny would try to get in touch with them soon, demanding a ransom of some kind. What in the world did Greg and Lilli promise Manny? It must have been something pretty special or Manny would never have agreed to kidnap Courtney. But what?
As he mulled this over, the phone rang. Fran was on the line from Scarsdale.
“Yes, Fran,” Zack answered. His face paled as he listened. “You didn’t tell them where we were, did you?” He relaxed and nodded. “Good. They mustn’t know this number or address—or even that we’re all here in Paris. It’s too close to where they’re holding Courtney. It could ruin everything.”
“Right,” Fran agreed. “They might take off and go to some other country. God only knows where. I told Manny you weren’t home and I would relay his message to you when you returned.”
“Good thinking, Fran. We’ll take it from here.”
“Have you found Courtney yet?”
“We know where Manny is keeping her, but we haven’t figured out yet how to contact her without putting her in danger. Whatever we do we must move cautiously.”
“Is there anything we can do back here?” Fran asked.
“You might try praying. This is a tough one,” Zack told him. “Also—very important—stay as close to home as possible and be sure to set the security alarm. Even during the day. Lilli and Gregory might send someone there to get rid of you so you won’t stand in their way. We don’t want anything happening to you. Have you heard anything further from Nate and Julia?”
“They were released from the hospital this morning,” Fran told him. “Nate called the minute they got home and wanted to know what was going on. I told him Manny had hypnotized Courtney again and kidnapped her. I also told him that Lilli and Gregory were behind the whole thing.”
“Did he offer to come here and help?”
“No. He and Julia are still recuperating. I’ll call them right away and warn them to keep their security alarm on at all times.”
“Thanks, Fran. I guess for the time being we’ll have to take care of things here ourselves.”
“You sound discouraged, Zack. Keep trying. I want my grand-daughter back home safe and sound.”
“No one wants that more than I do, Fran. We’ll keep you posted.” He hung up and faced the others. “Fran says Manny called Scarsdale wanting to speak to you, Jay. He says Nate and Julia were released from the hospital this morning, but they’re still recuperating, so Nate can’t come here to help us. We’ll have to find another way to bring Courtney out of this,” he said grimly.
“But what?” Glen asked. “Any ideas?
“I don’t know.” Zack hesitated, thinking. “Manny and Gregory and Lilli must be ready to negotiate on whatever it is that they want. But at the moment they don’t know where to contact us. It’s better that way. That will give us time to figure our next move.”
They sat in silence, eating the meals that Glen had brought back to the apartment. It was quiet except for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. Time was slipping by at an alarming rate.
When they finished eating, Hildy rose and began to clear the dishes.
Renee stopped her. “I’ll do that,” she told her. “You’d better get back to the hotel and get some sleep. You’ll be able to think more clearly with a good night’s rest.”
“She’s right,” Zack agreed. “It’s been a long, rough day. Let’s table it for now. Sometimes when we stop trying to figure things out the answer comes. Tomorrow’s another day. We’ll get to work on our strategy early in the morning. Shall we meet for breakfast at the hotel?”
“Good idea,” Cammie said. She reached out for Jeremy’s hand, wanting to comfort him, yet at the same time needing his strength and assurance. “At least we know where they’re hiding Courtney,” she continued, “and it’s close by. We have to be content with that for the time being.”
Jeremy rose, put on his jacket, and headed for the door. “Come on,” he said to the others. He shook hands with Zack and Renee. “Thanks for everything. We’ll see you at the hotel first thing in the morning.”
CHAPTER XXX
After leaving Renee and Zack, a very disconsolate group walked into the lobby of La Grande Veue Hotel. They were all edgy—living on raw nerves. How could they save Courtney? This weighed heavily on their minds.
It was nine-thirty. A full moon hovered over the city. The stars twinkled as brightly as the lights from the marquees, and seemed almost as close.
“I’m not a bit sleepy,” Glen told them. “I’ve never had a good look at the Seine. I’m going to take a walk by the River and see if I can clear my head. I won’t be gone long.”
“Great idea!” Jeremy agreed. He looked at Cammie. “How about it? Shall we join him?”
Cammie shrugged. “Might as well. I’m not sleepy, either.”
Jay looked at Hildy. “Do you feel like a stroll?”
Hildy shivered. “Jay—” She hesitated.
“What is it?” he asked.
“That’s where—” She couldn’t say it.
“Where what?”
“The night Greg kidnapped me! That’s where I was!”
Jay put his arm around her. “Greg has been dead for years,” he reminded her. “And Greg, Jr. has no idea we’re here in Paris. Besides, you won’t be alone.”
“I wasn’t alone before!” she retorted. “Roger Fielding was with me.”
“But there were only two of you. There’ll be five of us tonight.”
Hildy looked at Jay, pleading. Realizing she was outnumbered she finally relented. “Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. “I guess I’m letting the memories rule me.”
“Nothing will happen,” Jay promised.
The five of them walked out the door. The sky that had been bright with stars a moment ago was clouding up at a rapid rate, almost as though it had no right to be so festive. Like an omen of danger, Hildy thought. She shivered.
Since the rule in Paris allows no more than three passengers in the same taxi, it took some time to find two cabs. When they finally did, it was ten o’clock. Glen, Cammie, and Jeremy took one, and Hildy and Jay rode in the other, arriving at the River bank at the same time. After paying their fare, the five of them proceeded down the path beside the Seine.
Hildy walked with hesitant steps and great trepidation. She trembled as they approached the lonely area where she and Roger were the night Greg, Sr. caught up with them. She looked around as though she expected at any moment he would rush out from the bushes the way he did before. But he’s dead, she reminded herself. “We shouldn’t be out so late,” she said nervously.
Jay took her hand and pulled her along. “That was forty-one years ago, sweetie. What could possibly happen now?”
But she couldn’t help noticing that, just like that infamous night, the five of them were alone, just as she and Roger had been on that terrible night. The moon was hiding behind dark clouds, and thunder could be heard in the distance—the same as before. Once or twice, flashes of light streaked across the sky as lightning followed loud claps of thunder—just like before.
Icy fingers of fear crept along Hildy’s spine as a sudden flash of premonition overwhelmed her. Her heart pounded. Except for the occasional claps of thunder, an ominous stillness hung over them as they walked along. She tugged on Jay’s hand and t
ried to steer him back in the other direction. “I think the rain is just about here. We’ll get soaked if we don’t go back now,” she pleaded.
They turned around to leave when, suddenly, a strange voice shot out like a bullet through the stillness of the night.
“Stop right there!”
Startled, they looked in the direction of the voice and saw two masked men with guns pointed at them.
Hildy stood rooted to the spot. Suddenly, it was forty-one years ago! Déjà vu!
Cammie reached for Hildy’s hand, while Jeremy, Jay, and Glen made a quick move toward the men.
“Stay where you are or we’ll shoot!” one of the men warned them.
Hildy recognized the voice. Greg, Jr. She could never mistake it. He sounded just like his father. The other man must be Manny!
A sudden insight told Hildy that this was all a carefully thought out scheme. How did they know we were in Paris?
While Manny still held the gun on them, Greg pulled a legal document out of his pocket and handed it to Jeremy. “Sign this!” he ordered.
Jeremy was suspicious. “What is it?”
“You stole my title!” Greg accused, his voice filled with hatred. “You’re going to give it back to me, or I’ll kill your daughter!”
“Don’t sign it!” Cammie warned him, remembering what Greg said so many years ago when he kidnapped her.
Jeremy echoed her thoughts as he glared at Greg. “How do I know you won’t kill her anyway?”
“I won’t harm her if you just sign it, but I will if you refuse!” Greg threatened. “You have my word on that!”
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