ONE
Blood Money
PI Dan Sharp sat with his back to the window. Behind him, the Don River murmured quietly after the previous night’s storm. His office on the top floor of a warehouse import-export business had long been a sanctuary for him. Currently, however, it was feeling a bit crowded. The three people facing him looked to be in their late twenties. The blond had multiple piercings and tattoos on her arms. The young man, slender and bearded, was agitated. The third, a quietly attractive woman, watched him with gentle eyes. They were waiting for his answer. “You have no choice,” Dan said. “You have to report it.” “But we want to keep it private. At least for now,” the man insisted. His face was ravaged with red eruptions, like a perpetual adolescent. While his concern was evident, it wasn’t anything Dan could agree to.
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“It can’t be private, Eli. This is a police matter. Kidnapping is a criminal offence.” “It might be a hoax,” the pixie-haired blond, Janice, argued. “We don’t know for sure if a crime has been committed.” “Do you want to take that chance?” Dan asked. No one answered. “Why do you think it might be a hoax?” Janice frowned. “Because when they called, they never mentioned Jeremy. They just said they were raising money for missing children. When I asked how much, they said a million dollars.” “They were probably playing it safe in case someone was listening in,” Dan said. “Your son has now been missing for three days. The police found no trace of him on the trails up on the mountain or anywhere near the shore where you were camping. You’ve already had one phone call and soon you’ll get another. The only choice you have to make is whether you’re going to pay the ransom or not.” Eli shook his head. “But what if it’s someone who heard Jeremy was missing on the news and is trying to extort money from us? We need to buy ourselves time.” “Time is a luxury you may not have, but whether the kidnapping is real or fake, you need to let the police know.” Dan hoped he sounded sympathetic. “But so far they haven’t found anything useful,” Eli persisted. “We don’t have faith they can help us, to be honest.” “Look — even if you think the police aren’t doing their job, the best I can do is run a parallel investigation. I can’t interfere with what they’re doing. If you know something, you have to tell them.” “But we don’t know anything!” Eli exclaimed. 8
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Janice put a hand on his arm. “No, Dan’s right. We do know something — we know that we were asked for money.” Eli threw his hands up in the air. “And where do we get this blood money from? Is there some government fund for kidnap victims that we can apply for? Or maybe I should just ask my boss for a raise of, oh, I don’t know — a million dollars?” He wrapped his arms around his chest and slumped into his chair. Dan had had enough of his petulance. “Eli, I appreciate that this is difficult for you, but what you do now could make all the difference in getting Jeremy back safely.” He turned to Janice. “Did they say anything else?” “Yes. They said not to mention the call to anyone.” “That’s to be expected. How’s your back, by the way? I understand you had quite a fall coming down the escarpment.” “She nearly got gored by a bull, but a crazy man came out waving a tea towel and chased it away,” Eli interjected. “That was after I fell.” Janice gave Dan a rueful smile. “The doctor said I’ll live. Though I’m not sure I want to right at this moment.” “Janice!” The rejoinder came from the other woman. “Please! Let’s have none of that.” Her speech was clipped, almost a bark. “Oh, go to hell, Ashley!” Janice snapped, then she turned suddenly contrite. “I’m sorry. I have no right to act like this.” Ashley nodded. “It’s all right. You’ve been through a lot.” The name suited her, Dan thought. Lithe and willowy, with hair the colour of ash wood. 9
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She turned her eyes to him. “We don’t know what to do. We need you to advise us.” “Thank you. The first thing you need to do is report the call to the police. That’s what I advise.” “Then what?” Eli asked, still sulking. “Then we start looking. For now, tell me everything that’s happened.” Dan picked up a pencil. “Start with anything irregular or noteworthy you recall in the days before Jeremy disappeared.” Janice nodded. “There was something odd. I saw an older woman outside the house twice right before the camping trip. She seemed to be waiting for something. I went out to see what she wanted, but then Jeremy came out with Ashley and she walked away.” “Did she say anything at all?” “She called me Kathy.” Dan glanced up from his notepad. “Kathy?” “Katharine is my first name, but no one ever calls me that. I go by my middle name, so I don’t know how she’d know that.” “Can you describe her?” Dan asked. “She was plain. Mousy looking. The sort of woman you barely notice even if she’s right beside you.” Dan looked at the pert blond with triple ear piercings. There was no chance of not noticing her. “Was she short? Tall? Slender? Overweight?” “Average height. Dumpy, but not huge. A little bulky. She had brown hair going grey.” “Was there anything memorable about her face?” “Her eyes were sad. That was my first thought.” “Good. Anything else?” 10
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Janice shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.” “Okay. That’s a start,” Dan said. He turned to the others. “Did either of you see her?” Eli shook his head. “No.” “I did. Briefly,” Ashley replied. “She looked exactly as Janice described.” “Any idea who she was?” “None. But what sort of monster kidnaps a child?” Janice caught her breath and turned aside. Her shoulders shook. “Give us a moment,” Ashley said, putting an arm around her. “I’m fine,” Janice said, regaining her composure. “You were asking what sort of person would kidnap a child,” Dan continued. “That’s the most important question we need to answer right now. Why would someone target you?” “Definitely not for the money.” Janice rubbed away a tear. “I mean, do we look rich? I work in an art gallery on commission. Eli’s a designer. Ashley isn’t working at the moment. We barely scrape by.” “Apart from the money. Is there anyone who would be likely to do such a thing? Someone who might bear a grudge against any one of you?” “What about Sarah?” Ashley prompted. “Jeremy’s a surrogate child,” Janice said. “Sarah was his birth mother.” “And you suspect the birth mother? Why?” Eli snorted. “She was bad news from the beginning.” “We couldn’t know that,” Janice said, her voice icy. “It was obvious,” Eli said. “I warned you right at the start.” 11
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“All right, let’s not go down that road again.” She turned to Dan. “Sarah and Ashley went to school together as kids. That’s why we chose her. She was from a good family, but she was a bit wild. She lied to the agency that arranged things for us. They terminated her contract after we ran into problems with her.” “What sort of problems?” “Not diseases or infertility. She passed all those tests. She’d done a surrogacy once before. We chose her because we knew she was capable of carrying a pregnancy to term. Her problem was drugs, though not while she was carrying Jeremy, thank god.” Here, she looked at Eli. “But later — after Jeremy was born — she showed up at our door asking for money. She said Jeremy’s birth was so difficult she’d turned to painkillers and got addicted. She said she lost her contract with the agency because of us. None of it was true, as it turned out. She was on meth. I gave her fifty bucks to go away. It was a mistake.” “She still comes by every few months to ask for a handout,” Eli said. “Like we’re made of money.” “Okay,” Dan said. “An angry surrogate with a drug problem would be a big red flag in this case. Who else might hold a grudge, for any reason, however small?” “We let a nanny go,” Ashley said. “Marietta Valverde.” “When was this?” “April. Her boyfriend was trouble.” “We thought we were doing her a favour by letting him stay on weekends,” Janice added. “But then we discovered money missing on two occasions and some of my jewellery another time. I told Marietta if her boyfriend confessed to what he’d done we wouldn’t press charges, but he kept 12
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denying it. I had the feeling she knew it was true, but she was loyal to him.” “Did you mention it to the police?” “Yes. They talked to them, but nothing came of it. It was impossible to prove, so we took what was for us a very drastic step and let her go. It was hard. I hated doing it, but I couldn’t feel safe with a thief in the house.” “Is there a current nanny?” Dan asked. “No,” Janice said. “We advertised for one and we interviewed a few people, but we didn’t find anyone suitable. Ashley looks after Jeremy when Eli and I are at work. She’s been a positive saint.” She smiled and took Ashley’s hand. “Okay,” Dan said. “So that’s at least three people with a potential grudge. What about locks? Did you change them after she left?” “Yes. Immediately.” “Smart. Who else is there?” Janice looked to Eli. “Do you want to tell him about Elroy?” Eli looked embarrassed. “I lost on an investment. My former business partner, Elroy, is after me for the money. A lot of money.” “How much?” Dan asked. “A couple hundred thousand.” Janice turned to Dan. “Elroy made death threats to Eli.” “Any witnesses?” Eli shook his head. “No. He threatened me one day when we were alone. That was a few months ago.” Dan eyed him. “Did you believe he would try to harm you?” 13
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Eli hesitated. “Not really. But you never know, do you?” “You don’t, so don’t discount it,” Dan said. “Okay, so there’s a surrogate mother with a drug habit, an unknown woman seen outside your place twice, an ex-nanny who was fired because of her boyfriend, and an ex–business partner with a financial grudge. Anyone else?” The three people watching him were silent. “Chances are something else will come to mind. It could be someone you saw hanging around the post office every time you went there or a person at the daycare centre who seemed a little too curious about Jeremy. For now, let’s deal with what we’ve got.” He looked at Janice. “I want to know immediately if this strange woman you mentioned shows up again. I’ll also need names and addresses for everyone we just discussed. Is there anything else you can think of that might be relevant?” “I suppose we should tell you about our complicated history,” Janice said, looking to both Eli and Ashley. “Jeremy’s parentage, I mean.” Dan nodded. “That might help.” “I used to be married to a guy named Dennis Braithwaite. Dennis and I were trying to have a child, but no luck. We spent a lot of money on a fertility clinic’s recommendation and, lo and behold, I got pregnant.” She smiled ruefully. “But after eight weeks, I miscarried. On further testing, the clinic told us I was unlikely ever to carry a pregnancy to full term, so I decided to hire a surrogate.” “And that was when you hired Sarah?” Dan suggested. “No.” Her expression changed. “That was when I met Ashley. When I mentioned I was looking for a surrogate, she suggested Sarah. As we got closer, it became clear to 14
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me that I’d been hiding from myself. I knew I wanted to be with a woman, not a man.” She searched Dan’s face for judgment and, finding none, went on. “What happened inside me was instantaneous, but changing my outer life took a bit longer. By then Sarah had been successfully implanted with an embryo. Nine months later, Jeremy was born. That’s when I left Dennis.” “How did Dennis take it?” “Not well at first, but later he seemed to accept it. He said we weren’t suited for each other.” “Did he resent all the money you’d spent on the fertility clinic?” “I thought so at first, but when I offered to pay him back his share of it he refused. He’s rich. He’s an investment banker.” “How much did you spend in total?” “Loads. Nearly a quarter of a million overall.” “That’s a lot of money,” Dan said. “I think we should add Dennis to the list of people with grudges against you. Is he in your life now?” “We stay in touch, but I keep him at arm’s length. He feels uncomfortable with Ashley around.” “He treats Janice badly. He hit her once,” Ashley said. “I won’t stand for it. That’s why he’s uncomfortable.” “Understandably,” Dan said. “What about Jeremy? Do they have any connection?” “No — none.” Janice shook her head. “Jeremy is autistic. Non-verbal. It’s quite severe. Since Dennis and I are still legally married, I asked him to insure Jeremy through his company policy when we got the diagnosis. But he turned me down.” 15
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“He refused to put his own son on his insurance?” Dan asked. Janice shook her head. “No —” “I’m Jeremy’s father,” Eli interjected. Dan nodded as the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Janice leaned forward. “I knew Dennis and I weren’t going to be staying together, so I asked Eli to be a donor. He agreed on the condition that he could take an active part in Jeremy’s life.” “Janice and I have known each other since we were kids,” Eli added. “When she asked, I jumped at the chance. I’d always wanted to be a father.” “How does Jeremy deal with his ‘complicated history,’ as you call it? Is he aware of it?” Dan thought of his own son’s easy acceptance of both biological parents, despite the fact they’d never been married. As far as Kedrick was concerned — at least while growing up — it had always been a case of the more the merrier. “Jeremy seems to take it all in stride,” Janice said. “He’s a happy boy for the most part, so we don’t really worry about whether he fully understands the situation or not.” “All right,” Dan said. “I’m beginning to see the complications. Nevertheless, I’ll do everything I can to help.” He waited a beat. “Tell me again about the phone call. Was it a man or a woman?” “I couldn’t tell. The voice sounded a little weird.” “They would have used a voice modulator. When did they call?” “This morning around ten. The number was blocked. At first I thought it was a telemarketer. They said they 16
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wanted me to donate a million dollars. Then I knew. I said I didn’t have that much money and that I’d need time. They said they’d call back and hung up.” “Is there some reason a kidnapper might think you have money? You said Dennis is rich. Could it be someone who thinks he will pay?” Janice shook her head. “I doubt it. Even if they did think it, they’d be wasting their time. In the meantime, I’m going to talk to the bank about a second mortgage.” “And if that doesn’t come through?” She winced. “There is a chance we might be able to raise the money. Through my mother. But it’s slim. So far she hasn’t even accepted Jeremy as her own grandchild. Because of the circumstances of his birth. She doesn’t approve.” “She’s a tight-fisted witch,” Eli broke in. “Can you believe she won’t accept Jeremy as her own flesh and blood?” Dan paused, thinking what to tell them. In fact, he could easily believe it. Family feuds were his area of expertise. Walls built instead of bridges, tough talk instead of healing words. Until the moment of truth turned everything around. “You might be surprised how people react when a crisis arises. Something like this can bring out the true feelings of a parent or even a grandparent.” “That’s certainly what we’re hoping,” Janice said. “But I’m not holding my breath.” Dan looked at the faces watching him. “I take it you haven’t asked her yet?” “Not yet,” Eli said. “We’ve only just heard from this supposed kidnapper. You’re the first person we’ve shared this with. To be honest, we haven’t really had time to digest it, 17
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let alone discuss it properly, but Janice’s mother seemed the obvious choice. None of us has that kind of money. She does.” “My mother owns Clarice Magna. It’s a cosmetics company,” Janice said. Dan nodded. The name sounded familiar. “And you think you can talk her into paying the ransom?” “My mother is a rich woman. More importantly, the money is mine. My father left his estate in her trust until she dies. Then it reverts to me. For now, she’s got it all tied up in her company.” “She could help if she wanted to.” It was Ashley who spoke. “She wants Janice to suffer.” Janice nodded. “Screw her. She could release the estate early. I’m hoping I can convince her to do that. Because really, it’s mine.” Dan’s mental image of Janice shifted suddenly. From a tough-talking young woman with a rebellious attitude, she had just become an entitled rich kid. “Okay, that makes sense. I urge you to discuss it thoroughly and fast, before the kidnapper calls again.” He stopped to think. “Is it possible the kidnapper is someone with a grudge against your mother, since she’s an obvious source of money?” “It’s possible,” Janice said, nodding. “I don’t know much about my mother’s business affairs, but she’s not an easy woman to like.” “Just one last question. How did you hear about me?” Dan asked. “I don’t think anyone in particular recommended you, but you’ve got a good reputation in the community,” Eli said. “We’d all heard your name.” 18
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“That’s good to know.” Dan saw them to the door. Eli paused in the hallway. He waited till the women were headed down the stairs then turned to Dan. “In case you’re wondering, I love my son very much,” he said. “We all raise him together.” “I don’t doubt that for a moment,” Dan said. “The fact that you came to me before going to the police tells me a lot.” “Good. I’m glad you see that.” He hesitated then said, “My son is everything to me. I would do anything for Jeremy. Anything. Please remember that.” Dan nodded. “I will.”
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Book Credits Project Editor: Jenny McWha Editorial Assistant: Melissa Kawaguchi Editor: Jess Shulman Cover Designer: Laura Boyle Interior Designer: Sophie Paas-Lang