by Emma Shae
Sasha was sitting on the sofa, with her head down, wringing her hands together. Damon sat down beside her and took both of her small hands into his much larger ones. He then kissed her hands, and when he did, Sasha looked up at him. With tear-filled eyes, she asked, “He's’ dead, isn’t he?”
“No, Sweetheart! As far as we know he is alive, he’s still missing, but alive. David, our local police chief, said that he is sure that they will find Trenton any time now. We haven’t received any ransom demands as of yet, which the police said was a good sign.”
Damon hugged Sasha then, and as he held her in a tight embrace, he could feel her trembling again. He tried to think of some way to comfort her, but he knew that all Sasha wanted, was her baby back safe in her arms. Damon continued to comfort her, and the longer he held Sasha close to him, the more relaxed she seemed to become.
As Damon held Sasha in his arms, he continued to think of what could be going on in his brother’s mind? What had happened to Emry to make him hate Damon so much?
Lashing out at Trenton was a sure way to hurt Damon, and it had. Could Emry be out to get even with Damon because their father and grandfather chose him to run their company? He had no control over that decision, so surely that was not the reason Emry wanted to kill Damon’s child. If jealousy had driven Emry in that direction, there was no hope for him. Emry’s husband, James Bonet, had said that even if Emry got money, he would still kill Trenton. Now with David saying that there could be other people, dangerous people involved, who were willing to kill for money, where was Damon to turn?
The two of them had always been at odds with one another since they were small boys. They never saw eye to eye about anything, and that behavior never changed even after they were grown. It seemed to Damon the jealousy and envy only worsened as they grew into adulthood. All of his life, Damon had felt that there was tension between them, but he had ignored it. Perhaps Damon’s complacency with that line of thinking was what had fueled Emry’s anger.
Blowing off Emry’s mood swings as an issue that all families had to deal with, may have worsened his problem. Had that been the wrong way to handle Emry? Should Damon have seen there was a real problem early on and dealt with it differently? Those were questions that would now haunt Damon for the rest of his life. Could he have helped his brother’s mental state and perhaps have prevented all of this chaos had he paid more attention?
Damon was in the middle of contemplating all of those questions when the double doors to the living room opened wide, and there stood David, holding Trenton in his arms, with Vanessa standing beside him. She was wide-eyed and looked a little worse for wear, but aside from being a little bedraggled, she seemed fine.
Sasha turned at that moment, and when she saw Trenton, she flew toward her baby. David handed Trenton over to Sasha, and an immediate smile appeared on her face. “Oh, sweetheart, mommy has missed you so much.”
Sasha looked at Vanessa with questioning eyes, and then Vanessa looked at Damon and began to explain her plight, “I took Trenton in his stroller down by the lake. As I was sitting on the bench, I heard, shouting and commotion going on at the guardhouse, then a car flew up to the house, and I heard screams and more shouting. I feared that Emry had gotten out of jail and returned to kidnap Trenton, so I took him to the tool shed and hid with him there. I saw two men head up to the boathouse and heard some banging around inside there, but I stayed hidden, and luckily Trenton was a very good boy and stayed quiet the entire time. My cell phone started to ring, though, so I threw it in the water because I did not want to alarm those men. They finally left, but I never got a good look at their faces. Neither one of them was Emry because I heard them talking. They had island accents. Both of them were rather large olive-skinned men with tattoos. After they left, I waited for a few more minutes, just to make sure the coast was clear. Then, when I came out of the shed, I saw policemen all over the place and called out to one of them.”
“Thank goodness you had quick-thinking Grams. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Damon, don’t worry about me. Trenton is fine too, but what is going on? Who were those men? Were they here to kidnap Trenton?”
“We think so, but thanks to you, their plans were fowled.”
“Is everyone else, alright? I heard screams and lots of commotion.”
“Unfortunately, no, Grams, Vita was killed, and two of our guards, Sam and Mack. Dan and Jordan were both injured pretty badly, and they may not make it either.”
“Oh my God, not Vita, she never harmed a soul in her life. Have they caught the men that did this yet?”
David said, “Not yet, Mrs. Lockheed, but we are on it. Speaking of which, I just got a call that Dan is awake, so I need to get to the hospital and question him while the details of today’s events are still fresh on his mind. I’ll leave you all in good hands though, several of my men will stay here for your protection, so you can all relax a bit. It has been a trying day for all of you.”
“David, thank you so much for everything. I appreciate your quick response, and I hope you catch the men that did this. I’m just glad to have my family back home safe and sound.”
“We’ll keep searching, have no fear, Damon. We won't’ stop looking for those two murderers until we find them. With Mrs. Lockheed’s description, it should help to find them, and hopefully, Dan can give us a few more details.”
Sasha looked at Damon and shook her head, no. Then she took Trenton back upstairs. Damon understood Sasha’s body language that she did not believe the men, who killed Vita and frightened Vanessa half to death, would ever be caught. Sasha still felt threatened for her son’s life, and that worried Damon. He feared for Sasha and Trenton, knowing that until those men were apprehended, they were going to have to live each day under the suspicion that they were not safe.
Damon could only hope that David was right, and the police would catch the two men soon.
CHAPTER 9
INFORMATION
Just as David was about to leave for the hospital, he got another call. He turned to Damon, saying, “I just received notification that your other guard, Jordan, didn’t make it through surgery. They lost him on the operating table. He died from too many injuries. Now it is time for me to call in the FBI. I have been holding off because we found Trenton, but these thugs must be apprehended. I am hoping that Dan can give me a little more information. The hospital said that he is alert, and I can now question him, so after I’ve questioned him, I’ll let you know what I find out.”
After David left, Maida brought Vanessa a cup of tea, which seemed to help her to relax somewhat. Vanessa had finally begun to collect herself a little. Knowing that Trenton was safe and back in his mother’s arms again was what was most important to Vanessa.
Damon was pacing the room, trying to calm his nerves, which only served to agitate Vanessa. She calmly said, “Damon, why don’t you come and sit with me.” She patted the sofa beside her as she spoke, indicating that she wanted Damon to stop pacing. It was apparent that he was still extraordinarily agitated and having a hard time dealing with everything that was going on around him. He stopped pacing and did Vanessa’s bidding and sat down. He asked her then, “Grams, do you believe that Emry hired those men to kidnap my son?”
“No, Damon, I don’t, but I do believe they were here planning to kidnap Trenton for ransom. Emry may have given them the idea, though. They could have followed him back to the states, and when he did not follow through, they probably figured to complete the job themselves. I can only pray that David and the other officers find those men because I fear that they will try to finish the job they started.”
“Gram’s, I’m going to have more guards posted at the gate and double the guards on the house. I want guard dogs patrolling the fence perimeter as well. I have to give Sasha a sense of safety. She is so upset right now, so we have to do all that we can to make her feel safe again.”
“I’ll take care of posting the guards, Damon, don’t worry about that. You need
to be with Sasha right now. Go upstairs and reassure her, and do not leave her side. Sasha needs you right now more than she has ever needed you before.”
Damon nodded his head that he understood what his grandmother was saying to him. She was right, Sasha was upset, and frightened, and with good reason. Damon tried to calm down, anxiety was trying to get the best of him, but he had to be strong for Sasha. He hugged his grandmother and headed for Sasha’s bedroom.
After Damon left the room, Vanessa set about her work. First, she called the management office at Lockheed and ordered half a dozen guards for the estate. They were to post around the house and the grounds, informing them of the need to be vigilant. She ordered the dogs as Damon had suggested, and then Vanessa contacted Steve, her private investigator. She instructed him to set about finding out what he could about Emry’s dangerous friends, and how much money Emry owed them.
As soon as Vanessa hung up the phone with Steve, David called her. He had a bit of good news for a change, “I was able to question Dan for a few minutes, and he was able to tell me that the perpetrators drilled him to tell them which room in the house the baby slept. Dan did not tell them, so that is when they stabbed him repeatedly. Dan said that he lay still to convince them that he was dead so they would leave. He could hear their car crank and was able to turn the surveillance camera on and point it at the vehicle as they drove by. The camera caught the plate number and identified the SUV as a black suburban. I have an APB out for that vehicle. Dan was also able to tell me that both men wore long braided hair, was olive-skinned and had an island accent, but that was all that he was able to remember about them.”
David assured Vanessa, “With the information that you and Dan provided, I feel rather good that we will be able to locate them. I do not believe that they have left the country yet, so I will continue having my men patrol your area. I also intend to have my officers stop in periodically to do a well-check inside your residence, just to be on the safe side. We have also gotten the results back on the fingerprints that we were able to lift from the gun that was in Emry’s console. None of the prints were Emry’s. He claimed that when he got to James Bonet’s hotel room, Bonet was already dead. Emry assumed that Bonet had killed himself, but Emry was afraid that he would be accused, so he took the gun to get rid of it. However, none of the fingerprints on the gun were Bonet’s either. As of right now, the only evidence that we have on Emry is hearsay from the letter that James Bonet wrote. We have no other proof that Emry is a threat to your family, so I’m afraid that we are going to have to let him go. I can have him followed, but that is the best I can do for you, Mrs. Lockheed. I’m sorry, but without further evidence, I can’t continue to hold your grandson. Suspicion isn’t evidence. The FBI will be checking into this case further, due to the murders, and the threat to an infant. I’m sure that they will be all over this place, probably tomorrow, so that we will have eyes on Emry at all times.”
Knowing that Emry would be under surveillance when he got out of jail made Vanessa relax somewhat, but she needed to talk with him while he was still in custody. The jail surroundings were the perfect setting to put Emry on edge enough to give himself away. Vanessa asked David, “Can you hold Emry under arrest for at least another two hours? I need to talk to him, but I want him behind bars when I do it.”
“Sure, Mrs. Lockheed, anything you need. Are you afraid of your grandson?
“Fear isn’t the reason I want him behind bars, David. I have some questions for him that I think he will be more than willing to answer if he thinks cooperating will get him out of jail.”
“I understand completely, Mrs. Lockheed. I’ll alert my men to hold Emry until you get there, and not let him know that he is about to be set free.”
“I appreciate that, David. Have you got any more news about those two killers?”
“No, we don’t, not yet, Mrs. Lockheed, but don’t worry, I’m sure once the FBI gets here, we’ll find those two pretty quickly.”
Vanessa said, “I sure hope your right David, thanks.”
Vanessa had been right when she figured the men that invaded her home and killed Vita had come to kidnap Trenton. Knowing that to be the case, Vanessa had no doubt that Emry was involved. How else would those men have known their address? Emry probably told them that he could get whatever monies he owed them by kidnapping and ransoming Trenton. They probably did not trust him to follow through, so they followed him back to the states. After Emry’s attempt failed, those two decided to handle the situation themselves. With their first attempt a failure, Vanessa did not doubt that they would return to finish the job. She could only hope that Steve would find them first.
Steve knew how to deal with people like this. Vanessa had instructed Steve to have Emry work out a time and date to pay them off then make sure that Emry was nowhere near the drop zone. Steve was to meet the men himself and take care of them in a way that they would never see the light of day again.
Steve was good at his job and very discreet. Vanessa had used him many times, and he had always taken care of everything appropriately. Vanessa trusted him completely.
With the guard situation taken care of and Sasha and the baby safe, Vanessa would now make her next move. With David holding Emry in a cell for her, she was ready for a face to face conversation with him. Vanessa needed to see Emry’s facial expressions when she talked to him. Emry was not a strong man and usually could not look anyone directly in the eye when he was lying. Vanessa could always tell when the truth was not coming out of Emry’s mouth. He blinked a lot and pursed his lips often. No wonder Emry lost so much money gambling, he did not have a poker face. His demeanor and expressions would always give him away.
Vanessa called down for Thomas to bring the car around, and then she told Maida that she was going out for a couple of hours, not to worry about her. She needed privacy with Emry when she confronted him.
While Thomas drove Vanessa to meet with Emry, she called David to make sure that everything was a go at the jail. David told her that he had everything ready for her.
David had questioned Emry but had gotten no information out of him. David hoped that Vanessa would have better luck getting answers from Emry. The police had not been able to locate the suburban or the killers, yet. With those two on the loose, the entire town was in danger. The Lockheed’s were not their only targets. It seemed that anyone that got in their way was in danger. David agreed with Vanessa that he fully believed they would return to finish the kidnapping job that they had set out to do. The arrival of the police at the Lockheed estate earlier had only postponed their plans. They would be back.
David knew that Vanessa had posted more guards at the estate, but to be doubly safe, he informed the FBI of the need to keep an eye on the estate because the life of a child was at stake. There could be no room for error. David knew the type of men that they were dealing with and could not take any chances.
Once Vanessa was sitting directly in front of Emry, it was evident to her that he was a beaten man. She had prepared herself to do battle with him, but after seeing him, Vanessa changed her strategy.
“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Emry put his head down, and after a few seconds of silence, said, “I was never going to kidnap Damon’s baby. I had only said that to get Bobby and his thugs off my back. I owed them a lot of money, and I didn’t have it. I was trying to get to you to beg for money. I needed to borrow a million to get them off my back. I have a few gambling debts I need to cover. I borrowed money from the wrong people. I know that Bobby murdered Edward to keep him quiet. I loved Edward, and I would never have hurt him. You must believe me, Vanessa. Bobby threatened Edwards's life several times, so I did everything that I could to get Edward to leave me, to try to keep him safe. Edward finally left me, thinking that I did not love him anymore. That is when he wrote the letter to the law office. Bobby found Edward, though, and after he killed him, Bobbie and his knife-toting partner came after me. I have done some awful thin
gs in my life, I admit, but I’ve never killed anyone. I think if you give them the money that I owe them, they will leave our family alone. I can meet with them and make the deal if you can just get me out of here.”
Vanessa knew that Emry was lying to her. Emry would set up the deal alright, and then leave with the money. That would make those two thugs angrier than before, and there was no telling what action they would take after that. Emry was a rather good liar. After all, he had fooled Vanessa when he faked his illness and had everyone believing that he was dying. Vanessa, along with the entire family, had mourned his death, which never happened. Vanessa learned from her mistakes, though. This time, she listened to Emry’s every word as he gave his perception of the events as they unfolded. Vanessa could tell from his actions and the way he avoided looking her straight in the eye that he was making his story up as he went along. Emry was either hiding something or planning something, and either way, nothing good was going to come out of it.
CHAPTER 10
CAUTION
After leaving Emry’s jail cell, Vanessa shared the information she had gotten from him with David. However, he, too, had doubts about Emry’s honesty. “I’m letting him go today because I can’t hold him any longer, but I’m going to have him followed twenty-four-seven. I don’t mean to frighten you, Vanessa, and I’m sorry to have to say this, but I just don’t trust Emry.”
“I think you are wise not to trust my grandson David, and you should keep an eye on him. Believe me, David, you are not the one that has me frightened, it’s Emry. There is no telling what he will do next.”
Thomas drove Vanessa home, and after checking in on Sasha and Damon, she told them that she was exhausted and thought that she would lie down for about an hour or so. She felt drained from her meeting with Emry. It was hard for Vanessa to relax with everything going on around her, but the day’s activities had her drained, so she was soon asleep.
