Riding the Storm
Page 13
Ryan was the first person to worry, realizing she hadn’t come home. Trying to sound only mildly interested, he question Val although his heart was heavy. Since Chrissie wasn’t there, making breakfast as usual when he came in after exercising and feeding Tommy, he believed she had stayed in Melbourne with Mike. He had a horrible mental picture of her lying tousled and sated across an enormous king-sized bed.
‘No, I haven’t heard from her, Ryan.’ Val seemed a bit irritated by this line of questioning. ‘She’s a grown woman and I like to give her some space. She doesn’t have to explain herself to me if she chooses to stay at a friend’s place overnight.’
‘But surely—’
‘And I’d much rather she did that than try to drive herself home after a night on the town.’
‘She wasn’t driving. I took her to catch the train.’
‘Fine. And what she’s doing now isn’t any of my business – or yours,’ she said as an afterthought. ‘If you must know, I’m pleased that she’s starting to get out and about again. I was beginning to worry. She looked to be falling into a depression after what happened to Tony.’
‘I just wish she wasn’t with Mike. Oh, I know he’s my friend and it sounds disloyal to say so, but he has a habit of chasing a girl till he gets her and then discarding her like an old shoe.’
Val laughed. ‘And you think your friend is such a Casanova that he can lure Chrissie into his bed in the space of one night? A young man not much older than you are?’
‘Age has nothing to do with it. I’ve watched Mike in action for years. He can turn on the charm when he wants to. And Chrissie’s vulnerable right now.’
‘I promise you, she’s no fool and a lot tougher than you think. She’ll see through any superficial charm.’
Ryan sighed. ‘I hope you’re right.’
‘And you’d better stop this or I’ll think you’ve got a crush on her yourself.’
Ryan looked away, cursing the telltale colour that he felt sweeping up from his throat. Fortunately for him, at that moment his bread started burning in the toaster as it was turned up too high, setting off the kitchen smoke alarm. By the time the noise had been stopped with much laughter, flapping of tea towels and the barking of Tinka, the awkward moment had been forgotten.
But even Val became anxious when another twenty-four hours passed and there was still no word from Chrissie. She had made coffee and was sitting with Ryan and Margie, the young woman who came in to clean for her twice a week.
‘It isn’t like her to leave me without word for so long,’ Val said. ‘She usually checks in to say if she’ll be in for dinner or not. You’re quite sure, Margie, she didn’t leave a message and you forgot to tell me?’
‘I never forget your messages, Val.’ The girl looked injured. ‘You know me better than that.’
‘Sure I do. Sorry.’ Val laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘It’s just that I’m starting to worry.’
‘I could call Mike,’ Ryan offered, sounding hesitant. ‘Find out if he knows where she is.’
‘Thank you, Ryan,’ Val said. ‘You were right to be concerned. We should have started checking before.’
But only an answering service responded at Mike’s flat and Ryan had to leave a message, asking him to call back. Mike didn’t respond until late on Monday evening, sounding breezy and without a care in the world.
‘Hi there,’ he said. ‘When are you coming in so we can have a night out on the town? There’s this great place that’s just opened and—’
‘Mike, wait. It’s about Chrissie – she wouldn’t still be with you – would she?’ He took a deep breath, hoping the answer would be in the negative.
‘That one? Hell, no. She lit out on me right after dinner. I left her hailing a cab.’
‘And you didn’t wait to see that she got one?’
‘No, because she didn’t want me to. Feminine equality and all that. It wasn’t very late, anyway. If you must know, we had a bit of a disagreement over where she was going to spend the night.’
‘Oh? Turned you down, did she?’ Ryan’s heart was singing.
‘Ssh! And don’t let it get around – you’ll ruin my bad reputation. She’s a right little harpy, that one – she gave me the real stink-eye and her acid tongue. She’ll make a good lawyer all right. In the olden days she’d be sending good men to the gallows.’
Ryan had to laugh. But when he put down the phone, he didn’t feel quite so happy. No one had heard from Chrissie for almost forty-eight hours.
Val was really concerned now although she was trying not to show it – nobody liked a stifling, overprotective mother. But she did start ringing around some of her daughter’s old friends, including Michelle. The two girls had once been very close.
‘Sorry, Mrs L. I’ve hardly seen anything of Chrissie lately – I’ve just come back from overseas. Is she still engaged to that blond fellow – Tony, wasn’t it?’
‘No, she broke it off a while ago and he’s – well, he’s not around any more.’ Val wanted to avoid the subject of Tony’s death.
‘Good. I always thought that was an unequal relationship – he stifled her, pulling her down. And the last time I saw her, I said so. That’s why we fell out.’
‘I’m sorry, Michelle. I thought you were such good friends, you wouldn’t let Tony come between you.’
‘He monopolized her. Didn’t like her seeing anyone else, especially me.’
‘So she hasn’t been in touch?’
‘No. Why, what’s happened? Are you saying you don’t know where she is?’ Michelle was nothing if not direct.
‘Not at the moment. No.’
‘It’s not like Chrissie to play games and disappear. Maybe I shouldn’t ask but did you two have a row or something?’
‘No, we’re very close. There was nothing like that.’
‘I’ll ask around some of our old mates, if you like. Better coming from me than her mum checking up.’
‘Thank you, Michelle – I’d be grateful. It’s been more than two days now and I’m beginning to think something’s wrong.’
‘You’re right. It isn’t like her. Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, maybe you should report her missing.’
Val sighed. ‘Oh, I do hope it won’t come to that.’
Another day was to pass before the kidnappers’ note turned up. Robert came bowling into the kitchen in his wheelchair, waving it at Val. Ryan, startled by Robert’s unusual arrival downstairs, had just finished breakfast and stood up, ready to leave. He spent as little time as possible around his uncle; an arrangement that suited both of them.
‘What d’you make of this?’ If anything, Robert sounded more grumpy than usual. ‘Came in the post this morning. Says they have Chrissie. I thought she was staying with friends in town?’
‘No. She’s been missing for several days,’ Val said, standing up from the table where she was eating toast.
‘And nobody thought to tell me?’
Val shrugged.
‘Better read it, then. I thought it might be a joke.’ Robert tossed it onto the table. It was a printed note from a computer, brief and to the point.
I need $500,000 in cash for the return of your daughter. You have twenty-four hours to find it and bring it to our old meeting place in the lay-by near Dandenong at midnight tomorrow. Be punctual. If you’re not there with the money at midnight tomorrow, the fee will increase in daily increments, the longer you delay. I don’t need to sign this – you know who I am. And don’t involve the police – it will end badly if you do.
‘End badly?’ Val finished reading it. ‘Rob, this is no joke. I don’t like it at all. And what do they mean – our old meeting place? You know who sent this, don’t you, Robert.’
‘Maybe. There’s more than one possibility. I used to meet up with some guys who sold imported drugs from the US – a lay-by at night off the highway near Dandenong. An excellent place to meet away from prying eyes.’
‘Heave
ns, Rob.’ Val was struggling to digest this news. ‘How long have you been doing this – taking illicit drugs?’
‘They weren’t for me, stupid. Performance-enhancing drugs for the horses. New on the market and quite undetectable. Get past any test.’
‘But that’s horrible. You never told me you were experimenting with drugs on our horses.’
‘No, o’course not. If you knew nothing, you’d have no trouble playing the innocent if the authorities got wind of it and came sniffing around.’
‘Rob, that’s so irresponsible. Those drugs are illegal because they haven’t been fully tested. No one knows what the long-term effects might be on the horses.’
‘Oh, spare me. You’ll be joining Animal Rights next. How many times must I tell you, there’s no room for sentiment in this business. Horses are raised for the racing industry – to be useful only so long as they can run. Just a commodity between the racetrack, the abattoir and the cat’s meat factory.’
‘How can you be so callous?’ Val’s shoulders slumped. ‘I thought you loved our horses as I do. I never realized that’s how you thought of them.’
‘Well, now you do. Maybe it’s time you faced up to some of the realities of life. And if you’re wondering why we haven’t had so many in the winners’ circle lately, it’s not through any lack of skill in our training regime but because I can’t drive out at night to meet our supplier.’
Val watched him, considering this for a moment before giving a mirthless laugh and shaking her head.
‘No, Rob, you’re lying. I don’t buy that story at all – it’s a total fabrication and doesn’t make sense. If you had such a sweet arrangement with these people before, why should they ruin it all by taking Chrissie? Drug smugglers don’t like to draw attention to themselves. But obviously you’ve upset someone. So what did you do?’
‘I dunno. They’re not regular business people, they’re part of the underworld. Anyway, they could be bluffing. If we ignore them, they’ll realize it’s not going to work and let her go.’
‘I won’t risk it, Rob. By the tone of that note, these people mean business and we have to take them seriously.’
‘How? I don’t have thousands of dollars stashed in my bottom drawer.’
‘Nobody does. But you have shares, don’t you? You must sell some.’
‘Now?’ Robert frowned. ‘It’s hardly the best time—’
‘I don’t care. I’ll sell my jewellery too if it means we can have Chrissie home safe.’
‘You will not. That’s family treasure – bought as a hedge against hard times.’
‘Well, they’re not going to get much harder than this, are they? Silly me, I always thought those jewels were mine.’
Robert glared at her.
‘There’s no point in arguing, Rob. Somehow we have to pull that money together and quickly – you can see what they’re saying about delay—’
‘Slow down a minute. I need to think about this.’
‘Robert, you’re not hearing me. This is about Chrissie’s safety—’
‘Yes but how do we know they won’t take the money and leave her body lying in a ditch?’
Val flinched at the callousness of the remark. ‘We don’t. But they won’t want to be hunted as murderers, will they? It’s the money they’re after. Soon as they have it – they’ll let her go.’
‘Oh, sure. You’d like to think so. Long as she can identify them she’s a danger. Why should they let her go?’
‘We have to trust them whether you like it or not.’ Val was becoming close to tears. ‘And this last dig. What do they mean by that?’ Val tapped the note which was lying on the table. ‘“I don’t need to sign this – you know who I am.” Who are these people, Rob? And what do they have against you? I think you know a whole lot more than you’re telling me.’
‘All right. I had a special arrangement with this guy – an ex-marine or commando – I dunno. Everything was fine for a while but last time things didn’t go according to plan so I refused to pay.’
‘Now it begins to make sense. So what kind of special arrangement did you have with this ex-commando? What unpleasant task did you set him that you wouldn’t do for yourself?’
‘Stop it, woman. You’re relentless. All you need to know is that he’s harder to control than I expected.’
‘So we must pay him off and get rid of him. We don’t need someone like that in our lives.’
‘I have a better plan. You take a suitcase to the lay-by filled with old newspapers. And when they meet you there, ready to collect, we’ll have the police waiting for them ready to pounce—’
‘The police aren’t your private army, Rob. We’ve been told not to involve them and I won’t have Chrissie put at risk. There’s no way out of it. We have to pay up and do exactly as these people ask.’
Ryan spoke up softly for the first time. He had been leaning quietly against the stove listening to everything that had gone before. Their conversation had been very revealing but although he was angered by some of Robert’s sentiments, he knew he would learn more if he kept silent and didn’t interrupt. He was like the invisible man; both Val and Robert had quite forgotten he was there.
‘I’ll do it,’ he said. ‘Let me take the money and go to the lay-by to deliver it. They don’t know me but they probably know enough to recognize your car. I’ll hand over the case with the money in exchange for Chrissie and we’ll be out of there.’
‘If only it would turn out to be that simple,’ Val said. ‘Thank you, Ryan, but I’ll have to do it. I can’t let you put yourself in danger for us.’
‘Whyever not?’ Robert sounded falsely hearty, eyes suddenly glistening. ‘That’s a great idea. Ryan is younger and stronger than we are. He’ll fare better than either of us if anything goes wrong.’
‘That’s settled, then,’ Ryan said.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ALTHOUGH ROBERT WAS still planning to cheat the kidnappers by placing money-sized packets of newspaper under a shallow layer of banknotes, Val wouldn’t hear of it. She had sold nearly all her jewellery aside from pieces of sentimental value and only then would he sell some shares to make up the difference. He still wanted to argue about paying them at all.
‘It’s stupid to let them have what they want without a fight,’ he grumbled. ‘It leaves us with nowhere to go. Give in too easily and they could demand even more.’
‘We can cross that bridge when we come to it, Rob. I’m not taking any chances with Chrissie’s safety.’ So saying, Val turned her back on him to count the money one last time, making sure it was all there. She closed the briefcase with a snap and handed it to Ryan. ‘All our hopes and wishes go with you, Ryan. Don’t take any more risks than you need to.’
‘I won’t,’ he said, giving her a quick hug, sensing that she felt as keyed up and tense as he did. They’d agreed he should take her little Subaru to the rendezvous – it was newer and nippier than the old yellow taxi they used to carry Robert around. The vehicle he had taken to Queensland was a write-off after the accident in Sydney and, as yet, Val hadn’t found the courage to tell him he was unlikely to regain the use of his legs or drive except in a specially modified car. He was still expecting to make a complete recovery.
Ryan wanted to set off early, hoping to gain an advantage by being there before the kidnappers arrived.
‘I still think I should go with you,’ Val said, holding on to the keys until the last possible minute. ‘I don’t like sending you into danger alone.’
‘Leave it be, Val.’ Robert smirked, eyes glittering. ‘Most lads enjoy a bit of danger at his age. It’ll be quite an adventure for him.’
Some adventure! Ryan thought. I’ll be relieved when it’s all over and I have Chrissie safe. Aloud he said, ‘No, Val. You stay here as backup. If I run into trouble, you might need to involve the cops.’ Clearly, he didn’t trust Robert to alert them. ‘I’ll have my hands full, getting Chrissie away from them. I don’t need you there as another target.’
‘Try not to worry,’ he said. ‘I’ll have her home soon.’ As he said this, he was hoping his words didn’t sound as hollow to Val as they did to him. They both knew there was still a lot to go wrong.
Driving towards Dandenong, he had time to go over all that had happened and wonder about Robert’s state of mind. It struck him that the old man wasn’t as concerned as a father ought to be – it was Val who was worried sick. And there was something odd about Robert’s attitude, too. He seemed excited – almost gleeful that he, Ryan, should volunteer for this dangerous mission. Left to his thoughts as he drove closer to the lay-by where he was to meet the kidnappers, he had time to mull over all that had gone before. He felt certain Robert knew a lot more about these people than he was saying and had to be holding something back. The Lanigans might be comfortably off, but were still far from wealthy so why should they become a target for kidnappers? This was about more than the money or it didn’t make sense. He agreed with Val and didn’t believe Robert’s story that he was buying performance-enhancing drugs for the horses. Ryan spent most of his time in the stables and had never seen anyone giving injections aside from their registered vet. No. Robert had made up this dramatic and shocking story because he was hiding something a lot worse.
Chrissie had plenty of time to get to know her captors. It worried her that they didn’t trouble to disguise themselves. If they didn’t care if she recognized them, releasing her might not be a part of their plan and that wasn’t a comforting thought. Shortly before the journey ended, she noted a steep climb on a dirt road with many turns and with gravel crunching beneath the wheels, indicating an unmade country road. When she was allowed to set aside the suffocating rug, she could see they had arrived at a small log cabin buried high in the hills. But which hills? There were several ranges to choose from around Melbourne and it could be any one of them. There seemed to be dense forest all around them and she could see no street lamps or lights nearby to indicate neighbours. She had lost all sense of time and couldn’t judge how long it had taken to get there. They had grabbed her purse and tossed her mobile phone out onto the motorway. She felt lost and isolated without it.