Kidnapped at Christmas

by Maggie K. Black

  Questions burned in her mind. She paused on the second-story landing, opened a fresh document on the tablet and jotted them down with the stylus, using them like an electronic pen and paper, just as if she was sitting in the corner of an editorial meeting listening to a reporter talk about their big new exposé. Why would Magpie send a graffiti artist to break into Torchlight News and scrawl a warning on the wall the same day they kidnapped a journalist? Why do both? Vandalism was vile, yes, but if a reporter was pitching this story in an editorial meeting, methodical Samantha would have pointed out that threats usually escalated in severity. That is: normally the warning came first, then the attempted murder.

  She wrote “Does Magpie have a vendetta against Torchlight?” in block letters at the top of the page and underlined it twice. No doubt Olivia would get every single journalist at the newspaper to report in on what they were working on. Maybe the mysterious Magpie would emerge from there and the paper would know what it did to land on Magpie’s radar.

  She crossed the second-floor landing and froze. Olivia’s office door was ajar. She could hear the creak of someone’s weight shifting on the old office floorboards and computer keys clacking. There was somebody else in the building. Her heart raced through her chest, so suddenly she found herself battling to breathe. Were the police in there already? But if so, wouldn’t they have announced their presence? The door swung open quickly. She was face-to-face with a stranger. He was short, in plain clothes and probably forty, with a square face and a red baseball cap.

  And familiar. So very familiar. And she didn’t know why.

  “Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you doing here?”

  The man hesitated. Then suddenly he lunged for her tablet computer and tried to yank it from her hand.

  “Drop it!” he shouted.

  Was he kidding?

  “No! Get out of here! The police are on their way!” Her grip tightened on the tablet. For a moment, she thought he was going to succeed in pulling it from her hands. But then, while all his body strength was focused on the tablet, she kicked him as hard as she could. He swore and let go. She yanked the tablet back, hearing the edge of the case crack as she wrenched it from his hands. She ran down the stairs to the ground floor, panicked tears building in her throat.

  “Joshua! Help!” She grabbed the front door handle, Joshua’s name escaping her lips even before she could finish yanking it all the way open. “There’s another intruder in the building!”

  “Ma’am! Get away from the building!” Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from the door. Samantha looked up into the face of a senior officer whose hair was tied back in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Half a dozen more officers rushed past them into the building. “Are you all right, ma’am?”

  “I’m... I’m fine. Thank you, Officer. But there’s a man in the building. Second floor. He’s short and wearing a red baseball cap. I don’t know if he’s armed.” Samantha looked around. Police vehicles and people in uniform seemed to be spilling down the streets in both directions.

  But she couldn’t see Joshua anywhere.

  FIVE

  Half an hour later she was sitting alone in the small, quirky café across the street from the Torchlight News offices, watching the foam swirl in the top of her coffee and trying not to wonder where Joshua was. Was he being questioned by police? Had something happened with Hermes? He wouldn’t have just taken off without saying goodbye. She was certain of that. Well, almost certain. After all, it wasn’t like he’d signed up to do anything more than give her a ride back to Toronto. Even that he’d only done because she’d suddenly landed on the doorstep in danger. She sighed. Truth was, there was so much data she simply didn’t have on the man. Despite the odd effect he seemed to have on her heart.

  Sprigs of holly and pine bows curved along the window frame. Her coffee smelled like nutmeg and cinnamon. She held the side of the mug tight with one hand, feeling the comforting heat of the ceramic seep into her palm. With the other, she idly ran an electronic stylus along the computer tablet. She’d let the officer who’d questioned about the break in look it over. But with all of ATHENA’s data saved on Torchlight’s online server, there wasn’t much saved on the actual tablet to look at, and she knew her job well enough to know she didn’t have to relinquish it without a warrant. Fortunately, the officer seemed satisfied to let her keep it.

  Slowly she sketched out everything she could remember about the second-floor intruder, using the pieces of her memory like puzzle pieces. The lines of his square, clean-shaven jaw. Deep-set eyes. The shape of a holster on his hip. She focused on every tiny detail she could remember. The two kidnappers and Hermes may not have sparked anything in her mind, but there was something about this snoop that was familiar and she was going to figure out what.

  Where have I seen your picture before, stranger? What did you want with my tablet?

  Are you Magpie?

  Bells jingled and clattered as the café door opened, bringing a gust of cold air in with it. She looked up, embarrassed at just how much part of her hoped to see Joshua standing there.

  “Olivia!” Samantha jumped up as a woman with flame-red hair and a voluminous white scarf crossed over to her table. Even dressed in a tracksuit without any trace of makeup on her skin, the Torchlight editor seemed to beam with both happiness and confidence. Samantha gave Olivia a gentle hug, and was surprised at how strong her embrace was in response. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be home with the baby!”

  “She’s with Daniel.” Olivia unwound her scarf and dropped into the seat farthest from the window. “Police needed someone from Torchlight to come in and confirm the state of things. Our apartment is only a few blocks from here and to be honest we really needed a walk.” A tired but genuine smile crossed her lips. “We finally decided on a baby name by the way—Abigail Rose.”

  “It’s beautiful.” Samantha sat down opposite her. Olivia leaned her arms on the table and squeezed her hands.

  “How are you doing?” Olivia asked. “Are you holding up okay?”

  There was an understanding in her voice that tugged at something deeper inside Samantha, reminding her that there were times others in the Torchlight family, including Olivia herself, had faced criminals, danger and threat of death to get the story. I’m okay.” Samantha squeezed her back and let go. “Not great. Still kind of shaky. But I’m okay. Thank you for asking and understanding.”

  “Do you remember Theresa Vaughan?” Olivia asked. “We did an article on her a few months back. She’s a therapist and counselor, who does a lot of work with Victim Services.”

  Samantha nodded. “I think so.” The woman Joshua had mentioned. Why did her thoughts keep turning to him?

  “I gave her a call about what happened to you today. She and I have talked in the past about running something for the staff. She’s willing to meet with you before you leave town. She’s really good at helping people sort out their memories and feelings about trauma.”

  Samantha sat back and wrapped her arms around her chest. But what if she didn’t have any concrete memories? Could Theresa still help her then?

  “Her office is just on the northern edges of Toronto, about half the distance between here and the farmhouse,” Olivia went on. “Today’s supposed to be her last day in the office before the holidays, but she said she’s free to meet you at four, or first thing tomorrow. It’s not on a public transit route. But Joshua knows her. I’m sure he’d be happy to take you.”

  Did that mean she’d already discussed it with Joshua, wherever he was?

  “Thank you. I’ll think about it. Have you asked the rest of the staff about Magpie?”

  “I talked with senior staff, and we sent out a joint email to the Torchlight crew, informing them of what had happened to you, asking them to let us know everything they’d been working on recently, and if they had any idea on what Magpie is. We also asked them to take extra precautions with their own safety until this is sorted.
” Olivia looked down. “Police didn’t try to confiscate your tablet?”

  “They asked to look at it and I let them,” Samantha said. “Enough to let them feel satisfied there wasn’t any harm in letting me hold on to it. But I reminded them that they couldn’t take it from me without a warrant.”

  Olivia nodded. A smile crossed her lips. “Good job.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled back. Samantha tapped the screen, waking it up from battery saving mode. Her sketch of the snoop’s face appeared from the darkness. She turned it around to face Olivia. “Recognize him? I caught him rummaging around in your office and he tried to steal my tablet.”

  “Police told me there’d been someone in my office. Nothing seemed to be stolen. It looked like he’d tried to hack into my computer, but didn’t get past the password.” Olivia looked down at the sketch. “No, I’ve never seen him before.”

  “Well, I have,” Samantha said, “or at least I saw a picture of him. When I close my eyes I can see his face on a piece of paper. But I don’t know what piece of paper that would be. Is it possible he works for a rival media organization?”

  Olivia’s eyebrows rose. “Why?”

  “Because that would explain where I’d seen him before. There has to be some reason why Magpie is trying to intimidate Torchlight. The media world is very competitive. It’s possible there’s a Torchlight investigation they’re trying to force us to stop. Or maybe they’re trying to scare us out of business altogether.”

  * * *

  Joshua stood on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street and waited for a break in traffic. He could see Samantha through the window. Her blond head was bowed toward the table. She was talking to someone whose face he couldn’t see, but he could tell that she was animated about something. A curious smile illuminated her face, like she was both confused by a problem and eager to solve it. He sighed.

  How could he feel so lukewarm, and even apathetic, about the major life decision he had to make about his military future? Yet so interested in finding out more about this woman he’d just met? There was this quality about her that he couldn’t even begin to put into words. She was like something a guy would only see high above him on a billboard. Not just sitting there in a coffee shop, with his old battered leather jacket draped around her shoulders. Despite all the dire warnings he’d had growing up about not letting his foolish heart distract him from the things that really mattered, nothing in his life had ever really prepared him for what it was like to feel something like this.

  A baby stroller brushed alongside him and instinctively he turned to offer to help it down off to the curb, before looking up to see the tall, dark-haired man with serious eyes behind it.

  “Daniel! Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you until Christmas.” Did that mean Olivia was in the coffee shop with Samantha right now? He looked down through the clear plastic weather cover to the tiny bundle inside, but could barely see the baby under the mound of blankets.

  “The police needed a senior person from the newspaper to come reset the alarm.” Daniel gave him a quick one-armed hug while keeping his other hand firm on the stroller. “Olivia was the closest key holder. Plus our apartment’s only a ten-minute walk from here and I really needed a walk. We all did. Although, to be honest, I was hoping to wait until Abigail was a little older before taking her to her first crime scene.”

  Joshua fought the urge to chuckle. The Daniel Ash he’d known had such an overprotective streak he never would’ve been okay with his wife and infant coming within a mile of a crime scene—even if it was just a break and enter. When Joshua had heard of his whirlwind romance with the red-haired spitfire of an editor, he’d wondered how Daniel’s protective nature was going to handle being married to someone so independent and strong in her own right. Now, looking in the new father’s eyes, he was suddenly reminded of the first time he’d run his bare hand along the huge stone walls of one of the ancient fortresses in the Holy Land, and been shocked to discover something so strong could have such soft edges.

  “Olivia’s still keeping in touch with what’s happened at the paper while she’s on maternity leave,” Daniel added. He reached one hand inside the stroller and adjusted the blankets. “She wanted to talk to Samantha in person. Olivia took your suggestion and called Theresa. The good news is Theresa’s agreed to meet with Samantha. Either today at four or tomorrow at ten, whichever she prefers.”

  Joshua’s eye turned back to the café. Samantha’s elbows rested on the table. Her gaze was still focused on something in front of her.

  “I have something to ask you,” Daniel said. Joshua looked back. Daniel’s eyes were watching his face. “Olivia feels a huge responsibility for Samantha. The newspaper’s like a second family, and I think we’re all agreed that Samantha shouldn’t be alone until this is settled, or at least until she boards her train to Montreal. She thinks, we think, somebody should be protecting her.”

  “You mean a bodyguard?” It was the logical conclusion for both Daniel and Olivia to jump to. Still, something about it irked him and he wasn’t sure what. “I agree, someone should watch her. But like you said, police don’t have the resources and manpower to escort around every woman whose life has been threatened. You’ve just had a baby. I don’t think you should be away from Olivia and Abigail. For all we know their lives are also in danger. While personally I would trust both Alex and Zoe with my life, and I’m sure they’d both agree to do it, I don’t think either of them have really spoken to Theresa since she practically left Alex at the altar. Foisting that on them suddenly two days before Christmas might be asking a lot. But at the same time the idea of just hiring some stranger through the phone book terrifies me.”

  “I know,” Daniel said, “which is why I was hoping you’d do it.”

  “You want me to be Samantha’s bodyguard?” Joshua ran his hand over his jaw. He would’ve almost laughed, if the situation wasn’t so serious.

  “Just for today,” Daniel said. “Only if you want to and if she’s okay with it. Just be a friend who has her back. She may not want to go talk to Theresa.”

  “She should go talk to Theresa, though,” Joshua said.

  “I know,” Daniel said. “Olivia may be her boss, but she can’t force her to get counseling or accept private security. I get the impression from Olivia that Samantha really values both her solitude and autonomy.”

  So, the man who didn’t think he wanted to be a bodyguard was going to protect the woman who didn’t think she wanted protecting.

  “Yeah, I’ll do it,” Joshua said. What else could he say? “It just makes sense. I know where Theresa works and I definitely know how to watch for hostiles and manage threats. Plus, I know how the cops work and think, so I won’t be tripping all over their investigation if they want to ask her more questions. I hope when you get Ash Private Security off the ground you get someone to give Alex and Zoe some guidance on how to deal with the authorities too, so the client fully benefits from both. You know, doubly protected.”

  A mild smile crossed Daniel’s lips that said something more than Joshua was able to read. The lights changed and traffic paused. They crossed the street. Joshua matched pace beside the stroller, his right hand resting on the handle at the front until they reached the other side. Then he carefully helped Daniel lift it back up onto the sidewalk in front of the café.

  “Thank you,” Daniel said. “Obviously, Olivia, Abigail and I are going to be staying at our apartment in the city until this is settled. Trust me, the idea someone would deliver a threat targeted at my wife, on my own doorstep is not something I take lightly. She’s encouraging all her staff to take precautions. I asked Alex and Zoe if they’d be more comfortable moving out of the country house, but they pointed out there’s no reason to believe whoever threatened Samantha will return there, and that it would be easier to protect than a busy city location.”

  “I agree,” Joshua said. The country house had good sight lines and a safe room in the basement. It was hardly the kin
d of place that was easy to sneak up on now that they suspected someone might be coming. “Although breaking into the newspaper office is a pretty big sign that whoever’s behind this has Torchlight itself in their sights, not Samantha personally. It’s just a bad coincidence she happened to be here, twice.” And he was the one foolish enough to let her head up to the top floor of the newspaper office alone.

  The door swung open, and that’s when Joshua realized Samantha and Olivia were already on their way out to meet them. He stepped back, vaguely aware of Olivia greeting him before brushing past him to be with her husband and baby, and then of Daniel saying something to Samantha. But somehow, it was like the only detail he could truly focus on was the way Samantha’s eyes flitted to his face and then down to rest somewhere just right of his shoulder, as if there was something hidden there she didn’t want him to read.

  “So, you survived.” Samantha smiled. “I was wondering where you were.” She held her computer tablet to her chest and he realized with a start that she was still probably even more determined to continue researching Magpie now.

  “I did,” he said. “The police had a lot of questions for me. I heard from Daniel that you’re going to be meeting with Theresa later.”

  “Maybe.” Her gaze dropped farther down his arm until it was resting on his hands. “For now, I’m heading to the police station. Hopefully they’ll release my bag and keys so I can get into my apartment.”

  Goodbyes with Daniel and Olivia were quick. They were eager to get back home. Thick snowflakes had begun to swirl down sideways from dark clouds moving in on the horizon and the baby had begun to stir. A few minutes later, Samantha and Joshua were sitting back in his car again. She held the tablet so tightly her hands almost quivered. He could tell there was something on the tablet she wanted to show him, but whatever it was it also looked like she wanted to wait until the car was moving. He eased the car out through an alley still crowded with cops and gawkers, then started driving.