by Iris Bolling
“A response to your request is ready.”
Jonathan’s computer delivered the message.
“Excuse me, Mum. I need to check this,” he said as he pulled his computer out. A glance at the first set of transcripts came through confirming his worst thoughts. Dewberry and Walker were in contact with each other. He continued reading. The second set mentioned the plan was in motion. An address was given. It was Grace’s address. Once the girl was in our control the call for an emergency board meeting at Dunning should be requested.
“Jonathan, are you all right?”
“No, Mum,” he replied as he continued to read. “We have to move you out of here.”
“The hospital?”
“Out of London, Mum,” he replied then continued to the last transcript.
A location and another phone number were given for future contacts. Jonathan quickly put that number into his program, to track the calls. Instead of having to wait for any transcripts, he programmed the number to connect to his phone as well. All calls in or from that number would also come to his phone. That was all he could do at this point. He closed the laptop then placed it back into his knapsack.
“Mum, I need to speak with your doctor. Then I have to go to the house.”
Jonathan left his mother with a protection detail around her. His mission was to gather her things, have them packed up and shipped to the States. But before he could go, there was a lesson Dewberry needed to be taught.
“You do not mess with my women.”
As he entered his mother’s house he looked around. There were pieces of their lives that he knew his mother would not leave behind. He made a mental note to call Sydney before he left to arrange things for that. But at this moment his mind was focused on one thing.
He went down to the basement of his mother’s home. One of the panel’s on the basement wall was retractable. He’d had the section built in over a week when he had sent his mother on a visit to the states. Behind the panel was an entire network. All he had built from scratch. This was his weapon he prayed he would never have to use, but knew one day, the time would come. He had warned Dewberry before leaving Phase that he was the one person who could shut down their operations with the click of one key stroke. It would seem that Dewberry did not believe him.
“There comes a time in every man's life when you have to shit or get off the pot. Well, Richard, this shit is on you.”
Jonathan clicked one button bringing the computer to life. There was a network of computers, one connected to another, their lights began to flash. Jonathan keyed in a series of numbers and letters, the last set being Phase. He didn’t hit enter. All of the lights on the panels turned off. Jonathan counted to three. The network began humming as lights began blinking one after another seeming to have a pattern to it. Jonathan stood back to watch the sequence of lights in wonder. It was never his intention to bring Phase down, he just knew he needed an ace in his pocket for when Richard Dewberry ceased to respect his skills. Or in this case he just forgot. Either way, he was now going to pay the price.
When the lights seemed to stop chasing each other, Jonathan waited for 10 seconds, then he shut the system off by clicking the same button that he turned it on with, replaced the panel and exhaled. Well, mate, that was done, now let’s get mother taken care of. He placed a call to Sydney.
“I need you to contact a mover today. I want my mum’s house packed up and cleared out within the next 48 hours. Contact my Aunt English in New York and let her know Mum will be coming there to stay with her until she recovers.”
“Are you bringing her here for good? I was able to find a number of flats in New York not far from her sister. Maybe she can take a look when she gets here.”
“That would be perfect, Sydney. We will set up a viewing once we are back in the States.” He was walking back upstairs as he spoke to her. “Contact the pilot to let him know that there will be another passenger returning with me. Make certain that we have a medical assistant on the flight with us. I’m going to gather some of Mother’s things to take back to the hospital.”
“When will you be returning stateside?”
“As soon as the plane is fueled and my mum is comfortable. Have you seen Grace?”
“Not this morning. Why? Is everything okay?”
“I am not sure. Put me through to Myles.”
“Hold on.”
He could hear Sydney dialing her desk phone. “Myles, I have Jonathan on the other line. He needs to speak with you.”
There were a few clicks then Myles was on the line.
“Jonathan, Chrystina just informed me about your mother. How is she?”
“Broken rib and arm. I will be bringing her back with me tonight.”
“Tonight?” Myles frowned. “Jonathan, take whatever time you need to be with your mother.”
“My mum is not my biggest concern at this moment. I’m sending you a series of phone call messages I requested transcripts for. The calls are between Dewberry and Walker. Listen carefully, Myles. Whoever comes to you to request an emergency Board meeting is the traitor in Dunning. Grant the request.”
“Why would I do that if the person is a traitor?”
“Because whoever it is has taken Grace.”
Myles jumped out of his seat. “What?” He pushed a button on his desk then started writing a note. “Fill me in, Jonathan.” Mrs. Vazquez walked in. He handed her the note. She looked up then quickly walked out of the office.
“I contacted Roark a few hours ago. Have you heard from him?”
“No,” Myles replied. “How do you know someone has taken Grace?”
“The transcripts. Did she make it into the office at all today?”
Mike, Gary and Jerome walked into the office. “I’m putting you on speaker phone. Mike, Gary and Jerome are here.”
“Myles, you have to keep this under wraps,” Jonathan continued. “I cannot emphasize how important it is to make everything appear to be normal. I fear it is the only way we are going to find Grace.”
“I spoke to Grace this morning,” AnnieMarie said as she ran into the room.
“What time was that?” Myles asked.
“Around nine,” she replied.
“That’s around the time I last spoke with her,” Jonathan explained. “Whoever has her wants her out of the way for this meeting.”
“Why and who?” Gary asked.
“You will know that when the emergency meeting is requested,” Jonathan responded.
“What about Grace?” AnnieMarie asked.
“Grace is going to be fine,” Jonathan insisted. “Worry about the person who dared to touch her.”
Chrystina came into the office. “I just spoke with Warren. He talked with Grace around ten this morning. According to him, she was on her way into the office.”
“Mr. Dunning.” Mrs. Vazquez knocked on the door. “Agent Roark is here. He is requesting to see you. He says it is urgent.”
“Bring him in,” Myles demanded as he strolled to the door to meet the man. “Did you find Grace?” he asked as soon as the man entered the office.
“No. But we found her purse in an abandoned truck on the other side of New Kent.”
“New Kent County?” Myles exclaimed. “Why in the hell would she be in New Kent?”
“She wouldn’t be,” AnnieMarie replied. “She was on Marshall Street when I spoke with her. If she was in New Kent, it’s because someone took her there.”
“Roark, how did you find the purse?”
“An officer found an abandoned truck. Called it in and discovered it was stolen. The passenger door was opened. He did a search. Her purse was the only thing he found. Her wallet was inside with cash and credit cards. She also had one of my business cards, so they called me.”
“Was there anything else, Roark?” Jerome asked. “Anything you are holding back that was found in the truck?”
“No,” Roark replied. “There were no signs of a struggle or foul play.”
&
nbsp; “Did you check for prints, a map - anything that will give us a clue where to start searching?” Jonathan asked from the phone.
“The FBI has begun our search, Jonathan. Stay out of this,” Roark ordered.
“Stay out of this. The FBI knows Jack shit,” Jonathan yelled. “If she is not found by the time I touch down in the States, Roark, I’m going to kick your bloody arse.”
“Grace is the focus here,” Myles stated. “Jonathan, you discovered all of this. How do you want to proceed?”
“I’ve put a tracker on the contact number in the transcripts. As soon as a call is made, I will know. In the meantime, sit tight. The request for the Board meeting is coming today. I will be in the air heading back to the States within the hour.”
“That’s a ten hour flight, Jonathan. That will land you here at three in the morning. We can’t wait that long. We’ll do what we can to find her on this end.”
“I suggest your FBI friend check the coordinates of any calls made from the contact number in the transcript,” Jonathan suggested. “That may give you a general area to start the search. I will see you soon.”
Myles disconnected the call. “Are you able to handle that, Agent Roark?”
“What transcripts is Jonathan talking about?” Roark asked.
Myles clicked on his computer. “Did Jonathan ask you to check on Grace this morning?”
“He did.”
“Did you, without delay?” Myles looked up from the computer.
“Once I received the call this is all I have been working on.”
“Which means you ignored Jonathan’s request which could have prevented Grace from being taken?” Myles all but shouted.
“We don’t know that to be sure, Myles,” Jerome cautioned. “Like you said, the focus is on Grace. We’ll deal with the issues later.”
There was a knock on the door. “Mr. Dunning, Preston Long is requesting to meet with you. Shall I let him in?”
They all glanced at each other.
“Preston?” Gary questioned. “No. It can’t be Preston.”
“Chrystina, take everyone into your office,” Myles stated. “I will see what Preston wants.”
“This way everyone. You too, Agent Roark.” Chrystina pointed to her door. “Stay cool, Myles. You need information from him,” she cautioned as the closed the door behind her.
Myles took a deep breath. “Give me a minute then let him in.”
Closing his eyes, Myles sent up a prayer for his sister’s safety. Then Preston walked in.
“Thanks for seeing me, Myles.” They shook hands. “Chrystina gave you the news I take it?”
“Regarding the BIT presentation?” He nodded. “Yes, she did.”
“Good.” Preston smiled. “Elaine mentioned an emergency meeting may be called. I was wondering if you had any concerns I can answer before the entire Board is called?”
Myles began to breathe again. It wasn’t Preston. “Elaine mentioned an emergency meeting?”
“Yes, she indicated you may want to address specific items for the presentation with the Board before we meet with the BIT executives on Friday.”
Now Myles could smile. He had his answer. “Preston, you brought us this far with BIT. I am going to trust you to take us all the way. You and I can do a one on one for tomorrow morning. We can determine then if a full Board meeting is needed.”
Preston exhaled. “That is a relief, Myles. Elaine had me concerned there for a minute.”
“I can see why.” Myles stood then extended his hand. “You did a good job on this, Preston. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Myles. I will see you in the morning.”
The moment the door closed, Chrystina’s office door opened.
“We have our answer,” Mike stated. “Now what?”
“We wait,” Myles replied. “Jonathan is going to locate Grace, even from London. I have no doubt about that.”
“The FBI will find her,” Roark stated emphatically.
“The FBI should have had eyes on her this morning,” Mike growled. “Pray Grace is found without a scratch, not one.”
“Mike, you and I need to put eyes on Elaine Jacobson.” Jerome tapped his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Agent Roark,” Myles called out. “I expect the FBI to do everything in its power to find my sister without raising flags that could cost her her life. Do I make myself clear?”
“I am going to do everything in my power to find her,” Roark replied. “May I have a copy of the transcripts Jonathan mentioned?”
“I will have my secretary text them to you.”
Roark nodded then walked out of the room. Once the room was clear, AnnieMarie and Gary glanced at each other.
“Myles, I think we may know what the emergency meeting is about.” Gary stated.
Myles raised his eyebrows. “What?” They took a step closer together as if standing in solidarity. He glanced from one to the other.
“Well,” AnnieMarie started. “Uncle Walker asked us to pay him a visit last night.”
“Yes, so AnnieMaire and I decided to go together.”
Myles exhaled, then took a seat. Chrystina walked over to stand next to him. “What does he want?”
“He wants to be a part of the Board again,” AnnieMarie replied. “He is making amends for his actions and asking for forgiveness from the family.”
Gary sat in one of the chairs in front of Myles’ desk as AnnieMarie took the other. “He thinks now that he is sober, he can contribute to the family business again.”
“And what was your response?” Chrystina asked.
Myles was pleased she was calm and asked the question for he was about ready to knock a hole in the wall.
AnnieMaire sighed. “Well, I was all for giving him another chance. But now I’m not so sure.”
Myles cleared his throat. “And you?” He looked at Gary.
“I was going to talk with you and Grace about it.” He shrugged. “He stated he did not want to be compensated until he has proven himself.”
“And he said he did not want to be a voting member until the family thought he was worthy,” AnnieMarie added.
“And you believed him?”
Chrystina put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Myles wanted to change his tone, but found it difficult to do. “You two are the youngest and may not remember all that Walker has done to damage our family. The recent stuff is probably what comes to mind for you. I tend to look at patterns,” he explained. “Walker has used his life to destroy our father. I pray that I am wrong, but I do believe he had a part in killing Dad. If you knew all the facts, you would understand why.”
“Then tell us all the facts, Myles,” Gary replied. “You, Grace and Mike keep things to yourselves which tends to leave AnnieMarie and me unprotected.”
“That is not our intention.” Myles exhaled.
“It may not be,” AnnieMarie spoke, “but it is the outcome.”
“By not telling us what you know about Uncle Walker, it leaves us to think the man is okay and just had a run of bad luck,” Gary stated. “It is time for all of you to stop treating us like babies and tell us what the hell is going on.”
Chrystina slowly moved from standing next to him to stand behind AnnieMarie and Gary. She then had the nerve to look at him and smile.
Myles nodded then exhaled. “You are right. You need all the information to make an informed decision.”
There was another knock on the door. Mrs. Vazquez stepped inside. “Elaine Jacobson is asking for a moment.”
Myles nodded.
“May I say I am personally saddened by this turn of events,” Mrs. Vazquez stated. “While I know what you are going to have to do in this situation, I feel for her.”
Chrystina walked over, then hugged her. “I do too. She has been a part of the Dunning family for a long time.” They both took a deep breath. “However hurt we are, she cannot be allowed to destroy us.” She stepped away then turned to AnnieMarie and G
ary. “Come on you two. We have to let this play out.” She glanced at Myles, then closed the door behind her.
Myles nodded. “I truly do not want to go through the situation we had with Mitch again. Let’s make certain people are in place to help Elaine once everything comes out.”
Mrs. Vazquez smiled. “That is exactly what your father would do.”
Myles smiled. “Send her in.”
CHAPTER 31
Grace checked her watch. It was past midnight, twelve hours and she was still sitting. She was tired, hungry and had to pee. If someone did not come in the door soon, she was going to go the hell off. It had been a whole day of sitting there doing nothing but waiting...hell she had never been kidnapped before so she had no idea what she was waiting for.
If it was to give her time to breakdown in fear, well they screwed that up because all they had done was piss her off.
She wondered throughout the day how Jonathan was handling things with his mother. She was sure he had attempted to call her several times now. She was sure he knew she was missing and had taken steps to find her. Hell, he may have even called Roark to help. What about her mother? Did Winnie know she was missing? She was sure Myles would keep it from her as long as possible. The woman had been through enough pain. The last thing Grace wanted was to cause her more. AnnieMarie and Daisy would be there by her side, so would Aunt Vivian.
She was certain no one was considering Uncle Walker to be complicit in any of this, but Grace knew in her heart that he was. To what extent she did not know, but he was definitely involved. The only question she had was why now? What happened to force him to go to this extreme? She stood pacing around the now chilly container. The recording kept playing back in her mind. Your brother has no love in his heart for you. Walker is dangerous to your family. Her mind kept telling her the answer to her questions were in the documents Roark gave her. What was she missing?
There was a sound at the entrance. Grace whirled around, as the door slowly opened. The silhouette of a man appeared in the opening. The darkness of the night prevented her from seeing his face. No there was more. He had a mask on. A dark mask covering his face. That gave her hope that she may leave here with her life.
