Alexander Death(51)
“How long ago?”
“A couple of weeks. There was a riot in Charleston.”
Breisgau nodded. “I saw that on Fox News.”
“That was the last time I saw her. She hasn't been home or called her dad, which is really strange for her.”
“You think something happened to her during the riot?”
“Right.”
“There's been no contact at all since? No ransom demands?”
“No,” Seth said. “Well, there was a postcard, from Seattle, sent to her father.”
“What did it say?”
“It claimed to be from Jenny. She said she was traveling around on her own and she was happy.”
“But you don't think it was from her?” Breisgau asked.
“It didn't really sound like her,” Seth said. “And the choice of the postcard...I don't know, it just feels wrong to me. Plus, she would have called her dad by now.”
“Wouldn't she have called you, too?”
“She was sort of mad at me last time she saw me.”
“So...maybe she's just taking a break. Going to 'find herself.'” He made finger quotes in the air. “You know. Women.”
“Maybe you're right,” Seth said. “I hope you're right. But...” Seth shrugged. He was feeling very nervous now, hoping they didn't turn down his case. “What if they took her?”
“Do you have any idea who might have kidnapped her?”
“I do,” Seth said. He almost told the man about Ashleigh, but Ashleigh was officially dead. Her spirit had inhabited Darcy's body temporarily. He had no idea what kind of body she might have now. “There's...four of them.”
Breisgau grabbed a light pen and scribbled something on his tablet PC. “Names?”
“The first one is...the only name I have for him is 'Tommy Goodling,' but that could be a fake. I can describe him for you.”
“Where's he from?”
“I don't know.”
“What do you know about him?”
“I know what he looks like.”
Breisgau shook his head. “Next name?”
“Um, he might have a Mexican girl with him. I don't know her name. I've never even seen her, just heard about her.”
“Mexican-American or Mexican Mexican?”
“I'm not sure. I don't know anything about her.”
“What do you know about the other two?”
“One will be female,” Seth said. “But I don't know her name or what she looks like. The other one is a guy, I can describe him for you.”
“I suppose it would be too much for you to give me his name.”
“Sorry,” Seth said.
Breisgau looked at his tablet. “There's very little information here. Why do you suspect these people?”
Seth didn't know how to begin explaining that. The truth would make him sound like a crazy person. “It's just what I've heard. A group like that might have taken her.”
“Heard from who?”
“People who were at the riot.”
“Four suspected kidnappers,” Breisgau said. “No names, except an alias. No pictures. No idea where they come from or where they could have gone.”
“That's why I came here,” Seth said. “You guys are supposed to be the best. Ex-CIA guys, Secret Service guys. Right?”
Breisgau nodded. “Most of our professionals have a deep background in intelligence or Special Forces. But I'm not sure that's what you need here.”
“Why not?”
“So far, we're just looking for a teenage girl who went missing not far from her home,” Breisgau said. “She might not even be a victim of any crime. Hiring us for this is like using a flamethrower to swat a housefly.”
“You don't want to do it?”
“We'll be happy to look for her. But it's going to cost you.”
“I need somebody good,” Seth said. “And discreet.”
“All our clients enjoy full confidentiality, of course,” Breisgau said. “All of our data and communications are sealed behind the most advanced encryption available.”
“Good.”
“It seems to me that our first step would be to find the girl and assess whether she's in danger. If she's traveling around by choice, we'd have to leave her alone.”
“And if she's not?”
“Then there's a step two—ransom and extraction.”
“What if the kidnappers don't want a ransom?” Seth asked.
“Then things will get expensive fast.”
“Okay.” Seth had plenty of money in his college trust fund, which had opened up when he was accepted to college. He could at least afford Hale Security Group's retainer, and maybe the whole fee, from that fund. In any case, spending from there was the best chance to avoid his dad noticing the big chunk of missing money, at least for a while.