The Guardian (28 page)

“Geiler said the whole thing was ‘totally useless.’ “ Ross turned to Allie. “Do you remember?”

She looked confused. “Ross—I don’t know.… I guess I heard something like that, but so what?”

“It was as if he was disgusted with how this whole kidnapping turned out.” Ross stood up. “Impatient, almost.”

“Who isn’t?” Turner looked to Allie. “I think your client is losing it.”

Ross put his finger on Geiler’s name. “He’s won something. He got the land he wanted at a fire sale price—two million instead of five. He’s the only one I can see that’s come out of this ahead so far.”

Allie said, “Ross, I can’t see it. Remember,
we
called
him.”

“No. That’s not exactly right.” The random thoughts that had been flickering on the edge of Ross’s consciousness all day were beginning to come together. Byrne was looking at him carefully. Beth’s eyes were intent on him as well. “Before Janine was kidnapped, Geiler had approached us twice, and we refused him twice. He even had his attorney come to see me in prison trying to get me to sell.”

“So what?” Turner said.

Ross wanted room to pace, wanted room to think, but the place was so damn crowded with people. He felt the stares of all of them. The agents were taking their cues from Turner, their faces blank with skepticism. Ross said, slowly, “You called it yourself.”

“What?”

“Back at the Sands. You accused me of arranging Janine’s kidnapping as a dodge. You said what if Greg had been singing this old song about keeping the place intact for his daughter? And what if I wanted to force him to sell by having Janine kidnapped so he’d have to pay a ransom he couldn’t possibly meet—not without selling the land? And I told you that didn’t make sense, because Greg and I already intended to sell half the land in several parcels.”

Ross turned to Allie, his pulse quickening. “And then you and I went through the same thing, only with Crockett. Thinking maybe he pulled it off as a blind, to get the cash. But we agreed that didn’t make sense. So take the same idea and turn it around for Geiler.… What if he sent Jeffers in to kidnap Janine—not to get cash, but to get the
land?
Hell, if Jeffers was working for him, Geiler might even be getting the cash back. He gets the land and he gets his money back. Maybe he even figured Janine would come home safe. Maybe Jeffers had different plans.”

“This is all guesswork,” Turner said.

“It’s not guesswork that Geiler got the place for three million less than what it’s worth.” Ross snapped.

“We all knew this,” Turner said. “He took advantage of the situation. That doesn’t mean he’s a kidnapper.”

Byrne said. “People are killed for a lot less than three million. How well do we know Geiler’s finances?”

Turner turned to one of his agents, a young man with a crew cut. “Tell us, Hanlon.”

The agent said, “From what we can see, his real estate company is reasonably strong, financially. Doing better than most, as a matter of fact.”

Turner smiled.

“What about the other holdings?” Ross asked.

“What about them?”

“How are they doing?”

“And
what
are they?” Byrne asked.

The agent looked doubtful. “Shipping … and a few others we haven’t really paid that much attention to.… I mean, it seemed like such a long shot. We knew the kidnapping was a robbery gone bad.”

“Right,” Byrne said. “Just like all of you knew Teague wasn’t involved. Only it just so happened he
was. “

Turner didn’t look too happy with his agent, but nonetheless, he said, “OK. Some sloppiness in our investigation there, I’ll admit. But it’s still quite a leap from Geiler making a comment about your niece’s abduction being ‘useless’ to nailing him for the job.”

“Ross has done all right so far,” Byrne said. “Three million is a fair piece of change for anyone. As far as I can see, Geiler’s the only winner since Janine was abducted. And who knows what other reasons Geiler would have for wanting the place?”

“This is nothing but a theory on motive,” Turner said. “One that I don’t buy, personally. We don’t have a speck of evidence.”

“So go shake it out of him.” Beth’s voice was hoarse.

Byrne said, “We’ve got to be careful on this. We should stake him out, make sure we can put our hands on him. But we should at least let the night pass, give Jeffers an opportunity to call us. If Geiler is involved, taking him in too soon—”

“—could kill her,” Beth finished. She leaned across the table and put her hand on Turner’s. “I know you’re skeptical. But I’m asking you to do this anyhow. Put the people on it. Give Janine every chance.”

Turner withdrew his hand, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah, sure. Wouldn’t be the first time we spun our wheels.”

Byrne and two agents left to stake out Geiler’s condo in the North End.

They called within an hour to say he wasn’t there. His lights were out, and the doorman said he had left in a cab about an hour before.

“The doorman’s impression was that Geiler was going out for dinner,” Byrne said over the phone. “He couldn’t remember the type of cab, so it’s going to take us time to track the driver down.”

Ross noticed Allie was swaying on her feet, and he suggested she find a place to lie down. She refused, saying she would just as soon head home. Her color was wan, and she asked him to walk her out to her car. “I don’t know what to think anymore… .” She looked at him quietly. “You’ve got to be careful with this, Ross.”

“Meaning?”

She took a deep breath, and Ross felt his chest tighten.

“Ross, on the face of it, it’s more likely that Teague and Jeffers got together and tried to make some money and take some revenge. And that’s not your fault—but pulling an innocent man like Bob Geiler into it is.”

“I might be wrong. But like Byrne said, he’s the only one who’s coming out ahead on this whole thing so far. And I don’t think Jeffers is working alone. It’s worth a conversation.”

“Ross, accept what
is.”
She got into her car and rolled down her window. “It’s like you’re trying to shift the blame to make it more palatable. Janine’s kidnapping
wasn’t your fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

Her face closed. “As your lawyer, I’m telling you, Geiler’s not going to take this sitting down.”

“Neither am I.”

She drove off. He stood out under the moonlight for a few minutes. Thinking that when all was said and done, Allie’s desire for respectability was impenetrable. She would always suspect his motives and judgment. She would always see him as an ex-con.

Beth met him at the door. “Allie’s gone?”

Ross nodded and reached for Beth’s hand. Outside, she walked closely to him; when their shoulders touched he could feel the rigid set of her body.

“What do you think of their plan?” she asked.

He paused, trying to choose his words better. But it came out the same way as he’d thought it. “I think they’ll catch Jeffers, or kill him. But I’m afraid for Janine.”

She looked at him sharply.

He said, “Look, I don’t have the credentials these guys do. But I’ve seen more of Jeffers than the others, and I saw him shoot through a door just because he heard a sound outside it.” Ross gestured to the driveway packed with big blue sedans, the blazing lights of the full house. “How’re they going to hide this whole mechanism once it gets out on the road? Especially with two other people acting like us? Jeffers may not be a genius, but he’s not stupid either. He’ll go off the deep end if he thinks he’s being thwarted.”

Beth covered her face briefly. Ross stepped away from her, letting her think. After a moment, she rejoined him and said, almost casually, “Did you know that I had a hard time the first year?”

“What?”

“With Janine. I didn’t feel what I should have. Didn’t bond. Did Greg ever tell you?”

“No, he never did. Why are you thinking of that now? Janine loves you and knows you love her.”

“Does she?” There were tears in Beth’s eyes as she looked up. “What can she be thinking now? What can she be thinking about me after all these days?”

“I expect that she wants to be home with you. And if it’s any more complicated than that, you’ll have years to set everything straight once we get her back.”

“You think I should take the money to him myself?”

“No. I think that he would hurt you, too.”

“Kill me, you mean.” Beth wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. “Enough of that.” She stood straighter and seemed to have more focus than a moment before. “Well, he’ll have to try to do just that. It’s the only way I can see to get between him and her. And that’s the job I signed up for the day she was born.”

Hours more passed before the phone rang, and Beth and Ross had been arguing with Turner the entire time. The two of them picked up the extension and listened in as Lisa picked up the receiver and said hello.

Ross watched Beth closely, saw her face pale as Jeffers spoke.

“You’ve got five seconds,” he said. “What’s Janine’s best friend’s name in school?”

Lisa looked quickly over to Turner, her eyebrows raised.

Beth said, “Amy.”

Turner waved her away and whispered urgently, “Tell it to Lisa! He needs to hear her voice, not yours.”

“You get to play again,” Jeffers said.

A phone booth in Boston, Kenmore Square,” the agent in front of the computer said, and tapped immediately into a Boston Police line. They all waited, the silence physically painful for Ross to bear. He watched Beth and knew it was worse for her. Her head jerked slightly as if she’d been slapped when the agent turned to them, shaking his head. “Gone.”

Five minutes later the kidnapper was back on the line. “Now put Uncle Ross on. I saw him on the news, so don’t waste my time saying he’s not right beside you.”

“Right here,” Ross said.

Turner slammed his fist on the table.

“What’s my name?” the man said abruptly.

“I don’t know.”

“Bullshit!”

“How could I? You killed Teague. You and the woman sure didn’t tell me. How else would I know?”

Ross let the silence fill the line. He could hear the man breathing, almost hear him thinking. Ross kept himself from filling the line with words, from trying too hard to convince the man. Jeffers
wanted
to believe that he was still anonymous, and Ross was counting on that.

Finally, Jeffers said, “There’ll be a quiz at every phone booth for the both of you.”

“We’ll be there,” Beth said her eyes locked on Ross’s.

“First one you get wrong, Janey dies. First sign of a cop, Janey dies. Go to the farm stand just before the junction of Route 2 and 128, fifteen minutes.” He hung up.

Chapter 49

“That was the FBI that just passed.” Beth turned to look out the rear window. “And two others are following us.”

“Don’t even look,” Ross said. “Jeffers might be watching.”

Ross’s heart was pounding. It was just after midnight, and the road was clear, making the FBI cars too obvious, to him anyhow. Because Turner had refused to consider Ross and Beth making the actual drop, he hadn’t put transmitters on them—and then after Jeffers’s call, with only a few minutes to prepare before the first phone booth, they’d only had time to strap on vests and take a walkie-talkie. Turner had reluctantly given Ross a revolver. “Watch yourselves. We’re not going to be able to set up the phone traces in time, so he could be anywhere.”

Ross kicked the truck up to just over eighty. They passed three farm stands, but the last one before the highway had a phone out front. It was ringing as they pulled into the driveway. Beth jumped out of the truck before it was fully stopped and ran to the phone.

“He wants to talk to you,” she said when Ross joined her.

“Uncle Ross,” Jeffers said, “tell me your last gift to Janine.”

“A hat. A black beret.”

“Congratulations. Continue on Route 2, right on Route 16. At the first rotary there’s a phone in front of the bank. Be there in ten.”

At the next one, Jeffers asked Beth the name of Janine’s teddy bear.

“Bartles,” Beth said instantly. “Listen, we’ve got the money; don’t hurt her.”

“Any excuse,” he said. “Any excuse at all, I will. Go to the corner of Mass Ave. and Commonwealth in Boston. Fifteen minutes.”

“I’ve joined on,” Byrne said over the walkie-talkie.

“Any luck with Geiler?” Ross asked.

“Some. Found the cabdriver who took him out to dinner in Chinatown. Two of Turner’s guys are following up there … but keep focused on what we’re doing now. Over.”

Ross glanced over at Beth, knowing the battle between hope and despair in him was a mere skirmish compared to what she must be going through. He put the walkie-talkie on the dashboard, rather than snap back at Byrne just how focused they were.