Payne opened his eyes and turned to his friend. “Sorry. What was that?”
“I wanted to know if you told the cops how many people were involved.”
He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I told them that Mr. McNally saw more than one person, but wasn’t sure how many.”
“Well, thanks to the Listener, I’d say that there were probably three of them.”
Payne sat up in his chair. “How did you figure that out?”
“Simple. I programmed the device to filter out everything but the footsteps, and after listening to the disc, I could hear three distinct sets. But, as they were leaving, I could only hear two.”
“You mean someone stayed inside Ariane’s apartment?”
Jones shook his head. “At first, that’s what I thought, too, but as I listened to the disc again, I noticed a scratching noise in the background. I filtered out all the other sounds, isolating the scratch, and this is what I got.” He pushed his mouse button once, and a rough grating sound emerged from his system’s speakers. “What does that sound like to you?”
“Feet dragging on a carpet?”
“Bingo!” Jones was impressed that his friend had figured it out so quickly. It had taken him several minutes to come up with a hypothesis. “Remember what McNally said? It looked like your girlfriend was snookered because they were practically carrying her to the van? Well, my guess is she was drugged or knocked out. The three sets of footsteps that the Listener originally detected were Ariane and the two assailants. They broke into her place, gagged her, drugged her, then dragged her out. That’s the only thing that fits.”
“But I thought you said there were three guys involved. Where was the third guy while the abduction was going on?” Before Jones had a chance to answer, the solution popped into Payne’s head. “Oh, shit! They probably needed a driver to stay outside in the van.”
Jones nodded. “That’s what most criminals would do.”
CHAPTER 14
PAYNE
and Jones gathered all of the information they’d accumulated and took it directly to the police. When they entered the local precinct, Payne headed for Captain Tomlin’s office. He had met Tomlin a year earlier at a charity golf event that Payne Industries had sponsored, and they had stayed in touch since.
“Do you have a minute?” Payne asked as he tapped on Tomlin’s glass door. The captain, who had curly hair and thick arms, waved him in. “Have you ever met David Jones?”
Tomlin introduced himself, shaking Jones’s hand with a powerful grip. “Jon has told me all about you. I almost feel like we’ve met. I understand that you served under him in special ops.”
“Yeah,” Jones answered as he took a seat next to Payne. “We relied on each other so much we ended up attached in the real world.”
“That happens all the time. There’s something about life in the military that draws soldiers together-a kindred spirit that bonds all warriors.”
Payne winced at the suggestion. “I don’t know about that crap. I think D.J. stuck with me so I could get him a job.”
Jones nodded. “To be honest, he’s right. I actually can’t stand the bastard.”
Tomlin laughed loudly. “So, I take it from your comedy that Ariane’s all right? Where was that gal hiding?”
The comment drained the humor from the room.
“Don’t let our joking fool you,” Jones declared. “It’s just our way of dealing with things. The truth is we’re still looking for her.”
Payne held up his cell phone, showing it to Tomlin. “I’m having all of my calls forwarded. If she tries to contact any one of my lines, it’ll ring here.”
“Good, then you won’t have to sit at home, killing time.”
Payne took a deep breath and nodded. To him, waiting was the hardest part. “How are things on your end? Did you have a chance to send any officers to her apartment?”
“I sent a small crew over. Unfortunately, we didn’t notice anything new. You guys must’ve done a pretty thorough job this morning.”
“We did,” Payne said. “I hope we didn’t step on any toes by entering the scene.”
“Heavens no. I would’ve done the same thing if a loved one of mine was involved in something like this. Of course, my answer as a police officer would’ve been different if I didn’t know you. But you’re professionals, so I trust your judgment when it comes to a crime scene.”
Jones stood from his chair and handed the captain all of the information he had acquired from Ariane’s DVD. “We did get some data on one of the suspects that entered the apartment. He had an elaborate tattoo on his right wrist. Looks like a Holotat to me.”
Tomlin pulled a close-up of the tattoo from the large stack of papers and studied it. “It could be, but very few gangs in Allegheny County use them. They’re a lot more common on the West Coast and down south.”
“That makes sense,” Payne said, “since this person’s probably from Louisiana.”
Tomlin furrowed his brow. “I’m not so sure of that. If I were a criminal, I wouldn’t use my own van as a getaway vehicle. And if I did, you can bet I wouldn’t use my own license plate. I’d bet there’s a good chance we’re going to get a report of a stolen plate or an abandoned black van somewhere in the area. And when we do, we can go from there.”
That wasn’t what Payne wanted to hear. He was hoping the captain supported his theory on the van’s origin. When he didn’t, he felt an unexpected burst of betrayal. “What are you saying, that these clues are a waste of time?”
“No, I’m not saying that at all. Every little bit helps. However, I’m not going to blow smoke. I respect you way too much for that.”
“Good! Then tell me where we stand. I need to know.”
Tomlin leaned back in his chair and searched for the appropriate words. “In a standard kidnapping, there’s little we can actually do until we get some kind of ransom demand. Sure, we’ll continue to search for evidence and witnesses, but without some kind of break, the odds of us finding her
before
they call are pretty slim.”
Jones glanced at his friend and waited to see if he was going to speak, but it was obvious he was done talking for the moment. “Captain? In your opinion, do you think this abduction was done for money?”
Tomlin didn’t want Payne to feel responsible for the kidnapping, but there was no denying the obvious. “To be honest, that would be my guess. Payne Industries is a well-known company, and Jon is recognized as one of the wealthiest men in the city. Since Ariane doesn’t have a history with drugs or any other criminal activities, I can think of no other reason for her abduction.”
“Thank you for your honesty,” Payne said. Then, to the surprise of Jones and Tomlin, he stood up and headed for the door. “If you find anything at all, please let me know.”
“I promise,” Tomlin called out. “The same goes for you. Call me day or night.”
***
WHEN
they reached the parking lot, Jones questioned Payne. “Jon, what’s going on? First you snapped at the man, then you bolted from his office without even saying goodbye. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Payne shrugged. “I’m not really sure. But I’ll tell you one thing. I’m not going to sit at home, waiting for some ransom demand.”
“I kind of assumed that. You aren’t exactly the sit-on-your-ass type.”
Payne nodded as he pondered what to do next. Even though he valued Captain Tomlin’s advice, there was something about his opinion that bothered him. He couldn’t place his finger on why, but he knew he didn’t agree with Tomlin’s assessment of the black van.