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“Yes.”
“So someone could have been waiting for her to heal before kidnapping her.” Hutch looked thoughtful. “Someone who knew her medical timetable.”
“That consists of the doctor who treated her, and whoever the Akermans shared information with,” Patrick replied. “The orthopedist was highly reputable and had an alibi. I can’t speak for anyone the Akermans told but didn’t mention to me.”
“The entire crowd at soccer camp knew the cast was coming off,” Sidney supplied. “So did our friends and neighbors. Felicity was so excited she practically shouted it from the rooftops.”
“Was there anyone who showed an enthusiasm that seemed over the top?” Casey asked.
Sidney turned his palms up in frustrated uncertainty. “I don’t know what you consider to be over the top. Her soccer coach, Ilene Stratton, was elated. So were the other parents whose kids played on the team. And, Linda Turner, the camp nurse, gave Felicity a stuffed tiger wearing a soccer uniform. She was a very kind and compassionate woman.”
“Your ex-wife mentioned her when we spoke,” Casey commented, glancing at her notes. “She was one of the people who could tell Hope and Felicity apart. And she was also one of the women who came to the prayer vigils after Felicity was kidnapped. Vera said that she stays in touch with her.”
Sidney didn’t look surprised. “I wasn’t aware of that. But it makes sense. Linda’s full-time job was as an E.R. nurse at the hospital where Felicity was taken after her accident. Linda rode with Felicity in the ambulance, and met us at the hospital. She facilitated things so Felicity was seen right away. Vera never forgot her kindness. And, before you ask, I doubt Linda either needed or squandered money. She was just a simple widow who spent her time helping people.”
“None of the reactions you just described are over the top, or out of place.” Casey ignored the touch of sarcasm in Sidney’s voice. He’d been grilled constantly since he drove down to Armonk. Painful skeletons had been dredged up. He was strung out and ridden with guilt. She had to cut him some slack. “So far you’ve only described the people who were elated. Did anyone seem unusually subdued about Felicity’s return to the soccer field? On edge? Worried?”
“Probably the other team she was about to play. Otherwise, no.”
“We’re not getting anywhere going down this path,” Patrick interrupted. “I agree that it’s peculiar that Felicity was kidnapped the day she had her cast off. But it could have been because the kidnapper thought it would be too much of a pain in the ass to deal with a kid with an injury, so he waited for the cast to come off. More important, the timing of the abduction coincides with Sidney’s refusal to cooperate with the mob. That’s the reason for the when and why. Not because of the timing of Felicity’s recovery.”
“Probably,” Don concurred. “But it’s interesting.”
“I agree,” Casey said. “I think it should be officially ruled out by widening our background checks to include anyone who was affiliated with Felicity’s camp or any of the camps she competed against.”
“We’ll have our support team take care of that,” Peg responded.
“Good. And Ryan will do it simultaneously.” He’ll take care of it in a matter of hours, with no red tape to slow down his progress, Casey thought.
“We need to see if anyone stood something to gain—like money—if Felicity was out of the picture,” Don continued. “Then we need to cross match that list with related people still in Vera or Hope’s life. If we find someone with a gambling or other questionable monetary problem, that someone could have been involved in Felicity’s kidnapping then and is being blackmailed by his or her past now. The blackmailer could have forced them to kidnap Krissy to perpetuate the attack on Sidney’s family.”
“Right.” Hutch nodded, considering the profile. “An act like that, committed by anyone with a shred of decency, would elicit guilt, which could have precipitated the delivery of that note to Casey’s door.”
Casey saw the doubt on Patrick’s face. “So far, DeMassi’s our only solid lead, Patrick,” she said quietly. “We’re running out of options. And time. Krissy’s been gone nearly a week.”
Lynch’s lips thinned into a grim line. “Let’s run with it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Marc was perched at the edge of a rickety chair in Ryan’s lair, half-watching his colleague at work while he himself absently scratched Hero’s ears. He was a stickler for details. His training had taught him to retain every one, because any of them could be significant. In this case, the aspect that was niggling at him was the total lack of balance in the investigation.
The Forensic Instincts team, like the FBI, was now fully immersed in Sidney Akerman’s connection to the Vizzini family. They’d bugged Bennato Construction. They’d tracked down each mob soldier that was connected to Henry Kenyon. Now, Ryan was running background checks on every Tom, Dick and Harry who’d known Felicity Akerman while she was in camp.
It was all centered around the mob. But too many pieces were being ignored. Pieces that Marc’s intuition told him mattered.
There were still the unexplained facts that a ransom call had been made. That a drop had been arranged, and successfully executed. That a quarter of a million dollars had changed hands. Maybe that scenario wasn’t a smoke screen. Maybe that was a very real part of Krissy Willis’s kidnapping.
Then there was the note that had been left on Casey’s doorstep. Traces of dirt—a common soil found nearly everywhere—had been detected on it. That could suggest a construction site. But it could also suggest a front lawn.
Marc had never been comfortable dismissing Sal Diaz, the Willises’ gardener, and his wife, Rita, their housekeeper from the suspect list. If Ryan was searching for a couple who were in debt up to their asses, the Diazes would win the prize. Plus, Sal Diaz had a history of domestic violence. He could just as easily be taking mob money as the parent of a day camper.
And he was a gardener. He worked with dirt all day. If he was freaking out about his involvement in a child abduction, he might very well have caved and left Casey that note.
There were too many clues to ignore.
Abruptly, Marc came to his feet.
“Come on, Hero,” he muttered to the bloodhound. “We’re going to pay a surprise visit.”
