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“I bet there’s dissension within the group. We don’t have any solid leads right now. We have a deadline approaching on a ransom that Jack Sullivan would pay only out of desperation, because once he pays it, there’s no way to ensure those kidnappers return her.”
I spin around and look to Ryan to back me up.
“In countries where K&R is standard business, you can rely to some degree on kidnappers keeping their word. Those kidnappers are professionals, and they rely on their word being good for ransoms to continue being paid. Right?”
He nods. He gets where I’m going. It’s evident in his softened lips and relaxed jaw muscles.
“This is the United States. Nothing about this is standard. We don’t know who kidnapped her. We can guess it’s somehow related to Sullivan Arms, but we don’t know why. I can write up half a dozen different possible motives and theories, but none of those get us to Sophia.”
“Where are you going with this?” Agent Ryland’s crossed arms and direct-facing posture tell me he’s about to cut me off.
“Let’s turn the tables.” I catch Jack’s attention and approach him. “Use the media. Offer a reward to anyone who comes forward with information about her location. Double the ransom if she’s returned to you safely.”
“I thought businesses like Arrow made money from negotiating down the ransom, not raising it,” Agent Ryland mocks me.
“They aren’t letting us negotiate. They didn’t offer two-way communication. We have a deadline and no options. A video with no way of knowing how old it is. We suspect there’s dissension. We know there’s no way this is an individual. Chances are multiple people know what’s going on here. A sophisticated crime like this doesn’t happen in the dark. This isn’t a lone madman.”
I press my palms down on Jack’s desk and face him. The FBI can’t stop Jack from paying a ransom. They can’t stop him from doing this either. And they, like us, are fresh out of leads.
“Put the heat on. Get a phone number out there for leads. Set up people to take calls, because we’ll get inundated.”
“You offer a million dollars, and you’d better have fifty people manning those phones.” Agent Ryland's annoyance comes out in his mocking tone.
“You don’t care about the money, right?” I ask Jack.
He shakes his head. “I just want my daughter back.”
“Let’s put heat on them. Even if they don’t dissent, offer more and say once she’s in your home, you pay. You set the rules. They want to be paid without any guarantee she’ll be returned. You tell them you’ll pay more once she’s delivered home. Or you’ll pay for information leading to her.”
“Fifty million? To the person that delivers her to me? You think that would do it?” Jack asks.
I look to Ryan for confirmation. His lips are pursed, and his eyes are hooded. He’s thinking it over.
“You go before the press. You tell the press that there’s a ransom. But they aren’t offering the option to negotiate. And there’s no reason to believe they won’t kill her. Say that’s unacceptable. You’ll double the ransom to anyone who delivers her safely to your home or delivers information that allows you to find her and bring her home.”
Light blue eyes look to me, and they crinkle with his slight smile. “Alex is right. This is a good idea. There’s more than one person involved in this. If greed is the underlying motivator, let greed draw them out. And if greed isn’t the underlying motivator for the architect of this plan, then it’ll be a motivator for someone on that team.”
Agent Ryland’s hands rest on his hips. He carries on a private conversation with one of the agents near him. The two men break apart, and Ryland addresses the room.
“We can set up the number for you to use and monitor it. And it goes without saying, but we don’t recommend any ransom being paid.”
Color returns to Jack’s face as he dials the PR agency he’s been using to get them working. The FBI agents get on their phones, presumably because they each have their own tasks to prepare for this change in tactic.
Ryan sidles up to me.
“Solid tactical plan. Low risk. Potentially high reward.” He’s standing close to me. Possibly too close, but all of the agents scattered to give themselves relative privacy for their calls. Jack isn’t paying attention to us as he’s engaged on the phone.
“Thank you.” Praise from Ryan is akin to acing the boards.
Ryan’s phone vibrates. He checks it and gestures for me to join him back out on the deck.
“Erik,” he says as the sliding glass door closes behind me. “Right. Interesting. Thanks.”
He disconnects the call.
“That was Erik,” he says. “Our forensic accountant says there’s nothing unscrupulous on the books. The only thing that stands out from the annual reports is that three years ago sales exceeded forecast by thirty percent. Stock price was gangbusters. But March 2020 was the best gun sales month on record. The last two years, they’ve hovered near earnings forecasts, but are still hugely profitable. There are analysts who are saying that Wayne Killington returning as Interim CEO makes Sullivan Arms stock price a buy. Those analysts are crediting aggressive marketing led by Wayne’s team for Sullivan Arms’ recent success.”
“Why?”
