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If this was a typical hostage situation, they’d want money, but with Trent in jail, he wouldn’t be giving it to them. “What more do you have to do to get Anna back? You did what they asked of you.”
“They want me to pay them back the ten thousand dollars that Trent owes them.”
Nothing was adding up. “Why you?”
“Who else were they going to go after? It’s not like his sister has any money, and his parents are dead.”
“They shouldn’t have given Trent credit in the first place, but it’s too late now. Did they give you instructions for dropping off the money?”
“Not yet.”
Chances were that even if he gave them the money, Anna would be killed. “Do you have that kind of cash?”
“Yes, but I’ll have to sell some stocks to get it. I told them it would take me a few days.”
“Poor Anna.” Preston would be upset for many reasons.
“I was hoping your family could see if they could find her,” Ackerman said, his voice trembling.
“You mean the sheriff?”
“Yes. I didn’t contact you right away because I was hoping that when Anna didn’t show up to work this morning, Preston would worry and call her. When she didn’t answer her phone, I figured he’d called the sheriff. But then I realized I didn’t know what time Preston went into work.”
So he called Benson instead. Poor Dennis. “To put your mind at ease, Preston and I are already trying to figure out who really killed Samantha. Trent admitted to me that he owed money to someone in Midvale. Maybe this will lead us to the person who took Anna. I only know this because Trent’s sister approached us saying he wasn’t a killer.”
“All relatives say that, but in this case, I believe it’s true,” Dennis said.
“I believe it too. I need to visit Trent again. He refused to tell me who he owed money to, but hopefully I can convince him to give up that detail the next time I see him, especially now that Anna’s life is at stake.”
Dennis dragged his hands down his face. “I’m scared for her, Benson. You have to help her.”
“I’ll try. If the man calls again, let me know.”
Dennis’ chin trembled. “I will.”
Benson was in shock. Involving a public defender was unheard of. Whoever Trent owed money to must really hate him. Benson pushed back his chair and left the office. At the moment, he didn’t have any important cases on the docket. Since he hadn’t taken a vacation in the last eighteen months, he figured he was due.
His boss was in his office. While Peter Williams agreed to Benson’s request for the time off, it was clear he wasn’t happy about it. “I understand that family needs to come first. I hope everything works out,” Peter said.
“Thank you.”
Benson had no plans to tell him about the threat on Anna Ackerman. The fewer people who knew, the better.
Now that Benson was free to investigate, as well as be available for Ariel, some relief seeped in. His first stop had to be to the sheriff’s office. Then he’d give Preston the bad news about Anna.
His cousin Elana was not at the reception desk, which meant it was her day off. Instead, Charles Richardson was there. He was competent, but rather stuffy.
“Hey, Charles. Is my uncle in?”
“He is. What is the nature of your business?” Charles lifted his chin.
Seriously? Benson didn’t want to explain the delicate situation to him, but he didn’t want to pull the relative card either. “A kidnapping.”
“Oh, my. Who was taken?”
“It’s confidential.”
Charles pursed his lips. “Just a moment.”
