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Mori reached the couch a moment before Teddy and Novak. Displayed on the screen was an email inbox. At the top of the box sat a new message, the subject line reading:YOUR WIFE.
Mori clicked on it.
The email contained only a video file and no text.
“Play it,” Novak said.
Mori opened the file and started the video.
The now familiar setting of Rebecca’s prison cell was visible on the screen, the only changes being the number on the wall and Rebecca’s position on the cot. This time the number was two. As for Rebecca, she sat at the edge of her bed, her arms resting on her thighs, and stared directly into the camera, unblinking.
Novak ran a hand through his hair. “She looks even worse today.”
Teddy wasn’t so sure about that. Though he only knew her from the videos, there was something in her steady gaze that made him think the defiance he’d seen in the days prior was not only still there but had strengthened.
He cocked his head. For the first time, the audio was different. When it finished, he said, “Play it again.”
Mori clicked theplayarrow again, and Teddy looked away from the screen to concentrate on the words.
“In two days at noon, you will be sent an account number. You will have two hours to transfer ten million dollarsinto it. At six p.m., if the money is received, you will be told where to find your wife. Our warning from before still stands. Do not contact the police or any other agency. Do not contact the press. If you do, you will never see your precious Rebecca alive again.”
“They’ve been counting down until they want Carl to pay them?” Mori said. “Why not just have him do it immediately?”
“It’s about control,” Teddy said.
Novak nodded, more to himself than the others. “Janic wants me to suffer the same way he did before Leon died.” He locked eyes with Teddy. “Maybe I should just wait and pay the ransom.”
“Given who’s behind it and the past you share, I’m sure the ransom is only smoke and mirrors.”
“You surely can’t mean...”
“They have no intention of returning Rebecca alive.”
Novak grabbed the back of the couch for support, his eyes glazing over. “Forty-eight hours.” He said this as if he couldn’t grasp the meaning of the words. “Maybe... maybe weshouldcall in the FBI.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“You can’t expect me to sit here and do nothing.”
“You aren’t doing nothing. You have my contact looking for her. I guarantee you that he has a much better chance of finding her than the FBI would.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“What do you think the kidnappers will do if they find out you’ve gone to the FBI? And theywillfind out, because the FBI will bring in everyone they can. Including the SBPD. You’re a big name, they’re not going to handle this lightly. Your house will be flooded by law enforcement personnel, and there will be no missing that something is up.”
Uncertainty crowded into Novak’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Carl, but your wife wasn’t taken for money. This is revenge, pure and simple. Whether you pay the ransom or not, when that clock reaches zero, they will kill her. And if you involve the authorities, Janic’s people won’t wait the two days to do it.”
Mori put a hand on Novak’s shoulder. “He’s right. We need to stay the course.”
Novak looked on the verge of collapse as he said to Teddy, “Promise me your man can find her.”
“I can’t do that. But I can promise he will do everything in his power to make that happen, and that he’s Rebecca’s best chance.”
“Can you at least tell him to please hurry?”
“That I can do.”
