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The screen went black.
Teddy looked first at Mori and then at Novak. It wasn’thard to put together the pieces of what was happening. “I take it the woman on the bed is your wife?”
Novak nodded. “Yes. Rebecca.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Right after lunch. She went out to run a few errands. She was supposed to be home for our meeting with Centurion Studios, but as Stone knows, she didn’t make it. I—I thought she was running late. But...”
“Have you called the police or the FBI?”
Novak looked shocked at the suggestion. “You heard them. If I do that, they’ll kill her.”
Teddy turned back to Stone and Mori. “Is this connected to what we were originally going to discuss?”
“Of course it is,” Novak snapped, answering for them. “What else could it be?”
“I have no idea. Could have been a pitch to sell me a time-share, for all I know. If it’s not asking too much, maybe someone can bring me up to speed.”
Novak glared at Mori. “This is a waste of time.” He waved an angry hand at the computer. “They’re threatening to kill her. How can an East Coast lawyer and a film producer help us? We need someone who can—”
“Carl, please.” Mori’s voice was calm and controlled. “Stone has considerable experience dealing with this sort of matter. And Mr. Barnett—”
“Knows someone who can handle this for you,” Stone finished. “Quietly.”
“That’s if someone tells me what’s going on,” Teddy said. “Andmy friend agrees to help.”
Novak grimaced, then sighed. “Fine. Tell him.”
Mori motioned to the chairs on the other side of his desk. “Please, sit.”
Stone and Teddy did so, while Novak remained on his feet.
“As I explained to Stone this afternoon, over the past few weeks, someone has been stealing objects from the Novaks’ home and leaving threatening messages in their place. There have also been other disturbances, like cars being tampered with and the driveway gate being jammed multiple times.”
Teddy leaned forward. “Are the notes only threats or are there demands, too?”
Mori grabbed a folder off his desk and handed it to Teddy. Inside were half a dozen pieces of paper, each with a typed message printed on it. Teddy flipped through them. Most were variations of empty threats:It’s your turnorThere’s nothing you can do to stop us. The one that stood out most to Teddy read:Time to pay for your mistakes. Those same words had been spoken on the video.
Mori looked at Teddy. “Stone told me your friend hasexperience with delicate situations. Has he ever handled a kidnapping before?”
“More than once.”
“Do you think he can help us?”
Teddy closed the folder. “I won’t know until I ask him.”
Novak shook his head, exasperated. “We don’t have time to—”
Teddy held up a hand, cutting him off. “What I can say is that I’ll have an answer within the hour. Will that work?”
“It will,” Mori said. Novak looked like he wanted to argue further, but he held his tongue.
To Novak, Teddy said, “If he does agree to get involved, he’ll likely want to send someone to search your house, in case whoever has been leaving you the notes has also left clues behind. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
Novak shook his head. “Of course not. Whatever will help.”
“Best not to let your staff know what’s really going on, though. Pretend you’re considering changing security companies, and the people who show up are there to do an assessment.”
