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“I saw him at the museum. He doesn’t know I made him—you don’t have to worry about that—but it was him, I’m sure of it. And at the Peak I had the sensation we were being observed. I can’t prove it, but that’s what my instincts are telling me.” She gripped his forearms. “This man is smart. Remember how I told you most kidnappers are caught when they retrieve the ransom? Because they have to be at a certain place at a certain time? I think that’s why he’s not collecting the ransom, even though he’s at the drop site watching us. Because a million dollars is a pittance compared to nineteen million—and we already figured they’ll want you to wire the rest of the money somewhere rather than pay it in cash.”
The harsh expression faded from Dirk’s face as what she was saying sank in. “If the cash ransom is a ruse, that means we hit a nerve yesterday, and they’re trying to prevent us from following up.”
“We already know which of the five planes is involved,” Mei-li said. “But they don’t know we know. What they do know is we were asking questions yesterday. And they needed to put a stop to it. What better way—”
“—to keep me occupied than to make me run all over Hong Kong delivering ransom packages?” he finished for her.
She nodded. “I should have realized the minute you were told to deliver the million dollars in four installments that’s what they were doing.”
He drew a sharp breath. “So the kidnappers can’t leave Hong Kong with Linden and Laurel because the plane isn’t ready. Maybe they could find another plane, but...it might not be that easy to locate someone willing to smuggle my daughters at short notice. And if they gave out too much info, they’d run the risk of someone going to the police.”
“Exactly. This kidnapping was set up in advance,” she said. “Planned in detail. It wasn’t an opportunistic grab and run, a chance to make some easy money. But they had two pieces of incredibly bad luck, both related to the typhoon—the plane was grounded, then damaged in the storm. So now they’re improvising. And they’re not all that good at improvising—they’re making little mistakes. One of those mistakes is how we’ll catch them.”
This time, it was Dirk who looked at his watch. “Okay,” he said. “I don’t give a damn if the kidnappers retrieve the money or not. But you’re right—I have to make them think I’m their puppet on a string.” His eyes were steely with resolve. “Two ransom drops down, two to go. Let’s do it. But, Mei-li,” he warned, holding up his hand palm out, stopping her from leaving. “When we get back... I want to know everything.”
* * *
Dirk stood at the base of the Tian Tan Buddha, staring up the endless staircase leading to the impressive statue at the top. “You weren’t kidding about the stairs,” he muttered to Mei-li.
They weren’t alone. The stairs weren’t as crowded as the Peak had been, but a steady stream of visitors, both ascending and descending, passed them. Mei-li checked her watch. “Traffic wasn’t too bad and Patrick got us here quickly, so we don’t have to rush. But the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be at the top.” She looked him over. “Shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for an action-adventure hero like you,” she murmured, a teasing glint in her eyes.
Dirk was forced to laugh. “If this were a movie, they’d film me dashing up the first few stairs at the bottom, then film me jogging up the last flight, barely breathing hard. The audience would assume I ran the entire distance and be impressed.”
“I’m crushed,” she said, tongue in cheek. “My illusions are dashed.”
He laughed again. And at the same time acknowledged it felt so good to laugh, even though a large part of him was worried sick about his daughters, about this ransom drop, about whether or not Mei-li was right that this entire day was a ruse on the part of the kidnappers to keep them from investigating the plane that was their getaway vehicle.
Which reminded him that Mei-li still had a hell of a lot of explaining to do. “Come on,” he said, his laughter fading as he began the ascent. “You’re right—the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be where we need to be.”
They climbed the numerous flights of stairs in silence. About a third of the way up, they passed a minitemple structure between staircases, and another one two-thirds of the way up. Dirk was in peak physical shape—he usually worked out with weights four days a week and had his own gym at home in Hollywood. And his suite at the Peninsula Hotel also had its own exercise room, which was another excellent reason he’d agreed to stay there. But he was glad when they reached the foot of the last flight of stairs and their goal was in sight. Might want to add a stair climber to the gym at home, he thought, making a mental note. Great exercise for the legs and the heart.
