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The photo with the erroneous GPS coordinates could have been taken anywhere. But if their ultimate destination when they’d left Tai O was Aberdeen, with a stop in Mong Kok for some reason...it was very likely that was where it had originated. And Aberdeen wasn’t all that far from Mong Kok—an hour by bus, but only a half hour or so by cab.
“All we need is one more photo to nail it down,” she whispered to herself. “Then we’d know they’re in Aberdeen.”
“Did you say something?”
Mei-li caught Patrick’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Just thinking out loud.”
So many loose ends to wrap up, she thought. She’d already turned over all the info she had to RMM. They had the resources to follow through on those investigations—she didn’t. And if she and Dirk managed to rescue his daughters, they’d get the police involved, too...after the fact.
They were close to breaking this case wide-open. She sensed it. All they needed was one more piece of information. One more clue. One more break. Please, God, Mei-li prayed. Just one more break. That’s all I’m asking, just one more break.
Dirk was wrong. God wasn’t out to punish him. God was on their side. He’d already incapacitated the plane, forcing the kidnappers to improvise. Now it was up to them to capitalize on it.
Chapter 19
Dirk had already dispensed with his bodyguards’ services, telling them that since it was too late to wire the money to the kidnappers, they might as well call it a night. Vanessa had left with Chet, packing a little overnight bag, just as she’d done last night. Looks like I’ll be needing a new nanny for Linden and Laurel, after all, Dirk thought. Assuming—no! he told himself firmly. I’m not going to think along those lines.
But it was hard not to. Especially since there’d been no word from the kidnappers since early this morning. The text Mei-li had sent about the damaged plane part had helped. That, and her theory that the kidnappers would wait until their getaway plane was ready before they had him wire the ransom. But it was still difficult to stay positive. Still difficult to keep his imagination from working overtime.
When the doorbell finally rang, Dirk rushed to answer it. And, just like this morning, the first thing he did was pull Mei-li into his arms.
When he finally let her go, she had that dreamy-eyed look he loved seeing on her face, knowing he’d put it there. But then she said, “I have so much to tell you.”
“First, tell me if you had dinner. Then, tell me where Patrick is.”
“No, I haven’t eaten, but that’s not important. Patrick’s parking the car. I told him I’d ask you if you need him anymore tonight, and if you don’t, I’ll text him he can go home.”
“I don’t think we need him, do you?” Dirk was already moving toward the kitchen. “And I ordered room service for you. It’s in the fridge.”
She followed him to the kitchen. “I don’t think so,” she said, and Dirk knew she was referring to the need for Patrick. He glanced at her after he put a plate in the microwave and pressed one of the auto buttons, and saw her dashing off a text. When she was done she asked, “What am I having for dinner?”
“I wasn’t sure what time you’d get back, so I played it safe—baked chicken and shredded pork from Spring Moon.” One corner of his mouth curved up in a self-deprecating grin. “I figured it would still be okay after microwaving.”
Her smile at the fact he’d thought of her warmed him. But then, everything she did warmed him, so that wasn’t news. They stood there, staring at each other like lovesick fools until the microwave dinged. Dirk grabbed a pot holder and removed the plate, then swiped the silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin that had been sent up with Mei-li’s dinner off the kitchen counter. “Come on,” he told her as he headed for the dining room. “We can talk while you eat.”
Mei-li told Dirk everything she’d uncovered that afternoon while she polished off her dinner. She’d skipped lunch—too wrapped up in her thoughts to eat when Patrick had stopped for a quick bite—but now she realized she was ravenous. “RMM will do a forensics search of the house in Tai O,” she concluded. “Any evidence they can find will be preserved—fingerprints, DNA, etc.—in case there’s a prosecution. But I don’t need any of that to know your daughters were there. Remember the picture of them taken in Tai O?” she asked without thinking. “That filthy room? Has to be in that house.”
