Page 54 of The Kidnapped

Olivia had already explained to her that she was done with treatment for her cancer. She’d been done with it prior to Hollis returning. Hollis had hoped that she’d reconsider because even an extra month together would be important. Hell, Hollis would take an extra day with her mom, an extra hour or minute, even, because she still had so much she wanted to learn, talk about, and enjoy with her. She knew her mom wouldn’t get to see her walk down the aisle. She wouldn’t get to hold her grandchild if Hollis ever ended up having kids. She’d never be able to help Hollis learn to be a mom herself. So much had already been taken from Hollis that it took everything in her to not be upset with her dying mother for not wanting that extra time together.

“Hello?” she said into the phone, answering the unknown number.

“Hollis Richardson?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“My name is Clint Oswald. I’m with the federal prosecutor’s office, handling your father’s case.”

“Oh,” she uttered and stood up instantly to go to her bedroom from the living room for some privacy from her mother, who was sleeping on the sofa. “What do you want?” she asked when she closed the door.

“Well, we need to talk to you about the case. I was hoping you could come by the office for an interview,” he said.

“I work. And when I’m not working, I’m with my mom. She’s sick.”

“I can come to you, if it would be easier, but we do need an interview.”

“Why?” she asked, sitting on the end of the bed. “I said everything to the FBI in Vancouver and repeated it when I got here.”

“We were hoping your father would take a deal to avoid a trial, but we’ve offered him two, and he’s declined both. His lawyer is telling us that he wants to take this to a trial, and we can do that, but that would mean dragging you and your mother through this and you testifying. It’s very unlikely that he’s going to take any deal we offer him, but we also don’t think he’s at risk for recidivism. That is, he’s not going to kidnap someone else. This was very situational. We’ve offered good deals, too, but he’s uninterested.”

“So, now what? You want me to talk to him for you? Try to get him to take it?”

“That would be ideal, yes. No one wants this to go to trial but your father.”

“What did you offer him?” Hollis asked.

“Fifteen years instead of twenty-five-to-life. When he turned that down, we offered twelve. He could even be out in six with good behavior. We said we wouldn’t fight early parole, assuming that was the case, but he said no to both.”

“He won’t listen to me. He never has before. I don’t see this being any different,” she replied.

“It’s worth a shot,” Clint insisted. “I’m willing to go down to ten years. So, he could be out in five. He could still have a chance at a life after that.”

“I’m sorry, Mr.Oswald. I haven’t talked to my dad since Vancouver, and that was for about five minutes, with him just making excuses. I’m not interested in hearing him tell me why he wants to go to trial instead of taking a deal and owning up to what he did.”

“I understand. But I still need to interview you. If we’re going to trial, you’ll have to testify. I need to prep you.”

“I don’t want to testify.”

“Miss Richardson, I’m sorry, but your father is putting us in this situation. We need you to testify. Your mother will have to as well, assuming she’s…”

“You’re not making my mother do anything,” Hollis stated. “She’s dying. I’m not putting her through this.”

“I’ve already spoken to your mother,” Clint revealed. “I talked to her right when this started. She’s agreed to record her testimony for us.”

“She did?” Hollis asked, surprised.

“In the event that she’s not around at the time of the trial, it’s possible the judge will let us play it. They might not, but it’s the best we can do in this circumstance, I’m afraid. I can ask for a speedy trial, but it’s the defendant who has that right, not the prosecution, so if he doesn’t ask for it, it won’t happen. They need time to prep their evidence as well.”

“What evidence? My dad kidnapped me.”

“And you’ll testify to that,” Clint replied.

Hollis shook her head and said, “Look, you’ve got a job to do, I get that, but this isn’t something I’m ready for. My mom… I just need to be focused on her right now. Maybe you can tell him that I think he should take the deal, but I really don’t want to be involved right now.”

“We still–”

“I’m sorry, Mr.Oswald. I have to go.”

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