Page 66 of Cougar Point

“Not then. I just hung up on him. I thought it was a prank like I said.”

“So there was more than one call?” I ask.

“Yes. After I hung up on him, a woman called. She said Rebecca would be telling me about Victoria soon and they’d get back to me.” He looks at Rebecca. “She called you by your name, Rebecca. I thought it was someone who knew you and your mom were at the resort. That made me think it was someone from the resort calling. I got a call from you an hour later. When you told me Victoria wasn’t at the resort, I was still thinking it was some kind of sick joke. I was even more convinced it was someone from the resort. And Victoria and I had our problem and I thought maybe she’d gone somewhere to think. I could tell from your call she hadn’t told you about the pending divorce. You already sounded worried and I didn’t want to frighten you, so I told you we’d talk when you came home.”

“Right after your call my phone rang and it was the woman again. I told her if she valued her job, she’d better stop this nonsense. She laughed. She said if I talked to anyone or called the police, they’d kill her. She said they wanted a million dollars to get Vicki back. They told me I’d get another call and not to tell the police. She said they would know.”

He looks from one daughter to the other. “Somehow this woman knew you’d called the police and she called back. She didn’t speak but I could hear screaming. They were hurting Vicki. I begged them to stop. I told them I’d do as they said. I told them I’d make you stop, Rebecca. I’d get the million. She laughed and said that was too easy. Maybe they wanted more. Then she hung up.

“After I got my head straight, I thought it wasn’t possible. I hadn’t heard Vicki’s voice. Only screaming. Maybe it was a setup. It seemed like a bad episode ofLaw and Order. It made me angry someone would threaten my family, and the more I thought about it the angrier I got. That’s why I called Sheriff Longbow. He agreed it was a prank but to be safe he said SergeantLucas would contact me. At that point I hadn’t talked to you or Detective Carpenter yet. I didn’t want to call the resort and talk to Roger and embarrass Rebecca or Vicki. But I did and he told me about the note. He faxed me a copy that I gave to Lucas.”

“Jack, you’re a smart man,” I say. “You had to know something wasn’t right. Did you seriously think your wife was playing games with you? I know why you told us about Vinnie. You wanted to put us on that trail to keep us out of the way. And when that didn’t work you sicced Lucas on us.”

“I’m not going to apologize for what I’ve done. She’s my wife. She’s not your responsibility and if you keep messing in this, you’ll get her killed.”

“There’s more, isn’t there, Jack?” I ask. He’s not good at hiding his lies and that’s surprising as he’s an attorney.

He remains quiet, then gets up and walks to the window keeping his back to us. “After I’d talked to Lucas, the male called. He asked if I wanted my wife back. I told him I wanted to speak to Victoria for proof. You know? He told me not to be stupid. He wanted the million in untraceable bearer bonds. If I didn’t agree, they would send me proof of life. One piece of her at a time.” The sisters exchange a terrified look.

We’ve been wasting valuable time. Vinnie might be off feeding his addictions and has nothing to do with this. Lucas knew better, so why did he steer us that direction? “So when are you supposed to make the exchange?”

“That’s just it. They never said. The woman called me right after the three of you went to the jail. She knew you were there asking questions. She asked if I preferred a left or a right hand. I told her I’d made a huge mistake. I said I would meet wherever they want and bring the money. She laughed and said the price was now two million and I had my daughters to thank. She said they would be in touch.”

We’d talked to a couple of trusties at the jail but didn’t tell them why we were looking for Vinnie. Only a small handful of people knew about Victoria’s disappearance. Surely Lucas or the sheriff wouldn’t have said anything.

“Can you get the money?” I ask.

“I’m working on it but it won’t be easy. I don’t have millions in bearer bonds. I need to get those from a bank and I can’t do that until tomorrow. I’ll have to sell some things but I will find the money. I just hope they give me a little time to raise it.”

I wonder if he has any idea what his wife is going through while he’s raising the money. She probably thinks he won’t pay. She’s divorcing him after all.

“And what is Sergeant Lucas doing?” Ronnie asks.

Jack points at the security monitor beneath a cabinet. “You can ask him yourself.”

Sergeant Lucas has just pulled up to the gates.

“I’ll get him,” I say.

Lucas comes to the door and says, “I’ve got some news.”

“Okay.” I don’t step back to allow him entry.

“I think this is best told to Jack and his daughters as well.”

I let him in and he beelines for the kitchen. I can smell coffee brewing. When I get in the kitchen Ronnie has put a plate of cookies out, and Lucas is already munching. He sits at the table dipping cookies in his black coffee then nibbling off the wet ends. After he’s eaten a handful of cookies, he pushes thepack away. “Sorry. I have a medical condition and I didn’t have breakfast.”

I don’t care. Shut up and tell us.“What’s the news?” I ask.

“I’ve got a good lead on Vinnie Lombardi. I put out a bulletin on him and the VW camper van. Officer Nelson is in Lynden. Nelson said the camper is parked at a homeless shelter in Lynden called Word of the Lamb. He hasn’t approached it. He thought we might want to meet him. I told him we didn’t have a warrant but the van is probably stolen or has stolen plates. He said there are no plates. He’s keeping an eye on it.”

We haven’t told Lucas that Jack finally spilled the beans. I want to see where this goes first. It’s possible Vinnie is tied up in this somehow, so I want to be thorough. Finding him isn’t as important as it was, but it still needs to be done. If he left a note on the door to Victoria’s room, he probably didn’t see her. But knowing when he left the note will help determine when she was taken.

FORTY-FIVE

FEBRUARY 2023

Whatcom County

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