Page 86 of The Black Trilogy

Yes, I had to talk to them, and sooner rather than later. But first I needed to help Luke.

When I reached the village, I parked on the far side of the woods behind Luke’s house and assembled my kit. I wanted to check for prying eyes.

An hour later, I’d been through the woods and neighbouring properties with infrared goggles and the transmission scanner. Nothing. Apart from several hundred rabbits and a couple of deer, I was alone. For completeness’ sake, I checked the front of the house too, but nobody was watching. They just wanted Luke to think they were.

My next job was to get into the house. I swapped out the goggles for a handful of Nate’s custom bugs. Each incorporated a tiny camera and microphone and worked on motion sensors. I’d selected the battery-operated version as they didn’t need to last long. If Tia was missing for more than their natural life, we had bigger problems.

I did a quick circuit around the outside of the house. Luke was sitting in the den, staring into space as he tore pages of a notepad into pieces. Did he even realise he was doing it? I squinted through the window at the computer in front of him. He’d been trying to track Tia’s cell phone, but by the looks of things, he hadn’t had any luck. Hardly surprising—the kidnapper would have to be stupider than a rock to leave the phone on. Any teenager with an internet connection could track them nowadays.

My chest seized as I watched Luke. Guilt. Fear. Guilt that I’d hurt him. Fear that we wouldn’t get Tia back. Before my husband’s death, I’d locked all those pesky emotions firmly away, but I’d gone soft in my little sabbatical. I wished I could offer Luke some comfort, but my presence would only make things worse.

A few minutes later, I swung myself up onto the balcony outside my old bedroom and picked the lock on the sliding door. Before venturing into the rest of the house, I packed everything I wanted to keep into the rucksack I’d brought and left it outside. There wasn’t much—my old phone, a bit of cash, and Ashlyn’s passport. While I was at it, I put my wedding ring back in its rightful place. I’d missed the feel of it on my finger.

I inched open the door to the upstairs hallway and tiptoed to Luke’s bedroom. It only took seconds to install a bug in the light fitting. No, I didn’t expect Luke to get much sleep until Tia was found, but I had the opportunity, so I took it.

Next, I crept downstairs and hid another device in the kitchen, peeping out from behind a stack of plates in the dresser. Ideally, I’d have put a camera in the den, but even though Luke was now dozing over his desk, I didn’t want to risk venturing in there. I settled for putting a third bug in the flower arrangement opposite the den door instead.

With that done, I fitted tracking devices to both of his vehicles then went back to the BMW to watch and listen. An alarm would alert me to any sound or movement, so I lay back under the blanket to wait.

At 8 a.m. one of the sensors woke me with its insistent beeping. Luke was moving through the house. On the screen in the receiving unit, I watched him open the safe hidden behind a Picasso print in the bedroom and count the cash inside. Why? Had a ransom demand come in? If it had, it must have been by text message, because I hadn’t heard the phone ring.

At eight thirty, he did get a call. Arabella wanted to know where Tia was. Tia normally walked to her house in the morning so they could ride to school together.

“She’s not feeling well,” Luke said. “She ate something that disagreed with her.”

A pause.

“Yes, I’ll tell her. I’m sure she’ll be very grateful if you take notes.”

Another beat.

“No, I don’t think she’ll be in for a few days. She’s sleeping at the moment, but she’s been really sick. I’ll get her to call you when she’s feeling better.”

His voice shook as he spoke. He was a terrible liar.

Not like some people.

At nine, Luke left the house carrying a briefcase—empty from the way he threw it into the back of the car. I followed him to the bank, staying well back and letting the tracker do its work.

He’d obviously gone to pick up more money for the ransom, but how much? What story had he come up with? Banks tended to get a bit funny about handing over large bundles of cash in this day and age of electronic transfers. I knew Luke kept £150,000 in the safe because I’d watched over his shoulder and memorised the combination then looked while he was out, but clearly that wasn’t enough.

No detours on the way back—Luke went straight home. Back in the bedroom, he piled up the cash from the briefcase and the safe, counting as he went, and I tallied up the bundles on my phone. £250,000, if I’d estimated correctly, and he packed the lot into a duffle bag he dug out of the closet.

That was it? £250,000? That was all Tia was worth? Luke could and would pay a lot more. Why such a low amount? Was the kidnapper being sensible, knowing the tricky logistics of obtaining cash under the radar? Or was I missing a bigger picture?

Luke piqued my curiosity when he disappeared into the den. He was only in there for twenty minutes, but when he came back, he added a memory stick to the bag. What was on there?

As he stood up, he looked directly at the camera. Haggard and scared, he was a shadow of his former self. When he started pacing, I wanted to tell him to rest, or at least eat something. He’d need his strength later. My frustration had no outlet, and I made myself unclench my teeth.

Heeding my own advice, I had a snack then relieved myself in the bushes. Oh, the joys of being on a stakeout. Not for the first time in my life, I questioned my sanity. Why hadn’t I bought myself a tropical island and marooned myself on it? Somewhere idyllic like the Bahamas or the French West Indies? I could have been getting a tan instead of frostbite.

I sighed. Who was I kidding? No matter how uncomfortable I might be, I’d stop at nothing to get Tia back. I slouched down in the front seat, ready to play the waiting game.

CHAPTER 27

THE SUN SET. Luke was still inside the house, but he’d paced so much the bottom of his shoes must have worn thin. I covered my mouth as I yawned, out of both tiredness and boredom. There was a good reason I delegated surveillance work whenever possible. I’d much rather be out shooting people.

Relax, I was just kidding.

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