Page 32 of The Chain

“I don’t know.”

“She said she researched me online. She saw that Marty and I did that Peace Corps project in Guatemala. She saw Harvard and cancer survivor and all my jobs and she thought I seemed like someone who had her act together. I’m not. I’m a loser, Pete. I’m weak.”

“You’re not, you’re—”

“I’ve screwed up my whole life. I invested everything in Marty. I can’t even look after my own daughter!”

“Stop it, Rach.”

“I don’t own a gun. I had to buy one. Today.”

“Another smart move.”

“Today was the first time I’ve ever fired one.”

Pete now takes both of her hands in his. “Trust me, Rachel. You’re handling this. And now I’m here to help you.”

“In the Marines, I know you were an engineer, but did you ever, have you ever had occasion to…”

“Yes,” he says simply.

“More than once?”

“Yes.”

She nods and takes a deep breath. “I drove up to New Hampshire to get the gun and the other supplies. I was nearly seen by someone on the island but I think I gave her the slip.”

“That’s good too.”

“How can anyone carry out any kind of criminal enterprise in New England when everybody knows everybody?”

Pete smiles. “We’ll figure it out, Rach. What else have you done?”

“Here are my targets,” she says, handing Pete the list of vulnerable kids who fit the criteria.

“You want stable parents who look as if they won’t go to the cops and who’ll carry out a kidnapping?” Pete asks.

“They can’t be broke, and they can’t have any connection to cops, journalists, or politicians. And they have to have kids of the right age. No kids with special needs. No diabetics or anything like that.”

“What about kidnapping a spouse instead of a child?” Pete asks.

“You can’t be sure of how someone will feel about a spouse. Look at us. Three divorces between us. But all parents love their kids, right?”

“Right. Well, this seems OK. Toby Dunleavy, that’s your number-one target?”

“Yup. I had a different number one, but the mom was dating a cop.”

“Have you been over to the Dunleavy house?”

“Nope. Gonna do that later tonight. But first I need your help with the mattress and the board at the Appenzellers’.”

“Where is this place?”

“Just across the basin. Come on, I’ll take you.”

They go outside in the rain and walk along the basin trail. “A lot of these big houses are vacant this time of year,” Rachel explains.

“You broke into one of these by yourself?” Pete asks.

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