Page 34 of Kidnapping of a Myth

“Isobel, I can’t.” He pressed his nose into her hair.

“You have to. For me. I won’t let a sixteen-year-old die.”

“I’ll save you both, then.”

“Eamon…”

“It’s all I can promise because I won’t sacrifice you.”

“Okay… okay.”

“Emerson, good, you’re here,” Griffin said, finally noticing her. His eyes snagged on Eamon, and he frowned at the man’s presence in a police meeting. He opened his mouth to order him to return to the living room, but he seemed to think better of it and dropped his gaze back to Bel. “I want you and?—”

His phone rang, cutting him off, and he held up a finger as he fished it out of his pocket. “Griffin,” he answered, hitting the speaker button as he placed the cell on the counter.

“We got the information from Mr. Desmee, the Darling’s head of security,” the lab tech on the line began. “Peter Pann passed their background checks, but while his identity held up under their scrutiny, it didn’t stand up against our investigation. Peter Pann does not exist. He’s a ghost. His fingerprints aren’tin the system. He has no records, no identification. We have no idea who this Tinker is.”

Griffin met Bel’s gaze. Everyone in the room fell suddenly too still, too quiet, and her stomach felt as if it had fallen from her body. She’d already guessed Peter Pann wasn’t his real name, but to learn that not even the police could figure out who he was terrified her. What kind of man were they dealing with?

“That’s not all,” the lab tech continued. “We looked into his financials like you requested. According to the statements Mr. Desmee provided, paychecks were being deposited into a bank account opened under Pann’s name, but it has since been closed. We got a warrant for the bank’s records, but if he has funding for these traps, it wasn’t kept in that account. So, at the moment, we have no idea where the money’s coming from.”

The lab tech continued to speak, but Bel didn’t hear a single word of the conversation. His words had sparked a theory, and thread by thread, her memory pulled the puzzle pieces together.

“It’s always been about the money,” she said, the officers zeroing in on her as she interrupted the phone call. “Just not about a ransom.”

Both Griffin and Gold opened their mouths, but before they could utter a single syllable, Bel backtracked through the halls to the living room. She captured Wendy by the elbow and gently but firmly guided her out of her brother’s earshot.

“Who gets John and Michael’s inheritance if something happens to them?” she asked in a low voice, so only her partner, her boss, and Eamon could hear the conversation.

“I do,” Wendy blurted before she considered her admission, and it took her a moment to realize what her statement implied. “I didn’t do this!” The color drained from her face. “After my parent’s deaths, those boys became like my sons. I love them more than anything and would never pay some lunatic to harm my brothers.”

“I didn’t think you would.” Bel placed a reassuring palm on the woman’s arm. “If my theory about Pann’s riddles is correct, then he expected the IED to kill you and Henry since I doubt your husband would’ve let you search for the boys alone.”

“He wouldn’t,” Wendy confirmed.

“We have to assume everyone in this household is a target. Desmee believes another company is trying to eliminate you. He’s looking into your business dealings, but while I think he’s on the right track, I believe he’s searching too far from home. So, who stands to inherit the company and your money if all three Darling children and Henry die?”

“The board of directors,” Wendy answered. “If something happens to us, they gain control of everything… oh my god. They don’t know Henry and I eloped, but they know we come to this estate often.” She put her hands on her knees, breathing hard as panic overtook her. “My father’s company and estates are worth billions. What’s a couple thousand dollars to build a few traps when you could overtake an empire? Oh god.Oh god, oh god, oh god.Did someone my father trusted do this? Did someone I sit with in meetings every week try to kill us?”

“We don’t know that’s the case,” Gold said, trying to reign in Wendy’s hysterics. “So, try not to panic.”

“But it fits,” Wendy said, “and it accounts for Pann’s long-term employment. If our deaths were pinned on a board member, they would lose everything. I’ve been wracking my brain about why Pann would do this to us; why he would try to kill us so violently. We paid him well. We never mistreated him. His attempted destruction of my family makes no sense. He has no reason to harm us, but the board does. Like my father, I’m firmly against any deals that border on the grey, even if they would make the business millions. The board often disagrees with my strict morality, and without me… without my brothers, no one would stop them. Most of them are honorable, but aftermy father’s passing, a multitude showed their true colors. Their pockets would benefit if we died.”

Wendy turned around and stared at her sleeping brother, covering her mouth with slender fingers as she shook. “It makes sense. They hire Pann to infiltrate our lives, to earn our trust. He worked for us for so long that no one bats an eye at his presence. A board member coming to this estate would raise questions since this is a family retreat. Police could also track them to this location, but the driver? No one would think twice about him. He can come and go without raising alarm, and out here, we’re alone. We would die, the board would be above suspicion, and they would ruin my father’s legacy. The only thing I don’t understand is the theatrics. Why The Tinker?”

“If the board hired Pann to kill you, they might not have known the extent of his eccentric behavior,” Bel said.

“So, this insanity was all Pann’s idea?” Wendy’s eyes grew wide. “He just woke up one day and decided killing us wasn’t enough? He had to torture us first?”

“At this point, this is only a theory,” Griffin stepped in, his authoritative voice silencing the growing hysteria. “So while I understand how easy it is to panic, let’s remain calm for John’s sake. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I will say, your theory is the only motive that currently makes sense. It’s worth looking into, so are there any members of the company you’ve recently clashed with? Anyone who doesn’t agree with how you run the business?”

“A few, but Dale Croke stands out,” Wendy said. “He and my father had a huge disagreement before my parent’s deaths, and he has been a thorn in my side ever since. He resists every proposal I bring before the board.”

“Is his hostility toward you merely a result of business conflicts or is he capable of ordering a hit on your family?” Griffin asked.

“I don’t know,” Wendy said. “A week ago, I would’ve said no, but I also trusted Pann with my brothers’ lives. Now? Now, I’m not sure of anything. Maybe Croke hoped with my father out of the picture, I would be an easy pushover. Maybe he’s tired of working for a woman in her twenties.”

“Without a warrant, we won’t be able to look too deeply into his affairs, but we’ll do what we can,” Griffin said. “If we discover anything from the past two days that points to Mr. Croke being responsible, we’ll get a judge to issue a warrant, but right now, we’re limited. This is a good place to start, though. Money is often the motive for crimes like this, especially given how much your family and company are worth, so this is logically our best lead. I’ll keep you updated”

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