Page 42 of Kidnapping of a Myth

“How can it be from him?” She thrust the cell into Bel’s hand, the email notification unopened on the screen. “Isn’t he locked up? How is he emailing me?”

“I’m calling the station,” Griffin said, his phone already dialing, and Agent Barry reached across the kitchen island to where Wendy’s laptop sat connected to a tech’s computer. He pulled it before him as Wendy, Henry, Bel, and Gold crowded behind him, and they watched with held breaths as he clicked on the email.

Wendy Darling,

I told you no police, and you call the FBI?

I warned you what would happen if you disobeyed. You’ve been naughty, but all grownups are.

Time to fly to Neverland.

Tick Tock, Wendy.

Tick Tock.

“The clock icon.” Bel pointed to the bottom of the screen. “The email linking us to Michael’s livestream contained a clock icon, so it’s safe to say that the moment you click that, the countdown for John’s life begins.”

The room stilled at her words, and Griffin approached the island, slipping his phone into his pocket as he met Agent Barry’s questioning gaze.

“The station confirmed Peter Pann is still in custody,” he said.

“Then how did he send me this!” Wendy pointed accusingly at the laptop, Henry’s hands resting on her shoulders as if to keep her from falling apart before their eyes. “How is he sending me this from a jail cell?”

“He could have an accomplice,” Agent Barry said.

“Or he set up an algorithm to automate emails,” Bel said. “The phrasing is almost identical to the one we received about Michael. He could’ve pre-written several messages and scheduled them with an algorithm based on the news.” She pointed to the muted TV in the room’s corner. “It’s no secret the FBI is here.”

“An accomplice is more plausible than an algorithm,” Agent Barry said.

“I don’t think The Tinker would work with an accomplice,” Bel argued. “The theatrics, the willingness to get caught. This ishis show, his moment. He’s too arrogant to allow anyone else to pull the strings, and while someone may have hired him, this is why Pann is so dangerous. He’s planned for every outcome.”

Barry looked up at Bel as if he meant to fight her assessment, but after a few seconds, his features relaxed. He clearly saw something in Bel’s expression, in the way her body hovered protectively before Wendy and her husband that told him there was more to the exhausted brunette than met the eye. Something he might need.

“So, we click the icon, and we see John in danger,” he said. “What happens if we avoid it? Use the extra time to track the signal or…” he trailed off when he saw Bel’s frown.

“He won’t let you ignore it,” she said. “We tried that. It only makes things worse.”

Barry and two other agents cursed simultaneously, and then he grabbed the mouse. “The second I click this, the countdown begins. Are we ready?” he asked, and each tech double-checked their devices, readying to decode the signal the instant the footage went live.

“Miss Darling, would you like to step out of the room?” he asked.

“No.” Wendy grabbed her husband’s fingers and extended her free hand to capture Bel’s. “I’m staying. I won’t leave my brother.”

Agent Barry nodded, and with a fortifying breath, he clicked the clock icon. As expected, a livestream filled the screen, and Wendy stifled a scream as John came into focus.

“Oh my god!” Wendy’s grip tightened to the point of pain around Bel’s hand. “Where is he?”

Bel opened her mouth, but she had no words to offer the woman. Unlike Michael, who had been chained to the wall of an underground bunker, sixteen-year-old John wore no such restraints. He was free to move about his prison, which lookedlike a cage. It was only just big enough for him to stretch out his arms, but the teen currently sat huddled on the tiny square of the floor, his knees pulled to his chest with an unlabeled plastic water bottle empty at his feet. The camera was mounted in the top corner of the cage, but its field of vision was too narrow to see the surroundings.

“It’s a cage, so I doubt The Tinker intends to flood it,” Agent Barry said.

“He could, though.” Gold shoved forward and pointed at the bars. “It’s dark outside, but light and shadows should be playing through these. There is a dim light source, but it’s coming from inside the cage. It’s fully contained, meaning it could flood.”

“You’re right.” Barry squinted as he leaned forward. “Miss Darling, do you recognize this? Could it be in this house? Like an elevator or dumbwaiter?”

“There’s nothing like that here,” Henry answered for his crying wife. “That’s not any place we know.”

“Tracking the signal now,” an agent across the island interrupted.

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