Page 94 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

Lindsay

The good news was that I was going to be able to go home. The bad news was that it took forever for the hospital to put together my discharge papers. As a result, I was still lying in my hospital bed while my daughter Olivia had been kidnapped by some maniac.

Mira brought Georgie and Cassie to me, and the two of them cried and shook in my arms as I pulled them close and held them. Eventually, they fell asleep, but I kept them close. I wouldn’t let them out of my sight ever again.

Mira sat in a chair in my room looking as helpless as I felt. My father paced, occasionally leaving the room and then returning. I had no idea what he was doing, but whatever it was, it wasn't calming him down, which continued to leave me agitated. He did tell me that he had talked to Oliver, who indicated that he had heard from the kidnapper. I hoped and I prayed that when Oliver talked to Agent Marsden, they would find a way to save my baby. I wondered if Flynn had talked to Oliver yet and if he’d be able to help as well. I hated that all I could do was hold my girls and hope for the best.

The door opened, and I hoped it was the nurse with my discharge papers. I wanted to get out of this hospital and to go out looking for my daughter. Not that my father would allow that. I knew that he and Mira would make me go home with them. At least the girls would be in a place they could feel comfortable and secure.

But it wasn't a nurse who entered my room. It was a young man dressed in a dark suit. Immediately, I tensed, wondering if this was someone related to whoever had taken Olivia.

He held up a badge. "My name is Agent Langdon, with the FBI. Agent Marsden has sent me to talk to you."

"Have you heard anything yet? Have you saved my daughter?"

My father and Mira stepped up to my bedside, as eager as I was for news about Olivia.

He shook his head. "Agent Marsden is coordinating a plan. But she's working off unusual information and was hopeful that you would be able to help."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Agent Marsden was supposed to meet Mr. Quinlan at his hotel to receive some documents his deceased brother had hidden that apparently revealed a scheme by which social security numbers were stolen and sold."

I nodded. "They didn't meet?" If they hadn't that meant that Oliver had decided to hand the paperwork over in exchange for Olivia. A part of me was relieved and yet still worried. There was no guarantee that once they got the papers, they would release Olivia. In fact, considering that these people had killed Liam, it was possible that both Olivia and Oliver could end up dead. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

The girls began to stir in my arms. "Mommy?"

"Why don't I take the girls to get something to eat?" Mira said.

Both Georgie and Cassie clung to me. "I don't want to leave my mommy."

I kissed them both on the head. "Everything's going to be just fine. You go with Grand-Mira and get some food while I talk to Mr. Langdon. I'll be here when you get back. I promise." They looked skeptical but complied.

I mouthed a thank you to Mira for understanding that the kids didn’t need to hear all this. My father looked torn but decided to stay with me, for which I was glad. I couldn't be sure my mind was working right, and I wanted him to hear whatever Agent Langdon was going to ask me about.

"Did they not meet?" I asked him.

"When Agent Marsden arrived, Mr. Quinlan was leaving with another man that we've identified as Detective Flynn Donovan. I understand that you know him as well?"

I nodded. "He was the detective investigating who had broken into my home."

The agent gave a quick nod. "Mr. Quinlan approached Agent Marsden, who was dressed as a courier, her cover in meeting with Mr. Quinlan to pick up the documents. Mr. Quinlan approached her, asking if she was the courier, and then handed over an envelope to her, but it wasn’t the documents."

My brow furrowed. "Why would he act as if she was the courier at that point? Especially if he was getting help from Donovan and going to make the exchange?"

"That was a question that we asked as well. According to Agent Marsden, she had talked to Mr. Quinlan earlier, and he had told her about the kidnapping. Agent Marsden had told him to stay there, that she was on her way, and they would figure out a plan. So she was surprised that he was leaving.”

“If he didn’t give her the documents, what did he give her?”

“The envelope had a location which we determined as a warehouse. We think he was letting us know where he was going to hand off the documents in exchange for the child. The second was a phone number and password that happen to be to his voicemail."

I looked at my father, wondering if he was able to make sense of any of this. He looked as confused as I felt.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Well, we have gone ahead and called in and listened, and apparently, it is a recording of Quinlan and Detective Donovan. We have a few ideas, but I want you to listen to it and see if you have any thoughts on what it might mean.”

He tapped something on his phone, and I heard Oliver ask, “Well?”

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