Chapter Three BOLO
Her stomach twisted. They wouldn’t risk a commercial flight… unless the kidnapper had access to a private plane.
She groaned and broke into a run, snow crunching under her boots as she sprinted back toward the Porsche. Sliding into the driver’s seat, she fired up the engine and brought up the GPS, typing with shaking hands.
Nearest police precincts.
A map popped up. The closest one was near the main entrance, which was on the complete opposite side of the cemetery.
“Perfect,” she muttered, throwing the car into gear.
Mentally thanking Tommy for insisting she learn to drive a standard, she followed the route the GPS laid out, driving as fast as she dared on the icy streets.
She barely stopped the car before she was out, parking crookedly in front of the precinct and racing up the steps. The doors banged open as she burst inside, shoving through the line to the front desk.
“Help, please! He took him! He’s been kidnapped!”
Heads turned; people grumbled about her cutting in line, but she didn’t care. The woman at the reception desk went from irritated to alert in a heartbeat, raising a hand to stop Evie’s tumble of words.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down.” The receptionist’s tone was calm but firm as she stood. “Take a breath. Who’s been kidnapped?”
“Tommy,” Evie gasped. “He took Tommy!” Her voice pitched high as tears finally spilled over. Panic, fear, guilt, everything she’d been holding back crashed over her. “Please,” she choked out, “I need to speak to someone.”
“Okay, just take a deep breath.” The woman reached for her phone. “Is Tommy your son? How old is he?”
Evie shook her head quickly, taking the breath she was told to take, her panic fighting every instinct to stay calm. “No, not my son. Tommy Sloane.”
The name dropped like a stone.
The reception area, which had already gone quiet, fell into stunned silence.
Everyone knew who Tommy Sloane was, CEO of one of the largest tech companies in the world, practically a hometown hero in Brooklyn.
He’d refused to move Sloane Technologies out west with the rest of the industry, insisting on keeping the headquarters in New York.
He funded schools, hospitals, and first responders, always saying that giving back to the city that raised him mattered.
“Okay…” The receptionist blinked, pulling herself together. “Let’s get you a detective.” She picked up her phone and spoke quietly, her tone suddenly brisk and professional.
Within ten minutes, Evie was seated in an interview room with a detective and a bottle of water.
She’d been told the FBI were already on their way.
The detective asked her to describe everything she could - Tommy, the man who’d taken him, the car, the direction they’d gone, so they could issue an alert, set up roadblocks, and get a BOLO out as fast as possible.
She had just finished when a knock sounded at the door. Two men in dark suits entered, and the detective excused himself.
Evie looked between them, heart hammering, assuming they were the FBI.
“Miss Stanley, I’m Agent William Smithback, and this is Agent James Harker. We’re with the FBI.”
The taller, lankier, of the two, with brown hair that looked like he’d run his hands through it a dozen times set a recorder on the table and pressed the red button. “Can you tell us what happened from the beginning, please?”
Evie nodded stiffly and launched into her story, starting with Tommy’s text telling her he was outside and ending with her sprint through the cemetery and desperate arrival at the precinct. When she finally stopped, Agent Smithback glanced at his partner before leaning forward.
“You said this was the anniversary of his parents’ deaths. Do you go to the cemetery with him every year?”
Evie nodded, not sure why that mattered. “Yes. His parents were my godparents. We’ve gone every year since I was ten.”
“So, most people in your lives would know that.” Smithback said, his tone mild but probing.
Evie hesitated, realizing what he was getting at. “Fewer people than you’d think,” she said after a moment. “It’s not something either of us talks about, we don’t always go on the exact day and never at the same time.”
“Not consistent, then,” Agent Harker murmured thoughtfully.
“No, and I’d actually forgotten this year.
” She shifted uncomfortably as they both raised their eyebrows at her.
“It’s my first year doing computer science at Columbia, and I’m in the middle of exams.” She explained a little defensively.
“It’s not that I forgot the anniversary was coming up, I forgot what day it is. ”
“So, you didn’t tell anyone you had plans with Mr. Sloane?” Smithback asked as he made a note on his notepad.
Evie shook her head. “No. I texted my study group before I left, just to say I couldn’t make it. I told them I’d forgotten about a family thing I couldn’t miss, but I didn’t say what it was.”
“Do you know who Mr. Sloane might have told?” Harker asked.
Evie drew a deep breath, thinking it through.
Would Tommy have told anyone? “No,” she said finally.
“He would’ve noted the afternoon off in his schedule, which a few people could see, like the board president, COO, CFO, his assistant, and a handful of others at Sloane. But he wouldn’t have listed why.”
She paused, twisting the emerald ring on her middle finger, the one Tommy had given her for her birthday, as nerves crept back in. “They would’ve known anyway,” she added softly.
Harker nodded, already pulling out his phone. Evie watched in silence as he placed a quick call, asking someone to contact Tommy’s assistant and even providing her name when prompted. His tone stayed professional, efficient.
When he hung up, he studied her for a long moment. His expression gave nothing away.
“Why didn’t the abductor take you?” Smithback asked suddenly, catching Evie off guard.
“Your family’s well off, and your father’s the COO of Sloane Tech.
Everyone knows how close you and Mr. Sloane are.
He’s had to publicly clarify more than once that you’re not in a relationship, that he sees you as a little sister.
Frankly, if this were about money, you’d be the easier target.
Your family and Mr. Sloane would be fighting to pay your ransom. ”
“I don’t know.” Evie frowned, turning the question over.
He wasn’t wrong - she would have been easier to control, and Tommy would’ve handed over his entire company to get her back.
“He said no harm would come to me if Tommy went with him quietly. When I asked if he was going to hurt him, he said, ‘Not today.’”
She swallowed hard. “He let us both see his face, and it was two in the afternoon on a Friday. The cemetery wasn’t busy, but it wasn’t empty either.”
Her knee began to bounce under the table as she replayed the encounter.
The man had been so calm, so composed, yet his behavior didn’t make sense.
“He took my phone so I couldn’t call for help, but he let Tommy give me the keys to the Porsche so I wouldn’t be stranded.
He didn’t seem to care who saw him, and people would definitely remember him.
He was huge and… honestly, really good-looking. ”
She hesitated, her brow furrowing as the contradictions lined up in her mind.
“Some of what he did made it seem like it was his first kidnapping, but the rest…” She shook her head.
“The rest felt practiced. He knew exactly what he was doing. Like he was certain everything would go according to plan.”
Both agents leaned forward, their attention fixed on her. “So, in your opinion, he was a professional?” Smithback asked quietly.
Evie thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I think he was hired to take Tommy. He didn’t know either of us, and he was too confident. Like he’s done this before and gotten away with it.”
“Can you think of anyone who would want Mr. Sloane out of the picture?”
Smithback’s question hit her like a slap. Only one name came to mind, and she immediately tried to push it away.
He wouldn’t.
“Yes, he would,” a small, impish voice whispered from somewhere deep in her brain. You know he would.
“Oh. Oh no.” Evie buried her face in her hands. “No. He wouldn’t. Right?” But even as she said it, she knew that little voice was right. He would. He absolutely would.
“Miss Stanley?” Harker’s voice was gentle, cautious, but she couldn’t look at them.
“Um… maybe my dad,” she mumbled through her fingers. “But he wouldn’t do this. Right?” She peeked up at them pleadingly, desperate for one of them to tell her she was wrong.
“Why do you think he would?” Smithback asked softly. “There must be a reason he’s the first person who came to mind.”
Evie took a shaky breath. “Dad’s been getting angrier and angrier about Tommy’s decisions for Sloane Tech,” she said, hesitating.
Even now, it felt disloyal to talk about him this way.
“He doesn’t think the board should’ve made Tommy CEO.
Says he’s taking the company in the wrong direction from what he and Uncle Henry, Tommy’s dad, planned. ”
She lifted her head, her voice gaining strength as she went on. “But it’s better. Sloane Tech’s stock has skyrocketed. The board’s thrilled with Tommy’s work. Dad’s kind of… become a joke.”
Her hands raked through her hair. The familiar frustration, that mix of shame, anger, and disbelief, tightened in her chest.
“Things blew up over the summer when I changed my major to computer science,” she said quietly.
“Dad wanted me to go to law school. I tried, I really did, but it wasn’t for me.
When I told him I was transferring, he kicked me out of the house, took my car, and refused to pay tuition unless I went back to law. ”
Her throat ached as she added, “Tommy stepped in, paid for everything and got me an apartment near campus. Dad’s been livid ever since. I haven’t seen or talked to him since August.”
The two agents shared a look. “Do you believe your father is capable of doing this?”
Evie chewed her lower lip, thinking it through, then nodded slowly. “He’s the only person with a big enough problem with Tommy to try to hurt him.” The admission burned, but she knew it was true and all she cared about was getting Tommy back. “What can I do to help?”
“Do you know where your father is right now?” Smithback asked, tapping his pen against the notebook. “Or anything we can use to provoke a confession or throw him off?”
“He should be at the office.” Evie glanced at the wall clock. “He usually leaves at six.” She paused, then squared her shoulders. “We need to contact Rupert Holmes, the board president. Technically, I’m in charge of Sloane Tech while Tommy’s gone, and that will royally piss my father off.”
“Technically?” Harker raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “So, you show up in charge, and your father blows his top.” He and Smithback exchanged a look that told her they’d follow her lead.
“Exactly. Tommy didn’t want Dad in charge if he got sick or had to take time off, so he and the board made contingency plans.
They put me in as temporary CEO, but I follow Tommy’s guidelines, with the board ensuring I don’t deviate.
Someone has to call the shots and keep appearances steady, but I’m a figurehead.
” She swallowed. “The contingency is good for a year. If Tommy doesn’t come back or is found…
” Her throat closed. She shook her head unable to say it. “Then someone else takes over.”
“And if there’s a ransom demand, it would go to…?” Smithback stood, gathering his things.
“Me. Through Tommy’s office. I’m authorized to act on his behalf.” Evie reached instinctively for her phone, then remembered. “Damn it.” She exhaled. “I gave my phone to the kidnapper. I don’t have Rupert’s number anymore.”
“I’m on it.” Smithback left the room, the door closing softly behind him.
Evie felt Harker’s gaze on her and looked up. He was studying her, curious.
“Why you?” he asked. “Why does Tommy Sloane trust you so much?”
“I’m the only person he has left that he considers family,” she said quietly, her eyes stinging with tears. “He’s practically my brother.”
Harker nodded, his expression unreadable. “Let’s get you set up,” he said, gathering his things and gesturing for her to go first. “Don’t worry, Miss Stanley. We’ll find him.”
Evie nodded and stepped through the door, trying not to focus on the fact that Harker didn’t say they would find Tommy alive.