Chapter forty-three
MICHAEL
Whatever route the bastard had taken, I couldn't catch him. I drove the streets of Aspen for a few hours, and I didn't see even a trace of the gray car.
Well, actually, gray cars were common everywhere, but I couldn't find any that had Kansas plates, as Alanis had described.
At a certain point, Camila called me, telling me that they were on their way to the police station, so I went there, hoping that they had some clue as to who had kidnapped my daughter.
As soon as I arrived, Camila was sitting down, but she got up and ran towards me, coming to hug me. Her whole body was shaking, and she was crying. I noticed that, unlike her, Alanis seemed very calm.
As soon as I arrived, I tried to get up to speed on the situation.
I learned more from Alanis's story. The car had stopped in front of her, a man with his face covered by a hood got out, pointing a gun and ordered her to hand over the baby.
When she handed it over, Alanis was knocked to the ground and the man got into the car with Alice and fled.
“Why were you on the street and not on the playground, like you said you would?” I asked, furious.
Alanis was sitting in a chair and looked up at me with a frightened expression.
Apparently, I seemed to scare her a lot more than having gone through what she had.
“It was very stuffy; I took Alice outside to get some air.”
“And at the time you did that, a total stranger came and, for no reason at all, kidnapped my daughter?”
I was practically screaming now. I wanted to shake that woman until she told me what had really happened.
Camila came to me and her hands touched my chest, in an attempt to calm me down and to put herself between Alanis and me.
“Michael, the owner of the buffet released the security camera to the police. I watched the footage with them, and exactly what Alanis said happened.”
I still had a hard time believing it. Of course, I knew Camila wouldn't be lying to me, but the situation still didn't make any sense.
I looked at the deputy.
“Why would someone kidnap my daughter?”
He responded with the calm of someone who saw situations like this in his daily life.
“You're Michael Turner, aren't you? Businessman, millionaire, internet celebrity and son of Trinity Turner. Everything indicates that this is indeed a kidnapping for ransom situation.”
He fell silent when a police officer approached, saying something low near his ear.
Then he excused himself and stood up, leaving the room.
After he left, Camila threw herself into my arms again, hugging me tightly.
I hugged her back in a way not only to calm her down, but also to seek some peace for the hell where my mind and soul seemed to have been thrown into.
“I shouldn't have let her go.” Camila cried against my chest. “I had a bad feeling at that moment, I shouldn't have given her to Alanis.”
I kissed the top of her head.
“It's not your fault, Cami. We'll find the people responsible for this. And we'll have our daughter back.”
' Our daughter '
The words were said without me even thinking about them. I knew that Camila already loved her that way. The biggest proof of that was how nervous she was at that moment.
Unlike Alanis, who seemed far too calm for someone who had a gun pointed at her. For someone who had taken care of Alice since she was born.
Minutes later, the delegate returned to the room, bringing news, “They found the car. It matches the descriptions obtained from the images.”
“And Alice?” Camila asked, letting go of me and turning to face the police officer.
“I'm sorry, the vehicle was empty. It was probably abandoned, and the criminal used another one to continue his escape.”
“Are you sure it was the same car?” I asked.
“Yes, the same model we saw in the pictures. And the same license plate number, from right here in the state of Colorado.”
That last piece of information didn't add up.
“Wasn't the license plate from Kansas?”
“No, it's from Colorado. It's very clear in the camera footage, and the young lady there confirmed the information.”
He pointed at Alanis, and I followed his gaze in the same direction, staring at her. Looking startled, she stood up, taking a few steps back.
“You told me that the car's license plate was from the state of Kansas,” I said, controlling as much as possible the hatred I felt for that woman.
“I got confused...” she used the most stupid excuse she could.
Again, Camila came to me and stood in front of me. I was not a coward and would be incapable of attacking a woman, but the hatred I felt at that moment almost blinded me completely.
Again, I wanted to shake Alanis until she told him everything she knew and what she was still hiding, and what other 'mistakes' she had made when she told me what had happened.
“It was just a mistake,” the officer tried to defend her.
“The girl was nervous and made a mistake when she spoke. Look, Mr. Turner, I know this is difficult, but the best thing to do is leave this to my team and go home. There’s no point in staying here.
Two of my officers will accompany you in case the kidnapper gets in touch, which we believe he will. ”
I didn't want to leave, but I knew the officer was right about one thing: staying wouldn't help anything. But I couldn't just wait for a kidnapper to contact me.
I had no idea what I could do that would actually be effective. But I knew I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I decided I would scour the entire city for any clue or information that might lead me to my daughter.
Anyway, I accepted the police escort home. I intended to go there too, but only to keep Camila safe.
It was reported that Alanis would still need to remain at the police station to answer a few more questions, so only one officer would go with us, and another would stay to take Alanis away once she was finished with her interrogation.
So, we left the police station, accompanied by the police officer.
Camila spent the entire trip crying, which destroyed me even more inside. I assured her, countless times, that everything would be okay.
And I wanted to believe that too.