Chapter 25
With everyone straining to be lighthearted and glib, they killed the first hour laughing about Rick’s ex-girlfriends.
He’d had several and each had been quite colorful.
Who knew what he would find out in California?
They talked about the ongoing presidential election, though no one was in the mood for politics.
Chelsea finally got around to the news that she had spoken to Beth Snyder, wife of Jason, a captive for a year now.
Fritz turned the music down as the car grew quiet.
Chelsea said, “She wasn’t that engaging, really.
She had spoken to Agent Dyer and was expecting the call.
As you might guess, she was disheartened to hear that it had happened to someone else.
Her voice was very soft and quiet, like she was medicated or something.
She chose her words carefully and it was an effort to get much out of her.
About a year ago they got married in Sarasota and took off to Paris, stayed at a hotel not far from where we stayed.
They took the train to Giverny one day to see Monet’s gardens.
They were riding bikes in the country and stopped for lunch.
That’s where they were grabbed. She woke up in a dark room, probably the same one where they put me.
Same story. She made a couple of videos for her parents, was drugged, and slept a lot.
Her family didn’t have two million lying around and needed a week to beg and borrow all they could.
Her father flew to Paris, then took her home. ”
Linzy asked, “Could she identify any of the kidnappers?”
“Not really. She tried to do a composite, just like I did, and she looked at a lot of photos of suspects, but nothing worked.”
“How has she kept it quiet?” Eva asked.
“Well, unlike our little food poisoning story, she tried something else. She has told a few friends that Jason was seduced by a French girl and went nuts over her. Said he couldn’t live without her and disappeared.
The poor girl was so distraught, having lost her husband and then having to lie about getting jilted. She was weeping on the phone.”
“Who thought of that lie?” asked Linzy.
“The FBI.”
“That’s a bad one,” Fritz said.
“It is, but in all fairness, what else can you do? What else can I do? I have people asking every day, ‘When’s Paul coming home? Surely he’s over the food poisoning by now.
’ It’s just awful. I hate lying all the time.
I want to run away.” Without expecting it, Chelsea’s voice cracked and she tried to compose herself. “It’s just awful.”
A few miles passed as the three Tanners studied the road and waited.
“I’m sorry,” Chelsea said, sniffling and wiping her eyes. Linzy handed her a tissue and whispered, “It’s okay.”
After a few more miles, Eva asked, “So what’s the big deal with the secrecy? Why can’t we tell our friends what’s really going on? They won’t run to the press or post stuff online, especially if we ask them not to.”
“I’ve asked the same question,” Linzy said.
Fritz was shaking his head. “Both the FBI and CIA are saying keep it quiet. Bury it. Exposure can only hurt. If enough people know Paul has been kidnapped, then even more will find out. The story is too sensational to ignore. Sooner or later, a reporter pops up with questions. And if they can put together all three kidnappings, then it becomes a huge story. And a nightmare for us.”
Eva looked at Chelsea and saw the tears. “Hey, let’s talk about something else. This is a happy day, right?”
—
The ceremony took place on the law school grounds, under a tent with no fans, on a late morning that only grew warmer.
A thousand proud parents and friends sat crowded together on folding chairs and listened to the usual speeches.
Rick Tanner was with a group of friends he’d made three years earlier and planned to enjoy forever, though they were already scattering.
Not too many years ago he had sat with the families in Annapolis and watched with beaming pride as Paul marched in perfect unison with his brigade, all in sparkling whites, across the field to receive their commissions.
Then they’d chanted and yelled and tossed their hats into the air, all two thousand of them, as the crowd cheered.
His big brother. If still alive, he was stashed away somewhere and hidden from the world, taken by bad people whose motives were still not clear.
Perhaps it was only money, perhaps something else.
More worrisome was the fact that he was being hidden from the sophisticated technical and military prowess of the United States military and intelligence services. Surely he would be found and rescued.
Rick didn’t hear a word of any speech. He went through the motions of clapping politely, then walking across the stage to get his degree.
Afterward, he posed for a hundred photos with Fritz, Linzy, and Eva.
In that proud moment, it was not lost on them that the family was not complete.
Rick squeezed Chelsea for another round of photos, and, for the umpteenth time, envied his big brother for his good luck in finding such a beautiful and intelligent woman.
If only they were all together.
Lunch was under a veranda at a favorite winery, with the rolling hills of Albemarle County in the distance. They talked and laughed and critiqued the speeches, and they tried their best to pretend there was nothing wrong with the picture. Just under the facade, though, everything was wrong.
Rick knew that until Paul came home their lives could barely stay on track.
He worried about Chelsea and her strength to survive.
She was talking more and more about dropping out, moving, getting away from the constant quizzing and gossip.
Rick worried about his parents and the financial hell they were facing and already wading through.
Fritz was sixty and Linzy was fifty-eight.
Instead of adding to their savings accounts and fantasizing about retirement, they were suddenly struggling to stay above water.
They had aged five years in the past month.
They were still youthful and active, but the enormous stress was already evident.
Rick also worried about himself, though he had confided in no one.
It was impossible to concentrate and study.
The California bar exam was in two months, and he had been gearing up for the marathon cramming sessions it required.
Now the motivation was lacking, even gone.
He had far more important things on his mind.
They managed to finish a long lunch in good spirits. After another round of congratulations and photos, they said their goodbyes. Rick was scheduled to move to San Francisco in two weeks and start his new life, but he was having doubts.