Chapter 21
When Theodosia pulled up to Mrs. Van Courtland’s house, Brody’s DeLorean was parked in front. As she hurried up the walk, the double doors popped open and Birdie was there. She was wearing a brown housedress, white apron, and a look of distress on her face.
“What happened?” Theodosia asked. She knew it couldn’t be good.
“Come in,” Birdie said. “I’ll let Brody explain.”
Theodosia followed Birdie into the parlor she’d been in the night before. The same dozen wooden packing crates were stacked against the far wall. And all the art and antiques were still there, so she knew there hadn’t been any kind of robbery or art heist.
“What’s going on?” Theodosia asked.
Brody pulled himself up from a leather wing chair, walked forward a few feet, and gazed at her. “It’s Amber.”
Theodosia said the first thing that came to mind. “She’s hurt? She was in an accident?”
“No, she’s missing,” Brody said.
“Missing?” This wasn’t what Theodosia had been expecting to hear.
“Tell her,” Birdie urged. There was flint in her voice now. “Tell Theodosia the whole story.”
“Amber’s been kidnapped,” Brody said. His voice was flat, as if his throat was numb, his whole body paralyzed.
Theodosia stared at Brody. Tried to read whatever was in his face. When nothing was readily apparent, she said, “Somehow I find that hard to believe. Just because Amber’s been gone for a few hours doesn’t mean she’s been kidnapped. She might just be…”
But Brody was already shaking his head. “No, we got a ransom call.”
Theodosia was taken aback. “Seriously? When was this?”
“Fifteen minutes ago?” Brody looked at Birdie for confirmation and she nodded.
Theodosia felt her heart blip with a strange kind of excitement. Something very weird was going on here. “Kidnapped,” she murmured to herself. Then, “What did the caller say? Tell me exactly. In fact, start from the very beginning.”
“I was here, looking at some of Mom’s sculptures and wondering if I wanted to keep a couple of pieces after all. Birdie was just about to fix me a chicken salad sandwich…” Brody seemed to lose his concentration.
“Then the phone rang,” Birdie said, “and a man asked to speak to Brody.”
“When I got on the line there was no introduction or preamble,” Brody said. “No reason given for grabbing Amber. The caller just said, ‘Hand over five million dollars or Amber’s body gets dumped in a swamp.’ ”
“Did you recognize the caller’s voice?” Theodosia asked.
“No, it was all metallic and tinny-sounding.” Brody touched a shaking hand to his head and swept back his hair.
“The critical thing is what this person told me in no uncertain terms. Amber’s body gets dumped in a swamp.
Get it? Her body. Which means, whoever this is, they won’t hesitate to kill her if they don’t get paid. ”
“It could be a bluff,” Theodosia said.
“Or it could be real,” Brody said. “I already called the phone carrier and asked if they could trace the call, but they told me no.” He stepped back, sagged against his chair, then practically fell into it.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” Five seconds later he had his face buried in his hands and his shoulders were shaking.
Brody Van Courtland was seconds from falling apart. Or maybe he was already there.
“We have to call the police,” Theodosia said.
Brody lifted his head. “No! The kidnapper was very specific about that. He said no police involvement.”
“Are you sure it was a he?”
“As sure as I can be.”
“Because it’s easy to change your voice. You can buy a device online for under thirty dollars that’ll do a passable job.”
“You’re right. But I…I…” Now Brody was wild-eyed and frantic. He leapt from his chair and grabbed Theodosia by the shoulders. He stared at her, eyes blazing with intensity, as if he was trying to look deep into her soul. “Please. I want you to handle this!”
Theodosia was taken aback. “What are you talking about?”
“The money exchange. The ransom money for Amber.”
Now it was Theodosia’s turn to place her hands on Brody’s shoulders and force him to take a step back. Literally and figuratively. “Brody, I can’t do that. It’s dangerous for anyone to be involved. Besides, dealing with a criminal, one claiming to be a kidnapper, is way outside my wheelhouse.”
“But it’s not,” Brody said. “I was talking to Aunt Veda last night about my mother’s murder and she told me you’re already looking into things, that you’ve solved actual murders before. So if you’re such a brilliant amateur Sherlock Holmes, why can’t you help me with this?”
“Because this is an entirely different kind of crime,” Theodosia said. “It’s not just sniffing around, looking for clues. If someone kidnapped Amber, snatched her off the street in broad daylight, then they’re dead serious.”
“They are serious,” Brody whispered.
“You mentioned your Aunt Veda. Does she know about the kidnapping?”
“We called her right after we called you,” Brody said. “She said she’d be right over.”
“Best to call the police, too,” Theodosia said.
“No,” Brody said again.
“Brody…” Birdie said. “This is a matter of life and death. You need to involve the police.”
“You have to call the police,” Theodosia insisted. “Please know that in a situation like this every minute counts.”
“But the kidnapper said he’d call back tomorrow with explicit instructions,” Brody said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Theodosia said. “We’ve got to get the police working on this right now.”
“It scares the crap out of me to go against the kidnapper’s instructions. I mean, they’re holding all the cards,” Brody said.
“Which is why the police need to be involved,” Theodosia said. “We need to heavy things up on our side.”
They went round and round for another five minutes. Until, finally, Theodosia got Brody’s grudging permission to call the police.
Thank goodness.
With Brody grumbling to himself, Theodosia called Tidwell’s private number and talked briefly to Glen Humphries, his assistant.
Explained what was going on. Humphries asked her to hang on while he ran and pulled Tidwell out of a meeting with the commissioner.
While Theodosia was waiting, she asked Birdie if she’d fixed that chicken salad sandwich for Brody.
When Birdie shook her head no, Theodosia asked her to go ahead and make one.
Tidwell was on the line a few seconds later.
“You’re not serious,” he said. “A kidnapping?”
“That’s what it looks like and I—”
Click. Tidwell had hung up.
Five minutes later there was a knock at the door.
“The police are here already?” Birdie asked as she poked her head out from the kitchen. She sounded frightened.
But it wasn’t Detective Tidwell; it was Veda Fisher.
She walked in, looked directly at Theodosia, and said, “I told them all about you. How you’re Charleston’s very own Nancy Drew.
That’s why they brought you into this. If you’re upset with me, then I apologize. But I didn’t know where else to turn.”
“Look, I’m happy to do whatever I can. But I’m not a professional investigator,” Theodosia pleaded. “Sure, I’ve gotten lucky a few times. But Amber’s kidnapping could very well be attached to your sister’s murder…so this is nothing to fool around with.”
“But…” Veda started.
“Which is why I’ve already called the police,” Theodosia said, “and specifically requested Detective Burt Tidwell, the head of Charleston PD’s Robbery and Homicide Division.”
“You think he can help?” Veda asked.
“I know he can help,” Theodosia said. “Tidwell’s former FBI and can muster up as many resources as we could possibly need.”
Veda nodded slowly, then walked over to where Brody was sitting and said in a low voice, “What if Amber is involved?”
Brody looked up at her with a question on his face. “What are you talking about? Of course Amber’s involved. She’s the one who’s been kidnapped!”
“No, Brody, I mean involved involved.”
“You’re talking about the possibility of a staged kidnapping,” Theodosia said in an even tone. The idea had occurred to her, too, only she hadn’t yet raised the question. Now she shot an inquisitive glance at Brody. “Could Amber do something like that?”
“Are you kidding me? Stage her own kidnapping?” Brody seemed shocked at the idea.
“Well, she’d probably need an accomplice,” Theodosia said. She gazed at Brody, watching him carefully as he processed her words.
Brody practically exploded. “No, absolutely not! Amber would never do something like that just to get her hands on my money. She’s a good girl, an honest girl.”
“Are you sure about that?” Theodosia asked.
“I’m positive!” Brody cried. “I’d stake my life on it.
Listen, you met Amber—you know she’s a little bit of a thing.
It would be easy to grab her off the street, to overpower her.
” His voice rose and cracked painfully. Then he continued.
“For goodness’ sake, she’s being held prisoner somewhere and right now I’m her only hope! ”
* * *
Five minutes after Birdie brought out the chicken salad sandwiches, Tidwell was at the door. He strode in forcefully, accompanied by two uniformed officers. After nodding at Theodosia, he said, “Tell me what’s going on. Give me the rundown.”
So Brody told him about the call from the kidnapper, with Birdie filling in a few details.
“And they demanded a ransom for your lady friend?” Tidwell asked.
Brody nodded.
“But you called Miss Browning before you called me.” Tidwell seemed only slightly put out.
“An error of judgment,” Theodosia said, “brought on by Brody’s extreme stress.”
Tidwell nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Miss Browning convinced us to contact you,” Birdie put in.
“I see.” Tidwell turned to Veda Fisher and said, “And who might you be?”
“I’m Veda Fisher, Brody’s aunt. Olivia Van Courtland was my sister.” Veda sighed and added, “I drove up from Savannah for her funeral.”
“You have my sympathy,” Tidwell said. Then he turned his attention back to Brody and said, “What exactly was this kidnapper’s demand?”
“Five million dollars,” Brody said.
“Excuse me, but do you even have five million dollars?” Theodosia asked.
“Not offhand, but I can get it,” Brody said. “I mean, I’ll have to make some calls, pull some serious strings at the bank. But I think I can make it happen.”
“Handing over cash is always a bad idea,” Tidwell said. “Why not let us put our best hostage negotiator on this?”
Brody shook his head. “Seriously? Why would I trust you with Amber’s life? You haven’t even solved my mother’s murder yet.”
Veda looked at Theodosia. “Brody has a point.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Theodosia said.
“Let me make a point of my own,” Tidwell said.
“Kidnappers are not only stupid, they’re desperately greedy.
We let this person wrap his hands around five million dollars in cash and we don’t know what will happen.
Worst-case scenario, he takes the cash and runs, leaves your girlfriend tied to a log out in Four Holes Swamp, and you never see her again. ”
“Don’t say that!” Brody cried. “Don’t you dare try to make me feel any worse than I already do.”
“Let us start by putting a tap on your phone,” Tidwell said. “So if the call comes in—”
“When the call comes in,” Brody said.
“When it comes in we can track it,” Tidwell said. “But I want you to reconsider on the negotiator.”
Tidwell and Brody argued back and forth.
But in the end, nothing was decided. Tidwell lobbied for a full-bore investigation starting immediately.
He wanted to search the house, get a list of acquaintances, and backtrack on any problems Brody might have had with people in his life.
Brody, on the other hand, just wanted the police to go away.
He claimed he needed space to think about everything.
“Not a lot of time to think,” Tidwell said. He was needling Brody and meant to.
Brody dropped his head forward and scratched the back of his neck. He looked utterly defeated. “Please,” he said, “just…just leave me alone for a while. I’ll let you know my decision in the morning.”
“And if the kidnapper calls at midnight?” Theodosia asked.
“I’ll handle it,” Brody said. But he looked terrified, as if he had no clue what to do.
“I’ll give you ten minutes to pull yourself together,” Tidwell said. “If you don’t agree to cooperate, then I’m going to step in and take charge.”
“Good,” Theodosia said. She gazed at Tidwell, then nodded in the direction of the front door.
Tidwell understood her meaning and followed her outside.