1. May 26, 1998 #2
Her brain reminded her that as she was leaving his office the second time, he’d called her by her first name instead of his nickname for her.
That had been very odd because she hadn’t remembered him calling her Esme in years…
or ever, really. But that wasn’t the kind of thing the police were asking about.
“There’s luggage packed and ready to go on a trip in both your room and your father’s. Were you headed somewhere?”
“We were going to Paris and Rome for two weeks, and then we were supposed to join Uncle Zion in St. Lucia. Dad asked if I would prefer to go to Switzerland instead, since I’d always wanted to go there.
So we agreed to do that.” She bit her lip and flashed a look at her uncle. “Sorry. I hope you’re not mad.”
Her uncle flashed her a smile and shook his head. “Of course not, my dear. It was your graduation present. It should have been all about you and not business.”
The lead detective flashed a look at the well-dressed man beside her. “Uncle Zion?” the detective asked.
The man in question directed his attention to the detectives as he stood.
“Zion Norton. I was Grayson Bosworth’s partner and, dare I assume it, his best friend.
I own Nimbus Corporation,” he explained.
“My company makes the planes that Esme’s father’s communication systems go in.
That’s how we met. We discovered we had many of the same goals, so eventually, our working relationship turned into a formal partnership. ”
“He’s not really my uncle,” Cherry added. “My parents didn’t have any siblings, but we see him so often that he’s like an uncle. We visit him at least twice a year in St. Lucia, and he visits here a few times as well.”
The police continued to ask their questions, most of which Esme felt helpless to answer.
None of this made any sense to her. While her father was a successful business owner and wealthy in his own right, on top of it, he’d never mentioned business deals that had gone badly or disgruntled employees.
She was sure those things had happened, but he’d clearly not been concerned enough to mention them to her.
And yes, when you had money, kidnappings were always a possibility, but again, he’d said nothing to her.
People might argue that he wouldn’t in order to protect her, but she knew her father.
In reality, he’d been very open with her about the dangers of being his daughter.
So much so that he’d made sure she’d taken self-defense courses, and he’d had a military friend from the Navy teach her how to escape certain situations.
So, no, there were no threats to him she knew of because he would have told her, wanting her to be aware for her safety.
Hours later, she was startled at Zion’s soft calling of her name. The police were gone, and it was just the two of them in the room. “Yes?” she replied, her eyes flying to his.
“Is there anyone I can call for you? A friend?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “It’s graduation day. Everyone has parties and things. I don’t want to bother them with this. I’ll be okay.”
With a gentle rub to her spine, he encouraged, “Why don’t you go upstairs and take a nap? It’s been a very trying day, and I’m sure the police will have more questions tomorrow.”
“Likely the same questions,” she muttered grumpily.
“I don’t know why they keep asking me the same thing over and over.
My answers will not be any different, no matter how they phrase them or who asks me.
No, I didn’t hear anything. No, I didn’t see anything.
No, there haven’t been any strange phone calls, letters, emails, or anything out of the ordinary.
No, Dad wasn’t acting strange lately. Yes, Dad was absolutely fine this morning. ”
“I sincerely doubt that they think you’re lying, my dear. Often, though, people don’t realize they’ve seen or heard things, and it isn’t until later that something jogs their memory. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s the seventh, twelfth, one hundredth time they’re asked the same question.”
“Doesn’t make it any less annoying.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He smiled kindly. “Esme? Would you like to come and stay with me for a while? I know it’s probably too soon, but here you’ll be alone.
It’s an enormous house to rattle around in by yourself.
At least in St. Lucia at Les Vergers de la Mer, you’ll be surrounded by people, and if your father is found, I can get you home quickly. ”
She felt herself stiffen at his words. “When.”
“Excuse me?”
“When. You said ‘if’ he’s found. When he’s found.”
A hand over his heart, his expression regretful, he bowed his head. “I apologize, my dear. I didn’t think before I spoke. Of course, ‘when he’s found.’”
She stood from the couch and felt her heart rate race with irritation despite his backtracking. “Thank you for the offer, Uncle Zion. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’d much rather stay here and be here when he comes home.”
“I understand.” He gave a short nudge toward the door with his head. “Go on. Try to get some rest. This will all be over soon.”
But it wasn’t over soon. Days passed. Weeks.
Eventually, the entire summer. There were no clues other than the destroyed office and a few drops of blood, which were her father’s.
Every time she thought about it, she questioned where the blood had come from.
A hit to the head? A punch to the face? She worried he was in pain and still hurting.
No ransom requests came. There’d been no withdrawals from his bank accounts.
Investigators found his phone on his office floor, but after reassembling and examining it, they found no unusual calls or numbers.
The detectives had his computer files and drives investigated.
Nothing appeared tampered with or removed.
He was just simply gone, and he never reappeared.
Throughout the weeks, Zion kept in touch, and he continued to offer his support.
He’d hired his own private investigators to look into her father’s disappearance.
He’d called in favors from people he knew who might have access to resources law enforcement didn’t.
He’d continued to invite her to his home as a place to rest and wait.
She’d thanked him for his efforts, but she continued to refuse his offer to go to St. Lucia.
Even if her father wasn’t here, she felt closer to him being at home .
Eventually, the police moved on to other cases.
Even the FBI had given up. She didn’t blame them.
Esme was a practical girl. With nothing to work from for so long, they couldn’t keep working on his case when there were other cases to be solved.
They assured her they would keep trying, but she knew.
It was done. While that hurt her heart, she didn’t give up hope that somehow he was useful to whoever had taken him and that he’d come back to her somehow.
The week before college arrived. Throughout August, the wheels in her brain had been turning.
She had to make a choice. Early in the year, she had accepted offers from twelve universities, including MIT and Stanford, but she chose Georgetown, her local university, to study business and politics, like her father.
The thought of heading to classes like a normal high school graduate seemed wrong, and yet she knew it would be what her father wanted.
As she wrestled with her decision, the attorney informed her she was much wealthier than even she had imagined.
In the short term, she had a monthly payment from the interest in a trust she inherited when her mother passed.
When she turned twenty-one, she’d gain full access to the trust, making her a multimillionaire.
Her father also had a vast family fortune at his fingertips since he was an only child.
His money was in trust for Esme as well.
However, she’d have to wait longer for that money since he’d have to be declared dead in order for it to come to her.
She’d much rather have him back than get access to the money.
The week before classes began, she was sitting behind her father’s desk, a habit she had picked up when she needed to think clearly, and she made plans.
With no leads on her father’s disappearance, the choice became obvious to Esme.
Learn everything she could, as fast as she could, in every area possible that might help her find her father—politics, business, languages, communications, computers, law—and then find people whom she could use to put her search into motion.
When classes started, instead of taking part in dorm life as planned, she stayed at home and headed to class. Despite a heavy course load, she excelled in her classes and vowed never to rest until she found her father or brought his kidnappers to justice.
Five years later, with her final exams and papers turned in and her master’s degree validated, she walked out of her apartment on graduation day as if headed to the ceremony.
However, when it started, Esme Bosworth’s seat at the ceremony was empty.
When her name was called, she was not there to accept her diploma.
Once a year, she made a call to her Uncle Zion to check in, assuring him she was healthy and safe. To everyone else, Esme simply disappeared. She never told them where she was or what she was doing. She simply followed the plan she’d set in August 1998.
Tribe Corporation and the deadmen were born.