Breaking News (13 page)

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Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Breaking News
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Chapter 20
A
bby was shocked when she heard her mother's voice. Knowing that her mother would have called in all the troops, she felt an instant sense of hope.
“This is Abby Simpson. I need to speak to the CEO of LAT Enterprise.”
Rag stood in front of her, holding the single white sheet of paper. “Read.”
“ ‘Please follow these instructions to the letter. Any deviation from them, and Abby Simpson will suffer the consequences. At precisely five o'clock, be at the Santa Monica Pier, at the Marine Science Center, under the carousel building. I want a carry-on suitcase with one million dollars in cash placed next to the men's room. An additional nine million dollars is to be wired to an account. The numbers will be in a red envelope taped to the top of the garbage can in the men's room at the drop-off point. I'll be watching. At the first sign of police or the Feds, you will never see Miss Simpson alive again. Once I am safely on board a plane of my choosing, I will call back with the location of your editor in chief.' ”
Toots was taken aback when she heard Abby's voice, but was grateful to know she was still alive and, hopefully, unharmed. She knew the conversation was being recorded by the police, and no doubt Rag would be listening as well. Toots would get the details from them later. Now she needed to quickly figure out a way to get a message to Abby before she hung up.
“Miss Simpson,” Toots said in as firm a voice as she could muster. “This is Ms. Loudenberry. We have never met, but I have the independent members of the board of directors, Mr. Clay and Mr. Goebel, here with me. We are prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure your safe return. After all, where would I find an editor of your caliber?” Toots's voice broke on the last word.
“South Central LA, I would guess.”
Rag instantly ripped the phone from her hand. “Listen, whoever you are. I am serious. If my demands are not met by five o'clock, this bitch of an editor is history.” On that threat, he hung up the phone.
Toots could no longer hold back her tears. This was a nightmare, but at least Abby was alive. Phil was immediately at her side. He handed her a wad of tissues from the box on Abby's desk.
“Sophie, did you get anything from that?” Toots asked while drying her tears.
Chris gave a halfhearted grin, and Phil looked puzzled.
“Does Sophie have supersonic hearing?” Phil asked, hoping to lighten the atmosphere, if only a little.
“My gut feelings are good, Toots. Let's leave it at that for now.”
Toots nodded her understanding.
Before they could explain Sophie's . . .
abilities,
Goebel's and Chris's police connections returned to Abby's office.
“Were you able to pick up on anything?” Toots asked anxiously. “I think Abby was trying to give me a clue to her location.”
“We got that, and we were also able to get the number of the cell phone they used. It'll take a little doing, as this is off the record, but I'm sure we can get a general location via the pings from a cell tower. I have a couple of guys on duty who can take care of it for me right away,” Chris's friend, the self-appointed officer in charge, explained.
Goebel spoke next. “We have less than five hours to get the money and put everyone into position. Toots, have you made arrangements to get a large sum of cash?”
“Yes. I called Henry Whitmore at the bank in Charleston. He's contacted the local branch here. The cash is available now.”
“Good. Now, we'll need some transportation.”
“I have two perfectly good vehicles at the beach house,” Toots said. “Chris, I know we can't all fit in your car. Any suggestions?”
“I have a spare set of keys to Abby's MINI. I'll take Chester. Ida and Mavis, you can ride with me. Goebel, you, Toots, Sophie, and Phil can follow me in my car,” Chris said.
“Once we get to the beach house, then, Toots, you and Phil can go to the bank and get the cash. Ida, you and Mavis find suitable luggage to transport all that money. Chris, stay in contact with your police buddies, and if you hear anything before we arrive at the beach, call my cell phone. Sophie, you're with me,” Goebel said firmly.
 
“Rag, I've been here for hours. I don't know about you, but my kidneys are working just fine. I need to pee,” Abby complained. And she did, but maybe if he cut her loose, she might figure a way out of there.
“I wondered when this was gonna happen. You damn women are worse than a baby. You have to piss every time you turn around. Since phase two of my plans seems to be working out well, I suppose I can let you loose long enough to take a piss.”
Rag left the room, returning with a hunting knife. “Don't get any ideas, or I'll do more than cut you loose.”
Ordinarily, she would've told him to kiss off, but remembering that he had had no qualms about hitting her, she kept her mouth shut. The troops were out; that much she knew. But if she saw an opportunity to make a break, she sure as hell was going to give it her best shot.
None too careful, Rag cut the duct tape from around her ankles, then stared at her squarely in the face. “I mean it. I will hurt you, so forget whatever you're thinking.”
Abby wanted to kick the old son of a bitch right in the nuts, but with her hands still tied behind her, she couldn't.
He yanked her up with her hands still tied behind her. “This way,” he directed and shoved her down a short hallway to a filthy bathroom.
“I can't use the bathroom without my hands untied.”
“Oh yes, you can,” he said as he reached for the zipper on her jeans. In an instant, her jeans and panties were bunched around her ankles.
“You perverted son of a bitch!” For the first time since being taken, tears of anger filled Abby's eyes. She was humiliated when Rag yanked her jeans down.
“Just piss, Abby.”
Her bladder was about to explode, yet when she looked at the filthy toilet, she was afraid to sit down on it, and there was no way in hell she was going to straddle the seat with her pants at her ankles. “Can you at least put some tissue on the toilet seat?”
“You damn well amaze me! Who do you think you are? The queen of England? Next you'll want a bidet. Sit down, piss, and shut the hell up.”
“Could you at least give me a minute of privacy?” She looked at the small bathroom window with bars covering it. What kind of a place had steel bars on the bathroom window? She cringed just thinking of it. “It's not like I'm going anywhere.”
Rag looked at the window. With her arms tied behind, he knew there was no escape. Deciding to play nice guy, he said, “One minute.” He stepped out of the smelly bathroom into the hall.
Figuring she'd scrub herself raw later, Abby dropped down onto the toilet seat and relieved herself. She looked around for something to wipe with and realized she couldn't use her hands, but there was a small dingy hand towel dangling from a rusty hook. Leaning against the wall, she backed up to the towel and wiggled in a way that allowed her to wipe herself somewhat. She could only hope that Rag would use this to wipe his face. She grinned.
“Potty time is over.”
Abby squatted down quickly to the point where she was able to maneuver her hands around the back waistband of her panties and pull them up enough to cover herself. That asshole wasn't going to get another free shot at her.
“Okay, pervert, I'm finished.”
He kicked the door open. “I see you were able to pull your little pink panties up. Were you afraid I was going to try to do something nasty to you?”
She clenched her teeth, rage filling her. “What? Were you planning on adding rape to your repertoire? Let me see, we have kidnapping, extortion, and physical abuse, not to mention all the charges the FBI has against you. Have I missed anything?”
“Go ahead, joke about it. I am about to become a very wealthy man. And you, my dear, will be returning to your silly little life.”
With that, Rag jerked up her jeans, not bothering to fasten them, and led her back to the chair in the center of the room. He proceeded to duct tape her ankles around the chair legs a second time. And just because he could, he wrapped three layers of duct tape around her mouth and hair, too.
“Let's see you make a smart-ass comment now, bitch. I don't want you screaming while I go relieve your boss of ten million smackeroos.”
In just a few short hours,
he crowed to himself,
I will be on my way to a life of leisure.
Chapter 21
T
hey made the drive from
The Informer
to Toots's beach house in Malibu in record-breaking time. Once they'd parked Abby's MINI and Chris's Camry, they gathered at the front entrance while Toots unlocked the door.
Toots led them to the kitchen, which had always operated as a command central of sorts. The white cabinets, blue granite countertops, and chrome appliances sparkled like they were brand-new.
“Nice,” Phil commented.
“It used to look like a whorehouse before it was remodeled, right, Toots?” Sophie said to Phil. “A pop star lived here before she bought the place. She was overly fond of purple and hot pink.”
“Now isn't the time, Sophia,” Ida admonished. “We're here for Abby.”
For once, Sophie actually kept quiet.
Goebel sat down at the table, motioning for the others to sit, too. “We don't have a lot of time. It's after one already. There is no room for screwups. We get only one shot, and it has to be perfect. Chris, you're sure that your off-duty buddies can be trusted?”
“I'd trust them with my life, and Abby's, too. And I guess I have, haven't I?”
“Good. I've pulled up a map of the Santa Monica Pier here.” Goebel turned his iPhone so the others could view the map. “The Marine Science Center is located here.” With a few taps of his index finger, he enlarged the map to indicate the area where Rag wanted them to drop off the ransom. Goebel glanced at Toots to see how she was holding up. This wasn't a stranger they were talking about. “I've asked Dave Thompson to head out there now, just in case.”
“That idiot can't even keep Abby safe at the paper!” Toots charged. “Damn, Goebel, I'm surprised at you.” Her hands shook as she fiddled with the top button on her sheer black blouse. Had it only been yesterday that she and Sophie had cackled with laughter over what to wear on her date with Phil? It seemed a lifetime ago.
“I understand where you're coming from, Toots, but let's face it. The building is old. There may be even more secret tunnels and passageways. Dave is good at what he does. You said yourself, you hired the best security team money could buy. And he's the best. Dave took an early retirement ten years ago. He was with the Secret Service.”
Dave hadn't wanted to disclose that tidbit of information but felt he had no choice. When they were downstairs at
The Informer,
Goebel had grilled him like a suspect, and that was when Dave told him about his past. He'd made a couple of hasty phone calls to confirm Dave's background. And he really was one of the best.
“So what you're telling me is a former member of the Secret Service didn't know what lay behind that door?” Toots echoed.
Goebel nodded. “I think it's safe to say we can trust him to monitor the comings and goings at the Marine Science Center.”
“I trust Goebel,” Sophie added. “Remember, I've seen him in action.”
“Yes, we know,” Ida smirked. “In more ways than one.”
Sophie, being Sophie, gave Ida the finger.
Toots just shook her head. “Come on, you two. Ida, you said it yourself. Now isn't the time. Once Abby's home safe and sound, then I don't care what you two do to each other.”
Goebel waited for them to stop talking before he continued. “Toots, you and Phil need to leave now. Mavis, can you or Ida locate luggage for them?”
Without being told further, Ida and Mavis raced upstairs as though they were in a race for their lives, and in a sense they were, as Abby belonged to them, too.
Ida went to her bedroom and came out within seconds. Mavis hadn't even entered her room yet. “I left this behind. It should work.”
“That was fast. Good. Let's give this to Toots,” Mavis raved.
Ida pulled the Louis Vuitton suitcase behind her, and with Mavis in the lead, they practically flew back down the stairs.
“Is this big enough?” Ida asked.
All eyes focused on the designer piece of luggage.
“I don't know. I've never had a million in cash,” Sophie said. “And certainly not in a Louis Vuitton suitcase.”
Goebel spoke up. “It'll do. Toots, you and Phil go now. Don't waste a minute. This LA traffic is awful. Once you have the money in the luggage, I want you both to be at the entrance to Bubba Gump's at the pier at exactly four o'clock.” Quickly, he homed in on the map again, pointing to the restaurant's location.
“Phil, you can back out now,” Toots blurted out. “I can't imagine what you're thinking.”
“I'm thinking we need to get our asses out of here, just like Goebel said.”
“Then we'll take the Thunderbird. It's fast, and I'm a damn good driver.” Toots headed to the door leading to the garage, then stopped. “Goebel, you have my cell number and Phil's, too, right?”
Goebel nodded. “If there's any news, I'll call you first. Now, get out of here. When you arrive at the pier, park in the public parking lot. I'll find you.”
Toots nodded. She and Phil left without saying another word.
“Chris, you and Chester are coming with me. We might use this old boy to sniff out Abby if we have to. He's already proved that he can detect her. Shepherds are smart dogs,” Goebel commented.
“And what about us? What are we supposed to do? Sit here and twiddle our thumbs?” Sophie declared as she fiddled with a pack of matches.
“No, I want you with me. All of you. We'll all pile into Toots's Escalade. Now let's go. We're wasting time.”

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