Only the Strongest Survive (4 page)

“
I think we
should
hire a good detective,” said
Alexandra Regan, a board member responsible for finance. Her
appearance was striking, with long, jet-black hair and gray,
domineering eyes. Men were attracted to her exceptional beauty but
always surprised by her sharp intellect and greedy
character.

“
I’ve already
done that. The Chicago
District Court has
been working with some guy for over seven years. Bauer, I think.”
Blake looked for the name among his papers. “Yes, Bauer. He’s of
German descent and apparently very good. I’m meeting him
later.”

Alexandra
said, “The news of her
kidnapping will sooner or later find its way out. This will of
course result in the value of our shares falling.”

Everyone was
appalled at her words. How could she think about shares when
Emely had been kidnapped?

“
Listen to
me, I know we’re dealing with a kidnapping and I can’t even imagine
what Emely must be going through
at this
moment. But we must act carefully and consider
everything.”

Blake watched
her from the side. Alexandra was one of the
smartest women he had ever known. During the years of
struggling for survival, she had often had to ignore her
sentimental side.

He
said
, “I agree with Alexandra. We’ve got
to think of the company and at the same time do everything we can
to save Emely.”

Alexandra
looked at him
gratefully and added, “It’s
best if we can hide the news for as long as possible. Perhaps she
has lost her memory or something. It’s pointless panicking already,
as she’s only been missing for a short while. As soon as the public
gets a whiff of this, we can expect journalists to descend.
Everyone will want to write about it and our share price will fall
dramatically.”

A hubbub
rose
in the meeting room from conflicting
voices of approval and disapproval.

Blake
stepped closer to the table and said, “If it is
a kidnapping, we can expect a call from whoever did it. They’ll
demand huge amounts of money. What’s our liquidity at the moment,
Alexandra?”

“
If they ask
for no
more than ten million, we would
have no problem.”

“
But surely
we’re not just going to pay the
se killers
and let them get away,” one of the directors said in a defiant
tone.

Blake
replied
, “No one said they were killers.
We don’t even know yet if she really was kidnapped. I suggest we
wait a day or two. If it transpires that it is a kidnapping, then I
think we should take no risks. If they ask for a sum that is within
reason, it’s better to pay them than to put Emely’s life in
jeopardy.”

Most heads in the room nodded.

Alexandra
said
, “I think it’s best if we prepare
ourselves for the worst scenario. If we’re not prepared, we won’t
be able to take the best action. Every badly thought-out statement
to the public could cost us huge amounts of money.”

This time most heads could be seen
nodding.

“
I propose we
appoint one person who will talk to the press and
pass on information,” she added.

All
eyes turned to Blake, who had taken his
seat.

“
OK, OK, I’ll
do it,” he said.
“I suggest we meet twice
a day to discuss where we are.”

Maria
, the secretary, walked into
the room. She leaned down to Blake and whispered something in his
ear, then moved away.

Blake thought
for a few seconds and
said, “A journalist
called Robert Miles from
News
Continental
is waiting in the reception
area.”

They
we
re all speechless.

*

Blake Crouse
was
sitting in his office, worried. He
was pressing on the joints of his fingers, something he did when in
a tense situation.
These rats
always sniff out a bad smell. There’s no way to keep them
away.

H
e grabbed the receiver. “Send in
Mr. … whatever his name is.”

Maria
said,
“Robert Miles.”

“
I’d prefer
to see him in hell,” Blake added.

Maria quickly
put the receiver down in the hope that Miles had not heard Blake.
She waved the journalist in.

“
Pleasure
meeting you,” Miles said as he shook hands with Blake. He looked
around the luxuriously furnished office, dominated by dark wood and
black leather. The walls were adorned with valuable paintings with
thick frames and next to the windows there stood tall plants with
broad leaves.

The
bastard,
Blake thought, while out loud he said, “Please,
sit down.” He examined the man: tall, at least six foot two, with
dark hair and small eyes. Considering his height, he was incredibly
thin so that the gray suit that was too big for him awkwardly hung
on his back. Frameless glasses gave him a slightly intellectual
appearance.

“
So, Mr.
Miles, what brings
you here?”

Blake
was watching out for the smallest clue on his
opponent’s face. He knew exactly what the journalist would
say:
What can you tell us
about Ms. Donnovan’s disappearance? How long has she been missing?
What are you going to do?

Blake’s
intention was to
shut the guy up before
he got to the second question. He was ready to attack.

“
A few
articles have been written about your company alr
eady,” Miles began. “The corporation has often been
mentioned as a very promising one.”

Blake
listened attentively.
What is
he talking about?

“
But I don’t
t
hink you’ve ever published any more
extensive promotional material.”

“
There has
been no need,” Blake
said in an easy
tone, relieved that perhaps this was not what he had
feared.

“
How
do you mean, no need?”

“
As you
probably know, the company is mainly involved
in speculating in various securities. And investing in
advertising doesn’t lower the price of securities,” he explained
with cynicism.

“
But, if I’m
not mistaken,
it’s been ten years since
you established your own mutual fund.”

“Yes, and?”

He knew where
the journalist was going with this. He wanted money for a long
article about the company. Blake thought about it.
Maybe a small investment in
advertising would not be such a mistake. Especially if we were to
focus on the capabilities of those leading the company.

The
journalist went on: “So you want people to invest in your
company. You grow their investment and take a
certain percentage of the profit.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“
May I
propose a long piece
about the company?
At least four pages in
News
Continental
.”

“
No, I don’t
think it’s necessary
,” Blake said, even
though he had already decided the opposite.
News Continental
was a
popular weekly and a puff piece would reach a wide audience.
Perhaps we should do something
similar elsewhere,
he
considered.

“
You’re
mistaken,
Mr. Crouse. An objective but
overall positive article can have amazing results. People think
it’s a neutral piece of reporting, but in fact it’s a promotion
paid for by your company. It would say everything you wanted it to.
What do you think?” He punctuated his question with a close-mouthed
smile.

“
Perhaps I
might be interested,” Blake
said,
softening. “It all depends on the price.”

“
Of
course,
Mr. Crouse. Here are our
terms.”

Blake
accepted an attractive folder containing a
pricelist. He looked nervously around as his thoughts kept escaping
to Emely. “I’d like to thank you for now.”

The journalist was expecting this reaction
and got up, offering his hand. “I’d like to thank you for your
time. When can I call you again?”

“Tomorrow,” Blake replied.

Just as
Miles
reached the door, the phone rang
and Crouse answered it with his in-office “Hello.” He watched Miles
leave, closing the door.

“
Officers
Wilson and Benotti are waiting in the reception.”

“Send them to my office, Maria.”

“
Of
course,
Mr. Crouse.”

*

“
Because of
the possibilit
y that it is a kidnapping,
we’ll install all the necessary listening and tracking equipment,”
Inspector Benotti said. “You probably know the rules. You must keep
the person at the other end of the line talking for as long as
possible.”

Blake nodded.
He never thought he
’d find himself in a
situation like this. Until then, he had only seen such things on
television. “In your experience, do you think that something bad
really has happened to Ms. Donnovan?”

“
Everyt
hing is possible but we
mustn’t be pessimistic,” she said. “At the same time, we’ve got to
be ready for the worst. Whatever has happened will become clear
soon.”

Blake
regarded the woman in front of him, thinking her
cold and without feeling. She was around thirty-five. Her face,
free of makeup, was framed by a simple hairstyle.
Who knows what she’s already seen in
her career?
he thought.

Inspector
Benotti said,
“If we assume it’s a
kidnapping, then we can expect the phone to ring sooner or later.
We’ll ask the phone company to redirect the calls to her apartment,
to Donnovan Corporation. This way we’ll be able to monitor all the
calls from a single place.”

Blake nodded again.

“
I’m warning
you in advance that the voice at the other end of the line will be
distorted and hard to understa
nd. They’ll
use short sentences and keep to the point. Do everything they ask.
But demand proof. Demand they hand over Emely Donnovan.”

Benotti
stopped talking for a second,
weighing
him with her eyes as if trying to judge if he really was fit for
such a task.

“Yes, yes,” he said, “don’t worry.”

“
OK, if
you’re sure, we’ll install the equipment
immediately.”

*

An hour later
the
police officers returned to his
office. This time, Inspector Wilson asked, “How well do you know
Ms. Donnovan?”

“
I’ve known
her for over fifteen years. She created the corporation, I
joine
d it later. Our relationship is
mostly a business one.”

“Had she mentioned any threatening
calls?”

“
No,
never.”

“
What about
her
behavior? Has she seemed under
stress, or tense, recently?”

Blake thought for a few seconds. “No, she
seemed pretty normal to me.”

“
If
she was kidnapped, do you have any idea who it
could be?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll be more direct. Large companies like
yours have business relations with other companies. Sometimes these
deals work out in such a way that one side benefits much more than
the other. Do you think any of your business partners could be
involved?”

“
I’m certain
not one of them would do anything
like
this.”

“So am I to understand that your company does
not have any business enemies?”

“
Donnovan
Corporation is involved mainly in stock market deals. This means
that we buy and sell securities for other people. All our clients
are very happy with our services. We are also involved in
speculative deals, which means we buy and sell securities for our
company. But we don’t have any enemies in this respect either
because we always play by the rules that apply to
stockbroking.”

Bo
th police officers made a
note.

“
We
have
also bought a number of medium-sized
manufacturing companies and a part of our profit comes from that.
But I can’t see a connection between her kidnapping and anyone
involved in our business past.”

“
Good. We
also think a well
-organized group of
kidnappers is involved, whose aim is the extortion of
money.”

“So you do think it’s a kidnapping?” Blake
said with horror.

Inspector
Wilson immediately regretted
his last
statement. “No, no! Sorry, it’s a possibility, like we said
earlier.”

“
What about
her personal life?” Benotti asked,
cutting into the awkward exchange.