City Morgue, Cleveland
When Emily and Charlotte entered the hall, they were greeted by a staff member of the morgue who politely inquired about the reason for their appearance and then led them to the waiting area, where Daniel was sitting alone on one of the chairs, with his head lowered and his face buried in his hands. Charlotte walked slowly towards him and touched his shoulder gently. "Daniel?" As he lifted his head up, looking at her, she noticed that tears were glistening in his eyes. It was not necessary that he confirmed it. She already knew that the dead body in the morgue was her dad. She bent down to him and hugged him while tears were running down her cheeks. For a moment they only held on to each other and tried to give one another solace when Daniel spotted Emily who had been standing motionless, watching them from the doorway the whole time. He cautiously disentangled himself from Charlotte's arms and rose slowly as he continued to gaze at Emily.
She didn't have to think for long. That was the reason she had come here. She took a step forward and put her arms around him. "I'm so sorry!" She muttered as she stroked his head and back. She noticed how his shoulders twitched and held him even more tighter to her chest. She couldn't remember when she'd seen him cry the last time. And it almost broke her heart.
"You... you shouldn't be here," he said in a low, faint voice when he had composed himself and looked at her with teary eyes. "And neither you," he turned to his sister.
"We're family," Charlotte said. "Emily reminded me of that on the way here. We should get through this together."
He nodded and then pushed Emily gently on a chair. "You still must look after yourself."
"That's so sweet that you're worried." She tried to smile. "But I'm fine."
"Was it... bad? I mean... seeing Dad..." Charlotte asked reluctantly.
Daniel nodded. "Until the end... I was hoping... that they were wrong," he said hesitantly. "That it wasn't Dad in the plane wreck... But then... then..." His voice failed and he shook his head. "I will never get this image out of my head..."
Emily reached for his hands and squeezed them. "I wish I'd been here sooner," she said softly. "We could have gone inside together."
He shook his head. "I'm glad that none of you had to see him again." He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the tears away.
"Dad is really dead..." Charlotte muttered as if she had to make it aware of herself again.
Daniel nodded. "They're just checking the jet, or what's left of it. They want to exclude third-party negligence."
"Or just the opposite," Emily interjected. "Are they still suspecting that someone tampered with the jet?"
"Basically yes," Daniel confirmed. "But the pilot didn't survive the crash either. That's why they can't ask him if he noticed anything unusual about the jet before the crash."
"And your mom was not in the wreck?" Emily asked.
"No." He shook his head. "And those from the search party also rule out that she could save herself in some way. The jet didn't even have an emergency parachute. How could she get out there alone? And even though I wasn't personally at the crash site, I've seen pictures. The jet was too destroyed that a person could get out alive."
"That's odd." Emily frowned. "That would mean that your mom wasn't in the jet when it crashed. But where is she now?"
Daniel shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea. They are looking for her. But so far without success. It seems she has disappeared off the face of the earth." He sighed deeply. "But now I have to take care of Dad being taken home first. And then preparations for the funeral must be made, and... "
"I'll help you," Emily quickly tossed in. "And I'm sure we can ask others to help us, too."
"I have to contact our family lawyer because of the estate matters," Daniel continued. "And I hope Mom is back until the opening of will. I guess Dad left her the most of the family fortune." He looked at his sister, who had become strangely quiet. "Charlotte?"
She raised her head abruptly. "I just remembered something," she said hesitantly. "If David really had tampered with the jet because he had earnest intentions to kill Dad, he might have warned Mom before she could go on board. Maybe she left with him." She shrugged. "They had had an affair before. Maybe she left Dad and ran away with David."
"You really have a vivid imagination!" Daniel rolled his eyes. "Or you watched too many slushy movies."
Hesitantly, Emily pulled out her cell phone and looked into her stored contacts. She still had her father's number, but since the day she'd left him in the woods, she'd never tried to get in touch with him again. Maybe now was a good time to try it again. With trembling fingers she pressed the dial number and waited. She didn't know what she had expected, but of course she only reached the mailbox. Quickly she hung up.
"What are you doing?" Charlotte moved closer, looking over her shoulder.
"I still have my father's number stored," she said hesitantly. "I tried to call him."
"Did you want to ask him if he killed my father?" Daniel raised his eyebrows confused.
"'Rather, if he knows where your mother is. But only the mailbox is switched on."
"Just talk on the mailbox," Charlotte suggested. "Mention something like 'life and death'. Then he will return the call."
Emily looked doubtfully at her sister. "Are you sure about that?"
Charlotte shrugged. "Maybe. But it's worth a try."
Daniel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, do what you think is necessary, but I have to go back in there, to manage a few formalities because of the transfer. We'll meet up outside the car, okay?"
Charlotte nodded and pulled Emily to the exit. When they were outside, she pointed to Emily's phone. "Talk to the mailbox!" She repeated.
"What if he was really involved in Conrad's death?" Emily said. "I just didn't think it through when I called. What are we going to do then?"
"We'll think about it when he returns the call." Charlotte took the cell phone out of her hand and pressed the dial button. "At first I want to know where my mom is." She returned the phone. "Come on, speak something on it!"
Emily took a deep breath before she spoke her message on the mailbox. "Hi Dad! It's me, Amanda. It's a matter of urgency why I'm calling you. I need your help, instantly! It's about life and death..."
At the kidnapper's hiding place, New York
A few days earlier (after the crash of the company jet)
When Victoria regained consciousness, she was lying on a hard ground, her eyes blindfolded, hands chained. Panic came over her as she remembered what had happened just before she was anesthetized and had lost consciousness. The black van, the masked men, the cloth that had been pressed on her nose... Everything returned and she began to scream. At least they hadn't gagged her, she thought, as a hand was pulled over her mouth and stifled her screams.
"If you don't stop right away, I'll give you a gag!"
Frightened she obeyed. Even when the hand disappeared and she could breathe freely again, she didn't dare to emit another scream.
"Yes, much better."
"Who... who are you?" She asked in a low, croaky voice.
"You must think that I'm stupid to tell you who I am."
She heard a throaty laugh and flinched. This is how Conrad had felt when they had kidnapped him, she thought. What did the man want, or were there others, too? At least two men had jumped out of the car. One had held her, the other had narcotized her. She couldn't remember what had happened after that. "D-do you want ransom?" She asked in a shaky voice. She heard again this laughter, which was already getting on her nerves. "You... you kidnapped me because you wanted to demand ransom?" She tried again. The laughter ceased abruptly. Instead, she felt something cool, sharp-edged, at her throat. A knife? she thought full of panic and began to breathe faster. "Please, don't kill me!" She pleaded. "My... my husband will pay whatever price you're asking for!" Again this laughter! She would have liked to cover her ears when her hands were free.
"I'm afraid your husband is no longer capable of doing so."
She felt her throat tighten. "What... what does that mean?" She stammered.
"Just a moment..."
Relieved, she realized that the sharp object had disappeared from her neck. Nervous and with a beating heart, she waited in the silence what would happen next. There were voices. A woman's voice, and she seemed to come from a radio or television.
"The company jet, with the Grayson couple on board, was on the way to Chicago, where Conrad Grayson and his wife wanted to participate in a charity ball. But shortly behind Cleveland the jet disappeared from the radar. It's assumed that a turbulence was responsible that the jet couldn't keep its route and then probably plunged into Lake Erie during a correction maneuver. The search has already begun. However, there is still no trace of the missing jet or the passengers..."
"A truly tragic accident. It must be terrible to die that way."
The jet! Conrad! was all she could think of at that moment. "Nooooo!" She started screaming again and tossed and turned to get rid of her restraints. Tears of despair soaked her blindfold, and she began to sob helplessly. "What did you do?!" She screamed without thinking about the consequences. But instead of an answer, she felt the knife at her throat again and froze.
"You think we were responsible for the crash? Well, unfortunately, I must disappoint you. We usually do our jobs without leaving any traces. The crash of a company jet would be too conspicuous. This isn't our style of working."
"Conrad..." she stammered. She couldn't believe he was dead. It was only a few hours since she'd talked to him. And now he should have crashed with the jet? Her brain refused to accept this fact.
"You might be a little more grateful. After all, my men and I have saved you from death, merely unintentional."
'The Grayson couple' the newscaster had said. So they actually assumed that she had been on the jet. The thought sent a chill down her spine. If she hadn't decided at the last minute to leave Conrad, she would probably be lying on the ground of Lake Erie or somewhere ashore in the wreck of the jet. She would be dead now! She began to hyperventilate and started to panic.
"Okay, keep your breathing calm!"
She could feel the knife being removed from her neck and instead strong hands grabbing her and bringing her into a sitting position.
"You're not helping when you get a heart attack now and croak! So head between the knees and breathe deeply!"
She had no choice than to obey when he pushed her down. So she forced herself to breathe evenly and noticed that she got indeed calmer.
"Much better."
"What... what do you want from me?" She asked quietly as her pulse was normal again.
"Demand ransom. You got that right. But since your husband can no longer accomplish this duty, we thought your son can do it instead."
Daniel! Her breath caught once more. What were these men capable of? Would they also kill her son? She had no doubt that her kidnappers were responsible for the crash, even though the man denied it. But who were these men? "Please, leave my son alone!" She begged desperately. "He has nothing to do with it!"
"I think you are wrong with that, Mrs. Grayson. Let us assume that your husband didn't survive the crash, which is very likely, your son will probably inherit everything. That is why he is exactly our contact person."
She moistened her dry lips. "You have tried to kill us on purpose!" she accused him.
"I don't like to repeat myself, but we have nothing to do with the crash. Fact is that we have been shadowing you for a long time and have only been waiting for a favorable opportunity to catch you alone."
She shook her head in despair. "How so?"
"Well, let's put it this way... We just want to get back what is ours by right."
"I don't understand..."
"That doesn't matter. The less you know, the better it is for you. And now excuse me. My men and I have to make some arrangements."
"Wait!" But she only heard a door snap shut and suddenly she was surrounded by silence. Desperately, she tugged at her chains, but she realized soon that she only hurt herself. She tried to think logically and straight, despite the fear she felt. So they had kidnapped her to demand ransom. But what if the money was paid, would they set her free? Or would they kill her as they had killed Conrad? Tears of despair soaked her blindfolds again. She became aware of the scope of the catastrophe just at that moment. Conrad was probably dead, and she had been abducted! She started screaming again, calling for help, but she gave up, as her throat began to ache. She didn't know where she was, because her eyes were still blindfolded, but obviously the walls were so well insulated that no one outside could hear her cry. Calling for help was futile. She had been sitting upright all the time, but now she gave in to her fatigue and sank back to her cot. She was so tired that it didn't take long before she fell asleep...