Kidnapped
“Drink the coffee, we’ll be leaving shortly.” He stepped outside to make his calls.
    * * *
    Luke stopped pacing to lean against his car fender. “Jackie, we’re at Sharon and Mark’s house now. It looks like Sharon and Benjamin came home, Benjamin changed out of school clothes, they packed, and they left. There’s no sign of trouble. And no word from Mark.”
    â€œI could understand one of their cars disappearing, but both?”
    Luke sighed. “This was planned. Well planned.” And with that part of his hope died—that this would have a swift ending, that it would turn out okay, that somehow he’d be able to be Caroline’s white knight and solve this. Really bad news was coming. Luke adjusted because he had to.
    â€œI left the packet of photos with your name on it on the counter by the phone at the condo. Start calling in every favor you think either one of us is owed. Get the photos ready to hit the early morning newscasts. I want Benton, Sandy Hill, and Atlanta saturated with news and flyers by dawn. You can start running a tab against my personal credit cards; they should hold out until dawn when I can call and bump up the credit lines. If you have an idea that you think will work, don’t ask, just run with it.”
    â€œI’ll get it started. Do you want me to handle the media interviews?”
    â€œPlease. Caroline can’t handle it, and I don’t have the patience for it. I’ll call security at Mark’s condo and let them know anyone you want to bring up—cops or television crews—are to be cleared in. Sharon’s too trusting; someone could have gotten to her. And if they then went after Mark . . .”
    â€œYou’re jumping to worst case,” Jackie said softly.
    â€œWorst case, they are already dead. I can work with anything better than that. The cops haven’t been able to find either car. I’ll need helicopters ready to go up at first light with heat detection gear. The woods around here are thick. Find me a good profiler who can look this over.”
    â€œHeadquarters is going to appoint another agent to run the case.”
    â€œI know. Get Henry James in the loop. He’s the best in the division for missing persons cases. The Atlanta SAC owes me; he’ll let Henry take it.” Luke tried to think through threads they could work. “The last call Caroline had with Benjamin, he dropped the phone. He said someone in a van cut off his mom as she left the clinic parking lot. Get security to pull all the tapes for the hospital’s and the clinic’s parking lots. There’s a chance Sharon was tailed. Mark was going to the bank and to fill up the car with gas. There should be security tapes at both places.”
    â€œLuke, this will get worked as a possible kidnapping.”
    â€œI can only hope it’s a move for money.” If this was someone thinking a person’s life and a sum of money could equate, Luke might get them back. “Tell Henry to put taps and recorders on all the family phone lines, including my home phone and Caroline’s. I’ll keep my second phone line free if you need to forward a call.”
    He looked at his watch. They needed to check the clinic tonight, which meant waking someone up. “Change of subject: Has there been anything on Frank Hardin?”
    â€œA decent lead by a trucker had him heading west.”
    â€œHe did whatever job he came to do.”
    â€œIt looks that way.”
    â€œAny more bodies show up?” Luke shoved a hand through his hair. “No, don’t answer that. I’m pushing the edge of morbid tonight. I’ll call at the bottom of the hour. I’m taking Caroline by the medical clinic and Mark’s office. We’ll be back at her place before the first newscasts announce that family is missing. I want Caroline to have a few minutes in familiar surroundings before that hits

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