Free A King's Ransom by James Grippando Page A

for a private consultant only if you use Crowell Associates. But if you don't like the specific consultant assigned to your case, you're not stuck. There are others in our organization to choose from. For example, we have a former CIA agent who's a crackerjack on Mexico. I'm sure he'd do a fine job in Colombia, much the way one of your bankruptcy lawyers would do just fine on a divorce case.
    I get your point, I said.
    You can also bypass private security altogether and rely on the FBI.
    That's not really an option. I'm at an impasse with them. I didn't elaborate in front of Duncan; the threat from the narcotics agents was best kept to myself.
    I'm sorry you had that experience, she said. There are a lot of talented negotiators in the FBI who can be of tremendous help to families when the bureaucracy lets them do their job.
    It's pretty clear the bureaucracy's winning this battle.
    That's one of the benefits of private security. I'm totally responsive to you, and to you only. My approach is to tell you everything, each step of the way. I'll advise you of what to do, explain to you the significance of every little thing the kidnappers do, and offer my best guess as to what they might do in the future. Total honesty and openness is the best approach, as in any other relationship. And, believe me, this is a relationship.
    Not too long-term, I hope.
    She didn't smile. Didn't the FBI even tell you that much?
    What?
    The length of time it normally takes to bring a Colombian kidnapping case to closure.
    He wanted to wait and see who was involved before making any projections.
    That makes some sense. But you should be forewarned.
    Of what? I asked.
    These guerrilla organizations don't exactly operate at breakneck speed.
    How long might it take? Weeks? Months?
    I've had a few relatively quick resolutions. But for the most part we're definitely talking months.
    How many?
    The average case, anywhere from six to twelve.
    A fucking year? My astonishment was met with plaintive silence.
    I warned you, I don't sugarcoat.
    I prefer it that way. Excuse my profanity.
    No problem. You'll hear worse from me before this case is over. Assuming you want me on the case.
    I shot a quick glance at Duncan. He seemed to be as impressed as I was. Absolutely, I said.
    Great. Now, it's been very nice meeting you and Duncan, but I'd like to meet with you and the rest of your family as soon as possible.
    My sister's traveling, and we haven't been in touch with her yet. But I can drive you over to my mother's house right now.
    Let's go.
    We rose to leave, but Duncan stole another minute of Alex's time. He needed surveillance work for one of his cases and wanted to know if Alex had any suggestions. Right. Ever since his divorce, Duncan seemed to draw personal validation from any attractive woman who would smile and talk to him, even if it was purely business from her standpoint.
    I waited at the window and looked down thirty stories on the evening rush hour traffic. It was slowly snaking south on busy Brickell Avenue, an endless chain of fuzzy orange taillights at dusk. People were going home, the same old routine, not knowing how lucky they were to have their routines.
    Could this possibly drag on for a year?
    So much in a person's life could change in that much time. Look at me and Jenna, engaged one month, history the next. Could my father physically survive that long in some remote guerrilla camp? He'd survived Vietnam, albeit as a much younger man. What would the emotional scars be like, the effects of prolonged captivity? Not seeing him for that long was unfathomable.
    Poor Mom, I thought, the reality sinking in. Poor Dad.

    Chapter 11

For only the second time in my life, I was taking a woman home to meet my mother and desperately wanted them to hit it off. Obviously the circumstances were very different, as were my motivations. Yet, I was strangely reminded of Jenna as Alex and I wove through traffic in my Jeep with the canvas top down. It was a rare