Free The Case of the Vanishing Boy by Alexander Key

paused before the sofa. “What isn’t going to work, Heron?”
    â€œExchanging Jan for Ginny,” the doctor told her. “I’m sure he’ll keep them both.”
    She nodded. “I feel that too. So the smart thing, I believe, would be to hang on to Jan and refuse to make an exchange. That would give us time to locate Ginny. If we put our heads together, surely we can think of something .”
    â€œNo!” Jan protested, springing suddenly to his feet. “No! That’s the wrong thing to do! If you refuse to exchange me, you’ll never see Ginny again. They’ll take her out of the country, and come after me later. Can’t you understand?”
    He stopped, looking from Hecuba to her brother, and then at Jackson Lane, who had crossed the library and was standing scowling at them.
    â€œWhat’s all the fuss?” the lawyer rumbled.
    Heron Rhodes told him.
    The burly lawyer shook his head. “Now just simmer down,” he ordered. “You’re away ahead of yourselves. We don’t even know for sure who took Ginny. It could be just a straight kidnapping, and have nothing at all to do with Jan. Don’t forget, Heron, you’re not known as a poor man. Now, until we hear from the people who took Ginny, there’s nothing to do but wait. And after we hear, we’ll let Nat Martin make the decisions.” He frowned at his wrist-watch. “He ought to be here any time now.”
    Heron Rhodes grunted. He tapped his fingers on his knees, then impatiently heaved his lean form to his feet and began pacing the library. Presently he returned, and was about to sit down again when a small sound from Otis caused him to straighten.
    Jan, still standing, looked quickly at Otis. The little boy was sitting up in his chair, eyes wide and staring into space while his mouth worked soundlessly.
    Otis suddenly whispered, “She’s awake.… She—she’s sorta sick, an’ I can’t talk to her very well. She …”
    The abrupt ringing of the telephone cut Otis short. It was not a shrill sound, but in the immediate stark silence of the library it sounded shrill and terribly demanding.
    Heron raced toward it. Just before he reached it, Bill Zorn said quickly, “Remember, it’s connected to an office speaker as well as a recorder.”
    The doctor grunted and snatched up the receiver. “Yes?” he said, like a man holding his breath.
    From the speaker a rough voice ordered, “Lemme talk to Johnny.”
    â€œEh? Johnny who?”
    â€œAin’t this Johnny’s Pizza Hut?”
    â€œNo!” snarled Heron, and slammed the receiver down.
    The doctor turned away, muttering to himself. Almost on the instant the phone rang again. He whirled and caught up the receiver a second time.
    â€œYes?”
    â€œDr. Rhodes?”
    â€œThis is Heron Rhodes.”
    â€œWe have Ginny. Now listen carefully.”
    â€œI’m listening.”
    The voice that came from the speaker had a slightly foreign accent, and it was hard to tell whether it was a man’s or a woman’s. “This is the only call we will make to you, Doctor; it is coming from a pay station, so you can forget about tracing it. If you want Ginny back, you must leave the police entirely out of this, act immediately, and do exactly as you are told. If you fail to do so, you will never see her again. Is that perfectly clear?”
    â€œI understand you,” Heron growled. “What’s your deal?”
    â€œGet in your white Rolls with the Riggs boy—”
    â€œWhat in triple tarnation are you talking about?” Heron interrupted angrily. “I haven’t anyone here named Riggs!”
    â€œDon’t be a fool, Doctor,” the voice said coldly. “The boy under discussion is with you now, and don’t waste time denying it. Take him to the Midway Plaza shopping center on the Glendale highway, and drop him off at the