“And also their mother, I’m told. It seems rather odd that my client would kidnap these children, only to give them back to their mother. Unless he was protecting them, as claimed.”
“He handed them off to Kris Collins, not the mother. We believe that he is currently holding her hostage.”
“And you have proof of this? Because your security video paints a picture of her going with him on her own volition. And she was the one who came up behind him, while he was waiting in line for Santaland.”
“We both know that once her children were abducted, Collins held all the cards, and she had no choice but to go with him. And how do we know that he didn’t have a weapon under that coat he flashed open for her to see?”
“I only deal with what we do know. And what I know is that the mother walked right out of the store with Kris
and her children,
which would mitigate these cards from your previous scenario. She didn’t appear to be harmed or threatened in the slightest, and she chose not to alert any of the numerous security or other patrons within close proximity.”
“We would have liked to talk to them to find out, but unfortunately Collins fled, using an abandoned tunnel to avoid us, and made a run to the train station. Does that sound like an innocent man to you?”
“If they tried to leave by train, then it shouldn’t be that hard to apprehend them. If these children are in such peril, as you describe, then I’m sure you’ve stopped and searched every train that left Penn Station.”
“We know what train they entered, but they got off before we were able to get to them. He is a very cunning criminal.”
“So you have no idea where they are?”
“No, but I get the idea that your client does,” he said, sending an accusatory look right at Justin. Falcone was a brave man, she’d give him that.
“My client is an innocent victim in this. He protected those children from the clutches of a dangerous woman, and returned them to their mother. For all we know, she could be forcing Kris to go with her, and not the other way around.”
“You do know who Nicole Closs is, right?”
“All I was told by my clients is that she’s a nice lady, and Kris didn’t force her to go with him.”
“You didn’t follow the Kerstman trial?”
“I didn’t, although I’m very aware of how it ended.”
“Nicole Closs became front page news when she verbally assaulted Kerstman’s lawyer in front of the entire courtroom.”
“So now you’re saying that Kris took this woman as some sort of revenge? Even by your standards, that’s a reach, Agent Falcone.”
“What I’m
saying,
is that the Kerstman trial is the common thread in this, and that the only act of
revenge
will come from Stone Scroggie, unless he gets his money back.”
“While an interesting theory, it certainly isn’t grounds to hold my client any further.” She zipped her brief case and stood. “So if there isn’t anything further, we’ll be on our way.”
“Your client is complicit in this, as is another client of yours, Zee Thomas, who just happened to be the driver of the getaway train. You’re right, I can’t prove it … yet. But in the meantime, you should spend less time concerned with enabling Mr. Duma and your ex-husband, and more about the well-being of others in this room.” He looked at Franny and Zooey as he said it.
“Are you threatening my children?”
“No—I’m trying to warn you of the threat your facing. Just like I tried to do in your office yesterday. Stone Scroggie has no problem going after anyone to get what he wants. Including your children.”
“The only person threatening my children’s safety is you, Agent Falcone. You’re the one who took it upon yourself to put two six-year-olds in jail, while letting Jacqueline Helada roam free.”
“Where are your older children? They were with their father in the store, and now they seemed to have disappeared.”
“Why, so you can follow them and then throw them in jail?”
“We’re not following them, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Stone Scroggie and his people are.”
Libby felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. But her exterior remained cool. “If you’re done with your threats, we’ll be on our way. I wish you and yours a happy Christmas, Agent Falcone.”
“Thank you, but the only way any of us will enjoy it this year is if Collins hands over the money. Stone Scroggie won’t be taking the holiday off.”
Libby grabbed Franny and Zooey’s hands and led them out of the detention area, as Justin followed.
“Thanks for watching the children,” Libby made small talk as they marched out of the department store. “If you need me tonight, I’ll be having dinner at my parents, and then will be meeting up with Ned in the city. How about you—do you have any plans tonight?”
“I’ll be working,” Justin said.
“How sad for people that have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve than go to a strip club … no offense.”
“None taken—the club is closed tonight. I’m doing an appearance. Shake some hands, sign some autographs, get paid, it’s all good.”
Libby was no longer listening—her mind focused on Falcone’s words. She pulled Justin away from reach of the twins’ ears. “Is what he said truthful—are my children in danger?”
“Santa would never let anything happen to your kids.”
She looked at him, bursting out of his red suit. “How can you protect them if you’re working tonight?”
He chuckled. “I’m just a middle-aged ex-jock in a costume. I’m talking about the real Santa.”
Libby didn’t believe in leaving her children’s safety in the hands of a mythical figure. So after parting ways with Justin, she dialed Taylor and Alex on their cell phones. There was no answer.
We walked the blindfolded prisoners into the tunnels below the main house. This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted this to go down, but the circumstances didn’t leave me much of a choice.
Alyson took the lead, as my legs struggled to work after spending over two hours crammed in the luggage compartment of a helicopter. Nicole wasn’t going easy. She was kicking and screaming. Alyson pushed her up against the wall and removed her blindfold, but was smart enough to leave the rope that was restricting her hands.
I removed the blindfolds from her kids. The girl seemed scared, hooked into her mother’s emotions, and understanding the gravity of the situation. But the boy was oblivious. Sort of typical of men and women in the grownup world.
“That was cool,” the boy gushed. “Is this the Bat Cave?”
I was about to tell him the truth—that indeed this was the Bat Cave—but before I could blow his mind, Alyson removed the gag from his mother’s mouth and I was stabbed with a sharp tongue.
“Get away from them!” she screeched. “I trusted you!”
As someone who had experience in letting down the women in my life, I knew those three little words actually meant:
I was wrong to put my trust in you, which became abundantly clear when after leaving the train station, my children and I were thrown into the back of a truck, bound, gagged, and shoved into oversized bags—then loaded onto a helicopter like luggage. And now I’m a hostage in some subterranean prison in God knows where.
Her kids ran to her and they did a group hug, as best she could with Nicole’s hands tied behind her back. “That helicopter ride was cool, Mom—this is the best Christmas ever … and it isn’t even Christmas yet!” Peter exclaimed, still on an adventure high.
If I thought such a declaration would bring me goodwill, I was sadly mistaken. And things were about to get worse.
“And now the real fun starts,” Alyson said to the boy, and led him and his sister away. “It’s time for pancakes.”
“Nooo!” Nicole shrieked, but there was nothing she could do, as she watched the kids disappear through the door.
“Where is she taking them?” she called out.
Since I was the only other one in the room, I assumed she was talking to me. “She’s taking them to get some food. It has been a long day … and it’s kind of a tradition.”
“Like it’s becoming tradition for you to rip apart our lives!”
“You agreed to come.”
“If I did, I’ve changed my mind—it was a huge mistake. I wanna go home right now.”
“It’s too late for that, I’m sorry.”
She shook her head with exasperation. “So for the record, I am no longer here by choice. You are holding me hostage!”
“It’s noted.”
She sighed heavily. “I can’t believe I had the choice of the good guys or the crooks, and I chose to go with you. I must be the worst mother ever.”
This time I think she was talking to herself. But just to be sure, I answered, “You’re a great mom.”
“Real comforting coming from the guy who’s holding us hostage in some musty basement in … where are we, anyway?”
“The North Pole.”
“Why didn’t you say so? Can I meet Santa? Oh wait, he’s in New York abducting children in department stores.”
“Since he gave them back, I think the proper term is ‘borrowing’ them. And it doesn’t matter if the FBI are the good guys or not—if they couldn’t keep us from taking your kids, there was no way they would be able to protect them from Scroggie’s people.”
“But you’ll be able to?” she asked with a shake of the head.
“This is the safest place I know. It’s the only place I can guarantee everyone is on my side.”
“I can’t imagine that anyone would be out to get such a nice guy like yourself.”
“They think I stole their money, and that I know its location.”
“You mean
our
money … and
do
you
know where it is?”
I chose not to incriminate myself. Besides, I think she already knew the answer, and her mind had already moved to the next piece of the puzzle.
“I get that they want to get you, and I don’t blame them, but I don’t understand how they can hurt you by getting to me … as you claim.”
“Because they think I have a … it’s not important.”
“It’s the reason I’m here, so it’s damn important to me. I think you owe me that much.”
She had a point, I did. So after a few starts and stops, some nervous chuckling, and stutters, I came clean, “They think I have a thing for you.”
She looked confused. “And why would they think that? We’ve met once before today, and if I remember correctly, it wasn’t exactly a friendly meeting.”
“I didn’t say I did, I just said they think I do,” I dusted off some of my lawyerly avoidance skills.
She spared me some dignity by not pushing it. But that didn’t mean we were on the same team. I handed back her phone that I’d confiscated during our escape. “Call your mother and let her know that you and the kids went on a trip and won’t be home for your dinner plans. Tell her you’ll be back first thing in the morning.”
“How do you know what our plans are tonight?”
I chose not to mention that thanks to Marcus Hacker, we knew tonight’s plans for all former Kerstman employees. “Everybody has a family dinner on Christmas Eve, it’s what people do.”
“How do you know I won’t tell her that you have us held hostage?”
“Because you don’t want to worry her. And since nobody knows where you are, including yourself … where would they even start to look for you?”
She knew I was right, which appeared to annoy her. And with Scroggie out to get her children, she was beginning to figure out that she was better off with nobody knowing where she was.
She called home and made up a story about winning a Christmas themed train-trip upstate while at Macy’s, a real life Polar Express, and she couldn’t turn it down for the kids. The sponsor of the trip would put them up for the night in a bed-and-breakfast and return them in the morning. She wasn’t that far off.
The good news was that her mother didn’t mention anything about seeing Nicole or the kids on the news. That meant Falcone wanted to keep the missing kids low profile. Because he knew any search for them might lead others to me, and possibly the treasure. And he was determined to get to it first.
Nicole’s mood improved slightly when her children were returned, along with a big plate of pancakes for her. She refused to eat them at first, believing we were plotting to drug her, but eventually the Harry Crawford syrup wore her down, and she dug in.
I spent the next few hours guarding the prisoners. Mother and daughter wouldn’t talk to me, but I’d dealt with the silent treatment before from Libby and Taylor, so I was accustomed to the tactic. On the other hand, the boy, Peter, wouldn’t stop talking. Since my only son was Alex Collins, this I wasn’t prepared for.
Another hour passed by before Alyson returned. This time she had someone with her—the sight of Zee brought a smile to my face.
He explained that they’d searched the train at the first stop in Stamford. But when they didn’t find anyone or anything, they allowed him to proceed, eventually making it to Vermont about three hours after our helicopter arrived.
This surprised me. By now, Falcone had seen the security video that showed me getting on the train with Nicole and her children, which would give him enough cause to take Zee into custody. No different than he did with Zee yesterday or Duma in Macy’s. His strategy had been consistent. If he kept the pressure on, one of us would eventually break. And here he had a chance, and passed. I noted it as interesting.