Vanished Without A Trace (24 page)

He continued to review the papers of the days following the kidnapping and learned about the fears the child might be kidnapped by a pedophile. The parents informed all media that they were willing to pay an extremely high ransom for the kidnappers or a high financial reward to anyone who could give information, but no one called. There were some who played pranks but no serious calls came in. Discussions took place in the media advocating that the child was kidnapped by a pedophile and questions were asked whether the amount which Fisher was willing to pay would return the child, or whether the financial compensation had any effect on pedophiles; a photo of the mother next to a big caption was published, asking the kidnappers to return the child, and an interview came out, where it was evident that she was shattered to pieces and believed that the child had been kidnapped by a pedophile or murdered.

The case was closed and classified as an unsolved case. The assumption was that the child had been kidnapped by a pedophile because they didn’t receive any information or ransom demands and the child had not been found until today.

Alon looked at the papers and noticed that there was an overlapping period between the time of the abduction of the child and Naor’s company winning the bidding. The kidnapping occurred a few days before the winning. Tom's father refused to negotiate with the military in this grim period of his life, and though the army was willing to wait for several days, Fisher decided to forgo the bidding. Nothing was more important than his son. He was crushed. The thought that his son was in the hands of a pedophile knocked him out completely.

Alon printed any significant material available. The main data was in his hands, Daniel’s age corresponded to Tom’s age, and the bidding actually took place several days before the abduction.

Alon went back to the hotel, laid on the sofa in the living room, put his feet up and enjoyed the moment. It was definitely a great moment. It was not just a lead, but a breakthrough. 'I should inform Fisher that I found his son. I should bring him the news’. He knew he should not wait for another minute. He must run with the subject and examine it. He should find the link between Julia and Kowalski and all about this business. After all, it’s impossible to just go to Fisher and tell him that because Tom and Daniel were the same age, it was sure that he was his son. Fisher would say that there were hundreds if not thousands of orphaned children like Daniel in Romania. Alon presumed Julia was not Daniel’s mother, but Kowalski’s accomplice in carrying out the kidnapping, and this was the reason why he murdered her. Alon did not want to linger. He knew when something was thrown into the air, there would always be more people who would try to catch it, just like the case of Benjamin and Amos. They were friends of Gideon, but not his friends, and he was not ready for Gideon to tell them the story that he poured his sweat into.

He picked up the phone and called Gideon. "The boy that was kidnapped was never found. I also found out that there was a congruence between the age of the boy that was kidnapped and Daniel’s age. I’m going to finish this case. I guess Julia was the kidnapper who coordinated with Kowalski. If Tom is Daniel, then Julia was probably not the mother. I feel the need to take a chance and ask Tom’s father for a DNA test."

"Are you out of your mind??! You can’t go to Fisher with just circumstantial evidence!"

"I have no other way to answer the questions. We can’t ask Kowalski to do a test, therefore we have to ask Fisher. If he doesn’t agree, we will turn to his wife. Show me a mother who won’t agree to take every chance just to know that her son is alive."

"Come on, Alon, Daniel was born in Romania. It's impossible. Let me call Karina and consult her. I will ask her to try to check if Daniel remembers something from infancy. If we can confirm something, then we can take a chance and contact Fisher regarding our claim. Be reasonable, the boy lived in Romania and the kidnapping was in the United States. Seemingly, there is no connection between the two."

"Gideon, I think the child was kidnapped from the kindergarten with his nanny. During this time, Julia, or any other woman, managed to forge documents and fly the boy to the mess of Eastern Europe. Romania was full of orphans. One more orphan can’t move anyone. No one paid attention to it, it was obvious."

Gideon was quiet. Although he tried to appease Alon and show the other side of the coin, he agreed with him a hundred percent. There were suspicious circumstances and involvement in the story of the two tycoons, things that could give them a great option to break forward. They shouldn’t wait. It would be worth taking the risk where Fisher and Daniel might be disappointed, but it was quite possible both would be grateful for the rest of their lives.

"By the way, Gideon, I don’t want to be rude, but I prefer that at this point you don’t update your friends about the case. You know, I worked hard…"

"Whatever you say. I hope they won’t press me too much against the wall because as you know they are already involved in the case."

Gideon closed the phone and quickly called Karina. "Karina, I think we have a very strong case on our hands. It went in a direction we didn’t expect in the beginning." 

"I thought you already closed the case."

"Yes, but there are developments despite our notice that we closed the case, so we decided to do some more examinations of our own." He tried to show he was devoted to his work and not just the money that was important to him. "I need you to come immediately. There's something that can’t wait."

Karina agreed, and Gideon hoped for her to agree to fly to Romania to talk with Daniel about the latest developments and persuade him to fly to the United States for some tests. He feared

Karina would refuse because it was just a few days after her wedding, but hoped when she heard the news and thought about the breakthrough, she would want to undertake this operation at all costs and become a partner in resolving the case. Gideon knew it would be difficult to convince Fisher to do the tests. He wouldn’t need Daniel’s mess on his mind, so Karina might have to be a convenient solution.

Karina arrived to the office half an hour later. She heard from him about the occurrences and the latest developments, on how they decided to close the case and then found more important details. Then Gideon broke the news to her, "I think Daniel is the son of David Fisher, the owner of the Electrosky Company. Karina stared at him with her big green eyes. She was silent for a long time thinking if Daniel would be judged according to his business skills, he absolutely inherited them from someone like David Fisher. "What should I do to advance this whole thing?" She had no intention of stopping here.

"You'll have to tell Daniel the story and convince him to fly to the United States for some tests."

"Do you have proof on the matter?" Karina asked.

"It’s just circumstantial evidence, but DNA testing could probably give a hundred percent reliable justification." Gideon said.

"Wow, how will I induce both of them to do the blood tests?" she asked.

"That’s right. This is what disrupts me the most in the whole story. After twenty-five years, we will contact Fisher and tell him we think that an estranged boy from the other side of the world is his son. He may tell us to go to Hell." Gideon was not as optimistic as Alon, who believed if he went to Fisher to break the news, he would jump for joy. Gideon knew it would not be easy, especially since they had to take into consideration the possibility their assumption might be proven wrong.”

"How is Kowalski tied to the whole thing?" Karina asked.

"I'm afraid to talk now. I'll tell you everything in the United States. I do not want the story to be leaked to any journalist."

"I will not tell anyone. You can count on me," Karina didn’t have any intention of giving up. They needed her just as she needed them. If they thought of getting her out of the story, she would not help them with Daniel.

"Gideon, I am not going to coordinate if you will not tell me the details. I can’t just go to talk to Daniel without any knowledge of what this is all about. He won’t agree to it."

"I will tell you everything when you get to the United States."

Karina grabbed her bag and got up."Bye!"

"Where are you going?"

"You need to convince Daniel all by yourself, and believe me, it will be easier for you to bring Mr. Fisher to Daniel than bringing Daniel to him. Besides, what could be bigger and more exciting than the news of finding his son? Haven’t you said such already?"

Gideon crumpled his mouth, he was not satisfied with the blackmail, but he understood that it was inevitable. "I think Kowalski and Julia kidnapped Daniel.”

Karina was silent. Now she completely understood Kowalski’s behavior. Daniel was a continuous threat. All connections between Daniel and Kowalski might expose their actions. She wondered how one could contain so much evil. Kowalski kidnapped Daniel and continued to manage a friendly relationship with poor Fisher while he kept on trying to get rid of Daniel.

"I need you to getting Daniel to the United States. I know you just got married, but we can’t wait. I need to run with this, if you want to be a part of this whole thing, you need to help us with Daniel. While you talk to Daniel, I will try to talk with Fisher."

"For me, I can fly to Romania today or tomorrow."

43

Karina landed in Romania and immediately headed to Daniel's office. It had been two months since she had seen or even talked to him; she decided not to call him for fear that this time he would ignore her, or even perhaps refuse to see her. Then she would have to tell him everything on the phone when she preferred to tell him face to face, in a gentle and considerate manner.

The cab stopped next to the office, but Karina did not see Daniel's car around. She asked the driver to go to the secretary and figure out Daniel’s whereabouts. She was afraid if the secretary would see her, she will notify Daniel, and she would never know what his response would be, especially if he decided to disappear so as not to meet her. The taxi driver came back and told Karina that Daniel did not arrive to the office and could be found on his yacht in the marina.

Daniel usually got to work every day but that day there were so many questions that bothered him. He decided to go to the beach to scrutinize things. If only Solly were alive, he would sit and talk to her, and he might even ask her to use her powers to help him. After all, she knew many things. She prophesized that his father was rich, she foretold that he would have the money to pay back the loan he took from her. She even guessed that she wouldn’t be with him for long. The thing that she mentioned about three people whose fate would intersect with his destiny was something he didn’t understand, and presumed that her mind was disrupted when she said it. He smiled at the thought, if she was alive, she would certainly know what he was thinking about her, and he wouldn’t get through it in silence.

His thoughts turned to Karina. He wanted her so much beside him, to share his thoughts. He remembered the night when he told her about his grandfather and his mother, and she doubted his words. He wondered if she was still casting doubt on the story. It seemed not, after all, she continued to manage the working relationship with him with full confidence. But now that she was married to Odi, Daniel thought that it was time for him to disengage the working relationship he had with her. Karina’s chapter needed to be over. This chapter disappointed him completely anyway. It was too late when he realized how much he wanted Karina, and in the meantime she made her choice.

Lady sat down near his feet, sending him a pair of understanding eyes as if she knew he needed support. He caressed her and thought that she needed a partner, a dog that can play with him. ‘As long as I can get over my thoughts, I’ll do it, there is no reason for her to suffer like me,’ he concluded. "Worst case scenario, I will marry you." He joked. "Let’s go play. I can’t be stuck with my thoughts." He threw a stick and Lady went to get it back. That was how they played for a long time. Although Lady was the one running, he began to sweat and felt hot. He took off his shirt and continued the game. He noticed an approaching silhouette, and threw the stick away from the silhouette, but instead of running after the stick, Lady approached the woman who caressed and kissed her. Daniel didn’t understand why Lady preferred to go to this strange woman than to play with him. He went close to them, and a smile of surprise mixed with joy swept across his face. She arrived just at the moment when he was thinking of her.

"You came here for a honeymoon?"

"I see that you've developed a sense of humor for the last two months."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, as he walked barefoot in the sand.

"Can we go to a normal place where we can talk seriously?"

"Actually, me and Lady are enjoying it here, would you want to join the game? You can help Lady get the stick I throw."

"That’s funny, but can we be more serious? I need to talk to you about something important."

"Yes, it’s two months that I’ve been looking for you, but you didn’t have time for me. Why exactly do I need to waste my time for you?"

"Because this in not for me. I’m here for you. I have something important to talk to you about, something that is important for you. If it weren’t important, I wouldn’t have been here, believe me."

He looked at her in disbelief, thinking she came to him in order to discuss the dissolution of their business partnership. He went ahead of her, still without a shirt. She wanted to touch his body so much, to caress him. He remained just as attractive as before and he still caused every part of her body to tremble. As he lifted Lady in his arms, Karina realized she was jealous of the dog.

Daniel opened the door and allowed Karina to enter before him. He took water from the fridge, poured two glasses and sat in the living room.

She wanted to sit beside him, to stroke his hair and tell him the story while she was in his arms, but she swept those thoughts from her head and addressed the issue, "Do you remember I told you I hired an investigation agency to investigate what happened to your mother?"