Taken (6 page)

“Would you have said yes, if I’d asked to come with you?” he asked. The girl didn’t miss much. “Pierre thought we could—”

“Use me as bait.” She dumped the packet of sugar into her coffee and stirred it slowly. “I figured that one out.”

“I wouldn’t use the word
bait
. We were worried you wouldn’t let us go with you.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have. Because I need to see Chad, and he won’t talk to me if I’m surrounded by bodyguards and FBI agents. He made that very clear.”

“He’s probably just scared, Kate. So do it my way. You talk to him, and we ensure nothing goes wrong. We saw the guy who tried to grab you earlier this morning. He was in the market. You need the extra protection.”

“But then what happens to Chad? You arrest him?”

“Right now, all I want to do is bring him in for questioning. Find out what he knows. Then I want to take down the men he’s working with and find Sophie, but getting yourself kidnapped or killed in the process certainly isn’t going to help.” He watched her expression as she sipped her coffee and ate her pastry. “Why’d you answer?”

“Honestly?” Her eyes softened. “Because I’m scared, and confused, and want to put an end to this, but I don’t know how.”

Marcus took a bite of his caramelized apple pastry. “Then maybe we’re on the same page after all.”

* * *

Kate studied the man sitting across from her. His expression was focused, determined. She had no doubt that he was good at what he did, or that she could trust him. Which she did. But today had made her head spin. Left her feeling as though she were drowning, and she couldn’t come up for air.

He was throwing her a life buoy. She needed to grab hold of it.

“Chad won’t talk to me if I’m followed,” she said, taking her last bite of the pastry that had her wishing for seconds.

She glanced out the window at the bustling street with its open-air markets, whimsical boutiques and boulangeries. Sitting here drinking coffee in a French café, the City of Love...the City of Lights...La Ville-Lumière...

Visiting this city had always been a dream. Chasing down the person who had kidnapped her niece had never been a part of the plan. One day she was going to return to Paris with someone who could show her the city.

Like Marcus.

Kate swallowed the last few sips of her coffee, trying to choke down the ridiculous thought. She’d panicked today, and Marcus had come through for her like some gallant hero. But that wasn’t a reason to let her mind run wild with romantic thoughts that included him as her champion.

“We’ll arrive separately,” he was saying. “I’ll make sure Chad doesn’t know you’re being followed.”

Kate forced herself to focus. “What if you lose me, or if he discovers that FBI is there?”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” Marcus set his empty coffee cup and saucer on top of his pastry dish and shoved them both forward. “Kate, we need Chad and right now you’re my only link to him. I need your help. And you need my protection.”

“I have to ask for one more thing before I say yes.”

“Name it.”

“Can you ensure my sister and mother’s safety?”

“I’ll talk to my boss and have a team sent in to ensure they’re safe. And I promise I will do everything in my power not only to protect you and your family, but to ensure your niece is found.”

I need You to help protect them as well, God. There are so many things that seem completely out of my control.

“I don’t know about your faith,” he continued, “but I also plan to do a lot of praying.”

She looked up and caught Marcus’s gaze. “Me, too.”

The butterflies had yet to settle in her stomach, but at least she wasn’t going into this alone.

He reached out and grasped her hands. “We can do this.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “Let’s go.”

SIX

K
ate walked across the brick pavement toward the majestic Notre Dame looming in front of her. Many believed the famous cathedral to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the world, with its flying buttresses, stained glass windows and spiral staircases leading to spectacular views of the city.

But she wasn’t here as a tourist. Instead, she searched for Chad among the crowd bustling around her. A couple fed the birds gathered in the square. Uniformed police patrolled the street corners. She glanced at her watch. She was still five minutes early. Chad had always been prompt. If he didn’t show, they’d be back to square one.

As he’d promised, there was no sign of Marcus, only the influx of those coming and going from the church. She had to admit that knowing he was in the background helped tame the butterflies chasing each other around in her stomach. Despite her hesitations, she was grateful she’d agreed to listen to his advice.

Tourists with their backpacks and cameras gathered outside the church, where a street musician sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” She closed her eyes for a moment to listen to the words and let the music settle her nerves. But all she could think about was that her sister was dying and she might not ever see her niece again if she didn’t figure out what was going on.

Feeling out of place, she pulled out her cell phone and snapped a photo of the church, trying to remember what else she’d read about the cathedral. It had been constructed with over five thousand gargoyles, held priceless paintings, and the largest bell in the tower was close to four hundred years old and weighed over 28,000 pounds.

She snapped another photo of the front of the building. Rachel had the same shot of the church with her and Sophie standing in front of it from one of their visits to Paris. Smiles on both their faces...

“Kate?”

She turned toward the voice. “Chad.”

He walked up to her, gray slacks, white button-down shirt and pullover sweater. Kate could see why Rachel had fallen for him with his ruddy good looks and European accent. He’d always been sure of himself, charming enough to sweep Rachel off her feet. Today, he stood beside her, his gaze sweeping the crowd, nervous and clearly leery that someone was watching them.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, stopping beside her as he stared up at the church from the open plaza.

“Stunning, isn’t it?”

“Much more so than I expected,” she answered.

“Walk with me inside. Visiting the cathedral is free.”

She hesitated briefly, then followed Chad through the entrance. While the outside of the building had left her amazed, the inside of the church, with its long halls, vaulted ceilings and the beauty of the soft lighting from stained glass windows, was enough to leave her breathless. But today, even that wasn’t enough to shift her focus. She was here for one reason and one reason only.

Chad stopped in front of a votive rack and lit one of the candles. “It might be the most visited cathedral in the world, but I’ve always found it peaceful here. My mother used to bring me to mass on Sundays, though I suppose today, my going to confession might be more appropriate.”

Kate pressed her lips together at the comment. A confession wasn’t going to be enough to change what had happened.

He turned away and guided her down the majestic hall, his voice barely above a whisper this time. “Were you followed here?”

“I’m not sure, but I am certain that they know I’m in Paris. I told you two men tried to grab me off the streets already.”

“I’m sorry.” He kept moving, avoiding her gaze. Clearly scared.

“I’m sorry, too,” she said. “I need to know what is going on.”

Despite the sense of awe and serenity from walking through the cathedral, anger had settled into the pit of her stomach. In her sister’s eyes, Chad had always been the knight who’d rode in and swept Rachel off her feet. How that romantic scenario had turned into her fighting for her life, she had no idea. But it had.

“Tell me what’s going on, Chad. How do they know I’m here?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

She shook her head, not believing him. He clearly knew much more than he was willing to tell her.

“Then at least tell me who
they
are.”

He slipped into one of the rows of pews and sat down, waiting for her to join him. A woman in her mid-forties wearing a pale gray scarf around her neck slipped into a pew behind them, her head bowed in prayer. Across the aisle a mother with her daughter, no more than six, sat down across from them. A coin dropped from the little girl’s fingers and rolled under the pew. Kate hesitated as the little girl tugged on her mom’s sleeve to help her find the money and started crying.

The image of the girl opened a flood of emotions.

Was Sophie crying right now? Had they hurt her?

She finally took a seat beside him, feeling as if they were two people on a spiritual pilgrimage, trying to figure out who had tried to murder her sister. No one should be trying to discover the truth behind such a horror.

“You don’t need to know who they are, or get involved in this,” he began.

Kate leaned forward. “Are you kidding me? I’m already involved. In case you’ve already forgotten—”

He held a finger to his mouth.

She pressed her lips together, then lowered her voice. “They know who I am, and that I’m here in Paris. Tell me why.”

She’d only been able to come to one conclusion. Chad was clearly involved in something very serious and very illegal. Beyond that, she was certain they’d been watching her family. For leverage against Chad, perhaps they’d come after Rachel and Sophie. And if Marcus was right, these people had both connections and money. As for her involvement? Maybe they thought she was Rachel? Maybe they thought she knew more than she did, but the bottom line was that Chad was clearly involved in something that had just ripped his family apart. Which was why she had to trust Marcus...and find out the truth from Chad.

Chad folded his hands inside his lap and dropped his head. “Rachel...how bad is she?”

Kate felt a wave of anger seep through her at Chad’s question. As far as she was concerned, what had happened to her sister was Chad’s fault. Whatever he was involved in had trickled down and affected his family.

“I’m surprised you asked.”

“We might not have the greatest marriage, but I certainly don’t hate her. Besides, she gave me the best thing that ever happened to me. Sophie.”

“If you really cared about Sophie, it seems to me that you wouldn’t have allowed this to happen in the first place.”

“Just tell me she’s going to be okay,” he said. “Please.”

“The bullet missed any major arteries, but it’s still serious. She’s in ICU and unconscious. I’m waiting for another update from my mother.” She hoped her mother had gone home to get some needed sleep, but knowing her mother, she was still at the hospital.

Which was why at the moment there was really only one question that really mattered.

“Where’s Sophie, Chad?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re telling me that you had nothing to do with Rachel’s shooting and Sophie’s disappearance.”

“Of course not.”

“Then who did? Someone used Sophie’s passport to bring her here. Who else would do that?”

He turned to her and shook his head. “I swear, I didn’t take her, Kate. You have to believe me.”

Kate pressed her fingers against the edge of the hard wood bench they sat on. Until talking to Marcus, it had been easy to believe that Chad had been behind Sophie’s disappearance. An unhappy father wanting custody of his daughter and deciding to take things into his own hands. Foolish, but common. And for her, a far easier scenario to swallow than believing terrorists were behind Sophie’s kidnapping. That was still something she wasn’t ready to accept.

“You’re telling me you’re not behind this?” she pressed.

He reached out and grasped her arm. “You think I took Sophie to get back at Rachel?”

Kate pulled away from his grip. “I don’t know what to think at this point.”

“You have to believe me. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Then what do you know? Because the way I’m looking at things, because of you, my sister might not make it another twenty-four hours, Sophie is missing and apparently they’re after me as well, because someone thinks I know something, but I don’t know anything. I need to know the truth, Chad.”

He paused as a couple walked by, snapping photos of the stained glass windows. “I got involved with the wrong people, Kate.”

“You got involved with the wrong people. That’s your excuse?”

“You have to believe me when I say that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”

“Forget the excuses, just tell me the truth, Chad.”

“The truth is that I’m the one they want. They took Sophie to get to me.”

“Who are they?” Marcus might have told her that they were middlemen working for the highest bidder, but she wanted to hear the truth from Chad.

“I think they work for my boss, and they believe I’ve been stealing diamonds from the company I work for.”

“And have you?”

Chad’s gaze shifted to the floor.

“Chad? Have you been stealing diamonds?”

“Yes.”

Kate let out a sharp breath. “How many?”

“Five million dollars’ worth over the past two years.”

“Five million dollars?” Kate glanced behind them. A group of Japanese tourists had entered the cathedral, but none of them seemed to be paying any attention to them. Tourists continued snapping photos. Studying the intricate panels of stained glass. Staring up at the vaulted ceiling. No one knew or even cared what they were talking about. “You can’t be serious. How did you steal them?”

“I smuggled them inside the music boxes I sent to Sophie for her birthday and Christmas. I planned to return and get them eventually, but I wasn’t in a hurry to sell them. It seemed smarter to lay low. Seemed like a perfect hiding place where no one would ever find them, including Rachel.”

A perfect hiding place? Instead, he’d foolishly risked both Rachel’s and his daughter’s lives with his greed.

“And no one noticed they were missing until now?”

“Half of what my company receives is under the table. No paperwork means no paper trail. I’ve managed to cultivate relationships with some suppliers who are happy to let me get rid of their dirty diamonds. We, on the other hand, pay a fraction of the price.”

“Which means more profit for your company, until you decided to keep a portion for yourself.”

Which was exactly what Marcus had mentioned to her at the café. Kate tried to sort through the information she had so far. She’d spent time in Africa and had learned enough about blood diamonds to know that the illegally traded stones funded weapons and wars primarily in central and western Africa. Thousands—including children—were used in forced labor to mine the diamonds. And while efforts had been made to stop the trade and ensure that the gems weren’t funding the violence of war, clearly there were those who had found a way around it.

And she wanted some answers.

“How did you do it?”

“The diamonds are laundered into the global supply by export houses like ours, then cut and sold on the regular market.” There was little expression in Chad’s voice. “I skimmed a percentage of those off the top.”

Kate stared at the blues and purples of one of the stained glass windows. Rachel had shown her the cylinder music boxes Chad had collected for Sophie, with their melodic sound and Swiss precision. She’d taken one of them to a dealer and discovered they were crafted with burr elm veneers and hand-cut designs. And that they were worth at least two thousand dollars each. Knowing what else had been inside the music boxes, Kate realized the value of those boxes had just skyrocketed.

But when Rachel’s relationship with Chad soured after he moved permanently to Paris, she’d packed up the boxes and returned them. Kate had assumed she’d sent them back to Chad. And when Kate had asked why, her sister had told her she wanted a husband who was there for her and Sophie, not one who only knew how to buy his daughter’s love.

“But you have the music boxes, Chad.”

His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Kate shivered, wishing for the warmth of outside. “Rachel returned the music boxes to you. All of them. Or at least I thought she did. She told me she didn’t want them. That you were trying to buy Sophie’s love.”

Chad shook his head. “No...no, she didn’t return them.”

“You’re telling me you don’t know where the music boxes...the diamonds are?”

Chad ran his fingers through his hair and clasped his hands behind his head. “I don’t have them, Kate. She never sent them to me.”

“Then where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

Kate gauged his expression and frowned. Something else was wrong. “What did you do, Chad?”

Chad’s gaze dropped, his voice still barely above a whisper. “I had someone break into Rachel’s house to get the music boxes. You have to understand, they were threatening to kill me if I didn’t produce them.”

“And when they went to get the music boxes for you, they...they shot her instead?”

Kate shook her head. It didn’t make sense.

“No...they just searched the house for the music boxes while she was out with Sophie, then left empty-handed. Whoever shot her...it had to have been someone else. Someone who was there when she returned.”

“Someone who decided to use your wife and daughter as leverage to get the diamonds.”

Chad nodded.

“Then where are the diamonds?” Kate continued.

“I don’t know.” Chad raked his hands through his hair again. Drops of perspiration marked his forehead.

“So when they demand the diamonds in exchange for Sophie, you won’t have them.”

“I was hoping you knew where they were.” Chad’s hands shook in his lap as he scanned the area around them. “I might have something else I can give them as leverage, but I’m not sure it will be enough. I was planning to turn it in to the police.”

“What is it?”

“I...I have a list of contacts and a ledger of my company’s illegal activities. I’ve been collecting it as a...safety net.”