“Larry claims he never saw any of that five million dollars. He says none of it went to him.”

“He could be telling the truth for all I know,” she said, “or he could be lying. We’ll probably never know.”

“I do remember that he was the follower of the three,” Talon said. “The other two seemed to be more in charge. I got the feeling Larry was just along for the ride.”

“It’s hard to say,” Wendy said. “The other two may have approached Larry because of his familial connection. I don’t know, and I can’t really speculate.”

“We need to get on the road soon, Wendy,” I said. “Is there anything else you should tell us? Anything you haven’t gotten into?”

“Not that I can think of right off hand. It has been twenty-five years.” She looked at Talon intently. “I’m so very glad you’re okay. Please give Jade my best.”

Talon stood. “I sure will. She speaks highly of you. Thank you for the information. If we have more questions, may we visit you again?”

She stood and pulled Talon into a hug. “Of course. Anytime. I want to do all I can to help all of you.”

She turned to me, but I held out my hand. I didn’t want to hug this woman, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. Something bothered me—something I couldn’t put into words. As I shook her hand, I said, “Thank you. We really appreciate your time.”

“It’s nothing.” She smiled at me. “I truly wish I could do more.”

“I’m sure we’ll have more questions for you.” I tried to return her smile but wasn’t sure if I succeeded. “For now, we’ll be heading out. Come on, Tal.”

She showed us to the door, and Talon and I walked to the car.

“I’ll drive,” I said. Once we were on the road, I cleared my throat. “What do you think?”

“Some of what she said made sense.”

“Are you still convinced that Nico Kostas is one of the men who abducted you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. If these guys were enemies of Dad, I guess we have to figure out why Nico Kostas would be Dad’s enemy.”

And Tom Simpson. But I hadn’t yet told Talon of my suspicions, and now was certainly not the time.

“If Nico Kostas tried to kill Jade’s mother for a million dollars in insurance money, I guess it would make sense that he would demand a five-million-dollar ransom from some rich rancher,” I said.

“You don’t sound entirely convinced, Joe.”

Sometimes I got freaked at how well Talon could read me. “I’m not. And I’m not sure why. Most of what she said made some sense. And although I didn’t know Dad had any enemies, I certainly don’t doubt that he did. People with money tend to make enemies, even if they don’t know it. It could have been a pissed-off employee for all we know. Or a struggling rancher who didn’t get business because Dad could bid lower. So yeah, he certainly could have had enemies out there that we never knew about.”

“So what bugs you?”

“A couple of things. Things that hadn’t occurred to me before today.” Mostly because I’d been so focused on Melanie Carmichael and Tom Simpson.

“Yeah? What are those?”

“Well, the whole ‘in love’ thing. Wendy is a nice-looking woman, but she hardly seems Dad’s type. Mom was drop-dead gorgeous, on the other hand.”

“Drop-dead gorgeous, but also mentally ill.”

I nodded. “There’s that. And I know looks aren’t everything, but here’s the thing.”

“What?”

“If Wendy and Dad were so in love, why didn’t they get together after Mom died?”

Chapter Thirty–Six

Melanie

I had no idea how long I had been in the room. The man in black had brought me food once, and though I hadn’t been hungry, I ate. I had been over every inch of the room, trying to find an escape, but it was impossible. Whenever I was thirsty, I drank from the sink in the tiny bathroom. I still had no idea what my fate would be.

As if in answer, the man in black unlocked the door and entered. “Good morning, Doctor.”

Did that mean it was morning? I had no idea. I had slept…I thought. Or had I just relived sessions with Gina in a semi-hypnotic state?

“Today’s your lucky day,” he said. “You’re getting out of here.”

Though the thought should have made me ecstatic, I stood there grimly. The memory of Gina’s session—I’d rather die—had numbed me again. Had I missed a cry for help? There’d been no other indication that she might be suicidal. She’d held down a job, done volunteer work at a local children’s shelter…had been in a lot better shape than Talon Steel had been when he first came to me, and he hadn’t been suicidal. To the contrary, his overwhelming will to survive had completely overshadowed his desire to die.

The man in black interrupted my thoughts by pulling me from the bed and turning me around to face the wall.

He bound my hands behind my back, this time with duct tape. “Can’t have you trying anything funny,” he said.

Anything funny? As if I could. The room held nothing that could be used as a weapon, and this man had already demonstrated that he was much stronger than I was.

“Don’t you want to know where you’re going?”

“Not particularly,” I said.

“Okay. Have it your way.”

We walked out the door, and I realized I was in a house. This little room with no windows had been built in the middle of the basement. He led me up the stairs, through a laundry room. To the left was a kitchen. We went to the right. Into the garage. It was a large garage, big enough for three vehicles. However, only one old car sat in the garage.

“This is a very special car, Dr. Carmichael.”

It was huge, like an old pimp car from a few decades ago. “It doesn’t look that special to me. It looks like a piece of crap.”

He laughed. “Yes, it is that. It belongs to someone you knew, and the funny thing about this car is that it’s an older model. I can start it and then lock it so no one can get in while the motor is running.”

“So?”

And then it hit me.