Heart of the Night Read Online Free PDF Page A

note at eight-thirty this morning. Where was it?”
    â€œOn the desk.”
    â€œWhat did you do then?”
    There was a moment’s silence, then, “Nothing.”
    â€œNothing?” Paul echoed.
    â€œI didn’t know what to do.” His features were rigid, but his tone became higher pitched. “I searched the house. Megan wasn’t anywhere. Her car—both cars—were in the garage. Her keys were in the house, her purse, her wallet, her clothes. She’d been kidnapped, and the note said not to call the police, so I stood there for a long time without doing a thing, half hoping the phone would ring and it would be Meggie telling me the whole thing was a joke.”
    He was close to tears. Intent on giving him a minute to recompose himself, Savannah turned to talk softly to Paul. “They said they’d call. Shouldn’t he be back at the house waiting?”
    Paul nodded.
    â€œBut I couldn’t meet with you there,” Will cried. “I was afraid if they saw someone coming to the house, they’d think I called the police, and if they think that, they’ll hurt Megan.”
    â€œBased on precedence,” said Paul, “I’d say they’ll be hesitant to hurt Megan if they want that money. And they won’t expect you to sit in the house all alone. They’ll assume relatives will be around, maybe close friends. Hell, you have to see other people, if for no other reason than to get the money together.”
    Anthony stopped his hand midrap. “I take it you do have the money,” he said.
    â€œNot on me at the moment,” Will returned with a glare that Savannah lauded. But the glare fizzled when he turned to her. “I agonized all morning—do I see it through by myself, or do I go for help? The obvious thing is to sit at home, wait for that call, pay the money, and get Megan back. But can I trust that that’s what will happen? Can I be sure that if I pay the money I’ll get her back? And, damn it, whoever’s done this should be caught.” He stopped short, frowned at the rug, shook his head. “Forget catching them. I just want Megan back.” He looked up. “I’m here because I considered you two to be friends,” his eyes jumped from Paul to Savannah, “and because I figured you’d know what to do in a situation like this.” His voice was rising again. “I don’t want to make any mistakes. I want Megan back alive. What in the hell am I supposed to do?”
    Sitting back in her chair, Savannah tried to still her nerves, all the while thinking that if Will thought she had a magical solution, he was mistaken. “First,” she said, as much to herself as to him, “you’ll have to calm down. Meggie needs you to stay cool. Second, you’ll have to let us contact the FBI—”
    â€œNo!”
    Paul rose from his perch on the edge of the desk. “Kidnapping is a federal offense. There’s every legal reason for the FBI to be called in, not to mention the fact that those guys know exactly what to do. They’re trained in this type of thing. They have equipment and resources that we don’t have.”
    Will wasn’t being persuaded. “I don’t want the FBI. The note said no police, and that’s the way it has to be.”
    â€œBut you’ve already come to us,” Savannah reasoned. “You’ve sought outside help, which is just what the kidnappers didn’t want.”
    â€œThey said no police. You aren’t the police.”
    â€œWe’re a functional law enforcement agency,” Anthony said, and neither Paul nor Savannah argued.
    Will did. “You aren’t the police. I can count on you to be discreet. I don’t trust the police that way.”
    â€œWill,” Savannah pleaded, “we’re talking the FBI. We’re talking a few well-trained, carefully selected men who have had experience with this