Chapter 4

Several hours later, a worried Kris sat with Kelly, Bosley, and Sabrina in the office of Townsend Investigations. Kris had come home and found signs of the fight. She had immediately called Charlie and the others. Charlie had urged her to come to the office so that they could all put their heads together.

"Kris, tell me exactly what you saw when you got home, " Charlie urged.

Kris looked at her folded hands in her lap. Kelly and Sabrina, on either side of her, patted her back. Kelly held onto Kris' hands.

"I just came here for a few minutes, Charlie. I went home, and saw that my sliding door had been shattered. There was some furniture that looked like it had been thrown. Both girls were gone. I called Emily's house, and there was no answer. "

"Angels, we will have to do this quietly. Kidnappers don't like it when we call the police. What would be the motive for someone kidnapping both girls?"

"Prostitution ring?" Sabrina asked.

"Revenge?" Kelly suggested.

"Ransom?" added Bosley.

"I don't think Emily's family has very much money. Sal told me about their apartment.. It's in the low income district. Sal said most of the furniture came from thrift stores," Kris said as she put her head in her hands. "It's not like we were millionaires either."

"I'll do some checking into Emily's family to see if there is a motive to take her there. What do you know about them, Kris?"

"Not very much, Charlie. Her last name is Mancini, and they moved from Chicago a few months ago. Other than that, nothing."

"OK, I will run what we have through the computer. Kris, I want you to try to go home and get some rest."

"I'll try, but I doubt if I will rest."

"Would you like us to stay with you?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, please."

"Do you think we should call Jill?" Sabrina wondered.

"I don't know what she could do over there in Spain. We may find Sal and Emily before she can get here."

"If we don't find her by tomorrow night, we call Jill. Agreed?" Bosley decreed.

Kris nodded. "Agreed."

Carol Milano/Mancini sat on the floor in the basement of the warehouse. She was tied and blindfolded. Earlier in the day, she had been making preparations for her family's dinner, when there was a knock on the door. The person on the other end had identified himself as an encyclopedia salesman. When Carol opened the door to tell him she wasn't interested, the door was pushed open and two men rushed in. She had tried to scream, but was quickly overpowered by a chloroform scented handkerchief. Now, here she was, sitting on the cold basement floor and wondering where she was and why. The only thing that came to mind was that somehow, her family had been found out. But how? She heard her captors come into the room. She felt something large put down next to her. She could tell it was a person. Who was it? How many people were they planning on kidnapping? She stretched out her hands as best she could, but could not reach the person next to her. She felt another person put down on the other side of her. Emily. It had to be Emily and her friend Sal. Carol remembered that they were going to get together at Sal's house to do homework. The two men must have found out who the Mancini family actually were, and then followed Emily to Sal's house. It was the only thing that made sense.

Bill was in the middle of the dinner rush at Whataburger. The phone rang. The restaurant policy was to ignore the phone during high volume periods. The phone continued to ring without stopping. Bill's boss, Mike, got frustrated with the constant ringing and finally answered.

"Whataburger!!" He said in a curt tone.

"May I speak to Mr. Mancini, please?"

"He's busy. May I take a message?"

"I really need to speak to him. It's urgent."

"Mancini! It's for you!" As Bill came to the phone, Mike glared at him. "Look, I ain't your social secretary, and I don't have time to answer the phone during dinner rush. If this happens again, you are fired."

"Yes, sir." Bill took the phone from his boss.

"Bill Mancini."

"Hello, Mr. Milano."

"Huh?"

"Now listen carefully. We have your wife and daughter here. Their safety, and the safety of your daughter's friend, depend on your cooperation."

"But how...."

"Never mind that, Mr. Milano. We only want you. Now, do you have a pencil and paper?"

Bill picked up an order pad as Mike continued to glare at him. "Yes, I do."

"Good. Now write down the directions I am about to give you."

"I'm listening."

"You will come alone to the warehouse on 42nd Street. One of us will be waiting for you. Get out of your car, and make your way to the back of the building. Knock three times on the door, and you will be let in."

"How do I know for sure you have my family?"

"Trust us, Mr. Milano. We do. We want you to do this early in the morning, at 4:00 am. Less witnesses around then, you know what I mean?"

""Yes, I know what you mean. Will I get them back?"

"You will be reunited with them. Don't tell anyone or they will all be dead." There was a click in Bill's ear. He tore the page off of the pad and put it in his pocket. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the back door of the restaurant.

Mike saw him go. "Hey! Where are you going??"

"Family emergency!" Bill ran out the back door. His mind was in a whirl. They had found him and his family, but how? The Milanos had been so careful following the rules. He drove to the apartment. Maybe he could find some clue there.

Bill went into his apartment. There was no sign of Carol or Emily. He remembered Emily had mentioned studying with her friend Sal Munroe after school. He wondered if Emily had her number written down anywhere. He looked around the apartment, and couldn't find anything. There must be thousands of Munroes and Monroes listed in the Los Angeles area, and he didn't know the first name it would be listed under, so directory information was out. He continued to look. Nothing. Carol probably would know the number, except she wasn't here. "Carol! Emily!" No answer. He tried one more time to look for Sal's phone number. He went into Emily's room. He gave the room a surface glance. Nothing. He looked through the papers and books on her desk. Still nothing. Bill yelled in frustration.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!"

Bill exited his apartment, locked the door, and ran down the stairs. He got back into his car, and drove to Emily's school. Maybe, just maybe, someone was there who knew where Sal lived.

Pulling up to the high school, Bill realized it was evening, and everyone had gone home for the day. He slammed his hands against the steering wheel in frustration. Now what? He still had several hours before he could meet Boticelli's boys at the warehouse. Calling the cops or the Feds was out of the question. He didn't want to risk any further harm to his family. Bill sat in the car and wondered what to do. He decided to drive until it was time for his meeting. Maybe something would come to him between now and then. He could only hope.