Chapter 5.
Helen got on the phone with Will and gave him the run down.
"Helen, calm down, we'll find them.'
"Calm down?! My daughter has been kidnapped and is being held for half a million dollars bail."
"Helen I'm coming home and some men are coming to set up taps for our phones so the next time these psychos call, we'll be able to track them. We'll find them safe and sound honey, don't worry."
Helen called Adam's father, and told him what happened. He already knew, so she told him to come to her house since that is where the police were setting up the surveillance. Helen called Grace to give her an update, and Grace asked if she could be there as well. Grace arrived and asked Mrs. Girardi to tell her what happened when the man called her.
"Is there any reason why these men singled out Joan and Adam?"
"That's what we'd like to know Helen. Did they say anything that made them sound familiar to you? This is all my fault. I'm sure it's some crazy perp that I put away coming to exact his revenge."
"Will, I'm sure it isn't your fault."
"I should have given them the heads up. If they would have came with me across the street, none of this would have ever happened."
"Grace it's not your fault either. The men didn't say much of anything. But the man did say that 'no good deed goes unpunished.' Whatever that means.
Meanwhile, it was 5pm now, and Joan and Adam were starting to get hungry. Joan was feeling better now aside from a slight headache. She wasn't so sure how Adam was doing. He was shaking, and Joan supposed he might have some sort of kidney bruising. Joan was holding Adam in her arms. She felt so bad that she couldn't give him anything for the pain. She did clean him up as best as possible, but it probably wouldn't be long before the men came back for a second round. As it turned out, they didn't come back that night, and Joan and Adam went off to sleep around 9 or 10pm. The next day at school, police were swarming all over the place. They were questioning anyone who knew either Joan or Adam, and questioning the teachers as to if there was any tension between Joan or Adam and any of the other students. They hit brick walls at every turn. Joan and Adam were discussing what was probably going on at school that day. Their guesses were right.. They figured on the cops all over the place, the questioning and things of that nature. They had nothing to do but sit and wait and hope those men didn't come back for round 2. Joan didn't think Adam could take much more.
"Jane?"
"Hmm?" "Jane, if they kill me, would you come to my funeral?" "Adam, don't talk like that!" Joan's eyes welled with tears. Adam painfully sat up. A tear rolled down Joan's check, and Adam wiped it away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Please stop crying. I'm sorry."
"Oh Adam, it's not you. It this whole situation. It's what those men did to you. Not anything you said to me." At that the door opened up, the three men stepped in and handed Adam and Joan McDonald's bags. "Here, eat up." Joan and Adam weren't sure they should take this food from them. "It's not poisoned, we need you alive, and semi-well." Joan and Adam figured the men had a point, and since they hadn't had anything since the previous morning, took the bags, and ate the meals. Not much was happening at the Girardi house. They had few leads. One person did see the van that had been used in the kidnapping, but they didn't see the driver's face, and the van had no plates. All they could do was sit and wait. The phone rang about 7 that evening.
"Girardi"
"Who's this?"
"Deputy Sheriff Will Girardi. I'm the father of the girl you've got
kidnapped."
"Well la de freaking da. Listen, this is what I want from you. $500,000 for the girl, and $500,000 for the boy, in unmarked bills, one week from today. That would be March 5th. Send someone to meet me outside Arcadia Multiplex. I will be watched, so if anything fishy goes down, they kids get a bullet in the head. One bullet. Why waste the ammo. My men will line their heads up, and blow 2 brains with one bullet. Got it? One Million dollars, March 5th 1:30pm, Arcadia Multiplex. Come alone, and unarmed or else."
"We got a location. It's a payphone, corner of 5th and Byrd streets." Although the cops rushed to the scene, the man was gone, and there were no witnesses around. Another dead lead.
Helen got on the phone with Will and gave him the run down.
"Helen, calm down, we'll find them.'
"Calm down?! My daughter has been kidnapped and is being held for half a million dollars bail."
"Helen I'm coming home and some men are coming to set up taps for our phones so the next time these psychos call, we'll be able to track them. We'll find them safe and sound honey, don't worry."
Helen called Adam's father, and told him what happened. He already knew, so she told him to come to her house since that is where the police were setting up the surveillance. Helen called Grace to give her an update, and Grace asked if she could be there as well. Grace arrived and asked Mrs. Girardi to tell her what happened when the man called her.
"Is there any reason why these men singled out Joan and Adam?"
"That's what we'd like to know Helen. Did they say anything that made them sound familiar to you? This is all my fault. I'm sure it's some crazy perp that I put away coming to exact his revenge."
"Will, I'm sure it isn't your fault."
"I should have given them the heads up. If they would have came with me across the street, none of this would have ever happened."
"Grace it's not your fault either. The men didn't say much of anything. But the man did say that 'no good deed goes unpunished.' Whatever that means.
Meanwhile, it was 5pm now, and Joan and Adam were starting to get hungry. Joan was feeling better now aside from a slight headache. She wasn't so sure how Adam was doing. He was shaking, and Joan supposed he might have some sort of kidney bruising. Joan was holding Adam in her arms. She felt so bad that she couldn't give him anything for the pain. She did clean him up as best as possible, but it probably wouldn't be long before the men came back for a second round. As it turned out, they didn't come back that night, and Joan and Adam went off to sleep around 9 or 10pm. The next day at school, police were swarming all over the place. They were questioning anyone who knew either Joan or Adam, and questioning the teachers as to if there was any tension between Joan or Adam and any of the other students. They hit brick walls at every turn. Joan and Adam were discussing what was probably going on at school that day. Their guesses were right.. They figured on the cops all over the place, the questioning and things of that nature. They had nothing to do but sit and wait and hope those men didn't come back for round 2. Joan didn't think Adam could take much more.
"Jane?"
"Hmm?" "Jane, if they kill me, would you come to my funeral?" "Adam, don't talk like that!" Joan's eyes welled with tears. Adam painfully sat up. A tear rolled down Joan's check, and Adam wiped it away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Please stop crying. I'm sorry."
"Oh Adam, it's not you. It this whole situation. It's what those men did to you. Not anything you said to me." At that the door opened up, the three men stepped in and handed Adam and Joan McDonald's bags. "Here, eat up." Joan and Adam weren't sure they should take this food from them. "It's not poisoned, we need you alive, and semi-well." Joan and Adam figured the men had a point, and since they hadn't had anything since the previous morning, took the bags, and ate the meals. Not much was happening at the Girardi house. They had few leads. One person did see the van that had been used in the kidnapping, but they didn't see the driver's face, and the van had no plates. All they could do was sit and wait. The phone rang about 7 that evening.
"Girardi"
"Who's this?"
"Deputy Sheriff Will Girardi. I'm the father of the girl you've got
kidnapped."
"Well la de freaking da. Listen, this is what I want from you. $500,000 for the girl, and $500,000 for the boy, in unmarked bills, one week from today. That would be March 5th. Send someone to meet me outside Arcadia Multiplex. I will be watched, so if anything fishy goes down, they kids get a bullet in the head. One bullet. Why waste the ammo. My men will line their heads up, and blow 2 brains with one bullet. Got it? One Million dollars, March 5th 1:30pm, Arcadia Multiplex. Come alone, and unarmed or else."
"We got a location. It's a payphone, corner of 5th and Byrd streets." Although the cops rushed to the scene, the man was gone, and there were no witnesses around. Another dead lead.