"You're now getting the next piece of information about the kidnapping of the homeless man. A new character is coming into play, the billionaire's son." The former captain poured herself a good cup of coffee but left it on the living room table.

"This won't do!" Benjamin looked at his mother with a stern expression. "Nikki urgently needs your help; her whole career is at stake now, Ma. You can't just drink wine and coffee here and play mind games with me."

Elizabeth looked at her son and remained silent, even as she let her eyes do the talking. The complex underlying meaning with which she looked at Benjamin did not seem to escape him.

"I know exactly what you're up to." The teenager turned away pointedly. "But the stakes are too high for you."

Elizabeth sank down on the couch and reached for her coffee cup. She sniffed it briefly and put the glass down again. "The dead are dead, Nikki can't help them anymore. And the kidnapped boys may not be safe, but their lives won't be in danger for a few days yet. Your sister won't let it come to that."

She closed her eyes and smiled as she recalled her first investigation with her daughter. She had been a tomboyish young woman, full of energy and drive, even if she lacked experience.

"Do you want my assessment?" Benjamin had rarely spoken to his mother in such a stern tone. "Nikki is not ready! She was still raised in the tradition that cops are tough men. I'm sure that from the start, she wanted to fight against evil and prejudice. She still sees herself as the ugly duckling who doesn't want to realize that she's long since been ready to be the beautiful swan. And yes, I get it. You want her to solve this case without your damn help. Without her having to ask Mama for help. She should finally reach the end of her personal hero's journey by saving these boys and solving this impossible case. Without help, against all odds, based solely on her own abilities. Except that this educational act could end very badly, Ma."

Elizabeth opened her eyes again. "If you stretch a net under the high wire of an acrobat, he will probably fall into it sooner or later. Because he knows it's there. And because his subconscious tells him it wouldn't be wrong if he lost. But if you remove the safety net, everything inside the artist tells him that falling is not an option. And then he won't fall."

"Unless the artist isn't good enough yet. Then he'll fall and be seriously injured or even dead. This is about Nikki, you can't just flip a damn coin!"

Elizabeth let the silence hang in the room for a few seconds. Finally, she took a deep breath and sipped her coffee. Then she said, "The billionaire is horrified; the homeless man's finger was cut off right in front of her. The team of advisors is about to discuss new options when her son comes home."

Benjamin remained in his position for a few seconds. Elizabeth could clearly see how he was struggling, but finally, he gave in and sat on the couch. 'All right. Describe the son to me.'

"He's precisely the opposite of his mother. He was in his early thirties, rough around the edges, poorly dressed. His hair is neatly coiffed, and his fingernails are filed and clean, so he takes care of himself but appears to have been drinking. As he steps into the hallway, there's a pungent stench of beer and cold smoke. His mother called him and told him to come home immediately. Now that she's been targeted by blackmailers."

"How is the son behaving?"

"Upset, aggressive. He doesn't want to believe it."

"But if he doesn't believe it, why is he upset and aggressive?"

"Good observation! We show the son the pictures of the homeless man, and he suddenly becomes reticent. He almost freaks out when his mother tells him that she won't pay." Elizabeth retreated from her house by closing her eyes and returned to the media mogul's mansion. She looked at the billionaire's son again, and she saw anger and rejection in his eyes. "It seemed to me that the son didn't want to save the homeless man first and foremost but to rebel against his mother." In her mind, she took a step away from the young man.

Benjamin's voice sounded: "The kidnappers have just cut off the homeless man's finger, thereby increasing the psychological pressure enormously. How does the mother react?"

In her imagination, the former captain let Benjamin step into the room with her, where everyone involved was now standing together around the computer, following the events in the kidnap victim's dungeon. "She is shocked and unsure of what to do now. The question arises as to whether at least a staged ransom handover could take place, but the son interjects. He yells at his mother in front of everyone present that she should get the money out of her safe immediately."

"If the son wants to save the homeless man so badly, why doesn't he pay the ransom himself? I suspect that the son of a billionaire has his own fortune."

Elizabeth looked again at the monitor, where the homeless man was cowering on his mattress, whimpering and bleeding. Then she paused her memory and took Benjamin aside in her mind. "He's a permanent student; his mother gives him a few thousand dollars a month and also covers his tuition, housing, and care costs."

A smile flashed across Benjamin's lips, and the former captain assumed this had also happened in the real world.

"The son wants to rip off his mother! He knows she always has cash in the house and has arranged this kidnapping to get money quickly and easily."

Elizabeth shook her head and turned away from her son. "What are the flaws in this theory?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Finally, Benjamin said, "In this case, it would have been far more sensible and practical if he had faked his own kidnapping. His mother probably wouldn't have called the cops, and he could have made at least a million bucks. And even if this completely unnecessary, complicated business with the homeless guy was really his plan, he would have realized that the action had gone wrong at the latest when he entered the mansion. His mother has called in the elite commandoes, doesn't want to pay, and the victim has been seriously injured. What's more, he would now have accomplices who could blackmail him. It would be very foolish for the son of a billionaire to be seen to be in cahoots with ruthless criminals. Besides, if he was involved in the kidnapping, he would no longer want his mother to pay, at the latest. He would try to save his skin by doing everything he could to prevent his accomplices from being caught. They would undoubtedly betray him to mitigate their sentences. Not to mention that a billionaire's son wouldn't get much out of committing such a serious crime if he only got a hundred thousand dollars for it, which he would have to share with at least two accomplices."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. She hadn't put all the puzzle pieces together at that point in the investigation, even though she knew the key element of the case. "Your considerations are logical, and that's why the son must now morally influence his mother. He appeals to her faith; the woman is a strict Catholic. He points out that it is her Christian duty to help the homeless. He reminds her that Jesus clarifies in the Sermon on the Mount that we should love our neighbor, even our enemies. And that, of course, includes a stranger."

Benjamin seemed impressed. "You don't just come up with a moral lecture like that off the cuff. Either the son is extremely pious, or he can't have anything to do with this crime. Or he's been preparing this argument for quite some time. But then he would be involved in the matter, which is why, under the circumstances, he would logically have to advise his mother not to pay. Every decisive argument contradicts another decisive argument."

Elizabeth looked out of the mansion's window, in front of whose entrance the son's car was parked. "Shortly afterward, the kidnappers pour petrol over the homeless man in front of the camera and threaten to burn him if they don't get the money within an hour."

"What effect does this threat have?"

"The billionaire asks for time to think it over. Later, the following turns out: While our team is discussing what to do, the son logs into the kidnappers' transmission via another computer and independently arranges a handover location with them. The money is in exchange for the homeless man. He steals jewelry worth well over a hundred thousand dollars from his mother and speeds away in his Ferrari. Destination unknown."

"I need to think." Benjamin seemed tense.

Elizabeth opened her eyes and was now back in her house. 'That's enough for today. You now know almost everything you need to know to solve the mystery. In the next session, you'll get the last information.' She raised her coffee cup to her mouth and emptied it in one gulp without having smelled it first.

Benjamin was about to ask a question when his cell phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at the display. "That's Nikki!"

"She's texting you?"

Benjamin raised an eyebrow and pulled down the corners of his mouth for a moment. "You hardly ever talk to her. And besides, she's my big sister." He accepted the call. He exchanged only a few precise words with his sister before ending the call again. Then he looked at his mother with a look that could hardly have been more insistent. "Nikki sounds desperate, Ma. She's running from one wall into the next, and the pressure on her is increasing by the hour." He stepped close to his mother before adding, "Don't push your luck!"

Elizabeth pursed her lips and furrowed her brow as her son gathered his things. "Where are you going?"

Benjamin straightened up and looked at her long and hard. "It's Sunday, Ma. This is when the family gathers at Jane and Maura's for dinner."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Yes," she murmured, almost absentmindedly.

He frowned deeply. "You realize that you are part of this family and are always welcome to attend these family gatherings."

Elizabeth stood up from her couch again and turned to the window front. "Kiss your mother for me."

Benjamin hung his head and opened the front door. "Sure," he replied and left the house.