“We got this.” She replied.
“I know you do.”
I left Andria and her assistant to get to work. I had work of my own to do. I went down to the lobby in search of the security office. I flashed my badge and finally got access to the security feed. Three men wearing trench coats entered the lobby at eleven thirty-five. Due to the bad weather no one questioned their attire.
All three went up to the twelfth floor. When they exited the elevators, they were wearing ski masks and used spray paint to block out the cameras in the hallway.
Then they exited through a side entrance on the street level with Russo in tow. A camera near the pool was aimed only at the door so there was no way to know which way they went after they were outside or what kind of vehicle, they were in. I text the information to Greg in hopes the traffic cameras would give us more information. I knew it would take time and it was time we didn’t have. Our investigation had been elevated to a kidnapping case. Logan and I drove back to the FBI office.
“We need to find out if Russo has any next of kin and if there has been a ransom demand yet.” I said as we walked through the door into the office.
“I’ll coordinate with the office in Georgia where Russo’s security firm is based.” Logan offered.
“Okay, try to find out where he lives you might need to call the Atlanta field office.” I stood looking around the office for a moment thinking of what to do next. “We also need to find out if anyone in their organization is in jail at the moment.” I was trying to wrap my head around all the possibilities as to who may be after Mike Russo.
“On it.” Stephanie added.
“You think they are looking for a trade rather than straight revenge, boss?” Jared asked.
“I think there is still a lot we don’t know about this case. We know some of the players, but we still don’t know the motive.” I said, going back to basics.
“True enough.” Jared agreed.
“We have got to figure this thing out people.” I was stating the obvious to a room of professionals, but I wanted everyone to keep focused on this case. This certainly wasn’t their first kidnapping or terrorist threat. I just had to get it off my chest. I had to put it out there in the ether, to the universe for whatever help it may have to offer. Things were escalating quickly. They had already kidnapped a high-profile target right out from under our nose and we didn’t have the first idea of where they may have taken him. At this point we could only hope they made some sort of demand so that we might buy a little time and track them down before things got worse.
The day was just as cloudy and rainy as the night before and it didn’t do anything to help my mood. I was still operating on more caffeine than sleep. I couldn’t shake the feeling of the nightmare I had about Kay or the woman’s words in the bar. I had a missing CEO and only an educated guess as to who took him. A wild guess as to why and no idea as to where or what they might want in return if anything. It could be that Joey Price just wanted to exact revenge on his former employer. If it was that simple, I didn’t hold out a lot of hope that would be able to find Mike Russo in time if at all. I was feeling edgy and short tempered.
It was close to eight o’clock in the evening and we weren’t much closer on finding Mike Russo. No phone calls and no demands. Our Atlanta office was with the wife, waiting for contact from Price for a ransom and protecting her as well.
“Why don’t you all call it a night.” I told my team. “No sense in staying here if you’re exhausted. Better to get a fresh start in the morning.”
“What about you?” Logan asked as he stood up to leave.
“I’ll close up the office and go home.” I reassured him.
Logan was a good friend and I knew he meant well.
I locked the door behind them and started to try and organize my desk a little when the phone rang. The caller ID indicated it was from our forensics office.
“Andria, what are you doing working so late?”
“Same as you, I suppose.”
I nodded, touché.
“I just wanted you to know that Williamsburg Police fished a body out of the Chickahominy River.”
“Was it Russo?” I held my breath waiting for the answer.
“No, it was a man named Joseph Price.”
“Price?” That was a surprise.
“Yeah.”
“Any cause of death?”
“Not at the moment but they are going to send him over to me in the morning. So, I’ll know more around noon tomorrow. I just thought you should know in case it has anything to do with the business at the hotel.”
“Okay thanks.” I hung up. My frustration level had reached its breaking point for the day and I angrily shoved a stack of files onto the floor as I headed for the door. It wasn’t going to do me any good to stay here tonight so I drove home. I needed to run a few miles on the treadmill and work out this tension. I needed to try and get some sleep. I hoped my dreams of Kay were more peaceful.
Chapter Five
Ethan
“Boss, I think we may be onto something.” Logan called from his desk.
“Whatcha got?” I looked up hopeful.
“Traffic cameras picked up a van that parked behind the hotel the night Russo was kidnapped. And fifteen minutes later it has seen leaving the area.”
“Can you track it?”
“I did. It stopped near warehouse over near the port.”
“You have an address?”
“Yep.”
“Send it to GPPD and have them meet us there.”
We all grabbed our gear and
