Sherry gasped.
“I’d like Michael to stay in a safe house and I understand your concerns about effectively being able to fight this take over while in a secure location.”
“So, what do we do?” Sherry asked.
“That is a good question.” I agreed.
“Well, I can tell you if we lose this company before we find Kay, she will be devastated. We can’t lose the company.” Michael protested.
“We have to find Kay.” I argued. “And as an FBI agent she is my only concern.”
“As a friend?” Sherry asked.
Michael looked from Sherry to me, clearly confused and interested where this was leading.
I sighed. “As a friend, I’ll do everything I can to help ensure that those who can save the company are able. But,” I raised my hand before Michael could speak. “My first priority is keeping you safe and finding Kay.”
“Understood,” Sherry said.
“Does that mean I don’t have to stay in a safe house?” Michael asked.
“No, it means you will stay in the safe house and when you leave the safe house you will have an agent with you at all times.”
Michaels shoulders slumped.
“Don’t even think about arguing.” I looked him in the eye.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He gave in.
Sherry reached over and squeezed his hand. “It’s for Kay.”
Michael nodded. “I know.”
“Ethan!” I heard Logan calling out in the outer office. Sherry jumped up and opened the door.
“In here,” she said. Logan walked in and assessed the situation.”
“Whose going with me?” he asked, all business.
“He is.” I pointed to Michael.
“What about Sherry?” Michael asked.
“Me?”
“She’s Kay’s assistant. She knows everything.”
“Honestly, I don’t believe Sherry is in danger. And if they wanted to use Sherry for leverage, they would have taken her first, not Kay.” I said. “They aren’t wasting any time which shows how desperate they are,” I assessed.
Michael nodded.
“Sherry are you scared, and do you want protection?” I looked at her directly.
She swallowed hard.
“No, I’ll be fine,” she said bravely as she lifted her chin slightly.
I nodded to Logan to take Michael.
“Okay, come with me,” he said to Michael.
After the two of them had left I turned back to Sherry. “I honestly don’t believe you’re in danger but give me your address and I’ll come by tonight and check on you. If you see anything that is just slightly out of the norm, you call me, okay?”
She nodded and took my card.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ethan
I headed back to the office to see if Andria had learned anything new and to talk to the IT gurus and see if there wasn’t some way, we could let Michael work from the safe house. I also put a call in to Detective Cavanaugh to update him on what I had learned over at the Port City offices. I also told him that I had moved Michael to a safe house and offered him the opportunity to provide the protection instead of the FBI. He declined.
I was going to have to be able to justify using the safe house in this situation but if my hunch was right it wouldn’t be a problem.
Mac was still there when I walked in. I had forgotten about him after the phone call from Sherry. I owed him an apology.
“Mac, hey man. I’m sorry about leaving like that earlier,” I began.
“We had everything under control by then, no problem.” Mac looked at me his brow furrowed. “Is it something I can help you with?”
“I wish you could but there isn’t an NCIS interest that I know of yet.”
“Doesn’t matter, you helped us. I’m sure I can find a way to help you.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that. It’s actually not even my case. It belongs to the local police and the only reason I’m involved is I called in a chip with the GPPD Chief.” I shrugged I wasn’t going to turn down free help, especially to find Kay.
“What do we have?” Mac jumped right in.
“Possible kidnapping.”
“Possible?”
“Not sure yet, and don’t really have a clear suspect only a hunch.”
Mac leaned on a desk and crossed his arms. “Why don’t you start from the beginning”
“Well, the…” I couldn’t bring myself to say, victim. “The missing person is Kay Dandridge.”
Mac shot up off the desk. “Kay? Why didn’t you say so?”
I had forgotten in the heat of it all that he had met her. “Yeah, she didn’t show up for work this morning and her secretary got worried. She tried calling her and got no response. The chauffeur went by the house…”
“Eddie?”
I was curious to know how he knew Eddie, but I let it go for the moment. “Yeah, when he didn’t find her home and the car was still in the garage, the secretary called me.”
“Well, I’d have to say your hunch is probably right.” Mac rubbed the stubble on his chin absently.
“Her secretary called the local police and it’s their case, like I said I called in a favor so it’s sort of a joint investigation.
Mac nodded. “Have you contacted her grandfather?” Mac asked.
“No, I really don’t know what to say. I haven’t any evidence of foul play.”
“You said you had a hunch, what is it?” Mac pressed.
“Well, according to the staff, the company is in the middle of fighting a takeover. Some larger company has offered to buy out Port City and Kay refused. She had made a move to take the company from being traded publicly to private as a means of fighting the buyout and I think they took her to stop that from happening.”
“That is a good hunch. It is also possible this has something to do with her grandfather. A means to get at him.”
“Why would someone do that?” I wondered turning to Mac.
“Because her grandfather is the Secretary of the Navy?”
I looked at Mac dumbfounded.
“She didn’t tell you, did she?” he deduced.
“No.” I said hoarsely. I was thinking about what Logan had tried to tell me before when he researched Kay online
