Chapter 13

Olivia’s heart was now sitting in her throat. She looked at the phone on the table. The caller I.D box displayed a PRIVATE NUMBER instead of a phone number.

The phone rang a second time. She was suddenly more afraid than she had been throughout the entire evening.

“Answer it,” Dan said, ready to record the conversation. The phone rang a third time. “Olivia, answer the phone,” Dean said calmly.

Hands trembling, she picked up the receiver and whispered a faint hello.

“I have your son.” The voice echoed throughout the kitchen. The voice was digitally distorted, making it impossible to know if the caller was male or female.

“Who is this? What do you want?”

“At midnight tomorrow, bring three million dollars in hundred-dollar bills to the Bosque River marina. There is a delivery box at the number three wharf. Inside, you will find instructions on where to leave the money. If I see any cops, the boy dies.”

Dean grabbed the phone from Olivia. “You get nothing unless we get proof of life,”