فصل 22

Chapter 22: Julie Ridley

As everyone left the room, the chairman approached Taylor and me. He was flanked by Joel and Gervaso. “Michael, we need to talk with you and Taylor.” “You need me?” Taylor asked.

“Especially you. What we have to show you concerns you most of all.” We followed them down a short hallway into a room with a large television mounted to the wall in front of an oval conference table. The television was on, frozen to a newscast. I recognized the woman on the screen. She was Gretchen Holly, a popular news anchor on the Boise evening news.

“Have a seat, please,” the chairman said.

“It’s okay, I’ll stand,” Taylor said.

“It’s best if you sit,” he said.

After we were seated, I said, “Before we start, I need to say something.” “Go ahead.”

“It’s about Timepiece Ranch. I’m really sorry that I told Hatch where you were. He tricked me.” The chairman nodded. “Yes, Ben told me about that. If it makes you feel any better, that’s not how the Elgen knew where we were.” “It’s not?” I said.

“No, we made a critical error in judgment.” He looked at Taylor. “Taylor’s mother, Julie, was being followed by the Elgen, hoping that we would reach out to her. We fell for their trap. That’s how they learned of our whereabouts.” “My mother led them there?” Taylor said.

“No, we did, when we brought your mother. We underestimated the Elgen, and we paid for it.” He took a deep breath. “The Elgen have been following her for a while, which, unfortunately, is what we need to talk to you about.” He nodded to his assistant, who pushed a button on a remote, and the video started to run.

“Tonight’s breaking story, an Idaho woman has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of her daughter. Meridian resident Julie Ridley was taken into police custody after authorities provided evidence linking her to her daughter’s disappearance. Mrs. Ridley has refused to cooperate with authorities and is currently being held pending bail. Ridley’s husband, Charles Ridley, is an officer for the Boise police department and has been suspended following an internal investigation to assess his involvement.” I looked over at Taylor. She was staring at the screen in shock. When she could speak, she said, “When did this happen?” “Two days ago. Your mother went back to Idaho to tell your father and prepare to come back with us permanently, but then the Elgen attacked the ranch and threw off our timetable. We had to delay our plans and they beat us to her.” “I need to go to Idaho,” Taylor said. “I need to show myself to them.” “Absolutely not,” the chairman said. “That’s what the Elgen are hoping you’ll do. It’s a trap. You can be sure that the information the police are working off was provided by Elgen.” “I don’t care; they have my mother,” Taylor said.

Gervaso said, “Taylor, right now your appearance will raise far more questions than it will answer. And we’re certain that you’ll disappear again as soon as the Elgen find you.” “They can’t charge your mother with murder or kidnapping without a body,” Joel said. “How can they prove a murder’s taken place without a body?” “There’s more,” the chairman said, motioning to his assistant.

The woman advanced the DVD to another news clip.

“In an ongoing investigation, Boise police discovered more than two kilograms of heroin in a car belonging to Meridian resident Julie Ridley.” There was footage of a police officer standing before a row of microphones holding aloft a plastic bag filled with white powder. “This is one of the biggest drug busts in the history of the Boise DEA. This much heroin has a street value in excess of a half million dollars. We’re happy to keep this off the street.” The clip returned to the anchor. “In addition to the drugs, Idaho forensic investigators have found traces of blood matching the DNA of Mrs. Ridley’s daughter, Taylor Ridley, who was reported missing nearly four months ago. Mrs. Ridley is currently being held in the Boise jail. Bail has been set for a quarter million dollars.” There was video footage of people screaming at Mrs. Ridley as she was led in handcuffs into the jail by police.

Taylor was crying. “How could it be my blood?” “They took our blood in the academy,” I said.

“This is bad. Really bad.” She looked at me. “Michael, we’ve got to do something.” Joel interjected. “We will. But in the meantime, you don’t need to worry. She’ll be safe in jail.” “They can’t protect her in jail,” Taylor said. “If the Elgen have someone in there, she’s as good as dead.” “They won’t hurt her,” the chairman said.

“How do you know that?”

“Dead bait doesn’t draw fish.”

Taylor’s lips pursed with anger. “My mother’s not bait.” “In this case, she is,” Joel said. “They’re using her to lure you to them. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done it already.” “He’s right,” I said. “They could have easily done it.” I looked at the chairman. “But we can’t leave her in jail.” “No, we can’t,” the chairman said. “And we won’t. We need to extract her and Taylor’s father. We’ve asked Gervaso to come up with a plan.” We both turned toward Gervaso. I wondered how long he had known about this and not told us.

Gervaso looked at Taylor. “First, we’re going to get your mother out. I promise. But it’s going to be tricky.” He looked back at me. “You’ve both broken in and out of much more secure facilities. The challenge here is, we need to rescue Julie without the Elgen or the police knowing we’ve rescued her.” “How do we do that?” Taylor asked.

“We need to get your father to post your mother’s bail; then, after she’s out, we disappear with both of them. This won’t be easy since it’s not likely the Elgen will let your mother out of their sight. And, of course, we have the Boise police to worry about. Which brings up another problem. Your father is a police officer, and we’re pretty sure that he still doesn’t know anything about you or the Elgen. From what I understand, he’s a stubborn man.” “As stubborn as a brick,” Taylor said.

Gervaso nodded. “This is going to be a small, clean operation. In and out. My plan involves you two and Ian. Also, I have a friend we can trust in Idaho who will be helping us out with logistics. No one else. The more moving parts there are, the more that can break down.” I nodded. “Okay. When do we start?”

“Timing is critical. I’d like to be in contact with Officer Ridley by tomorrow evening. Boise is a nine-hour drive from here, so we’ll leave early tomorrow morning.” “We’ll be ready,” I said.

“Good. We’ll meet in front of the main house at oh-six-hundred hours.” Then he added, “That’s six a.m.” The chairman looked at us. “Good luck.”

As we walked out, Taylor said to me, “Thank you for helping me rescue my mother.” “I owe you. You helped me rescue mine.”

Taylor frowned. “My mom must be terrified.”

“We’ll get her,” I said. “And your father.”

“My father,” she said. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen him.” “He’s going to be happy to see you.”

“Yes,” Taylor said. “And he’s going to be totally freaked.”