Page 79 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“Of course,” Bailey answered without remorse. “After I was kidnapped, I needed to know where my family was at all times.”
“Let’s hope Alex is at home with his phone,” Ethan said, turning to Harley. “We need to go to my brother’s house.”
Harley nodded and pulled off, heading toward Alex’s house.
“You think the kidnappers took Alex thinking he was you?” Bailey realized.
“Yes.” Ethan nodded. “Listen, Bails, I’d better go and keep the line clear. Send me the text messages the kidnappers sent you.”
Bailey promised to do that and then warned Ethan that if he didn’t update her every hour, she would call their parents. Ethan hoped that the next time they called their parents, it wouldn’t be with tragic news. The thought hit him hard as the situation sunk in.
When they got to Alex’s house, they found evidence of a scuffle. Ethan found Alex’s phone under the coffee table. Ethan held the phone and blew out a breath.
“I warned Alex to fix the mix-up at the deeds office,” Ethan said through gritted teeth.
“So the PI was following you that night thinking you were Alex,who would lead him to Ethan’s house?” Harley put the pieces together.
“Yes.” Ethan nodded. “I think that’s what must’ve happened. Because Alex’s temporary assistant mixed up the names on our houses.”
“Me delivering the PIs to the police station allowed them to get into the deeds office and find Alex’s address, thinking it was yours,” Harley added. “Why break into Alex’s yacht?”
“Because it’s also in my name,” Ethan told Harley. “He put it in my name when an ex-girlfriend came after him and tried to sue him and take away his most precious possessions.”
“Like the Black Ocean,” Harley nodded. “Alex really loves that boat.”
“And so do you by that gleam in your eyes when you talk about it,” Ethan noted.
“It’s a marvelous boat.” Harley shrugged, unashamedly admitting how much he admired the craft. “Let’s check Alex’s security footage.”
“It looks like the same type of SUV that took Carly and Shay,” Ethan noted a few moments later when they were reviewing the footage. “Again, we can’t see their faces, and there are no license plates on the vehicles.”
Frustrated and hitting a dead end once again, Harley and Ethan decided to go back to the clinic. As they were leaving Alex’s house, Harley got a message.
Five million dollars for the return of Stella Hart. If you don’t pay, your loved one will go up in smoke.
As Harley read the words, a chill crept up Ethan’s spine. He’d heard those words before. His eyes narrowed as adrenaline spurted through his veins.
“Change of plans,” Ethan said through gritted teeth. “We need to pay Paul Liddiard a visit.”
“The country and western singer?” Harley looked at Ethan in surprise. “Carly’s ex-father-in-law?”
Ethan nodded, and as they drove toward the Summer Inn, he explained to Harley about the connection he and Carly shared with Paul. He also told Harley that he’d suspected Paul of this since the beginning, but he never had any evidence.
“What evidence do you have now?” Harley asked as they pulled into the Summer Inn Hotel’s parking lot.
“Those words from the ransom demand for Carly are from his new album, his song, Anni’s Gone with the Smoke,” Ethan told him.
“Delightful name for a song.” Harley shuddered, and they climbed out of the vehicle.
“It was about my late ex-wife,” Ethan explained. “In fact, I think every song on Paul’s new album is about Beth.”
“Then why is it called Anni?” Harley asked as they approached the front desk.
“Because her full name was Bethany, and her family called her Anni, but she hated it; she preferred Beth,” Ethan told him before asking the woman at the front desk for Paul’s room number.
The woman gave it to Ethan without hesitation, and they got into the elevator, which seemed to take forever to reach the top floor. When it dinged open, Ethan and Harley nearly knocked each other out as they tried to rush through at the same time. They got to Paul’s room and were surprised to find his door open. Tentatively they stepped into the room and saw Paul unconscious beside the coffee table upon which lay copies of Ethan and Alex’s house deeds.
“I told you!” Ethan pointed out as they moved Paul onto the sofa. “You’d better call Daniella.”
