The Shadows Below

Chapter Twelve

It was the letter that tipped me off. They - whoever they had been, although I have a better idea now, had done an impressive job of replicating my eldest daughter's handwriting. But it wasn't her who had written it because my daughter never wrote to me. Ever since she was a small toddler, there were telephone calls, later through mobile telephones, then later, facetime. I've never sent her a text, and neither has she.

The last call she made, was before her trip to Boston, to see friends from college was the pretext for the trip, although some work would have been part of it too. Kasi never stopped for a moment, always moving on to something new. She would have called the following evening after a full day in the city. Both of us had loved Boston and she enjoyed telling me how she saw the city. She may be an adult and served overseas, but she was still my little girl. So when the letter came the day after and not a call, I was concerned. I knew of some people who might have acted against me like that, someone like me doesn't get to where I am without making a few enemies and there were a few names to cross off the list.

I start making calls.

'Winters,' cops always use their surnames, but he and I have been friends long enough to know each other middle names.

'It's Richard.'

'Ah, Richard. Good to hear from you. What do you need?'

'Can't this be just a friendly call?'

'You sound worried.'

'I should be, someone took Kasia yesterday.'

A sharp intake of breath. 'Shit. Do you know where?'

'Your backyard.'

'I'll start looking. Do you have a ransom note?'

'They sent me a letter, supposedly from her.'

'Sometimes kids write to their father, Richard.'

'My daughter never has, she always calls me.'

'Right. Okay, I believe you. Okay, give me 30 minutes, let me see what I can find out.'

'Thank you.' I end the call there, I have a few more to make.

'Do you have any idea what time it is?' A few names down the list, a congressman who sits on less-known appropriation committees.

'Nope, I stopped checking a while back.'

'Richard, I have a full day tomorrow.' He sounds resigned. Too bad. I'm about to add to it and I have no regrets about that score.

'So do I. Kasia was taken the day before yesterday, I'm not going to fuck around with this and neither should you.'

'Shit, I'm sorry. Are the police involved?'

'I got a call a couple of hours ago from a well-respected Captain in Boston PD. Cameras, where my daughter was last seen, were all mysteriously crapped out for those few moments. Witnesses saw a black van in the area.'

'You think this was state-sponsored?'

'She definitely wasn't taken by the last sucker who went up against me, so yes.'

'Fuck. Okay. They always have a few projects on the go, might be hard to know who's in charge of this one.'

'My advice, start squeezing their allowance, that usually produces results.'

'I'll get on that, and start checking my contacts.'

'Call me in an hour.'

'You may not hear much detail.'

'I realise these people don't advertise, but the next words I hear on the news had better be that the American intelligence services have their begging bowl out.'

I hang up before he can reply.

My daughter is like me in that way, always in motion. Fuck. The moment I know who, I am going to enjoy making their lives miserable.

X

'Marion Hardcastle?'

'That's the name I got. Mysterious woman. She started working for the CIA about 20 years ago.'

'I'd have thought 'mysterious' would go right along with the territory.'

'Well, she had practically no past to speak of, no family ties around. Perfect recruit, according to my contacts. Do you know her?'

'My late mother-in-law did. She even approached me at the funeral, almost demanding to be there. I had security remove her.'

'Well, she's got her fingers in a few pies. Running a few black ops, successfully - from what I could make out.'

'Well, let's see her budget dwindle into the minus columns.'

'Yeah, she's not so easily removed, she is seriously well-connected to a lot of people with very deep pockets and a lot of them aren't exactly well-known for their morals.'

'There's always a plan B. Blow it up.'

'What's that?'

'Let's shine a light on the cockroach.'

X

It's not long before I get a call from Ms Hardcastle herself.

'Richard, it's a pleasure.'

'I'm sorry, how long have you known me?'

'Apologies, I thought we were close.'

'We're not.'

'Sorry to hear that, I've been getting to know your daughter quite well over the last eight months. She's like her grandmother.'

'You cold-hearted bitch. Where is she?'

She laughs and I wonder how long it would take to recreate hell for her. 'My mistake, she sounds more like you. And I'm sure most of your competitors would quake at your voice, but I had a different upbringing. You could say I was like royalty.'

'And now you run black ops like any other civil servant. Where is my daughter?'

'Right now? Getting escorted off the plane from the last mission. Performed her role admirably.'

The possibilities would shake others, but not me. My daughter might be sounding like me in front of her, showing her spine but she's still my child. 'Was it her last?'

'No, still has some work to do. Shouldn't be long now.'

'Shorter than you might think. My daughter has always been clever.'

'I know.' Sickening woman. 'And proving it every day.'

'So I think it's your days that are numbered.'

'Oh, Richard, threatening a civil servant? Such behaviour is beneath you.'

'Marion, you stalked my mother-in-law and tried to gatecrash her funeral and now have taken her namesake. Let's not quibble about behaviour that is beneath me, I'm sure the ground beneath your feet is close to burning by now.'

I hang up then. And check the screen. CIA can brag all they like about hiding mobile phone locations and the like. But like my daughter, I attended MIT and graduated with honours.

Poland. A closer look at the screen reveals that cold cow has taken my daughter to the same town where her grandmother was born.

I pick up the phone again.