Family Matters

Part VI: Wavering

Liam was growing concerned.  It had been three days since they'd kidnapped Lindsay Grant, Middle School English Teacher, and aside from the pizza and water the first night, she hadn't eaten anything. It looked like she hadn't showered, and she refused to touch the clothing in his closet. If someone were to rescue her at this particular moment, they'd think he'd been using cruel and unusual punishments on her. He honestly had no idea how to get it through to her that he was not intent on harming her and was, in fact, trying to get her out of his house as fast as possible.

In the last two days he had made arrangements with his cousins, including Isla, who had agreed to his cover story of being ill, thus explaining his continued presence in Tiburon, as opposed to sleeping in the loft above the shop in San Francisco. He'd made an appointment with his 'favorite' FBI officer to discuss a deal regarding his cousins and the art heist. If he could keep the feds believing that he was only concerned about his cousins, then he'd have a better shot at convincing them later that he'd had nothing to do with Lindsay Grant's disappearance. Hell, he'd even been looking into ways to get her car from the airport and back to her apartment without detection.

But not all of his actions had been altruistic. He'd also been monitoring the news, and while there was mention of a missing teacher in the Valley, there were no links to the Bay mentioned. He'd also fished out Lindsay's cell phone from her purse and posted to her social media accounts, implying that she was fine and simply taking a much needed impromptu vacation.

Hacking into the phone had not been hard, as he'd simply put the phone in front of her, and the facial recognition software let him in. Lindsay's fury had been instantaneous, though, when she'd reached out for it only to have him yank it away with a rushed, "Sorry!" 

That was when she'd begun throwing things at him, and it was why he hadn't called Isla to help until today. He figured if she was still strong enough to throw things at him, then her self-imposed hunger strike couldn't have caused too much damage yet. But this was the morning of the third day, and he wasn't going to have a death on his hands, or have to take her to the hospital for anemia because of stubbornness. Therefore, he was grateful when Isla showed up on his doorstep ready and willing to help the prisoner in his bedroom realize that he wasn't intrinsically evil.

Isla Campbell was Jamie's younger sister and probably the only Campbell Liam fully trusted. Not only had she taken care of his business while he'd been in prison, but she was a long time confidante. She knew and understood the nature of his conflict with the family better than anyone, even his own sister, who was six years older and who had never moved in the same orbit.

Liam had relied on Isla since childhood for advice and a sympathetic ear. She had been born the same year and attended the same schools. She could be counted on for her practicality and discretion, and she tended to think the Campbell family owed Liam. Today was no different.

"It's a good thing my brother is a jackass and got you into all this mess. Otherwise, you'd owe me a pretty penny, cousin," She leaned in for a peck on the cheek, her arms laden with bags from various department stores.

He ushered her through the door, poking his head out to check out who might be watching the house and was  relieved to see nothing out of the ordinary.

"Don't worry. No one followed me here, and I didn't see any suspicious vehicles parked on the street."  She threw the bags on the couch and sat down, taking off her leather gloves.

"Thanks for coming, Isla." He didn't need to follow that with an admission of his desperation. She could see it written all over his face.

She smoothed her pencil skirt, "Tell me about your house guest."