Dangerous Expensive Principles

IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR DAUGHTER AGAIN, YOU MUST TRANSFER $1,000,000 DOLLARS TO THE ACCOUNT BELOW BY MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY. IF YOU DO NOT PAY, OR IF YOU CALL THE POLICE, YOUR DAUGHTER WILL BE KILLED.

"I think we should call the police."

Bill stood at one end of the room, tall and authoritative, as though he were addressing a board meeting. Sarah looked up at her father from where she was sitting at the kitchen table, her eyes streaked red from blistering tears.

"What are you talking about!" she cried, hovering at the brink of hysteria. "The note says that if we do that they'll kill her!"

Bill shook his head and began pacing up and down. "They're saying that to scare us."

"Well they're doing a good job! This is my daughter, dad. I'm not taking any chances! I just want her back."

Sarah slumped on to the table, crumpling like a piece of newspaper on a fire. Her face dropped on to her folded arms and her body shook with a fresh swell of tears. Oliver moved to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you really think that's the best thing to do?" Oliver asked his father-in-law. "We don't want to do anything that will put Katie at risk."

"If we get the police on side, they can help us set these guys up and catch them," Bill said. "We can't to that on our own."

"But what if Katie gets hurt in the process?" Oliver asked.

"If we don't tell the police, they might take the money and hurt Katie anyway," Bill said. "At least if the police are involved, we have a better chance of catching them, and getting Katie back."

The room was quiet for a few moments, the silence punctuated by Sarah's breathless sobs. Oliver looked out of the window and saw that the sky was growing dark, black clouds piling on top of each other like rugby players. The trees in the orchard shivered as the wind began doing laps around them.

"We'll pay you back as soon as we can, Bill," Oliver said, eventually. "If we had the money, we'd pay it ourselves, but...."

"It's not the money!" Bill cried, slamming his hand down on the sideboard. "I'd give everything I own to get my granddaughter back. It's about how we play this."

Sarah looked up at him. Her face was grey, the bags under her eyes heavy with fear. "Please, dad," she said. "I'm her mother. Surely that counts for something. Please can we just do what they say. We can go to the police afterwards. Please...."

Bill placed his hand on the handle to the back door. "I'm going to take a walk," he said. "I think we all need a break to think things over. I'll be back soon and we can talk more about it then."

He opened the door and stepped outside, an icy draft spilling into the room before he shut the door firmly behind him.

Oliver stood behind his wife, gently stroking her hair. "We'll get her back," he soothed. "I promise."

She continued to cry, her tears springing from an bottomless well of despair.

"I need to go upstairs and make a few work calls," Oliver said after a couple of minutes. " Will you be okay for a little while?"

She didn't respond so Oliver squeezed her shoulder and then left the kitchen, closing the door behind him. He went upstairs to his study, again making sure the door was pulled shut. He sat at his desk, fished his mobile out of his pocket and dialled a number he knew by heart.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"How's it going?"

"I think he's beginning to come round. Sarah is hysterical, which is helping to change his mind."

"Okay great. So it's all going to plan?"

"Yes, hopefully."

"Fifty, fifty, yeah? Don't you dare screw me over."

"Don't worry, I won't. Fifty, fifty it is."

Oliver paused for a moment. "How is she?"

"Katie? Yes, she's okay. A bit scared, I suppose. I've had to keep my face covered so she doesn't recognise me, and I guess that's freaking her out."

Oliver gripped the edge of his desk.

"Okay," he said. He forced his voice to remain steady, like a tightrope walker concentrating on his balance. "Just take good care of her okay?"

"Sure. Keep me posted about the old man."

"Will do."

Oliver hung up. He sat very still for a long time before heading back downstairs to his wife.