Revenge (David Shelley #1) - James Patterson Page 0,67

the vibrating phone, and Shelley wondered if he was even going to answer it, when abruptly he raised the handset to his ear. “Hello,” he said simply, and Shelley was relieved at the lack of needle in his voice. Thankfully he’d remembered that a kidnapping situation was all about negotiation. Then, “Yes, this is Guy Drake speaking. Is this Dmitry?” He held the phone away from his ear, putting it on speaker.

“Yes, it is I, Dmitry,” they heard. “The last time we spoke you were discourteous and disrespectful, but I think you will not make that mistake again, am I right?”

Drake reddened but remembered himself, cleared his throat, swallowed his pride, and spoke: “No, I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Good, and I trust your colleague Captain Shelley has kept you abreast of all the latest developments?”

“He has.”

“Good. A go-between is very useful, I think.”

“I would like to talk to my wife,” said Drake, and once again Shelley found himself breathing a sigh of relief. Drake was getting past Dmitry’s jibes, moving on to deal with the important matter impressed on him by Shelley: demanding proof of life.

“Of course,” said Dmitry. His voice went slightly distant. “Mrs. Drake, please tell your husband how well you’re being treated.”

The next voice belonged to Susie: “Guy, I’m all right, they’re being good to me—” She was cut short, as though the phone had been snatched away.

“Sweetheart, honey, I love you,” Drake was saying quickly. The words tumbled out of him. His eyes gleamed with tears. And for a moment, the space of a heartbeat, he looked like a lost child.

“No, no, Mrs. Drake,” they heard as Dmitry returned to the call. “You can have this conversation another time, later tonight, maybe, when you are back home safe and sound, drinking tea and telling of your exciting day with those lovely Chechens, yes?”

“What do you mean, tonight?” asked Drake. His jaw clenched, chewing.

Shelley and Bennett exchanged a look. They wanted to do the exchange right away. Good news, thought Shelley. They could have got more, but were prepared to settle for £20 million in return for a quick and painless trade.

“I am about to give you the details of an account,” said Dmitry. “Transfer the money from your secret offshore account into that and, when it is done, I will deposit Mrs. Drake at . . .”

Shelley was shaking his head. Drake looked at him, confused, in need of more detail.

“Ah, you’re being coached,” they heard Dmitry say. “It is Captain Shelley again, is it? Put him on, Mr. Drake, so that he can tell me himself what he wants to say.”

Shelley took the phone. “There’ll be no money transfer until we see Susie. When she’s standing there in front of us, unharmed, and when we’re confident that you plan to honor the agreement. Only then are we pushing buttons, got it?”

There was a pause. “We are the ones with the hostage, Captain Shelley,” said Dmitry, firmly but agreeably.

“I’m not disputing that. And believe me, I’ve no intention of trying to double-cross you on this. Just that it makes no sense for us to pay up ahead of time. Don’t take us for fools, Dmitry, because if you do we might be tempted to act like fools. Be straight with us and you’ll get the same in return.”

Dmitry gave a short chortle. “Oh, he drives a hard bargain, and yet I find I have to agree. Let us all meet together and do our business.”

“Tell me what I have to do,” said Drake.

“You do, of course, remember my studio. Not the studio in which your daughter Emma died, but the other one. The one that you burned to the ground. That one. We meet there at midnight tonight. Mr. Drake, do you understand me so far? We will bring your wife, unharmed, to the meeting point, and you will bring the means of transferring the twenty million that you have in your ransom fund to me. When the transfer is made you may have your wife back in one piece. It really is that simple.

“Now, I hardly need to tell you that this negotiation operates on trust. You trust me to bring your wife unharmed. I trust you to provide the money. Because I know that there are police there with you now, I have to insist that the person in charge of the handover comes alone.”

Shelley shook his head and did the slit-throat motion with his finger. Absolutely not. In response, Drake nodded that he’d got the