With Private Eyes Part 30

Thirteen.

C laudia had heard that sometimes, in the midst of battle, a soldier can be shot and not realize it right away. The body reports the blow, but the pain is oddly absent. That was what she felt like. Detached. Aware of the blow, but not yet hurting.

On their bat-out-of-h.e.l.l ride to her parents' house she was mostly aware of three things: a vague queasiness in the pit of her stomach; the battle to stop thinking, which she was rapidly losing-and Ethan,

"We're almost there, honey," he said.

"Good." She glanced down at her hands, which were clasped tightly together in her lap. "Are Shane and Emily still behind us?"

"Sure are. The man's been so intimate with my b.u.mper, our cars are practically engaged."

She tried to smile, but suspected it was a poor attempt. As were her efforts not to think. She couldn't stop, couldn't keep from following the terrible train of logic.

"Ethan?" she said as he screeched to a stop in front of her parents' house.

"Yeah?"

"Derrick probably wasn't kidnapped, was he?"

He paused, then said very gently, "No, honey. I don't think he was."

She swallowed. "And Bianca?"

"I don't know. That may be for real. We'll have to treat it as if it is."

Shane's car jerked to a halt just as Ethan climbed out of his. He hurried around to Claudia's side, and she let him put his arm around her. He was desperately glad of that. There was so d.a.m.ned little he could do for her. She seemed calm, but he knew that for what it was-the numbing blanket that shock spreads over its victims.

She'd staggered him. After all her denial, her defense of her brother, she'd already figured out what this kidnapping must really be: a last, frantic effort by Derrick Barone to excel at something. If he couldn't be the best at anything else, he'd be the best criminal the family had ever produced. Ethan was all but certain Derrick had faked his own kidnapping.

Claudia's mother must have been watching for them. She opened the door before the four of them reached the porch. Ethan heard the raised voices before then, too.

The three women fell into a female huddle, hugging one another. "Sal and Jean Conti are here," Sandra Barone told them. Her eyes were red. "And your aunt and uncle, and Nicholas. The others are on their way."

"I hear them." Claudia gave her mother a last hug, then detached herself gently. "I'll take care of it."

She headed for the room where all the shouting was coming from. Ethan followed her.

"...not telling me how to handle this, dammit! They've got my daughter!" Sal Conti yelled.

"And my son!" Paul Barone said furiously. "You know d.a.m.ned well you can't raise ten million dollars."

"This is one time your proud neck will have to bow to the inevitable," Carlo Barone said. "I can get the money. You can't. Deal with it."

"If you Barones put up the money, you'll want to call the shots! I know what you're like, and I won't have it!"

"Mr. Conti," Claudia said firmly, walking up to him. "You're shouting."

He glared at her. "d.a.m.ned right I'm shouting!"

"Well, it's not helping." She took his hand in both of hers and spoke gently. "What I heard when I walked in was my uncle offering to pay ten million dollars to help you get your daughter back. That doesn't seem like something to be angry about."

Sal was taken aback, but rallied. "He'll try to take over. Dammit, you know what he's like-thinks he was born to rule. Well, I'm not having it. Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have my daughter." He blinked, his voice breaking. "My Bianca."

For a second Claudia's eyes met Ethan's, and he knew the same question haunted them both. He didn't much like his ex-wife, but there were still strings, the tattered remnants of the feelings that had once propelled him w.i.l.l.y-nilly into marriage. His mouth was dry with fear and a few lingering, acrid regrets.

Was Bianca a willing accomplice-or Derrick Barone's victim?

Claudia looked away and squeezed Sal Conti's hand. "Naturally you want very badly to have some control over the situation. But shouting isn't the way to accomplish that." She looked at Carlo. "Uncle Carlo, you agree that Mr. Conti must have an equal voice in whatever is decided, don't you?"

"It's the right thing, Carlo," Moira Barone said in a low voice.

He looked sour, but agreed. Then he noticed Ethan and came toward him. "Mr. Mallory. Good. I was hoping ... we may need someone to handle the, uh, the drop for us. I can pay whatever your fee is."

"I won't take your money, so you can forget about that. Have you called the FBI?"

"No police," Paul Barone said sharply. "Both ransom notes said the same thing-don't call the police. They threatened to kill-" He stopped and swallowed. "No police."

"Let's talk about it," Ethan said in his most soothing voice. "Put our heads together, see what we know so far. Maybe we should all sit down. Claudia, if you could see about some coffee..."

"I'll take care of it," she said.

The next few hours were rough. Ethan finally persuaded both families that they had to call in the FBI-in part because Claudia quietly, firmly backed him up. They also agreed to stall for time, claim they needed a few days to get the ransom money together.

Ethan did not tell them what he knew about Derrick Barone.

Before the FBI agents arrived he made an excuse to head into the kitchen, where he used his cell phone to call his uncle. Claudia came in while he was talking. He eyed her warily as he told his uncle to be careful, and disconnected.

"You asked him to check out Norblusky's hiding place," she said quietly.

"Yeah. It's a long shot. I don't really think Norblusky would go along with anything like this, especially when he's already spilled the beans to my uncle. But it would be foolish to ignore the possibility."

"Thank you for not telling the others about Derrick. About what he's done, and-and what we think he's done."

"They'll have to know eventually, but I thought..." He shrugged, awkward and miserable about the strain in her eyes. "Seemed best to wait until I've talked to the FBI. I do have to tell them, Claudia."

"I know." Her smile was pale, nothing like her usual megawatt beam. But it seemed genuine. "In the meantime, we can try to keep this to one blow at a time for the others. Ethan..."

Something in her voice pulled him closer. "Yeah?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just ... I'm glad you're here."

Funny. His heart actually skipped a beat. He'd never felt it do that before. "Even though-"

"Claudia?" Shane came around the corner. "Good, Ethan is with you. The FBI agents are here. They'll need to talk to you both."