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Authors: James Grippando
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sorry.
You heard?
I saw Duncan Fitz at the courthouse yesterday. He told me.
Jenna was a trial lawyer at a small firm in Coral Gables. As she used to rub it in, lawyers at smaller firms actually had their own cases and got to see the inside of the courthouse, unlike the young paper pushers at law firms like Cool Cash.
Well, I'm glad he mentioned it, I said. I wanted you to know.
I wasn't sure if I should call you or not. I wrote a little personal note to your mom. I know this might sound hollow, but if there's anything I can do, just call. I mean it. I feel terrible that this has happened.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
I paused, not sure where to take it from there. We'd been best friends and lovers for almost five years. How weird it was to think that if my father hadn't been kidnapped we might never have uttered another word to one another. My heart was pounding. I was nervous and confused. I felt guilty, too, thinking that in some way I'd used my father's crisis as an excuse to reconnect with Jenna, however briefly. Calling her had accomplished nothing. Or maybe it had proved too much. The mere sound of her voice had only confirmed that I wasn't over her.
So, how are you doing? I asked.
She said something beyond Good, but it was garbled. The connection was breaking up.
I'm sorry, what? I said.
Her response was pure static. The connection was even worse.
I think I'm losing you. As soon as I'd said it, the line went dead, and I realized the irony of my words. I placed the receiver in the cradle, sat back in my chair, and stared blankly off to the middle distance.
I've definitely lost you, I said softly.
My cell phone rang. I snatched it from my pocket, thinking it was Jenna. It was my mother.
Good news, she said.
What?
I've been worried sick ever since Guillermo told us how those kidnappers think of your father as a gold mine. All I've been able to think is, What if we can't pay the ransom?
I know. We're all worried.
Well, our worries are over.
What do you mean?
If we have to, we can pay a gold mine and then some.
How?
Your father once told me that if anything ever happened to him on one of his trips, I should check a special safe-deposit box he opened at Brickell Trust. The last couple of days I've been putting it off. I was afraid I would find a letter of good-bye or something on that order. This morning I finally went. You won't believe what was in there.
Stop right there, Mom. On the heels of Agent Huitt's accusations, I was suddenly concerned that Mom and I might not be the only ones on this phone line.
But this is really good news.
We'll talk about it when I get home. I'll be right there. I hung up before she could say more.
I had no idea what she'd found, but I surely didn't want her blurting it out if there was any possibility that the FBI had tapped our lines and was eavesdropping. I returned the notice of Gilbert Jones's death to the top of my pile, then quickly headed out the door.
Chapter 10
As a lawyer, I was embarrassed to admit it. But I couldn't lie to my own mother. I'd never heard of kidnap-and-ransom insurance for a fisherman.
That was exactly what Mom had found in the safe-deposit box: a K&R insurance policy issued to my father. I'd seen that type of coverage before, but only for the big multinational conglomerates. For companies with employees abroad, it certainly made sense to shift the risk of an abduction to an insurance company. The insurer was then on the hook for paying the ransom and, even more important, hiring a private security consultant to negotiate a safe release. When I thought about it, the concept made even more sense for a small business. A half-million-dollar ransom would do much more damage to Rey's Seafood Company than would a ten-million-dollar hit to a Fortune 500 company. Until now, however, I'd never realized how affordable it was even for the little guy.
I read the entire policy carefully, first page to last, while seated at the kitchen table with my
You heard?
I saw Duncan Fitz at the courthouse yesterday. He told me.
Jenna was a trial lawyer at a small firm in Coral Gables. As she used to rub it in, lawyers at smaller firms actually had their own cases and got to see the inside of the courthouse, unlike the young paper pushers at law firms like Cool Cash.
Well, I'm glad he mentioned it, I said. I wanted you to know.
I wasn't sure if I should call you or not. I wrote a little personal note to your mom. I know this might sound hollow, but if there's anything I can do, just call. I mean it. I feel terrible that this has happened.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
I paused, not sure where to take it from there. We'd been best friends and lovers for almost five years. How weird it was to think that if my father hadn't been kidnapped we might never have uttered another word to one another. My heart was pounding. I was nervous and confused. I felt guilty, too, thinking that in some way I'd used my father's crisis as an excuse to reconnect with Jenna, however briefly. Calling her had accomplished nothing. Or maybe it had proved too much. The mere sound of her voice had only confirmed that I wasn't over her.
So, how are you doing? I asked.
She said something beyond Good, but it was garbled. The connection was breaking up.
I'm sorry, what? I said.
Her response was pure static. The connection was even worse.
I think I'm losing you. As soon as I'd said it, the line went dead, and I realized the irony of my words. I placed the receiver in the cradle, sat back in my chair, and stared blankly off to the middle distance.
I've definitely lost you, I said softly.
My cell phone rang. I snatched it from my pocket, thinking it was Jenna. It was my mother.
Good news, she said.
What?
I've been worried sick ever since Guillermo told us how those kidnappers think of your father as a gold mine. All I've been able to think is, What if we can't pay the ransom?
I know. We're all worried.
Well, our worries are over.
What do you mean?
If we have to, we can pay a gold mine and then some.
How?
Your father once told me that if anything ever happened to him on one of his trips, I should check a special safe-deposit box he opened at Brickell Trust. The last couple of days I've been putting it off. I was afraid I would find a letter of good-bye or something on that order. This morning I finally went. You won't believe what was in there.
Stop right there, Mom. On the heels of Agent Huitt's accusations, I was suddenly concerned that Mom and I might not be the only ones on this phone line.
But this is really good news.
We'll talk about it when I get home. I'll be right there. I hung up before she could say more.
I had no idea what she'd found, but I surely didn't want her blurting it out if there was any possibility that the FBI had tapped our lines and was eavesdropping. I returned the notice of Gilbert Jones's death to the top of my pile, then quickly headed out the door.
Chapter 10
As a lawyer, I was embarrassed to admit it. But I couldn't lie to my own mother. I'd never heard of kidnap-and-ransom insurance for a fisherman.
That was exactly what Mom had found in the safe-deposit box: a K&R insurance policy issued to my father. I'd seen that type of coverage before, but only for the big multinational conglomerates. For companies with employees abroad, it certainly made sense to shift the risk of an abduction to an insurance company. The insurer was then on the hook for paying the ransom and, even more important, hiring a private security consultant to negotiate a safe release. When I thought about it, the concept made even more sense for a small business. A half-million-dollar ransom would do much more damage to Rey's Seafood Company than would a ten-million-dollar hit to a Fortune 500 company. Until now, however, I'd never realized how affordable it was even for the little guy.
I read the entire policy carefully, first page to last, while seated at the kitchen table with my
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