abduction hadn’t altered his plans.
‘Alain, you’ll be in charge of security. That makes sense given your current role. The house here looks very safe.’ Trent nodded towards the glow of halogen around the edge of the thickened curtains. ‘That’s why the gang attacked you before you reached the gate. But you need to be aware of the risk of follow-up kidnappings. You have to be responsible for the movements of Stephanie and Philippe. That’ll be much easier if you all stay inside the grounds.’
‘Wait.’ Philippe wagged a finger. ‘I don’t live here . I have an apartment in the city.’
‘Argue with Alain, not me. If he thinks you’re safe to leave, it’s his call. I’m pretty sure your father would agree.’
‘No way,’ Philippe muttered.
Stephanie rolled her eyes.
‘You can be the group’s liaison to the outside world,’ Trent told Philippe. ‘You say you’re a businessman, then act like it. If there comes a time when we need to contact the police, or if the press become involved, you’ll be the family’s conduit. Agreed?’
He threw up his hands, as if he couldn’t care either way.
‘And me?’ Stephanie asked.
Trent leaned forwards and placed his hands on the surface of the desk, fingers spread, knuckles raised.
‘You have the most important role of all,’ he told her. ‘You’re the one who talks to the gang.’
She leaned backwards, eyes like dark pools. A vein throbbed at her temple, a squiggle of blue ink beneath her skin.
‘It’s OK,’ Alain said. He rested a hand on her shoulder. ‘They can speak with me instead.’
‘No. That won’t work.’ Trent locked onto Stephanie. ‘Listen, we have to give them what they expect. Then we turn it to our advantage. If Alain speaks to them, they’ll be on their guard. They may become more aggressive. But if you answer, they’ll believe they’re applying pressure in just the way they anticipated. It’s good if you sound distressed. It’s good if you demand to know that your husband is alive. And most importantly, you can tell them that you can’t raise the sort of sums they’re demanding. You can tell them that only Jérôme has access to his assets and bank accounts. Forgive me, but you’re much younger than Jérôme and it’s likely they’ll believe you. That’s a good thing. They’ll begin to understand that you can only pay a reasonable sum.’
Stephanie was silent. She was turning over his explanation. Trent was pleased to see it. Even under duress, she was thinking things through. When the gang contacted them, there’d be times when she’d have to react to new information very rapidly. It was important that her responses were as considered as possible.
‘Why don’t you talk to them?’ she asked.
‘At this stage, it’s best if they don’t know that I’m involved. But don’t worry. I’ll prepare a script for you. Just a few simple points you should try to get across.’
‘You forget that they saw you,’ Alain said.
‘They saw a guy involved in a car crash on a dark road. That’s all.’
‘You shot at them.’
Trent shook his head. ‘They were fleeing at speed. Even supposing they saw that it was me, they might think I was some kind of back-up security.’
Alain’s face was knotted up. He wasn’t convinced. Neither was Trent. But he wasn’t about to dwell on something he couldn’t control.
He braced his hands against the edge of the desk and rolled backwards in Jérôme’s chair, then grappled with the central drawer just above his knees. It was locked. There were more drawers on the right and some on the left. They were locked, too.
‘I need paper and a pen,’ he said. ‘Is there some in this desk? Do you have a key?’
‘Alain has a key,’ Stephanie replied.
Trent turned to Alain but the bodyguard didn’t reach for the set of keys he’d used earlier. He simply gathered his jacket from the back of the chair, delved a hand into a front pocket and fetched a small notepad and
‘Alain, you’ll be in charge of security. That makes sense given your current role. The house here looks very safe.’ Trent nodded towards the glow of halogen around the edge of the thickened curtains. ‘That’s why the gang attacked you before you reached the gate. But you need to be aware of the risk of follow-up kidnappings. You have to be responsible for the movements of Stephanie and Philippe. That’ll be much easier if you all stay inside the grounds.’
‘Wait.’ Philippe wagged a finger. ‘I don’t live here . I have an apartment in the city.’
‘Argue with Alain, not me. If he thinks you’re safe to leave, it’s his call. I’m pretty sure your father would agree.’
‘No way,’ Philippe muttered.
Stephanie rolled her eyes.
‘You can be the group’s liaison to the outside world,’ Trent told Philippe. ‘You say you’re a businessman, then act like it. If there comes a time when we need to contact the police, or if the press become involved, you’ll be the family’s conduit. Agreed?’
He threw up his hands, as if he couldn’t care either way.
‘And me?’ Stephanie asked.
Trent leaned forwards and placed his hands on the surface of the desk, fingers spread, knuckles raised.
‘You have the most important role of all,’ he told her. ‘You’re the one who talks to the gang.’
She leaned backwards, eyes like dark pools. A vein throbbed at her temple, a squiggle of blue ink beneath her skin.
‘It’s OK,’ Alain said. He rested a hand on her shoulder. ‘They can speak with me instead.’
‘No. That won’t work.’ Trent locked onto Stephanie. ‘Listen, we have to give them what they expect. Then we turn it to our advantage. If Alain speaks to them, they’ll be on their guard. They may become more aggressive. But if you answer, they’ll believe they’re applying pressure in just the way they anticipated. It’s good if you sound distressed. It’s good if you demand to know that your husband is alive. And most importantly, you can tell them that you can’t raise the sort of sums they’re demanding. You can tell them that only Jérôme has access to his assets and bank accounts. Forgive me, but you’re much younger than Jérôme and it’s likely they’ll believe you. That’s a good thing. They’ll begin to understand that you can only pay a reasonable sum.’
Stephanie was silent. She was turning over his explanation. Trent was pleased to see it. Even under duress, she was thinking things through. When the gang contacted them, there’d be times when she’d have to react to new information very rapidly. It was important that her responses were as considered as possible.
‘Why don’t you talk to them?’ she asked.
‘At this stage, it’s best if they don’t know that I’m involved. But don’t worry. I’ll prepare a script for you. Just a few simple points you should try to get across.’
‘You forget that they saw you,’ Alain said.
‘They saw a guy involved in a car crash on a dark road. That’s all.’
‘You shot at them.’
Trent shook his head. ‘They were fleeing at speed. Even supposing they saw that it was me, they might think I was some kind of back-up security.’
Alain’s face was knotted up. He wasn’t convinced. Neither was Trent. But he wasn’t about to dwell on something he couldn’t control.
He braced his hands against the edge of the desk and rolled backwards in Jérôme’s chair, then grappled with the central drawer just above his knees. It was locked. There were more drawers on the right and some on the left. They were locked, too.
‘I need paper and a pen,’ he said. ‘Is there some in this desk? Do you have a key?’
‘Alain has a key,’ Stephanie replied.
Trent turned to Alain but the bodyguard didn’t reach for the set of keys he’d used earlier. He simply gathered his jacket from the back of the chair, delved a hand into a front pocket and fetched a small notepad and
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