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Authors: Mary Jane Clark
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were close enough to his modest ranch-style home that Hugh knew the police were going to come knocking on his door. He was sure of it.
It wouldn’t be the first time the cops had come calling. And it wouldn’t be the last. Whenever a kid went missing, they loved to lookhis way and throw their weight around. But they had come to this apartment before and found nothing. They wouldn’t find anything this time, either.
Still, Hugh found himself trembling. He shook with fear and outrage. It’s just not fair.
CHAPTER 24
I n a reversal of the usual two-way interview, Harry Granger, on location on Saddle Ridge Road in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, interviewed former FBI special agent and KEY News contributor Cathy Bonica, who was at the KEY to America studio in Manhattan.
“In your years with the Bureau, you worked on some pretty high-profile kidnapping cases, Cathy. What does your gut tell you about this one?”
“Well, first of all, Harry, we aren’t even sure that this is a kidnapping. Janie Blake and her caregiver are missing. No one saw them taken against their wills. There has been no ransom demand.”
“But assuming that this is a kidnapping, Cathy, what could be going on here?”
“Well, Harry, there are three types of kidnapping.” Cathy reeled off the list. “Kidnapping by a relative or family member…that sort of kidnapping is the most common. The other two types are kidnapping by an acquaintance and kidnapping by a stranger.”
“Which do you think we are looking at here?”
“It’s too early to know,” said the former FBI agent. “If a ransom demand is sent, that might give investigators a clue. If no ransom demandis made, it’s more than likely this is not a kidnapping with profit as a motive. When a seven-year-old girl is abducted, and it isn’t for the money, the worry is it could be for sexual perversion or worse.” Cathy paused. “But I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves, Harry,” she said. “For every kidnapping by someone unrelated to the child, there are over seventy abductions by family members. So, I think it’s fair to say that investigators are following the statistics right now and concentrating on Janie Blake’s known universe.”
“Which would be the housekeeper?” asked Harry. “Is it law enforcement’s inclination that there has been foul play by the housekeeper?”
“I’m sure that’s their first thought, Harry. They are going to look at Carmen Garcia first, and focus on the family as well. After that, they will move outward…to friends and acquaintances, peripheral contacts, sex offenders registered in the community, and finally, and this is the most frightening scenario of all, Harry, strangers.”
“Let me get back to something you just said, Cathy. You said that investigators would concentrate on Carmen Garcia and the family first. Did you mean Carmen Garcia’s family or Janie Blake’s family?”
“Both families, Harry. Nobody will be immune from scrutiny.”
CHAPTER 25
R honda Billings put down her coffee cup and switched off the television. All the talk of kidnapping and the speculation about what could be happening to Janie Blake was upsetting her. Harry Granger and the others didn’t know what they were talking about. Rhonda was tempted to call in to KEY to America and let them know that Janie was just fine.
Rhonda walked around the living room of the ground-floor apartment. She fluffed the pillows on the sofa and straightened the pile of magazines on the coffee table. Then she checked the dial on the air-conditioning unit installed in the living room window. It was a giant machine, but it was the only air conditioner they had and it was going to have to pump extra hard. The forecast was for a scorching day.
Rhonda went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and pulled a comb through her short dark hair. She noticed that the gray was getting more and more visible. Over the last few years she had really aged, while Dave hadn’t changed very much
It wouldn’t be the first time the cops had come calling. And it wouldn’t be the last. Whenever a kid went missing, they loved to lookhis way and throw their weight around. But they had come to this apartment before and found nothing. They wouldn’t find anything this time, either.
Still, Hugh found himself trembling. He shook with fear and outrage. It’s just not fair.
CHAPTER 24
I n a reversal of the usual two-way interview, Harry Granger, on location on Saddle Ridge Road in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, interviewed former FBI special agent and KEY News contributor Cathy Bonica, who was at the KEY to America studio in Manhattan.
“In your years with the Bureau, you worked on some pretty high-profile kidnapping cases, Cathy. What does your gut tell you about this one?”
“Well, first of all, Harry, we aren’t even sure that this is a kidnapping. Janie Blake and her caregiver are missing. No one saw them taken against their wills. There has been no ransom demand.”
“But assuming that this is a kidnapping, Cathy, what could be going on here?”
“Well, Harry, there are three types of kidnapping.” Cathy reeled off the list. “Kidnapping by a relative or family member…that sort of kidnapping is the most common. The other two types are kidnapping by an acquaintance and kidnapping by a stranger.”
“Which do you think we are looking at here?”
“It’s too early to know,” said the former FBI agent. “If a ransom demand is sent, that might give investigators a clue. If no ransom demandis made, it’s more than likely this is not a kidnapping with profit as a motive. When a seven-year-old girl is abducted, and it isn’t for the money, the worry is it could be for sexual perversion or worse.” Cathy paused. “But I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves, Harry,” she said. “For every kidnapping by someone unrelated to the child, there are over seventy abductions by family members. So, I think it’s fair to say that investigators are following the statistics right now and concentrating on Janie Blake’s known universe.”
“Which would be the housekeeper?” asked Harry. “Is it law enforcement’s inclination that there has been foul play by the housekeeper?”
“I’m sure that’s their first thought, Harry. They are going to look at Carmen Garcia first, and focus on the family as well. After that, they will move outward…to friends and acquaintances, peripheral contacts, sex offenders registered in the community, and finally, and this is the most frightening scenario of all, Harry, strangers.”
“Let me get back to something you just said, Cathy. You said that investigators would concentrate on Carmen Garcia and the family first. Did you mean Carmen Garcia’s family or Janie Blake’s family?”
“Both families, Harry. Nobody will be immune from scrutiny.”
CHAPTER 25
R honda Billings put down her coffee cup and switched off the television. All the talk of kidnapping and the speculation about what could be happening to Janie Blake was upsetting her. Harry Granger and the others didn’t know what they were talking about. Rhonda was tempted to call in to KEY to America and let them know that Janie was just fine.
Rhonda walked around the living room of the ground-floor apartment. She fluffed the pillows on the sofa and straightened the pile of magazines on the coffee table. Then she checked the dial on the air-conditioning unit installed in the living room window. It was a giant machine, but it was the only air conditioner they had and it was going to have to pump extra hard. The forecast was for a scorching day.
Rhonda went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and pulled a comb through her short dark hair. She noticed that the gray was getting more and more visible. Over the last few years she had really aged, while Dave hadn’t changed very much
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