Read Online Ransom by Frank Roderus - Free Book Online Page A

wrinkled suit coat over his belly and buttoned it, that being all the sartorial preparation he made for the day. “Let’s go,” he said.
    * * *
    Dick carefully buttered a bit of biscuit, spooned a tiny portion of wild strawberry jam onto the biscuit, and ate it. He peered across the table with distaste at the sight of Taylor wolfing down a plate of pork chops and friedpotatoes. The oaf had no manners whatsoever. Dick could not for the life of him understand why sweet, delicate, ladylike Jessica agreed to marry the man in the first place. The day when a divorce was granted and Dick was free to make Jessica his wife could not arrive too soon.
    Jessica Hahn, Mrs. Richard Hahn, those had a very nice sound, he thought.
    Soon. Just as soon as they could get Taylor out of their lives. Well, mostly out. The man would always be Louise’s father and Dick would never knowingly do anything to hurt Loozy. He could not care for that little girl any more if she were his own flesh and blood.
    Blood! God, the thought of Jessica and Loozy being harmed by that horrid gang of cutthroats . . . if he could he would be tempted to steal from the bank and pay the vicious bastards their ransom.
    It did not escape Dick’s attention that he could steal some of the bank’s investment funds and palm that off as the total. Surely the gang would not know how much of the bank’s capital was placed for investment.
    Or could they?
    Might they have someone actually inside the bank who already told them what to expect and how it could be gotten? That was not impossible, he supposed. They could have bribed one of the bank’s employees to provide them with that information. For that matter, a bank employee might well be a member of the gang.
    He had not seen the actual books, of course, but he had a sense of the bank’s finances. He knew there was not a great deal of money allocated to employee salaries. One of them might be tempted to steal, especially if they were in financial straits. Gambling debt. A note coming due. Something on that order of things.
    No, it was not impossible. Improbable, true, but notimpossible. And would he want to wager Jessica’s life on it? Never. He sighed.
    Dick’s head was hurting. And not just from last night’s excessive drinking.
    If only he knew what to do.
    â€œPass me that ketchup, would’ja?”
    Dick pushed the slim green bottle closer to Taylor and watched the man drown his fried potatoes in the stuff. Hahn did not much like ketchup. Did not much like John Taylor either for that matter. He returned his attention to the platter of biscuits and bowl of freshly churned sweet butter.
    What to do? Damn it, what to do?
    * * *
    â€œBy now they know that you and me are talking,” Taylor said. “The note didn’t say anything about that and if they don’t like it, well, too damn bad. Jess surely will’ve told them that she has both a husband and a boyfriend, so we oughta get away with this much, but we sure can’t call in the law.”
    â€œThat states the problem,” Dick said, picking his teeth with a sliver of aspen wood that he pried off the side of the bench they were sitting on. “It does nothing to come up with a solution. If you can’t do any better than that, then I—”
    â€œSlow the hell down, will you? I’m thinking.”
    â€œI didn’t know you could,” Dick snapped.
    â€œMaybe better’n you think I can, asshole.”
    Dick started to bristle, but Taylor settled him down with a show of his palm in a “stop” motion. “What I was gonna say,” Taylor said slowly, “is that you an’ me got to go after them.”
    Dick gave him a look of sharp impatience. “Are you out of your damned mind, Taylor? Of course we have to bring them back. But just where in blue blazes are we supposed to look for them? Do you know where they’ve been taken? Do you have any earthly idea where