early rather than late. Time
was a crucial element in solving such cases. Early response was always
essential and when a member was not available from the onset, the first
available member would be assigned to allow for a quick response .
It was a team effort all
around. The Center members respected each other allowing one another
freedom to operate and independent judgment. There were, of course,
disagreements and rudimentary arguments but mostly disputes were solved
in-house, the significant ones by a majority vote of the members involved .
Sam, as founder of the Center
with access to the major donors, and Black Jack with his vast experience and
ex-detective status, had something of a right to veto certain decisions but
they rarely exercised this prerogative, preferring to allow consensus among the
team. No one had claim on foreseeing what circumstances would
bring. Experience did help somewhat but since every case developed so
differently it was impossible to clearly forecast the appropriate steps needed
to be followed to bring positive results. Sam would authorize budgets for
each activity and Black Jack would be appraised of the
general tactical approach to a case. Beyond that it was the member’s own
judgment, intuition, experience, and instincts which would guide the way and
hopefully lead to a successful conclusion .
CHAPTER
THREE
The phone rang, shaking Sam
and Black jack out of their fax scanning trance. Sam picked it up .
“ Morning Sammy,” Christine said from across the
Atlantic. Her day had started six hours earlier .
“ Hi,” Sam replied in a subdued voice, sounding
almost surprised .
“ Rough morning?” Christine asked .
“ It’s the eighteenth,” Sam said expecting she
knew what the date meant .
“ Oh, I forgot,” she said, “he’s eleven tomorrow .”
“ Yeah,” Sam sighed, “another year gone by .”
Christine did not immediately
reply. There was nothing she could say that would keep Sam from feeling
blue on his missing son’s birthday .
“ Is Jack there?” she asked after a few silent seconds .
“ Yeah, he’s right here. I’ll put him on
the speaker .”
“ Hi Chris,” Black Jack said as Sam pressed the
speaker button and put the phone back in its cradle .
“ Hey Jack, I may need you here soon,” Christine
announced, hastening to proceed with business rather than continue with
unsettling small talk .
“ What’s up?” Black Jack said, straightening in
his seat .
“ The El Shara case, it’s back in the spotlight .”
Ibrahim El Shara had been
twelve when his Egyptian father kidnapped him from his French ex-wife, a music teacher
living in Marseilles, six years after their separation. The mother,
Clair, approached Christine who handled the case for the Center with help from
Black Jack. They tracked the boy to an apartment in Cairo but lost track
soon after and never regained a trail .
“ Clair’s mother called me this morning,”
Christine continued. “Apparently Clair managed to find the boy but got herself
arrested .”
“ Where is she?” Black Jack asked, alarmed.
He and Christine had both warned the mother not to try anything on her own .
“ She’s being held at a place called Dahab in the
Sinai Desert. It's a resort of some sort along the coast of the Red
Sea. She managed to call her mother yesterday but she’s been there a
while .”
“ How long?” Black Jack and Sam asked in unison .
“ Two months!” Christine replied dramatically .
Black Jack and Sam stared at
one another. The most basic and difficult task of any investigation was to hold
the parents in check and make them follow your lead. Most would, but a
few always managed to get themselves in trouble, a fact that obviously made
things much more complex. In most cases, the parent would at least warn
of his or her intentions and the team could try and prepare. On rare
occasions they knew nothing .
“ Where were
was a crucial element in solving such cases. Early response was always
essential and when a member was not available from the onset, the first
available member would be assigned to allow for a quick response .
It was a team effort all
around. The Center members respected each other allowing one another
freedom to operate and independent judgment. There were, of course,
disagreements and rudimentary arguments but mostly disputes were solved
in-house, the significant ones by a majority vote of the members involved .
Sam, as founder of the Center
with access to the major donors, and Black Jack with his vast experience and
ex-detective status, had something of a right to veto certain decisions but
they rarely exercised this prerogative, preferring to allow consensus among the
team. No one had claim on foreseeing what circumstances would
bring. Experience did help somewhat but since every case developed so
differently it was impossible to clearly forecast the appropriate steps needed
to be followed to bring positive results. Sam would authorize budgets for
each activity and Black Jack would be appraised of the
general tactical approach to a case. Beyond that it was the member’s own
judgment, intuition, experience, and instincts which would guide the way and
hopefully lead to a successful conclusion .
CHAPTER
THREE
The phone rang, shaking Sam
and Black jack out of their fax scanning trance. Sam picked it up .
“ Morning Sammy,” Christine said from across the
Atlantic. Her day had started six hours earlier .
“ Hi,” Sam replied in a subdued voice, sounding
almost surprised .
“ Rough morning?” Christine asked .
“ It’s the eighteenth,” Sam said expecting she
knew what the date meant .
“ Oh, I forgot,” she said, “he’s eleven tomorrow .”
“ Yeah,” Sam sighed, “another year gone by .”
Christine did not immediately
reply. There was nothing she could say that would keep Sam from feeling
blue on his missing son’s birthday .
“ Is Jack there?” she asked after a few silent seconds .
“ Yeah, he’s right here. I’ll put him on
the speaker .”
“ Hi Chris,” Black Jack said as Sam pressed the
speaker button and put the phone back in its cradle .
“ Hey Jack, I may need you here soon,” Christine
announced, hastening to proceed with business rather than continue with
unsettling small talk .
“ What’s up?” Black Jack said, straightening in
his seat .
“ The El Shara case, it’s back in the spotlight .”
Ibrahim El Shara had been
twelve when his Egyptian father kidnapped him from his French ex-wife, a music teacher
living in Marseilles, six years after their separation. The mother,
Clair, approached Christine who handled the case for the Center with help from
Black Jack. They tracked the boy to an apartment in Cairo but lost track
soon after and never regained a trail .
“ Clair’s mother called me this morning,”
Christine continued. “Apparently Clair managed to find the boy but got herself
arrested .”
“ Where is she?” Black Jack asked, alarmed.
He and Christine had both warned the mother not to try anything on her own .
“ She’s being held at a place called Dahab in the
Sinai Desert. It's a resort of some sort along the coast of the Red
Sea. She managed to call her mother yesterday but she’s been there a
while .”
“ How long?” Black Jack and Sam asked in unison .
“ Two months!” Christine replied dramatically .
Black Jack and Sam stared at
one another. The most basic and difficult task of any investigation was to hold
the parents in check and make them follow your lead. Most would, but a
few always managed to get themselves in trouble, a fact that obviously made
things much more complex. In most cases, the parent would at least warn
of his or her intentions and the team could try and prepare. On rare
occasions they knew nothing .
“ Where were
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