“Maybe the kidnapper didn’t get hold of him until Tuesday,” DC Templeton suggested.

“You mean he really did run away and just happened to get picked up by a kidnapper before he could go back?”

“It’s possible, isn’t it?”

“Too much of a coincidence, I’d say.”

“Coincidences do happen.”

“Sometimes, maybe.”

“Or the kidnapper might have been keeping an eye on Luke for a while, watching his movements, biding his time.”

“I’ll grant you that’s more likely,” said Gristhorpe. “Annie?”

“It still doesn’t explain the time delay between Luke’s not turning up at home Monday night and the ransom demand on Tuesday evening, sir. These people don’t usually like to waste time. If they snatched him on Monday, then they’d have rung the Armitages on Monday. Besides, that’s only the first thing that bothered me.”

“What’s next?” Gristhorpe asked.

“Well, Martin Armitage told me that when he asked to speak to Luke, the kidnapper wouldn’t let him, said Luke was somewhere else.”

“So?” said DC Templeton. “That’s perfectly likely, isn’t it?”

“But he was calling from Luke’s mobile,” Annie pointed out.

“I still don’t see your point,” said Templeton. “Mobiles are mobile. You can take them anywhere. That’s what they’re for.”

Annie sighed. “Think about it, Kev. If Luke’s being kept somewhere where there isn’t a phone, then the kidnapper might have to go to a phone box, and he’d be unlikely to take Luke with him. But the kidnapper was using Luke’s mobile, so why isn’t he with Luke?”

“Could be where they’re keeping the lad is out of cell range,” suggested DC Rickerd.

“Possible,” Annie agreed, remembering her time out of range. “But isn’t it usual for kidnappers to let the people they want the money from speak to their loved ones? Isn’t it an incentive to pay? Proof of life?”

“Good point, Annie,” said Gristhorpe. “So we’ve got two unusual variations on the formula. First, the time delay, and second, no proof of life. Anything else?”

“Yes,” said Annie. “The ransom demand.”

“What about it?” asked Gristhorpe.

“It’s nowhere near enough.”

“But the Armitages aren’t as rich as people think they are,” argued Templeton.

“My point exactly, Kev. So they’re struggling to maintain Swainsdale Hall and whatever lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to. We know that now, since I talked to them, but it wasn’t common knowledge. As police, we’re privy to a lot of inside information. It’s our lifeblood. But if you kidnapped the son of a famous ex-model and a famous ex-footballer, living in a place like Swainsdale Hall, how much would you think they were worth? How much would you ask them for the life of their son? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Fifty? I’d go to a hundred, myself, or maybe a quarter of a million. Let them negotiate down a few thousand from there. I certainly wouldn’t start at ten.”

“So maybe the kidnapper knew they were on their uppers?” Templeton suggested. “Maybe it’s someone who knows the family?”

“Then why kidnap Luke at all? Why not go for someone who had more money?”