Richard’s study was adjacent to their bedroom while Martha used the box room next to Danny’s bedroom as her study – one she didn’t often use, preferring to be in the office at the helm of the thriving company. As she switched on her laptop and waited for it to warm up, Martha grabbed a notepad and pen to list the couple’s assets, but before she could start, the telephone rang. Staring at it for what seemed like ages, Martha hardly dared to pick it up. The police would be listening in and if it was the kidnappers she’d been told to keep them talking for as long as possible.

Martha picked up the phone, her voice little more than a whisper. ‘Hello?’

‘Martha, it’s Kathy here. Are you all right?’

‘Um, yes... no, not really. What do you want?’ Martha wanted to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

‘It’s just that a policeman’s been here asking about you. He wanted to know what time you left the office yesterday. Is everything okay?’

Martha sniffed and took a deep breath. ‘No, Kathy, it’s not... Danny’s been taken.’

‘Taken? What, as in kidnapped?’

‘Yes. You might as well know because I think it’ll be in the papers later today. Look, I’ll not be in the office for a while; I can’t tell you how long. Will you be able to keep things running smoothly?’

‘Of course, no problem. I’m so sorry, Martha, and it goes without saying that if there’s anything I can do let me know.’

After ending the call Martha’s thoughts remained only briefly on work. Although it was embarrassing to have the police check up on her, she remembered them saying they would confirm her movements with the office. It would be the same for Richard; the police would contact chambers to confirm he was there as he’d said. Martha rubbed her eyes; they still felt heavy and gritty, but there was work to do and she turned her attention back to the money issue.

Martha’s recruitment agency rarely held large amounts of cash idling in the bank, and as they’d recently refurbished their offices there was even less than usual. Several payments from clients were due shortly and the money would almost certainly come in, but probably not until the end of the month, still a couple of weeks away. Even her regular clients waited until the last minute before paying off their accounts, leaving the agency with an occasional cash-flow problem. Martha tapped the keyboard with a trembling hand. What if Richard was right and they couldn’t raise the money immediately? Would the kidnappers wait, or would they do their worst? It was a chilling thought but one which focussed her mind.