‘The father set off to the rendezvous as instructed, with us tailing him, but he suddenly changed direction. He pulled into a multi-storey car park and I’m afraid we lost him. Our men soon found his car, but he’d continued on foot into a busy shopping centre where the exchange took place. Fortunately, they did release Hayley but got away with the money. The father–’

‘Found a mobile phone in his car?’ Alex interrupted, ‘with new instructions which effectively meant you could no longer trace the kidnapper or the money.’

‘Exactly. So is that what happened with you?’ Dave asked.

‘Yes. If only you’d turned up yesterday, things might have been different. But our boy hasn’t been released yet and the kidnappers have got most of the money.’

Dave Bennet looked puzzled so Alex explained how the parents couldn’t raise the total amount and had risked paying only a part of the specified ransom.

Dave whistled softly. ‘Risky. What was the reaction of the kidnappers?’

‘Surprisingly, they agreed to another forty-eight hours to allow the parents to find the balance, but they’ve added on a little extra for their trouble.’

‘So you’ll be waiting for more instructions?’

‘Yes. The kidnappers took the phone they’d left in the car – it was a burner so it’s anyone’s guess how they’ll communicate now but we’ll be ready this time.’ Alex frowned. He’d heard from Suni that the Stones had managed to raise the extra money and were picking it up at the bank the following morning.

‘What do the parents do?’ Dave asked.

‘He’s a barrister and she runs a recruitment agency.’

‘I’d have thought the amount wouldn’t have been a problem to them. He alone must be making near to a hundred grand a year?’

‘My thoughts too, but it’s come at a bad time for him. It appears he’s committed to some investments recently. The money issue does seem to be causing a rift between the parents but we’re pretty sure they’re not involved with the kidnapping in any way and your information supports that theory now. According to Stone there are at least two kidnappers and if this is the same crew, they’ll have to be a little more resourceful in getting the rest of the money. Which I suppose means we’ll have to do the same to catch them.’

‘Where are you in regards to the investigation?’ Dave asked.