Page 38 of Protector Unmatched

“Okay, we can certainly check there if they left any clues. I assume you have a spare key?”

Daphne nodded. “How about the call Guido made two days ago, the one I got around eleven a.m.? Can you see where it came from? Shouldn’t that have come from the place they’re holding my brother? Especially since they sent me a video from there.”

“Very likely, though there’s always a chance that they prerecorded the video at another location. Give me a moment.” Pearce clicked on the few remaining dots until he found the one that showed the approximate time and date of the call the kidnapper had made to Daphne’s cell. “Here’s the cell tower the call bounced off.” He clicked on a small icon, and a program began to run in a narrow window. Moments later, several dots around the cell tower location popped up. They were overlaid with percentages.

“That’s the likelihood with which the call came from any of these buildings here,” Pearce explained, then pointed to one dot. “This is our best bet. It looks like an apartment building.” He changed the map to satellite view and zoomed in even closer. “Let me check something.” He changed windows and typed an address into the search engine. The hits came back immediately, and Pearce clicked on the top link. “Yep, an apartment building with around forty flats.” He looked at her. “It won’t be easy to figure out which apartment the call was made from, but I think we should start there.”

“I agree.”

He grabbed his phone and hit a number. “Just a sec, yeah?” A moment later, he said into the phone, “Hey, Enya. We’ve got an address we’re gonna check out. The first call the kidnappers made to Daphne was made from there. But it’s an apartment building.” He read out the address. “You think you can help us?”

There was a short pause, then Pearce nodded. “Okay, that’s what I had in mind too. I’ll text you Tim’s photo in a second. Daphne and I will head there now. Is the car in the garage? Thanks, appreciate it.”

He disconnected the phone and rose, typing something on the message system. Daphne watched him attach a photo of Tim, one she’d had on her own phone, and send it.

When he looked up and met her eyes, he pointed to the message he’d just sent. “I hope you don’t mind, but when I had your phone to plant the trace, I sent myself a photo of Tim so that I could recognize him. I hope that’s all right.”

“Of course,” she said. “I should have thought of that.”

“No problem.”

“So, what now?”

“Enya will meet us at the apartment building as soon as she can.”

“I feel bad dragging her into this,” Daphne said. “It’s bad enough that I had to ask you for help, but Enya… What if she gets hurt?”

Pearce smiled. “Trust me, Enya is one tough cookie. She might not look it, but she’s an expert in several martial arts disciplines. She could toss me on my back and disable me before I could even introduce myself. Don’t worry about her. If she didn’t want to help, she would say so. She doesn’t mince words.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

After shutting down the computer and slipping into their jackets, they left the apartment. Pearce led her down to the garage, where he unlocked a swanky BMW and motioned her to get in. The engine hummed a few seconds later, and Daphne clicked the seatbelt.

“You asked Enya if the car is in the garage. Is this hers?”

He maneuvered out of the tight parking spot. “Company car. We share it.” As he drove out of the garage, he pointed to the car’s navigation system. “Can you please program in the address?”

“Sure.” She typed in the street name and number of the apartment building, while Pearce merged into light pre-lunch traffic. After she’d activated the GPS system, she said, “We should be there in about half an hour.”

Unease suddenly slithered down her spine. She turned to Pearce, who looked cool and collected. “What are we gonna do when we find where they’re holding him? I mean, we’re not armed; we don’t know how many there are. We can’t just march in and demand they let him go.” Clearly, she hadn’t thought this through at all.

Pearce put his hand on hers and squeezed it. “One thing at a time.”

“Maybe we should call the police now.”

“Daphne, you didn’t call the police because you were worried that they’re watching you and might hurt your brother. What’s changed?”

Daphne sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just nervous. I might be a convicted felon, but I never did anything violent. I don’t even know how to use a gun.”

“You won’t need to use one. Just trust me. We’ll get your brother out safely.”

She wished she had Pearce’s confidence, and could only hope that he could back it up with action.