Page 8 of Billion-Dollar Ransom

THREE AND FOUR made the getaway a kind of game for Cal and Finney, and they seemed perfectly happy to participate. Cal was assigned the role of timekeeper; Finney was the traffic cop.

“Now, Cal, you keep your eyes on the stopwatch,” Four said. “And Finney, you check the streets for a white Audi. If you see the car before the minute is up, you get a point.”

“And if she doesn’t see the Audi before time’s up?” Cal asked.

Well, there was zero chance of that. Three and Four had the route and switch cars plotted out perfectly. It should take only forty-five seconds to reach the next car. The goal was to keep the children busy so they wouldn’t think about ways to run away or alert any passersby.

“Thirty seconds to go!”

“I see it! I see it!”

“No, dummy, that’s a Rolls-Royce, not an Audi!”

“Look again,” Four said.

“There it is!”

Three and Four and the kids changed vehicles three times in the next seven minutes.

The Schraeder children racked up multiple points, clearly excited to be winning so easily—and not thinking about where they were going. Four could practically read their minds: What’s bad about this? So far, being kidnapped is fun!