Page 20 of Fatal Betrayal

"That's true." She felt a mix of emotions at his words. She should be relieved he was going to leave her alone, but for a few minutes it had felt like it used to, like they were friends, on the same page, embroiled in the same adventure. But this wasn't an adventure. It was a case—her case. "I'll take you back to your car."

"I don't want Neil to be involved in this," Cooper continued. "I've always thought Neil was a good guy. I can't imagine why he would kidnap his own daughter. It's not like he's going through a divorce. He and Claire are solid."

"You never know what's inside someone else's relationship."

"That's true. The clothes taken out of the closet, the toys… It feels like someone is planning on keeping Elisa for a while."

"Like you told him, the missing clothes are probably the best piece of news we could have gotten at this point. They might buy us some time."

"So, you think I'm right?" he quizzed.

She met his gaze. "About that—yes. But you're wrong about a lot of other things."

"But I'm right about that. Let's just leave it there. Have you ever seen a ransom demand come in days after the kidnapping?" Cooper asked, changing the subject.

"A few times."

"Why would someone wait?"

"The parents get more desperate with each passing day. They're easier to get to as time moves on and are willing to work outside of law enforcement because they don't think we can get their kid back. I had a ransom demand come in eight days after a kidnapping several years ago. The mother paid the ransom, and luckily, the child was left in a parking lot unharmed. We eventually found the perpetrators, one of whom was a coworker of one of the parents and knew they'd just inherited a great deal of money." She paused. "Because of the missing clothes and toys, I hope that the intent is not to hurt Elisa but to use her in some way—a bargaining chip for money or some other influence. This is Hollywood, after all."

"Right. But where's the demand if it's not about money?"

"That's why you need to make sure Neil isn't holding something back."

"What if it's about something worse?" Cooper asked. "Like human trafficking for illegal adoption? That theory was discussed when Hannah Montgomery disappeared."

"It's a possibility." She hoped that wasn't the case. Because if it were, Elisa could already be miles away.

CHAPTERFIVE

Andi droppedCooper off at his car and then went upstairs to the office at just before three. Flynn, Savannah, Nick, and Caitlyn were in the conference room.

"Nice to see you, Andi," Caitlyn said, getting up to give her a hug. The attractive brunette had been her roommate at Quantico, and at one time, they had been very close. But they'd lost touch over the years. She was happy they were reunited.

"We need to catch up, but it will have to wait."

"Unfortunately, yes," Caitlyn agreed.

"We're just about to do a recap," Flynn said. "Before we get started, how did it go with Jillian Markham?"

"She led me to Neil Benedict. That's who she met after she left us."

"I didn't expect you to say that," Flynn said, in surprise.

"Neil said Jillian asked him to meet earlier that morning. Because of the urgency of her request, he wondered if she'd had something to do with the kidnapping, so he went to see her. When we showed up, shortly after she'd told him she knew nothing about the kidnapping, he took off." She paused. "I think they were both only telling me part of the story."

"It's strange that Neil would meet with an ex-employee with his daughter missing," Savannah agreed.

"Maybe there's something more intimately personal between them," Caitlyn suggested.

"I was going to say the same thing," Nick interjected. "They could be having an affair."

"All possibilities," she said. "But we don’t have any proof. Even if they are having an affair, it may not connect to Elisa's kidnapping."

"Where's your shadow, Dr. Bradford?" Flynn asked.

"He went back to the house to see if he can get any more information from Neil." She glanced at the digital screens at the far end of the room, featuring the key people in the case: Neil and Claire Benedict, Kristine Rozic, the nanny, and Solange Guerrero, the housekeeper. There was also a landscaping service run by Eduardo Jerome, and a construction company owned by Grant Petrie. "Anything new?" she asked.