Chapter 5: The Father's Missing Money
Michael Thompson arrived at the federal building shortly after nine the following morning.
He looked nothing like the confident businessman I'd seen in the courtroom photographs. His shirt was wrinkled, his tie hung loose, and the skin beneath his eyes had turned a sickly gray.
He carried a battered leather briefcase and kept looking over his shoulder.
Special Agent Carter met him in the lobby.
“Mr. Thompson, thank you for coming.””
“I almost didn't.””
“Did someone contact you?””
Michael glanced at me.
“Is he supposed to be here?””
“Yes,” Carter replied.
“Ray Dawson is a witness in the kidnapping investigation.””
Michael's jaw tightened.
“Then he should hear this from me.””
We followed Carter into an interview room. A camera blinked above the door, and a pitcher of water sat untouched in the middle of the table.
Michael didn't sit immediately.
He placed his briefcase on the table and stared at me.
“You saved my daughter.””
“I did what anybody should have done.””
“No,” he said quietly.
“You did what most people were too frightened to do.””
He extended his hand.
I shook it.
His grip was weak.
Then he sat down and opened the briefcase.
Inside were bank statements, printed emails, and a small black notebook with a cracked spine.
Carter leaned forward.
“Mr. Thompson, you told investigators that you believed your daughter's kidnapping was connected to a ransom demand. Is that still your position?””
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“I thought it was. Then I found out Claire had been moving money out of our accounts for months.””
“How much?””
“Almost two million dollars.””
Carter's expression changed.
“Two million?””
“Across several transfers. Some went through companies I'd never heard of. Others went to accounts connected to a security firm.””
“Pierce's company?””
Michael nodded.
I felt the room grow colder.
“Why didn't you report this earlier?”” Carter asked.
“Because I didn't know about it until last week.””
He opened the black notebook.
“I run a medical-supply company. We sell equipment to clinics and hospitals. Six months ago, I noticed that several invoices had been altered. The money was going to a company that didn't exist.””
“Did you confront your wife?””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
Michael stared at the notebook.
“She told me I was tired and imagining things. Then she said if I kept digging, I'd lose Ellie.””
His voice cracked on his daughter's name.
“I thought she meant she'd take custody. I didn't understand what she was telling me.””
I leaned forward.
“What happened the night Ellie disappeared?””
Michael looked at me.
“I was in Charlotte for a business meeting. Claire called me at 8:17 p.m. She said Ellie was missing.””
“Did she sound frightened?””
“No.””
The answer came so quickly that even Carter paused.
Michael swallowed.
“She sounded angry. Like I'd done something to inconvenience her.””
“Did you tell the police that?””
“I told Detective Pierce.””
“And?””
“He said I was in shock. He told me not to make accusations against my wife without evidence.””
Carter exchanged a glance with Brooks, who had joined us by video call.
“Mr. Thompson,” Carter said, “we have evidence that your wife was at the warehouse that night. We also have a recording of a woman discussing your daughter being photographed.””
Michael's face drained of color.
“Photographed?””
“The recording suggests the kidnapping may have been intended to force you to reveal something.””
He looked down at the papers.
Then he closed the notebook.
“There was a file.””
“What file?”” I asked.
Michael rubbed his hands together.
“Three years ago, I discovered that a group of contractors were billing my company for equipment that never existed. When I traced the payments, I found they were connected to a network of shell companies. Some of the names belonged to people who'd been dead for years.””
“Samantha Reed?”” I asked.
Michael stared at me.
“How do you know that name?””
Carter sat forward.
“Please answer the question.””
Michael hesitated.
“Yes. Her name appeared in one of the records.””
My heartbeat quickened.
“What was her connection?””
“I don't know. She was listed as a beneficiary on a transfer from an account belonging to the security company.””
“Did you investigate her?””
“I tried. The records said she died six years ago.””
“Did you tell anyone?””
“Claire.””
Silence settled over the room.
Michael looked at Carter.
“She told me the whole thing was probably a bookkeeping error. She said I should delete the file and forget about it.””
“And did you?””
“No.””
He opened the notebook again and removed a folded sheet of paper.
“I made a copy of the transactions and hid it. I didn't know who to trust.””
“Where is the original?”” Carter asked.
Michael shook his head.
“Gone. Someone broke into my office last month. They took the hard drive, the original records, and a backup drive.””
“Did you report the burglary?””
“I called the police.””
“Which detective handled it?””
“Alan Pierce.””
Nobody spoke.
Michael stared at his hands.
“I didn't understand until Ellie was taken. The kidnapping wasn't about money. Not really. They wanted the file.””
I thought about the message on my phone.
Ask Michael what happened to the money.
Someone had been watching us closely enough to know why Michael had come forward.
I pulled out my phone and showed Carter the two messages.
She read them without speaking.
Then she turned the screen toward Michael.
“Do you recognize the number?””
“No.””
“Does the wording mean anything to you?””
He stared at the second message for a long time.
Then he nodded.
“There's something I haven't told you.””
Carter's voice sharpened.
“What is it?””
Michael reached into his briefcase and pulled out a photograph.
It showed a little girl standing beside a red sedan.
The picture was old, perhaps ten years. The girl had blond hair and a missing front tooth.
She looked exactly like Ellie.
Except the girl in the photograph was wearing a hospital bracelet.
On the back, someone had written a date and a name.
*Samantha Reed.*
I looked at Michael.
“Why do you have this?””
“Because Claire gave it to me the night before Ellie disappeared.””
“Why?””
“She said it was proof that the people who'd taken our money had been involved in something much worse.””
Carter took the photograph.
“Did she explain what?””
Michael shook his head.
“She told me that if anything happened to her, I should find a woman named Rebecca Shaw.””
“Who is Rebecca Shaw?””
“I don't know. Claire said she'd worked with Samantha.””
I leaned back.
“Did you ever meet her?””
“No.””
“Then why didn't you mention this to the police?””
Michael's eyes filled with tears.
“Because the next morning, someone called me from a blocked number and played a recording of Ellie crying.””
He pressed his palms against his eyes.
“They said if I went to the police, they'd make sure I never saw her again.””
Carter reached across the table.
“Mr. Thompson, you need to understand something. Whoever did this has been using your fear to control you.””
“I know.””
“Then help us stop them.””
He nodded.
For the first time since entering the room, he looked directly at me.
“Ray, I need to ask you something.””
“Go ahead.””
“When you found Ellie, did she say anything about a woman at the warehouse?””
I remembered the wired-glass window.
The pale hand.
The silver bracelet.
“She said there was a woman crying.””
Michael closed his eyes.
“Then Claire was right.””
“About what?””
He opened the briefcase one last time and removed a second photograph.
This one showed a woman standing outside a hospital room, holding a newborn baby.
The woman had Samantha's face.
The baby was wrapped in a pink blanket.
And standing behind them, one hand resting on the woman's shoulder, was Claire Thompson.
May you like
Michael's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Ellie wasn't supposed to be our daughter.””
