Snowjob by Ted Wood Read Free Book Online Page B

leg that day, skiing on his lunch break at Cat’s Cradle. He was sitting over there.” She pointed to a table near the big log fine. “Like that’s his favorite table.”
    She was excited at the chance of helping me but I didn’t want to give anything away so I changed my tack. “I’ve not met him. Is he a good skier?”
    “He used to be on the national team,” she said. “You should see him carve those moguls.”
    I wanted to get her mind off Doug so I said, “You wouldn’t get me down there, not on a bet,” and laughed. “Anyway, thanks for the help. You’ve got one heck of a memory.” Always get people talking about themselves, my father told me once. That way you’re sure they stay interested.
    “I took one of those courses,” she said, delighted. “It’s good for the tips. You take someone’s credit card and see their name and next time they come in, you call them by name. Makes them feel welcome.”
    “And does it work, with the tips?”
    She tapped me on the arm with her forefinger. “I’m a bookkeeper when there’s any work going and I know figures. It’s increased my take by twenty-seven percent.”
    I pushed the conversation into asking if she would really prefer working with money rather than doing what she was doing here and she spent a minute or two talking about herself. Then Carol waved at her, pointing to one of her tables, and she excused herself and bustled off. Mission accomplished, I thought, and I finished my beer, raised my hand to Carol and left.
    Melody’s car was in the driveway when I arrived and I pulled in behind it. As soon as I switched off the motor the house door opened and Melody ran out to meet me. She looked anxious and I said, “Hi. It went well today.”
    She wasn’t listening. “Reid,” she blurted, “somebody’s kidnapped Angela.”
    “Kidnapped?”
    She was weeping but she had her voice under control. “A man just called. He said something like we’ve got your daughter. Tell Bennett to wait for our call. Don’t call the police or your kid’s gonna be sorry.”
    “Come inside.” I took her by the arm, clucking at Sam to follow me, and led her bade into the house. Ben was at the door. He looked at me, eyes wide. “Shut the door,” I told him, then asked Melody, “When did he call?”
    “About ten minutes ago. I phoned the police station to see if you were there but they said you’d gone. Reid, what axe we going to do?” She was trembling and I put my arm around her shoulders.
    “I’ll take care of it. By the sound of it, they want me gone, whoever they are. Tell me, when did you see Angie last?”
    “This morning when she went to school. She wasn’t home when I got back from the library but she usually stays a while with her friend Jennie until six. They do their homework together. So I didn’t worry until the phone went.”
    “How did the man sound? Was he a local, would you say?”
    I had led her to the armchair and she sat down, perching on the edge of it as I squatted in front of her. She was taut with fear, every muscle frozen rigid, but she had stopped crying and was thinking hard. “No. He sounded like he could have been from New York or someplace,” she said. “You know, the kind of whine in the nose.”
    She’d heard a white voice, I registered. “Okay, now tell me exactly what he said.” I held both her hands and she looked at me sightlessly as she tried to remember.
    “He said, ‘Hi. Is Angela still not home?’ and I was worried right away and asked him who he was. Then he said, ‘No, she’s not, because she’s here with me. Now just listen. We don’t want to hurt the kid. We want to talk to Bennett. Tell him to wait for our call, and don’t call the police or your kid’s gonna be sorry.’ Then he hung up.”
    I patted her hand and stood up. “Somebody wants me out of town. They’re not going to hurt Angela. I’ll talk to the guy and then when he tells me what he wants, I’ll do it. Try not to worry.” I