Introducing Thaddeus Black Ch 03

They finished their bath and drying themselves then returned to the room for their clothes.

"Do you have any other plans for the day?" she asked him while she wore back her blouse.

Thad tucked his shirt in his pants before answering: "Besides heading out in search of a missing kid, I guess my schedule's already booked for the day."

"Ohhh, but why? I'm going to be horny in the next couple of minutes and I need you to fuck me again like you just did. You didn't fuck my ass, remember?"

"I'll be back next time, and then I'll fuck both holes, and any other hole you've got to give. I know sluts like you have got many. Besides, you've got your boy-toy to handle where I stopped at."

She groaned. "He won't measure up to you in that department. Please, won't you at least stay for an hour or two? I'm reluctant to let you go."

"I'll give you a call later, I promise. Right now, work comes first before pussy."

He finished wearing on his clothes and she walked with him to the living room for him to collect his hat. He stopped when she opened her door for him to exit.

"One thing I wanted to ask you," he turned to ask her. "That thing you said about the last time you were at your sister's place three months ago, whatever was it about anyway?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "That's got nothing to do with you finding her boy. Or are you simply curious and want to know why?"

"Yes, I am curious to want to know why."

She smiled at him, leaned forward and kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear: "I'll tell you about it then next time you're ready to fuck me."

He tipped his hat at her and turned around and walked away. She stood by her doorway and watched him enter the elevator in the middle of the corridor. Her smile immediately melted away as she closed the door.

---------------

How time flies rather fast when you're having fun.

The afternoon was giving way for early evening when Thaddeus left the apartment building and began walking towards the garage where he'd left his car. His mind wandered back at the taste of the rich woman's pussy. He sure would have loved to go another round with her. Damn this blasted missing kid's case! He was going to have to make a note later on once he was done with this never to take on anything that involved missing kids. Missing or runaway spouses, those were jobs he reckon he could handle, but no kids. Especially rich, snot-nosed brats who couldn't learn to live with their rich folks an instead want to make like Huckleberry Finn and think being lost in the city was a fun day at a park.

So engrossed he was in his fantasies he failed to notice the black car parked across the street with the occupant behind the wheel watching him. Thad went into the parking garage building and drove out two minutes later with his Coupe DeVille. The man in the car took out a cell phone and spoke a few words into it while he waited for Thaddeus to pull out of the garage. When he did, he waited till he'd driven two blocks from him before following.

Thad's mental facility was back at work while he drove. He ran through his mind much of what Constance's sister had related to him, most especially her discordant relationship with her sibling. There was a lot of similarity between both women: both of them beautiful and formerly married to men of money, both of having uppity haughtiness and they're both a lovely, hot-looking pair of blondes. Always good fucking a pair of blondes. He'd done it before, except the previous ones hadn't been sisters and neither were they a pair of rich sluts either. With the dissimilarities, it goes the other way: one's a stuck-up and the other's an open-minded slut. Either way they were both hiding something from him. He couldn't put his finger on it ... just a notion his sixth sense was knocking at. Something else had jumped into his mind all the time he chatted with Hilda. It kind of baffled him now as he ruminated on it and it almost warranted him to run back to her apartment and enquire about it. Then again, best leave it for next time he ran into her. That's if the thought of fucking that pussy didn't nag at his brain first.

Thad was halfway towards his office when he took out his cell phone, contemplating whether to give his client a call right now to let her know how far he'd gone with his enquiries or wait till afterwards. He needed for bothered, seconds later his phone started ringing. It was her calling.

"Hello," he said into the mouthpiece. "I was just about getting ready to call you."

"I just received a letter," Constance spoke immediately. Her voice sounded rushed and worried. "It's about my son."

"Slow down a minute, Constance." Thaddeus got off the street and pulled over to the curb. The car that was following him drove past him without slowing down. The driver glanced out his tinted window and noted Thad was on the phone as his vehicle cruised past him.

"First of all who's the letter from?" Thad asked her. "Has it got an address behind the envelope?"

"No, no, it's got no address on it. I have no idea who it's from. But they have my boy. And they want ... they want a ransom!"

Thad told her he was on his way and disconnected the line. He put his car back into gear and turned his car around.

------

Thad was careful not to surpass the speed limit even though he was burning rubber to get to the Loftus Estate. That she had received a ransom letter wasn't of that much surprise to him. What nagged at his mind was why had it come now and not before. Just when he thought he was getting somewhere with the direction the case was going, now, here it was taking an unexpected turn.

The journey with the limo had felt like a day before he arrived at his client's place. He was able to cut it short driving with his machine. There were one or two old and younger folks strolling about the area, some on them jugging along the curb. Several of them turned their heads at the sight of his vehicle blowing horsepower engine, breaking the serene quietude of the environment for a moment, as he hurled past them. He came to a stop in front of the large gates of Loftus Garden and spoke his purpose of business into the security camera before it clanked open automatically for him to drive inside.

There was a familiar figure standing in front of the house waiting for him. It wasn't until he drew nearer that he recognised the unwelcoming feature that was the rich woman's butler glaring at him and at his hot rod as he drew to a stop beside him. A good thing no valet showed up to park his car for him. Thaddeus too gave him a stony outlook as he stepped out of his car and came up the stairs to meet him.

"I'm here to see the lady of the house," he said rather brusquely to the butler, feeling it was the right tone of voice to use on him.

"The madam will see you right away," the glare remained on Nigel's face as he turned around and led the private detective into the house. Thad took off his hat as he entered the house.

Instead of heading in the direction of the parlour where he'd been led the last time he was here, Nigel led him past a wide corridor and then another till they arrived at a back door which led to the large backyard of the compound. The verdant countryside seemed to undulate further with a forest acting as a border to it. Constance stood under the shadow of a tree next to a swinging tire tube which hung off one of the tree's branches. The butler opened the back door for Thad to go out and join her. She was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, black riding pants and boots with her back towards him. When she heard his footsteps approach she turned around. A look of relief lit up in her eyes when she saw it was him; her face seemed wet; Thad realised she had been crying. Probably for a long time.

"Thaddeus," she sniffled. "How good of you to come at such short notice." Thad took out his handkerchief and gave it to her. She thanked him for it and dabbed at her eyes with it. "I hope it wasn't much trouble getting here so quickly."

He shrugged. "Traffic was lousy but I'm still on the job, it really was no bother. Besides, I was about to give you a call before you did. How're you feeling?"

"Pretty down I must say. I've been spending too much time in my son's room upstairs, worried about Johnny's present whereabouts, wondering whether he's eaten or if at all he's safe. Just thinking about him is driving me crazy. This morning I thought I should try and take my mind off him since I have you searching for him, and go out for a ride on of one my horses. I got back an hour later and one of my maids came hurrying towards me with this letter he just found in the letter box."

She handed him the envelope with the letter inside. "I'm sorry if I opened it before you got here. It probably might have held some clues to whoever it is that's got my boy."

"It's no problem," he said, taking the envelope from her. "Aside from yourself, have you shown its contents to anyone else?"

She shook her head. "I read it a couple of times and then called you right away."

The envelope was plain white and bore no address on the back or stamps. Whoever it was had deposited it inside her mailbox and ran like hell before anyone could notice. Thad had noticed the sight of the estate's mailbox and knew the security camera ought to have captured sight of the perpetrator ... unless whoever it was knew of the outside security camera and waited for it to make its cycle turn and then done his job and gotten out of sight quick. And there weren't any neighbours residing across so no one would have noticed the individual. Too fucking bad.

There was a single piece of paper inside and the words writing on it were bold captioned words taken off newspapers or magazines most likely. Whoever it was must have watched a lot of CSI movies or such. It was either the work of an amateur or one making out to be a pro. Thad had to contain to snigger that felt like rising to his lips for his client's sake while he read through the stated words.

YOUR BOY IS SAFE AND TAKEN CARE OF.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN, WAIT BY THE PHONE.

—ANONYMOUS

The words were simple, neat, and straight to the point. The work of someone not wanting to waste words ... as if he knew too much might give him away. This wasn't the first ransom note he'd seen since he got deep in his detective work. Some deeply threatening and others downright ludicrous, but they all carried the same language—demand for money. There's always some scum out there in the city wanting to reap where they never sowed. Whether it was for real or just someone wanting to take advantage of a distraught woman, Thad couldn't figure it out. Not yet at least.

He held the letter up above his head and looked at it as if expecting to find some clue the author of the note had unknowingly left behind. Not finding anything he read the note once again the tucked it back into the envelope. Constance looked at him anxiously, expecting some answer.

"Aside from calling me, you're sure you haven't called anyone else to let them know of this?"

"No, I swear, I haven't."

"And you haven't received any call from the kidnapper? None at all?"

She shook her head again. "It said there to wait by the phone and since then I've been waiting."

"He never mentioned what phone he was going to call you with," Thad said this more as a realisation than a question. Constance too caught the measure of his words.

"No," she thought at first, then boldly: "No, he didn't. But I'm guessing whoever it is would call through the house line."

"Either way, whoever it is has probably being in your home before to realise that, wouldn't you think so? Perhaps now we can firmly rule that it's someone working for you."

"Yes, it is possible. Either that or someone my husband knew. I wouldn't really know."

"Interesting," Thad slapped the letter on his palm in thought. "Tell me, that former letter, the one your son wrote and left you before he ran off, do you still have it?"

"Yes, it's upstairs in my bedroom," she said.

"I'd to take another look at it if you don't mind. Something about this one here that's got me thinking."

They strolled back towards the house. Thaddeus could make out Nigel's features watching both of them from the back window. As they got closer he retreated from the window out of sight. When they stepped inside he asked if she was feeling alright now. Constance conferred with him for a moment before leaving them together. Nigel, still giving Thad the evil look, led him to the parlour to wait.

Constance retuned minutes later with her son's letter in her hand. Thaddeus was admiring another one of her husband's collected paintings which hung on the west wall when she approached him. The painting was a gloomy affair, very unsettling to look at.

"That's a Goya," she remarked. "I forget the name. Never a favourite of mine."

"Your husband really liked classic art."

"Emmet loved anything artistic. He was always giving so much to art galleries and workshops. I only wish I had enough touch to inherit it from him. Here's the letter."

"Thanks," he said, taking it from her. "You don't like this one, then why keep it around?"

She slumped down on a chair and sighed with tiredness in her voice. "I don't know. Sometimes I still feel my late husband's spirit lurking around the house, coming over here to stare at his precious paintings and never leaving. I guess I haven't come around to making up my mind on what to do with it. There's a lot around that'll be going towards charity, I haven't gotten to inventorying them yet. Right now I wish for nothing but for this present nightmare to be over with."

Thaddeus sat on a chair across from her, placing his hat on his knee while he looked at her son's letter then at the ransom note, his face screwed in concentration. "It's early for me to put my money on it, but I won't be surprised if the fellow who wrote this ransom letter is the same bloke who wrote your son's."

Constance sat forward. "How can you be so sure?"

"Quite simple really. I took Creative Writing lessons from an old friend of mine long time ago. Just a hobby of mine I indulge in whenever I can't think of anything better to do with myself. Anyway, one thing I always remembered him saying is that you can change your handwriting, you can change your words any which way you want. One thing that you're going to find hard to change is style. Whoever this person is has left his style signature here with his choice of words. There's no way your son could have left this behind for you."

"But you don't have definitive assurance regarding that."

He nodded. "True, I don't. And I'm probably just reaching here, but I've always assumed that a kid wanting to run off would want to write a whole length of paragraph than leave a note that's this concise. And you said it yourself that he's run away before but never left a note explaining why. Don't you find that completely odd?"

Constance was about to comment that yes she really did find it rather odd when there came a knock on the door. Both of them turned their heads at the sight of Nigel entering the room holding a cell phone in his hand.

"A phone call for you, madam," he said, handing it to her and then leaving the room.

The number on the screen was an unknown. Constance pressed the phone to her ear and turned to face the windows looking out the front of the compound. Thaddeus stood up as well and listened to her talk to whoever was on the other end of the line. The conversation didn't last long before she dropped the phone from her ear and returned to her chair, a fearful look lit up her face. Thad went to sit next to her.

"It was the kidnapper," she said. "He said if I want to see my kid back, I should bring two million Dollars by ten o'clock to some place I've never heard of before. He said he would text me the address soon. He said I shouldn't call the cops or try letting anyone else know that he's got my kid. If he sees anyone suspicious, he said I'll never see my son again." Tears fell from her eyes and she lowered her face and sniffled.

Thad felt really sad for the woman. He took her hands into his and gave her a reassuring look. "We're never going to let that happen, you hear me? Nothing's ever going to happen to your boy. We're going to get Johnny back, no matter what."

She nodded, getting some strength from his words. He was so confident about everything and she fell in complicit trust to him.

"The guy on the phone, did you by chance recognise his voice?"

She shook her head, wiped tears from her eyes. "His voice sounded kind of guttural and raspy. Like it was mechanical or something."

Thad nodded like he expected this sort of trick. "Probably had a device over the mouthpiece to mask the sound of his voice. Clever. Did he let you speak to Johnny?"

"He did, it was the first thing I head. He said, 'hi mom', and then that was it. The kidnapper's voice came on after that and he was talking pretty fast. Oh God, please give me strength. I'm so confused right now," She cried with despair.

"No, no, don't be. That's what he wants you to feel. He wants you confused and hurt and weak, so you won't know how to think things through. We're making progress here. Right now at least we know someone's holding your boy, which means he's probably taking good care of him. He's not lost in the city as we earlier thought. But still I wonder ..."

Constance looked at him through hazy eyes. "Wonder what?"

Thaddeus's thoughts returned to the present. He shook his head. "Nothing, nothing, I was just thinking crazily. Can you raise the amount he asked for?"

She shook her head. "Not within the time that he gave me, no. Much of my husband's assets haven't been cleared by the bank, and they're going to want to know why if I gave them a call."

"But can you get something close to it?"

She thought for a moment, "I think so ... maybe a million, but it'll take at least two to three hours—"

"Good. See if you can do that. When the time comes, I'll be the one who'll go in your place. Whoever it is probably won't be expecting me, or else he'd have mentioned that to you."

"Forgive my saying this, but don't you think that might be putting my child into any danger? If he's expecting me and instead sees you ... I'm worried that things might go wrong."

"Things always can go wrong, but in this case I don't think so, Ms. Loftus. This person, whoever he is, wouldn't want to risk the chance of meeting with you, since it's obvious he's come in contact with you before. Either way, let me be responsible for that. I know this might sounds strange and scary to you, but I want you to be strong and to trust me on this. Nothing's going to go wrong and I'll be there to make sure nothing terrible befalls your boy. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded. "Yes, yes, I think I can."

"Good. That's all I wanted to hear." He was about leaving when he stopped as he recalled something. "By the way, your sister called me. Hilda Carmichael."

"Oh really?" she again wiped tears from her eyes. Thad thought he sensed the tone of her voice drop an inch or two. "What did you two talk about?"

"She told me that Johnny had stayed the night at her place, and also that you weren't that happy when she called you earlier on."

"How thoughtful of her to mention that bit to you," she remarked. "She knows how protective I am of my son, and how worried I was that he ran off. It wasn't his first time, and when last time it happened, I specifically expected she would call me first thing at least to calm my nerves. But no, she had to wait till he'd left her apartment. And now I've got some demented kidnapper out there holding him for ransom, so yes, I wasn't in the least bit of a happy mood when she called. It's a good thing she didn't decide now to call, or else I'd probably drive all the way to her apartment and gouge her eyes out."