11
Ibiza Town
She took him to a traditional Catalonian restaurant near the walls of Ibiza Town’s ancient center and over tapas and a bottle of Majorcan red offered a forceful rebuttal to his theory of the case—that Alice Winter, wife of the billionaire real estate investor Edward Knight, had been kidnapped. The theory’s most glaring flaw, she said, was the lack of any demand for money on the part of Alice’s supposed abductors. After all, the inspector added, such demands were the central element of any kidnap-for-ransom scheme.
“You’ve handled a lot of kidnap cases, have you?”
“Only one.”
“Did it involve a demand for ransom?”
She shook her head.
“So you’re something of an expert—is that what you’re saying?”
The inspector regarded him across the table, the light of a candle playing in her peculiar blue-gray eyes. The floor of the restaurant was rough stone, the ceiling vaulted. She had to raise her voice to be heard over the multilingual din of the well-lubricated evening crowd.
“And what about you, Señor Allon? Have you handled kidnapping cases before?”
He offered a noncommittal shrug in reply.
“But you consider yourself to be an expert nonetheless?”
“A battle-scarred veteran,” he suggested.
“You have a rather large one on the left side of your chest.” She paused, then added, “I noticed it while I was searching you.”
“It’s the entry wound. The exit wound is a damn sight worse.”
“That incident in Washington?”
He made no reply.
“Did it change you?” she asked.
“Almost dying? A great deal.”
“How so?”
“Misguided Spanish policewomen don’t annoy me nearly as much as they used to.”
Inspector Aragón spooned paella onto Gabriel’s plate. “How do you explain the lack of a ransom demand?”
“Kidnap-for-ransom cases are a test of will between the loved ones of the victim and the kidnappers themselves. Each side is always looking for an advantage, leverage that can be brought to bear. At the moment, Alice’s abductors are holding all the cards.”
“It’s been eight days since her disappearance. How long do your kidnappers intend to wait?”
“Long enough to convince Edward Knight that his wife might be dead. That way, when the time comes to ask for money, he’ll pay anything to get her back.”
She added some of the paella to her plate. “It’s not so easy, you know, caring for a hostage.”
“That’s correct. The hostage has to be given food and water and taken to the toilet, all while blindfolded. Eventually the kidnappers begin to get worn down, anxious. That’s the time to strike a deal.”
“A woman like Alice Winter would be worth a great deal of money. But you have absolutely no evidence to support your theory that she has been kidnapped. Therefore I would advise you not to raise it with your client.”
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of mentioning any of this to Edward Knight.”
“Whatareyou going to tell him?”
