Page 81 of King’s Ransom

Later that day, the media got wind of Aristo King’s offer to pay $30 million to whoever saved him.

The New York Post’s webpage blared with a photo of Garrett standing protectively beside the blanketed King by the ambulance at the cemetery, under the massive headline:

WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE

SAVES WORLD’S RICHEST MAN!

KING TO PAY $30M REWARD

The story went viral instantly and soon it was leading every news program and trending on social media.

The next day, December 23rd, Aristo King made good on his promise.

At a photo-op at his drone facility in New Jersey, cameras flashed as Aristo King handed Merritt Garrett a cheque for thirty million dollars.

Garrett nodded humbly as he took the cheque, seemingly unsure what to do next.

But King did, because right then he held up one hand and raised his voice. ‘Hold on! I have something to ask Mr Garrett!’

The assembled media waited.

‘Merritt, if you’re not going to retire on that, ahem, king’s ransom, he-he’—the crowd of reporters chuckled with the billionaire—‘I’d like to make you a serious offer. If I’ve learned anything from these last few days, it’s that I need a stout man by my side. How would you like to be my head of security?’

Merritt Garrett looked shocked at first, but then he grinned like a starstruck fan, nodded and said, ‘Sir, thank you, I would love that.’

Bill whistled as he watched it all happen live on TV.

‘King said he’d pay thirty million bucks to whoever found him, and he did. Thirty million dollars.’

‘Seriously, some of that should be yours, Sam,’ Heidi muttered.

‘Maybe,’ I said, ‘but I didn’t find Mr King. Garrett did, so that money’s rightfully his.’

Heidi shook her head. ‘You’re a better man than I am, Sam Speedman.’

Even though the authorities wouldn’t let me see Audrey, I spent the whole of December 23rd in the waiting room at Phelps Hospital, if only to get the occasional update on her status from the staff.

She remained in her induced coma.

Sitting there in the waiting area with its TV always tuned to the news meant that I couldn’t escape the wall-to-wall coverage.

Interestingly, despite all the attention directed at Garrett and the FBI, it wasn’t all smiles and congratulations.

A lot of innocent people had died on December 21st:

Alexei’s bodyguard who’d fallen down the shaft.

The FBI forensics specialist who’d been shot by the drone when it had come to life in the bedroom.

Three cops (all shot to pieces during the silenced shooting spree that had occurred in the penthouse while I’d been down on the 73rd floor and Hooper’s group had been on the 61st).

The two personal bodyguards of Winnie Tan and Yasmina King, also killed during that shooting spree. Plus Katya’s bodyguard who had been discovered with her dead nanny near the garbage chute on the 98th floor.

Juno Everhart, the private detective, killed in the bomb blast on the 61st floor.

Aristo King’s bodyguard, buried in the dirt that had been shovelled on top of King’s wooden coffin.

And, of course, one of King’s adult children: the 25-year-old Ajax, who had fallen to his death having been affixed to the outside of the 73rd floor window.