“Our men report that Vincent has been in his home since you fired him.”
“We know Brooklyn is with Vincent. So, if Vincent’s home, someone got Brooklyn and took him to Vincent. They’re probably in his house! Go get him!”
“We tried that. I called in a favor with the police. Got them to agree to question Vincent. They went to his home, but Vincent didn’t answer.”
“So they just left?”
“The police can’t search a property without a warrant unless they have just cause. When they looked in the windows, they reported seeing a room trashed in a way that indicated a struggle. They suspected Vincent might be hurt, so they broke the door down and went in.”
“What did they find?”
“Nothing.”
“Did they search for clues?”
“They didn’t. But after they left, one of my guys may have had a look around. He came up empty. There wasn’t one shred of evidence that would suggest he was obsessed with you or your mom. No photos. No magazines. Nothing. Which is a bit unusual in cases like these. Do you remember anything from your video chat? Did you see anything or notice any details that could give us a clue as to where he was. What about sounds? Could you hear a city? The ocean?”
“When he swung the laptop around I saw a blur of colors and images. Pictures, I think, on the walls.”
“That would make sense. Wherever he’s holding Brooklyn is his base. The place where he keeps his obsession hidden from the outside world.”
“Like a secret apartment or something?”
“Yes, and we’ve got to find it. If we find it, we’ll find Brooklyn. We’re meeting with a judge in the morning to request a warrant to search all of his properties.”
“Technically, I own some of those properties now, right? The business ones?”
“Yes, we’ve already scoured the county records and have compiled an extensive list of both personal and business real estate holdings.”
“You have my okay to search anything owned by the company. He is obsessed with making the movie, so it would make sense that he might do it somewhere there’s already a set.”
“We’ll start searching the company’s properties now. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You go to Eastbrooke while we do.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I quit and you can let the police handle it.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Oh, yes. I am. And just so you know, if you decide to accept my resignation, even with your family connections, it would be at least 24-48 hours before you could get another firm on board. Do you want to lose that time?”
“No.”
“Then here are my terms. You and Cooper are going back to Eastbrooke. You will give me seven days to find Brooklyn before you threaten to come to Malibu. And you promise that during those seven days you will not set foot off campus. No getting your nails done. No pizza dates. Nothing. I will be sending additional guards to the school’s entrance. They will be under orders not to let you leave. Am I clear?”
“Seven days is a long time, Garrett! Why don’t I just come home? I’ll let Vincent find me. Take me to where Brooklyn is. You can rescue us both.”
“Keatyn, I can assure you it would not be that easy. A simple case of kidnapping would quickly escalate into a hostage situation.”
“Then get some special forces to come in the middle of the night. Kidnap Vincent. Save us.”
“I’m wasting precious time right now, Keatyn. You know my terms. Seven days or I quit.”
“What if you don’t find him in seven days?” I ask, hating that the words even came out of my mouth.
“Then we’ll do it your way.” He sighs. “Look, Vincent has been planning this for months, maybe even years. I know seven days seems like a long time, but it really isn’t in the scheme of things. You said Vincent told you that he has Matt, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, in a warped way, Brooklyn has agreed to play the role and signed a contract. Vincent won’t hurt him until he has you. That’s the main reason I want seven days. If Vincent gets his hands on both of you, his plans will accelerate. And when they do, I can’t guarantee that either one of you will survive. If you want to keep Brooklyn alive, you will give me seven days.”
I nod, knowing that he’s right. Vincent will keep Brooklyn alive until he’s able to redo the movie his way.
And he can’t do that until he has me.
I let out an audible sigh. “Fine. I agree.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep you posted every step of the way.”
As I hang up, Cooper says, “What did you just agree to?”
“We’re going back to Eastbrooke,” I say.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4TH
My guilt.
9:30am
Aiden wakes up when I get out of bed.
“You go back to sleep. I’m going to check in with Garrett.”
“I’ll get up too. I want to hear if there’s any news.”
I throw on a robe and go out into the living room, where Cooper is already up, dressed, and on the phone.