Blair found herself holding Todd’s arm tightly, unable to pull her eyes from the scene taking place in the other room. She felt sick. Sam was missing, her mother had been attacked and now someone had once again tried to kill Todd. Everything seemed overwhelming as she realized that while Todd had escaped again, an innocent bystander had not fared as well. “Todd, this is horrible. Why did someone take Sam and why does someone want you dead?”
Todd pulled Blair away from the door. “I don’t know who’s trying to kill me, but I know who has Sam. He told us. He said he was with his father. That means he’s with Victor!”
“That doesn’t make sense. Victor’s dead. You must have read the message wrong.”
“Jack, bring your mother your phone. Show her what you read earlier.”
Jack looked over at his father. He had been lost in a fog, thinking about all that had just happened. “What?” His thoughts were all jumbled.
“Bring me your phone. Come on, snap out of it! This is about Sam. We need to find him.”
****
John was in the outer room. He had left the Manning family alone so they could gather their thoughts and emotions. While the paramedics did their job, he found the bullet in the paneling where it had lodged after exiting Carly’s skull. He carefully pried it loose and refrained from touching it. It was the same caliber as the one that had injured Manning. Dante had gone to retrieve his mother and get the information they needed on the housemaid. There was a knock on the door. That’s got to be Anna. He opened the door and found not only Anna but the forensic team and Mac Scorpio, the Police Commissioner.
As Mac and Anna surveyed the scene, they took in the body on the floor and waited for McBain to fill them in.
“Is this the occupant of the room?” asked Mac.
“No sir, that’s the owner of the hotel. The occupants of the room are in the bedroom”
Mac immediately pulled the sheet back to view Carly’s face. “My God, Carly! Who shot her? Someone here?”
“No, she was accidentally killed by a bullet fired from the building across the street.”
“You’re saying someone tried to kill another person in this room and Carly was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Mac was stunned. He knew the situation had just become very volatile. Sonny Corinthos would be out for blood.
“Yes, The shooter was trying to kill Todd Manning. He missed.”
“What were you doing here?”
“Detective Falconeri and I were following up on an assault and kidnapping reported. That’s why I called you, Anna. Blair Cramer’s mother was assaulted and her son, Sam, was kidnapped earlier this afternoon. We were trying to get the story when the shot was taken. At first, I feared Manning had been hit, but he collapsed just moments before and the bullet missed him and struck that.” He pointed to the mangled laptop still lying on the floor. “As you can see, it looks like the bullet ricocheted and hit Mrs. Jacks and then lodged in the wall.”
“It would take a pretty high-powered rifle to make that kind of shot. You’re talking about a professional shooter, McBain.”
“Yes sir, I believe that’s exactly what we’re dealing with. Strangely enough, we might have just gotten a lead on who that is.”
Mac swung around, “What do you mean? You have an idea who might have taken the shot. Don’t keep us in suspense, tell.”
“I, well both Dante and I, have reason to believe it’s a man known to me as Tomas Delgado and to you as Lorenzo Alcazar. We found out today he’s in town and I know for a fact he worked as an assassin for the CIA. In fact, right before all this happened, I was going to call you, Anna. We think he might use his affiliation with the CIA and claim he’s here on assignment.”
Mac interrupted before Anna could say anything. “Wait a minute. Lorenzo Alcazar is dead. What makes you think your assassin is him?”
“For one thing, he’s living in Alcazar’s old apartment, and he was spotted having a meeting with Johnny Zacchara just hours ago. He was also seen watching Blair Cramer and Todd Manning earlier. I need your help, Anna. We want to talk to him, now more than ever, but we can’t let him know how we found out he was here. As you’re FBI, I’m hoping you can get his CIA contact to admit he’s here in town. We can use that as an excuse to talk to him and he won’t know we suspect him. This whole killing has ratcheted everything up. If Delgado is also really Alcazar then he’s also here to settle other scores besides Manning.”
“I’ll get on it, but we also have a kidnapping to worry about and that is a federal case. What have we got on the kidnapper?” Anna said.
“Dante should be here momentarily, his mother is in charge of hiring and we’re hoping we have a picture to show Addie Cramer,” John replied.
He no sooner finished talking when Dante arrived back in the room with his mother in tow. As Dante calmed down his mother; Anna, John, and Mac discussed the situation and came to an agreement. Once she was in control of her emotions, Anna, Olivia and John went into the bedroom. They left Dante with Mac to catch him up on the whole story surrounding Alcazar. After he finished his tale, he looked at a stunned commissioner.
“That’s the whole story, Commissioner.”
“So, Alcazar is back. Alexis and Sonny need to be informed but first, there’s Carly, I’ll send someone to get Sonny and Michael.”
“Don’t bother, they’re on their way. I wanted them to hear about Carly from me. We probably should get a call off to Jax. And someone should alert Carly’s babysitter.”
Mac frowned, “You’re family, you should let someone else notify them.”
“It’s not going to be easy to hear from anyone, but I feel I should be the one. Let me do this.”
Mac looked at him. “You can tell them about the death, but you’re not to tell them we suspect Alcazar. In fact, with the man still out there running free, and his target still alive, we need to put a lid on this story. Maybe it’s best if we let him think he succeeded. I want you to bring them up here so both Anna and I can talk to them, I’ll meet you in the hall. I have to find a way to contain Sonny before we have a bloodbath on our hands.” He glanced around the room taking in the body of Carly one more time. “Dante, it’s going to be a shock. Are you sure you don’t want one of the other officers to do this?”
“Thanks, Mac, but I’ll handle it.”
A short while later, Dante, Michael, and Sonny stepped off the elevator. Mac was waiting. Michael was clearly distraught and Sonny simply looked grim. Mac sighed as he saw their faces. What he had to tell them wasn’t going to sit well with either of them. He moved to greet them and with Dante’s help got started relating the events as they had happened.
****
When John, Anna, and Olivia entered the back bedroom they found the Mannings huddled together on the bed looking at something intently.
“It still doesn’t make sense. Tea watched Victor die. How can he have Sam and why?” Blair had been trying to picture Victor alive somewhere.
“That’s why I was mad at Sam. I couldn’t believe he would say he was with Dad. It seemed like he was playing with me,” replied Jack.
Blair looked at her older son. “Sam would never kid about something like that. He even asked you to tell me. Jack, he asked for help.”
Todd looked wearily at Jack. “Look, I know you don’t want to hear this, but Victor stole my life. Why is it so hard to believe he faked his death?” Todd’s head was continuing to pound, but now it was worse because he was worried about Sam. Victor, or someone that looked like Victor, had him and he was trying to let them know.
John spoke up. “Blair, Todd, this is Anna Devane from the FBI. Olivia Falconeri has a picture of the housemaid that was working on this floor today. We’d like Addie to take a look at it.”
Olivia handed the picture to Addie and she nodded. “That’s her, that’s the one who took Sam. There’s something about her that’s familiar,” said Addie.
“Let me look at it, Momma.” Blair took the picture and frowned “She’s right, I’ve seen this woman somewhere.”
Todd took one look at the picture over Blair’s shoulder and grabbed it from Blair’s hand. “I’ll say you have, she was all over the news on New Year’s Eve. She’s changed her looks a little, but that’s the nutty dame who shot Vicki. John, I’m surprised you didn’t recognize her.”
John had been watching the faces and was surprised when Todd just snatched the picture. “What do you mean? I haven’t had the chance to look at the picture yet. Are you telling me it’s Alison Perkins?”
“Duh, that fruitcake shot my sister and now she’s kidnapped Sam. How the hell did she connect with Victor?” Todd said.
“Hold your horses, Manning. We still don’t know that the man, who has Sam, is Victor.”
“Sam wouldn’t lie. Look at his message for yourself.” Todd took the phone from Jack and handed it and the picture to John. “If Alison and my damn brother have done this, you better get to them first, because if I see him, I’m likely to kill him all over again.”
“Mr. Manning, I know you’re distraught, but threats in front of the police are not a good idea," Anna spoke up and frowned. “This is a very delicate situation. We need to contain things before they become explosive. Let us take care of it.”
Todd’s head began pounding harder. He gritted his teeth. Don’t you pass out, you wimp? You need to stay strong. Victor and Irene did this to you. Don’t let them win. He spoke quietly, but his voice had an edge to it. It was clear he was barely containing his anger. “Ms. Devane, I’ve been through hell these last eight-plus years and I was held on trial for the murder of my brother. He stole my life once and it looks like he tried to do it again by framing me for his own non-murder. Someone just tried to kill me for the second time in less than a week. I’m betting that someone is in this with Victor.”
Blair looked at Todd, noting his clenched jaw, and stood up and went to him. The moment she touched him she knew from the rigidness of his arm that he was barely holding it together. “Todd, sit down. I know finding out that Victor might be alive was a shock. Please, you’ve done way too much today. I can’t lose you too.” Todd’s sudden hard grip on her hand signaled his pain and she again felt that moment of panic she had felt when he collapsed.
Starr, Jack, and Addie had been stunned by his angry words. Now, as they watched, he seemed unsteady and it was obvious to all he was in pain.
Anna was shocked by Todd’s blunt words, but she too noted the color draining from his face. “Mr. Manning, are you okay?”
Todd moved somewhat shakily to a chair and sat. He dropped his head into his hands trying desperately to relieve the pain. Blair stood next to him and began to rub his neck and shoulders in an attempt to loosen the tension caused by the pain. She turned to Anna. “No, he’s not okay. None of us is. A dreadful woman has taken my son and if my son is right, he was taken by his father who’s supposed to be dead. Todd was shot at and almost killed earlier and barely survived that attempt and now someone has tried again. This time that poor woman was killed. How could any of this be okay?” Blair paused and went to the bathroom to get a cool cloth for Todd’s head.
Anna was at a loss for words. The woman was right, nothing was okay. “I’m sorry, I was unaware of the circumstances leading up to this shooting. Mr. Manning, perhaps you should be looked at by the paramedic. It’s clear you’re experiencing some pain.”
Todd reached and took the cool cloth from Blair and pressed it to his forehead. Taking a shuddering breath, he looked up at Anna. “I don’t need a medic to tell me what’s wrong. This pain, as you call it, is courtesy of my so-called mother. I’ll manage it. Tell me what you’re going to do to find my not-so-dead brother, Sam, and the bastard that keeps trying to kill me.”
Anna found herself staring into the coldest eyes she had seen in a long time. Todd Manning might not be one hundred percent himself, but the look in his eyes told her he was a man who could be ruthless. He was very capable of cutting a deadly swath through several states to get his nephew back and get his revenge. “We’re going to do our best to locate your son, Ms. Cramer. It’s fortunate he was able to get a message out. I’m sure our technical people will be able to track him down because of it. If his captors are unaware he reached you, we’ll be able to snag them quickly. It would help if you keep looking for any further messages. As for your shooter, Detective McBain informed the Commissioner, and I believe they have a lead on him. So with any luck, all of this might be a bad dream soon.”
“Damn it, McBain, why didn’t you tell me you had a lead on my shooter!” Todd got up quickly causing the chair to topple and startling everyone.
“Because I know you, Manning. You’ll go off and do something careless before I get all the proof I need. You need to let us handle things this time.” John said as he ran a hand through his hair.”
“You’ve been played by these guys already. Why should I trust you to get the job done?”
“Maybe because you’ve been through enough and should just concentrate on recovering before you kill yourself and let us do the job we’ve been trained for.”
Blair had moved up behind Todd and put her hand gently on his upper arm. She leaned her head on his back shoulder and whispered. “Please, Todd?”
The pain and worry in her voice were more than he could take, he turned and drew her fully into his arms. “For you Babe, I’ll try.” Blair had been so strong and it was finally getting to her. He saw tears begin to form in her eyes. He brushed them away, leaned, and touched a light kiss on her lips. Then he turned to look around the room. “Does anyone in this room have some aspirin? My head is really killing me.” His whole tone and demeanor had changed when Blair had made her plea.
After all the tension that had been building in the room, his simple request sounded funny and Blair couldn’t help but give a little laugh. She looked at her mother. “Momma?”
Addie nodded. Starr retrieved them and handed them to her father.
“Thanks, Shorty.” He could see that she was as shaken as her mother. He opened his arm and gathered her close next to Blair. “I’m going to be alright. We’re going to get Sam and get to the bottom of this whole tragedy. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head and his eyes met Jack’s. Jack’s eyes were the first to drop. Todd blinked, for one brief moment he thought he had seen something other than hatred in those eyes. God, please let Jack be thawing towards me. He popped the pills into his mouth, and dry swallowed them. It was going to be a long night and he refused to let a headache rule him. Secretly, he prayed Irene would stay away.
Anna took a breath. It appeared that Ms. Cramer was a good influence on Manning. “Okay, now that everyone is a little calmer. We need to discuss the latest attempt on your life a little further. We’ve made the decision to let the shooter believe he succeeded in killing you. The Commissioner is talking to the family members of Mrs. Jacks and we’re asking them to let us keep her death quiet for at least twenty-four hours. Our plan is to approach the shooter and let him think he’s in the clear. That means for the time being Mr. Manning, we wish you to lay low.”
Todd started to protest. It didn’t feel right to take a backseat when Sam was out there, needing to be found. “What about Sam?”
“This suite is now a crime scene. My men and I will be setting something up to enable us to track any incoming calls regarding Sam, but we’ll need to move you."
“I don’t think we’ll get a call from the kidnappers. This isn’t my suite. I’m down a level, but they can all come down to that suite.” said Todd. He didn’t want to be separated from them any longer.
Starr also spoke up. “My room is just down the hall from my father’s. Grandma, you can stay with me and Jack and Mom can stay with Dad. Don’t worry, Dad, we won’t go anywhere until this is resolved.” She said quickly when she saw that he wanted to argue.
Blair squeezed Todd. “They’ll be alright, and I agree, Jack will join us. If we get no call, maybe Sam will try and reach out again. What about that?” She looked at Anna and John.
“I’ll get our experts to set up a means of backtracking Sam’s message. There will also be someone keeping an eye on all of you. Mr. Manning, I’m asking you not to interfere. We don’t intend to let the press in on the shooting. It’s my hope the shooter is going to be trying to find out why it hasn’t been reported. We want him to be knocked off-kilter when we let the news loose that he killed the wrong person. Then maybe he’ll make a mistake.”
Todd’s eyes narrowed. “You mean you want to catch him in the act of trying again.”
Blair gasped. “You want Todd to be bait? Are you crazy? The man almost killed him the first time. Do you realize what you’re asking?”
“I do, but this time we’ll be ready to take him down the minute he attempts it again. He’ll be unable to use any of his contacts to aid him. If you’re right about his connection to the kidnapper and her boss, we’ll be able to find that out too. John, you stay here. I’ll go finish talking to Carly Jacks’ family.” Anna left and a few minutes later the medics removed Carly’s body from the room.
Through the doorway, Starr saw Olivia Falconeri, Sonny, and Michael deep in conversation with the Commissioner. Dante followed the paramedics and the body.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
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