“The forensic department just confirmed that the tyre marks are made by Pirelli tyres usually used by Maserati cars. We’ll wait for an update from the traffic control department.” said the officer, walking back to his car. Her dad and uncle thanked him for his help, but Hayley didn’t want to wait that long to rescue Ashton. She walked along the street, desperately trying to look for more evidence that would help them find Ashton fast. What if the abductors killed him?
“Hayley, get into the car. I’ll drop you at your college,” said her dad, but she wasn’t listening. A shiny metal stud lying at the side of the street got her attention. Was it a clue? She bend down to pick up the object and looked at it closely. It was a shirt button! Hayley gasped, recognizing it immediately. It was from the shirt Ashton wore on Saturday night for their date. That was one of his special shirts he wore on special occasions.
“Hayley, what are you doing there?” asked her uncle. It brought her to her senses, and she looked around at officer Thornhill climbing into his patrol car.
“Wait, officer! I’ve found something. It’s a button from the shirt he wore on Saturday,” she said, rushing forward to hand the object over to him.
“Good job, Ms. Barclay. Jeff, scan the entire stretch. See if you can find more evidence. Even a tiny piece of evidence can give us a breakthrough.” Officer Jefferson and the rest of the team hunted the place for clues, and so did Hayley. She wasn’t giving up.
“I’ll get late for OPD. Got to go, Hails. Keep me updated,” said uncle Robert. Hayley nodded, her attention more on the team hunting for evidence. After he left, Hayley expected her dad also to leave, but he didn’t. Instead, he went searching for clues with the team.
“We found this. I’m not sure if it’s a clue,” said an officer, handing them a Dragon Smoke lighter he found lying at the side. Officer Thornhill placed it inside a sealed packet to test for fingerprints.
“It could have fallen out of anyone’s pocket, but we will check for fingerprints. Tell me, Ms. Barclay. Does Mr. Pierce smoke?”
“No, officer, he doesn’t. This might have fallen out of the kidnapper’s pockets,” said Hayley hopefully.
“It might have fallen out of anyone’s pockets. It might not be related to the case even. Let’s not get our hopes up.” said her dad. There wasn’t anything else, and the cops left. “Come on, Hayley. I’ll drop you off at your college.”
“No, dad, I’m going to the police station to see an end to this. I won’t go anywhere without rescuing Ashton.” Her dad sighed and caught her elbow to steer her towards his car.
“Fine, let’s go to the police station.”
Soon they were seated at officer Thornhill’s office at the police station while he coordinated with the forensic department and the traffic control unit.
After twenty long minutes, he gave them a hopeful look.
“A Maserati with a golden G has been sighted on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge at 10:25 on Saturday night. They are tracking the car further, but I think I know who is behind this crime. The fingerprints extracted from the lighter have matched with an escaped convict, Bruce Kingsley. We had arrested him along with his comrade two years ago for illegal drug trafficking. They both work for the mafia don, Salvatore Gambino, who is as elusive as an eel. Bruce escaped while his comrade was found dead in our lockup last week. Maybe Gambino is the mastermind behind this abduction.”
“Maybe, but what motive could he have? Ashton has nothing on him apart from his job,” said her dad, who knew Ashton since Hayley started going to the Van Every home.
“I’m not sure of the motive, Mr. Barclay, but if Gambino has captured him, it should be serious. I’ll issue a nationwide arrest warrant for Kingsley with a reward offer for anyone who can help with his arrest.”
“Hope it works!” said her dad. Hayley followed their conversation, but her mind was on Ashton’s safety. Was he safe? Was he alive?
After ten minutes, they received information from the traffic control department that the Maserati crossed the Hilton, JFX Airport at 10:46. “I have a hunch they have taken Mr. Pierce to their hangout in East New York, Brooklyn. I will alert our department there based on the last sighting of the car.”
“Won’t it be too late, officer? Why can’t we go there and look for him?” asked an agitated Hayley.
“Let the police do their job, Hayley. Have patience. We can’t just run down the streets yelling for him,” said her dad, calming her down. The officer started working on the case, issuing the arrest warrant and reward offer publicly. It was immediately broadcast on the news channels all over the country.
After an hour, they received a call from an unknown number who informed them of seeing the Maserati at Cypress Hills, East New York, Brooklyn.
“That’s where they’ve taken Mr. Pierce,” said officer Thornhill, immediately alerting the NYPD at 75th Precinct, which served the area. “I’ll leave for Cypress Hills immediately.”
“Please, can we accompany you, officer?” begged Hayley.
“Fine, you can follow us to the 75th Precinct.”
At Gambino’s Mansion
Salvatore Gambino stormed into the torture chambers fuming with anger. “The blo*dy cops have issued a f*cking arrest warrant in your name. Puoi spiegarlo (Can you explain that)?” Bruce Kingsley trembled as he meekly followed the Don. He himself had no idea how it all happened. What explanation could he give to his Don?
“La ragazza (That girl) who involved the cops, what is her name?” asked Gambino agitatedly.
“Hayley Barclay, Don,” said Romano, looking as clueless as his comrade. As far as he was concerned, they had done a foolproof job like they did every time. Then how did the cops sniff them out and broadcast an arrest warrant and reward offer on news channels countrywide?
“Si! That woman and her father are behind this. I can’t keep Pierce here for long, Romano. He will bring the cops straight here. We shouldn’t have listened to Francesca’s jealous demands.”
“Si, cosa fare con lui, Don? (Yes, what to do with him, Don)” Gambino stormed into the corridor, towards Ashton’s cell where they had kept him imprisoned since Saturday night.
“I will threaten him to pay up and stay away from that Barclay girl. You can beat him up and throw him somewhere far. Let him learn his lesson for not paying up on time.”
“Si, Don!” they chorused, unlocking the metal door. Gambino marched inside with a fake, sinister smile on his face.
Ashton looked up from the rug where he lay worriedly for the last two nights. He couldn’t make head or tail out of what was happening! No one had visited him since Saturday, apart from the man who gave him food. He had gone into a hopeless depression, wondering whether they would keep him imprisoned here forever!
“Why have you forcefully brought me here? I have taken up a good job. I was saving up to pay you, but you forced me to take leave at work today,” he accused the don angrily.
“Watch the way you talk to me, boy! You won’t return alive!” threatened the don, stuffing his hands into his pockets to keep calm. He had promised his daughter to spare the man she loved. “Where is the money you saved? Pay me and I will spare your life.”
“I can pay you half a million now. In six months, I will have a neat sum saved to pay you.”
“Si! But if I see you with that Barclay girl again, I won’t spare your life. This is my first and last warning to you. Stay away from her.” Ashton gaped at the don, wondering how Hayley came into the picture. Did they kidnap him because of Hayley? But why?
“I’ll stay away from her,” he promised, eager to get away. The Don watched him for a brief second and then slowly walked up to him. Ashton trembled a little but stood up to face the man, who stopped inches from him. His evil eyes shone with malice as they bored into him.
“I mean that, Pierce. The day I see you with that Barclay girl, I’ll have both of you abducted and killed. Her dad won’t be able to trace your bodies with all his connections.” Ashton felt fear grip his stomach, but he didn’t allow that to show.
“Why are you against me and Hayley’s relationship? I promised to pay you the debt with interest,” he asked, mustering up all the courage he could. The don looked shocked by his audacity and then laughed. It was a sinister and threatening laughter that tied his stomach up in knots.
“He asks me what I have against his relationship! Romano beat the shit out of him and throw him far away, where no one can ever find him.” Ashton trembled with fear and backed out.
“I’m sorry that I asked. Please let me go. I need to rejoin work or they would deduct my pay.
“You should have thought about that before questioning Don.” Romano and his men punched and kicked him hard, till he fell to the floor in a heap, almost on the brink of losing consciousness.
“I’m sure Francesca will be happy now!” said Gambino, walking away with a smile of satisfaction on his face.