Call 0800 0148641 or +44 20 3695 6322 (Intl)
by Phillip M. Gardner
I flipped the folder open to find a face staring at me. It was a 5x7 color photo of a thin faced man, probably in his sixties. He looked a very capable sort and his name, according to the label on the back, was Anton Higginson.
The brief biography, typed on the next sheet, proved he was very capable: industrialist, self-made multimillionaire and, penciled in the margin, 'used to having his own way.'
'What's this about?' I asked.
She leaned forward, forearms resting on the desktop.
'In simple terms,' she said, 'it's a kidnapping. At least we think it is.'
'What do you mean 'think'?'
'Higginson's adopted son, Scott, has been abducted, that much we know. But there's been no ransom demand of any kind.
I frowned. 'Any other kind of pressure been brought to bear?'
'Nothing, nothing at all.'
'So why did they take him?'
She shrugged. 'That's what we'd like you to find out.'
I tossed the file folder onto her desk. 'Do you have anything to go on? A place to start?'
Pendleton sat back and looked pleased for the first time. 'Yes. In fact, we have quite a bit.'
'For instance?'
'For instance, we have a pretty good idea where they exited the country.'
I paused, surprised. 'Are you telling me they're out of the country someplace?'
Pendleton in turn looked surprised.
'Yes, of course,' she said. 'I thought you would have assumed that much. It's why we needed you back.'
'How so?'
'Because you have the knack for operating abroad. I mean, hell, if the Higginson kid had been just dragged across a state line, his father probably wouldn't need us at all.'
'Why did he come to...you?' I had almost said, '...come to us.'
'Once it was discovered that his son was out of the country, there started the usual jurisdictional hassles.' She looked away. 'To tell you the truth, I strongly suspect someone in the government, the State Department maybe, recommended us to Higginson. Unofficially, of course.'
I nodded. Pendleton seemed to be going out of her way to be up front with me and had even thrown in a few veiled compliments, the only kind she ever offered. And I was letting myself be led along the garden path because, quite frankly, it's a nice feeling having someone of Pendleton's position pulling you along that path. Let bygones be bygones, I thought. That and the fact I was broke and needed the work. Poverty and principles are always a bad mix in my book.
'Where do I start?' I asked.
'I'd like you to meet Anton Higginson first. He can fill you in on the details of the actual kidnapping and tell you about his son.'
'Was Higginson an actual witness to the abduction?'
'No.'
'Was anyone?'
'Their bodyguard was driving at the time.'
'And can I talk to him?'
She looked up. 'He's dead.'
(242 pages)
King's Press
Phillip M. Gardner
K-Town Christmas
UFO: The Griffiss Connection
Dorfman's Army
Phillip Gardner
Was Jesus a Bookseller?
Vincent King, an old fashioned gumshoe, working for the monolithic and sophisticated Pendleton Detective Agency, is whisked away to the wilds of Asia in search of a kidnap victim. When he gets there, he is surrounded by people he doesn't know. Who can he trust? And how can he get the kidnap victim out of the clutches of the expatriate American megalomaniac holed up in a medieval castle? King backs and shuffles, ducks and weaves, and in a climatic ending, confronts the kidnapper and his home-grown army. Join King as he tries to outwit friends and foes alike, all the while peppering the narrative with his peculiar brand of cynicism.
Phil Gardner is a native of Upstate New York. A veteran of 24 years of service as an Air Force Security Policeman, he has traveled extensively during his military career and now makes his home back in Upstate New York, where he works for a private security contractor. 'King's Ransom,' one of several King adventures, was written back in 1986, when he was living in Europe.
or +44 20 3695 6322 (Intl)
©2021 Copyright AuthorHouse UK