The Couple Next Door

Marco tells himself again that Cora is fine. He just has to hang on. It will all be over soon. They’ll have Cora back and the money. He especially regrets how hard this is on Anne, but he tells himself that she’ll be so happy to have Cora back that maybe it will give her some perspective. It has been fucking awful the last few months, dealing with his own financial problems and watching his wife slip away from him, lost in her own downward spiral.

It’s all been much more difficult than expected. When Bruce Neeland hadn’t called within the first twelve hours, Marco had been frantic. They’d agreed on no more than twelve hours before first contact. When he hadn’t heard from Bruce by Saturday afternoon, Marco was afraid that Bruce had lost his nerve. The case had received a lot of attention. Even worse—Bruce wasn’t answering the cell phone Marco was to call in an emergency. And Marco had no other way to reach him.

Marco had handed his baby over to a co-conspirator who hadn’t followed the plan and whom he couldn’t get hold of. He was going out of his mind with worry. Surely Bruce wouldn’t harm her?

Marco had toyed with the idea of confessing everything to the police, telling them what he knew about Bruce Neeland, in the hopes that they might be able to track him and Cora down. But he thought the risk to Cora was too great. So he’d bided his time.

And then the onesie had arrived in the mail. The relief he’d felt when they received the onesie had been incredible. He figured Bruce must have lost his nerve about calling the house as planned, even with the untraceable, prepaid cell phone. He must have been worried about the police. So he’d found another way.

Another two days and it will all be over. Marco will take the money to the rendezvous point—one they previously picked out together—and get Cora back. And when it is all over, he’ll call the police and tell them. He’ll give them a false description of Bruce and the car he’ll be driving.

If there was an easier way to raise a couple million dollars quickly, he couldn’t think of it. God knows he’d tried.

? ? ?

Anne’s parents come over Thursday morning with the money. Bundles of hundreds. Five million dollars in unmarked bills. The banks have used machines to count it all. They had to scramble to get the cash at such short notice; it was difficult. Richard makes sure they know it. It takes up a surprising amount of room. Richard has packed it all into three large gym bags.

Marco keeps a worried eye on his wife. Anne and her mother are sitting on the sofa together, Anne sheltering under her mother’s protective wing. Anne looks small and vulnerable. Marco wants Anne to be strong. He needs her to be strong.

He reminds himself that she is under enormous strain. More than he is, if that’s even possible. He is almost cracking from the stress of it all, and he knows what’s going on. She doesn’t. She doesn’t know that they’re going to get Cora back today; she has only her hope. He, on the other hand, knows that Cora will be back in their house within the next two or three hours. Soon all of this will be over.

Bruce will deposit Marco’s share of the money into the offshore account as they planned. They will never have any contact with each other again. There will be nothing to link the two of them. Marco will be in the clear. He’ll have his baby back, plus the cash he needs.

Suddenly Anne thrusts her mother’s arm off her and stands up. “I want to come with you,” she says.

Marco looks at her, startled. Her eyes are glassy, and her entire body is trembling. The queer way she’s looking at him—for just a second he wonders if she has figured it out. Impossible.

“No, Anne,” he says. “I’m going alone.” He adds firmly, “We already talked about this. We can’t be changing plans now.” He needs her to stay behind.

“I can stay in the car,” she says. He hugs her tight, whispers into her ear. “Shhhhh . . . it’s going to be all right. I’ll come back with Cora, I promise.”

“You can’t promise. You can’t!” Her voice rises shrilly. Marco, Alice, and Richard look at her with alarm.

He holds her until she calms down, and for once her parents stand back and let him be a husband. Finally he releases her, looks into her eyes, and says, “Anne, I’ve got to go now. It will take me about an hour to get out there. I’ll call you on my cell as soon as I have her, okay?”

Anne, calmer now, nods, her face tight with tension.

Richard goes with Marco to load the money into the car, which is parked in the garage. They take the bags through the back door, put them in the trunk of Marco’s Audi, and lock it.

“Good luck,” Richard says, looking tense. He adds, “Don’t hand over the money until you get the baby. It’s the only leverage we’ve got.”

Marco nods and gets into the car. He looks up at Richard and says, “Remember, no police until you hear from me.”

“Gotcha.”

Marco doesn’t trust Richard. He’s afraid that Richard will call the police as soon as Marco has left. He has instructed Anne to keep Richard in her sight at all times—he whispered a reminder in her ear just now—and not to let him call the police until she hears that Marco has Cora. By the time he calls, Bruce will be long gone. But Marco is still worried. Anne doesn’t look like she’s functioning properly; he can’t rely on her. Richard could go to the kitchen and make the call on his cell, and she might not even notice. Or Richard might just call the police in front of her once he’s out of the house, Marco thinks uneasily. She wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Marco pulls the car out of the garage and down the lane and begins the long drive to the rendezvous point. He’s approaching the ramp for the highway when he goes cold.

He’s been incredibly stupid.

Richard could already have told the police about the exchange. They could be watching the whole thing. They could all be in on it except Anne and him. Would Alice allow that? Would Richard even tell her?

Marco’s hands start to sweat on the wheel. His heart is pounding as he tries to think. Richard had argued to have the police involved. They’d overruled him. When has Richard ever allowed himself to be overruled in his life? Richard wants Cora back, but he’s the kind of man who hedges his bets. He’d want the possibility of recovering his money, too. Marco feels sick.

What should he do? He can’t call Bruce. He has no way to do that, since Bruce isn’t answering his cell. Now he’s probably dragging Bruce right into a trap. Marco’s shirt is already sticking to his back as he hits the highway.

EIGHTEEN

Marco tries to calm himself, breathing deeply as he drives, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

He could take his chances and go to the exchange as planned. Maybe Richard hasn’t told the police. Cora will be sitting inside the abandoned garage in an infant car seat. He will grab her, leave the money, and run.

But if Richard has alerted the police, then what? Then, as soon as Marco grabs Cora, drops the money, and flees, Bruce will show up for the money and the police will grab him. What if Bruce talks? Marco will go to jail for a very long time.

He could abort. He could turn around and not show up at the exchange at all and hope Bruce sends him another message through the mail. But how would he explain that to the police? How could he not show up as arranged to pick up his own kidnapped baby? He could have car trouble, he could get there too late, miss the window. Then, if Bruce got in touch again, Marco could try again and not tell Richard the details. But there was no way Richard would let Marco keep all that cash with him in the meantime. Fuck. He couldn’t do anything without his father-in-law knowing about it, because Alice lets him control the money.

No, he has to get Cora today. He has to go and get her. He can’t let this drag out any longer, no matter what.

With his mind spinning, a half hour has sped by. He is halfway there. He has to make a decision. He checks the time, gets off the highway at the next exit. He pulls over to the side of the road, puts his flashers on, and picks up his cell, his hands shaking. He calls Anne’s cell.

She answers immediately. “Do you have her?” Anne asks anxiously.

“No, not yet, it isn’t time yet,” Marco says. “I want you to ask your father if he’s told the police about this.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Anne says.