“Mr. and Mrs. Collins, please come in and sit down.” I point to the two sofas that face each other. “I am Sokolov.”
“Sokolov?” booms Violet’s father, crossing the room to clasp his two hands around mine. “No first name?”
“No one calls me by my first name.” I incline my head toward the sister and Detective Marks, who hovers behind her. “What do you drink?”
“I’ll have—” Mr. Collins begins to say.
“We’re not thirsty,” Violet’s sister Amie breaks in. “We want to know who you are and why you’re keeping Violet from us.”
“Now, Amie, there’s nothing wrong with having tea first,” her mother cuts in.
“I’ll have a brandy,” announces Mr. Collins.
I give a brief nod to King, who makes the call for room service.
“While we wait for refreshments, I will get to the point. Violet has not suffered your banishment well. I want to find out the cause of her exile and then you will fix it.” Her heart needs to be made whole.
“Banishment?” her father bursts out.
“I told you it was wrong to send her down here,” Amie cries out at the same time.
“Don’t fight,” Mrs. Collins exclaims.
I watch Detective Marks through this whole exchange. He seems to find his fingers fascinating as he can barely look away from them.
Mrs. Collins waves her family quiet and leans forward. “Mr. Sokolov, we keep in regular contact with our Violet. We have weekly phone calls and daily text messages. If we don’t answer a text immediately, it is only because we are busy managing a business that will someday belong to Violet. Our daughter understands this perfectly so I don’t know why you have called us down here or even what business it is of yours.”
King comes in with the drink tray and sets it down on the coffee table. As I pour Mrs. Collins her tea, I explain, “I am Violet’s fiancé.”
“Her what?”
“Did you say fiancé?”
“Who are you?” This last bit of outrage comes from Amie.
Calmly I hand the tea over to a furious Mrs. Collins. Her reaction seems odd to me and I tuck it away for further examination.
“I am Sokolov.”
“Do you own this place?” Mr. Collins asks. His tone is eager and greedy, which is also another data point.
“No. I run the security for Lennox Luxury Living.”
Mr. Collins can’t keep the disappointment off his face. Mrs. Collins has an entirely different response. She gets to her feet and as she rises, so does Detective Marks. Amie remains seated.
“I think we’re done here,” Mrs. Collins announces. “We appreciate your hospitality but we are going to go find our daughter and take her home.”
I lean back and direct my comments toward Amie, who appears to be the only Collins who truly cares for Violet’s well-being. “Where is the kidnapper who has never been caught?”
Amie narrows her gaze but Mrs. Collins twirls around in anger. “How do you know about that?”
“I did not realize it was meant to be a secret.”
“It’s not,” Amie says quietly. “My parents are frustrated that the kidnapper hasn’t been found. That’s all.”
It’s not frustration that sits underneath Mrs. Collins’ anxious tone.
“With all the power of the New Jersey investigators on your side, it is disappointing that you haven’t been able to catch one man. What is the problem?” I ask Detective Marks, who has positioned himself at the elbow of Mrs. Collins. I wonder if he realizes how he gives himself away and how Amie has been misled for over a year. Was it money or lust that drove Detective Marks? That’s the one question I don’t have an answer for.