“Oh, look!” Bess cried out as the photograph of the jade tiger appeared on the TV screen.
But the news announcer only reported that no progress had been made on the case.
“No kidding,” Nancy agreed. She was sure that the tiger and the blond-haired man were connected somehow, but she was still missing a vital piece of information.
The evening passed slowly. The girls tried unsuccessfully to watch TV, play Monopoly, and do a crossword puzzle, but their thoughts always drifted back to Amy.
“This is ridiculous,” George said at last. “Let’s stop pretending to keep busy. We might as well just be honest and sit and worry.”
The phone rang then. Nancy ran to get it, praying that it was the police with good news. Instead, she heard Terry’s voice. “I already know what happened,” he said in an amazingly calm tone. “The police found me about five minutes ago. I’m leaving Mendocino now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
• • •
By midnight both Bess and George were asleep in the living room, each one tucked under a blanket. Terry had come home about an hour earlier. After checking with the police and finding there was still no word, he’d vanished into his studio. Nancy sat alone in the quiet house. Although her eyes were getting heavy, she knew she coudln’t sleep, not until she knew something more about Amy.
She started as she heard a sound near the front of the house. It’s just trees brushing against the windows, she told herself. No, it was definitely someone approaching the house. Nancy peered out the window. There were no lights, nothing she could see. Chills ran through her. Was the intruder back?
She turned toward the studio to alert Terry. Then the front door opened and a white-faced Amy walked in.
“Amy!” Nancy cried.
“What?” Bess mumbled, sitting up.
Terry was there at once, gathering his daughter in his arms. “Are you all right?” he asked in a husky voice.
Amy clung to her father, sobbing hysterically.
“Could one of you call the pediatrician?” Terry asked over his daughter’s head. “Her number’s by the phone in the kitchen. Ask if she can come right away. Tell her it’s an emergency. And then call the police and tell them Amy’s home.”
George went to make the calls.
Amy lifted her tear-streaked face from her father’s shoulder. “I’m okay,” she said, her voice trembling. “I wasn’t hurt. I was just scared.”
“What happened?” Terry asked. His voice was equally shaky. “Why did you go with the man in the dark red car?”
George came back into the room and reported that the doctor was on her way.
Amy looked up at her father. “I want to go to bed now. Okay?”
“In a little while, pumpkin. I want the doctor to look at you first. Now tell us what happened.”
The girl stared at the floor and shook her head.
“I’m not going to be angry with you,” Terry said gently. “But we have to get as much information as we can so we can find this man. So he never does anything like this again. I need you to tell me what happened.”
“I can’t,” Amy said, her entire body trembling.
“Why not?” Nancy asked. She knew that the girl was on the verge of breaking down again.
Amy spoke directly to her father. “He told me that if I told anyone, he would take you out. That means kill you.”
“I know what it means,” Terry said grimly.
Amy folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going to say anything else. Not to you or the police.”
Her father tried one last time. “Amy, the man who kidnapped you is evil. We can’t do what he wants us to do. We’ve got to stop him. That means you have to tell us everything you can.”
The doorbell rang then, and Amy’s doctor came in. She immediately took Amy upstairs to examine her. The police arrived a few moments later. Everyone waited downstairs until the doctor announced that Amy was unharmed but desperately in need of a good night’s sleep.
“I’m afraid I’ll need to talk to her first,” Officer Grant said.
The doctor nodded. “All right, but only for a few minutes. She’s still very upset.”
Nancy and Terry went upstairs with the police officer. But although Officer Grant did everything he could to persuade Amy to talk, the girl refused to say any more. She turned away from them, her face buried in her pillow.
Terry looked helplessly at the police officer. “I’d like her to get some sleep. What if we try again in the morning?”
Officer Grant scratched his head. “All right, let her sleep,” he agreed. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Terry stayed with his daughter until she fell asleep. Nancy went downstairs with the police officer. “Did you talk to Patricia’s mother?” she asked.
“We certainly did, but she didn’t tell us much more than she told you.” He gave Nancy a sharp look. “This is the third report we’ve had on that man. You saw his car coming down the drive after Kirkland’s tire was shot out. Then, according to Officer Harlan, he tried to run you off the road. Now he kidnaps the little girl.”
Nancy nodded.
Officer Grant put on his hat and went to the door. “Sounds to me as if he’s trying to warn someone away from something. Maybe it’s Kirkland he’s trying to warn. And maybe it’s you.”
Nancy swallowed hard. “I’ll be careful,” she said as she shut the door. She was in complete agreement with the officer. The fair-haired man was sending out warnings. But what was it he was warning them away from?
