We finally got back to Sin’s parents’ house and went inside. Anson, Birdie, and Jack were all in the kitchen standing around the table. The note was front and center. It looked like a standard sheet of nice letterhead, except the part that would have had the business name and address printed on it had been ripped off, leaving a jagged line across the top of the paper.
I peered between Jack and Birdie to read it. The words were scribbled in loopy handwriting, the ink smeared and messy like it had been done in haste.
Your wife is fine. She’ll be returned soon.
I blinked and reread it. “What kind of a ransom note is that? They don’t want money? They don’t want anything? Just to take Lila and then return her?”
Sin shook his head. “Makes no sense to me either.”
“Birdie, have you ever seen anything like this before?” I asked. “I know Nocturne Falls doesn’t have a lot of kidnappings, but what’s your take on it? And is there any chance you can get fingerprints off it?”
“My take is that whoever did this has a very different motive than your standard kidnapper. I mean, obviously. They haven’t asked for anything. Which means they’re getting what they want via different means. As for the fingerprints, no go. I already checked. Whoever sent this wore gloves.”
Sin looked as unhappy as his father. “What does taking my mother get them? What does it get anyone?”
I glanced at Anson, his handsome face lined with worry. There was only one answer I could think of. “It gets…the show stopped.”
Anson looked up and nodded. “And if they keep her long enough, it gets us in breach of contract. That’s all I can think of.”
Jack made a soft, disgruntled noise. “Anyone who considers themselves your rival benefits from that, and you already gave us his name.”
“But,” Sin started, “we went to Tony’s. He genuinely didn’t seem like he knew about my mom going missing when Lou brought it up.”
Anson’s worry turned into anger. “Son, he’s a showman. Like I am. If he did this, why would he let Lou know? I realize they’ve been together a long time, but this is a major crime we’re talking about. If he told Lou, Lou would have no choice but to turn him in or become an accessory.”
Sin crossed his arms. “Then you think Tony could have done it?”
“I do now.”
I touched his arm lightly. “Any chance there are some rubber gloves lying around? I know Birdie looked for fingerprints, but I still feel like we shouldn’t touch it in case the police end up getting involved.”
“My mom has lots of gloves.” He went to the sink, opened the cabinet below and took out a box of latex gloves. “She tries to protect her skin as much as possible considering…you know.”
“Right.” I grabbed a pair from the box and snapped them on, then picked up the note by the edges of the paper and held it to the light.
“Just so you know,” Birdie said, “I didn’t let anyone else touch it either, except for Anson, who’d already opened the envelope. Just in case, like you said, it ends up going to the police as evidence.”
“Sorry about that,” Anson said. “I should have been more careful.”
“No big deal,” I said. “How did the note arrive?”
“Messenger,” Anson answered. “He said Fed Ex to get through the gate, but he wasn’t. No truck, no uniform.” He leaned in a little. “What are you looking for?”
“Watermarks. Or anything else, really, that might tell us where this paper came from.”
“Don’t you think the top part being ripped off is a clue?”
“Actually…” I squinted, trying to see better. There was something else on the paper where the tear was. “Anyone have a pair of reading glasses I could use? Just a simple pair of magnifiers?”
Jack nudged me, holding a pair out. “Here you go.”
“What did you find?” Sin asked.
“Not sure.” Pinching the paper between two fingers, I got the readers on. I looked closer at the torn area. “There’s the tiniest bit of black here. There must have been something printed on the top of this paper, which was why it was torn off. So it couldn’t be identified.”
Anson’s eyes narrowed. “Will you hold that up to the light again?”
I did as he asked.
He took a long, hard look. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared.
When he came back, he was holding another sheet of paper that looked very similar. Except this one was whole and had a short letter typed on it.
“Have a look at this.” He held the new sheet of paper up next to the ransom note. Even with the typing, it was easy enough to see that the watermarks matched. Both sheets were the same brand of stationery. The real difference, however, was his piece of paper hadn’t had the top torn off and you could plainly see the letterhead.
The intact piece had come from the Crystal Palace casino.
I put the note back on the table. “Birdie, you’ve got to research this and find out if anyone else uses the same brand of stationery the Crystal Palace does.”
She nodded. “I will, but you know this just makes it look even more like Tony or Lou is involved in this.”
“I agree.”
“I’ll kill them both,” Anson muttered. “How dare they put my wife in jeopardy?”
I put my hands up. “Okay, hang on. We’re just speculating right now. No one should be killing anybody. I know you’re beyond angry, Anson—we all are—but we need Lila home safe with you, not visiting you in jail.”
“She’s right, Dad,” Sin said. “In fact, I know a way you can help us. I was going to make up a reason to go see Lou, but you could do it for us. He’d see you in a heartbeat.”
Anson took a breath. “You think that would help?”
“Sure,” Birdie said. “I don’t care how cool a customer this guy thinks he is. He’s bound to act strangely if the husband of the woman he kidnapped suddenly pays him a visit. Do you know the guy well enough to tell if he’s behaving nervously or in some weird way?”
“I think so. We’ve interacted socially enough times.”
Sin nodded. “Good. Call him up, Dad. Leave him a voice mail now so you can get in to see him as soon as possible. It would even be interesting to see just how soon he makes himself available.”
“Right,” I said. “If he’s occupied with Lila, that might impact his schedule.” I smiled at Sin. “Good thinking, honey.”
Anson pulled out his phone and looked up Lou’s number. He tapped the screen to dial. After a moment, he spoke. “Lou, this is Anson Crowe. If you have time to meet, I’d like to see you. Maybe…talk about what you could offer us. Call me and let me know when you’re available.”
He hung up and stared at his phone for a second. “If I think for a moment that he’s guilty, it’s going to be hard not to use my magic on him. In a painful way.”
I grimaced. “Any chance you have a truth serum spell?”
“No.” A dark gleam filled Anson’s gaze. “But I’m pretty sure I could get him to talk.”