“How much will they ask for?”
“Probably a couple thousand American dollars. It’s a quick trick for them.”
I nodded. “I appreciate you being straightforward about it.”
This felt like an out-of-body experience. But I would gladly give them all our life savings to get Joe back safe and sound. The only reason Taylor and I even had extra money in the bank was because of my father-in-law. Three years ago, Joe had put $5 million into the software company I was starting, privately funding the whole venture. That investment had allowed me to hire the best team possible and be aggressive in the marketplace. Our company had taken off like a rocket and made all our personal dreams come true nearly overnight. We had just moved into an exquisite new house with a pool in an affluent neighborhood. The girls were in the best private schools. We’d taken them to Disney World three times in three years. We’d been able to support the charities we cared about with significant financial contributions. None of this would’ve been possible without Joe’s unwavering support and belief in me.
“Do you have a photo of your father-in-law?” Raul asked.
I searched my phone, found one I’d taken just this morning of Joe holding Nicole in his arms, and texted it to the officer. I also spelled out Joe’s full name. He told me to contact him if I remembered anything else that might be helpful; he’d reach out to me if he had any update.
“So what do I do now?” I asked him.
“Go back to your family, wait, and pray.”
THREE
I drove slowly up the dirt road to Casa de Esperanza. I felt numb all over. I kept trying to figure out what I was going to say to Taylor when I got there, but the words just wouldn’t form in my mind. There was no easy entry into a conversation about her father being kidnapped and held for ransom. But I did make the decision to tell her alone. Just the two of us. Give us a chance to process all this together first and then figure out how we would share it with my mother-in-law and the girls. Plus, if Taylor got really angry with me, I wanted her to be able to let me have it without Carol or the kids around. I deserved whatever Taylor wanted to spit at me right now.
Casa de Esperanza—House of Hope—sat on five acres of flat pastureland surrounded on all sides by a chain-link security fence. The main two-story building housed up to forty children. Most were elementary-age, but a few teenagers still lived at the facility. A second building next door contained the kitchen and eating space. There was also a small schoolhouse on the property with a couple of classrooms. That building was in the worst shape of all the structures. I thought it might collapse at any moment. I had been thinking about trying to raise money when I returned to Austin to help build the orphanage a brand-new schoolhouse. I couldn’t imagine Olivia and Nicole getting their education in a building like that.
But then, I couldn’t imagine a lot of things about life here for these kids. Most of them didn’t even have decent shoes, so our first night we’d purchased dozens of boxes of new kids’ shoes at a Payless shoe store in Brownsville and brought them to the orphanage with us the next day. These were cheap shoes, but the kids were beside themselves with joy as they tore open the boxes. It was like Christmas in July, with my daughters as the happy gift-giving elves.
I’d hoped this whole experience would leave a lasting impression on Olivia and Nicole and help them understand that most people did not live like we did back in Austin. Ours was a fantasy world. But I knew that fantasy would be completely shattered if we returned home without Joe.
I drove my Tahoe up to the gate of the property. The kids were all playing outside right now. Half of them were in the open field next to the main building, kicking soccer balls. I spotted my two girls on the steps in front of the main building, still dressed in princess outfits, along with a group of other girls. Olivia wore her favorite yellow Belle dress from Beauty and the Beast. She was a brunette like her mom, so she always liked to be a princess with the same hair color. Nicole was as blonde as can be, so she never wanted to dress up as any princess other than Elsa from Frozen. Carol was outside with them.
I got out of my vehicle and walked over to the chain-link gate, which was secured with a combination lock. My fingers were still shaking as I spun the dial back and forth. Because of this, it took me four tries before the lock released. I tugged the gate open, drove through the clearing, got back out, and locked everything up again. Then I parked my Tahoe in the short gravel drive right next to the orphanage’s small yellow school bus. I sat there a moment, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. It was a surreal feeling being moments away from wrecking my wife with this news. Taking the deepest breath possible, I let it out slowly and said a little prayer. Then I opened the door and climbed out of my vehicle. I didn’t even want to make eye contact with my mother-in-law. Had she already seen that I’d returned without Joe? I quickly glanced over to where Carol stood with the girls. Thankfully, she was too busy blowing bubbles in the air to pay much attention to me.