Souls At Zero (A Dark Psychological Thriller) by Neal Martin

had brought home with him, and it had corrupted the only light in his life.
    "I'll get our daughter back," he said. "Whatever it takes."
    Edger hung up the phone and repeated to himself the last words he said: "Whatever it takes."
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
    John Rankin stood in his office staring out the window at the drizzling rain that was slowly soaking the city, though the rain didn't stop the Saturday afternoon shopping crowd, nor the black clad teenagers that made it their business to gather in their droves around the front of the city hall across the way, too busy trying to be cool to have a care in the world.
    Rankin sighed and shook his head before sitting back down at his desk. His mind was on Harry Edger and the awful situation the man was now in. Rankin had two daughters, the youngest daughter being thirteen, only a year older than Edger's daughter, Kaitlin. Rankin couldn't imagine what it would be like if his youngest daughter was kidnapped by some psycho out for revenge. In his long career as a military cop, Rankin had come across many men capable of kidnapping a child, and worse, of killing one. Such men were good at hiding what they really were but if you knew what to look for, you could see right through them. It would only take one such psycho getting out of jail and deciding to teach the man who put them there in the first place a lesson. Rankin shuttered at the thought.
    It was why he was careful about his personal security, why his home on the Malone Road was like a fortress, and why he had trained his wife Victoria in all sorts of security measures, including defensive driving, anti-kidnapping protocols and how to use the .38 Smith and Wesson Bodyguard that was kept in a safe in their bedroom back home. No doubt some would see his behaviour as bordering on paranoia, but Rankin had seen and heard of enough families over the years being targeted by criminals for various reasons. Northern Ireland even had its own brand of kidnapping, called "Tiger Kidnappings". These were usually carried out by paramilitaries who would target business owners, holding the family hostage while the victim was forced to open their business and bypass all security measures so the gangs could rob the business in question. It was how the Republican paramilitaries pulled off the biggest bank robbery in British history when they cleaned out the Belfast Northern Bank.
    Rankin didn't want anything like that happening to his family, hence the personal security measures. It was also why he carried a concealed Glock 17 most days. Thanks to his contacts gained through years of service in the British military, Rankin had been able to get a concealed carry permit, as well as one for Edger and the guys he used for close protection details. Gun laws in Northern Ireland are surprisingly less stringent than in Britain, for which Rankin was thankful. On at least one occasion, he had call to use his gun when a VIP he was protecting was attacked by a gang of ex-paramilitaries intent on kidnapping the principal. Rankin shot two of them dead, while the other three gang members got away. In that particular case, he was very grateful for the gun laws here.
    When his mobile phone rang, Rankin answered it. It was Edger. "What's happening?" he asked Edger.
    "We need to talk," Edger said. "Can you meet me somewhere, away from the office? I don't want to run into the cops again."
    "You've spoken to them already?"
    "They called at my apartment, asking questions."
    "What you tell them?"
    "That the whole thing was a big misunderstanding."
    Rankin frowned. "Why, Harry? They can help you."
    "Not in this case. I'll tell you why when I see you."
    Rankin told Edger to meet him in the cafe around the corner from the office building in five minutes.
     
    Edger wasn't in the small cafe when Rankin got there, so he ordered two coffees and went and sat down at a free table near the back that was nestled into a