11. Tyler

                                    

                                          
The search for Samantha continued. We were at a loss as to who could have taken her. 
There was no ransom, no contact. Nothing. It was as if Sam had just disappeared into thin air. 
We were sitting at home, miserable, while Jake was asking us about possibilities. 
"What about that uncle in England? Has anyone spoken to him?"
"Mark? No. Why would we? After he tried suing us for custody, we cut ties with him and his family."
"Have you considered checking with him to see if he's heard from Sam?"
"Sam won't speak to him," Jenna said. "She certainly wouldn't call him if she were in trouble."
"I think it's worth a phone call. I can call them unless you'd like to," Jake said. 
"I'll call them," I said. I checked the time, and though I honestly didn't care if I woke anyone up, not if my daughter's life could be saved if somehow they know something. But I didn't want to call during the day when they wouldn't be home. 
I started with Mark's cell phone. It had been disconnected. I frowned. Odd. So I tried Carol's cell phone. 
"Hello?" She said, after the phone rang a couple of times. I was surprised she'd answered. 
"Hi. Carol. It's Tyler Joseph. Samantha's dad?"
"Oh. Tyler. Hi. I wasn't expecting to hear from you, well, ever, really."
"I know. But this is important. Is Mark at home?"
"Mark? No," she said. 
"Oh. Do you know how I can reach him?  I tried his cell phone but it didn't go through."
"May I ask why? I would think after he tried to break up your family he's the last person you'd want to talk to," she said, sounding a little bitter.
"Samantha's missing. Someone took her from an event she was hosting. It's a long story but we're looking at every possible avenue."
"And you think Mark flew over to America and kidnapped your daughter? And what? Brought her here?"
"I'm really hoping that's not the case. Or that maybe Samantha has reached out to either of you?"
"I can guarantee you she did not," she said, tersely. "But I can also tell you that Mark is no longer living in England. After the fiasco of him trying to sue you for Samantha, we divorced, he was fired from his firm and his work visa was cancelled. So as far as I know he's back in America. But I haven't heard from him in about three weeks. He usually calls the kids a couple of times a week."
"Oh," I said. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. It was coming. His stunt with Samantha was the last straw. Don't get me wrong. I love your daughter and I would have loved to have her do a semester here with us, but her uncle's way of doing things was underhanded and cruel. I can't abide by playing with children's emotions."
"Okay," I said. "Thank you Carol. If you do hear from him, could you let us know?"
"Sure," she said. 
We hung up and Jake and Jenna were looking at me as I frowned at my phone. 
"He's in the States," I said. "Carol divorced him after he tried to sue us for Samantha. He lost his job and work visa. She hasn't heard from him in about three weeks."
"Well, looks like we have a suspect. Can you call her back and ask for a photo?"
Just then a text came through on my phone. 
'Hi Tyler, it's Carol. I really hope Mark isn't involved in Samantha's disappearance, but after losing the case against you, Mark changed and became obsessed with gaining custody of her. It's part of what led to our divorce. 
Anyway, in the event he is involved, and I expect you'll now name him a suspect anyway, here's a fairly recent photo of him. 
I really hope he isn't involved and I really hope you find Samantha soon. Please know that the custody suit was Mark's idea. I refused to get involved which is why I didn't come to the US for the court case.
Thinking of you all and especially Samantha. Please keep me informed when you do find her. You will. I just know it. 
Regards.'
Attached was a photo of Mark with Carol. He looked pretty much the same as I remembered. A bit thinner maybe. 
I forwarded the photo to Jake and he ran out with the information. They'd been going through security footage from the venue trying to see if they could pinpoint when Samantha left. And with whom. Until now, they hadn't seen Samantha leave her dressing room when she'd gone to get changed for the event. 
Would Mark have kidnapped our daughter? He knows her medical issues. Most of them anyway. But how was he going to get her insulin?  And the longer Sam was without all her meds, the worse off she was going to be. 
"Ty?" Jenna asked. "You don't think..."
"I don't know what to think," I said. "And I don't want to think that Mark took her because I can't be held responsible if I ever see him."
My phone rang about an hour later. It was Jake calling from the venue. He'd gone to go over the footage again to see if Mark somehow found his way into the venue. 
"He did," Jake said. "He was dressed like the rest of the sound crew so noone even batted an eye when he came in. He came in with the crew. He's seen leaving Samantha's dressing room with a rolling equipment crate.  There'd be no need for that in her dressing room, would there?"
I frowned. 
"No. Those were all kept near the stage area and in other back hallways. Not the dressing rooms."
"I thought as much. We've got a good shot of him and I'm going to talk to the sound crew and see if anyone recognizes him. We'll see if we can pinpoint when he entered. It's entirely possible he got a job with the crew.  From my point of view, he planned this."
I wanted to crush my phone. I wanted to crush that man. He took our daughter. Knowing the trauma she had been through, he went and took our daughter. And clearly Sam didn't go willingly. I'm guessing it was Samantha in that crate. 
The fucker planned this.