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    â€œThank you,” the man said, as if Walter were the one holdingthe pistol. “Now, if you’d look down between the cushions, that’s where I put the envelope.”
    Walter kept his eyes locked in confrontation across the table while he ran his fingers between the seat cushion and the padded frame of his chair. He retrieved a thin business envelope with no markings on the outside.
    â€œThe point that’s essential is that I have no idea who sent me to deliver this message. I don’t know who did the kidnapping. My instructions said that the kidnappers know nothing about me. And none of us knows who’s holding your wife, or where. So you see, memorizing my face, or catching me and holding me for the police, will do you no good. I can’t say anything that will help your wife because I know nothing about her. I’m not a kidnapper, Mr. Childs. I’ve thought a lot about this and I think that I’m just a good citizen reporting a crime. Does that make sense to you?”
    Walter glared daggers at the man. He tore open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper, computer-printed on one side.
    Â 
    Mr. Childs
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    The man seated across from you is telling the truth. He knows that Emily has been kidnapped, but has no idea why, or where she is being held. The kidnappers know nothing more than that they left your wife, under sedation, in a parked van. The van driver knows nothing, other than that he has picked up a valuable person, and is to hold her incommunicado until advised
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    I am the only one who knows all the players and all the locations. That means that none of them, nor any combination of them, can lead you or the police to your wife
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    My terms are simple. On Friday, at exactly 4:00 p.m., you will wire $100 million to a numbered account at Banco Folonari, the Cayman Island branch. You, of course, know the routing number and authentication code. The money will be converted into Banco Folonari bearer bonds and will be delivered to a courier, who will call for the proceeds using the appropriate authentication code.You must make no attempt to follow or intercept the courier. The courier will use legitimate financial channels to deliver the money to me. I will have it Monday morning and will immediately cause your wife to be released. If the funds fail to reach me for any reason, you will never hear from either your wife nor me again
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    If you understand these plans, please inform the courier. His actions will tell me whether or not the message has been delivered
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    If you contact the police, the FBI, Interpol, or any other law enforcement agency, you can be certain that I will know about it. There will be no further correspondence from your wife or me
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    Her life is entirely in your hands
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    If you agree to meet these terms, please make a reservation tomorrow for a single table in the window at Casper’s. Walk there and have lunch between noon and 2:00 p.m. I will then order that your wife be kept comfortable until Monday. If you choose not to meet my demands, simply neglect the lunch, or else make contact with the police or other authorities. In that case, I will pay the people holding Emily to kill her and bury the body. You will hear nothing further from any source
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    Â 
    Walter looked up from the note at the man seated opposite him. “Do you know what this says?”
    The man looked sympathetic. “I’ve guessed that it’s about a ransom. I don’t know for sure. But I’ve been told that if you understand the terms, I’m to stay with my present rental car. If you don’t know what’s being asked, I’m to change to another rental car company. So I don’t need to know anything about the … arrangements. All I need to know is whether you understand the …” He gestured toward the letter that dangled from Walter’s fingers “… the document,” he concluded.
    Walter nodded slowly, indicating