We made eye contact, and I glared angrily at him without making any attempt to hide my hatred.
"Where were you?" I demanded.
"What?" he asked. I saw that he had a tote bag in his hand.
"Is that the ransom money?" I asked, pointing to the bag. "Were you just going to keep it for yourself? Is that why you're still standing here and never showed up at the drop point?"
"What are you talking about?" he said, looking from me to Amanda. "They didn't tell me where to make the exchange."
"Liar!" I shouted. "I heard them call you. They were waiting for word that you'd shown up, but you never did."
He shook his head and stepped towards me carefully. "Ella, I swear I never heard where I was supposed to go. I gathered the money as soon as they told me the amount, and I was tryin
