by Jan Thompson
“You want me to find you?” Logan asked.
“No, but in case you need assurance or something.”
“Or another hug.” Logan’s voice was so low he didn’t know if Marie heard him.
She reached for him.
Yeah, she heard me.
She patted his shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”
Bummer. No hug.
“If Espy says I’m busy, you need to believe her. You got it?” Marie’s voice wasn’t harsh, but it seemed like she wanted Logan to agree with her.
“Okay. Are you undercover or something?”
Marie laughed. “I’m surprised you haven’t already remarried.”
So quickly had she changed the subject.
“You’d think that your cousin Jared would have lined up a whole host of potential wives for you,” Marie said.
Logan was surprised at the statement. “I don’t think so. I’m a one-woman man.”
“Is that right?”
“I found her, and I lost her.” Logan tapped the railing. “Such is life.”
Such is life.
Chapter Twenty
Ketchikan was one of those unique towns that had a forest and a glacier nearby, and spawning salmons swimming upstream in between. The June weather was mild, just the way Marie liked it, but she could see that it did nothing for Jonas, who was tired of the uphill walk to a park.
Yes, a park.
It was by the salmon hatchery, and a creek was supposed to run through it, but Marie was no longer confident they were going to make it.
Jonas had been whining since they left Mrs. Ping on the ship. She had other plans that didn’t seem to include Alaska much.
But it wasn’t about Mrs. Ping.
“What’s the matter, Son?” Logan kept asking, to no avail.
Marie had no idea how to handle it. She quietly prayed.
Something is wrong with this child today and I have no clue, Lord.
She wondered if she would have been a better mother now if she hadn’t left Jonas. However, she had no choice. She could blame Logan for that. Yes, she could.
If Logan had not sent that dreadful PI to follow her around in Europe some three years before, the terrorists she had been tracking wouldn’t have discovered that she had a young son in America whom they could leverage to get INTERPOL off their backs.
Fortunately, INTERPOL and the FBI had worked together to create a false narrative to throw off their assailants. A decoy stood in for Marie. A female agent, who looked sort of like Marie, took her place. Unfortunately, she had to beat up Logan’s PI. It was part of the coverup.
After that, Marie knew that she had to let Logan and Jonas go, if only to keep them alive.
What Logan didn’t know was that she had paid out of her own pocket to hire her friend to send someone to Atlanta to keep an eye on Jonas for the next six to nine months until the danger had passed.
“I want to go back to the ship,” Jonas suddenly declared.
The family hike ground to a halt right there on the uphill sidewalk. Every now and then a vehicle drove by. The fenced houses around them were quiet. Above them was another clear day in Alaska.
“We’re only a few minutes away from the hatchery,” Logan said.
“I don’t care.” Jonas pouted.
Whine, whine.
Marie couldn’t stand it. “Say exactly what you are thinking right now, Jonas, or we keep walking.”
“Yes, we need to finish what we started,” Logan added.
“I want to go to the playroom.” Jonas tugged at Logan’s arm.
“Note that he’s not tugging at my arm,” Marie said. “Because I won’t let him.”
Logan frowned. “Let’s argue later. We have a spoiled brat on our hands right now.”
“On your hands, not mine.” Marie felt sorry saying it.
Logan knelt down in front of Jonas. They were at eye level with each other. “Jonas, almost every passenger left the ship to go on excursions. There is probably no one in the playroom right now. When we go back, I’m sure your new friend will be there.”
Jonas’s eyes lit up. “Really? So if we go back right now, they will be there?”
“I meant after we have all finished our adventures here, and it’s time to sail.” Logan was still on his knees.
“When is that?”
“Tonight. We sail after dinner.”
“So late.”
Logan nodded. “We get to spend all day here with Mommy. We only have a few days left with her, and then she has to go back to work.”
Jonas’s eyes widened. He stared at Marie. He looked like he was about to cry. He ran to Marie, wrapped both arms around her waist, and said something muffled.
Marie stroked his hair.
My son, whom I have left to save his life.
Why is life so unfair, Lord? Why can’t I have my job and a family too?
Mother and son hugged for a while.
Logan cleared his throat. “How about we go back to town and walk around. There’s Creek Street. Maybe we can get some ice cream—”
“Whoopee!” Jonas detached himself from Marie, and jumped up and down.
“After lunch,” Logan added.
“No! Now!” Jonas clenched his fists.
“What have we produced?” Marie asked Logan. She glanced at her watch. It was barely ten o’clock. “We had breakfast, so technically he’s not getting i-c-e on an empty stomach.”
“Then again, if we give in, he’s not mature enough to differentiate the logic and reasoning behind our assent now.”
“Indeed. That means he might try this again on us later, and it would not have the same results. Or would it?”
Standing in between his parents, Jonas made a face. “Are you talking about me?”
“Who else would we be talking about?” Logan asked. “Do you see another brat around?”
“I thought Brad is my middle name,” Jonas said.
Marie rolled her eyes.
“You see I can’t do this alone.” Logan reached for Marie’s hand. “Seems to me that it takes two parents to usher this brat into adulthood.”
For some reason, Marie didn’t move nor did she say a word. Logan took another step toward her. He was close enough to kiss her on the cheek.
Until Jonas wiggled in between them. He looked up at his parents. “Did we forget ice cream or what?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Creek Street was overrun with tourists, who probably looked like scurrying mobs of ants from afar. The wooden boardwalks at the edge of the gurgling stream seemed to be able to hold that much weight, although Logan had to navigate through the crowd, with Jonas and Marie behind him in single file.
Logan glanced back every now and then to make sure they were still there. He slowed down at one point, and let Marie walk ahead first. Jonas was still in between them, chatting away about whatever it was. Logan hadn’t paid any attention.
His eyes were on the back of Marie’s head and her shoulders, trying to remember moments in their lives together that he had missed so much.
It had been three long years.
Since they were older now, couldn’t they talk through whatever differences they had?
Then again, sometimes people fell away from each other and never returned to where they once were.
Lord, please don’t let us be like that.
I want a second chance, if it’s possible.
“Where are we going?” Marie glanced back.
“Away from this crowd,” Logan said over Jonas’s head. “I think if we turn a corner there to where the shops are…”
“That seems counterintuitive.” Marie pointed toward the bay. “You see a second wave of cruise ships are docking now.”
“Yeah, I know. Maybe we can slip into the shops in between the waves.”
Marie nodded.
Logan had no idea if he would be right or not, but he gave Marie credit for not arguing with him.
As a kid with a short memory, J
onas hadn’t asked to return to the ship, although they could have taken left turn at the stairs ahead, and walk back to the ship.
Jonas’s mind seemed to be sidetracked by the idea of eating ice cream.
The crowd started to clear as the road bifurcated.
“Take the road less traveled by,” Logan told Marie.
“And that will make all the difference,” she said.
Jonas suddenly waved. “Abdul! Abdul!”
In front of what looked like a souvenir shop some thirty feet away was Jonas’s new friend, together with his escorts. They were walking into the shop.
His friend didn’t seem to hear nor see him.
Jonas pulled Logan’s hand. “Let’s go!”
“What about ice cream?” Logan asked.
“Later. I want a toy.”
Marie sighed. Logan shrugged.
They entered the souvenir store. Logan was tall enough to look over the heads of the customers in the shop. He spotted Abdul and his mother by a barrel of rocks. He took Jonas there.
Marie tagged along. She seemed to be glancing this way and that.
“Go browse if you want,” Logan said. “I’ll stay with Jonas.”
Jonas and Abdul were busy comparing small rocks in the barrel. They each filled a little satchel with them. According to the sign, the rocks sold by the pound.
Pound? Logan chuckled.
Standing behind Abdul was his mother and her friend. Behind them were two bodyguards—or whoever they were.
Logan wasn’t the least bit curious, but he thought that might be a good conversation starter tonight when he and Marie walked after dinner—if she was still up to doing it.
He hadn’t always thought of himself as observant, but Logan remembered seeing three men escorting these women by the pool on the ship a few days ago. It was probably nothing.
He turned around to see what Marie was doing. She was checking out some Matryoshka nesting dolls on a glass counter.
Logan smiled.
He turned around to ask Jonas if he wanted one—
And he wasn’t there at the rock barrel.
Neither were Abdul and his entourage.
What on earth?
“Jonas?” Logan’s head snapped this way and that as he scanned the shop. He could not see anyone wearing hijabs over their heads. Neither did he see the two men.
Marie was at his side in almost a flash. “What’s going on? Where’s Jonas?”
“I don’t know. He was here a minute ago and I looked back and he’s gone.”
Marie’s eyes grew fierce. “This store has two entrances. You take that one, and I take this. You have your cell phone?”
Logan nodded. “Meet you back here at the rock barrel in five minutes?”
“Or we call 911.”
Logan prayed it wouldn’t get to that. He rushed through the crowd, calling out his son’s name, hoping he didn’t look like a madman.
Her remembered Marie’s fierce look. And he felt like a failure. He couldn’t even keep an eye on his son for a minute.
“Jonas!” He heard Marie’s voice from the other end of the store, and he understood what she might be feeling. There was no time for etiquette when a five-year-old child was missing.
Logan waved to a couple of store sales clerks to ask if they had seen Jonas. He wished he had taken a photo of his boy before they left the ship, so that he could have shown these people what his son looked like.
“Blonde, big eyes, blue striped tee-shirt, hiking pants, bright yellow hiking boots.” It was all the information Logan could give.
They shook their heads. “Only when we saw you come in with him.”
Logan had no time to rehash that he only turned around for a split second. Maybe even less time than that.
Between the two of them, they had covered the shop. Logan was at one of the entrances now.
Lord Jesus, help me find my son.
Help us find our son!
Outside on the sidewalk, Logan wished he had put a GPS tracker on his son. He saw a bench. He asked the two tourists sitting there if they could get up.
“My five-year-old son vanished from the store and we’re looking for him,” he explained as he leapt on the vacated bench, quickly scanning the crowd along the boardwalk by the river.
And there he was.
Surrounded by Abdul’s mother and their group.
Logan jumped off the bench. “Thank you!”
He ran as he called Marie—who suddenly appeared by his side before the call went through.
“He’s down there,” Logan said, trying to remain calm. “With Abdul’s family.”
“Thank God!” Marie kept up with Logan as they rushed down the boardwalk.
Jonas and Abdul were leaning over the railing, looking at the river.
“Here fishy! Fishy!” Jonas’s hand was stretched out.
With one giant stride, Logan yanked him off the railing. “You could fall over!”
“Dad, you’re scaring the fish. Inside voice, please.” Jonas seemed oblivious to the drama he had put his parents through.
“Next time, before you go anywhere, you need to let Mommy and Daddy know,” Logan lectured Jonas. “We thought we lost you at the store.”
“We came to see the fish.” Jonas nodded to Abdul, and Abdul nodded back.
Truly, it was the adults’ fault—Abdul’s mother, the other woman, and those three men. Logan didn’t even want to look at their faces right now. He was a bit angry that the strangers had taken his son out of the store without his permission.
Marie smiled, but Logan could see it was forced.
“Thank you for taking care of our son,” she said nicely to the women.
One woman turned to the other, who translated what Marie said into a Middle Eastern language that Logan didn’t speak. It sounded like Arabic, but he couldn’t be sure.
The first woman smiled and said something in her own language.
The second woman standing behind her translated for Marie and Logan. “Her excellency says we thought you knew your boy walked with us.”
“However, he hadn’t paid for his bag of rocks.” Logan pointed to what Jonas held in his hand.
“We paid for it,” the second woman said.
“I didn’t see you go to the checkout,” Logan said.
The woman pointed to one of the two men with them. “He took care of it.”
“I should reimburse you.” Logan reached for his wallet.
The man held up his hand. “No need.”
Logan noted then that not only did the man understand English, but he also spoke in British English, not American. One more thing to bring up to Marie tonight.
Marie.
Logan didn’t know why he kept thinking of Marie, especially when she was standing next to him. He felt like he was going to lose her as soon as this cruise was over.
Would he lose her for real this time?
Marie was holding Jonas’s hand, as if not wanting to let go.
I feel the same too, if that’s what she’s feeling.
“So are we getting ice cream?” Jonas asked, as if nothing had happened at all.
“I could use some right now,” Logan declared.
“Me too.” Marie laughed.
But it was a nervous laughter.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After lunch in Ketchikan, they had returned to the ship. Neither Marie nor Logan was up to taking any water tour of the surrounding inlets, or going to see the bald eagles, or returning to the salmon hatchery. Marie was sure they’d all be back in Alaska again someday, and they’d do all that next time.
Right now, Marie had a feeling of déjà vu, like she had to protect Jonas all over again. Perhaps she was overreacting. Who’d expected that a five-year-old would sneak out of a shop with an entire group of people?
Under Logan’s nose!
Hovering or not, Marie sat by Jonas’s bedside as he napped that afternoon in her stateroom. She insisted on keeping him with her
there.
She didn’t have any of her gear or equipment from work with her. The only thing she had was a deactivated Radio Frequency Identification tracker on a bracelet in her purse. She could, technically, put it on Jonas’s ankle—if he would cooperate and not take it off, and if Mrs. Ping didn’t question what it was. Perhaps she’d put it on Jonas before the next excursion and hide it under his socks.
Unfortunately, the RFID tracker had a short range. If someone took Jonas out of the next town, they might not be able to find him.
Marie wished she had brought her GPS tracker with her. However, she had not expected any drama on board the ship or at any of the small tourist towns they were visiting along the Inside Passage in Alaska. Seriously.
Earlier, Logan had also wanted Jonas in his cabin, but an inopportune business phone call canceled his plan, and Marie got the child.
After the nap, Marie accompanied Jonas to the playroom, where they met up with Abdul and his mother, Aliyah, again.
Marie wasn’t sure how to address her, but the woman had not given her an indication of her position in her own society, so there was no title for Marie to use. Even though she had heard the assistant saying Your Highness, that hadn’t been translated for Marie.
So Aliyah it was.
Once again, she wasn’t alone. The assistant was behaving like a handler. Never smiling, always looking uptight, her job seemed to be to make sure Aliyah and her son stayed safe.
Or didn’t wander off on their own.
They were in American waters right now, and the ship would sail down the Inside Passage for a feast of glaciers the next day. After one day down the inlets, they would arrive in Victoria on Friday.
Canada.
Marie wasn’t sure whether it would make any difference if they had been in either the United States or Canada. A child abduction was a child abduction no matter which country they were in.
Marie yawned on the way to dinner. She wondered if she should have slept while Jonas had napped earlier, but she had been too uptight to close her eyes then.