by Piper Dow
“Praise God!” Dad whispered, shaking his head and exhaling slowly. He stood and grasped Agent Moore’s hand, pumping it with relief. Turning to the driveway, he swiveled around to look at Agent Moore again. “We don’t have a car. We came in the van - how will we get home?”
Agent Moore was nodding. “Yes, sir, we are aware that you were transported to this spot and are prepared to bring you back to your vehicles. We have called for a shuttle van to pick you up.”
Richard stepped into the living room from outdoors. Kelly hadn’t realized he had been outside but now saw him tucking away a cell phone. He caught her looking at his pocket and gave his little half-smile, adding a wink so quick she wasn’t sure she’d actually seen it.
“Jill? If you’re ready, I’ll take you now,” he said, his voice gentle.
“What do you mean, you’ll take her? Where is she going?” Sam demanded, gripping her friend’s hand more tightly. “Can’t she come with us?”
Richard smiled at Sam sadly. “Jill needs a little more help right now than you can give her,” he said. “And her parents have been notified that she’s been found. They’ll be meeting us at the hospital.”
Sam’s face fell. She leaned in close to Jill. “I’m going to come visit, Jilly. And we’re going to be okay. Okay?”
Jill gave her a weak smile. The tears had slowed considerably, though an occasional drop did roll down her cheek. She nodded and accepted Richard’s hand to stand up. Kelly thought she looked frail. After watching Richard help her out the door and down the front steps, Kelly turned and caught David watching her.
“Agent Bryant?” Agent Moore stood waiting.
David jumped, clearly caught at not paying attention. “Right, sorry,” he said, grinning slightly at Kelly as he flushed. “It’s been a long couple of days.” He stood, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a business card. He passed it to Kelly, who was still seated. “There will be more questions. We’ll be in touch, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to call if you need to.”
Kelly took the card reflexively. She stood as he walked away, as did the rest of the family. David shook hands with everyone on his way out the door, thanking each for their patience and participation in the ruse that helped them fool Mark. Kelly glanced down at the card but put it in her pocket without reading it.
The next 20 minutes were a whirlwind of gathering belongings - including their cell phones, which Gladys made them promise to wait to power up until they were out of the community. She saw Kelly stretch to put the book she had borrowed back on the bookshelf and stopped her. “I’ve got two more copies of that book somewhere here,” she said. “Take that one and read it through. If you ever get tired of it, you can get it back to David, and he’ll see that I get it back.”
Kelly thanked her and tucked the book into her backpack. She wondered at Gladys’ odd manner of speaking but put it down to being from a different generation.
Kelly chose the middle row of seats in the van, letting her parents and Sam sit together in the front row. Wayne grabbed the last row, turning sideward to lean against the window and stretching his legs out on the seat. He held his cell phone in his hand, but, true to his word, didn’t turn it on until they cleared the gate to the community. Kelly turned hers on, too. She was curious to see what she had missed. While she waited for it to go through its startup cycle, she remembered the card in her pocket and pulled it out.
It was a business card from a car rental agency. Kelly frowned. It would have been odd to have business cards when he couldn’t carry a badge in case he was suspected, but to give her a card from someone else? She flipped it over. There, in pencil, in impossibly neat writing, David had written his name and cell phone number, followed by four words: Think about joining us.
Kelly stared at the card. Her phone vibrated in her hand, then again, and again. She glanced again at the card, then tucked it back into her pocket. Maybe she would, she thought, as she swiped at the phone to see her notifications. Maybe she would.