Then, without obtaining a warrant, they dispatched a Pilatus PC-12 airplane to circle the skies above the Big Apple, equipped with “dirtbox” technology, which essentially allowed for the scanning of phone calls.
Since the device acted like a cell phone tower, and since cell phones automatically locked on to the nearest possible towers, by flying overhead it could detect anyone using a cell phone within its target range and track their movements.
What the “dirtbox” couldn’t do was listen to calls or intercept data. All it could do was track locations. Now that they “potentially” had Moseley’s new number, they would wait until she used it again, track her exact location, and place her under arrest.
If they needed more help putting the pieces of the case together, they had it in the person of Craig Rubin.
The moment Rubin saw the commotion on TV, he called authorities saying he was a friend of the man named “Brian” they were interested in, until he found Jesus and went off the deep end.
After providing authorities with Brian’s full name, Rubin told them how Brian and Tamika had met. He also told them the fugitive contacted him on the day the warrant was issued for her arrest, and that he told Tamika to turn herself in.
What Rubin couldn’t provide was Jacquelyn’s and Charles’ last names. He did, however, give them Brian’s girlfriend’s first name, but couldn’t for the life in him remember Renate’s last name.
Authorities thanked Rubin for his assistance. With a unique name like “Renate”, she might be the easiest one to find. But by the time detectives found Renate McCallister, it would be too late...
29
“I SEE IT, BRO,” Charles Calloway said, locating Tamika Moseley’s late mother’s Oldsmobile Cutlass. It was parked on the third floor of a parking garage at LaGuardia Airport, exactly where Brian said it would be.
“Whatever you do, don’t go anywhere near the vehicle,” Brian said in a panic.
Calloway stopped dead in his tracks in the parking garage. “Why not?”
Mulrooney sighed. “So much happened when you were on the plane.”
“Like what?”
“They linked you know who to her mother’s car. They gave an exact description and license plate number. Just as the story was starting to die down, it’s all over the news again.”
“Great! Just wonderful!” Calloway’s pulse raced in his ears. “Guess this mission won’t be as easy as I thought.” Should’ve drove to New York instead!
Brian gulped. “It gets worse. Brother Tom and I have been monitoring news agencies in New York while waiting for your call. They have all kinds of information on us.”
“What? How?”
“It’s all my fault. I accidentally mentioned you know who’s name on the phone. Yours too, I’m afraid. But only your first names. Even so, the moment her name was mentioned, it was entered into some voice recognition system they have and was red-flagged and sent off for further analysis.”
“What do they know about me?”
“Basically, that you’re from the Sunshine State and you’re coming to the Big Apple to smuggle their fugitive out of the city.”
“You can’t be serious!” Thank God I no longer live in Florida...
“Wish I was joking. I was stupid of me!”
“So, what now?”
“Do you have a Florida driver’s license?”
“Not anymore, why?”
“Good. Rent a car as quickly as you can. Our friend fears they’ll start banging on her door any minute. Needless to say, she’s petrified. Just glad my folks are already en route to Michigan, so my sister could be fitted for her dress. Hope they don’t find out about this until after the wedding...”
Charles Calloway wasn’t a happy man. His tone of voice dictated that much. “I gotta go. Talk to you later.”
“Sorry for all this, Charles. I know you’re using a Satphone. Even so, you’re in their coverage area now so be extremely careful.”
Calloway ended the call and went back inside the airport terminal suddenly feeling like a fugitive himself. Thank God I exchanged my Florida driver’s license!
The man with the Georgia driver’s license searched for the closest rental car agency, a paranoid spirit led the way. He rented the smallest, cheapest car they had, which wasn’t so cheap after all. Had he rented it prior to the disappearances, it would have been so much cheaper.
Calloway found the car, placed his suitcase in the trunk and slid behind the steering wheel. Part of him wanted to ditch his first meeting and focus on rescuing Tamika Moseley before the police found her.
But since his main reason for coming to New York dealt with a dream he was convinced came from God, Charles felt with everything in him that he needed to press on and meet Mary Johnston, even if she had no idea he was coming to see her.
After this latest development, who knew if or when he’d ever step foot in this city again? Yes, he had to meet her now.
Calloway just hoped Mary had the same dream, and that she would be expecting him when he arrived.
Charles Calloway programmed the Waldorf-Astoria into his GPS and left immediately. Once there, he waited patiently in line at the registration desk. A million thoughts assaulted his brain from his last visit to this establishment.
Mary Johnston was checking in a guest when she noticed Calloway standing in line. Rattled by the look of recognition on his face, she shot him a curious look.
Charles noticed and gulped. When it was his turn in line, Mary was still busy with a guest, so he let the couple behind him go before him.
Finally, Mary Johnston waved him over. “Welcome to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel! Checking in, sir?”
“No, I’m not. Do you remember me?”
“I can’t recall your name for the life in me, but I remember checking you in on the day of the disappearances. I’ve had dreams about you lately.”
Yes! Calloway’s eyes darted left to right to make sure no one was watching or listening. “What kind of dreams?”
“Dream, rather. Hard to explain, but I kept seeing myself far away from my job and this city. Other than that, it was rather vague. Except for you, that is. You took me to a place and people that made me feel safe. Thought it was just a crazy dream until now. Truthfully, I’ve been sort of expecting to see you again.”
“What if I told you your dream was from God?”
“Are you a Christian?”
“I am. You?”
Mary smiled and nodded yes. Thank you, Lord!
“Can you take a short break?”
Mary shook her head no. “Just got back from my break fifteen minutes ago.”
Charles lowered his head and sighed. “What if I told you I had a similar dream myself, and that’s why I’m here?”
“I would be fully intrigued. Why couldn’t you have come earlier?” Mary sighed. “My shift’s over at nine.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t wait around. I have an emergency and need to leave town immediately.”
Seeing perspiration forming on Calloway’s forehead brought Mary Johnston back to the day their paths first crossed. Only it was mixed with blood last time. She still remembered how bad it looked. How could she forget? “Is everything okay?”
“Not really...”
“Are you in danger?”
“Aren’t all Christians?”
When Mary didn’t answer, Calloway’s eyes darted left to right to make sure no one was listening.
He reached for a pen and paper. “Here’s my cell phone number. Please text me so I have yours as well. I look forward to having a lengthy discussion with you about all this. Hopefully it will make more sense by then.”
“Me too.”
“I gotta go now.”
“Okay, Mister Calloway.”
“Please call me, Charles.”
Mary smiled faintly. “I very much look forward to hearing from you again, Mister Calloway. I can’t explain it but, ironically, your visit makes me feel hopeful in these crazy times.”
“Glory to God, Mary! Expect a call from me in the coming weeks. Until then, keep fighting the Good Fight. Pray for me as I pray for you. God is with us.”
The comment earned him a warm smile. The hotel employee said, “I’ll do that.”
At that, Charles Calloway left the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel with a pretty good feeling that Mary Johnston was ETSM worthy. As much as he wanted to send a text message to Braxton Rice to get the ball rolling, he had to maintain a razor-sharp focus until he and Tamika were off this forsaken island. He had no plan of calling Brian until they were in Jersey.
Charles slid behind the wheel of the rental car, programmed the address where Tamika was staying into his GPS, and drove off into the night. His senses were on full alert. After making a quick stop at a local pizzeria, Calloway arrived at the boarding house with a large pepperoni pizza and a two liter of Sprite.
“Can I help you?” said the heavyset woman Brian had warned him about.
“Here to deliver a pizza.”
“Name and room number?”
Calloway looked at the receipt. “Mulrooney. Four-twenty-nine.”
“Oh, you mean the ghost...”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Haven’t seen him since he checked in two weeks ago. Or his cat. I know he’s up there. I can hear him in his room. Every time I knock to see if he’s okay, he ignores me. Came close to calling the police on him...”
“Are you saying I’m wasting my time coming here?”
“No. He’ll open for you, just like the other night when he had a pizza delivered. Thankfully he’s leaving in the morning. Something about him rubs me the wrong way.”
Calloway wanted to say, “Why are you telling me this? I’m just a pizza deliveryman,” but he remained silent.
The boarding house owner gave Charles a good looking over. “Take the stairs up to the fourth floor. His room’s the las’ one on the right.”
“Thanks.” Calloway took the steps two at a time until he reached the fourth floor. He banged on the door. There was no answer. “Pizza delivery for Brian Mulrooney!”
When Tamika didn’t answer, Calloway grunted. In a loud whisper, he said, “Open the door, Tamika! It’s me, Charles!”
Tamika opened the door and quickly waved Charles in. Had he not been holding a pizza in his hands she might have jumped into his arms.
“Whoa! Your hair’s gone!”
“Took it all the way down. Trying to look different.”
“It’ll grow back, Tamika. Right now, your hair’s the least of your problems. Your leg too, for that matter. We need to get you out of here right now. I think the woman at the front desk has been keeping tabs on you.”
“She’s so nosy! She knocked on my door the past three days. Las’ night she asked if I was going to extend my stay, but I didn’t answer her. No way I was openin’ that door for her! I kept praying she would leave without trying to come in. Had that chair pressed up against the door just in case.”
Calloway said, “She said she came close to calling the police on you.”
Tamika looked up at the ceiling, “Thank you, Lord, for the protection.”
“Amen!” Calloway said in a whisper. “Anyway, we have plenty of time to discuss all this on the way to Michigan. Everything packed and ready to go?”
“Yeah...”
“Is that the rear exit door?”
Tamika nodded yes.
“Time to get a move on. This is a one trip deal. I’ll grab whatever I can and take it down to the car. Whatever I can’t carry stays behind.”
“Understood.”
“Give me a two-minute head start so I can put your things in the trunk and start the car. Can you carry the cat and the pizza? We can always eat it in the car.”
Tamika nodded yes. “I’ll put the Sprite in my backpack.”
“Good. Soon as I see you, I’ll flash my headlights. Brian told me the owner watches the monitors in her office like a hawk. So make sure you cover your face. And be quick about it.”
“Okay. Can we pray first? I can’t stop shaking.”
“Of course!” In a near whisper, Calloway prayed a short prayer asking for God’s protection, then left at once for the back stairwell so the woman at the front desk wouldn’t see him carrying her things.
A few moments later, Tamika emerged from the back of the building, bandanna covering her face up to her eyes and a New York Mets baseball cap on her head.
Calloway flashed his headlights.
Tamika saw it and held the pizza box with two hands, with Cocoa on top of it. She picked up her pace and hurried to the car as quickly as she could.
Once she was in, Charles put the car in drive and drove off. “Michigan, here we come!”
“I won’t feel safe ’til we’re outta New York!”
“I heard that!” Fear twisted through Calloway. If they got caught before leaving Manhattan, he’d be taken into custody too, for aiding, abetting and harboring a known fugitive. “Please protect us, Lord!”
Charles turned on his phone to check for any text messages from Brian Mulrooney. There was one: Take Holland Tunnel to Jersey. No outbound toll. But there will be at least one toll booth in N.J. Other than that, try to avoid all toll roads if you can. Less eyes looking at you. Also, I recommend alternative routes. You have three days to get here so take your time. And watch your speed. Always use cruise control. Last thing you need is a speeding ticket. Let’s have no further contact until you arrive, unless absolutely necessary. God bless you both.
God bless you both.
Calloway powered off his phone where it would remain until they reached Michigan. “What’s the quickest way to the Holland Tunnel?” he asked Tamika.
Tamika had him take all the back roads. It ended up saving them 15 minutes. It was nice knowing her days of taxi driving had come in handy.
Once they passed through the Holland Tunnel and crossed into New Jersey, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank God there’s no toll in this direction,” Calloway said.
“Don’t get too excited. There’s one coming up soon...”
Calloway gulped hard at Tamika’s words. If the authorities knew she was headed to Michigan, chances were good there was an All Point’s Bulletin (APB) extending all the way to Ann Arbor where the call had originated. Toll booth collectors would surely be among the first to be notified.
Pulling up to the toll booth, Calloway’s heart pounded like a bass drum. “Put your seat back and lower the cap to cover your face.”
Tamika did as she was told, turning her head away from the toll collector.
If there was an APB on them, this man seemingly knew nothing about it. If anything, he looked bored to death and couldn’t wait for his shift to be over.
Calloway handed the man a twenty-dollar bill, “I’m going to Pennsylvania but I’m running low on funds. Is there a road I can take without tolls?”
“Yup, but it’ll take longer.”
“That’s fine.”
The man gave Charles directions and they were off again.
For now, they were safe.
“Mind passing me a slice of pizza?”
Tamika opened the pizza box. It was cold, but the smell was still heavenly.
Charles sunk his teeth in. Just one bite took him back to when he first tasted authentic New York City pizza while stranded in the Big Apple after the Rapture. Even cold, it still was the best pizza on the planet.
Tamika took a bite and swallowed. “How’d your meeting go?”
“Short but productive. I went to the Waldorf-Astoria to see a woman who checked me in on the day of the Rapture. Her name’s Mary. I’m convinced God wanted me to meet her.”
“How can you know for sure?”
“From dreams we both had. God’s communicating to His children using dreams, just like He did with you. Just pray we can get Mary safely out of the city someday...”
As if on cue, Tamika momentarily forgot about her own pro
blems and started praying for Mary Johnston, a woman she’d never met, but you’d never know it by the way Tamika prayed for her. The words she spoke were bold and genuinely heartfelt.
If Charles needed a sign that Tamika was a true sister in Christ, something he could see with his own two eyes and hear with his own two ears, she’d just provided it for him...
30
THE NEXT DAY
WE’RE HERE.
Brian Mulrooney replied to Charles Calloway’s text message. Find a payphone as quickly as you can and call this number. Have a pen and paper ready. Hurry.
Calloway did as instructed. “Hey, Brian, we...”
“Jot down this address,” said the voice on the other end, “and leave immediately!”
At first, Calloway looked at the receiver in his hand skeptically, thinking he’d dialed the wrong number. The voice on the other end clearly wasn’t Brian’s. Then he recognized it: Braxton Rice. The man’s everywhere! Calloway wrote down the address.
“When you get there,” Rice commanded, “stay in your car until I arrive.”
Before Calloway could respond the line went dead. He programmed the address into the GPS on the rental car. A hotel?
They left at once.
Braxton Rice was already there when they arrived. He pulled up next to the rental car in a white van with dark tinted side windows. Lowering the passenger front window, he didn’t look happy. “Throw your stuff in the back. Quickly!”
To Tamika, Rice said, “Get in the back seat!”
Charles placed the final suitcase in the back of the van and climbed in the front passenger seat.
Rice eyeballed him steadily. “Now go inside the hotel and reserve a room for the next four nights.”
Calloway shot Rice a suspicious look. “Why?”
“Just do it. I’ll explain later. The money will be reimbursed to you later.”
Calloway was clearly confused but did as he was told.
A few moments later, he was back inside the van. “Done.”
“Do you have insurance on the rental car?”
The Countdown Begins Page 20