It was possible there was information on their phone or credit card receipts in their pocket that he could use to try and deduce the information. Of course, if they were being smart they weren’t leaving things like that to chance. He wouldn’t in their shoes.
The car they had just stolen from a dead man; so there was no hope of finding any kind of rental agreement or ownership documentation in it that could even give him a last name to work with.
There were probably half a dozen hotels in Pine Springs and literally hundreds in a thirty-mile radius. He could start randomly calling them asking if anyone with the last name Shirazi had been there, but the hotel staff might only have the last name of whichever man had rented the room or rooms. It was also possible that they were using assumed names. He would have assumed that Shirazi was an assumed name, but the other men had called him that with no one around to hear them. Still, he was certain they had wanted him to find the connection at the check cashing place so they could trap him. At any rate, by randomly calling hotels and blindly taking stabs in the dark he risked alerting the terrorists that someone was looking for them.
Times like this were when one needed to marshal their resources. Which, in his case, was just him. Normally he would have been confident that was enough, but his injuries were extensive. Truth be told, right now the only thing whatsoever that he had going for him was the fact that they thought he was already dead.
Wait! That’s not true, he realized.
They also had a business deal that evening to distract them. It meant that they would likely be hyper alert and vigilant, but they would be paying attention mostly to the other parties involved.
Given the likely nature of that business deal it might be a good idea to call in Martin. In fact, it was possible Martin already had an inkling about it. Although he was reasonably certain that Martin didn’t know where the men were staying. Otherwise he would have expected the man to share it with him. It certainly would have made things a lot easier.
He had a burner phone with him. He could make the call, but then he’d have to toss the phone, particularly if there was any chance of Martin trying to stop him or Cindy or Mark trying to coerce Martin into tracking him. He had no doubts they’d already tried to beg and bully information out of the man. Martin was tough, though. He could handle it. If Jeremiah hadn’t thought he could he wouldn’t have entrusted him with his loved ones in the first place.
He tensed suddenly as he heard two sets of footsteps approaching. He waited, hoping that they wouldn’t come near the trunk. His best bet was to wait until they arrived at the hotel and then work out a plan based on the situation he found there. He just hoped it wouldn’t be a long drive.
He could hear the two men talking low, and strained to make out what they were saying. It was casual conversation, the weather, a girl one of them had seen that was pretty. A car door opened, and Jeremiah started to relax.
Then in a clear voice the second man said, “Open the trunk.”
15
Cindy finally spotted Marie’s car. She waved frantically, and the other woman pulled over in front of her. Cindy got into the passenger seat as quickly as she could.
“Get us out of here,” she begged.
Marie hit the gas and the car rocketed forward.
“How on earth did you get out here?” Marie asked. “No, wait. Don’t tell me. You said it was a matter of life and death. Where do you need me to take you?”
Cindy had been thinking about that since she hung up the phone and she still didn’t have a good answer.
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Okay, that makes my job significantly more difficult,” Marie said.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Well, I’ll start driving back toward the synagogue and when you figure it out let me know.”
“Thank you,” Cindy said.
She sat in the passenger seat and wracked her brain, but realized she had no clue where to even start looking for Jeremiah. After about fifteen minutes she realized that there was only one place she could look for help and she felt foolish for not having asked sooner. She closed her eyes.
God, please help me find Jeremiah, she prayed silently. Please, let him be okay and let me be a help to him. God, I have nowhere to look and a terrible feeling that time is running out. Please, please give me a sign.
She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked around and realized that she was finally in more familiar territory. She forced herself to take deep, even breaths and tried to listen to see if God was trying to tell her something. She didn’t hear anything, though. There was no quiet prompting, no place suddenly popped into her mind. She kept breathing and praying. She struggled not to let her fear and desperation overwhelm her.
God is good. God will help me, she kept repeating to herself.
God, I know you brought Jeremiah and I together. You have to help us now, she begged.
“Any ideas yet?” Marie asked, interrupting her prayers.
“No,” Cindy said, struggling to keep the frustration out of her voice. “I keep praying that God will send me a sign, but so far there’s been nothing.”
“You really think you will get something obvious?” Marie asked.
“Yes, absolutely. He has to help me. I need to know where to go,” Cindy said. “It’s too important.”
She heard a siren and suddenly a police car flew past on the other side of the street. It was followed moments later by a second one.
“That’s the sign!” she shouted, causing Marie to jump and almost lose control of the car.
“What?”
“The police cars! Follow them!”
“I’m not sure-”
“Do it!”
Marie hung a sudden U-turn in the middle of the road. “You’re paying for it if I get a ticket,” she warned.
“I’d pay a hundred tickets, just follow them,” Cindy begged.
“Okay, hold on,” Marie said as she floored it.
The car leapt forward and in moments they were tearing down the road. The police cars came into sight ahead and Marie wove in and out of the cars between her and them. She was muttering to herself the entire time, but Cindy didn’t care. She kept her eyes glued on the police cars. There were two of them. The only reason two of them were going somewhere had to be something big. And she believed deep in her heart that it wasn’t a car accident or anything like that.
She believed they were leading her to Jeremiah.
~
Martin was thorough, Mark would give him that. After talking to him he began talking to Joseph.
“You’ve offered sanctuary to Cindy many times.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Joseph said calmly.
“Where do you think she’d go now?”
“Where do you think she’d go?” Joseph countered.
“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you.”
“It seems to me that you have far more skills when it comes to predicting behavior than I do. You also have more resources than I currently have.”
“I have more resources than you ever have,” Martin said calmly.
Joseph raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t be so certain about that.”
Martin smirked at him. “All your money still doesn’t put you on an even footing with the U.S. government.”
“I agree. I have a leg up. I’m not bound by all the same rules that the government is,” Joseph said.
“Look, I want to find Cindy and keep her safe,” Martin said.
“So do I,” Joseph said.
“So, help me do that,” Martin urged.
Joseph leaned forward. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“What’s that?” Martin asked.
“You come work for me at three times your current salary. I can always use someone of your skills. Better pay, better hours, more benefits. Then, we can all get out of here together and find our friends and bri
ng them home.”
Despite himself Mark felt his mouth gaping open. Every once in a while Joseph exhibited so much moxie that it was shocking. Now he was seeing Joseph the businessman, the negotiator. Just because Joseph spent most of his time laid back and letting others taking care of his business affairs clearly didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his own with the best of them.
Martin stared at him for a long minute and then chuckled. He leaned back and folded his hands in his lap.
“It’s an intriguing offer, but I’ll have to pass.”
“Make me a counter-offer. I’m sure we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Joseph said. “A nicer house for your family, exotic vacations, the best colleges for your kids.”
“Our house is plenty nice, I’ve had my fill of exotic locales, and my kids are smart enough they’ll get full rides wherever they want to go. Besides, there’s one thing that you can’t offer me that my current job does.”
“And what exactly is that?” Joseph asked.
“The opportunity to serve my country. Protecting a dozen people is not nearly as stimulating as protecting three hundred and twenty-seven million people.”
Joseph actually laughed. “I wouldn’t be so certain of that if I were you. You should see the kind of trouble the right dozen people can get into.”
“I’m starting to get an inkling.”
Mark was doing his best not to laugh out loud. The whole conversation was fascinating to watch. It was also a bit ludicrous, but then he would have been disappointed at anything less.
Martin finally dismissed Joseph with a wave of his hand. Geanie went and took her husband’s place and Martin looked her over. Mark got comfortable, eager to see how this particular interview would go.
~
Cindy’s heart was in her throat the entire time that they were chasing after the police cars. She didn’t know where Marie had learned to drive but the other woman was frighteningly good at it. At least, that’s what Cindy kept telling herself. Because otherwise, Marie was just frightening, and Cindy didn’t want to deal with that. She kept telling herself that they weren’t going to die in some horribly fiery crash because the other woman had skills.
The police cars turned right, and Marie slid into the turn practically on their heels. Cindy wanted to suggest that they not ride right on the second car’s bumper, but didn’t want to break whatever concentration Marie had. There was absolutely nothing subtle about the way she was driving, and they were one hundred percent certain to get at least a half dozen tickets by the time they all got to where they were going. Speeding, the illegal U-turn, and reckless driving were topping the list so far.
All three cars blew through a stop sign and Cindy added it to the mental tally. That was fine, because in the end she was going to find Jeremiah and that was all that mattered.
They made a left turn and she cringed as she heard Marie’s tires screaming as she skidded through the intersection. Cindy had her hands braced on the dashboard.
God, don’t let us die, she prayed.
Suddenly the two cars in front of them slowed and Marie nearly rear-ended the one in front of her. She managed to hit the brakes just in time. Up ahead there was a small knot of people clustered on a sidewalk in front of what looked like an office building. They were near a car that had its trunk open.
The police cars pulled to a stop. Marie stopped behind them and Cindy jumped out of the car and ran forward. A second later she saw the body on the ground.
~
Mark watched Martin question the others with varying results. His darling wife, Traci, was certainly the most uncooperative of the group. She refused to say anything. She just sat and glared daggers at the man. From Mark’s perspective it was actually pretty funny. She had clearly had it with the whole situation. He couldn’t blame her.
When Martin finally gave up Traci came over to him. Mark smiled at her and chuckled.
“It’s not funny,” she said glaring at him.
“Whoa, honey, I’m on your side,” he said. “You’re still pretty riled up from hitting Kyle. I enjoyed watching that, by the way.”
“If he’s smart he and his mother will keep their mouths shut,” she growled.
He put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped.
“Not that I’m not enjoying your hostility toward them, because I am, very much, but I think there’s something else wrong.”
Traci looked up at him and as always he was overwhelmed by her beauty and how much he loved her. He slid an arm around her waist.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“What do you think?” she snapped.
He sighed. “I know what’s wrong-wrong, but your reactions seem a bit more intense than the rest of us.”
She looked like she was about to say something snarky, but she stopped herself. A shudder passed over her and she leaned into him slightly.
“I’m claustrophobic,” she whispered.
He frowned. He had never known her to be. “Since when?” he asked.
She bit her lip and looked away. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her face back to his.
“Since I was kidnapped by those horrible men,” she admitted.
He blinked in surprise. The men who had killed the homeless and kidnapped their dogs years ago had also kidnapped Traci.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I thought it would pass. Then, when you had the trouble at work, I didn’t want to put more stress on you. I’ve been dealing with it. It’s almost never an issue, but here-”
“There’s no windows and people are stopping you from leaving the room,” he said, realization dawning on him.
She nodded. “At first it wasn’t bad. We were all here, I was trying to make a game of it, like a big slumber party.”
“But then you heard the news about Jeremiah and Cindy escaped and you were still stuck?”
She nodded. “It’s feeling a lot less like a slumber party and more like a wake.”
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. He realized a second later that if she was feeling claustrophobic that might not be the best move. He loosened his grip, but she wrapped herself around him, clinging hard.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” he told her.
“It’s okay. It’s stupid, I know,” she muttered against his shoulder.
“It’s not stupid. Not all scars leave marks on the body. It doesn’t make them any less real,” he said.
She clung to him harder and he stroked her hair.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Thank you for telling me what was wrong.”
He wished he’d known sooner. He could beat himself up all day for not having noticed or for not being available when she needed to talk, but at this point that wouldn’t do either of them any good.
“Do you… want to pray about it?” he asked, scarcely believing what he was suggesting.
She nodded.
“Okay. I’ll get Geanie and Joseph.”
She shook her head.
“But they’re the ones who know what to do, what to say.”
“I need to hear it from you.”
“Oh. Okay,” he said, feeling completely inadequate to the task. “Um, hey, God, please, uh, help Traci stop feeling claustrophobic. And help us to get out of here. And let Jeremiah be alive.”
“Amen,” Traci said.
He couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with him that he had started praying. He soon decided that there was time enough to figure that out later. At the moment he really needed to get her out of there.
“Hey, Martin!” he called.
The agent turned away from Carol with a frown. Mark nodded, and the man walked over.
“What is it?” he asked.
“We need to get her out of here. She’s claustrophobic,” Mark said.
“Ah, I see,” Martin said. “I can walk her outside for a few minu
tes, but that’s all I can do.”
“That’s not going to cut it,” Mark said.
“I’m telling you my hands are tied.”
“And I’m telling you-”
Martin’s phone rang, and he pulled it out of his jacket and turned away. He started walking toward the door.
“This is Martin.”
He was opening the door when Mark heard him ask, “Jeremiah, is that you?”
16
Mark let go of Traci and lunged forward. He grabbed Martin by the shoulder before the man could exit the room and yanked him back hard. Martin spun, his free hand moving lightning fast. His fingers wrapped around Mark’s throat and squeezed.
Mark jerked back, but the agent held on and shook his head at him. His eyes looked like cold steel and Mark realized the depth of his mistake. He had assumed that Martin was an analyst or a paper-pusher. He had a very mild, non-threatening demeanor. But at that moment Mark realized he was dealing with a field agent, a man trained to kill who would do so if pushed.
“I’m having some difficulty impressing upon your friends the importance of them staying put,” Martin said, squeezing hard enough to cut off Mark’s air.
Mark’s instincts told him to fight back, to grab at the man’s hand even though his grip was incredibly strong. Fortunately, he was able to override that response and instead he raised his hands in surrender.
Martin held him for a moment longer, letting him know with a look that he was most definitely the one in charge and that he would not be so tolerant in the future. Then he let go and Mark staggered back. He felt Traci grab hold of him as he rubbed his throat. There were going to be bruises for sure.
In the Presence of Mine Enemies Page 12