“You name it.”
“I need you to run a license plate for me.” A long pause. “Did you hear me?”
“I did. But it surprised me. Why do you need it?”
“I’d rather not tell you. It’s sort of crazy. But I’ve got to find out who owns this car.”
“Not a problem. I’ll be glad to do it. Go ahead and give me the number.” Conrad’s voice was calm and reassuring. He didn’t sound as if he thought she was nuts. After she’d given him the number, he said, “I’ll call you back in a minute.”
****
Zink stared at him with a question in her eyes. “What’s going on?”
She was driving them back from the car rental agency. It had been a wasted trip.
“I’m not sure. Maria wants me to find out who a car belongs to.”
“That’s odd. What does she need it for?”
“She didn’t tell me that part.”
“You should have asked. It has to be about Layla. What else could it be?”
“Do you think?”
“Sarcasm isn’t necessary.”
He hit some keys on the inboard netbook. “Interesting. The car is registered to a Hannah Dunnlevy from Wooster.”
“Now, why would she want to know about some woman’s car from Wooster?”
He hit numbers on his cell. “I don’t know, but I’m going to give this Hannah a quick call.” He spoke into the phone for a few moments, hung up and looked at Zink. “I think Maria just found our needle in a haystack.”
45
Maria clicked the phone to off. Using the tree as an anchor, she sat down. The bark pressed into her back. From this vantage point, she had an unobstructed view of the car.
Conrad and Suzanne would be here soon. All she had to do was watch the car, make sure it didn’t leave. But what if he left on foot and she didn’t see him? What if the man slipped out the front door and walked away—with Layla.
Maria sent a prayer up to God, thanking Him for putting woods around three sides of the motel. She walked through the trees, checking for other doors on the ramshackle motel. There were none. She let out her breath. Now, she had to get back and watch the car.
She could hide in the forest at an angle where she could see the front door and with just a few steps, she could move to check on the car every few minutes. For now, she’d watch the front door, because she’d hear if someone started the car.
Sticks crunched beneath her feet and the car came back into sight. Her mind raced faster than her pulse.
Craziness was winning.
Be still and know that I am God.
She leaned against a tree, her breath ragged. When her breathing slowed and sanity returned, she moved closer to the edge of the woods. Her gaze focused on the door.
It opened. A man walked out.
A small sob escaped.
Not Raymond. Her crazy thoughts were just that. Crazy. Whoever this man was, it wasn’t Raymond and had nothing to do with Layla.
She wiped away a tear. At least she knew now. There’d been no way she could have left without seeing the man with the accent.
Her body sagged against the tree from emotional exhaustion. Maria watched as he looked around, and then went behind the motel.
The man in the alley?
Her pulse ramped up once again. It was too far away to be sure, but he certainly looked like the man with the gun—same body type—dark hair—dark skin. It could be him. Was he leaving? She looked at her watch.
Conrad had said it would take them a while to get to her.
She couldn’t just let the man leave. The more she watched him, she was almost positive it was the man from the alley—or at least it could possibly be. Should she get her car so she could follow him, if necessary?
Not a good idea. Her car was too far away and besides, if she left she wouldn’t see what direction he went.
He reappeared and went back into the motel.
She moved at an angle to check on the car. The trunk was open. She moved closer, careful to stay out of sight.
He came back out carrying something in his arms.
A bundle that could be a child? Layla?
Maria’s mouth turned to sand and her body trembled. Help me, God. She forced herself to breathe.
He placed it in the trunk, and then looked around for a moment before he closed the lid and walked back to the motel room.
Waiting until he disappeared, she sprinted towards the car, thankful for all those hours of running and training. She’d kept in shape, worried about the need to stay ahead of anyone after them. She moved to the driver’s side and released the trunk latch. She ran to the back of the car and lifted the trunk lid.
In the darkened corner Layla huddled, wrapped in a blanket, still and unmoving.
She gasped. Her arms reached for her daughter.
A sound came from behind her.
But before she could turn, something hit her on the head.
She struggled to stay standing, but darkness came.
46
Zink pulled into the rundown motel’s parking lot. “I can’t believe Rosie and her mother live in this place. I thought it closed down years ago.”
“It did. I’m sure it’s not licensed. But we’ll deal with that later. Let’s go to the back and find the car. Then we can check out the motel room if Maria hasn’t already broken in.”
“She promised you that she’d wait. I’m sure she will.”
Zink maneuvered around potholes and gaps that threatened to swallow the cruiser.
He held his tongue even though he wanted to urge her to go faster. As they turned the corner of the building, he sighed.
The back parking lot was empty.
“Now what?” Zink stepped on the brake but kept the car idling.
“Go to the front and I’ll call Maria. She probably saw him leave.”
He hit redial. The phone rang. No answer. “She’s not answering.”
“I’m going to knock on the door.” Zink opened the door and stepped out.
“Fine, I’ll try her number again.”
No one answered. He got out and headed to the motel office with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
A door opened and Rosie stepped out. Her eyes widened. “Mr. Travis, what are you doing here?”
“I don’t have time to explain right now. Did you see the man in the end room leave?”
“Yeah about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Did you see Maria with him?”
“No, she dropped me off a while ago and left. What’s going on?”
“Where’s the manager?”
She pointed to the first room.
He knocked. TV sounds came from inside but no one answered. He knocked again—louder. “Sunberry Police Department.”
A moment later the door opened. A man in a dirty T-shirt stared at him. “You ain’t got no jurisdiction here. I know my rights.”
“You’re right about that, buddy.” Conrad forced his impatience down. “I’m not looking for a problem. I’m only here to check on the guy who rented that room down at the end.”
After a long drag on his cigarette, the owner answered. “What about him?”
“What’s his name?”
“Mr. Green.” The man cackled. “He didn’t give me a name and I didn’t ask for one. He gave me cash and that was fine by me.”
“I want in his room.”
The man shrugged. “Whatever.”
“Key.”
He disappeared and a moment later, he handed Conrad the key. “If the dude comes back, I’m not getting involved between the two of yous. It’s not my problem.”
“Good thinking.” Conrad walked towards the other room.
Rosie jogged alongside him. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t have time right now, but you need to go in your room and stay there until I let you know it’s safe to come out.”
Her eyes widened. “Safe?”
He nodded.
&nbs
p; She backtracked to her room.
47
Conrad stood in the middle of ‘Mr. Green’s’ room holding a pair of girly, little pink shoes. He held them up as Zink walked into the room. “What are the chances these aren’t Layla’s?”
“Not much. I called Ben. He’s notifying State Police. We have no jurisdiction out here.”
“So I heard.”
“There’s a BOLO out for the car, and Ben’s working on an Amber Alert. We’ll find them.”
“Find anything outside?”
She held up a purse. “It’s Maria’s. I found it against a tree. She must have sat down to wait and then…”
“She saw something that made her leave it.”
“Like Layla.”
“Now he has both of them. I suppose her cell phone’s in her purse.”
“It is. So we can’t use it to track her.”
“Great. Just great.”
She put a hand on his arm. “At least she’s most likely with Layla. I know that may not be comforting to you, but it is to her. Believe me. If I could be with Andrew, it wouldn’t matter to me what the circumstances were.”
****
Encased in darkness, Maria opened her eyes. The back of her head throbbed. Must be in the trunk. Layla. She reached out and encircled her little girl with her arms
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, thank you, God. Thank you.” She hugged Layla. With slow hands she inspected her daughter. There didn’t seem to be any injuries.
Maria wiped at the tears as she felt the warmth of her little girl’s body next to hers and heard the easy breathing. Her baby was only asleep.
Layla murmured and nestled in.
Maria untied her feet and arms. And gingerly took off the tape.
Layla stirred, but didn’t wake.
They were moving.
The good news—it was a new model car, which meant there had to be a latch somewhere inside the trunk to open the lid from the inside.
The bad news—it was too dark to see where the latch might be.
48
Conrad stood to the side as State Police bagged and tagged the evidence. A BOLO was out on the stolen car.
The Bouquet’s shop van had been found a half-mile down the road, but it held no clues as to where Maria had vanished.
Ben Martin walked into the room with a large African-American man. “This is Marcus Hanks, the FBI agent Maria told us about.”
“Can we talk outside?” Conrad asked.
“Sure.” Marcus’s voice was deep.
The group walked outside.
Conrad took a deep appreciative breath of the fresh air. “So, you know Maria?”
The man nodded.
“Maria is convinced she’s dealing with her husband—Rahmed Hamed. No matter how many people tell her he’s dead and it’s not possible, she won’t believe them.” Conrad stared at Marcus Hanks waiting for a response.
Marcus stared back without blinking. “Is there a question in there somewhere?”
Was the man playing mind games? Conrad was losing his patience. “You know there is. Is it possible? Is her husband still alive?”
Marcus sighed and looked up at the sky. His left hand straightened his gold earring. He looked back at Conrad and their gazes locked. “I shot the man. That’s what I can tell you. He looked dead the last time I saw him. Did I see him in a casket? No. On a gurney in a morgue? No, didn’t see that, either. I’m beginning to wish I had.”
“So he could be alive?”
“That’s not what I was told. And I wouldn’t know why my bosses would lie to me.”
“You think you’d be the first man whose boss lied to him?” Conrad asked.
“Of course not, but why would they?”
“Who knows? Maybe the man escaped and they didn’t want to admit to the world they’d lost a terrorist. Or crazy as it sounds, maybe he cooperated and they gave him his freedom as a reward.”
Marcus shook his head and took several paces away from Conrad, but then turned back. “I hope that’s not what happened.”
****
Maria started softly touching the walls of her prison, hoping her movements were quiet. That emergency latch was in here somewhere.
“Mommy.” Her daughter’s voice was a whisper.
“Oh, Layla.” Giving up her search, she put her arms around her daughter. “I love you.”
“I knew you would find me, Mommy.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she hugged Layla. “And I always will. Keep your voice down, sweetie. We don’t want the man to hear us.”
“OK.”
“Did you see the man who took you, Layla?” Maria wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the answer.
“Yes, he lied to me, Mommy. He said he’d take me to Daddy, but he didn’t. He tied me up. He keeps making me drink stuff, and then I fall asleep.” Layla’s voice trembled. “I’m scared.”
I am, too. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, Mommy. He just kept telling me Daddy was a hero and he was going to take me home. He made me drink something nasty.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’m scared.”
“Me, too. But God is with us. And Mr. Conrad and Miss Suzanne are looking for us right this minute. It’ll be OK.” She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping she wasn’t lying to her daughter. “Layla, there’s some sort of latch or button that will open the trunk. We need to find it so that when he stops we can get out. Help me hunt for it.”
“OK.”
They untangled themselves from each other’s arms.
“If you find it, don’t press it. We don’t want the trunk to fly open while we’re driving down the highway.” Even as she said the words, she wondered why not. If the trunk flew open, the man would have to stop to close it.
“Mommy. I think I found it.”
“Where is it?”
Layla put her hand over her mother’s and guided it.
“Great job, sweetie. And you know what? I’ve been thinking. Maybe we should hit the button now. The man will have to stop the car to put it down and that will be our chance to escape.”
“That’s a good idea, Mommy.”
“OK, then. I want you to squeeze as far back as you can against the trunk. That way you’ll be safe.”
“You might fall out.”
“That’s not going to happen. I’ll be very careful. Trust me.” As she said the words, she remembered Conrad saying the same thing to her. “Now, what I want you to do is the very second the car stops, I want you to be ready to jump out and run. But we have to be careful of cars, in case we’re on a highway.”
“OK.”
Maria was terrified, but it was the right choice. If she waited until the car came to a stop, it might be too late. And the element of surprise couldn’t hurt. She had to try now. “Layla, when I tell you to run, you run. Don’t worry about me. I’ll—”
“No, I’m not leaving you.” Her daughter’s voice turned stubborn.
Maria made her own voice firm. ”Oh, yes you are. And we’re not arguing about it, Layla. You run as fast as you can and you run to the first store or business you see and have them call the police. I mean it, Layla. This is important.”
“But—”
“And remember Sunberry Police. Conrad Travis. Got it?”
“OK.”
“Say it.”
“Sunberry Police. Conrad Travis.”
“Good girl. Are you ready?”
****
Conrad sat at his desk in the Sunberry Police station, not believing what he was hearing.
“The prints belong to a Daoud Hamed, but he anglicized it to David Hamm.” Marcus’s face turned darker with anger and rage with each word he uttered. The man looked furious. “He has a student visa and—”
“Is that legal?” Ben Martin’s red mustache twitched as he asked the question.
“What—to change his name?”
Ben nodded.
“All his forms show Daoud, and in parenthesi
s, David. I’m assuming his IDs show him as David, not that it matters.”
“Why do you say that?” Conrad asked.
“Because he’s here legally and he’s been busy with college. According to his records, he attends his classes and is getting A’s in all of them. We’ve got people on their way there now, so we’ll know more once they talk with his associates. But for the moment, he looks like a typical graduate student. We had no idea he had any connection to Rahmed Ham—”
“Why not? That’s the thing I don’t get.”
Marcus locked gazes with Conrad. “I am not the enemy. This wasn’t my mistake. Hamed is a very common name in that part of the world and not every one of them are terrorists or even related to a terrorist. We can’t refuse visas to every person with that last name.”
Conrad wanted to argue but knew there wasn’t much point. The only thing that mattered was finding Maria and Layla. ”You admit there was a mistake.”
Marcus nodded. “Oh, yeah, but I have nothing to do with student visas or monitoring the terrorist watch list.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound as if I was personally attacking you. I’m frustrated.”
“We all are, buddy. They’ve been through enough.”
Ben Martin stood up. “So, what are they telling you about Ramed Hamed? Is he dead or not?”
Marcus shrugged. “My boss assures me he’s dead.”
49
Maria waited as Layla got in position behind her.
Please, God. Keep her safe. Let this crazy idea work.
“I love you, Layla. When you get out, you run and don’t look back. And remember—Sunberry Police, Conrad Travis.” She pressed the button.
She smiled as she heard the release of the latch. Sunshine trickled in through the crack. She moved closer and peeked out through the tiny opening, but couldn’t really see anything. Keeping her back pressed against Layla, she used her hands to push upwards on the trunk lid.
Her eyes squinted involuntarily at the sudden brightness.
Tires screeched.
She looked out. Not a highway. No other cars on the road. Still in the country somewhere. Maybe, she should have waited longer—listened for more traffic.
The car thudded to a stop as she was reaching for Layla. She lifted her little girl up and tossed her out. “Run, Layla, run. Fast.”
Layla ran.
Maria climbed out of the trunk.
A man ran past her towards Layla.
Sisters By Choice Page 36