Perilous (10 page)

The man licked his lips and looked away. “My supervisor’s.”

“For how long were you planning on keeping them?”

“Until told to let them go.”

Ancelin leaned in closer. “Why did you lie to the RCMP?”

“A matter of state security. Sir.”

Ancelin reared back on his heels. He glanced at Carl. “I’ve called the RCMP in Drummondville. We’re taking the whole station into custody.”

Carl nodded. He fingered his belt loop. If this really was The Hand, he was a bigger fish than anyone had imagined. How many people did he have networked up here?

The three young adults looked ill at ease in the RCMP waiting room. The tall girl with short blond hair clung to the boy. The brunette sat slumped forward in a padded red chair, head in her hands, hair covering her face.

Ancelin stood next to Carl, arms tight across his chest. His lips were white and he breathed heavily. Carl had the feeling he wasn’t taking the knowledge of a police coup very well.

Carl handed out cups of coffee. “I’m Carl. I’m a detective from the States. I know your names, but I’m not sure who’s who. Do you mind introducing yourselves?”

The brunette’s head shot up. “We haven’t done anything wrong. We shouldn’t be here.”

“Hey.” Carl held up a hand. “It’s okay. Calm down. We’re here to protect you.”

The blond asked, “Are we in danger?”

“I don’t know,” Carl returned, meeting her eyes. “Tell me who you are and what happened. Do you have any idea why the police might detain you?”

The brunette pointed to the blond. “Ask Natalie.”

Carl looked at her. “So you’re Natalie? And this is Chris?”

They both nodded. “I know why they wanted us,” she said. “I picked up three girls on the road. Turns out they were runaways from The Hand.”

“That’s what they told us,” the brunette put in, narrowing her eyes. “The cops say they are thieves and that is why they arrested us. Harboring criminals.”

“Please continue, Natalie.” Carl kept his gaze on her.

“I tried to help them. But The Hand found us and trailed us. I lost him and got the girls away. I called Chris and told him to leave town. Then I drove to my house to make sure my sister was okay. That’s when they found me. The police, I mean. They arrested me and brought me here.”

“Why would the police arrest you?” Carl frowned.

Natalie waved a hand. “Everyone knows The Hand can take what he wants around here. The police don’t do anything. Maybe The Hand is the commissioner or something.”

Carl raised an eyebrow, feeling his skin prickle a bit. “Chris, how did you get involved in this?”

“Natalie was driving my car. Two men showed up at my house, looking like RCMP, asking me about the car and Natalie. I thought she was in danger and gave them her home address. Sometime in there they took my phone and bugged it, but I didn’t know it.”

That explained why he had left the cell phone in the kitchen. Carl turned to the brunette. “You must be Rachel.”

She nodded.

“How did you get involved in this?”

“Natalie brought the girls to my house. I recognized them from a flier. I thought they were criminals and I called the number to turn them in. When Natalie realized they had my address, we left. I waited two days for Natalie to come home from her sister’s house, and she didn’t. The only people I trusted were the RCMP, and I called them to report Natalie as missing. Within a few hours I was arrested.”

Carl intertwined his fingers and pressed his lips together. “Natalie, where did you take the girls?”

“There’s an old trail we used to follow for camping, that takes you over the border. I set them at the foot.”

Ancelin’s cell phone rang loudly, making her jump.

“Detective.” Ancelin’s voice cut through the room. “Phone for you. Someone has been trying to reach you.”

Carl’s hand shot to his belt, and he swore at himself when he realized he had left his phone in the motel room.

He grabbed the phone from Ancelin, checking his watch. It was almost eight a.m. in Idaho. “Detective Hamilton speaking.”

“Detective. Chief Miller here. Been trying to call you all morning.”

It must be urgent. “So sorry, Chief. I left my—”

“We got a phone call. The girls called home.”

Carl froze. “What? When?”

“Last night. Mrs. Rivera called us this morning to tell us. They’re heading for Maryland.”

Maryland. “Thank you, Chief. I’ve gotten some leads here in Canada. Let me finish up, and I’ll catch a plane back this afternoon. We’ll find them.”

He handed the phone back to Ancelin, his hands shaking. They were still alive. He allowed a tight smile to cross his face. Now to organize the rescue parties.

Chapter 18

“One state down,” declared Jaci.

They stopped at the ‘Welcome to New York’ sign at the opening of the bridge and savored the distance they had gone. It had taken them three days to find a place to traverse the lake between New York and Vermont.

“How long has it been?” Sara picked up a stick and ran it along the white picket fence in front of a house. The state map they had grabbed at a gas station was tucked under her other arm.

Jaci tried to count all the days they had been gone. “I think it’s been about three weeks.”

She had never been away from home this long. Her mind flashed back, The Hand’s words echoing in her mind. The Carcinero. The Butcher. She shuddered. No one could misinterpret the connotation behind the nickname.

“How long before we’re out of food?” Amanda asked.

Hunger gnawed at Jaci’s stomach, at her brain, at her eyes. “I don’t know. We’ve rationed it well, but I think we’ve only got two days left of one slice of bread a day. After that we still have the flour.”

“At least there’s plenty of water.” Sara’s now-tangled blond hair fell in her face as she leaned over the bridge.

They followed a southwestern road through a small suburban area. The houses were small and spread out. Even above the fences and rooftops, the tall, clinging branches of forested trees peered over. The one-story houses were built on cinderblock foundations, vinyl siding covering the sides.

Jaci felt open and exposed. She quickened her pace, trying to get through the suburb.

Amanda snorted. “What are we supposed to do with the flour?”

It took Jaci a moment to remember what they’d been talking about. “You mix it with water and make a gruel.”

“Sounds yummy,” replied Amanda.

“We’re out of luck when the flour’s gone. We can probably go a few more days, but then we’ll have to stop somewhere and dig through trash or something.”

“There won’t be trashcans,” said Sara. She pointed to a large green blob on the map. “It’s a big national forest, one of the largest in the country.”

“In the middle of New York?” Amanda scoffed.

“We’re not in the middle,” Sara said. “We’re at the border.”

“What’s the terrain like?” Jaci peered at the map in Sara’s hands.

“Rough. Mountains and valleys.”

“And no people?” Amanda asked.

Sara turned the map sideways and squinted. “Some towns, I think. I don’t know; it’s hard to read the legend.”

They had reached the end of the street, and the last house had no fence. The street wrapped around the houses in a circle, going back out to the main road they had left behind. Behind it loomed a dense forest. The tangle of undergrowth and dark towering plant life made the woods in Canada look sparse.

They crossed the yard and stepped into the foliage. Hardly any sunlight peered through the trees.

Jaci shivered and rubbed her arms. “At least we won’t run out of water.” A tiny stream trickled to her left, and she could hear more water in front of her.

The girls followed Jaci, bending under branches, stepping on thorn bushes, and sliding down small ravines. They were very quiet.

There was no sign of development. “Is it just a forest out here, Sara?” Jaci asked.

“Um…” Sara consulted the map again. “There are some roads that cut through here, besides the towns.”

Jaci nodded. “Okay. Let’s try and avoid the roads.”

As soon as the sun went down, all light in the forest vanished. Amanda pulled out the flashlight, and they walked in a huddled group for a bit.

Mosquitoes buzzed around Jaci’s face. She slapped at them. Her shoes suctioned into the mud beneath her, and she lifted her head. A large lake blocked their westward path. Rivulets of water soaked the ground around it and tall water reeds swayed in the breeze.

“Oh, please. Not more water,” said Amanda.

“Restroom break.” Jaci smashed a mosquito on her arm. “We may as well stop here for the night.”

A sudden gasp from Sara made her whirl around. “What?”

Sara’s eyes were fixed on a point just in front of them. “I—I thought I saw something.”

“Like what?”

Sara tore her gaze away from the trees. “I thought it was a person.”

“I’m sure it was just your imagination,” Amanda said.

“Everyone calm down, okay?” Jaci said. Her voice trembled and she took a deep breath. She tried to sound confident. “We’re safe here. But move away from the water.”

Amanda shuddered. “No telling what sort of water animals might be in there.”

She picked up a rock and chucked it into the reeds. She held up the compass, pointing the flashlight at the plastic face.

“We can’t wade through that water. But if we head south, we’re still going in the right direction. Then we can go west again as soon as we get past the lake.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jaci said. The sooner they were out of the woods, the better.

She lay down in the tall grass and winced as she felt a rock in her back. The grass smelled like freshly turned dirt. “Too bad we don’t have any good bedrolls.”

“Yeah,” joked Amanda. “We need to be more prepared the next time we go to the mall.”

The three girls huddled together for warmth. Jaci lay awake, listening for predators, scared to sleep until exhaustion overcame her adrenaline, and she slept.

A fine mist covered the valley in the morning, emphasizing the highs and lows of the hills around them. Jaci mopped at her face with her wet shirt. Her back ached where the rocks had poked her muscles all night long.

They stopped for lunch at noon, still in view of the lake.

Sara put her hands on her stomach, her face gray. “I’m still hungry. I’m so hungry I feel sick.”

Jaci was, too. “We’ll get used to it.”

Amanda took the lead and they followed her around the lake. She held the compass in her hand and checked it constantly.

The shoulder bag weighed Jaci down. She tried to move it, wincing as she did so. She pulled her collar back and glanced at her shoulder. Raw, red skin showed where the bag rubbed her.

Early in the evening the forest began to darken. Amanda pulled out the flashlight. “Should we keep going?”

“No.” Jaci shook her head. “Better to travel by daylight, anyway. Save the batteries.”

Sara tossed down an empty water bottle. “We’re out of water.”

Jaci picked it up. “Hold on to these. We’ll need to refill them the first chance we get.”

“Where, from the lakes we find along the way?” Amanda asked.

Jaci thought of the lake they had left behind. She didn’t want to drink any water from it. “No. Later. When we get somewhere. Where’s the closest town, Sara?”

“I’m not sure,” the younger girl admitted, wrinkling her nose. “I think we’re right here.” She pointed at the map. “But we could be here.” She pointed at another spot.

Her eyes lifted from the map. “Do you hear something?”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Not again, Sara.”

Sara waved a hand at her. “Just listen.”

Jaci heard nothing. “What was it?”

“I thought I heard an ambulance, or a fire engine.”

“That would mean we’re close to a town. Perfect! We need water and food.” They had eaten all the bread, the fruit, and the canned goods. The only thing left was the flour.

“Hey,” said Amanda. “We’re in the middle of a national forest. Surely there’s no danger in going to the police?”

Sara frowned, but Jaci spoke up. “You’re right. Then we’d get help and they’d protect us—maybe even take us home!”

“I vote we sleep here,” Amanda continued, “and tomorrow we make our way into town. All in favor?”

“Aye,” said Jaci, raising her hand.

Sara raised hers, too. “Looks like I’m in.”

“Okay,” Amanda said, throwing herself on the mossy forest floor. “See you tomorrow.”

October 3

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Carl was getting antsy. He had been here for four days now, and other than keep organizing search parties and instructing the police on procedure, he didn’t have much else to do.

Even if the girls had traveled twenty miles a day since leaving Vermont, he doubted they had gotten further south than Massachusetts. Just in case, he had men on alert all the way across Maryland’s state border.

But as each day passed, the urgency wore off a bit, and he found the men becoming more relaxed, less guarded.

Carl didn’t think he could stay here playing watch dog much longer. He couldn’t rule out that the girls might come through this way. But what if they didn’t?

He stared at the blaring television set in front of him, then picked up the motel phone and called Kristin. It would be cheaper to use his phone, but cell phones were easy to intercept.

Kristin answered, the familiar sounds of an “I Love Lucy” rerun playing in the background. “Hello?”

“Hi Babe.” Carl got right to the point. “What do you think? Should I still be here?”

“What are your hunches? Do you think the girls are coming?”

He hesitated. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Where do you think you should be?”

He pondered the question. He had picked up a jar of Best Maid kosher spears on the way back to the hotel, and he popped the lid off. “I think I need to come home and refocus my efforts. If they find something here, they can call me.”

“What about that family who placed the call?”

“They have nothing more to offer.”

“Maybe you should go there and refocus. We know the girls were in that town.”

Carl sucked on a spear and considered that possibility. “I could go there. I could see if any other people saw them or know which way they went. But there are so many routes they might have taken. I don’t know how to narrow it down.”

“Sounds like you have too many options.”

“There’s something bothering me, something nagging at me.”

“Hmm.”

He could just picture her, phone to one ear, blond hair wrapped around a pencil on top of her head, tapping her jaw.

“Well, you’re pretty sure it was The Hand, so you don’t have any would-be suspects to question. Do you think there’s someone else involved? Someone else who helped The Hand kidnap the girls?”

“I’m still not one hundred percent convinced it was The Hand. There’s no real motive. That’s the thing. Why would he go from petty theft to murder?”

“Isn’t it just about them being in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

“No.” He crunched on a pickle and wiped juice from his forearm. A face formed in Carl’s mind, and it took him a moment to recognize it. “Mr. Rivera. That’s it. Something about Mr. Rivera.”

“I thought he checked out.”

“But I didn’t do a background check on him. That’s what’s bugging me.”

“Do you have to come home to do your background check?”

Carl shook his head. “I may go to Mexico. Thanks for the help, Babe.”

She chuckled. “Anytime. Good luck, Hon.”

Carl hung up, mind already jumping to the next task. He pulled out his notes. Gregorio Rivera. Education: University of Pedrita in Zacatecas, business negotiations. Work: International Accounting Alliances.

He pulled out his laptop and accessed the wireless internet. He first Googled ‘International Accounting Alliances.’

A website popped up, showing smiling professionals and several pages of services. The central hub was located in Dallas.

He jotted down the phone number and address. Why call if he could just show up?

Next he Googled the University of Pedrita. Interesting. Nothing came up. Next he tried ‘universities of Zacatecas.’ Still nothing even close to ‘Pedrita.’

Certainly Mr. Rivera hadn’t made up a university. Quick way to get his cover blown.

Carl pulled his phone back out and dialed the Federal Bureau. “I need a background check ASAP on a Gregorio Rivera.”

He leaned back, studying his computer screen. Forget Zacatecas. It was time for a visit to Dallas.