He listened for just a moment, his forehead wrinkling. “Why are you being so evasive?” he asked.
After a pause, he said, “I’d understand if you thought you should rescue him from Nicole’s relatives.” With this he glanced at Julia and shrugged. “What I mean is that you thought I was dead. I know you would want to protect the little guy.”
He listened for a few more seconds before switching to a calming voice. “I get the feeling you can’t talk right now. Are you okay?”
After a brief pause, he said, “I understand.” She must have reassured him though his expression didn’t look reassured. He added, “I’ll come see you soon—”
Now his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a straight line. He said, “Polo,” waiting with what seemed suspended breath before snapping, “Fiona? Aunt Fiona?”
He folded Julia’s phone and looked at her. “Something is wrong,” he said.
“What do you mean, wrong?”
For the first time, Julia was aware that George had joined them in the kitchen and stood with his hands behind his back, listening.
Will seemed too distracted to notice or care. He said, “It’s a code she taught me eons ago. Nothing unique. She uses the name Marco in a sentence. I answer with Polo to let her know I’m on to her. We used to joke that if either one of us ever made a friend named Marco we’d have to come up with a new code.”
“What does the code mean?” George asked.
Will’s head snapped up and he met George’s gaze. “It means to stay away, that she’ll contact me when it’s safe.” Looking at Julia, he added, “Back when I was a kid, I knew it meant not to go home. To stay where I was until she came for me. Soon afterwards, I’d have a new name, a new house, a new school.”
“This is part of that odd upbringing you mentioned,” Julia said.
“Yes.”
Julia’s cell phone erupted. Will was still holding it. He flipped it open and glanced at the screen. “My aunt’s calling back,” he said, followed by a tap of a button and a soft, “Yes?” into the phone.
He listened for a moment before snapping, “Who’s this?” He lowered the phone, once again clicking it shut.
“Whoever it was hung up without identifying themselves.”
“It wasn’t your aunt?”
“Why would she have called without speaking? It was her number, but it was someone else on the phone. Someone was with her, I’m sure of it. She must have caller ID now. When she refused to tell them who it was, they called to check for themselves. I have to get back to Washington.”
He pushed the phone into Julia’s hands.
“But your aunt’s code to stay where you are—”
“I’m not a child anymore,” he said. “I don’t stay when I’m told to. I have an awful feeling she’s in jeopardy and that it’s tied to Leo.”
“What about calling the police where she is? Someone might be able to go check—”
“No. You don’t know my aunt. No cops. I have to go.”
She caught his arm. “You can’t walk, Will. I’ll drive you back to the airport.”
He looked self-conscious as he said, “A ride to the interstate will suffice.”
Of course. He didn’t have any money. How could she have overlooked something as familiar as being broke?
“You can take my car,” she said, digging in her purse for a credit card that wasn’t up to its limit. “Use this for gas money. I can’t leave here and go with you. If the kidnappers call I have to be here.”
“They won’t call,” Will insisted. “Don’t you understand? This is tied up with my aunt, maybe back to my deep dark past, hell, I don’t know. But it isn’t some garden-variety kidnapper wanting a few bucks. You need to go somewhere safe. To a motel or something.” Pausing a second he added, “Or come with me.”
She wanted to go. The intensity of that want all but drowned her. Yet how did she abandon her post? She knew Leo’s best chance was his father. No one loved him as much, no one needed him as much—
Except her.
They’d both forgotten about George again. He shifted his weight and brought his hands from behind his back. He held what was left of the blue elephant.
“You’re not a cop, are you?” he said.
Will swore before grumbling, “This is not my day for fooling anyone.”
“You’re connected to the little boy?”
“He’s my son.”
“Julia thought you were dead.”
“I know. I don’t have to time to explain—”
George held up both hands, the elephant dangling, bleeding stuffing. “Hell, I don’t want an explanation. Even I can see something terrible is going on here.” Reaching in his pocket, he extracted a ring of keys and took one off. “Take my truck, the both of you. I’ll stay here. Take your cell phone, Julia, and I’ll let you know when and if a ransom call comes.”
“George, I can’t—”
“Your car won’t make it to Washington, we both know that. Wait, I have a better idea. Drive the truck to the field and take the Skyhawk. It’s all fueled up and ready to go.”
“That’s your personal plane, George. It’s brand-new. I couldn’t—”
“You’ll have it back before I can miss it,” he said. “Besides, all the others are tied up with business tomorrow. Go ahead, take it. You’ll be there in a few hours that way.”
Now Will protested. “You don’t know a thing about me.”
“No. But I do know Julia. And I trust her. Judging from the bullet lodged in the molding in the living room, she’s in danger. So are your aunt and your kid. Look, I don’t want to lose my best pilot.” His gaze lingering on Will’s torn, bloodied sleeve, he added, “When you get to my office, take a few minutes and go upstairs. There’s a shower up there and clean clothes. We’re about the same size, help yourself to what you need.”
“I’ll repay you,” Will said. “When I get my life back. When I find my son—”
“Good. Fuel’s expensive. Just take care of Julia.”
“You can count on it.”
“We can take my car—” Julia began, but Will stilled her with a glance. “You don’t have a spare. We can’t chance getting stuck out on the road. Take George’s truck. Leave his key on his desk. Let’s go.”
The two men shook hands. Their pact seemed to relegate Julia to the role of damsel in distress. A flicker of annoyance fizzled in a cold wave of rational thought. Face it, they were more or less right about her. Someone was trying to kill her and she didn’t have the faintest idea how to protect herself. From a mugger? Sure. But from a gun, fired from far away or a car aimed at her in an intersection? No way.
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