Chapter 5 - The Hunter's Trail
Evelyn wasn't a tough operative; she was a pampered con artist. Once the pain of the gunshot wound set in and Marcus applied a little 'persuasion' by pressing his thumb directly onto the bullet hole, she sang like a bird.
She gave up Claire's real name—Sarah Jenkins—and the location of her burner phone. She also gave up their extraction point. Claire was heading to a private airfield in Savannah, Georgia, where a chartered Cessna was waiting to take her to Belize.
We left Evelyn zip-tied to a heavy cast-iron radiator in the bathroom, having anonymously called for an ambulance. We needed her alive for the FBI, but we couldn't wait for the authorities to navigate the bureaucracy. If Claire got on that plane, she was gone forever.
"We have exactly four hours before that plane takes off," Marcus said, pushing the F-150 to ninety miles an hour down Interstate 75.
I was staring out the window at the passing pines, my mind a fractured mess. The woman I had loved for ten years was a phantom. My daughter was purchased like a piece of furniture. My house was a crime scene. Everything I had built was built on a graveyard of lies.
"She’s going to pay, Arthur," Marcus said quietly, not taking his eyes off the road. "I promise you that."
"I don't just want her to pay," I said, my voice eerily calm. The shock had burned away, leaving behind a cold, hard resolve. "I want her to know exactly what it feels like to have her entire life ripped away in the dark."
My phone buzzed. It was a restricted number.
I answered it, putting it on speaker.
"Hello, Arthur," a soft, melodious voice said. It was Claire. Or Sarah. Whoever she was.
"You left Emily in the rain," I said, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the phone.
"She was crying. It was giving me a migraine," Claire sighed, sounding genuinely bored. "I see you found Victor. Such a mess. He really didn't leave me any choice. I hope you aren't doing anything stupid, Arthur. Like coming after me."
"I’m going to find you," I promised.
"I doubt that," she laughed softly. "Because while you're busy driving south, my associates are walking into Atlanta Memorial Hospital. They have strict instructions to finish what Victor started. By the time you turn around, little Emily will be nothing but a memory. Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life, Arthur."
She hung up.
Panic seized me. "Marcus! The hospital!"
Marcus didn't slow down. He just pulled out his own phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Russo," he said into the receiver. "You got company at the hospital?"
A gruff voice replied, "Yeah. Two suits just got off the elevator. They don't look like doctors."
"Handle it," Marcus said flatly.
May you like
"Already on it. The kid is secure in the basement morgue lockdown. Nobody gets in. The cops are swarming the lobby right now."
Marcus hung up and looked at me. "I told you, I put my best guy on her. Claire’s bluffing to buy time. She wants you to turn around. We keep driving."
