IN THE CAR ON THE way to Logan, Erica calls Boston Police Detective Pat Halley, an old contact from her days as a Boston anchor.
“Sparks, as I live and breathe, to what do I owe?”
“A kidnapping.”
“Who was ’napped?”
“Me.”
“O-kay . . .?”
“This morning at Logan, at approximately ten thirty, on the arrival sidewalk outside of Jet Blue.”
“But you’re in one piece?”
“I am. Would it be possible to get the surveillance video of the area? There was a man posing as my driver. There was a second guy in the trunk of the car, but he obviously won’t be on the video.”
“So two thugs picked you up and then what?”
“We went for a little drive out to some woods in Belmont. They were delivering a message. I’d like to find out who it was from.”
“Erica, we may need to file a report on this.”
“Pat, I would really appreciate it if that didn’t happen.”
There’s a pause and then, “This call never happened. Although I just gotta say, I’ve been following your career and I’m proud of you. You were a good reporter and you made it, you made it to the top.”
As her car pulls up in front of Jet Blue, Erica thinks, Making it to the top was the easy part. It’s staying there that’s the killer.