CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
Nora sat at her desk, her mind racing, trying to figure out how to get her daughter back, hoping this was just a huge misunderstanding. Suddenly a familiar wave of calm washed over her, one she had felt many times in courtrooms—a surprising sense of peace under great stress.
Her cell phone buzzed. No caller ID, but she answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Rob.”
“Rob? What the hell are—”
“Listen, don’t talk,” he said, his voice low and serious. “I’m in a bit of a jam and I’m very sorry to worry you, but Sophie is okay.”
“Rob, what’s going on?”
“She’s okay, but I need you to come to where I am and tell nobody. You’ll see her when you get here. But if you tell anybody, we’ll be gone.”
“Rob, seriously, what’re you doing?”
His voice rose in anger. “Nora, this is an emergency and I am not going to repeat myself. I’m about to give you directions. Write them down, then leave your phone in your office and drive here. I’ll explain everything. But I meant what I said about not telling anyone. I will be able to tell if you aren’t alone.”
“I got it,” Nora said quietly.
“Good, here are the directions.”
“The drive should take just under an hour,” Rob said when he was finished.
“Can I talk to her?”
“Sure. She’s right here.”
After a brief pause, Sophie’s sunny voice came on the phone. “Hi Mommy! Rob has the coolest country place. You coming?”
Nora felt herself choking up and paused to suppress it.
“Mom? You there?”
“Yes, I’m here. Of course I’m coming, ladybug. You having fun?”
“A ton. He has a PS5 with headsets! It’s so cool. You gotta try it.”
“I will, I will. Be there soon. Love you, bug.”
“Love you too, Mommy. Bye.”
Rob’s voice returned. “See you soon and remember what I said. No joke.”
“Got it. See you soon.”
Nora stared at her phone for a long time, her mind racing, trying to decide what to do. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Benny’s going to be so pissed, but what choice do I really have? This is about Sophie. I’m not taking chances with her. Deep breath, Carleton, you can handle Rob.
She put the phone in her desk drawer and hurried to her car.
Nora followed Rob’s directions north into the hills of Connecticut for almost an hour as the sun set. Her mind raced as she entered the little town of Bridgewater before the directions took her off the main road onto increasingly smaller routes.
Why would Rob take Sophie? And why here, this place, these hills?
She drove for several minutes, then suddenly slapped the steering well and shouted to the empty car. “Son of a bitch! He’s the fucking front runner!”
She began nodding rapidly while staring at the road ahead.
I’m almost to Route 202. Over these hills is our goddamn data center—the one fucking Rob oversees. The one that our system tests every Sunday morning. The one that would be an all-you-can eat buffet for someone who wants to know the next week’s trades and who has the right credentials. The one we asked Rob to check the accesses on to be sure it wasn’t where the front runner was getting the information. How could I be so stupid?
Now she drummed on the steering with the fingers of both hands.
But how? How would he go there all the time without lighting himself on fire? The guards would know him. He’s in a wheelchair, for Christ’s sake, so who helped him? How?
Nora was so distracted that she almost missed the last turn, onto a dirt road that wound its way up a wooded hillside and ended in a clearing occupied by a log cabin set into the hill. Rob Arslan’s custom Escalade was parked in the clearing. The cone of her headlights illuminated a wide set of stairs leading up to a broad porch where rocking chairs framed the entrance.
The door opened and a man came into the light, one hand resting on Sophie’s shoulder as he limped to the edge of the porch. Sophie waved enthusiastically as they stood there. Rob just smiled.