CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Jack went back to the office window and opened the curtains. Marianna joined him. A large white Suburban had pulled up close to the garage and men were climbing out. One of the men opened the rear door, and a small man emerged. He was wearing a dark suit and a straw fedora.
Jack heard Marianna take a sharp breath, and her fingers gripped his arm painfully tight.
“Oh my God . . . it’s him. Liski—the man who kidnapped me. And the others. Boris and the two Ivans.”
Her tone of certainty and terror chilled his heart. Letting the curtain fall, he grabbed his phone and punched in 911. Nothing happened. There were no bars of service. Marianna pushed away from the window, her face draining of color. “You must hide, Dr. Forester. All of you. I will go out to them.”
“No, you will not,” he said. “Go into the closet in my bedroom. There’s a trapdoor in the ceiling. Grab the rope and a ladder will come down. Climb up there and pull up the ladder behind you. Now.”
“But it’s only me they want.”
“Please don’t argue. Just go.”
“Daddy, what’s the matter?” whispered Julia, rousing.
Exhorting Marianna to hide, he scooped up his daughter and dashed into the kitchen.
Zoë was looking out the side window. “There are four of them. Who are they, Jack? The phone’s not working either. What’s happening?”
He took her arm. “Come with me. I don’t have time to discuss.”
“Where are we going?”
“The basement. I’ll explain everything later. This is serious. No delay.” Holding Julia tightly, he steered Zoë down the stairs. “You and Aunt Zoë are going to hide for a while,” he said.
“Is this a game?”
“No. Just do as Aunt Zoë says and stay very quiet.”
In his workshop area, he set Julia down, grabbed a flashlight, and ducked under the workbench. He slid aside a plywood panel. “This is a crawl space, Zoë. Take this flashlight and do not come out until I tell you.”
She reared her head back. “That’s a dirt floor. I’m not going in there.”
“Yes, you are. Now.”
She groaned, knelt, and began crawling forward. Julia followed. He replaced the panel and sprinted back upstairs. He reached the kitchen as the doorbell began chiming. He was startled to see Marianna standing there, as if frozen.
“Go and get up in the attic, please,” he said.
“No, Dr. Forester. They must take me. It is the only way. You hide, please.”
All options vanished when the door burst open with a crash. In strode a tall, burly man with Asian features, followed by the man with the fedora. He had a thin mustache, open in the middle. He was brandishing a large black pistol.
“We meet again, Ms. Kovalenko. Both of you stay where you are.”
“Take me and leave him alone, Liski,” she said, stepping forward.
“I said to stay where you are.” The little man turned to Jack. “Hello, Dr. Forester.”
Jack stared back. “Whoever you are, I suggest you leave before the police get here. I called them.”
The little man laughed. “You’re going to play the brave man, I see. But the police have no idea we exist. Your phones have been jammed and your cable is disrupted. Who else is here?”
Jack’s mouth was going dry. “No one.”
Liski turned to his huge helper. “Boris, tell the men to search this house and the other buildings. But first, please pat down these two and secure their hands. I will keep you covered.” The helper forward. “Wait, Boris,” continued Liski. “Give me your pistol. I’ve told you never to take a weapon close to an enemy unless you are pointing it at them. For all we know, Dr. Forester may be an expert in martial arts. Not likely though.”
“Sorry, boss.” Boris gave Liski his handgun and began patting down Marianna, breathing heavily. Jack saw Marianna close her eyes and shudder, and the big man’s hands lingered over her breasts.
“Stay still, Dr. Forester,” said Liski.
Boris bound Marianna’s wrists behind her back with a plastic zip tie. Then he moved to Jack, frisked him, and zip-tied his wrists tightly. Jack smelled onions.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Bodashka Liski. There are four of us, all well-armed. Please don’t mistake Boris’s missteps for stupidity. He is a distant relation of mine and still in training. Let us go into the living room and be comfortable while we wait.”
“Please,” said Marianna. “Just take me and leave Dr. Forester alone. He knows nothing and he will not hurt you.”
“I am a patient man, but not a stupid one. You got lucky once. That’s enough. Into the living room, now.”
“No,” she said. “Take me and go.”
“You want me to help her?” Boris asked.
Liski nodded. Boris grabbed the front of her blouse, shoving her. Scrambling backward, she fell.
“Stop,” Jack demanded.
Boris swung and backhanded Jack in the jaw. Unable to break his fall, Jack landed on his shoulder. Boris picked up Marianna and propelled her onto the couch. He returned, grabbed Jack by the back of his shirt, lifted him to his feet, and shoved him into a chair.
“Thank you,” said Liski. “Here’s your pistol, Boris. Go search, and make sure the cell signal jamming device remains on.”
Marianna was lying on her side on the couch, her cheeks glistening with tears. “I am sorry, Dr. Forester.”
“Jack,” he said.
The two other men stomped into the kitchen. Liski ordered them to search the house. As one man disappeared down the hallway, Jack heard the footsteps of another thud down the basement steps. His heart twisted. Liski ambled into the living room. He tossed his hat on the coffee table and settled into Zoë’s recliner. Raising the footrest, he made a sigh of comfort. “Do you mind if I smoke in your house, Doctor?” he asked, pulling a cigar out of his breast pocket.
“I do.”
“Then I apologize.” He charred the end of the cigar with a butane lighter and lit it, his cheeks billowing inward as he drew. He sent a stream of smoke toward the ceiling. “There,” he said, leveling his gaze at Jack. “You are an educated person. I myself lack only twelve credit hours from my bachelor’s degree. I once wanted to become a comedian. It’s true. But the competition was brutal, so I became otherwise employed.”
“And you became a monster,” spat Marianna.
Smoke trickled out his nostrils. “Ms. Kovalenko, I must compliment you on getting away from me in Ukraine. My boss was very unhappy, and it did not help my reputation. She’s very smart, don’t you think, Doctor? And not unattractive.”
Jack kept staring at the little man. What might his weakness be?
Liski turned to Marianna and smiled. “I think you have an admirer in the doctor, Ms. Kovalenko. Or have you already experienced this?”
“You are disgusting,” she said. “What do you intend to do?”
“We are going to wait until twilight, then we are going to take a walk.”
Jack heard footsteps approach. Boris and another man marched into the living room. Between them stood Tony, his wrists bound.
“Look what we found in the barn,” Boris said. “He’s the doctor’s brother.”
“Good work,” said Liski.
Tony looked at Jack and Marianna, his expression neutral. “This is strange,” he said. “Are we being arrested?”
“It’s okay, Tony,” Jack said. “Just do as they say.”
Marianna struggled to sit. “Let them go. Can’t you be decent?”
“He doesn’t talk much, Bodashka,” said Boris, shoving Tony onto a chair next to Jack. “Should I give him encouragement?”
“Stop,” said Jack, his voice going tight. “He has autism. That’s the way he is.”
The two other men stomped into the living room. “Boss, we don’t find anyone else,” the older one said. “There’s a little kid’s bedroom with dolls and toys. And also the room, I think, of a teenager.”
“Thank you, Ivan One.” Liski turned toward Jack. “I discovered you are a widower with two children living here, and that your aunt stays to help you. Where are they?”
Jack looked him square in the eyes. “They all left this morning to visit my sister in Baltimore. They won’t be back for five days.”
Liski eyed his cigar. “Really? You checked the basement, Ivan Two?”
“Yes, Bodashka. Empty. And messy. He hoards.”
“All right. Boris, you stay with me. Ivan and Ivan—go out back and find a place in the woods where the ground isn’t too hard that’s nice and private. Mark your trail well because we’ll be taking these people out there in the dark. And look for shovels. We need two.”
As they left, Jack heard what sounded like footsteps on the basement stairs. A chill swept up his back. Liski raised his eyebrows and looked at him. “Yes, I heard it too, Doctor,” he said, with a shake of his head. He took out his pistol and stood. “You were not being honest with me.”
Investigator Dirkens called Jack Forester’s number. It went straight to voicemail. “Doctor, it’s Frankie Dirkens with some news. We’ve received the fingerprints from Leeds University and the new DNA data from our lab here. You were spot-on. The person who came to see you was not Marianna Kovalenko. Repeat: NOT her. Call me when you get this, and thanks for the suggestions. You might consider changing professions.”