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Ben talked into his cell phone, holding it sideways parallel to his mouth, like his daughters did. He wasn’t sure why it made a difference. But he didn’t want to seem clueless. Ever since his last birthday, he’d been more sensitive about not looking like a befuddled old fogey.
“That’s right, Chris. We’re in a car. A...” He looked around him. “What is this, anyway?”
Dan had his eyes fixed on the road. “Mercedes convertible. C-class. Rented it at the airport.”
Ben’s eyes widened. “You rented a Mercedes?”
Dan shrugged. “I wanted a convertible. I prefer the Ferrari F8, but none of the rental dealers had one.”
“Imagine that.”
“I think better when I have the top down.”
“Should I be concerned that, at the moment, the top is up?”
“I was afraid you’d scream for help.”
“Sound thinking.” Ben returned his attention to the phone. “Did you get that, Chris? I’m confined to a ridiculously overpriced German convertible. Apparently we’re going to McAlester.” Pause. “She wants to know why.”
“Got an old friend I want to visit. Then back to the car. We could drive to the LA office in about twenty-eight hours. An all-nighter, basically.”
“Wouldn’t a plane be faster?”
“Maybe. But I prefer to travel without being observed, particularly by the people who took Maria and want me next.”
Ben gave him a long look. “You’re afraid if we go to an airport, I’ll cause a scene or report you for kidnaping.”
“The possibility did occur to me.”
“I told you I wouldn’t run. So I won’t.” Ben glanced at the road ahead. “You know McAlester is not on the way to California, right?”
“Think of it as a scenic side trip.”
“I can tell you’ve never been there.” He returned his attention to the phone. “Christina wants to know when you’ll be returning her abducted husband.”
“Tell her as soon as possible, because you’re starting to get on my nerves.”
He relayed the message. “She wants to know why she shouldn’t call her close personal friend, the Tulsa Chief of Police Michelangelo Morelli, and get your sorry ass arrested.” He coughed. “Sorry about the language. That was a direct quote.”
“Ask her to give me a chance. Wouldn’t she want you to move heaven and earth if she disappeared?”
They talked a few more moments, then Ben ended the phone call.
Dan looked sideways as he merged onto the highway. “That’s it? She’s not calling cop friends?”
“Not yet. She reserves the right. But she thinks you’re probably not a coldblooded killer, and she’s worried about Maria, so she’s giving you a little rope.”
“That all she said?”
“Not remotely.”
“Can you bottom line it for me?”
“She expects me back by Friday or she’ll come looking for you. And she will have someone arrest—”
“My sorry ass? I heard that part. Anything else?”
“She says if anything happens to me, she’ll hunt you down and kill you like a dog.”
“I admire a woman who doesn’t mince words.”
“Me too. For thirty-odd years now.”
“How do I know she won’t come looking for you? With friends?”
“Well...”
He snapped his fingers. “Do you have Location Services on your phone?”
Ben appeared confused. “Do I have...what?”
“Location Services. That’s an iPhone, right?”
“I...think so.”
Dan rolled his eyes. “Old people.”
“Who’s old? I’m barely...my current age.”
“What about Find My Phone? Is that activated?”
“I’m...not sure.”
Dan swore under his breath. “No wonder Christina’s confident she can find you.” He snatched the phone from Ben’s hands, rolled down his car window, and tossed the phone outside.
“Hey!” Ben screamed. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Keeping us safe.”
“That phone cost me a thousand bucks!”
“You should get an Android. Apple products are ridiculously overpriced.”
“This from the man who wanted to rent a Ferrari.”
“Look, we’re safer if you don’t have a phone. Christina’s not the only one who could use it to track us. So could the FBI. Or the NSA. Or a criminal with tech skills.”
“Did you throw away your phone?”
“Of course not. We need some way to communicate with the outside world. But thanks to my colleague Garrett, my phone is equipped with every anti-surveillance device known to man.”
“Smart precaution for a kidnapper.”
“Look, when this is all over, I’ll buy you a new phone.”
“You damn sure will. But I still don’t get why I had to lose my phone but you get to keep yours.
Dan’s voice dropped several notches. “Maria might call.”
If that remained possible.