Part 6 (2/2)

IT TOOK ONLY a few minutes for me to get to the house on Fifth Street.I parked the cab out on the street. Suddenly I was sprinting toward the house. On the way home, I had started to worry about Nana and the kids.Was everyone all right? Maybe this was just more paranoia on my part. But maybe it wasn't. The Tiger went after families, didn't he? And someone had just tried to kill me. I wasn't making that up.I was startled by Rosie the cat, who snuck up behind me on the front lawn.Who had let Rosie out? She was a committed indoor cat. 1 could see she was highly agitated. Why was that? What had happened? What had Rosie seen?”Nana,” I called as I ran up the front steps. ”Nana!”I turned the k.n.o.b-and the door wasn't locked.That wasn't right either. n.o.body left their doors unlocked in Southeast, especially Nana.”Nana!... Kids!” I called as I let myself in and began hurrying though the downstairs part of the house. I didn't want to scare them just because I was frightened out of my skull.Still?I stopped in the kitchen because it was a complete disaster area. I'd never seen it like this. It looked like someone had been making a cake and had stopped in the middle of things.But that wasn't all that had happened here. Chairs had been turned over. Plates and gla.s.ses were broken on the floor.So was a mixing bowl that looked like it had held vanilla frosting. Nana had been making a cake-lucky for me.I pulled out the gun I'd taken from the taxi driver.Then I started upstairs, unable to get my breath. I tried not to trample on Rosie as we hurried up there together.Quietly.And quickly.

Chapter 128.

I CHECKED ALL the bedrooms on the second floor. Then my office in the attic. Finally I went down to the cellar.There was nothing, no one, anywhere in the house.Finally, I called Metro and reported the possible kidnapping of my family.Within minutes, three cruisers pulled up in front. Their roof lights were flas.h.i.+ng ominously. I came outside just as Sampson arrived.I explained to John what I knew so far. He stood with me on the porch, where I was holding Rosie, holding on to her for support, really. Everything felt unreal and I was numb from my head to my feet.”It's the Tiger, has to be him. Something about what happened in Africa,” I said to John. ”I almost got shot on the way from the airport.” I pointed toward the taxi sitting on the street. ”Cab driver pulled a gun on me.””They're alive, Alex,” Sampson said and put an arm around me. ”They have to be.””I hope you're right. Otherwise, they would have killed them here, like Ellie and her family””They must think you know something. Do you, Alex?””Not very much,” I told Sampson. But it was a white lie.I heard a woman's scream then. ”Alex!... Alex!”Bree! She was running down the block from where she'd had to leave her car. The police had completely blocked off Fifth Street now. It was starting to look like one of those gruesome crime scenes that I hated to be called in on. Only this time, it was my house, my family.”What is it, Alex? I just got the call. Saw the address. What happened?””Somebody took Nana, Ali, and Jannie,” Sampson told Bree. ”That's what it looks like.”Bree came into my arms and held me tight. ”Oh, Alex, Alex, no.” She made no empty promises, just gave me the only comfort she could. Her embrace, a few whispered words.”No note, no message?” she finally asked.”I didn't find anything. We should look again. I don't think I was too clearheaded the first time I looked. I know I wasn't.””You think you ought to go back in there right now?” she said and took my arm.”I have to. Come with me. Both of you, come.”We all went back into the house.

Chapter 129.

WHILE BREE AND Sampson started looking around, I called Damon's school and talked to the headmaster, then got Damon on the line. I told him to pack some things. We would be moving him soon. Sampson had already made the arrangements for him to be picked up. ”Why do I have to come home?” Damon wanted to know.”You're not coming home right now. Not yet. It isn't safe here. Not for any of us.”I joined Bree and Sampson and we searched the house for several hours, but there was nothing for us to find. No message left anywhere. The only evidence of a struggle was the mess in the kitchen and a tangled runner in the foyer.I thought to check my computer, but there was nothing there either. No messages had been left anywhere. No threats. No explanation of any kind. Was that the message?I decided to place a call to Lagos next. It was eight a.m. there.I reached lan Flaherty's office, but he didn't pick up himself this time.”Mr. Flaherty is not here at the moment,” said his a.s.sistant. She sounded nervous.”Do you know where he is or when he's expected back?” I asked her. ”It's important that I talk to him.””I'm sorry, I don't. There is a lot going on here, sir. It's a very bad situation.””Yes, I know. May I leave a message for him?””Of course.””Tell him that Alex Cross is back in Was.h.i.+ngton. They've taken my family. I think it's the Tiger or his people who did this. I need to talk to him. Please make sure that he gets this message. It could be a matter of life or death.””Yes, sir,” said the a.s.sistant, ”it always is.”

Chapter 130.

SAMPSON, BREE, AND I stayed in the house another hour or so. We searched every room again, looking for anything to work with.But I understood that the two of them were here to make sure I was all right, especially since I was showing a few cracks.Finally I told John to go home to his family and get some sleep.No one had called or tried to get a message to me.”There are two squad cars outside,” Sampson said. ”They'll stay here the rest of the night. Don't argue with me about it.””I know. I can see them.””That's the idea, sugar. They're supposed to be seen.””Make sure they're on their toes,” Bree said. ”I'll be here too. Tell them I'll be checking.”Sampson hugged Bree, then did the same with me. There was no cop humor tonight, no making light of this. ”Anything-you call,” he told me.Then he started out the kitchen door. He stopped and turned back. ”I'll talk to the men outside. Maybe put on one more car.”I didn't bother to agree or disagree. I was in no shape to make decisions right now. ”Thank you.””We'll be fine,” Bree said.”I have no doubt,” Sampson said and nodded. ”Call me if anything happens!” Finally he shut the door behind him.I went over and locked the door, which would give us an extra few seconds if somebody tried to come in. Maybe we'd need it.”You all right with this?” Bree asked.I nodded. ”You staying with me? Of course I am.”She drifted over and hugged me again. ”Let's go upstairs, then.” She took my hand. ”Alex, come.”I let Bree take me upstairs. I was numb and in a faraway dreamscape anyway.”There's a phone in here,” she said as we entered the bedroom. Then she hugged me again and reached down and started to unhook my belt. I didn't think that was what I needed, but I was wrong about that.Until the phone in the bedroom rang.

Chapter 131.

THE CALLS TO the house started at a few minutes past four in the morning. Hang-ups, one after the other, virtually nonstop.The calls were emotional torture for me, but I answered every time; and I didn't dare take the phone off the hook. How could I? The phone was my lifeline to Nana and the kids. Whoever was calling had them. I had to believe that.Bree and I held each other through the night, probably the worst night of my life.I told her some of what I'd done and seen in Africa-about the horrors and Adanne and her family-their senseless murders. But I also talked about the goodness and naturalness of the people; their helplessness, caught in a nightmare they hadn't created and didn't want.”And this Tiger, what more did you learn about that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Alex?””Terrorist, a.s.sa.s.sin-seems to work both sides of the street.Anyone who pays him. He's the most violent killer I've ever seen, Bree. He likes to hurt people. And there are others like him. It's a name they have for killers for hire: Tiger.””So he took Nana and the kids? He did this? You're sure about that?””Yes,” I said as the phone rang again. ”And that's him.”The phone kept ringing-and I began to pace around the house, going from room to room, thinking about my family all the while. Rosie followed me everywhere.In the kitchen, Nana's favorite cookbook was still out-The Gift of Southern Cooking. I checked and saw it was open to a starred recipe for chocolate-pecan cake.Nana's famous gabardine raincoat was draped over the back of a kitchen chair. How many times had she told me, ”I don't want another raincoat. It took me half a century to get this one worn in right”?I walked around Ali's room.I saw his Pokemon cards laid out carefully on the floor. His beloved plush toy Moo. A hand-painted T-s.h.i.+rt from his fifth birthday party. A copy of Ralph S. Mouse spread open on the night table.When I got to Jannie's room, I sat down heavily on the bed. My eyes ran over her precious collection of books. And the wire baskets br.i.m.m.i.n.g with hair accessories, lip glosses, fruit-scented lotions. Then I spotted her reading gla.s.ses, prescribed only a month or so ago. That got to me. There was something so vulnerable and telling about her new gla.s.ses sitting on the desk.I sat there holding Rosie and heard the phone ring again. Bree picked it up.She said, very quietly, ”f.u.c.k you.”And she hung up on whoever it was this time.

Chapter 132.

I WAS GOING to get my family back. I had to believe that. But was it true? What were the real odds that I would? They were definitely getting worse.From six-thirty until close to seven that morning, I sat out on the front porch and tried not to go completely crazy. I thought about taking a drive, to see if it would relax me.But I was afraid to be away from the house for any length of time.At a little past seven, the phone hang-ups stopped and I got about an hour of sleep.Then I showered and dressed and called in one of the patrolmen from the street. 1 told him to take any calls for me and gave him a cell number where I could be reached.At nine, Bree and I attended an emergency meeting at the Daly Building.I was surprised to find about a dozen officers inside the conference room. These were top people too, the best in Was.h.i.+ngton. I understood that it was a show of support and concern for me. Most of the detectives were people I'd worked with on other cases. Chief of Detectives Davies, Bree, and Sampson had reached out to officers with street connections who might help locate my family.If anyone could.

Chapter 133.

FROM THERE, THE day got stranger and stranger for me.At eleven o'clock, I faced a smaller group inside a win-dowless conference room at CIA headquarters out at Langley. The atmosphere in the room couldn't have been more different from the one at Daly. Everyone except me wore a suit and tie. The body language was stiff and uncomfortable. No one wanted to be there except me - I needed their help.A case officer from the National Clandestine Service * named Merrill Snyder greeted me with a firm handshake and the unpromising line ”Thanks for coming to see us, Dr. Cross.””Can we start?” I asked him.”We're just waiting for one more,” Snyder said. ”There's coffee, soft drinks.””Where's Eric Dana?” I asked, remembering the leader's name from the last time I'd been out to Langley.”He's on vacation. The man we're waiting on is his superior. Sure you don't want some coffee?””No, I'm fine. I don't need any more caffeine this morning, trust me.””I understand. You still haven't heard from whoever abducted your family?” Snyder asked. ”No communication?”Before I could answer him, the door to the conference room swung wide open. A tall, dark-haired man in his early forties, wearing a gray suit and silver-and-red-striped tie, entered. He carried himself like someone important, which he probably was.And right behind him came... Ian Flaherty.

Chapter 134.

THE MAN EVERYONE had been waiting for introduced himself as Steven Millard. He said he was with National Clandestine Service but gave no rank. 1 remembered now that Al Tunney had mentioned his name before I went to Africa. Millard was the group chief, who'd been involved from the start.All Flaherty said was, ”Dr. Cross.””Has there been any word about your family?” Millard wanted to know right off.Snyder cut in. ”No word so far. They haven't contacted him.””There are cops from Metro at my house now,” I told them.”They'll answer my phone and call me.””That's good. About all you can do,” said Millard. I couldn't figure out what to make of him. I was sure he knew about my meeting with Eric Dana before I'd left for Africa, but how much more did Millard know?”I need whatever help you can give me,” I finally said. ”I really need some help.””You can count on it,” said Millard. ”But I have a couple of questions you might be able to help us out with first. Detective Cross, why did you go to Africa in the first place?””A friend of mine and her entire family were killed. I had a lead that the killer fled to Lagos. It was my homicide case.”Millard nodded and seemed to understand. ”Tell me this, then, what did you learn in Africa? Something useful, I a.s.sume? Otherwise, why would this professional killer want to come after you and your family in Was.h.i.+ngton?””I was hoping maybe you could help me out with that. What's going on in Nigeria and here in Was.h.i.+ngton too? Can you tell me?”Millard clasped, then unclasped, his hands. ”Did you see anything unusual or unsettling in Nigeria? We need to figure out why this killer would want to come after you here. You're a well-known police officer. This Tiger, or whoever it is, wouldn't want to take the risk unless he had to. I can't imagine that he would. Unless you really p.i.s.sed him off.””You know it's him, then?””No, no, I don't know for sure. It just makes sense. Ian agrees. So what do you know, Dr. Cross?”I looked at Flaherty, then back at Millard. ”You're not going to help me find my family, are you? You just want to pump me for information again?”Millard sighed, took a beat and then said, ”Dr. Cross, regretfully, we think your family is dead.”I stood up much too quickly from my chair, almost tipping it over.”How can you say that? What do you know? What aren't you telling me? Why would they call me all night if my family's dead?”Millard stared into my eyes, then rose from his seat too. ”You were advised not to get involved in this. I'm sorry for your loss. We'll help if we possibly can.”Then he felt compelled to add, ”We're not the bad guys here, Detective. There is no big conspiracy at work.”If that was true, why did everybody have to keep saying it?

Chapter 135.

THOSE CIA b.a.s.t.a.r.dS! Even though they had been a little more human this time, I knew they were hiding something.Maybe that's why I didn't tell them what Adanne had revealed after the slaughter of her family. The meeting had been typical of my experience with them over the years.And Flaherty? After the meeting, he had gone to Langley for a ”previously scheduled series of meetings.” No way that was the whole truth, or anything close to it. At least I didn't think so.That night, I went home to an empty house. I'd told Bree that it might be better if I was in the house alone. I was so desperate, I was ready to try anything now.Millard's words kept coming back. Dr. Cross, regretfully, we think your family is dead.I fixed a sandwich but only nibbled the corners away. Then I watched the news stations-CNN, CNBC, FOX-but there was almost nothing about the civil war in the Delta.Unbelievable. A Hollywood actress had killed herself in LA, and that was the big story; it was being covered on every station-almost as if they all had the same news source and used the same journalists.Finally, I switched the story about the dead actress off, and the silence wasn't a good thing either. I was nearly overwhelmed by sadness and fear that I had lost Nana, Ali, and Jannie.For a long time I stayed in the kitchen, holding my head in my arms and hands. I remembered certain images, and feelings, and sensations from the past: Ali, just a little boy, and such a sweetheart; Jannie, still my ”Velcro” girl, my living memory of her mother; Nana, who had saved me so many times since I'd come to DC at ten after both my parents had died.I didn't see how 1 could continue to live without them. Could I?The phone began to ring again and I s.n.a.t.c.hed up the receiver. I hoped it was the Tiger, wanting something, wanting me.But it wasn't.”It's Ian Flaherty. I just wanted to check on you. See if you're all right. See if you remembered anything that could help.””Help you?” I said in a tight voice. ”My family's been ' taken. My family. Do you have any idea what that's like?””I think I do. We want to help you, Dr. Cross. Just tell us what you know.””Or what, Flaherty? What else can they do to me?””The proper question is... what can they do to your family?”Flaherty left me a number where I could reach him at any time of the day or night.At least the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was staying up late too.

Chapter 136.

THE SOUND OF a ringing telephone woke me from a shallow snooze on the living room couch. I picked the phone up, still half asleep, my extremities tingling.”Cross.””Go to ya moto car now. We watchin' ya house, Cross. Lights on upstairs and in di kitchen. You was sleepin' in living room.”A male speaking. English with a pidgin accent. I'd heard a lot of it in the past few weeks, but I was particularly tuned into it now-every syllable.”Is my family all right?” I asked. ”Where are they? Just tell me that.””Bring your cell phone wit you. We have numba and we wan ya follow directions. And don't call no one or your family dead. Go now, Cross. Listen up.”I was sitting up now, staring out the window in the living room, sliding my feet into my shoes.I didn't see anyone outside. No cars or lights were visible from where I was.”Why should I listen to you?” I asked the caller.A second voice cut in. ”Because I say you should!”The phone at the other end clicked off. The second voice had been gruff, older than the first. And I recognized it instantly.The Tiger. He was here in Was.h.i.+ngton. He had my family.

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