With a new sense of purpose and direction, Noah repacked his backpack, leaving his white jacket and tablet in his locker. Then he headed to the hospital ATM, where he withdrew several thousand dollars. With cash in hand, he went down to the front entrance of the Stanhope Pavilion. Since he was reluctant to use his cell phone and had disabled it by removing its battery, he couldn’t take advantage of Uber or Lyft. He didn’t even want to use the taxi queue, which required waiting his turn standing outside the door. What he had in mind was to wait for a taxi to pull up to discharge a passenger, which he would commandeer by rushing out and jumping in. The taxi drivers waiting in line weren’t going to like it, nor were the doormen or the people waiting in line, but Noah didn’t care. He wanted to be sure not to be followed, and he thought the less exposure out in the open, the better. Although he hadn’t seen his tails since Monday, he didn’t want to take any chances.
37
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 9:58 A.M.
“Hey! Wake up!” Keyon shouted, giving George a slap on the shoulder. Keyon had lost the coin toss to decide who had to take the first watch. He and George were in the Ford van, parked with the engine idling in a no parking zone across the street from the Boston Memorial Hospital’s main entrance. They had arrived back to the Bedford Airport just after 8:00 that morning and had driven directly to the BMH after a quick stop at their office in the Old City Hall Building. A moment after winning the coin toss, George had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Although both had gotten a few hours of sleep on the plane, they were exhausted.
“Did you see him?” George questioned while sitting up straight. He blinked in the bright morning sunlight, trying to focus on the hospital entrance. There was a lot of activity, with cars pulling up and people coming and going.
“I’m not sure,” Keyon admitted, glancing in the rearview mirror to facilitate a U-turn. “I just got a quick glimpse. Whoever it was bolted out of the hospital entrance like they had just robbed a bank and jumped in that white taxi that just pulled away.”
“Do you think one of us should stay here in case it wasn’t him?” George asked.
“No!” Keyon said without hesitation. “It’s got to be him. Who else would leave the hospital like that?”
“Good point,” George said. “Of course, it means he’s onto us.”
“We already knew that was the case,” Keyon said. After making the U-turn, he accelerated after the taxi, which now was in the distance. He was hoping not to lose sight of it.
“Has he used his cell?” George asked, raising the back of his seat.
“He got an incoming call, but he hasn’t called out. And then I couldn’t even get a GPS ping, meaning he knows enough to take out the damn battery.”
“That’s not a good sign,” George said. “If we lose him, it is going to be hard to find him without the help of his mobile.”
“As if I didn’t know,” Keyon said.
“Don’t get caught at this traffic light,” George said. Just ahead, the light had turned yellow.
“What do you think, I was born yesterday?” Keyon said derisively. Instead of slowing, he accelerated. As they entered the intersection the light was red.
With aggressive, Boston-style driving Keyon was able to close the gap to a degree, and seeing the direction the taxi was going, they could guess it was heading for the Callahan Tunnel to East Boston.
“I don’t like this,” George said. “Do you think he’s going to Logan Airport? If he is, it’s ironic he’s fleeing town just when we get the okay to move on him.”
“I’m afraid there’s not much else in East Boston,” Keyon said.
By the time they exited from the Callahan Tunnel, Keyon had managed to get within four car lengths of the taxi in question. A few minutes later the taxi bore to the right, heading for the entrance to Logan Airport.
“Shit,” George said. “This is becoming a worst-case scenario! Now we’ve got to find out where the hell he’s going, because there’s not much we can do to him here with all the security around.”
“It’s going to be up to you,” Keyon said. He smiled inwardly. Earlier, he’d regretted losing the coin toss requiring him to take the first shift; now he was glad. George would have to do the legwork.
The taxi pulled into terminal A and headed for the passenger drop-off area. The Ford was right behind but pulled into the limo line. George quickly got out after it was definitively ascertained it was Noah who had alighted from the cab. “Let’s use the radio to keep in touch,” he said before slamming the door behind him.
“Roger,” Keyon called after him. “Good luck.”
George gave Keyon the finger over his shoulder without looking back.
38
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 7:25 P.M.
Noah climbed into a rental Ford Fusion and started the engine. He then keyed “Brazos University Medical Center” into the GPS. Although he intended to start his investigative work by driving out to Brownfield in the morning, he thought he’d take a quick look around the Brazos hospital complex just to get the lay of the land, since it was still light and relatively early.
It had taken far longer to get to Lubbock, Texas, than Noah had anticipated, mainly because there had been no nonstop flight or even a direct flight. He’d initially gone to the Delta counter to inquire, thinking a flight through Atlanta might work, but he’d learned that the shortest flight time was on American through their principal hub, Dallas.
Since he’d had almost an hour layover in Dallas, Noah had used the time to eat and investigate hotel accommodations in Lubbock. He’d settled on the Embassy Suites, because it had a business facility with available computers. Noah had always known he depended heavily on electronic media, but he wasn’t aware to what extent. What he needed was access to the Internet to help with his investigations.
He’d had plenty of time to think about his impetuous decision to take the trip. The more he thought about it, the more appropriate it seemed for so many reasons, although the principal one remained his being the best person for the job. A local PI might have been able to uncover information about Ava’s training but not the specifics that Noah was interested in.
Noah’s first impressions of the Lubbock area were close to what he imagined. It was hot yet dry and in that sense, less oppressive than Boston at that time of year. As he looked out at the flat desertlike terrain, he wondered if he could live in such an environment, accustomed as he was to hills and lush vegetation.
Driving was easy compared to his limited experience in Boston. Not only was there less traffic, but the other drivers seemed gracious, which was a huge difference. Following the easy GPS directions, Noah soon found himself at the medical center’s campus. In contrast with the BMH, all the buildings were modern, appeared to have been designed by the same architects, and looked relatively new. There was lots of bronze-tinted glass and red brick. In contrast with the Stanhope Pavilion, the main hospital building was only five stories tall.