“So let me see if I got this plan down,” Sammy said. “The one that Sammy’s betting eighty G’s on. You’re gonna make your way to Guatemala, which you never been to, find some people you’re not even sure exist, locate this woman—”
“Megan. She’s got a name.”
“Yeah, whatever. So when you find this woman, who may or may not be alive, you’re gonna do a Sherlock number and figure out how two dead kids figure into the murders of some scientist lady and a football player”—Sammy took an exaggerated breath—“then come back and explain to the cops how you were framed. Is that about it?”
“It sounded better when I said it.”
“And you gonna do all this while snooping around in a country where you don’t even speak the language.”
“I understand enough.”
“¿Cabalgará usted el cerdo al mercado?”
Luke gave him an ambiguous nod.
“Oh, I see.” Sammy’s head bounced up and down like a dashboard doll. “So you are going to ride your pig to the market.”
“Look, eighty thousand dollars should buy me more than makeup and IDs. If you have a better idea, now’s the time to share it.”
“I’m just saying there’s a lot of pieces missing from this puzzle. You may end up chasing your tail in Guatemala.”
The cell phone in Luke’s coat pocket rang. It was the phone that Sammy had given him to call Ben.
“Ignore it,” Sammy said. “No one has that number. That phone’s only used for outgoing calls.”
Luke said, “Ben Wilson has this number. I gave it to him when we arranged the drop.” He flipped open the phone.
“Ben?”
Silence.
“Hello?” Luke said.
“Stay away,” said a heavily accented Hispanic voice.
Luke shot a glance at Sammy. “Away from where?”
“Dr. McKenna, there is no need to insult me. I am sure you know what we are talking about, no?” There was a long silence, then, “I guess you want that we…how you say, make our point in a more direct way.”
The phone went quiet for a moment, then a slurred female voice said, “What are you…No, no more…please.”
“Megan!” Luke yelled.
“No…please…” Another scream.
The man’s voice again: “Are we understanding each other now?”
Luke’s chest heaved. “If anything happens to her, you’re a dead—”
A dial tone interrupted him.
36
“Flash, you still don’t get it, do you?” Sammy shook his head while driving east on Interstate 10. “These people aren’t trying to hide from you. They want you to know that they got you wired.”
Luke squinted into a burst of sunlight rising over the horizon. “I don’t scare that easily.”
“Maybe that’s what they’re counting on. It looks to Sammy like they’re reeling you in, using your doctor friend as bait. Think about it — they do you in Guatemala, use you as fertilizer in some banana orchard, and nobody ever hears from Doctor Fugitive again. You might be playing right into their hands.”
Images of Megan, locked away in some dark hole, flashed in Luke’s mind. “I’m not running from these people.”
Sammy adjusted his rearview mirror. “The cell phone you used to call Ben Wilson has caller ID block. No-way no-how anyone could get that number ‘less they work for the phone company. You’re dealing with pros. These people got juice — they wired Wilson’s office. They heard you give him your phone number.”
A thought that had been floating at the edges of Luke’s mind suddenly dropped on him like a brick. “I need to call Ben. He’s in their crosshairs and doesn’t even know it.”
“Whoa, you’re not calling anyone. By now the po-lice probably have a fix on every person you’ve called in the last six months. You can bet that Wilson’s on their list. You call him from a landline, they’ll probably be tracing it. You call him from a cell phone, they’ll have your location mapped on the cell grid in less than a minute.”
“Then you get to him. Tell him to leave this thing alone.”
Sammy nodded. “I’ll talk to him.”
“And tell Ben to get ahold of my father, let him know that I’m okay.” Luke reached into the backseat and grabbed a small backpack with some clothes and travel items that Sammy had bought for him. “How much farther to Riverside?”
“We should be there in about twenty minutes.”
“So you’re clear on your assignments?” Luke asked.
“Give me two days. I’ll have some dope on that company, Zenavax. But it’d help if you could tell me who mighta left the copy of Tartaglia’s e-mail on your doorstep.”
“I have no idea.”
Sammy started playing the steering wheel like a set of bongos. “I’m also gonna see if I can turn up anything on your lady friend, Megan Callahan.”
Luke pulled a bulky cell phone from the backpack. “Tell me about this phone.”
“It’s a satellite unit, uses a lotta energy. Fifteen, maybe eighteen hours between charges.”
“You sure this thing is safe? They found me on your other cellular.”
“Sammy burns through a lot of cell phone numbers in his work. That’s a clean number, never been used.” He jabbed the handset with his thumb. “And this has encryption, but it only works when you’re transmitting to me. My unit has the same algorithm. It’s smaller than most satellite phones — that’s the advantage — but it’s also less powerful. Unless you’re out in the open, forget it.”
“When will I hear from you?”
“I’ll call you once a day,” Sammy said, “at 1900 hours, Guatemala time. That thing has voicemail, but I’m not leaving you any messages so make sure it’s turned on at seven o’clock each night.”
Sammy glanced at the rearview mirror again. “Highway Patrol. Coming up on my side.”
Luke affected a relaxed pose. The cream-colored sedan with no markings or roof lights passed them without a glance. The only clue of law enforcement was a shotgun mounted next to the driver, pointing up toward the rearview mirror.
“Get outta California before you go near an airport,” Sammy said. “Take a bus into Arizona, or New Mexico. Then, maybe you can fly to…”
Luke could hardly listen through the grim desolation that washed over him. He was on the run with a rapidly dwindling supply of cash and no weapon. He didn’t know whom he was up against or why they were targeting him, nor did he know how Megan’s abduction fit into this nightmare. The only thing he knew with certainty was that he had set in motion the events that led to her abduction. Because of him, Megan’s life had suddenly turned into a hellhole.
“You listening to me?” asked Sammy.
Luke stared at a freight train crawling along the side of the freeway. “Yeah.”
“One more thing. I know someone who might be able to help you. You know him too.”
“Who?”
“Calderon.”
“Forget it.”
“Just listen,” Sammy said. “Calderon used to work for me, but he didn’t really fit into corporate security. He was a little too much into bone breaking. The Guatemalan army offered him a job training their special forces, so he headed south a few years ago.”
“What does that have to do with—”
“Coupla years ago he got tired of working for their army and started his own company, doing security-type work in places where the sun’s a little hotter and the laws are a little more relaxed.” Sammy laughed. “He hired away some of my best people. I guess he needed English speakers for some of his clients. I didn’t take it personally. In fact, we do favors for one another from time to time. We each have our special skills.”