There were several more contemporary examples in the report, but that was how the Red Mafiya worked. It was what we were up against if the Russians were behind White Girl.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Something incredible was about to happen.
It was a gorgeous afternoon in eastern Pennsylvania, the leaves just beginning to turn bright shades of crimson and gold. The Art Director found himself lost in a storm of dazzling colors, and their reflections sliding back and forth across his windshield were mesmerizing. Am I doing the right thing now? he had asked himself several times during the ride. He thought that he was.
‘You have to admit that it’s beautiful,’ he said to the bound passenger in his Mercedes G Class SUV.
‘It is,’ said Audrey Meek. She was thinking that she’d believed she would never see the outdoors again, never smell fresh grass and flowers. So where was this madman taking her with her hands tied? They were driving away from his cabin. Going where? What did it mean?
She was terrified, but trying not to show it. Small talk, she told herself. Keep him talking.
‘You like this G Class?’ she asked, and immediately knew it was an insane question, just insane.
His tight smile, but especially his eyes, told her that he thought so too. And yet, he answered politely. ‘I do, actually. At first I thought it was the final proof that rich people are incredibly stupid. I mean, it’s kind of like putting a Mercedes logo on a wheelbarrow, and then paying triple for it. But I do like the oddness of the vehicle, the rigid lines of the design, the gizmos like lockable differentials. Of course, I’ll have to get rid of this one now, won’t I?’
Oh God, she was afraid to ask why, but maybe she knew already. She’d seen the car he drove. Maybe someone else had too. But she had also seen his face, so he wasn’t really making sense. Or was he?
Suddenly Audrey found that she couldn’t talk at all. No words would come out of her mouth, which was very dry. This self-professed nice guy, who said he wanted to be her friend but who had raped her half a dozen times, was going to kill her very soon. And then what? Bury her out here in the beautiful woods? Dump her body in a gorgeous lake with a heavy weight attached to it?
Tears formed in Audrey’s eyes, and her brain buzzed as if there were a short in the circuit. She didn’t want to die. Not now, not like this. She loved her children, her husband, Georges, and even her company. It had taken her so long, so much sacrifice and hard work, to get her life right. And now this had to happen, this fluke, this incredibly bad luck.
Suddenly the Art Director turned sharply on to a narrow dirt road, then sped down it much too fast. Where was he going? Why so fast? What was at the end of the road?
But apparently they weren’t going all the way to the end! He was braking.
‘My God, no!’ Audrey screamed. ‘No! Please! Don’t!’
He stopped the car but let the engine run.
‘Please,’ she pleaded. ‘Oh please… don’t do this. Please, please, please. You don’t have to kill me.’
The Art Director merely smiled. ‘Give us a hug, Audrey. Then get out of the car before I change my mind. You’re free. I’m not going to hurt you. You see, I love you too much.’
Chapter Fifty
There was a break in White Girl. One of the women had been found – alive.
I was rushed to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in one of the two Bell helicopters kept at Quantico for emergencies. A few senior agents had told me that they’d never been up in one of the helicopters. It didn’t sit too well with them. Now here I was becoming a regular during my orientation period. There were benefits to being on the Director’s fast track.
The sleek black Bell set down in a small field in Norristown, Pennsylvania. During the flight I found myself thinking of a recent orientation class. We’d burned fingernail clippings so that everybody would know what a DOA smelled like. I already knew, and I didn’t relish experiencing it again. I didn’t think there would be any DOAs on this trip to Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, that turned out to be wrong.
Agents from the field office in Philadelphia were there to meet the helicopter and accompany me to where Audrey Meek had been brought for questioning. So far there’d been no announcement to the press, though her husband had been notified and was on his way to Norristown.
‘I’m not exactly sure where we are right now,’ I said as we rode to a local state troopers’ barracks. ‘How far is this from where Mrs Meek was abducted?’
‘We’re five miles,’ said one of the agents from Philly. ‘It would take about ten minutes by car.’
‘Was she held captive near this area?’ I asked. ‘Do we know yet? What exactly do we know?’
‘She told the state police that the abductor brought her here early this morning. She’s not sure of the directions but thinks they rode for well over an hour. Her wristwatch had been taken away from her. He kept some of her clothing too. Even a small bottle of perfume called Meek One.’
I nodded. ‘Was she blindfolded during the ride? I assume that she was.’
‘No. That’s odd, isn’t it? She saw her captor several times. Also his vehicle. He didn’t seem to care one way or the other.’
That was a genuine surprise to me. It didn’t track, and I said so.
‘Stump the stars,’ said the agent. ‘Isn’t that what this case is about so far?’
The state trooper barracks occupied a redbrick building tucked back from the highway. There wasn’t any activity outside, and I took that as a good sign. At least I had beaten the press there. No one had leaked the story so far.
I hurried inside the barracks to meet Audrey Meek. I was eager to find out how she had survived against all odds, the first woman who had.
Chapter Fifty-One
My very first impression was that Audrey Meek didn’t look at all like herself, not as she did in any of her publicity. Not now anyway, not after her terrible ordeal. Mrs Meek was thinner, especially in the face. Her eyes were dark blue, but the sockets appeared hollowed-out. She had some color on both cheeks.
‘I’m FBI Agent Alex Cross. It’s good to see you safe,’ I said in a quiet voice. I didn’t want to interview her right now, but it had to be done.
Audrey Meek nodded and her eyes met mine. I had the sense that she knew how lucky she was.
‘You have some color in your cheeks. Did you get that today?’ I asked her. ‘While you were in the woods?’
‘I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. He took me outside for walks every day he held me captive. Considering the circumstances, he was often considerate. He made my meals, good ones for the most part. He told me he’d been a chef at one time in Richmond. We had long talks almost every day, really long talks. It was so strange, everything about it. There was one day in the middle when he wasn’t at the house at all. I was petrified he’d left me there to die in the woods. But I didn’t really believe he would.’
I didn’t interrupt her. I wanted to let Audrey Meek tell her story, without any pressure or steering from me. It was astonishing to me that she had been released. It didn’t happen very often in cases like this one.