“The police aren’t going to find Gabe and Kali,” she says. “They’re running out of time, and they have no leads. They’re focusing on the hospital because, according to Gabriel Ireland’s friends, that’s where he felt most at home.”
“And nothing?” I say.
“Nothing. The hospital has been code black since we learned that Kali was with Dr. Ireland. There are literally hundreds of people looking for them, but that hospital is huge. I’m going to play another Tord Gustavsen tune-give you some time to prepare Robin Harris for the worst.”
When she sees that I’m on the talkback, Robin turns her eyes to me. She has the five-mile stare of a person sliding into shock. I don’t know how to pull her back. The cool Nordic rhythms of Tord Gustavsen’s trio drift through my earphones. Usually the trio’s clean, effortless riffs help me to think clearly. Nothing helps tonight. The panic in my chest expands. I’m having trouble breathing.
“There has to be something we can do,” I say to Nova.
She shakes her head. “No one’s calling. No one’s emailing. No one’s texting. Everybody’s scared, Charlie. They know that Kali’s life is at stake. You asked people to keep the lines open, and that’s what they’re doing.”
“Do you think I should go on-air and make another appeal?”
Nova rubs her eyes. “It can’t hurt,” she says. “Anything’s better than just sitting here listening to the clock tick off the minutes of Kali’s life.”
I flip on my microphone. Suddenly Nova raises her hand in a halt gesture. “Hold on,” she says. “We’ve got a call.”
“Do you want me to take it on-air?”
“Give me a minute to make sure it isn’t a hoax.”
As she takes the caller’s information, Nova’s body tenses. Her voice through the talkback is tight with excitement. “This is the real thing. The caller’s name is Paulina Terzic. She’s a member of the janitorial staff at Lakeshore Hospital. She just came off her shift and tuned us in.”
My hear t is pounding. “Put her through,” I say. I reach for my on-air voice.
“Mrs. Terzic, hello.”
“Hello, Charlie. Two things. Have I got time for two things?”
The woman sounds old and kind. Her accent is pronounced.
“Yes, but quickly.”
“I understand. One: Dr. Ireland is a good man. Two: he and the little girl are in the old morgue at the hospital. Dr. Ireland and I used to meet there to talk when I was having problems with my grandson. The doctor helped me through a bad time. That’s all I have to say.” The line goes dead.
Robin bolts upright. “The old morgue. Of course. That sound we’ve been hearing is the bell on the freight elevator. Tell the police to get in there now!”
The Tord Gustavsen Trio beg ins another number. Nova has the phone cradled between her ear and shoulder. As she talks, she keys a message on her computer. The words appear on my screen: Cops heard Mrs. Terzic. They’re reluctant to storm the morgue in case Gabe gets spooked and injects Kali. You’re their best option. You have to convince Gabe to give himself up and let Kali live.
Robin has pushed her chair toward me so she can see the screen. When she reads the final sentence aloud, her voice is ragged. Her eyes meet mine. “Please,” she says. “It’s up to you.”
I inhale, lean forward and flip on my microphone. “We’re back. And once again, it’s the Gabe and Charlie Show. That means no calls please. No emails. No texts. But prayers and good thoughts are welcome. Is that okay with you, Gabe?”
Gabe’s laugh is edged with sadness. “Prayers and good thoughts are always welcome,” he says. “Now I need your help with something, Charlie. I’m certain the authorities are monitoring your show tonight, but could you remind them that if they force my hand, I’ll have to move very quickly and that will frighten Kali?”
“They’re listening, Gabe. But I will remind them to exercise extreme caution. We’re all jumpy, but nobody wants to make a mistake.”
“Thanks. Right now, we’re on schedule. Kali’s already reached the Candy Castle. I’ve lost my last game. Are we having fun, Kali?”
“Yep.”
“As long as no one tries to come into our hiding place, we’ll keep on having fun.” Gabe’s pleasant tenor is soothing. “Kali knows exactly how it’s going to be. She’s wearing her magic pajamas with the stars that shine in the dark, and…Kali, why don’t you tell Mummy what’s going to happen?”
“Won’t that wreck the surprise?” Kali asks.
When she hears her daughter’s voice, Robin bows her head.
“No,” Gabe says. “Because Mummy doesn’t need to see us getting the surprise ready. She just needs to see what we’ve done.”
“So it will still be a surprise for her,” Kali says.
“It will still be a surprise,” Gabe agrees.
“Okay. Mummy when the clock strikes twelve, Gabe’s going to turn out the lights so we can see the moons and stars on my pajamas light up in the dark, and we’re going to watch them until we fall asleep.”
“Oh god!” Robin’s moan is primal-the cry of a trapped animal.
“Time to get ready,” Gabe says. “Let’s turn out the lights. Wow, Kali-the moon and stars on your pajamas really do glow in the dark.”
“When I move my arms, I can turn the stars into shooting stars,” Kali says. “Look Gabe!”
“That’s so beautiful, Kali. Now I’m going to push your sleeve up just a tiny bit. I’ll bet the moon and the stars shine even brighter when they get really close together.”
Beside me, Robin folds in on herself like a broken doll.
“Oh god,” she says. “He’s going to do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nova is on the phone in the control room. Suddenly her voice comes over the talkback. “Charlie, Danny’s on line one. He wants to talk to Gabe.”
“Danny’s hanging on by a thread himself,” I say. “I don’t think he’s capable of…”
I switch on my microphone.
“Gabe, there’s someone who wants to talk to you.”
“I’m tired of talking, Charlie D.”
“Then just listen. Remember Danny? He called in earlier about his brother’s death?”
Gabe doesn’t respond. As the silence on the other end of the line grows longer, I wonder if I’m too late.
“Gabe?” I say. He doesn’t answer. The next time I call his name, I realize I’m shouting.
“I’m here,” he says finally. “I’ll listen to Danny.”
When Danny called in earlier, it was agonizing to hear him speak, but dealing with a problem outside himself seems to free Danny from his demons. The stutter is gone. His voice is heartbreakingly young and urgent, and his message is clear.
“Gabe, you have to listen,” he says, “because I’m probably the only person you’ll hear from who’s actually killed another person. Even if you only live one second after you kill that little girl, that one second will be too long. You’ll die knowing that you changed everything.
“In physics, we studied this thing called the butterfly effect. It’s about how if a butterfly in the Amazon jungle flaps its wings, that butterfly may eventually change the weather everywhere.
“My brother, Liam, was getting really good with his drums. He might have been a really great drummer. And he was smart-really smart. He might have been the person who found a cure for cancer or stopped global warming. He might have done all kinds of things. I think about that all the time.