Jacob Gadanz headed into Elaina’s room first. She was the easy one to awaken. As he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, he could see in the dim light that her eyes were already open and glistening. She was like him, a very light sleeper. In fact, she was like him in a lot of ways.
As he rose back up, it struck him for the first time that perhaps he didn’t appreciate her as much as he should, and he vowed to do better at that. He’d have plenty of time, too. It wasn’t as if he was going to be working anytime soon. That would be far too risky, especially early on. Besides, they should be able to stretch two million dollars a long way. It should provide them a respectable runway and the chance to settle into their new surroundings with their new names.
He’d moved the money yesterday afternoon. It was hidden and safe but still available. The only good thing about what he’d done for Daniel and Kaashif was that he’d become an expert at cleansing cash.
“Morning, Papa.”
“Good morning, angel.”
“So, where are we going?” Elaina asked as she slowly sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.
“It’s a surprise,” Gadanz answered. He’d told the girls last night that they would all be taking a long trip today. But that was all he’d said; there were no details even though they’d both tried hard to have him say more. “A big surprise.” Fortunately, this escape was timed perfectly with the beginning of their holiday from school, so they seemed unsuspecting and excited about what was happening. They believed this was the start of a family vacation. He could ease them gently into the realization that the move was permanent, and he didn’t have to explain anything today. “And I want you to help your sister this morning with everything, okay? We have to get going quickly.”
“Why, Papa?”
“So we get where we’re going faster,” Gadanz called back with a laugh as he headed out of her room and into Sophie’s, trying to make light of everything. “Good morning, Sophie,” he said loudly, “wake up, honey.” She was on her side, turned away from the door, which was strange. She’d always slept on her stomach as far back as he could remember. A faint alarm went off in the back of his head as he reached out and shook her shoulder gently. “Sophie, wake—”
“I’m awake, Papa!” she shouted, turning over quickly and jumping up on the mattress with a big smile.
His heart nearly exploded as she leapt from the bed into his arms. “God, you scared me,” he murmured as he grabbed her and held her tight.
“I’m excited, Papa. I couldn’t sleep, I was so excited.”
Now he felt terrible. For not telling them where they were going and how permanent it was; for yielding to the temptations Daniel had plied him with in Florida; for putting his family in this situation to begin with. But he’d needed that money Daniel had staked him with to start the company. Unfortunately, from that moment on he’d been in his brother’s debt — which was a bad place to be, even if you were Daniel’s brother. It hadn’t seemed so bad at the time, but down deep he’d figured this day would come sooner or later.
“Tell me where we’re going, Daddy.”
“It’s a surprise, a big surprise.”
As she hugged him again, he thought he heard something downstairs. It had to be Sasha starting breakfast. But he could have sworn she was still in the bathroom, which was off their bedroom on this upper floor.
Kaashif was strong and committed to the cause, but not as strong and committed as Imelda had been. Not even close. As Maddux thought back on his interrogation career, he marveled once more at Imelda’s fortitude and thought again about how it would have been good to have her on their side.
“I think I know what your vulnerability is, Kaashif.”
“What do you mean, sir?” Kaashif asked respectfully as he continued to sob. “Please let me go.”
“I think you’re just like me. I think you hate small, confining places.” The moment the young man hesitated, Maddux knew he’d broken through the veneer. “You’re claustrophobic, aren’t you?”
“I do not even know what that word means.”
Maddux laughed harshly as he lifted the wooden box off the floor. “You’re not a very good liar, Kaashif.” The box was hinged in the middle of the front with a hole for the neck in the bottom. It would fit snugly around Kaashif’s head and, once closed, very accurately replicate the feeling of being buried alive in total darkness. Maddux knew only too well how hideous that feeling was. It was his only vulnerability, too.
As Maddux began to fit the box around Kaashif’s head, the young man began to struggle violently.
Maddux laughed again, louder. “I got it, didn’t I, you little bastard?”
“Don’t do this!” Kaashif shouted, moving his head about as fast and furiously as he could. “Please, no, no, no!” But he could only resist for so long.
As Maddux snapped the latches at the back of the box tightly shut, Kaashif began to scream much more desperately than he had from any of the five cigarette burns on his shoulders. “Now, tell me what I want to know.”
The muffled, panic-stricken screams went on and on until finally Maddux realized he was only seconds away from all the answers he sought.
“You’re not touching her,” Troy said firmly as he stood in front of Elaina, who was lying in one corner of the bedroom floor, hog-tied and crying into the gag that had been shoved roughly into her mouth. “I mean it, Agent Walker.” He’d been afraid of this. If only they hadn’t talked about it beforehand, it never would have happened. He’d always been suspicious like that, and he knew how irrational it sounded. But things always seemed to work out more often when he was. “I’m serious.”
“Get out of my way,” Travers ordered gruffly as he moved farther into the room, pistol drawn. “She has to die. We all agreed on this before we came in here.”
Agent Shenandoah stood by the door clutching his MP5, clearly agitated. His black ski mask lay crumpled on the floor beside Elaina.
“Where are the others?” Troy demanded as he brought the barrel of his MP5 up at Travers. Troy had come to respect Travers as much as he could in the short time they’d known each other, and he was not a naturally trusting young man. But he was learning that Travers had a short temper. And he was not a negotiator. “Where are Gadanz, the woman, and the other little girl?”
“They’re tied up in the master bedroom,” Travers answered, raising one eyebrow as he glanced at the gun barrel. “Agent Potomac is watching them.”
“What happened in here?” Troy demanded, gesturing at Agent Shenandoah.
“She was hiding behind the door when I came in,” he answered angrily. “She tried to run, but I caught her. She tore my ski mask off before I could do anything about it. This sucks, but it’s not my fault.”
Debatable, Troy figured, but they didn’t have time to argue about it. He glanced at the nightstand and the cell phone on top of it. “Did you—”
“She didn’t make any outbound calls. I checked. Not since last night, anyway.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Travers spoke up. “We need to get out of here, but we need to take care of this situation first.”
Once again he tried getting at the girl, but once again Troy stepped in front of him. “You’re not killing her,” Troy said firmly. “She’s not a threat to anyone.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And you don’t have to worry about it,” Agent Shenandoah hissed. “She hasn’t seen your face.”
Troy pulled the ski mask off his head immediately. “There,” he said, glancing down into Elaina’s petrified eyes. “Now she’s seen me, too. You satisfied?”