Viv scowled toward the cameras, pursing her lips at the sound of the name she hated.
“Neither they nor Bethany nor Ray are proud of what they achieved. Isn’t it interesting that what strikes others as remarkable behavior is minimized by those who lived through it? At the time, they weren’t being heroic. They were just desperately trying to stay alive. Fear is an ugly emotion. No one wants to remember it.”
8
“Amanda Evert.”
Throughout, Amanda’s heart had pounded increasingly faster. Each time her name wasn’t called, she felt relieved, but then her dread increased as the voice ended one account and paused before beginning another.
“No,” Amanda said.
“But yours is the only story I haven’t told.”
“Please, don’t talk about it.”
“How can I make my point otherwise?”
“Don’t talk about the Paragon Hotel.”
But the voice persisted. “Around ten at night, Amanda got off a train in Brooklyn on her way home from working late at a book store in Manhattan.”
“No.” Amanda pressed her hands over her ears. But even then, she dimly heard the voice.
“Amanda’s abductor hid in an alley and used a drug-soaked cloth to overpower her. She regained consciousness on a bed in the Paragon Hotel.”
The memory of her terror brought tears to Amanda’s eyes. They streamed down her cheeks.
“That Asbury Park landmark was built in 1901, but after a series of disappearances, its doors were sealed in 1971. For five months, Amanda was held prisoner until a group of urban adventurers broke into the hotel to explore its historic corridors. But they soon discovered that some buildings are abandoned for a reason. Only a few survived the wrath of Amanda’s abductor.”
Amanda tasted the salt of her tears as the voice spoke of Frank Balenger, her rescuer, and the agony he endured to save her.
Frank, she thought. Where are you?
A flame of anger swelled inside her.
“Balenger’s heroism was astonishing,” the voice enthused. “It’s difficult to imagine how a man can push himself so long and so hard, to overcome so many obstacles and still manage to survive — not just survive but to save Amanda and a companion in the process. Do you see the theme? Determination and ingenuity, discipline and self-reliance. These are the virtues you share. That is why I brought you here.”
“Frank,” Amanda whispered. Her eyes felt raw, blurred from weeping. “Frank,” she said stronger. She stood with such force that her chair toppled. Fists clenched, she yelled toward the ceiling, “What have you done with him, you bastard? Frank was the hero! I didn’t do anything, except get rescued!”
“Modesty is an over-praised virtue. You did far more that night than you give yourself credit for.”
“Damn it, where’s Frank? Why isn’t he here?”
“Would you change places with him?” the voice wondered. “Would you want him to be here instead of you?”
“He saved my life! I’m proud to take his place! But Frank’s the hero! There’s just one reason I can think of why you didn’t bring him here! You killed him, you son of a bitch!”
The only reply was the sound of breathing.
“Admit it!” Amanda yelled.
“I haven’t included this conversation in your forty hours. But the time will soon begin. I suggest you control yourself, or else you’ll be worthless to the group.”
Ray snapped his lighter shut. “Forty hours? He mentioned that before.”
“All of you, reach under the table.”
“Why?” Bethany demanded.
They looked warily at one another. Slowly, they obeyed.
Amanda was the last. Her emotions so ravaged her that everything seemed distant. She felt a wiry object attached to clips. She pulled it free.
“Earphones?” Viv asked.
Each streamlined headset was identical. A thin, curved metal band had a small ear bud at either end. A piece of metal projected from above the left ear bud.
“A microphone,” the voice explained. “I need to remain in communication with you when you step outside.”
“You’re letting us go?” Viv sounded hopeful.
The voice ignored the question. “The batteries on these units are strong. They’ll last the necessary forty hours.”
“Forty hours? Why do you keep talking about—”
“There’s something else under the table.”
Puzzled, Derrick sank to his knees and peered under it. Metal scraped as he pulled something free. He showed the group a small object.
Amanda thought it was a cell phone. Emotionally exhausted, she didn’t realize she’d said it out loud until Derrick looked at her.
“No.” He frowned. “It’s a global positioning satellite receiver. We use them on climbing expeditions.”
“And for sailing,” Bethany added.
“And flying,” Ray said. “But the GPS units in jets are considerably more sophisticated.”
“Some new cars have them, also,” Viv said. “But why do we need—”
“There’s one for each of you,” the voice told them.
Amanda watched the others reach under the table. Apprehensive, she did the same. The object her fingers undipped was silver gray. It had a screen similar to a cell phone, but there wasn’t an array of buttons. Instead, just a few buttons protruded on each side. The top had an image of a globe, then the word ETREX. The name of a particular model? Amanda wondered. At the bottom was another word that she guessed identified the manufacturer: GARMIN.
Viv noticed her confusion. “Never used a GPS receiver?”
“No.”
“It has maps, an altimeter, and a compass. When you turn it on, it orients itself to the signals from global positioning satellites. Then you enter map coordinates to chart a course or find a location. Hey!” Viv yelled at the ceiling. “What are we supposed to do with these?”
The voice ignored the question. “Go to your rooms. Each closet has a change of clothes. Return to the front door in ten minutes.”
“And then what?”
“The forty hours begin.”
9
“This is what I learned so far,” Detective Ortega said.
Tortured by his emotions, Balenger sat rigidly at a desk in the Missing Persons office of Manhattan’s One Police Plaza. The echo of phones and conversations filled the corridor outside.