A girl, maybe three or four or maybe even five. He wasn’t good with the ages of kids that small.
Her skin was pale, but that could have been partly due to the cold, so it wasn’t a clear indication of her background. She could have been Caucasian or Asian or Latin or Arab. If he could see her eyes, that might help, but closed like they were, they looked…well, like a kid’s eyes. A few loose strands of hair peeked out from under the stocking cap she was wearing, but it was too dark to tell their color — some shade of brown or maybe black.
You’re wasting time, he told himself.
He worked the wet blanket off of her and dumped it in the footwell. Since he didn’t have another to replace it, he pulled off his jacket and draped it over her. As soon as he was behind the wheel and had the engine going, he flipped the heater to high.
The plan was to head west to Kurashiki, where he was to take a boat to Saijo on Shikoku Island. Carter had made the arrangements for this initial leg, so Abraham assumed the boat crew was aware there’d be two passengers, not one.
Driving out of town, his gaze constantly flicked back and forth between the road and his rearview mirror. At any moment, he expected to see flashing lights racing up behind him. It was irrational, he knew. There was no way anyone would suspect he had the girl, whoever the hell she was. But that didn’t stop him from feeling like he was on the verge of being caught.
As he neared Himeji, he finally began to feel like he was no longer in imminent danger and allowed himself to retrieve his phone.
The line rang four times before Carter picked up. “You are not supposed to be calling me,” Abraham’s employer said. “I know I made that clear.”
“What have you gotten me into?” Abraham asked.
“Is there something wrong? You received the package, didn’t you?”
“You mean the kid? Yeah, I got her.”
A pause. “Is she all right?”
Despite his anger, Abraham shot a quick look into the backseat. “She’s asleep, so as far as I know, she’s fine.”
“Okay. Good, good,” Carter said, relieved. “Abraham, I know you’re pissed, but I’m sure you understand I had to do it this way. You wouldn’t have taken the job if I’d told you.”
“Damn right, I wouldn’t have!” His voice rose higher than he wanted it to. Worried he might have woken the child, he glanced back again but the girl hadn’t moved.
“Then I did the right thing,” Carter said.
“What do you—”
“I needed you to do this. I can’t tell you how important this is. I needed a break in the transportation line. Someone might be able to trace her to the people who handed her off to you, but you’re undocumented. No one will ever know you were involved. The trail ended when you took possession. I just need you to get her to the drop-off, healthy and in one piece.” He paused. “I wasn’t lying when I said you were the only one I trusted enough to do this.”
“Who is she?”
“You don’t want to know that.”
Abraham pressed his lips together, his eyes narrowing. “Then at least tell me if someone’s going to be looking for her.”
A pause before Carter said, “If things go as planned, no one’s ever going to know she’s missing.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not. The interested party should be convinced that she’s dead.”
“And if they’re not?”
“Like I said, no one knows about you.”
Abraham stared at the road, processing what Carter had revealed.
“Are you still there?” Carter asked.
“I’m changing things up,” Abraham said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll get her there, but the old route’s out.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m off the books, remember? If you don’t know where I am, no one will.”
“Hold on, Abraham. Just tell me—”
Abraham disconnected the call and immediately removed the cell’s battery and SIM card. After checking around to make sure no other cars were nearby, he rolled the window down enough to toss out the phone and the battery. The SIM card he snapped in half before sending each piece flying into the rain.
It was only then he realized he should’ve asked a few more questions. Questions like: How old is she? What do I feed her? Does she speak English? And, perhaps most important, what’s her name?
He looked in the rearview mirror again. While the girl’s eyes were still closed, she had turned on her side and pulled his jacket all the way up to her cheek. She looked blissfully unaware that anything was wrong.
He focused back on the road.
“Damn. It.”
The rain began to ease a couple dozen kilometers east of Hiroshima. By the time Abraham and his package had crossed over to the island of Kyushu, it had stopped altogether, and the clouds had begun to break apart enough so that he could see pale patches of early morning sky.
The girl, however, didn’t begin to stir until they were in the mountains south of Yatsushiro. Abraham pulled into a wide spot at the side of the road, half hidden by pine trees, climbed out of the car, and opened the back passenger door. Crouching just outside so he wouldn’t scare her too much, he waited.
Nearly three minutes passed before her eyelashes fluttered, and her lids opened on eyes that were not quite Western, not quite Asian, not quite any ethnicity in particular. She lay still for a moment, and then twisted to the side so she could look into the front of the car. Not seeing anyone, she pushed up and leaned between the two front seats.
“Mommy?”
Abraham’s heart clenched.
The girl stayed where she was for several more seconds, as if her mother would suddenly appear. When she pulled back and saw Abraham, her breath caught in her throat.
“It’s okay,” he said in English, hoping he’d correctly guessed her native language based on the single word she’d spoken. “I was just waiting for you to wake up.”
She scooted away from him several inches and hugged her arms around her chest. “Where’s Mommy?” she asked. Still not a lot to go by, but her accent sounded North American.
“I don’t know,” he said, deciding the honest approach would be best. “She wasn’t with you when we met.”
She looked at him, her eyes guarded. “I don’t know you.”
“No. You were asleep.”
“Asleep?”
He nodded. “Some people brought you to me. They thought I could help you.”
“I want Mommy. Where’s Mommy?”
“I wish I could tell you, but I don’t know.”
The muscles around her mouth began to tremble, and he was pretty sure she was about to cry.
“Why don’t you tell me your name?” he said.
She stared at him, silent.
“It’s okay. I’m only here to help you. What’s your name?”
It took a moment before she said, “Tessa.”
“Hi, Tessa. You can call me Abraham.”
“Abram?”
He smiled at her attempt. “I tell you what, if it’s easier, just call me Abe.” He never let anyone call him Abe, but under the circumstances, he was willing to make an exception. “Better?”
“Abe,” she said, trying it out.
“Are you hungry, Tessa?”
A nod.
“How about we get something to eat? Can you buckle up?”
She looked around. “Where’s my seat?”
“Either one is fine,” he said.
“But…but…”
It took him a second before it dawned on him why she was so confused. She needed a child’s car seat.
Wonderful, he thought, hoping the lack of one wouldn’t get him pulled over.