Hedy woke up in a darkened room. She let her eyes become accustomed, then had a look around. She was no longer blindfolded but her hands and feet were tied. She was on a single bed in a small room, like a maid’s room. She spied a door ajar and hopped over to it, finding a small bathroom. She got her jeans down, retrieved the phone, and peed. She switched on the phone and got one dot of reception, on and off. She tried Stone’s number but couldn’t get through. She had less than fifty percent charge left. Why hadn’t she charged it last night? Stupid!

She composed a text message, in the hope that it might eventually get through: car, jet plane, car, windy road, A coast? Noisy elevator, high floor, small room, half battery, one dot. text back. She got back to the bed; she tucked the phone between the mattress and box spring. Then she slept again.

—

Stone felt his phone go off and checked for calls and messages. Nothing. It vibrated again but still nothing. Then the message. “Okay, everybody,” he announced, “Hedy has gotten through: she was put into a car, then a jet plane, then a car. She was on a windy road, maybe a coast, then had a long ride in a noisy elevator. She’s in a small room, half her battery is gone, and she has one dot of reception.”

“She’s not going to get a call out with one dot,” Mike said.

“The text seemed to take a couple of tries to get through.”

Stone’s phone rang.

“We got the message,” Lugano said, “but texts go out so fast we couldn’t nail even a general location, and Italy is mostly coast. Also, is ‘windy’ a winding road or one with a lot of wind? Either way, sounds like a coast road.”

“She may not even be in Italy,” Stone said. “She could be anywhere.”

“Sounds like a skyscraper under construction on a coast,” Dino said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Noisy elevator, maybe a construction site. You know those temporary elevators they throw up with scaffolding on the outside of a building under construction? Maybe an office building or a condo on the coast somewhere.”

“I wish she could be more specific,” Mike said.

“She’s told us everything she knows,” Stone remarked. “She’s doing her best.”

“Not good enough,” Dino said. “Not yet, anyway.”

31

Stone slept surprisingly well that night. Hedy was safe, and didn’t sound abused, and that gave him some comfort. On the other hand, it was maddening to hear from her and get so little information. He joined the others for breakfast, and Mike Freeman was there, too.

“Where are you staying, Mike?”

“At my office. There’s a little apartment there. Any messages from Hedy this morning?”

“Nothing—she probably slept.”