Afraid of what he would do to her next, she fought against the pain and forced the chair back around so that she was facing him. But he wasn’t looking at her. Instead he was staring at the television and muttering to himself.

A close-up of Dan filled the small screen. He looked frantic, and since the score now favored the Stars 173, the commentators were making a joke about it. The sight of him made her feel as if she had been ripped open. She might die today. Was she going to be watching his face when it happened? The idea was unbearable and she forced her numb fingers to begin working at the knots that held her to the chair. As she bit back the pain her movements were causing her, she remembered their last conversation and the unshakable conviction in his voice when he had told her he would never throw a game.

I don’t do that, Phoebe. Not for anybody. Not even for you.

24

24

On the sideline Dan called Jim Biederot over. He hoped the quarterback didn’t notice the unsteadiness in his voice. “We’re making some changes in the next series, Jim.”

By the time he’d finished giving his instructions, Biederot’s eyes had narrowed into indignant slits above the black smudges that angled across his cheekbones. “Those are goddamn running plays! I’m hitting every receiver I look at.”

“Do what you’re told or you’ll sit!” Dan shot back.

Biederot gave him a glance of pure fury and stalked over to Charlie Cray, one of the assistants. Within seconds, he had grabbed Charlie’s headset and was shouting into it.

Dan knew Jim was speaking with Gary Hewitt, his offensive coordinator, who sat with Tully in the coaches’ box high in the dome. Before Hewitt could start giving him hell, too, he tried to swallow enough of his fear so he could sort out his thoughts.

Hardesty had said he was watching on television, which meant he’d be able to see any unusual movement on the sideline or in whatever part of the stadium was within camera range. As a consequence, Dan couldn’t risk notifying the police. Once they knew that Phoebe truly had been kidnapped, they’d be all over the place, including right here on the sideline asking him questions. Even worse, they might decide to call the game, a circumstance that could very well push Hardesty right over the edge.

He briefly debated using his headset to contact Ron, but he was afraid Hardesty might be listening in. Although Dan didn’t understand all the intricacies of the internal communications system, he knew Hardesty could only have accessed it from within the dome. That meant he might, even now, be eavesdropping on conversations between the sideline and the coaches’ box. It also mean that Phoebe was tucked away somewhere nearby.