Another chuckle. “That won’t be necessary.”

I hear another siren coming in from another direction. This place is hot and is going to get much hotter, and I need to get moving before some smart cop starts setting up roadblocks.

“What now?” I ask.

“You’re to bring him to me, in good health. You’re to drive east, to a town called Beachside, Florida. It’s off Route 98, just below Miramar Beach and above another town called Seaside. If you were to drive nonstop, it should take you just about thirteen hours. But as you can tell, I’m in a giving mood. Your deadline is exactly twenty-four hours from now.”

“Where in Beachside?”

“There’s a small plaza in the center of town, with a little open music hall and fountain. Park there and call me, and then I’ll give you further instructions.”

“Why is this…old man so important to you?”

“Really, Captain Cornwall, do you expect me to answer that question?”

“I’m a hopeful gal.”

“So you are,” he says.

The man next to me is staring ahead with a mournful look. What has brought him here, and why is he so needed in Florida?

Sorry, I don’t care.

I say, “I need to talk to Tom, right now.”

“I’m sorry, that’s not possible.”

A sharp shard of cold ice has just been shoved into my chest.

“Make it possible,” I say, slowly and with emphasis.

“I’m not in a position to do that at this time,” he says.

“Then change your position.”

He says, “I give you my word that they are safe. But they are also in a secure location that is sometimes difficult to access. But I promise you this. When you get to Beachside, and before the exchange, you will be able to talk to him.”

I look to the quiet and nice-looking man sitting next to me. “Hey!” I yell in his direction, and he’s startled.

Great.

That means he can hear, and is going to hear what I’m saying next.

“Okay. I don’t trust you or your worthless word, but we’ll have an understanding, okay? When I get to Beachside and phone you, I will hear from Tom directly. I will also hear from Denise, directly and separately. I will be able to ask them both questions to ensure that they are safe and are ready for me to pick them up.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I want to know that they’re in the area, all right? I don’t want them to be somewhere in Georgia or Alabama or someplace else. So you need to come up with some sort of solution that tells me they’re nearby.”

“Or else?” he asks.

I look to the man who’s now staring at me with his soft brown eyes.

“Or else I take the man you desire so much, stand him next to the fountain you mentioned, and blow his goddamn head off.”

I disconnect the call.

The old man’s gaze doesn’t flinch.

I start up the Jeep and say to him, “In case you didn’t notice, I shot two men dead in your house back there, all in order to get my family back. No offense, buster, but if I don’t get my family back, safe and sound, you’re not living out tomorrow.”