“He’s here in Newburgh somewhere. He’s trying to ruin my life.”

“Like he tried to ruin our lives?”

“Not quite. He ran down my mother with a car. He tried to kill my…friend. Last night he shot my brother. I have no idea what he’s up to, but I knew I had to warn you.”

“How is your brother?”

“He’ll survive.”

“Everyone from the prison lives between here and Boston. I will get word to each of them today.” Hassan was about to say something else, then he stopped short.

I put my hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. There was no one else in the tiny store with us. “What is it? You can tell me.”

“You know that there were men among us who planned attacks against the US.”

“I know that four men were transferred to regular custody. But they didn’t cause us any problems the night we set you all free.”

“There are ten of us who owe you our freedom. We can help you if you need it.”

“Right now all I need is some answers. The government’s not big on spilling its secrets to a guy like me.”

“The government is made up of people. Mostly good people. If you found the right person, they might give you some honest answers.”

That made me think. I grabbed his upper arms and almost shouted, “Hassan, that’s a great idea.”

He flashed me a smile and said, “If I knew what you were talking about, I’m sure I would swell with pride.”

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

However unintentionally, Hassan had pointed me in a new direction. I checked on Natty and brought my exhausted mother back to her house. As soon as she was settled, I ran home and immediately got on my computer.

I thought back to the night we found the hidden prison and how federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security swooped in and took the men and woman who’d been running the prison.

I still got a chill when I thought about the woman in charge of the Homeland Security people. She was threatening without having to make explicit threats. That was a real talent. Her name was Cheryl Kravitz. That’s who was going to give me answers. All I had to do was find her.

My first step was to search the internet for any new stories that might mention her. She popped up in five different stories. In every story, she had declined comment. That wasn’t what I was interested in.

Three of the news stories dealt with cases in the New York area. One of the cases was in Maryland and the other in Pennsylvania. That meant she was probably stationed in New York or Washington, DC. The most recent article was three months old and covered a case in Jersey City, New Jersey.