“Right in the shop.” He too was looking at Jack strangely.

“Would you put them in the back of the truck as quick as you can?”

“Sure.”

Gia stared at Jack as Abe bustled away toward the front of his store. His abrupt change from near hysteria to this cold, dispassionate creature before her was almost as terrifying as Vicky’s disappearance.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get her back. And then I’m going to see to it that she is never bothered again.”

Gia stepped back. For as Jack spoke, he had turned toward her and looked past her, looked downtown as if seeing through all the buildings between him and whoever was in his thoughts. She let out a small cry when she saw his expression.

She was looking at murder. It was as if Death itself had taken human form. That look on Jack’s face—she turned away. She couldn’t bear it. More rage and fury than any man was meant to hold were concentrated in his eyes. She could almost imagine someone’s heart stopping just from looking into those eyes.

Abe slammed the rear doors of his truck and handed Jack a black leather case. “Here are the binocs. The raft’s loaded.”

The look in Jack’s eyes receded. Thank God! She never wanted to see that look again. He slung the binoculars around his neck. “You two wait here while—”

“I’m going with you!” Gia said. She wasn’t staying behind while he went to find Vicky.

“And what?” Abe said. “I should stay behind while you two run off with my truck?”

Jack didn’t even bother to argue. “Get in, then. But I’m driving.”

And drive he did—like a madman: east to Central Park West, down to Broadway, and then along Broadway for a steeplechase ride downtown. Gia was squeezed between Jack and Abe, one hand braced against the dashboard in case they had to stop short, the other against the roof of the truck’s cab to keep from bumping her head as they pitched and rolled over the hillocks and potholes in the pavement—New York City streets were no smoother than the rutted dirt roads she used to drive in Iowa.

“Where are we going? “she cried.

“To meet a ship.”

“Jack, I’m so frightened. Don’t play games with me. What’s this have to do with Vicky?”

Jack looked at her hesitantly, then past her to Abe. “You’ll both think I’m crazy. I don’t need that now.”

“Try me,” she said. She had to know. What could be crazier than what had already happened tonight?

“All right. But just listen without interrupting me, okay?” He glanced at her and she nodded. His hesitancy was unnerving. He took a deep breath. “Here goes…”

26

Vicky is dead!

As Jack drove and told Abe and Gia his story, that inescapable fact stabbed at his mind. But he kept his eyes fixed on the road and held himself away from the agony of grief that threatened to overwhelm him at any moment.