Cross Country Part 7

Chapter 137.

SUDDENLY I HAD even more questions.They had the number of the cell phone I had borrowed. How did that happen? I wondered.Not that it was impossible to get-but how had a gang of hoodlums from Nigeria managed to do it?I wasn't inclined to conspiracy theories, but it was getting harder and harder to deny the obvious. Someone wanted to know what I had found out in Africa. And to shut me up for good.Maybe a minute after the call ended, I walked out on the front porch, which I'd decided to keep dark for now. I still couldn't see anyone watching on the street.Were they here? Had they left already? Did they have Nana and the kids in a nearby truck or van?I didn't want to play the target any longer than I had to.I hurried down the steps and got into the Mercedes-the family car that I had bought for safety.I started it up, then began to back out of the driveway, feeling the car's power. I felt like I needed that-the help of some external force.The cell phone shrilled-and I stopped."You continue to be a fool." It was the older male again. I wanted to curse him out, but I said nothing. He might have my family. That was a hard thing to hope for, but I did anyway. I had to hope for something.He laughed into the phone."What's funny?" I asked him."You are. Don't you want to know which way to turn out of your driveway?" he asked."Which way?""Make a left. Then you follow my directions straight to h.e.l.l."

Chapter 138.

HE STAYED ON the line as I drove along Fifth Street but didn't say much of anything-and nothing to help me figure out what 1 should do next. I was trying to think things through, to make some kind of plan-anything that might work, maybe even a wild hunch."Let me speak to my family," I spoke again."Why should I?"I thought about stepping on the brakes, making a stand here, but he had every advantage right now."Which way?" I said."Make a right, next corner."I did as I was told."The fight in Africa is not your fight, white man!" I listened to the Tiger spitting rage as I drove along Malcolm X Avenue in Southeast. "You should drive faster," he said, as if he were right there in the front seat, watching me.He directed me onto I-295 heading south toward Maryland. I'd been on that road countless times before, but it seemed unreal and unfamiliar tonight.Next, I merged onto 95 and then Route 210 and followed it for nearly fifteen miles, which seemed much farther than that.Eventually I found myself on 425.His voice went low. "Let me tell you something that's true. You are only coming to collect the bodies. You want the bodies, don't you?""I want my family back," I said. He only laughed at that.I said little more to the Tiger unless he asked me a direct question, and he didn't seem to care. Maybe he wanted to hear himself talk.I needed to put the rational part of my mind in another place. So I listened to his threats, his cruel insults, but I just let them flow over me. It wasn't hard, because I was numb anyway. I was here, but I wasn't.

Chapter 139.

"PULL OFF THE road!" he commanded.I did as I was told.There didn't seem to be any other vehicles around. 1 didn't think I had pa.s.sed anyone since I'd gotten onto Layloes Nick Road, somewhere in Maryland-around Nanjemoy.But I wasn't completely sure. How could I be?I was that out of it. That nervous and afraid, that petrified."Take the next right. At the corner. Don't miss the turn. You better hurry now! Hurry!"I made the turn, then drove straight ahead, as I was told to do. The trees and bushes surrounding the road appeared black and very thick, possibly because my peripheral vision was narrowing in the dark.Above me was a big sky filled with stars. I was reminded of Jannie, her love of the stars, but then 1 forced the sentimental thought out of my mind.Nothing sentimental. Not now.Maybe never again."Stop your motor, get out! Do exactly as I say!""That's what I'm doing."

Chapter 140.

"YOU SEE THE farm ahead? Come and get your family. You can collect the bodies now! I know you can't believe it, but it's true. They're all dead, Dr. Cross. Come to the farm and see."My heart was floating as I started sweeping forward through tall gra.s.s and bushes toward the small farmhouse that was still a couple of hundred yards away. My legs and arms felt numb, like they were part of somebody else.I tried to calm myself by taking slow, deep breaths. Then by not thinking at all. Finally, by gathering my hatred for the Tiger into a small, tight ball that could explode at the proper time."You remember how you found the c.o.x family in Georgetown? This is better," he taunted me. "You made it happen, Detective."I wanted to tell the rabid monster that my family had done nothing to hurt anybody ever, but I kept it inside. I didn't want to give him anything else. I couldn't stop my brain from working that way, but I was trying to concentrate on the danger and the horrors ahead.This had to be a trap, I told myself. Somebody wanted me here. They needed to find out what I knew about the war in Nigeria. It didn't matter. I had to be here, no matter what."Are you ready, Detective?"The last sound-his voice-wasn't coming from the cell phone in my hand.Then the Tiger stepped out from the bushes. "You ready for me?" he asked. "You want the mystery solved?"

Chapter 141.

"FINALLY, YOU LISTEN. Only it's too late, fool," the killer spoke in a loud, c.o.c.ky voice as he moved toward me. Two young thugs were at his sides-Houston Rockets, and a blunt-faced boy who aimed a flashlight at my eyes."Where's my family?" I said, staying on message as best I could under the circ.u.mstances."What difference does it make-one family? You make me laugh. All you pitiful Americans. Everyone laughs at you, all over the world."He pulled out a hunting knife and showed the long, thick blade to me. He didn't say anything about the knife; he didn't have to. I had seen what it could do at Ellie's house."Where are they?" I asked again."You think you get to ask the questions? I can make you scream. Beg for death. Your life is nothing to us. We say 'ye ye'-'useless, worthless.' Your family-nothing. Ye ye. It means useless."The Tiger came up close and I could smell his sweat and the tobacco on his breath. He held the knife close to my throat."Say it-I am nothing.' Say it! You want to know about your family?" he screamed in my face. "Say-'I am nothing!'""I am nothing."He cut me, across the biceps. I didn't look at my arm but I knew I was bleeding. I wouldn't show him weakness. No matter what happened to me now."Flesh wound!" he said and laughed. His killer boys found it funny too, sick little b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. I wanted to take all of them down.He motioned with the knife. "You want to see your family so bad, come on. You can see what's left. Ye ye!"

Chapter 142.

I STUMBLED FORWARD toward the deserted-looking farmhouse standing in shadowy darkness, and I wondered if Nana, Ali, and Jannie really were in there.The closer I got, the less likely it seemed to me. I was afraid I had been living in denial all this time-for days now.Suddenly I found it hard to walk, to stand, even, but 1 made myself go on, step by step, toward the dark farm that held secrets I maybe didn't want to know.There was a narrow dirt path winding up to the house and I trudged along a few paces in front of the Tiger and his killers. Were these the same bloodthirsty devils who had murdered Ellie's family?Was the one in the Houston Rockets s.h.i.+rt the bad lieutenant? Had he traveled back and forth from Africa with the Tiger? What was their connection with what was happening in Lagos and down in the Delta? Could a civil war become a world war? Was it starting in Africa this time?Suddenly I was struck hard in the small of my back. I lurched forward, and almost went down, but somehow I kept my balance.Then I whirled around and saw Houston Rockets holding the b.u.t.t end of his rifle. He was going to hit me with it again."Stop right there!" I yelled. "You punk, you little coward." I wanted to go after him so badly, to wring his neck and break it.The Tiger laughed, either at me or at his vicious killer."No, no, Akeem! I want him conscious. Open the front door, Cross. You are the detective. You made it all the way here. Now you will see. Open the door! Solve the great mystery."

Chapter 143.

I TURNED THE rusty k.n.o.b, then pushed hard on the sticking wood-frame door. It opened with a loud whine.At first I couldn't see much, even with the faint glow from the flashlight held behind me."Where are they?" I asked."Go in an' see," said the Tiger. "You wanted this-proof of death."I walked into the house and still couldn't see anyone in there. My heart was racing. Everything in the first room smelled of mildew, of dirt and age, maybe of death."I can't see anything. It's too dark."Suddenly a light went on. A living area was illuminated- two small sofas, easy chairs, standing lamps-but I still didn't see anyone else in the room.I whirled to look at the Tiger, who loomed behind me."Where are they?" I yelled. "There's no one in here!""Tell me what you know," he said, seeming serious and businesslike. "What did the she-b.i.t.c.h Adanne tell you? What do you know about the Delta? Tell me!"I stared back at him. "Do you work for the CIA too? They wanted to know what Adanne told me."He laughed out loud. "I work for anybody who pays me. Tell me what you know!""I don't know anything. I found out nothing in Africa. If I had, don't you think I'd tell you? I saw you kill Adanne Tansi. That's what I know, only what I saw with my own eyes."Someone stepped out of an adjoining hallway. I turned to see Ian Flaherty there in the farmhouse."I don't think he knows anything. You can kill him," he said to the Tiger. "Then he can be with his family. Go ahead. Get it over with."A terrible look crossed my face. "So the CIA was in on this from the beginning?"Flaherty shrugged. "Not the agency, no. Just me. Kill him now. Get it over with."Then another voice was in the living room. "You get to die first, a.s.shole."Sampson stepped into view. The car I drove had a tracker on it. John had followed the signal all the way down into Maryland. And he wasn't alone."It will be a dead tie," said Bree. She came up alongside Sampson. "You and the Tiger both die. Unless you start talking to us. Where are Nana and the kids?"The punk in the Houston Rockets s.h.i.+rt pumped his gun. Bree shot him in the left cheek under his eye. He screamed, then dropped.The Tiger dove back out the front! door."I'm not armed," said Ian Flaherty and raised both hands in the air. "Don't shoot me. I don't know what happened to your family. That wasn't my doing, none of it. Don't shoot me!"I drove my shoulder hard into Flaherty's chest and then ran past him after the Tiger. Sampson threw me a gun on the way out."Use it!" he yelled.

Chapter 144.

IT WAS DARK outside, scarily black, and cold as the middle of winter. Just a sliver of moon was visible, with low clouds sliding fast across the night sky. I didn't see the Tiger anywhere.But then I caught a wisp of movement to the right of the dirt trail we'd taken to the house."Alex!" I heard Bree call behind me. I didn't call back to her. I ran ahead and hoped she wouldn't follow, that she couldn't see me in the darkness. I wanted to get to the Tiger first, just me and him."Alex!" Bree shouted again. "Don't do it this way. Alex! Alex!"I continued to track movement, the faint outline of a man running up ahead. Or just noise sometimes, the rustle of branches. I was concentrating on that-when a shadow flew at me out of the brush.I spun sideways and fired a shot into the chest of a killer in a white tee and white baseball cap. One of the boys! He grunted and fell over in a heap. I kept on running after the Tiger.He was moving fast, but so was I. Two downhill skiers on a dark slope. I was gaining on him a little but not enough. I didn't call out. I just ran with everything I had in me. There was nothing in my mind except catching him. No caution, not anymore. No fear for myself.I could hear his heavy footfall, and his breathing, which sounded ragged. Still, I didn't call to him. I held my gun out-and I fired twice. I fired low so 1 wouldn't kill him by mistake. I needed to keep him alive so I could find out where my family was.I didn't think I hit him, but he turned his body, and that caused him to stumble. I put on an extra burst of speed. I was gaining on him now. I could make out more details, see him clearly.Then I dove for his legs!I nearly missed, but I caught him around the ankles and he crashed down on his chest and face and hit his head hard on a rock.I crawled over him on my hands and knees. Then I went up on my haunches and punched down with all my strength.My fist connected with his jaw. Sweat and blood flew out to the sides."f.u.c.ker! Traitor!" he yelled at me, growling like a jungle cat under attack."My family-where are they? What happened to them?" I shouted.Then I punched him again, with everything I had, all the anger and rage living inside. This time he lost a tooth, but he was strong, even hurt like this, and he finally threw me off.Then he was on me! I s.h.i.+elded my head with my arms and he struck my wrist, perhaps breaking it, I thought. But I didn't make a sound. I arched my body several inches. I managed to grab him around the neck and hold on. I didn't know where the strength was coming from, or how long it would last.I tried to head-b.u.t.t him, and because of the odd angle I was at, I connected with his Adam's apple. He gagged, then spit phlegm and blood."My family!" I yelled again."f.u.c.k your family!" he cursed. "f.u.c.k your kids! f.u.c.k you!"Then he got to the hunting knife. I was still thinking that I had to keep him alive-not that I had to survive this, but that he did. I held his knife hand at the wrist, but I was losing my grip. The fight was turning his way. This was it; this was how I died. I would never know about Nana, Ali, Jannie. That was the worst part, not knowing.A shot rang in the night.The Tiger straightened up, but then he came back down at me with the knife. "Die!" he yelled. "Like your family died!"A second shot struck where his right eye had been glaring at me a second before."Where are they?" I yelled again. "Where is my family?"He didn't say another word. His good eye was all hatred. The rest of his face was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess. The Tiger couldn't answer. He collapsed on me, dead."Where are they?" I whispered.

Chapter 145.

BREE CAME RUNNING up as I pushed the ma.s.sive corpse away from me. Even now that he was dead, I still hated the b.a.s.t.a.r.d with all my heart and soul. Bree knelt on the ground and hugged me. "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm so sorry. All I saw was the knife. I had to shoot him."I kept holding on to her and rocking. "Not your fault. Not your fault." But then I began to shudder and shake. I knew what I had lost here, knew that the Tiger had been my last chance to find my family.We left the body and trudged back to the farmhouse. Police cars from the neighboring towns were arriving, and the trees were lit with a crimson-and-blue glare from their domes.Sampson came out of the farmhouse as we approached. "I've gone through every room. There's no one here. I don't see any sign of them either, Alex. No blood anywhere, nothing obvious anyway. I don't think they were ever here."I nodded, trying to register crime scene facts and to comprehend their meaning. "1 want to look again anyway. I need to look for myself. What about Flaherty?" I suddenly thought to ask."The state police have him for now. He showed them he was CIA. I don't know what happens next. I don't think they can hold him."

Chapter 146.

WE SEARCHED THE house and a nearby work shed, and a barn-until first light of day.Then we began to comb the surrounding grounds. At this point there were more than thirty police officers and FBI agents searching at the scene, but it still didn't seem like enough manpower to me.Everything was feeling even more unreal now. I was here, but I wasn't. I had no idea about the pa.s.sage of time either; it seemed as if I could have been at the farm for a couple of days or for just a few minutes.Proof of life, I thought. That's what I want, isn't it? And if not that, then proof of death.We found a Nissan minivan that had to be the vehicle the Tiger and his killer thugs had come to the farm in. The van held small arms, clothing, and video games in cardboard boxes.But there was no sign of blood inside, no rope to tie anyone up with. Nothing to make us believe Nana or the kids had been inside the vehicle.There were more tire tracks up near the house, but nothing seemed unusual. Judging from the look of the place, I figured it hadn't been a working farm for at least a couple of years. Town records showed that it belonged to a Leopoldo Gout, but we hadn't been able to contact the owner yet. Who was Leopoldo Gout? What did he know about what had happened here?Finally, at around four that afternoon, Bree walked me to my car. Then she drove me home to Fifth Street. I was in no shape to continue looking, she said, and she was right.I hoped against hope for a good ending, but there was no one there at the house. The mess in the kitchen remained as I had found it, and I left it just that way.For memories' sake.Nana's kitchen. Her favorite place to be.

Chapter 147.

IT WAS ALL so baffling, so incomprehensible, wrong in so many ways.Bree and I brainstormed for a while, but I couldn't concentrate. My thinking was too chaotic; I was too crazy in the head, too disturbed and lost. 1 didn't want to talk, didn't want to eat, and I couldn't sleep. I couldn't even keep my eyes shut the one time I lay down on the living room couch. I thought about taking a drive, then decided no, not right now."I'm going to go for a run," I finally told Bree. "Clear my head. There has to be something I'm missing.""Okay, Alex. I'll be here. Have a good run."She didn't offer to come, understanding that I wanted to be alone now. I did need to be by myself, to plan, to do something that would make some sense of what had happened.I ran, at first along familiar streets close to my house, but then on the streets winding off Fifth, where I didn't remember ever coming on foot before.Finally I was able to concentrate a little better, and 1 began to think about what Adanne had told me in Lagos. Had her secrets caused any of this-the death of her family, her own murder, whatever had happened to Nana, Ali, and Jannie?"Alex, I know terrible things," she'd told me. "I'm writing a story about it. I have to tell somebody what I found out." She was afraid that something would happen to her.Well, something had happened to Adanne.I continued to run and I found that 1 was getting stronger physically, or moving faster, anyway. What a cruel world this could be sometimes. Jesus. That wasn't how I looked at things usually. That wasn't me. Only now it was.I didn't notice anything, until a gray van stopped suddenly at the curb and the sliding door flew open. Three men jumped out. Suddenly they were all over me, knocking me down, pus.h.i.+ng my face into the gra.s.s and dirt on somebody's lawn.Then I felt a sting in my thigh.A needle?Three men, not boys. Not the Tiger's team.Who then?Who was holding me now?What did they want?

Chapter 148.

THERE WAS A damp cloth over my face, some kind of a hood that reeked of rubbing alcohol. Then I was being pulled to my feet. I'd been unconscious, but I didn't know for how long.I had no idea where I was now, but it wasn't a five-star hotel. I could smell, almost taste, body odor, feces, and urine. The ground under my feet was rough stone, maybe concrete. Did that tell me anything?"Put your hands flat against the wall and spread your legs. Stay just like that. Don't move, or you'll be shot.""Where's my family? Where the h.e.l.l are they? Who are you?"Instead of an answer to the question, I heard an amplified whirring sound in the room."Stay just like that-or you die right here and now. Then you'll never know about your family. Never is a long time, Dr. Cross. Think about it."I thought about other things first. Who had grabbed me off the street in Southeast and was holding me now?Could it be another Tiger? Somebody else from Nigeria?The voice didn't sound like it. No accent. American. Could it be the CIA?"Where's my family?" I asked again.No one answered, and I stayed there with my hands tied and held flat against the wall over my head. 1 knew this particular kind of torture had a name, wall-standing. I was also made to wear a hood and was subjected to loud noise and sleep deprivation. I'd heard about these torture techniques before. Now I was the victim.No one answered any of my questions, and I wondered if I was alone. Was I delirious? Was I dreaming all this?My hands went numb first.Then I could feel pins and needles stinging my ankles and feet. Then shooting pains moving up and down my legs.My head began to swim and I thought I was going to pa.s.s out."I have to pee," I said. "I have to go."No answer.I held it as long as I could, then let go down my legs, over my bare feet. No one reacted. Was anyone there? Was I alone now?Wall-standing. Some American government officials had said that it was okay to use techniques like this on suspected terrorists.Was I a terror suspect? What had I done to deserve this? Who was torturing me?My hands were completely numb and I badly wanted to sleep. I could think of little else and would have given anything just to lie down on the floor. I couldn't give in, though.Wall-standing. I can do this.I thought about stepping away from the wall and what the consequences might be. I held internal debates with myself. They wouldn't kill me, would they? What would be the point of it?Finally, I turned my body so that only one hand was on the wall. Did that count? Was it a violation of the rules?Immediately I was kicked hard behind the knees! I went down hard on the floor. Cold to the touch. A bed-finally!But I was yanked right back up and thrown hard against the wall. Still, no one spoke. But I a.s.sumed the position. Not just my legs were trembling now. Everything was-my entire body was shaking terribly.Who else was with me in the room?What did they want from me?

Chapter 149.

THEN I WAS talking to Jannie. I was hugging her, and I was so happy that she was all right. "Where's Ali? Where's Nana?" I asked in an excited whisper. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"Suddenly I came to and realized that I had been sleeping on my feet. Jannie wasn't here.It was only me.I had the sense that I was in the second day of captivity, Or may be the third day. Suddenly I was startled as someone pulled the cloth hood up around my nose, still keeping my eyes in darkness."What?" I muttered. "Who are you?" As I spoke, I realized how dry my lips and mouth were.I was given water, which splashed from somewhere, maybe a bottle, pouring down my throat and all over my face."Don't be greedy, now," someone said and snickered. A captor with a cruel sense of humor. "Eat this! Slowly. Don't make yourself choke."I was fed three crackers, one right after the other. I didn't choke, but 1 was afraid 1 was going to throw them up as fast as I'd eaten them."Water?" I asked. "More water, please?" My throat was tightening up again.There was a long pause, but then the bottle was returned to my lips. Once more, I drank greedily."Too fast," someone said. "You'll cramp up. Don't want you to be uncomfortable."Then I was pushed into position again.Wall-standing.

Chapter 150.

SOMETIME AFTER THAT, I began to seriously hallucinate and I wondered if there was something in the water, or maybe even the crackers I'd eaten.I was convinced that I was back in Africa and that I was lost somewhere in a vast desert. I knew I was going to die soon, and that didn't seem like such a bad thing. I actually welcomed death and wondered if I would meet Nana, Jannie, and Ali on the other side. Would Maria be there too? And others I had lost?I was struck hard in the back-and I fell to my knees again."You were dreaming-asleep on your feet. That's not allowed, hotshot.""Sorry.""Of course you are. Now, would you like this to stop? Would you like to sleep? I'll bet that you would."More than anything I've ever wanted in my life."Where-?" I began to say."Right-Where is your f.u.c.king family? You're nothing if not consistent, or is it stubborn? Or stupid? Now, listen to me closely. 1 will let you sleep. 1 will give you closure about your family...Are you with me so far?... Are you following what I'm saying?""Yes.""Yes what? Tell me what you are agreeing to.""You'll tell me about my family. Let me sleep.""Provided that what?"I don't attack and kill you, you sonofab.i.t.c.h. Where there's a will..."Provided I answer your questions.""Very good. Would you like more water, hotshot?""Yes."The cloth hood was lifted halfway and the water bottle was returned to my lips. I drank as much as I wanted to, but then there was silence. It frightened the h.e.l.l out of me. Had he gone away? The one who knew what had happened to my family? The one who had actually talked to me for a minute or so."I saw terrible things in Africa, especially in Sudan," I said. "I don't think any of that interests you. A family-the Tansis-were murdered. In Lagos. Maybe because they were talking to me. Or because of what Adanne wrote in the newspaper. You can get her articles."Are you there? You wanted me to talk, right? Are you listening now?"Anyway, Adanne Tansi and I were taken to a prison," I continued. "She was murdered there. I saw it happen. The Tiger killed her. I don't know who the other men holding us were. I don't know who the h.e.l.l you are!"Before we got to the prison, Adanne told me about a long piece she was writing-it was to appear in the London Guardian... the Guardian. Maybe some other papers. I'm not sure."She had learned that the United States might be manipulating factions in the Delta... to ensure the oil fields would stay in the right hands. Adanne had tapes of interviews. They were taken from her."Whoever captured us... must have them now. You have the tapes, don't you?"I stopped talking and waited for an answer, any kind of response.But no one said anything. That was the technique - and guess what? It worked. I kept talking."Adanne told me the man known as the Tiger was also being paid by our government. I don't know if that's true. You probably know, don't you?"I stopped again, then went on. "By the CIA, maybe. The oil companies? By someone from here. Adanne wrote that, and she told another writer, named Ellie c.o.x. She was killed because of what she knew."That's what I know. That's what Adanne found out. That's all of it."I stopped again. There was still no response, not a word from the interrogator.I waited.I waited.I waited.

Chapter 151.

YOU THINK YOU know what's going to happen in life. But you never do. And usually the surprises aren't good ones either.No one spoke to me for a long time, and I kept waiting for somebody to put a gun to my head, to finally pull the trigger.Hours after I was interrogated, I heard footsteps in the room where I was being kept. More than one person. At least two.I pulled myself away from the wall and moved forward. I stumbled and fell to my knees. I pushed myself back up and somebody grabbed my arm."f.u.c.ker can't even walk by himself."I heard a door being slid open and then I felt cool air hit my face. I was pulled forward and then shoved inside some kind of van or truck."Let's go!" said someone in the front. "We don't have much time for this."For what?What was happening now?I had no idea where I was going now, but I knew the chances were good that I was going to die. At certain times in the past, I'd been pleasantly surprised that I'd lasted as long as I had. Still, it felt unreal that I would probably die in the next few minutes. I prayed for my family; and then I said a prayer for myself.Good, moderately lapsed Christian that I am, I even said a prayer of contrition.Then the van pulled to a stop. This was it. "End of the line!" I heard one of the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds say.I was pushed out and landed hard on the street, and then I heard the vehicle drive away, gravel crunching under spinning tires.I crawled up and over a curb and then just lay there, partly on gra.s.s, partly on a sidewalk or walkway.They hadn't killed me.I was still alive.Finally-I slept.

Chapter 152.

THEN I WAS awake; at least I thought I was."I'm Officer Maise, with the DC Metro police. Are you all right, sir?" The patrolman spoke to me even as he lifted the hood that covered my head."Why are your hands tied? What happened to you?" he asked next."I'm Alex Cross. I'm a detective with Major Crimes- I was kidnapped."He had the hood all the way off now, but I couldn't see much of anything yet, not even his face. My eyes were slow to adjust to the light-to the streetlights mostly. It was dark outside. Night."Yes, sir, Detective Cross. We've all been looking for you," patrolman Maise said. "Let me call it in.""How long... you been looking?""Three days."Finally, I could see his face, which showed concern but also surprise. He had found me. I was alive. I'd been missing for three days."Can you get these binds off?" I asked."I'll call it in first. Then I'll get the ropes off you.""No press," I told him."Of course not. Why would I call the press?" the patrolman asked."I don't know," I said. "I guess I'm not thinking straight yet."

Chapter 153.

I WAS TAKEN home by Officer Maise. The house on Fifth Street was dark and obviously empty Bree had been staying with us off and on, but she had kept her place, so I figured she was at her apartment tonight. Why would she stay here by herself?I would call Bree soon, but I needed to go inside the house right now. I entered through the sunporch, pa.s.sing the silent piano on my way, imagining playing it for the kids or, sometimes, just for myself.No, I guess I was remembering.The kitchen had been cleaned up since the last time I'd been there. Probably Bree had done it.Now it was neat, as if n.o.body lived here.I continued walking from room to room, everything quiet, and I felt unbearably sad. I turned on lights as I went, feeling like a visitor in my own house. Nothing about my life felt right, or even real. The world had become such a cruel, unsafe place. How had it happened?How much blame should America take, and did accepting blame really help anybody? Wasn't it time to stop offering criticism and start providing solutions? It was easy to be a critic; it took no imagination. Problem solving was the b.i.t.c.h.I finally made it up to my office in the attic, and I sat at my desk, looking down on the street, wondering if there was anyone out there watching me.Had the interrogators believed me? Did it matter? It struck me that I didn't really know that much about the world, the larger picture, anyway. But who did these days?None of us, maybe. That's what made it so daunting and scary-and took away hope too. That's what gave us a feeling that everything was out of our control. So who was in control? Somebody had to be-but who? Somebody had to have some answers. Somebody had just imprisoned and tortured me.I continued to wander around the house. I needed to call people - Damon, who I hoped was still safely stashed away, and Bree and Sampson. But I couldn't make the calls yet. I didn't know what to tell any of them, or how to face them.No, that wasn't it exactly. The truth was, I didn't want to put them in danger. Somebody out there might still think that I knew something, something dangerous and important, or maybe just embarra.s.sing to them.And the really scary part?They were right.

Chapter 154.

I HAD TOLD my interrogators about the possible CIA and Tiger connection, but that wasn't important to them. They'd let me go, hadn't they? They could deny all that-and besides, the Tiger was dead. I had cleaned up that particular mess for them.But the thing I hadn't told them was the real subject of Adanne's story: The Americans, the French, the Dutch, the English, and several very important corporations were working with the Chinese in the Delta. China needed oil even more than we did. China was cutting corners. They were ready to pay top dollar for oil and willing to make deals, whatever it took. And because of these business ventures, thousands of Africans had died-men, women, and children. That was the one thing that I knew for certain. It was what Adanne had been researching and writing about.It was what she had contacted Ellie c.o.x about; she had talked to Ellie about her research. That was what got her family murdered in Georgetown.Adanne had told me horror stories during our time together, especially about life and death in Sudan. Rape was the weapon of war there, and girls of age five and up were abused, sometimes by "peacekeepers." Hundreds and hundreds of ma.s.s graves had been discovered but were rarely reported on. Police corruption and brutality, some of which I'd witnessed myself, were rampant-an epidemic, really, and kidnappers were working in the Delta area, especially around Port Harcourt.On the couch that had been in Nana's living room since I was a boy, I slept, finally. But not like a baby. That kind of sleep would never come to me again. The truth was, I had accepted that my family was gone, just like so many other families that had been murdered before them. Nothing would ever be the same for me again.

Chapter 155.

I WAS WOKEN up early in the morning. Somebody was coming into the house!I could tell that it was more than one person.I jumped up from the couch, trying to collect my thoughts in a hurry, to focus on how to get to my gun in the den, when two men burst into the living room!I was surprised-no, I was shocked-to see Steven Millard and Merrill Snyder from the CIA. Millard spoke first."Detective Cross, we didn't know you were here. We-"Someone else walked into the living room behind Millard and Snyder. My G.o.d, it was Ali.And he looked all right to me-unharmed.He looked just incredible-safe, alive, home."Ali!" I called and went forward to him. "Ali""Daddy! Daddy!" he shrieked as he ran and threw himself into my outstretched arms. My little boy was crying and shaking uncontrollably.No, no-I was the one crying and shaking. Ali was just holding on to me incredibly tightly. He kept repeating, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" I couldn't hear the words enough times.What was happening here? I wondered, looking to the CIA men for answers. Now I saw that Eric Dana and my friend Al Tunney had come to the house as well.Then I heard, "Alex? Is that you in there? Alex, is that you?"The voice was Nana's, but the next person entering the living room was Jannie.She had her arms stretched out, and she was sobbing as she ran and crashed into my chest. "Oh, my sweet girl, my darling girl," I whispered as she pressed into me. "Oh, Jannie, sweetheart. Oh, my baby, my baby."'I'm okay, we're okay," Jannie said. "They kept us in a room. They asked us so many questions. We didn't know why, Daddy, we didn't know anything.""No, of course you didn't."Then Nana slouched into the living room, and she looked terrible and wonderful all at the same time. She came to us, and then we were all group hugging. The CIA agents just looked on, warmly, it seemed to me, but they said nothing."They didn't harm us," said Nana. "Thank G.o.d, we're all here together. We're all safe."That was enough for this unbelievable moment, the most emotional one of my life-we were all together, and we were safe.

Chapter 156.

THE GOOD MOOD was broken by Steven Millard from the CIA. "Detective Cross, can we have a moment? Whenever you're ready," he said.I went out with Millard, who I took to be the highest-ranking of the CIA representatives at the house. He was the group chief, right? There were four of their vehicles parked outside. Three agents, two of them women, stood around on the sidewalk. I wondered if they had been picked to make it easier for my family when they were brought home."Where were they? Where did you find them?" I asked Millard. "Who took them?"He walked ramrod straight and I decided he had probably been military before he came to the CIA. He seemed very sure of himself, confident about who he was and his role here. So what was it? Who the h.e.l.l was Steven Millard? What was his role?"I told you before, Detective, we're the good guys-we're still the good guys. Most of us are busting our a.s.ses to do a good job and help keep this country safe. Ian Flaherty wasn't. He sold us out, maybe a couple of times. The last time, it was to the Chinese. Maybe to a bad apple from their basket.""My family," I said, reminding Millard of my question."We had Flaherty under surveillance from the moment he reached Was.h.i.+ngton. Trust me on that one. He led us to your family. I don't know if they would've been released. A couple of mercenaries were with them-they were working with Flaherty. Flaherty was working for the Chinese. Your family was questioned, but mostly they were just insurance, in case it was needed. Flaherty was afraid you might have found out about him in Lagos."I shook my head. "Bribery has become a way of life there. Adanne Tansi knew the Chinese were involved with oil trading in the Delta. Thousands of Nigerians have been murdered down there, as you know.""Yes, we know," said Millard."And you knew the civil war was coming, but you did nothing to stop it.""There was nothing we could do. We don't need another Iraq, do we?"I stared into his eyes. "Where's Flaherty now?"Millard didn't flinch as he answered. "We have him. We're talking to him now. Eventually he'll talk to us. We know that Mr. Sowande, your Tiger, worked for him.""That's all you can tell me?"Millard shook his head. "No. I can tell you this. Go home to your family, Detective Cross. They're special. You've been away from them too much."I nodded at Millard. He wasn't going to level with me, so there was nothing else to say. I turned around and began to walk back to my house.He was right about one thing: My family was special.They were waiting for me on the porch, and as I got close, another dark sedan pulled up in front. Damon stepped out, and he looked my way. He half waved, half saluted.But then Damon came running, and so did I.The Cross family was back together again. Maybe that was all that mattered.EpilogueTHE LAST OF THE GOOD GUYS