Page 44 of Look for Me

A drop of tear trickled down the side of her face.

Why did you come to Key Largo, Martin?

Nothing good can come of this.

Now Corinne heard noise, like a garage door opening. The van slowed down, rolled forward, then stopped altogether.

The door opened.

“Let’s go.” It was a different person now. A woman, this time.

Corinne didn’t know whether that made any difference. She could take out that small petite woman if she wanted to, but not with both hands tied behind her back.

Besides, she didn’t want to hurt the baby in her belly.

Surely, Nikos had considered that too.

Corinne sat up as best she could, and scooted toward the door. The woman helped her out of the van onto the garage floor. The air was dusty and muggy, so they must still be in Florida somewhere. Or Alabama. Or South Georgia.

“How was your ride?” The woman didn’t smile. The perfunctory politeness ran counter to the flame of anger in her eyes.

“Long and bumpy,” Corinne said softly.

“Long? It’s only an hour and a half.”

“Oh? I thought I’ve been in the van for hours.”

“Darkness does that to you.” Then she clammed up.

An hour and a half. Where could they go in that amount of time? Key West to the south. Miami or Miami Beach to the north.

The woman didn’t give Corinne more time to think. She grasped her arm and led her across the garage floor to another van. There were several people at stations here and there. Corinne had never seen them before.

“Where are we going?” Corinne walked slowly, to give herself time to recover and think.

The woman did not reply.

“Who are you?” Corinne asked.

No answer either.

Corinne stopped at the van.

“Get in,” the woman said.

This time, Corinne decided enough was enough. “No.”

“Get in!” The woman’s voice turned harsh.

“Not until you tell me where we’re going.”

The woman motioned for a couple of people to come over. “We were going to do this when you’re on the boat, but this is fine too.”

“Boat? Where are we going?” Corinne felt a quick pinch on her upper arm.

And then her world faded to black.

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