Page 151 of Here and Now
He rolls his neck. “He does, but I have to go with what information we have, so I can’t just jump that she’s in Chicago. Now, if you want to help, this is Liam and Ben, and we have a lot of work to do, so we’d appreciate any help you can give.”
The four of us work together, going through hours of video data. There’s so little, it feels overwhelming and frustrating. Each minute that passes, my fear for what’s happening to her grows.
I’ve been trained to not let my emotions overwhelm me, but this is different. This is Penelope and Kai.
After another hour, we finally get our first break. “There!” I yell, looking at a video from the small airport west of Ember Falls.
I reach out to the sheriff, and he is able to get them to turn the tapes over when I explain part of the situation. He gets them to us in fifteen minutes and wishes us luck.
“That’s not ...” Liam starts to say, and I cut him off.
“That’s her. I know her. I’d know her anywhere.”
And I do. I know it in my gut. Not just because I want it to be her. To have a lead, somewhere to start looking, but because itisher.
We continue through the coverage. The first fifteen minutes was too grainy to see anything, but I know her body. I know her shape and how she moves. I know it’s her.
Liam turns to Ben. “Let’s get the flight logs.”
Ben goes to his computer and pulls up the information. “At that time there were two planes. One went to Oklahoma, and the other went to a small town in Illinois.”
She’s in Chicago. She has to be.
I turn to her brother. “Where is the book?”
His eyes widen just the smallest amount, but I catch it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Penelope told me she gave it to you. She said it was her last-ditch effort to save her and Kai, if ever it came to that. I need that book, and I’m going to get the woman and child I love.”
Quinn stands still for half a minute. “The book is worthless.”
“What?”
He runs his fingers through his hair. “It’s filled with nothing but riddles. There’s nothing that ties anyone concretely. The book is,however, powerful in the hands of someone who has the key. We’ve had every analyst we know try to work through it while we’ve kept Penelope and Kai away from the people who want it.”
“So what? They want the book back. We’ll exchange her for it, and ...”
“And what? You’re going to run with her? You realize that if we give the book back, it changes nothing. She still had access to this information. They will never stop hunting her until the book has value to someone outside of the group of people in it.”
“Let me look at it,” I say.
He huffs out a laugh. “And what?”
“Let me try. Either way, we have to go to Chicago. So let me study it, see what I can find my way. I will do anything to protect your sister and nephew from anyone who wants to hurt them. I’m going to find out who has her, and I’m going to get them out, with or without you. At least with the book, I have a fighting chance.”
Quinn looks to Liam, who shrugs. “I’ll give you the book, and we’ll play this out the best way to keep them safe. You can go in to negotiate their release, but my team and I will be standing perimeter. I’ll breach if I have one moment of doubt that anyone’s life is in danger.”
As much as I’d love to go in there half-cocked, I know this is the best way to protect my family.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news and all, but Chicago is a big fucking city. We have no idea where they are and who even has her,” Liam chimes in.
“I’ll find her,” I say, not doubting I can. “I just need to get to that airport and read that fucking book.”
“If that principal job doesn’t work out for you, I’m sure I can get you a job here,” Quinn says as we’re in the building across from where we believe Penelope is being held.
I was able to get enough information and track her here. It took us two days to narrow it down to three possible locations to run surveillance on for any sign of Penelope.
All three buildings are owned by one of the names in that book. I spent the entire flight reading, making notes, mulling over possibilities, and coming up with a strategy that would allow us to get answers as quickly as possible.
