Page 80 of Prisoner of War
How many others would Minnie add to her tally before this all ended?
* * * * *
The call that changed it all was the first one to reach the big house via the newly restored telephone line that Telmex had struggled to install as quickly as possible.
Nick reached out his hand for the phone in a purely automatic motionthen looked up at the burring instrument. Calli looked up from her laptop and Josh cleared his throat. “Guess the phone line is working again,” he said.
“I can cross that off my list,” Calli murmured, scrolling through the document she had open—a long, long list of repairs and tasks needed to restore the big house to something like normal.
Nick picked it up. “¿Hola?” He listened, frowning, thensat up straighter. “From Carmen?” He spoke in English and glanced at Calli and Josh to make sure he had their attention. “Who did you say you were?” He scribbled the name down. “And your company? No, don’t give me the number. I’ll research it for myself and call you back.” He put the phone back gently, staring at it.
“Who was it?” Calli prompted.
Nick stirred, clearing his thoughts. “A man calledRichard Menzies who says he’s a friend of Carmen’s. Calli, do you still have web access on that?”
“Now that the phone line is restored, yes. Why?”
“Look up Cameron Economics Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts. See who’s listed as Vice President of Finance.”
She entered the search and scrolled. “Yes, here. They’re a research and development company, whatever that means. Hang on, here’s a listof executives...yes, Richard A. Menzies, the third.” She looked up. “Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,” she said. “There’s even a picture of him and contact information. Do you want the number?”
“Wait.” Nick looked at Josh. “He says Carmen contacted him early this morning. From Vistaria. He has an urgent message from her.”
Josh frowned. “There’s a good chance he’s legitimate. It wouldbe too elaborate a scheme to build a website and plant someone in Boston. The Insurrectoshave never shown that much imagination.”
“Zalaya might,” Nick growled.
“Not without a lot of resources,” Calli objected. “This website is no slapped together HTML thing. It’s scripted and polished. Besides, the search popped up three hundred and forty-five thousand hits on the corporate name—the site wouldhave to have been there a long time—years—to build up that many links.”
Nick considered for a minute. “What is the phone number on the website, Calli?”
She read it off and Nick dialed. “Richard Menzies, please...he’s expecting my call. Nick Escobedo.” While he waited, he glanced at them. “We need to hear what he has to say. Carmen spent five years in Boston and because of her Harvard experiencegot to meet some of the most influential people in the city. It’s possible she knows this man.”
“He looks quite young,” Calli said, turning her laptop so that Nick and Josh could see the picture there. “I’d say she knows him on a personal basis. Nothing to do with business.”
Nick grimaced then spoke into the phone. “Richard. I have two trusted family members in the room with me. I’m going toput you on loud-speaker.” He hit the switch and sat back. “You say you received a message from Carmen, from somewhere inside the Presidential Palace on Vistaria?”
The voice that filtered through the speaker was rich with the rounded vowels of an upper class Bostonian. “Carmen is one of a handful of people I have as friends on Facebook.” The slight hesitation lifted Nick’s brow as he glanced atCalli. She smiled knowingly back.
“We understand,” Nick assured the man. “When did you get this message?”
“This morning, around 8:00 a.m. my time. About four hours ago. She couldn’t stay on for long. I got the impression that things were dicey for her and I’ve been keeping up with CNN’s coverage of events over there. I don’t suppose you care to explain to me what the hell she’s doing in thepalace when it’s overrun by Insurrectos?”
“Not on an insecure line, I don’t,” Nick returned.
Again, the small hesitation. “Yes, of course, you’re quite right,” the man returned. “I’m not used to this sort of business.” It was an apology. “We should not linger over this conversation, either. The guts of her message was that someone called Minnie was also in the palace and that I should contactyou—Nicolás Escobedo—and let you know that. She also indicated that she would only be able to contact me this one time and that doing so would put her in some jeopardy, but that she was taking steps to protect herself. She seemed to be more concerned about this Minnie—she is being held by a man called...er...Zalaya. Does this make sense to you? Do I have the names right?”
Calli gave a soft gaspand covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
“You have the names right,” Nick assured him. “I thank you, Richard Menzies. This is valuable information you’ve provided.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t provide it sooner. I’ve been trying to reach you since Carmen contacted me, but the Mexican phone operators told me it was impossible—or something like that. I know little Spanish.”
“I appreciate everything you’vedone. I would appreciate a more direct means of communicating with you. It’s possible we may need to speak again. Do you have an alternative phone number?”
“My cell phone.”
“Land line,” Nick returned.
