Page 98 of Free Fall (The Quantico Files 3)

“You were right. When I told him about you, he immediately made a phone call. I don’t think this guy’s in charge, by the way. He kept referring to another man who makes all the decisions. It must be Andy calling the shots. I know that’s not what we thought at first, but our date doesn’t act as though he likes what’s going on. Unfortunately, he’s too afraid to help us. And he’s convinced himself that Andy lets the women go, although I tried to put some doubt in his mind.”

“But Andy doesn’t have the personality to be behind this,” Alex said.

“Then the guy I was with last night is a fantastic actor.”

Alex was quiet for a moment before saying, “Did you happen to ask him why they don’t seem worried about listening to us? I know I keep bringing it up, but if anyone overhears our plans, we’re sunk.”

“Yes, and it was exactly as you thought. They aren’t really worried about what we say. He also said that the man who inherited this place is afraid to buy a bunch of equipment that might raise suspicions.”

“I should have realized that,” Alex said. “It makes sense. He won’t do anything that might alert the authorities.”

“But what about all that carnival equipment?” Amy asked. “Isn’t that kind of odd?”

“I doubt anyone was suspicious about an amusement park connection until I was taken from the park in Ashville.”

“Maybe the FBI is thinking about it now,” Amy said. “Checking for unusual sales of carnival equipment.”

“I hope you’re right,” Alex said. “Especially since he demanded I meet him inside the Ghost Shack at an amusement park and called himself the Ghost Rider in the note he sent.”

“I suspect your date will be tonight,” Tracy said. “But please be careful. I don’t trust either one of them.”

“I asked you all a question yesterday,” Alex said. “About whether you’d ever seen Andy’s face. And you said his hair always covers it.”

“Right,” Tracy said. “And last night before he brought me downstairs, he told me not to look at him.”

“Has anyone ever seen the two men together?”

Each woman said no after a moment of silence. Tracy gulped at the thought that popped into her head. “Surely you’re not saying there aren’t two of them.”

“I don’t know,” Alex said, “but I’ve wondered if we were being kept by one man. There’s something called dissociative identity disorder. Something traumatic happens, and the identity splits into at least two personalities in an attempt to handle the trauma. One guy is the good part of the personality. The second personality handles his anger. His desire for revenge. But we’ve been dealing with two personalities—and neither one seems angry or vengeful. It’s confusing. I’m trying to understand them before I’m faced with taking one ... or possibly both of them down.”

“But that’s not possible,” Amy said. “How could one guy take care of all of us?”

“It would be difficult.”

“You’re right, though,” Amy said. “That long blond hair is always hiding Andy’s face. And he never looks at us or lets us see him.”

“Oh my God,” Tracy said. “So if I’d taken him out last night, we could all be out of here now?” Guilt filled her, making her want to cry.

“No,” Alex said sharply. “Even if there is only one person, his violent side could have come out. I’m sure his rage makes him strong. Very hard to handle. I can deal with that because I’m trained to. He probably would have killed you. You did the right thing.”

“If there is only one guy, the split in his personality is really deep,” Tracy said. “The guy last night? Nice, but weak. Like I said, he really believes Andy is letting the women go. He thinks the reason no one has turned them in is because of the threats against their families—and because they have no idea where they were.”

“If they’d let them loose, someone would have contacted the authorities. The police and the FBI would have known about it,” Alex said. “I’m sorry, but those women are dead.”

“One other thing you need to know,” Tracy said after a few moments of silence. “He had a cell phone in his pocket. He used it to call Andy. Or at least that’s what it looked like. If you can get that phone away from him . . . It only works for calls, though. Seems Andy, or whoever is in charge, won’t let him online or allow him to watch TV. Probably why he doesn’t realize no one has really been let go from here. Oh, and this may not help you, but I noticed something else. A small shed not far from the park. You know, the kind you can keep lawn equipment in? Maybe there’s something in there that could be used as a weapon. I mean, if you need it.”

Just then the door at the end of the hall opened. Tracy left the small panel open just a little so she could get a look at Andy. Sure enough, when he walked past, all she could see was a man with long blond hair that concealed his face. He didn’t look at her, and she didn’t call out to him. It was best not to do anything to ruin Alex’s plans.

She heard him approach Alex’s door. Then came the knock. “I’ll be here around dinnertime to pick you up. Put these clothes on.” That was all he said before opening and closing Alex’s large panel, then heading back up the hall to the main door. The voice was so different from the man last night. How could they be the same person? It just couldn’t be true.

“Please be careful, Alex,” Tracy said out into the hallway. “I’m not sure about this.”

“Don’t worry. We’re almost out of here,” Alex said. “Everyone just pray. Pray really hard.”

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