was strong enough before he said anything. Was he worried she'd become hysterical?
'I'm not going to fall apart. Just answer me.'
He took a step closer. 'Yes,' he said. 'I do think your aunt and the other two women are already dead.'
She let go of his arm and stepped back. 'Why? Why do you think that?'
'Isn't there anyone you could…'
'Call?' she snapped. 'Aunt Carrie and Uncle Tony are my only family, and I'm not going to scare my uncle half to death the
way you're trying to scare me until I have all the facts. Tell me how you know this Monk.'
'Miss Delaney?'
Oliver was calling to her. She turned and saw the clerk holding up a house phone and beckoning her.
It couldn't be Margo, she thought. Her friend would have called her on her cell phone. Who then? Carrie… Maybe Carrie was on the line. Avery was suddenly so frightened, she couldn't catch her breath. Please, let it be Carrie.
She dropped her backpack as she sidestepped a couple. She was in too much of a hurry to pick it up. As she neared the counter, Oliver said, 'The caller says it's urgent.'
John Paul followed with her backpack. He saw her grab the receiver, then heard her say, 'Carrie?'
'Sorry, darling girl. It isn't Carrie.'
Jarred by the endearment and the whisper-soft voice of the woman on the line, Avery asked, 'Who is this?'
'Who I am isn't important at the moment, but your Carrie is, isn't she? We have her. Would you like to see her again?'
The voice was muffled. Avery didn't think she had ever heard it before.
'What have you done with her? Is she all right? If you hurt her…'
'Stupid girl, be quiet and listen,' the woman ordered. 'I'm only going to say this once, so pay attention. Three lives depend upon your cooperation. I've left a manila envelope on the counter with your name on it. It's right there, on your left. Ah, don't turn around,' she said in a hushed croon that made Avery's skin crawl. 'If you see me, all the rules will change and your poor, poor Carrie and her new best friends will have to pay the price.'
Avery stiffened. 'Where are you?' she whispered.
'Here,' the voice answered. 'I'm watching you. You want to look, don't you?' She laughed. 'Don't be a killjoy and ruin my game. Pick up the map, Avery. That's my girl. See the nice watch? Put it on. Now.'
Avery picked up the man's Swatch athlete's watch and quickly slipped the band over her hand.
'That's it,' the woman said. 'Now open the map and find the little red X I've marked for you. Hurry now.'
Avery propped the phone on her shoulder, opened the map, and began to search for the mark. She dropped the phone as she leaned forward, trying to see a glimpse of a face in the reflection of the shiny granite wall behind the counter.
John Paul reached around her and picked up the phone. She grabbed it from him.
'Clumsy girl,' the voice chided.
'I'm sorry.'
John Paul watched Avery closely. The color had drained from her face, and she had a white-knuckle grip on the phone. He couldn't stop himself from putting his arm around her, concerned now that whatever she was hearing was going to be to so
much for her. He wasn't any good at comforting women-he'd actually never attempted it before-but he felt obligated to try.
'Oh, isn't that sweet,' the voice was syrupy now. 'Is he your lover?'
She was so rattled she couldn't think. 'Yes… no.'
The woman laughed. 'Who is he?'
'No one.'
'Oh?'
Avery said the first thing that popped into her head. 'He's an actor. He worked… works for Carrie in commercials.
I'll send him away.'
'No, no, don't do that. He's in the game now, darling girl. By now he knows you're having trouble finding Carrie. We don't want him asking questions or calling the police. Besides, he'll have more fun on the treasure hunt with you. But no one else. You say one word to anyone, and we'll know it. From the time you hang up this phone, we'll be monitoring your progress. You're going to tell the manager Carrie called and everything's fine. Then you're going to take your cell phone out of your purse and drop it in the fountain on your way out of the hotel. Do you understand?'
'Yes.'
'Take your boyfriend's cell phone. Let me see you do it.'
She turned to John Paul. 'Give me your cell phone.'
'I don't have one.'
She repeated what he'd said into the phone.
'We'll know if you're lying. It really doesn't matter, though. You won't be able to get a signal where you're going, but I still
want to see you get rid of your phone.'
'Yes, I will. Is Carrie all right? Is she-'
'She's fine… for the moment. Do what I tell you to do if you want her to stay that way.' The tone of her voice turned hard
and brittle, yet there was an underlying edge of excitement there as well. 'Have you found the red X?'
'Yes, I see it.'
'Follow the directions I've written at the bottom. You've got exactly two hours to get there.'
'But it's at least a three-hour drive from here. It isn't possible. It doesn't look like there are any roads once we get-'
'I said two hours,' the woman interrupted. 'One hundred and twenty minutes, Avery, and not one minute more. Didn't you hear me?'
'Yes, but what if we don't make it in time? What if we're late?'
The woman laughed. 'Boom.'
Chapter 10
The woman sounded demented. She was laughing as she disconnected the line. Avery, shaken to the core, handed the receiver to Oliver, and as she did so, she leaned into the counter and, slipping her hand into her backpack, pushed the speed dial number that would connect her to the pen. She waited a second, then pushed the star to signal an alert. Cannon hurried toward
her and dropped the printout of information she'd demanded on the counter.
'You were right,' she said, her voice strained with what she hoped sounded like good cheer. 'That was Carrie on the phone. It was all just a crazy mix-up. Now, if you'll excuse us, John Paul and I are going for a ride.'
She was trying not to let them see how frantic she was. She shoved the papers Cannon had placed on the counter into her backpack before he could snatch them back, grabbed her cell phone and the map, and sprinted for the entrance.
She glanced at each face she passed, but there were so many people loitering in the massive lobby, it was impossible to get a
good look at all the women. Where were the phone banks? There were palms and huge ficus trees everywhere. The caller
could be hiding as she watched Avery now.
