Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (26 page)

No. She didn't want to go there again.

During her orientation, she'd been warned that she needed to be aware of her own personal security, but that violence against foreigners wasn't usual. Most of the rules they'd laid out were simply common sense. While serious crime tended to be fairly low, they were to be aware of pickpockets who were rampant. They'd also been advised to avoid any demonstrations and have an exit strategy in case of an emergency.

And that's exactly what she'd discovered. The people she worked with, as well as the patients she treated on a daily basis, had welcomed her warmly. She'd never felt threatened. Never felt in danger. Which was why, in the ten months she'd lived in the country, she'd never felt afraid as she had during the time they'd grabbed her, or in the days that had followed.

“Maddie?”

She shook her head. Running, even if it was only in her mind, wasn't going to change their situation.

“I'm sorry—”

“It's okay. I know this is hard on you. But we need to know what we're up against.”

She nodded and forced herself to step back into the memories. “Gavin and I were on our way from the hospital back to the row of rooms we rented a few blocks away. It had been raining all day. I remember a car drove by too fast and splashed mud across my scrub pants. I was frustrated because I was tired and now I was going to have to go and wash them out. Seems petty, looking back. A couple minutes later, another car stopped and a man got out. I didn't think anything about it until he pulled out a gun and asked me if I was Dr. Gilbert.”

Maddie closed her eyes wishing she could block it all out, but it was still there, as fresh as it had been the second it happened. The smell of rain. Mud oozing over the tops of her shoes. And the sound of a gunshot.

“They shot him. Gavin fell backward onto the side of the street. I pulled away from whoever was gripping my arm to try to save him, but Gavin was already dead.” Maddie stared out the window as they drove past a woman carrying bananas on her head. Cool air from the sea blew across her face. The scent of salt water heavy in the air. “I remember feeling like my mind couldn't keep up with what was happening. Couldn't accept it. They could have let him go and just taken me, but for some reason they didn't.”

“Did he try to fight back?”

“I don't rememb... Yes.” Somehow she'd forgotten that part until now. “He tried to pull me out of the car.”

Her fingers automatically reached up to touch her forearm where there was still a tint of bruise from where they'd grabbed her. He'd tried to save her.

“His death was my fault.” She ran her fingers down her arm. They were getting closer to town now. Mud huts were sprinkled throughout the lush terrain. “I thought they killed him because he wasn't a doctor, but they killed him simply because he was with me.”

Grant swerved to the left to avoid a deep rut in the road. “Don't even go there, Maddie. None of this was your fault. What happened next?”

“They put a blindfold on me and drove off. Fifteen...twenty minutes later, we stopped at what had to be a landing strip and got into an airplane. Because of the short distance, I guessed they'd taken me to one of these islands. Ana confirmed it later.”

“And the flash drive. Did anyone ever ask you about Sam or the information he had?”

“No. All I was told was that people were dying and if I wanted to live, I needed to find a way to save them.” Maddie glanced down at the locket still hanging around her neck. “I'd planned to meet my supervisor that evening and tell him about Sam and the flash drive. I never had a chance.”

Had someone stopped her on purpose? Or had it been nothing more than a coincidence?

“Don't you think if they were aware I'd spoken to Sam they would have tried to find out what I knew?”

“I'm not sure,” he said.

“Well, I'm not, either. But what I do know is that this country is full of good people, like Silvia. It's people like Oumar who spoil it,” she said. “Coming here I was completely out of my comfort zone, and yet I've sat and eaten in their homes, listened to their stories, cried with them over their losses. It's a place where people have so little and yet it has so much to offer at the same time. In the ten months that I've been here, I know I've learned more from them than I'll ever be able to give back.”

“I agree and maybe that's why I keep coming back. Africa tends to grab on to a piece of your heart and doesn't let go. We should be almost to the town that has a market where we can buy some breakfast,” he said, changing the subject for the moment. “We'll stop there, then drive on to the island's port.”

“So have you come to any conclusions?” she asked.

“I think we have to assume that someone at least believes you talked with Sam. And that we can't ignore the possibility that there are some heavy hitters involved who orchestrated your kidnapping.”

“Like whoever's name is on the flash drive.”

Grant nodded. “Exactly.”

“But why bring me to a rebel camp to treat their sick?”

“I don't know. Maybe that wasn't supposed to be what happened. Those involved with the drug running tend to keep low profiles. All I can figure is they realized you were a doctor and decided you could serve two purposes.”

“If this is true, then I'm still a loose end.” Maddie clasped the locket between her fingers.

He reached out and squeezed her other hand. “Which is why we're going to get you off this island and find out what's on that flash drive.”

SIX

G
rant drove through the small town that was nestled along the shoreline, praying this was going to be their ticket out of here. From the air, the dozens of islands surrounding them looked like a pile of gems against the brilliant blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A stunning contrast to the bleak Sahara Desert farther north.

Most of those living on these islands had little need—or desire—of the outside world. They grew their own rice while acres of palm groves produced oil and palm wine. Mudflats contained shellfish and the sea provided a ready supply of fish. The outside world had tried to change that self-sufficiency, beginning with a fifteenth-century Portuguese explorer who was promptly killed for his efforts to conquer them. Today, there were only subtle signs of European influence, primarily from the worn-out buildings abandoned after independence.

Grant parked along the edge of a narrow street that was filled mainly with pedestrians and sellers and turned off the motor, realizing how nothing had changed since the last time he'd been here.

Antonio rested his hand on the door handle in the backseat. “I'll go talk to my friend and see if I can find someone to arrange a private boat off this island. Meet you back here in ten...fifteen minutes top.”

Maddie glanced at Ana, as Antonio headed out of the vehicle, shutting the door behind him. “Do you feel up to walking around and finding something to eat?”

The young girl nodded, though from her glassy eyes it was clear she still wasn't feeling well. “I am hungry.”

“Sounds like a good sign to me, doctor.”

“It is,” Maddie said, but he caught the hesitation in her voice. “But do you think we should get out of the car? I'd really like to stretch my legs, but if it's not safe...”

The busy road where he'd parked was flanked by run-down buildings with tin roofs. Along the sides, women sold fish, oysters, shrimp, cashews and palm oil nuts out of colorful plastic tubs. People bustled by past them, buying and selling, completely unaware he and those with him were running for their lives.

He wanted to tell her there was nothing to worry about. That both she and Ana were safe now. But while no one had followed them on the road, there were still no guarantees that the men after them weren't still out there. He glanced toward the mainland. The thirty miles of open sea to the capital had never seemed so far. I think we'll be okay,” he said finally. “If they're determined to find you, it won't matter if you're walking down the street or sitting in one of their vehicles. We just need to keep our eyes open, and pay attention to what's going on around us.”

Maddie stayed close beside him, her arm around Ana's shoulder. He wished they could simply blend into the crowd, but for the two of them that wasn't possible.

He studied the busy street, looking for anything that seemed off. He wished they had time to eat a proper meal. There wasn't time to hunt down a restaurant, but at least the rebels hadn't discovered the hidden zipper in his cargo pants where he'd stashed some of his money. A glance into a small store offered canned sardines, tomato paste, spaghetti noodles and powered milk on its shelves, but they had no way to cook anything. Instead, they hurried into the open market where they could find a better selection of “fast food.” A handful of change bought them some bread, a half dozen boiled eggs, and a bagful of roasted cashews.

“How much for your cell phone?” he asked the woman tending the store, “I'll give you two times what it's worth.”

She looked up at him like he was crazy, hesitated for a couple seconds and then handed him the phone. Though having it didn't guarantee the ability to get through.

He looked at Maddie and caught the look of concern on her face.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“I've been keeping my eye on two men just down the street. I've seen them move from store to store like they're looking for someone.”

He glanced back at where she was looking, but they must have already gone into one of the stores.

“Did they look familiar?” he asked.

Maddie nodded.

“I've seen them too,” Ana said. “They were at the camp.”

Grant felt his jaw tense, as he steered them in the opposite direction, back through the market. “They've got to be the men who were following us. Which means we need to get back to the Jeep. Now.”

Grant tried not to worry as he hurried them through a maze of sellers, the rank smell of salted fish lying in the sun to dry filling his nose. Past piles of fat pumpkins, cucumbers and mounds of cashews. He dialed his pilot friend again, praying that the strings he'd had to pull were going to end up paying off.

“So much for a phone,” he said, frustration burrowing through him.

“You still can't get ahold of him?” Maddie asked as they left the crowded market behind. He could see their car now, standing out in a sea of pedestrians at the end of the street. But no sign of the men.

“The call won't even go through.” Grant let out an exasperated sigh. “I'm trying to send a text message as well. Hopefully it will go out eventually.”

When he'd decided to plan a rescue, he'd known they'd have to be flexible and that getting her off this island wasn't going to be simple. But he'd gone ahead, praying their quickly laid plans would work. Colton Landry, his pilot friend, hadn't hesitated when Grant had asked him for help, even knowing that any part he played in this rescue attempt was a risk. But now he couldn't help but wonder if his friend had tried to land that plane... And if the same men who were after them had been there waiting.

Antonio was crossing the road and making his way toward them.

“Did you find a boat?” Grant asked as they continued together toward the car and he pulled the keys from his pocket.

“Yes and no. There's a storm coming in, and the sea's too rough right now for smaller boat. We'd have to wait until this afternoon...maybe even tomorrow.”

Grant frowned. “We don't have time to wait until tomorrow. We spotted two of the men from the camp on the other side of the market.”

And in a place this small, there would be no place to hide.

“So what are our other options?” Grant asked.

“The ferry is arriving this morning with fuel and supplies. As soon as it off-loads, it's going to return to the mainland, which means we're going to have to hurry in order to catch it.”

“And we're what...thirty minutes away still?”

Antonio nodded.

Grant let out a huff. A speedboat could have gotten them to the mainland in just over an hour, while the ferry could take up to eight hours.

“You're sure the ferry's the best option?” Maddie asked, trying to maneuver around a woman carrying a stack of firewood on her head. “If there's a bad storm coming in, I don't want to be out there on that water.”

“It might not be the best,” Antonio said, “but it's our only one at this point. It's equipped with GPS and can handle the rough seas. Considering the circumstances, rough seas are the least of our problems,”

“No kidding,” Grant said.

“There's more. I just spoke to my friend who lives here,” Antonio continued. “He's the one who helped me find where you were being held, Maddie. He heard this morning that the local authorities have been told to bring you in for questioning, and I don't mean in order to stage their own rescue.”

“Then why?” Maddie's voice rose a notch.

“For stealing a vehicle and kidnapping Ana.”

“Kidnapping... You've got to be kidding me,” Grant said. “We rescued Ana from a rebel camp, and they accuse us of kidnapping?”

“She asked to come with us,” Maddie said.

“Corruption runs deep,” Antonio said. “The drug traffickers have deep pockets and if someone wants to keep you quiet, Maddie...”

“That means we can't go to the police here on the island,” Grant said.

“The only upside is that communication is pretty much limited to two-way radios, and their manpower is just as limited. But my advice is that we get to that ferry as fast as we can to ensure we get on. The next one won't get here until Sunday, which means we'd be stuck on the island until the weather calms down.”

Grant started back toward the car through the crowded street and stopped. Ana, who had been beside Maddie only seconds ago, wasn't there. “Maddie...where's Ana?”

* * *

Maddie turned to where Ana had been standing beside her. “Ana?”

Grant was right. She was gone.

Maddie sucked in a deep breath, trying not to panic as she searched the crowded street. “Ana... Ana? She was just here...”

“Which means she couldn't have gone far,” Antonio said. “We'll find her.” Maddie ran back toward the side street where they'd been standing, knowing Ana was both sick and scared, but there was no sign of her. She turned in a slow circle, trying to catch sight of the bright orange dress Ana had been wearing. Antonio had to be right, though. She couldn't have gone far. She could easily have seen something and wandered off to check it out. Or maybe even simply gone to sit down. Because the alternative—the possibility that they'd taken her—was too terrifying.

“I never should have taken her out of that car,” Maddie said, turning back to Grant and Antonio.

“Let's split up again and meet back here in five minutes,” Antonio said. “The two of you go check the market. I'll check the other direction.”

Grant gripped her elbow and started walking back toward the market where they'd bought the boiled eggs and bread she was still carrying in the plastic bag. “We're going to find her,” he said, trying to reassure her.

She bit her tongue, wanting to believe his promise, but knowing that he'd been right about coincidences. This couldn't be just another one of them. “Do you think they took her?”

“No.” Grant grabbed her hand and hurried through a narrow side street that ran along the edge of the marketplace. “Because she's not who they really want. If they'd found her...they would have found us as well.”

“But they're still out there, and she's out there.”

“I know.”

Maddie wasn't even going to verbalize what would happen if they didn't find her. They needed to get off the island, but she had no intention of leaving Ana behind.

They were back in the market again. The scent of the coming rains, brought by the breeze from the ocean, was competing with the rows of fish for sale.

“Her fever was rising last time I felt her skin,” Maddie said. “If we don't find her...”

“We're going to find her.”

Maddie stopped in front of the woman who'd sold them the eggs. “I'm looking for the girl that was with me. Her name's Ana. Have you seen her? We were separated in the crowd.”

“I'm sorry. No.”

They continued down the rows, asking people if they'd seen her, all the way to the end of the market, but there was no sign of her. Only the gray sea spreading out before them in the distance.

“If she came back this way,” Grant said, “someone would have seen her.”

“Then where do we go?”

Maddie stared at the ocean. The storm brewed in the distance. Lightning flashed. One of a dozen baobab trees found on the island stood near the shoreline, its bare and twisted rootlike branches spreading out beyond the thick trunk. Eerie and foreboding. As much as she didn't want to be stuck on this island, neither was she sure she wanted to be out on the water during a storm.

“Wait a minute...” Grant said.

“What it is?”

“I think she's out there. On the sand, to the left.”

Maddie turned and caught the color of orange fluttering in the wind. Grant squeezed her hand and starting running toward the beach. There were cows lying in the sand. A forgotten pirogue carved from the trunk of a Kapok tree. Thousands of fiddler crabs hurried to burrow into the sand at their approach, while a heron stood unmoving, ready to catch his breakfast.

Ana sat facing the sea while the wind whipped at her dress and braids.

Maddie fell down on her knees on the sand in front of her. “Ana...are you okay?”

Silent tears streamed down Ana's face. “I'm sorry. I thought I lost you. I turned around and...you were gone. There were so many people. I was so afraid they were going to take me back. I saw those men standing beside the car...”

“No one's taking you back.” Maddie sat down beside her and cradled her against her chest.

“My grandmother's out there somewhere. I thought if I waited long enough a boat would come and take me to her.”

“Come on.” Maddie helped her stand up. “You're safe now, Ana. And we're going to help you find your grandmother.”