Page 129 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
“Hello, Rowan. I’m Chasity, and it’s lovely to meet you. Wait, is that what we’re doing? Meeting over the phone?” Chasity asked with a chuckle. “Do you work for the Geek Squad? Holden, turn on the camera so I can see this man.”
Before Holden could grab the phone, Rowan clicked on the forward-facing camera and switched the call to video. On the screen, a blonde woman adjusted her glasses to get a better look, her eyes going wide once she did.
“Oh, lord,” Holden’s mother exhaled. She sat in a plush, black leather chair, surrounded by dark, plaid walls, holding various photos of birds in flight. “Uh, hello. You said your name was Rowan?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Smile in place, Rowan turned on the charm. “Is the program working?”
Chasity’s lips parted. “You have a very deep voice.”
“Yes, ma’am. I do.”
“It’s very soothing.” Chasity squinted at him. “Matches the face. You could do a lot with that face. The girls like it, I bet.”
“A fair share. Can you give me your IP address or even your home address so I can look at the information myself?”
“My home address?” Chasity set the phone down, propping it against something as she typed on a laptop’s keyboard. “Are you guys close? Are y’all coming over for supper?”
“No, ma’am.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Chastity took the hint and got to work. “Holden, there are four types of loons in northern Arkansas. Which one do you want?”
Holden struggled. “I want the one that sounds like a bird howling.”
Diverting her gaze from the laptop screen, Chasity tossed an eye roll at her son. “They all sound like that.”
The next thing Rowan knew, the wailing calls of various loons were shooting through the phone. Several federal agents turned to stare, and Klausen paused his conversation on the phone, giving them a confused frown.
“Which one is it?” Chasity asked, running the bird’s calls on a loop. “If it’s northwestern, my guess would be the Common or theRed-Throated.”
“Play them one at a time.” Holden closed his eyes to concentrate. “And slow it down as you do.”
Chasity did as he asked, and Holden’s eyes popped open on the third bird. “It’s that one.”
“I was right. The Common Loon.” Chasity reclined in the chair that nearly swallowed her small body whole. “According to your father’s map and the tracks he has laid out for their migratory pattern, which can vary, the answer should be Beaver Lake.”
“Thanks, Mama. Love you.” Holden ended the call so fast that his mother didn’t have time to respond. “Okay, get me up there. Taking a Fairweather jet might slow Liam down, but not me. If we start the process in the next few minutes, I can meet him and coordinate with locals while he searches.”
Klausen swore and everyone went silent as he chucked his phone clear across the room in frustration. “They got her.”
“Jamison?” Annabeth surged out of her seat. “She’s okay?”
“Kristina Scherer,” Klausen spat out the name of Michael Sinclair’s sister. “She’s escaped from the holding center.”
Rowan set his laptop aside to hold Annabeth as she processed her disappointment. “How the fuck did that happen?”
“I don’t have the full details yet.” Klausen stared helplessly at his phone on the floor. “But she was our main bargaining chip in getting Jamison Fairweather back.”
Chapter 30
Taylor didn’t order her to be injected again once they boarded the plane. In fact, she all but ignored Jamison, leaving Bruce to handle her while she went off to sit with Parker.
About an hour into the flight, Jamison found she could sit up and form words. Proud of herself, she took in her surroundings. The aircraft resembled one of the smaller jets owned by Fairweather Holdings, with four rows of double seating. Taylor and Parker were in the back row, far enough away that Jamison could speak without being overheard.
“Explain them.”
Bruce took her by the shoulders to straighten her in the seat. “I told you to behave.”
“Everyone tells me to behave, and I’m just not good at it,” she slurred. “Tell me.”
