The Forgotten Holocaust

Chapter Fifty-Six

Ben tried again to call Erin’s mobile as he crossed the line back into Tulsa County, then once more coming into the outskirts of Broken Arrow. Still no reply.

‘Come on, answer the damn thing,’ he said out loud.

Of all the things that worried him at the moment, it was Erin that worried him the most. The fact that she’d left the hotel when she’d been supposed to lie low there, and that she wasn’t responding to her phone when she was meant to be waiting for his call. It wasn’t like her.

The other two things on his mind were Ritter and Moon. Ben had little doubt that their not being present at Big Bear Farm that day had made his work there a lot easier. That was a plus. But now he’d lost his biggest tactical advantage — the element of surprise that had enabled him to strike hard and fast and get out again before the enemy had known what hit them. Now they knew he was coming, and they’d be waiting for him to make his next move, ready to respond with everything they had. That was a big negative.

Nor was Ben happy not knowing where Ritter and Moon were, especially now that Erin had strangely disappeared off his radar screen. Put all those concerns together, and they added up to a set of possibilities that he didn’t like. He didn’t like them one bit.

His jaw tightened and he pressed a little harder on the gas, shooting past slower cars and trucks to the throaty tune of the Barracuda’s Hemi V8. The turnpike led straight into the heart of Tulsa. He’d be there in just a few minutes. Then he would see what he would see.

That was when the sudden shrill of the Dixie ringtone sounded in the car next to him. He glanced across to see that it was coming from the phone he’d taken from the sentry called Gulick, which was lying on the front passenger seat next to the dead man’s wallet.

The phone kept ringing insistently. He hesitated, then reached over for it, thumbed the REPLY button and pressed it to his ear without saying anything.

‘Hey there. How are you feeling on this fine sunny day?’

Ben’s fist tightened on the steering wheel as he recognised McCrory’s voice. He sounded bright and breezy, like a friend calling up for a catch-up chatter. His amicable tone gave Ben a chill.

‘Congratulations, Mr Hope. You sure had some fun at my expense today, didn’t you? I’ll bet you had a ball. Yes, sir.’

Ben said nothing.

‘Well, I just wanted to call and let you know that the fun ain’t over,’ said the cheery voice in his ear. ‘In fact, it’s just about to begin. We got ourselves some female company, me and the boys here. That lady friend of yours is quite something, isn’t she?’

‘Put her on,’ Ben said. He felt numb. The road kept spooling towards him at ninety miles an hour.

McCrory laughed. ‘Sorry, bud. She can’t talk right now.’

‘She’d better be all right.’

‘Oh, we’re taking good care of her. Don’t you worry about that.’

‘What do you want?’

‘Why, just the pleasure of your acquaintance. I was thinking, how about you come and join us all here? We’ll have ourselves a party. Talk things over. Kind of square things up, man to man.’

‘Tell me where,’ Ben said.

‘Arrowhead Ranch. Out by Sand Springs. You’ll know where to find it.’

‘I’ll see you there,’ Ben said.

McCrory laughed again. ‘Delighted to hear it. I’ll be waiting. Put on a nice reception for you. Just like old pals.’

‘Soon,’ Ben said. He tossed the phone out of the car window and hit the gas harder.