The Buried

CHAPTER 20

Quinn saw the helicopter twice more as they continued south on I-82—the first time when they’d left Yakima, the aircraft hovering over the town, and the second time when they were almost to Richland as it raced by and disappeared to the southeast.

He decided a change of course was in order, and instructed Nate to exit the interstate when they reached Kennewick and take US 12 east to Walla Walla.

Once they were on the country highway, they had no more sightings of the helicopter. By no means did Quinn feel they were out of trouble yet, though. From Ananke, via Orlando, they had learned one of their pursuers was a hunter named Ricky Orbits. Quinn seldom dealt with hunters so he had no personal knowledge of the man, but Ananke had told Orlando that Orbits was more than competent at his job. The information Orlando had pulled together and e-mailed to Quinn seemed to back this up.

Walla Walla came into sight just after six p.m. Though they could still reach Idaho before dark, one look at Nate told Quinn his partner was as tired as he was. They needed rest, not all night but for a few hours at least, or else they were liable to make mistakes.

He checked the Internet and directed Nate to a motel near the airport on the east end of town. There, he arranged for a first-floor room on the backside as far from the office as possible. While Nate moved the car, Quinn walked through the building, listening for other guests. TVs were on in four of the rooms, but the rest, including those surrounding the one they’d be staying in, were quiet.

He went outside through the exit closest to their room, and studied the parking lot as Nate pulled into a nearby spot.

When Nate joined him on the sidewalk, Quinn said, “We’ve got three cameras.” With subtle nods, he pointed out their locations. The cameras were mounted to the building, two at either end and the third above the door Quinn had come through.

They retrieved jammers from the Audi’s trunk and placed them within twenty feet of each camera to scramble their signals.

“Our room’s two doors down on the right,” Quinn said, flipping Nate the room key. “Take the bags in, then come back and give me a hand.”

While Nate took care of the luggage, Quinn opened the car’s rear door and leaned in. “We’re going to stop here for a bit. I could give you another shot but I’d rather not. And I don’t think you want that, either.”

The look in Danielle’s eyes confirmed this.

“Can I trust you to be quiet?”

She nodded.

Quinn checked the lot to make sure no one had appeared, and then helped her into a sitting position. When Nate returned, they cut the ties around her ankles and helped her out. True to her promise, she made no attempt to try anything as they led her inside.

Their room was more than serviceable — two queen-size beds, a counter/desk that covered most of the opposite wall, a TV, and a couple of padded chairs.

They sat her on the bed farthest from the door.

“I’m going to take your gag off, but the same rule applies if you try anything,” Quinn said. “Understand?”

Another nod.

He unwound the first rag and then removed the one lodged between her top and bottom teeth. As soon as this last was gone, she coughed. Nate handed her a bottle of water and she downed almost the whole thing.

“Are you okay?” Quinn asked when she was finished.

“Go to hell.”

“I think she’s all right,” Nate said.

“I need to use the bathroom,” she told them.

Quinn looked at Nate. “Check it.”

His partner disappeared into the bathroom for a moment before coming back out. “No way out.”

“Go ahead,” Quinn said to Danielle. “But leave the door open.”

She raised her cuffed hands and stared at him.

He knew he should leave them on, but he pulled out his knife and cut the ties. He didn’t expect thanks, nor did he get any, as she walked into the bathroom.

“Maybe we should just let her go,” Nate said.

“How long do you think she’ll last out there? We know one hunter’s looking for her, and there’s probably more. With us, she at least has a chance.”

“True,” Nate said slowly. “And I know helping her is the right thing to do, but I feel I should point out that’s not our job.”

“You’re right, and you don’t have to stay,” Quinn said. “I can do this on my own.”

Nate snorted. “Right. Did you hear the part where I said it’s the right thing to do? I was just making sure we were on the same page. I’m not going anywhere.”

Though Dani was acting all tough while she walked into the bathroom, what she really felt was exhausted and scared. She had been lying down the whole trip but hadn’t been able to fall back to sleep since the sedative had worn off.

Initially, she’d been fueled by anger toward the one called Quinn for putting a gag in her mouth and then reneging on his promise to remove it, but that had soon turned to fear as she listened to talk of helicopters and hunters.

She heard a hushed voice from the other room. She pressed up against the doorjamb and listened as Nate and Quinn talked. Their words confused her. Sure, they could have been trying to trick her, knowing she would overhear them, but she didn’t really believe that. Despite the fact they had tied her up and gagged her and drugged her — twice — they had not treated her unkindly. If she were honest with herself, she’d have to admit they had been very respectful, even concerned.

You can’t trust anyone, her sister had often said. People will tell you anything to get what they want.

She knew she should heed Marianne’s words, but something Quinn had just said replayed in her mind, too.

“With us, she at least has a chance.”

When Danielle exited the bathroom, Quinn pointed to the bed by the window.

“You can use that bed. My friend and I are going to take turns sleeping, so try to get some rest and don’t waste your time thinking about making a run for it.”

She mumbled something under her breath as she crossed over to the bed.

“I didn’t catch that,” he said.

She looked back at him. “I said, I won’t run.”

He’d expected her to be angry and uncooperative when she came out of the bathroom, but that wasn’t the case at all.

“Look, Danielle, I know this—”

“Dani,” she said. “Call me Dani.”

“Okay, Dani.” He paused. “I know this hasn’t been easy. I know whatever secret you’re holding you don’t want to share. That’s fine. I get it. But there are other people out there right now trying to find us…trying to find you. If there’s anything you can tell us that might give us an idea of what’s going on here, it would help us know what to do. We’re kind of operating in the dark.”

Her gaze turned to the floor and she seemed momentarily lost in thought. “You should have left me with the other women.”

“That would have made it even easier for these people to find you.”

She shrugged, her eyes still on the carpet.

“Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard of a woman called The Wolf?”

Dani became very still.

“Who is she?” he asked.

She shrugged again.

“Did Mr. Black tell you The Wolf was the one who hired him to grab you?”

She finally looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. “He did, but how did you know that?”

“His partner told me.”

“His partner?” she asked. “Mr. Red?”

Quinn gave her a quick description of Platt.

“You talked to him?” she asked.

“I paid him a visit while you were…sleeping.”

“Did you kill him?”

“He was still breathing when I left, but I doubt that lasted very long.”

“Good. He was a son of a bitch.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“He wanted to, but Mr. Black wouldn’t let him. I could hear him with the others, though. Whatever you did to him, he deserved worse.”

“He told me that Mr. Black was trying to get a location out of you.”

Dani tensed.

“That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?”

She stared at him but said nothing.

“How long have you been in hiding?”

For a moment she didn’t move, and then her lips parted. “A long time.”

“Then you know the people looking for you aren’t just going to give up.”

“I know.”

The bouts of indigestion had started around the time they reached Portland, and had only increased in duration as they headed east. Orlando had taken an antacid but that hadn’t done a thing.

She touched her stomach. “How about shifting a few inches to the right?” she said.

The baby was less than cooperative. Orlando hoped that wasn’t an indication of future behavior.

She grabbed a couple more of the chewable antacid tablets and shoved them in her mouth before returning her attention to her computer.

Since she hadn’t received any facial matches for Danielle, she had been concentrating on learning more about what had happened to Helen Cho. If she could identify the kidnappers, they might lead her to who had hired Ricky Orbits or perhaps another group looking for the girl.

It took her about forty-five minutes of hacking into security systems and spot checking cameras in the neighborhood around Helen’s office, but she finally found a feed from two properties down that had captured the kidnapping.

Because of the distance and angle, the image detail wasn’t the greatest, but the footage was sharp enough to show the gist of what had happened. The jackpot came when the getaway car drove right past the camera, giving Orlando an excellent view of not only the vehicle and its license plate, but also of the two men inside.

She grabbed images of each man, uploaded them to the facial recognition interface, and started the searches. Like with Danielle’s picture, there was no telling how long it would be before she received any results.

Knowing it was a waste of time, she ran a trace on the license plate anyway. It was not a match for the car the men had been driving.

Leaning back, she rubbed her eyes with one hand, and her indigestion spot with the other.

“You work too hard. You need rest.”

Mrs. Vo was twisted around in her chair, looking at Orlando.

“I’m okay,” Orlando said.

“Not okay. Computer all the time not good for baby.” Mrs. Vo pushed off her chair and moved over to the kitchen. “You need sleep. Food, too, I think. What you want to eat?”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“Not say again. Not fine. You be mother again soon. You need take care.” Nodding, she said, “I heat up pork chop, okay?”

Without waiting for a response, she opened the refrigerator.

Orlando would have told her she didn’t need to do that, but in truth, one of Mrs. Vo’s pork chops sounded great.

“You lie back on seat,” Mrs. Vo said. “I wake you when ready.”

Orlando closed her computer, thinking a little rest wouldn’t be such a bad idea, but as soon as she lay down, her phone rang.

With a sigh, she started to push herself back up, but Mrs. Vo said, “No, no, no. Sleep!” and snatched the phone off the table.

Orlando thought she was only moving it out of reach, but Mrs. Vo said, “This Quinn?….No, cannot talk. She tired…she fine, she fine. Just need sleep. She pregnant….Yes, I know you know, but cannot—”

Orlando had shoved herself up. “Let me talk to him.”

Mrs. Vo waved at her to lie back down and said into the phone, “I have her call you back.”

“Mrs. Vo, give me the phone,” Orlando said.

“I don’t know how long,” Mrs. Vo said to Quinn. “One hour. Two hour. Maybe morning. Okay?”

Struggling to her feet, Orlando said, “Mrs. Vo, please.”

The woman huffed before handing over the cell. “You need sleep. Not talk long,” she said. With another huff, she returned to preparing the food.

“Hey,” Orlando said into the phone.

“What was that all about? Are you feeling all right?” Quinn asked.

“I’m fine. She’s just being overprotective, that’s all.”

“Are you sure? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“Quinn, relax. Nothing’s wrong.” As if taunting her, her indigestion chose that moment to flare back up. She turned so Mrs. Vo wouldn’t see her wince.

“What?” Quinn asked.

“What what?” she asked back.

“It sounds like you’re in pain.”

She hadn’t realized she’d made any noise. She rubbed a hand across the same spot as before, willing the burning sensation to cease. “You’re hearing things.”

“Maybe you’re in labor.”

“I’m not in labor.”

“You can’t be sure.”

“Of course I can be sure. Don’t you think I’d know if I was in labor or not? This isn’t my first time, remember?”

A second of silence. “You’re sure?”

“I’m about to hang up on you.”

“Okay, okay. Sorry.”

She lowered herself back onto the bench seat, a loud exhale escaping as she finished. Before Quinn could react, she said, “Not labor! Just sitting down. I’m fat. It isn’t easy.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But you were going to.”

His non-response confirmed she was right.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Walla Walla. And you?”

“Somewhere along the Columbia River. If you wait, we can meet up with you in a few hours.”

“Absolutely not. I’m uncomfortable enough with you following us,” he said. “In fact, I was thinking it would be a good idea for you to go back to Portland and wait there.”

“No way. You may need help.”

“And you’re in perfect condition to give that to us, I suppose,” he scoffed.

“I’m better than nothing. And I’ve got Daeng.”

“I don’t like you out on the road. Not right now. Maybe I should call Daeng. He’ll do what I say.”

“Quinn, stop. We’re not turning around.”

Mrs. Vo walked over to the table and set down a plate with two cut-up pork chops, a mound of rice, and some broccoli on it. “I get sauce.”

“Thanks,” Orlando said.

“You talk too long.”

“Just a few more minutes.” When Mrs. Vo left, Orlando asked Quinn, “Any more helicopters?”

“Not for a couple hours,” Quinn said. “I did get our passenger to talk a little, though.”

“You did? And?”

He told her about his conversation. He hadn’t learned a lot but it was more than they’d had before.

“Dani, huh?” Orlando said when he finished.

“Still might not be her real name,” he said. “I take it her ID photo hasn’t brought back any hits.”

“Not yet.”

She became aware that Mrs. Vo was standing a few feet away, holding a bottle of fish sauce and impatiently staring at her.

“The plan still the same?” Orlando asked Quinn.

“I don’t know what else to do,” he said. “We’ll get a few hours’ rest here and then head for Idaho. Have you found someplace for us?”

“I have. Just east of Moscow. I’ll e-mail you the details.”

“Thanks.”

“Food get cold,” Mrs. Vo said.

Orlando glanced at her and said into the phone, “I need to go or I’m going to get grounded.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I’m pregnant. What do you think? I’ll talk to you later.”

Mrs. Vo waited until Orlando put the phone away before handing over the sauce. “You eat, you sleep.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Vo.”

“No more phone.”

“Okay.”

“Also no computer.”

“We’ll see.”

Mrs. Vo scowled.