11
The phone was ringing when he burst through the door. He hesitated when it stopped, mere feet from it, panting. According to his watch he still had two minutes, but who knew if the people who'd taken his sister set their watches using the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Clock as he did.
Silence in an empty house is almost a sound in itself, with its own particular sensation. Geoff's heart beat against his chest while he remained still, listening to gusts of wind outside, hearing a soft pop from somewhere inside the house as something settled more securely into place or perhaps buckled from long decay. Trying to calm his breathing, he turned away and the phone rang again, loud and nerve-jangling in its insistence.
"Hello?" he said quickly after snatching up the receiver.
"On the toilet?"
"No. Just got back."
"From where?"
He blurted, "Silver stole my Jeep and crashed it."
There was a pause. "Do you have the animal?"
"I can get it."
"Do you think we're playing games?" The stranger asked, hostility in his tone.
He wanted to ask if they worked for John Hammond or the person who'd hired Brit. "No, sir," he replied, still sounding winded.
"We're watching you."
"Yes, sir."
"We're running out of patience, Geoff. Meet us in ten minutes-"
"I need an hour. Sir."
Silence on the other end of the line.
"Sir?"
"You don't seem to comprehend how this works."
"I'm sorry, I've never done anything like this before." He scratched his head, thinking fast. "I'm expecting a phone call from my mother. She doesn't know. But if I'm not here to catch the call she'll panic, have the neighbors come over, call the police."
He heard a sound like lips smacking. "No police, Geoff!"
"Right. So I need at least an hour-"
"Call her. Let her know everything's okay."
"That would make her suspicious."
"Do you want to see your sister again?"
"Please," Geoff said quietly. "Please don't hurt her. I won't tell anyone. Nobody ever needs to know."
"I have someone right there now watching you. Do you understand me? Maybe we drop Nadean here off and she finds you under the tree, got it?"
His breath caught in his throat. "Please, sir-"
"Don't mess with us, Geoffery."
"No, sir. Never. I swear it."
The phone was slammed into its cradle. McKenna winced as he hung up. He knew the caller was lying about someone watching him. They would have known he hadn't been home to catch their call. He suspected that meant whomever he was dealing with was only one guy or two at the most—they surely didn't have manpower to spare. In the kitchen was a phone book. He quickly located it and flipped through the white pages, seeking a particular last name.