Page 58 of Two Favors Repaid

Darryl nodded. “He and I were out for a morning run when Susan called us.”

“You guys have no idea how happy we are to see you,” Rob said.

“You have no idea how happy I am you weren’t on your boat,” Susan said. Her lips formed a thin line around her mouth.

Darryl put a hand on Rob’s shoulder. For the first time Rob noticed the man’s running clothes were stained in soot. He’d washed his face and hands, but they were still streaked in soot in places.

“What happened to my boat?” he asked.

“It was on fire.” We put it out but it’s … let’s just say the galley’s gone.”

“You shouldn’t have gotten anywhere near it,” Rob said, thinking of the danger Darryl and Adrian had faced.

“They had to,” Susan piped up in an unusually quiet voice. “They needed to know if you and Emma were there.”

Emma had walked up quietly behind them. “I’m sorry, Rob, I know how much you love that boat,” she said. Her eyes gleamed with tears.

Rob absorbed that information for a moment. He was so relieved he and Emma were still alive, he couldn’t find it in him to care.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Really. An hour ago, I would have been willing to trade a lot more than a boat for our lives.”

Rob organized his thoughts. He needed a blanket for Emma. Luckily the patrol boat had plenty of those. He looked in the space under the seats and brought out a couple, wrapping one around her. Emma gratefully huddled inside the rough blanket. “The other one’s for when you feel a bit stronger. You need to go down to the galley and get changed.” There were clothes down in the galley, though probably none that would fit Emma’s petite form. At least she’d be dry.

He looked towards the spot where he’d last seen Jessy, hoping she’d go downstairs with Emma and help her get changed, but the scientist wasn’t there anymore. She and Darryl had moved a few feet away and were having a quietly heated conversation. Whatever they were talking about, it wasn’t making either of them happy. They both wore matching frowns. Darryl brought up a hand and placed it gently on Jessy’s arm, but Jessy shook it off violently and stormed off towards the cockpit.

Rob wondered what that was about.

“How about you?” Emma said, bringing his attention back to the present.

“I’ll be okay for a few minutes. I need to speak with Susan first.”

“I’ll go down and get changed,” Emma said. She looked like a kid dressed for Halloween in the oversized blankets.

“I’ll be right here when you’re ready. You’ll let me know if you need anything?”

“I will,” she said, nodding bravely.

Rob strode towards Susan. “We need to call the FBI.”

The officer looked at him like he was demented. “I already did that. You’re not exactly the type to disappear in the middle of a crisis, Rob. What did you imagine I’d think? Special Agents Vasquez and Ramsay are on their way here as we speak, this time with a team.”

“They’ve given up on Mexico, then?”

“By the time I called them, they were already on their way back. Following the breadcrumb trail to Mexico had led nowhere.”

“How did they realize?”

“They finally got lucky with a traffic camera by a gas station. The man matched Ford in the most general sense, but that was about it. It even looks like he might be wearing makeup to make himself appear older than he really was. And thanks to you, they now know where Ford is.”

“And if it hadn’t been Ford?” Rob asked, amazed at the risk the young officer had taken, mobilizing half the FBI over a hunch.

Susan shrugged, smiling. “Then I’d probably be looking for a new job,” she said.

Susan handed over her phone to him. “Incidentally, you should probably call Special Agent Vasquez. She was really worried about you.”

The boat’s engine over-revved for an instant before slowing down. “I’ll call her as soon as we get to the hospital.”

“The hospital?”