CHAPTER SEVEN
Bob sat with Liz until the drugs the doctor gave her kicked in. Then he helped her to their bed and left her long enough to call the veterinarian to check on White Dog. He wasn’t surprised but his heart still felt leaden when the vet told him he shouldn’t get his hopes up. Bob looked across the room at White Dog’s bed. “You were here,” he whispered. “You tried to save Michael. That’s more than I did.”
Even after the sedatives knocked her out, Liz moaned in the bed, her arms and legs twitching spasmodically. She tossed her head from side to side. Bob paced. He passed the telephone a hundred times, each time silently praying for it to ring with news about his son. But the doorbell rang instead.
He couldn’t keep disappointment from his face when he saw his commander, Colonel Geoffrey Gray, and Gray’s wife, Susan, on his front porch.
“How’s Liz?” Gray asked.
“Out cold,” Bob said. “The doctor said she’d sleep until morning.”
Gray shook his head. “And how are you doing?”
“Jeez, Geoffrey, how do you think he’s doing?” Susan snapped at her husband.
Gray shot his wife a look. “Why don’t you check on Liz?” he suggested between clenched teeth.
Susan stomped toward the bedroom.
“It’s been over fourteen hours, and not a word,” Bob said, his voice breaking. “I don’t have a clue where to look for him. I’m a soldier, Colonel. I know how to fight. But who do I fight? I’ve never felt more lost in my life.”
Gray put a hand on Bob’s shoulder.
“I pulled some strings over at the Hellenic army headquarters,” he said. “They’re sending someone from the police to escort you to a roadblock up north on the National Highway. They can always use another set of eyes and ears. And who better than you when it comes to identifying Michael? I think–”
The doorbell interrupted Gray. He walked to the front door and opened it. “Yes, what is it?” Gray growled.
“Inspector Petros Zavitsanos,” the man said, displaying an identification card.
“We’ve been waiting for someone from the police,” Gray said. “But I didn’t expect an inspector to be sent on escort duty.”
“Just part of the job, Colonel,” Zavitsanos said. “Especially when the Minister of Security orders it.” There was a hint of reprimand in his tone, as though he knew it was Gray who had called the Minister. Zavitsanos looked at Bob. “Are you ready?” he asked. “We are going to a highway checkpoint.”
“Yeah,” Bob said. “But give me a minute.” He left the room and tiptoed back to the bedroom. The buzz of heavy breathing came to him when he opened the door. Susan Gray sat in a chair next to the bed. She held Liz’s hand.
“Thanks for coming,” Bob whispered. Then he stepped to the opposite side of the bed and bent over, putting his mouth next to Liz’s ear. “I’m going out to try to find Michael, Liz. You’ve got to get better. I need you.”
Liz’s breathing skipped a beat, then subsided into a regular pattern again. Bob kissed her cheek and straightened up.
“Don’t worry about her,” Susan Gray said. “I’ll stay with her. You go find your son.”
Zavitsanos led Bob down the front steps to the blue and white police cruiser parked in front of the house. They entered the vehicle and Zavitsanos drove away, north toward the entrance to the National Highway.
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EVIL DEEDS
Gizem / GerilimEvil Deeds is the first in a 4-book series that follows the Danforth family from the kidnapping of their 2-year-old son in Greece in 1971 to present day. The book (and series) is a roller coaster ride of action and suspense. This book, as with all o...
