CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Liz hadn’t been able to sleep since Bob and George took off for Bulgaria. She’d cleaned the house twice, washed dishes that didn’t need washing, and was now weeding the garden. She’d just taken a break, to go into the house to get some iced tea, when a car pulled up in front of the house. She recognized Franklin Meers’ Volvo. Liz’s pulse elevated. Oh God, she thought, something’s happened to Bob.
Her knees wobbled as she watched Meers leave his car and approach the gate. She rested an arm on the rail next to the steps going up to the porch.
“I need to talk with you and Bob,” Meers said while opening the wrought iron gate.
Liz swallowed. She wasn’t sure she could trust her voice. She swallowed again and said, “You’ll have to settle for talking to me. Bob and George took off early this morning. Didn’t you know?”
“Oh, Jesus!” Meers ran both hands through his hair and seemed suddenly terribly upset. “They told me they weren’t going until tomorrow.”
Liz squinted her eyes at the change in Meers’ face. “What’s going on?”
Then Meers smiled. “We’ve found Michael. He’s safe.”
“Oh, my God.” Liz’s eyes filled with tears. She collapsed onto the flowerbed.
Meers helped her up and into the house, into a chair.
“Where’s Michael?” she asked. “When can I see him?”
“He’s in Sofia, in Bulgaria. Apparently, the female director of the Petrich orphanage had him. They were in an amusement park. She tried to run away with Michael, but an American assigned to our Embassy there caught her and called the police. Michael’s at police headquarters in Sofia now.”
“Michael’s okay?”
“He’s in perfect health. We can catch a flight to Sofia this afternoon. Can you get word to Bob?”
“He said he’d call tonight before crossing the border.”
“We’ll already be on our way to Sofia. I can put a man here in the house. If Bob calls, then everything’s fine. But if he doesn’t, he and George could be in bigger trouble than they ever imagined. The Bulgarians will surely send a team to Petrich to close down that orphanage. We’re trying to get the United Nations to intervene, to conduct an investigation. You can bet the Bulgarians won’t leave any evidence there. If Bob and George show up in Petrich while the Commies are still clearing out the place . . ..”
Liz’s chin trembled. “What can we do? How can we stop them before they cross the border?”
“I’d better call my office. Maybe we can put some of our people near the border to intercept them.”
While Meers used the phone, Liz packed a bag. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
Meers waited for Liz by the front door. He looked deep in thought.
“Franklin, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Liz said. “You and the Greek government have obviously known for some time about the Bulgarians’ kidnapping scheme. Why did George get treated so poorly by his own people after he was arrested here? And why hasn’t the government put out word of the kidnappings to the Greek people?”
Meers looked surprised by her questions. His face flushed.
“Liz, if the word had spread that the Bulgarians were behind these kidnappings all these years, we could’ve had a war. Every Greek would’ve screamed for revenge. If Greece provoked Bulgaria, the rest of the Iron Curtain countries would’ve gotten involved. The U.S. and NATO would’ve helped Greece. The next thing you know, we’d’ve had World War III. We had to keep George quiet. We had no choice.”
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EVIL DEEDS
Mystery / ThrillerEvil 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...
