Dark Star

9. Connect

“Detective Carter?”

Carter looked up at the sound of his name, into the face of one of the younger detectives on his team. He had a forgettable last name, something like Smith or Johnson. But he was a hard worker, and was always helpful in anyway he could be. He was a good cop.

“What is it?” Carter asked.

“I have someone claiming to be Vesper Hale on my line.”

“What?” Carter said, getting to his feet at once. “Where?”

“At my desk,” He answered, leading the way. He gestured to the phone that sat on his desk.

Carter picked up the receiver. “Hello, this is Detective Carter. Is this Vesper Hale?”

“Yes, it is,” A girl's voice answered.

“I'm going to have to ask you a few questions, Vesper, okay? Just to make sure it's really you, and not someone pretending to be you. These are questions only you would know the answer to.”

“Okay.”

“Something happened to you, when you were fourteen years old. What was it?”

Carter heard a sound through the phone, it sounded like a half stifled sob. “You know about that?”

“I'm sorry if it's painful, Vesper, but I need you to answer the question.”

“I was kidnapped, and held captive for eighteen months,” The girl answered softly. “The man who did it, his name is Blake Griffin. Is that enough for you?”

“Yes, yes it is,” Carter answered, he hated having to cause her pain. “I'm sorry for bringing it up, Vesper, but I needed to be certain.”

“It's okay, I understand.”

“You don't know how happy I am to hear you, Vesper. I've been looking for you all day. Now, let's figure out how to get you home.”

“Okay,” She replied. “How are we going to do that?”

“First things first,” He answered, thinking quickly on his feet. “In case we get cut off for any reason, I want to give you my number. It's 212-555-6973. You will always be able to reach me on that number. Can you remember it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, now, can you tell me where you are right now?”

“No,” Vesper answered. “The men that robbed the bank, they have me locked in a room, but I was blindfolded so I don't know where it is.”

“That's okay, Vesper, let's find out what you do know,” Carter replied. “The men that took you, do you know any of them?”

“Well, I never saw any of them before today, if that's what you mean,” She answered. “But I have learned a few of their names.”

“That's good, we can work with that, Vesper,” He said, feeling hope start to build up inside himself. “We have video from the security cameras in the bank, so if you can describe them, that would really help me out.”

“Their leader, the one that grabbed me in the bank, his name is Josef. He has dark hair, and blue eyes.”

“Okay. Do you know any others?”

“Yes, two others. One is very tall and muscular, with blonde hair. I'd guess he's somewhere in the mid-twenties. His name is Varick.”

“And the other?”

“He is also blonde, but not tall or muscular. He is,” She paused, taking a breath. “He was probably the youngest of the thieves.”

“Was?”

“Yes, was. He tried to help me escape, but Josef caught me and killed him. His name was Carsten.”

Carter was silent for a moment. He didn't know how to reply to that. He tried to think of something to say to comfort the girl, but nothing came to mind. What did one say to something like that?

“Someone's coming!” Vesper's hushed whisper suddenly filled his ear.

“Okay, listen to me, Vesper. You need to hang up, and hide the phone, wherever you can. If you find an opportunity to use it again, do it, but not if it means that you will risk getting caught. You don't want to give these men any reason to kill you. Do you understand me?”

“Yes.”

“Vesper, I promise you, I will do everything in my power to find you and bring you home safely.”

“Good-bye, Carter.”

He heard the click as she disconnected the call. He hoped that everything had gone well on her end, but it drove him crazy to not know for certain. His dedication to this case had intensified a hundred times more than what it was, after hearing this girl's voice. They needed to find her, and find her soon.

Time was running out.