him out in one piece.”
The lieutenant colonel’s eyes flared before he demanded, “Do you think I would come to you if we had that information? We’ve heard nothing for the last two months.”
Two months? I could see that he was growing more impatient every minute. “I told you about the postcard I received already.”
“When did it arrive?” He immediately straightened his posture.
“June.”
“Could you tell when it was written?”
“Early May, I think.”
“Let me see it.” His voice was back in command mode again.
I left him and retrieved the postcard from my room.
When I returned, I found Dennis standing and pacing the area behind the sofa. As soon as he saw me, he stretched out his hand to examine the postcard. His gaze quickly scanned the few lines without giving any indication the words meant anything.
“Mark was badly injured, wasn’t he?” I asked.
Dennis didn’t deny or confirm my words.
The comment Mark made about his luggage had nothing to do with any suitcase; Mark was referring to himself. Why he’d sent me a postcard with a picture of the Jeddah Beach Swim Reef remained a mystery. That and something about a bad connection with ANCD. ANCD? I had no idea what that meant. The initials, however, meant something to the lieutenant colonel, although he gave none of his thoughts away. Bringing out his phone, he took a snapshot of both sides of the card and then returned it to me.
“Okay, your turn,” I said. “Tell me what you know.”
Silence.
“A deal is a deal,” I reminded him. “You don’t tell me what I want to know, if I hear from Mark again I can guarantee you’ll never hear about it. Absolutely guarantee it.” Naturally, I was bluffing. I would do anything and everything to see Mark safely back in the States; I hoped along with Ibrahim and his family.
Dennis was in a difficult situation, but I knew he would share with me what he could. As if making peace with himself, he slowly nodded. “All I can tell you is this. We had prearranged pickup dates for Mark, Ibrahim, and his family across the border in Saudi Arabia. If he didn’t make one, we had others scheduled. Six in all. Mark didn’t show for any of the six prearranged dates.”
My body went stock-still as I struggled against the shocking ramifications of this news. I came face-to-face with my greatest fear: that Mark could be dead.
“You’ve heard no word from him or Ibrahim?” I asked, grasping for anything that would give me a reason to hope.
Dennis held my gaze, his eyes filled with pity as he shook his head.
“In other words, you’re telling me you think Mark is dead.” I was crumbling on the inside, but I hoped it didn’t show.
Dennis ignored the question. “If you hear anything further, will you let me know?”
“If you hear anything, will you let me know?” I repeated.
He hesitated and then agreed. “I will.”
I studied him and he steadfastly met my look and didn’t flinch. He was a man of his word and I knew I could trust him. “Then I will, too,” I promised.
He replaced his dress hat and walked toward the front door. “I wish I had better news, Jo Marie.”
“Me, too,” I replied, my heart aching. Mark had made it clear when he left that he didn’t expect to return. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t hang on to the spiderweb-thin thread of hope. And yet that was exactly what I’d done.
—
Emily cooked dinner, but I wasn’t hungry and didn’t bother to make a pretense of eating. The numbness had stayed with me all afternoon, that tightness in my stomach, that ache in my heart. I needed to call Bob Beldon; he’d want to know what I’d learned, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the call. Nothing felt real, and yet reality was staring me in the face.
“You okay?” Emily asked with a worried frown. “I don’t mean to pry, but if you want a shoulder to cry on, I’m a good listener.”
“Thanks,” I said, “but I don’t feel much like talking.”
The sympathetic look she sent me said she understood. “Is there anything I can do?”
I shook my head. “Nothing, thanks.”
After dinner Emily went up to her room and I retreated into my own. Rover still wasn’t himself, but he looked better than he had earlier. He lay down at my feet as I sat in my comfortable chair. Although I had no interest in watching TV, I turned it on, hoping a distraction would help