“Big eew!” She laughed, tapped him on the arm. A month, only four weeks, and he now looked as healthy as a stoat, her father had said that morning, and his endurance was improving by the day. She’d bet Tash would never let himself be bullied again. Autumn checked her watch. It was time for them to get down to business. She said slowly as Tash wiped his hands on his jeans, “I told you I spoke with Dillon—Agent Savich—last night. The fact is, Tash, Dillon told me even MAX, Dillon’s magic database program, hasn’t found your dad yet. He’s in Barcelona, but where? I want us to put our heads together, that is, our minds. Let’s try to find Sasha. If she’s at home, maybe we can see exactly where she and your dad are living. Then I’ll call Dillon. Okay now, think about her, Tash, and tell me about her.”
“You saw how pretty she is. She can make her voice allsweet, and she was always patting me, like she really liked me, but I knew she didn’t mean it. When she and Dad got married, she treated me, you know, like I was a stray living with them. She gave my dad all her attention.”
Autumn didn’t hug him or console him, she gave him a purpose. “Finish your croissant and we’ll give it a try. Do you have a photo of Sasha on your cell?” Autumn studied her. “You look at her again, then let’s both try to see Sasha.”
The two kids sat on the worn plaid wool blanket on the sandy cave floor and leaned back against the limestone wall. Autumn took Tash’s hand, squeezed it. “We can do this, Tash, together. Now, picture her.”
They both closed their eyes, concentrated, and a hazy white cleared slowly and there was Sasha sitting on a sofa, humming as she painted her toenails pink. Her thick blond hair was in a ponytail. Autumn was so excited they’d connected she wanted to shout, but she forced herself to say quietly, “Look how she’s dressed, shorts and a thin top. Since they’re in Barcelona, it’s warm.”
Tash said, “Look out the open windows, Autumn. See the backyard?”
“Yes, okay. Lots of flowers, roses mainly, and look, orange trees. I can almost smell the oranges.”
Tash said, “I wish Dad was there with her, talking to her, but I don’t see or hear anyone else. He’s probably back at that crazy church. She’s alone.”
“Tash, look outside again. See the boy watering the flowers? He’s wearing earbuds, and yes, see? He’s talking to somebody on his cell.”
“I can hear him, but I don’t understand. He’s not speaking English.”
“Again, Barcelona. He’s speaking Spanish, but I can’t make out much since I’ve only had a year of Spanish so far in school.Wait, did he sayfestival?It’s gotta be the same word as festival.” Autumn concentrated. She could make out the word for girlfriend—novia—andLa Sagrada Família,the basilica in Barcelona where Tash had seen his dad. Then the boy stopped talking, made some kissing noises into his cell, punched off, and got back to work.
Autumn said, “The house looks small, Tash, and see the house next to it outside the window? It’s got a red-tiled roof, looks like a little bungalow, and its yard is filled with more orange trees, roses, and bright red bougainvillea. You dad’s house seems to fit right in with the neighborhood. He’s being careful, staying away from the expensive places. Let’s try to see the front of the house.”
Tash said, “See the little kid on a bicycle? Wait, Autumn, there’s my dad! He’s walking toward the house. See? See?”
“Yes, he’s wearing khaki pants and a short-sleeve white shirt and sneakers on his feet. He looks so much like Rebel, but he’s thinner.”
Archer Navarro was walking slowly, shuffling really, his head down, his shoulders slumped. He looked sad, not like a man who’d stolen a gazillion dollars.
“Tash, let’s try something. Let’s both really concentrate, see if we can actually connect to him.”
“What? Do you really think we can actually talk to him? Not just see him? But how, Autumn?”
“In your mind, Tash. Say hello. Be calm and easy, you don’t want to scare him to death if he hears you. It’s like when you spoke to your mom. You can do it. We can do it together.” She felt him squeeze her hand.
Dad? It’s me, Tash.
They watched Archer Navarro walk into the house, unaware of them.
“Keep trying, Tash. Squeeze my hand.”
He tried again, but Archer Navarro didn’t hear him. He took a deep breath in, seemed to be smelling the oranges, and walked over toward Sasha.
“It’s no good, Autumn. We can see him, but—” He looked like he wanted to burst into tears.
Autumn pulled him to her side. “It’s okay, Tash. We saw him and he looks fine. I’ll call Dillon.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Anchor Grill
London
Early Tuesday
Adara Said and Khaled sat in the crowded restaurant eating scrambled eggs and muffins. She leaned close. “I love all the noise here, doesn’t matter the time of day. No one can hear what anyone else is saying. We could talk about everything you and I did to each other on Saturday and no one would know.” She ran her fingers up his thigh, laughed, took a bite of eggs. “Here’s my advice to you. Don’t recommend Rehan al-Albiri’s grandson to your accountancy firm. He’s a wanker. It wouldn’t take long before everyone would want to kick you out.”
Khaled laughed. “And how do I avoid it without making your brother the imam and Rehan al-Albiri want to kick me out?”
