My whole body floated, as light as a feather, but the feeling lasted only a brief few seconds. Simone wasn’t thrilled. It wasn’t only obvious in her furrowed brow or the straight line of her mouth, I could read her -- she was extremely concerned.
Kendra was in tears. “Is she okay?” she asked, beating me to the punch. “Is she alive? I swear she’s alive because I can’t feel her spirit.”
“She’s fine. She’s healthy as far as they can tell. Natalie Foster still has her,” she told us. “She’s at her ex-boyfriend’s cabin, just as you guessed, Mr. Estrada,” she went on. “Great job, by the way. We wouldn’t be here, so close, if it weren’t for you.”
I was proud of Leo, and I was also confused. If they’d found Haley and Natalie, why hadn’t they just taken her from Natalie?
“She saw them coming, and she ran,” Simone explained. “She ran from them, up to a cliff nearby.”
My heart sank. I could see Haley in her arms, in nothing but a pink sleeper, a baby blanket, cold and crying.
“They called in backup. There’s a whole team on the way… hostage negotiators,” Simone barreled on, her words much quicker than usual. She was usually so serene and smooth, it was disconcerting to see her like that. “We can’t waste time. We need to get going now. I’ve already called the aviation service and they’re ready for us. I also have a car ready to go. Now, I don’t need you all, but Mr. Rogers, I will need you.”
He nodded obediently, ready to save the day. It made complete sense -- if anyone could talk a person off a cliff, it was Ace.
She turned to me. “And Annabelle,” she continued, and my heart lept at the sound of my name. “I thought you might be of great use, too. You could possibly read her, and communicate with Mr. Rogers, and since you’re a young woman like her, she might be more open to trust you. There’s something about you… you have a trusting, sweet face.
An angel,that’s me.
My heart was hammering, and I could barely speak. “Yes… anything to help, Mrs. Adler.”
She turned to the others. “I’m afraid, any more people would overwhelm Miss Foster, and you’re best to stay back.”
I felt a hollow at the pit of my stomach. I really wanted Leo to be there, too. He was the one who found them, after all. It didn’t seem fair. He shot me a ‘you go, girl’ look. He wasn’t petty at all. I smiled at him, knowing that he knew I wanted him there. “You’ll be great,” he whispered.
Brianna wasnothappy. Not happy at all. She stared daggers at both Ace and I, and I knew I’d never win her over -- she just had too much contempt for me.
Simone sprang up. “A million thanks to you all. I want you to know I appreciate all your efforts, and when Haley Henderson is safely in her mother’s arms, you can all proudly pat yourselves on the back. Now, off we go.”
The flight was quick.And awkward. Turns out it’s pretty hard to avoid eye contact with someone when you’re sitting with them in a six seater plane. I purposely sat across Simone, and not Ace, so I could avoid his gaze. He snuck some ear buds in, leaned back into his seat, and closed his eyes. Simone was busy going through some papers -- she always seems to be on her tablet, her phone, or buried in paperwork.
She lifted her gaze from the stack of papers. “Let’s make use of this time, and go over all this.”
My hand froze in my tin of Pringles. I nudged Ace on the shoulder. He pulled out his buds. “We’re talking about the case.”
He sprang up as Simone started talking. “The crisis negotiation team is already on the scene,” she told us. “There’s a lead officer, Detective Kyle Thurber, and a primary negotiator by the names of Stephen Nobbs.” She looked down at her sheet. “And a psychologist who specializes in hostage negotiations. His name is Adam Holland, and he works with the primary negotiator. Sarah Cooper is the secondary negotiator. There’s also a communication officer by the name of Walter Watts, and also a tactical team on standby.”
Holy mother of Jesus, as my mom would say. “That’s a lot of people,” I couldn’t help but say.
“It’s standard procedure in these kinds of situations,” she explained. “And it’s quite unorthodox to bring in outsiders in the negotiation process. But RAMS has a history of successful hostage negotiations in the past. In 2009, Natasha Estrada and Paul Chase successfully negotiated the safe return of a little girl who was held at gunpoint at a bank in Boston.
I remembered the name. Natasha Estrada -- Leo’s older sister.
“In 2012, RAMS was also involved in a similar case at LAX airport, where a mother of three and her son were successfully released.”
Both Ace and I were speechless, taking in the magnitude of this. We could be the next successful hostage negotiators at RAMS. So many people were counting on us. For a quick second, I thought I was going to be sick. I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. Ace grabbed my hand and the gesture stunned me. “We can do this, Anna.”
I looked into his eyes then -- I needed him to pump me up, to make me believe I could do this. I was no longer afraid to fall under the spell of his charm. He, just like me, was here for just one reason, to save Haley. We had to work together.
“Mrs. Henderson requested your presence at the scene,” Simone went on. “She was actually quite vocal about it apparently.”
I nodded and took another deep breath, hoping that I wouldn’t let her down.
“Mr. Watts, the communication officer will be speaking to you about procedure. Haley is at grave risk. She’s being held by a volatile person. Natalie Foster is not in her right mind. She’s a jilted lover; still madly in love with Mr. Henderson, and according to my notes...” She looked down at her papers again. “She has a history of depression, and impulsive and reckless behavior. She was in and out of mental rehabilitation centers throughout her teenage years.”
Wow. I thought aboutFatal Attraction-- a movie I’d watched with my mom not long before. Kylie was so upset that she wasn’t allowed to watch it. Dad watchedBeauty and the Beastwith her and let her have Skittles.
“It is imperative that you both follow procedure, and remain calm at all times,” Simone went on, and she was really freaking me out. “Natalie Foster is like a time bomb. One wrong move, and she could go off. She could jump off that cliff at any moment.”
