They stopped for gas on the outskirts of Naples. The day and the traffic swirled around them. Tatyana used the time to call her office, then had to step away and argue with chopping hand motions for emphasis. Jerry watched her for a time, then said, “I wouldn’t trade places with that lady for a truckload of gold.”
Julio said, “Like that’s a big worry, the execs gonna come looking for a retired cop.”
“Look at this. The kid finds religion and grows a lip.”
“Hey, just telling it like I see it, bro.”
Wayne asked, “You know Victoria’s phone number?”
Jerry took Tatyana’s phone, keyed in a number, waited, and asked, “How you doing, sister. Yeah? That’s real good. There’s a man here wants to have a word.”
Julio asked, “When you’re done, mind if I say something?”
Wayne took the phone and asked, “Have you heard anything?”
“Not from the kidnappers. But I have from God.”
Wayne turned away from the watching men. “Say again.”
“He spoke to me in my morning prayers. Clear as daylight. He said it was all going to work out fine. Thanks to you.”
Wayne worked on that for a moment, his thoughts keeping pace with the highway traffic. “He give you any details? As in, how we’re supposed to pull this off?”
“I expect He’s waiting for you to ask Him that yourself.”
Wayne allowed himself to confess what had been weighing on him for days. He pitched his voice low enough for the thundering traffic to mask it from the others. “I’m so tired. And worried.”
“Well, of course you are.” Victoria’s smile was as clear as a song. “I’ll tell you something that comes from my own heart, Wayne Grusza. You’re a warrior. You’re made to slay dragons. But even warriors need strength from beyond themselves. Not muscular strength. You have that in abundance. The wisdom of right choices and correct directions. The wisdom to know where the dragons lie in wait. Even Solomon needed the Lord’s wisdom.”
He tasted the words long before he actually said them. “Will you pray for me?”
“Son, I’ve been doing little else. I’d say it’s time you tried that for yourself, wouldn’t you?”
“All right.” He stepped further from the others. He stared into the daylight and pushed the words out in tight little puffing breaths. When he was done, he had to hold himself apart like that a little longer, waiting for his world to unlock.
“Amen,” the quiet old woman said. “I say, amen.”
He collected himself a moment longer, then said, “The reason I called, Easton Grey’s daughter is having a hard time with all this. She’s dreaming of escape to Africa and it’s getting to her folks. I was wondering if maybe you could call her.”
“I’ll do that soon as we hang up.” Her quiet song rang above the traffic’s din. “But son, that’s not why you phoned.”
“No. Maybe not.” He returned to the two men. “Here’s Julio.”
Julio grabbed the phone and did his own two-step across the parking lot.
Jerry observed, “Looks to me like the lady gave your tree a good shake.”
“She said God told her everything was going to be all right.”
“First time she gave me one of those God messages, I laughed in her face. Then it turned out she was totally on target and I had to eat my words. Victoria told us God said we shouldn’t give the scammer a job.” Jerry shook his head. “No telling where we’d be if we’d listened to her on that one.”
Tatyana clicked her phone shut and stalked back to where they stood. “My two allies in the company, the ones who have searched for what might be going on, they’ve both been fired.” She was more than tight. She was furious. “Because they tried to help me. I’ve cost them their jobs.”
Wayne touched her arm. Felt the anger and the steel. Said what he thought she needed to hear. “The fight is not over yet.”
“There you go,” Jerry said. “How you want to handle this?”
Wayne kept his arm and his gaze on Tatyana. “We go in there and we take back what’s ours.”