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It was located in a brownstone, Seagraves said, but they’d have to enter from the alley. “They’re doing repairs on the lobby, and it’s a mess. But there’s an elevator we can ride from the basement right to my office.”
As they walked down the alley, Seagraves kept a ru
“It takes time,” Caleb said. “I have a part ownership interest in a rare book shop in Old Town Alexandria. You should drop by sometime.”
“I’ll certainly do that.”
Seagraves stopped at a door in the alley, unlocked it and ushered Caleb inside.
He closed the door behind them. “The elevator’s just around the corner.”
“Fine. I think —”
Caleb didn’t finish what he was thinking as he slumped to the floor unconscious. Seagraves stood over him, holding the blackjack he’d earlier hidden in a crevice of the interior wall. He hadn’t lied. The brownstone’s lobby was being renovated — the entire building was, in fact — and had been recently shut down so construction work could begin in a week.
Seagraves tied and gagged Caleb and then placed him in a box that sat open against one wall after taking off a ring from Caleb’s right middle finger. He nailed the lid of the box shut and made a call. Five minutes later a van pulled into the alley. With the driver’s help Seagraves lifted the box into the van. The men climbed in and the van pulled off.
Chapter 62
A
Stone was looking through a pair of binoculars. It was dark, chilly and damp, and with the truck’s engine off, the interior quickly became very cold. A
An hour later, just as dawn was breaking, Stone tensed. “Okay, something’s coming.”
A car had pulled out from Trent’s driveway. As it slowed to make the turn onto the road, Stone focused his binoculars on the driver’s side.
“It’s Trent.”
A
“We’re going to have to chance it.”
Luckily, another car pulled past them, a station wagon with a mom driving and three small kids in the backseat. Trent pulled ahead of the station wagon.
Stone said, “Okay, that car’s our buffer. If he checks the mirror, he’ll see a family, nothing more. Hit it.”
A
They made it to Route 7 twenty minutes later through a series of back roads. As they did so, a few other cars joined the procession, but A
“Don’t lose him,” Stone said urgently.
“I’ve got it covered.” She expertly maneuvered the truck through traffic, keeping Trent’s sedan within sight. It helped that it was getting light now.
Stone glanced at her. “You seem to have tailed people before.”
“Just like I told Milton when he asked me a similar question, begi
“I hope to work.”
Forty minutes later Stone was proved correct as Trent led them to Capitol Hill. As he turned into a restricted area, they had to break off surveillance, but they watched as an automatic security barrier lowered into the ground and a guard waved him in.
A
“Well, we have to prove that he is; otherwise, he’s not. That’s the way it works in a democracy.”
“Almost makes you wish we were fascists in this country, doesn’t it?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Stone said firmly.
“So what now?”
“Now we wait and watch.”
Even before 9/11 undertaking surveillance near the Capitol was not easy going. Now it was nearly impossible unless one was nimble and tenacious. A
Milton had phoned Stone on a cell phone he’d loaned his friend. He had little to report. The police were being very tight–lipped about things, and consequently, the media kept ru
“The gold always comes to patient people.”
Stone looked around. “I’m assuming Trent will be working a full day, but we can’t chance that.”
“Isn’t the Library of Congress around here somewhere?”
Stone pointed up ahead. “A block that way is the Jefferson Building, where Caleb works. I wonder how he’s getting on. I’m sure the police were there today.”
“Why don’t you call him?” she suggested.
Stone phoned his friend’s cell but Caleb didn’t answer. He called the reading room next. A woman picked up and Stone asked for Caleb.
“He left a while ago to get some lunch.”
“Did he say how long he’d be gone?”
The woman said, “Can I ask what this is in reference to?”
Stone clicked off and sat back.
“Anything wrong?” A
“I don’t think so. Caleb just went off to get some lunch.”
Stone’s phone rang. He recognized the number on the screen. “It’s Caleb.” He put the phone up to his ear. “Caleb, where are you?”
Stone stiffened. A minute later he put the phone down.
“What’s up?” A
“It wasn’t Caleb. It was the people who are holding Caleb.”
“What!”
“He’s been kidnapped.”
“My God, what do they want? And why are they calling you?”
“They got the number from Milton. They want to meet to discuss things. Any sign of the police, they kill him.”
“What do they mean they want to meet?”
“They want you, me, Milton and Reuben to come.”
“So they can kill us?”
“Yes, so they can kill us. But if we don’t go, they’ll kill Caleb.”
“How do we know he’s not already dead?”
“At ten o’clock tonight they said they’d call and let him talk to us. That’s when they’ll tell us where and when the meeting is.”
A
Stone studied the Capitol dome in the distance. “You play poker?”
“I don’t like to gamble,” she answered with a straight face.
“Well, Caleb’s their full house. So we need at least that or better to be able to play this hand. And I know where to get the cards we need.” However, Stone knew that his plan would test the limits of friendship to the max. Yet he had no choice. He punched in the number, which he knew by heart.