Page 33 of Mountain Shadow

Something in her expression must have alarmed him, for he paid quickly and they left the store with their purchases.

“Hey,” he said, as soon as they were out. “I know this is hard, Sarah, but it’s going to be okay. You’ll get your life back soon. ”

His hand grazed her cheek, the touch gentle for someone so strong. She leaned into his touch, not even realizing at first that her phone was ringing.

“Unknown number, from the UK. Maybe it’s the police?” she said, sliding the green button. “Hello?”

“Sarah, Sarah. Where have you been, Sarah?” The man had a hoarse, strained voice. Like a smoker, or someone who’d mistreated his voice over the years.

Alarm bells rang inside her head. It was only her years of experience as a radio host that allowed her to keep her voice steady, when inside she was shaking.

“Who is this? Who are you trying to reach?”

Somehow recognizing her fear, Jens moved closer to her phone so he could hear the man as well.

“Don’t joke around with me, Sarah. I’d recognize your voice anywhere. I’ve listened to nine hundred and thirty-eight episodes of your program. I was rather looking forward to number one thousand, in fact.”

Sarah wanted to scream, he sounded so normal.

“Who are you?” she asked. Her voice hitched, and she knew she was close to revealing her panic.

“You know exactly who I am, Sarah.”

Jens was typing away furiously on his own phone.

Can he get someone to track this call? Is that even possible?

“Anyway, don’t you want to know why I’m calling? I just had a lovely chat with your friend Joshua. I call him Josh now.”

Sarah’s hand started shaking so badly, Jens had to reach out and hold the phone steady for her. Her skin was slick with sweat. She wanted to hang up, but Jens signaled to her to keep the conversation going.

“At first I thought he was lying,” the man continued, “but it turns out he really doesn’t know where you are.”

“Don’t hurt him, please,” Sarah begged.

“He told me lots of other interesting things, though. Like where you live.”

The man disconnected the call.

“No!” Sarah shouted. “Oh, God.”

“You did a good job keeping him on the line as long as you did, Sarah.” Jens was already on his own phone. “Damien is patching us in to the London police,” he said quietly, keeping his hand on the microphone.

“We need to send somebody to Joshua’s place. He has a wife, children.”

“We need to send somebody to your place as well,” he said grimly. “Maybe it’s our chance to catch him.”

Sarah’s legs were shaking so badly, she knew she had to sit down or risk falling. She looked at the grocery bags on the floor beside them—it seemed impossible that, just five minutes earlier, she’d felt safe enough to be thinking about food.

She realized she’d stopped listening to Jens’s conversation and forced her attention back.

Pay attention.

This is your life.

“The police are dispatching people to Joshua’s place and to yours. It’s going to be okay, Sarah. Here,” he said, giving her a hand and leading her to a nearby street bench. “Sit down for a moment.”

“I don’t … I don’t feel safe out here, Jens,” she admitted, her eyes filling with tears.