Page 74 of Obsessed

I started looking up at buildings, hoping I might see something obvious. Someplace the coach might’ve taken Allie.

Terri said, “I thought I caught a couple of words as I ran toward you. Earlier, I heard Allie say, ‘No.’ I don’t know what it was in response to. She didn’t shout it, but there was an edge in her voice.” Terri pointed out where she’d picked up sound on the transmitter.

I looked down the street in both directions. There were a few pedestrians strolling along and a couple of plainclothes police officers hustling past them. Another patrol car raced by on the street. By now, Perry Martin had to know the cops were onto him. That’s what I was hoping. I wanted him to see how futile his position was and release Allie.

I started checking every storefront. I couldn’t risk leaving any idea alone. Anything I could do to find Allie.

Then I heard it. Just a quick squawk in my earbud. I looked over to Terri, about twenty feet away from me. She was frozen in position, then put a finger to her ear. She was hearing it too.

I hustled closer to Terri and gave her an expectant look.

Terri held up one finger. She had something on her transmitter. Maybe it was the angle she was standing. Maybe it was her younger ears. She could hear them. They were within fifty yards of us right now.

Terri looked up at me. Her eyes moved along the sidewalk. “They’re in the subway.”

Chapter100

I WAS SURPRISEDthey’d gotten this far. Terri and I ran to the Fordham Road subway entrance. The detective who was with Terri continued to search the street level just in case we were wrong.

The station was surprisingly busy. I realized it might have had something to do with an event at Fordham University. There were a lot of well-dressed women and men in suits. It didn’t make things easier.

I felt my phone buzz. I yanked it out of my front pocket and saw the alert for the GPS application. Allie had pushed the button. I looked down at my phone as I was jostled by people hurrying past me.

The tiny map on my phone showed me that Allie was close by. It had to be somewhere in this station. I eased to the wall to get out of the flow of people, then methodically scanned the station.

Terri started to search near the tracks where a train was just pulling away, headed north.

The signal on my phone froze. I wasn’t sure what that meant. My guess was being in the subway interfered with the signal and I was only getting intermittent glimpses of where Allie and Martin were moving.

The chatter on the radio hadn’t changed. More and more cops flooded into the area, but no one had seen the couple. It wasn’t like we were searching for a nondescript man in a white T-shirt. Someone should notice these two.

I started walking along the wall, past several street musicians. A man with a spectacular beard, wearing a tattered cowboy hat, played guitar. Almost right next to him, a drum line of three young men competed for the few dollars commuters would throw into their jar.

I got frustrated every time I turned a corner and someone jostled me or blocked my view. This place had a lot more corners and nooks than I recalled. Or, more likely, I never cared about them until now.

I checked my phone and the GPS app. The only thing that was on the screen was a small text box in the corner that saidWEAK SIGNAL. Satellites could only tell so much. And there was a lot between me and the open sky above.

Another train was arriving from downtown. People started to shuffle into position to get on. I checked my watch. The other train had been out of the station only a minute or two. Someone had seriously screwed up a schedule.

I started walking quickly down the platform, looking through the crowd that had gathered to jump on the northbound train. I absently mumbled, “Excuse me,” or an apology as I bumped into people while I tried to search the crowd.

I knocked into a stout man about my age wearing a gray suit. I murmured, “Sorry.” I kept shuffling along, trying to look ahead of me.

The man snapped, “Be more careful, then you won’t have to tell people you’re sorry.” I glanced over my shoulder at his red face but just ignored him and kept searching.

Then I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. The same man shouted, “Don’t turn your damn back on me.”

I didn’t have time for this. I spun quickly. I slapped his hand away from my shoulder. That really pissed him off. He grabbed my jacket with both hands. A classic intimidation move that wasn’t very smart.

Out of instinct and training, I swung my leg up to kick the man’s feet out from under him. He hit the concrete subway floor hard.

He whimpered and tried to stand up. Then someone pushed him back on the floor.

That knocked me out of my tunnel vision and I saw Terri Hernandez standing above him. She looked down at the pudgy man on the floor and said, “Stay down, fat boy.”

He glared up at her but didn’t say anything.

Terri took me by the arm and hustled me away. I fumbled with my phone and saw the GPS signal was back on the screen. It was moving.

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