Expecting this, neither of them were surprised when they turned to see Russell and Marjorie hurrying down the sidewalk toward them.
“We just heard,” Russell said, trotting up. “Are you okay?”
“Tired, a little embarrassed, but no worse for wear,” Sam replied.
They’d already decided to stick to their got-lost-on-a-hike story with the King twins. It was a precarious dance; everyone knew Sam and Remi were lying. What would Russell and Marjorie do about it? Better question: as it now seemed clear that Charlie King had a wholly different agenda than the one he’d shared with Sam and Remi, how would they proceed? What was King after, and what was the true story behind Frank Alton’s disappearance?
“We’ll take you to your car,” Marjorie said.
“We’ll collect it in the morning,” replied Remi. “We’re going back to the hotel.”
“Better we get it now,” Russell said. “If you’ve got gear inside—”
Sam couldn’t help but smile at this. “We don’t. Good night.”
Sam took Remi’s arm, and together they turned and started walking in the opposite direction. Russell called, “We’ll call you in the morning!”
“Don’t call us, we’ll call you,” Sam replied without turning.
HOUSTON, TEXAS
“Hell, yes, I’d say they’re off the reservation,” Charles King barked, reclining in his plush office chair. Behind him, the cityscape filled his floor-to-ceiling window.
Half a world away, Russell and Marjorie King said nothing over the speakerphone. They knew better than to interrupt their father. When he wanted to know something, he would ask a question.
“Where the hell were they all day?”
“We don’t know,” Russell replied. “The man we hired to follow them lost them southwest of the—”
“Hired? What d’ya mean, hired?”
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“He’s one of our . . . security men at the dig site,” Marjorie said. “He’s trustworthy—”
“But incompetent! How about gettin’ somebody with both those glowin’ attributes? Ever consider that? Why’d you hire someone? What were you two doin’?”
“We were at the site,” said Russell. “We’re getting ready to ship the—”
“Never mind. Doesn’t matter. Could the Fargos have been in that cave system?”
“It’s possible,” replied Marjorie, “but we’ve been through it. There’s nothing to find.”
“Yeah, yeah. The question is, if they were, how’d they find out about it? You gotta make sure they’re gettin’ only the info we want them to get, understand?”
“Yes, Dad,” replied Marjorie and Russell in unison.
“What about their belongin’s?”
“We went through them,” said Russell. “And their car. Our man in the police department questioned them for an hour, but no luck.”
“Did he twist their arms, for God’s sake?”
“As far as he could.”
“The Fargos were unfazed, he said.”
“What’d they say they’d been doin’?”