Erased by Jordan Marshall Page B

fine. Nothing bad had happened to Scott and Bree. There was just something wrong with the phones…
    Sara headed for the parking garage a block south of the square with no clear strategy in mind, other than to escape and find her family. If she could do that, everything would be okay. She was on the corner of Powell and Geary when her cell phone started to ring. She yanked it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. Caller ID simply said unknown . Sara put it to her ear.
    “Hello?”
    There was a static sound, and a strange low rumbling noise.
    “I can’t hear you,” she said. “Who is this?”
    “We know where you are, Sara.”
    A chill crawled up her spine. There was something vaguely familiar about the voice. She searched her mind. Who was he? She didn’t know. Whoever he was, the man knew Sara by name. She turned in a slow circle, scanning the crowded square and the sidewalks. “Who is this?” she said again.
    “A friend. I’m going to help you. Go to the back side of the stage and wait there.”
    “Who are you? Did you put me on that roof?” There was a long pause.
    “Sara you need to come to us. We can help you.”
    “What are you trying to pull? Whatever you’re doing, it won’t work. If you’ve done something to my family, I’ll kill you.” Sara could hardly believe she’d said that. She’d never used those words in her life. Her emotions were getting the best of her. She could see it happening, but she couldn’t control it.
    The voice on the other end of the line sounded tired, almost bored. “Sara, we need to discuss this. We need to get you straightened out. Trust me, you don’t want the cops to find you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Listen to me Sara, this is very important: You’re a terrorist. You’re a member of the IRA and you have a criminal record going back to elementary school. And now you’re a wanted assassin. Within an hour, the square will be locked down by a hundred cops and a dozen Feds, all looking for you.”
    “You’re lying,” Sara said. “I’m a lawyer. I was at work just this morning. I’m not what you say.”
    “No, Sara. Everything you believe is false. That life, that person you think you are… she doesn’t exist. The Sara Murphy you’re thinking of is dead. You’ve been living in a dream. The truth is what I have just told you. When the police get your fingerprints and learn your identity, I will no longer be able to help you. Then it will be too late. Come to us and we’ll protect you. We can get you somewhere safe. We can help you understand what’s happening to you.”
    “You’re lying,” Sara said again, as if hearing the words would help her to believe.
    “Sara, listen to me carefully. Your family is gone. If you don’t come to us, you’ll never see them again.”
    That got her attention. “What do you mean? What did you do to them?”
    “Don’t worry, they’re safe. But you’re not. This is your only chance. You need to come with us, now. We’re your only hope.”
    Sara hung up the phone. The man wasn’t telling the truth. He couldn’t be. Something didn’t make sense, something he’d said. He seemed to be contradicting himself. Or was it just her imagination? Sara Murphy is dead.
    Sara put her fist to her forehead.
    “Logic,” she muttered. “You’re a goddamned lawyer, use your head!”
    You’ll never see your family again.
    Logic is the first thing students learn in law school. Logic can solve any problem. For Sara, it had always been second nature. In Debate, she’d always been able to turn an argument upside down and use it against her competitors like a master. She could do it so quickly and so forcefully that they were left speechless. It wasn’t hard to do. It was simply a matter of analyzing the facts. She could undermine any argument by simply placing emphasis on the flaws in that argument. In some cases, it worked by skirting the subject and undermining related facts upon which the initial argument had