find Sam’s number. Think. You wrote it down on a white piece of paper. You used it to call her last week and you put the paper somewhere safe because it was important to you.
Under the phone.
He lifted the desk phone and saw the white slip. Thank God! He grabbed the receiver and punched in the number with an unsteady hand. It rang. It rang again.
“Please, please pick up—”
“Hello?”
“Hello, Sam?”
“Who’s calling?”
“It’s me.”
“Kevin? What’s wrong? You sound—”
“I have a problem, Sam. Oh dear God, I’ve got a problem! Did you hear about the bomb that went off down here today?”
“A bomb? You’re kidding, right? No, I didn’t hear of a bomb; I have this week off, unpacking from the move. What happened?”
“Some guy who calls himself Slater blew up my car.”
Silence.
“Sam?” Kevin’s voice trembled. He suddenly thought he might start to cry. His vision swam. “Sam, please, I need your help.”
“Someone named Slater blew up your car,” she repeated slowly. “Tell me more.”
“He called me on my cell phone and gave me three minutes to confess a sin, which he said I would know by a riddle. What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls? I managed to get the car into a ditch by a Wal-Mart and it blew up.”
“Holy . . . You’re serious? Was anyone hurt?”
“No. I just—”
“Is the FBI investigating? Good night, you’re right—I just turned on the television. It’s all over the news up here.”
“Samantha, listen! I just got another call from this guy. He says I have thirty minutes to solve another riddle or he’s going to blow up another bomb.”
Sam seemed to switch into another mode immediately. “Riddles. You’ve got to be kidding. How long ago?”
He glanced at his watch. “Five minutes.”
“You’ve already reported it?”
“No. He said I can’t tell the cops.”
“Nonsense! Call the detective in charge right now. Get off the phone with me and call them, you hear me, Kevin? You can’t let this guy play his game. Take his game away from him.”
“He said that this bomb will kill my best friend, Sam. And I know he can hear me. This guy seems to know everything. For all I know he’s watching me right now!”
“Okay, calm down. Slow down.” She paused, reconsidering. “Okay, don’t call the cops. Who’s Slater talking about? Who are your friends down there?”
“I . . . That’s the problem. I really don’t have any.”
“Sure you do. Just give me three people you would consider friends and I’ll get the local authorities on them. Come on, let’s go.”
“Well, there’s the dean at the school, Dr. John Francis. The priest at my parish—Bill Strong.” He searched his mind for another, but nothing came. He had plenty of acquaintances, but really no one he’d call a true friend, much less a best friend.
“Okay. Good enough. Hold on a second.”
She put the phone down.
Kevin lifted his T-shirt and wiped the sweat from his face. 4:24 . He had until 4:45 . Come on, Samantha! He stood and paced. In life he’s your friend, but death is the end . What—
“Kevin?”
“Here.”
“Okay, I put in an anonymous call to the Long Beach police warning that Francis and Strong could be in immediate danger. Enough to get them moved from wherever they are, which is all we can do.”
“You talked to Milton?”
“He’s the lead? No, but I’m sure he’ll get the message. How sure are you that this guy will come unglued if you talk to the authorities?”
“He’s already unglued! He said I could only speak when spoken to and he’s doing this because I said something.”
“Okay. You’ll probably get a call any minute from the police, checking on this threat I’ve just reported. You have call waiting?”
“Yes.”
“Ignore the beep. If you talk to the police when they call, Slater will know. What’s the riddle?”
“There’s something else, Sam. Slater knows you. In fact, he suggested I call you. I .
Under the phone.
He lifted the desk phone and saw the white slip. Thank God! He grabbed the receiver and punched in the number with an unsteady hand. It rang. It rang again.
“Please, please pick up—”
“Hello?”
“Hello, Sam?”
“Who’s calling?”
“It’s me.”
“Kevin? What’s wrong? You sound—”
“I have a problem, Sam. Oh dear God, I’ve got a problem! Did you hear about the bomb that went off down here today?”
“A bomb? You’re kidding, right? No, I didn’t hear of a bomb; I have this week off, unpacking from the move. What happened?”
“Some guy who calls himself Slater blew up my car.”
Silence.
“Sam?” Kevin’s voice trembled. He suddenly thought he might start to cry. His vision swam. “Sam, please, I need your help.”
“Someone named Slater blew up your car,” she repeated slowly. “Tell me more.”
“He called me on my cell phone and gave me three minutes to confess a sin, which he said I would know by a riddle. What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls? I managed to get the car into a ditch by a Wal-Mart and it blew up.”
“Holy . . . You’re serious? Was anyone hurt?”
“No. I just—”
“Is the FBI investigating? Good night, you’re right—I just turned on the television. It’s all over the news up here.”
“Samantha, listen! I just got another call from this guy. He says I have thirty minutes to solve another riddle or he’s going to blow up another bomb.”
Sam seemed to switch into another mode immediately. “Riddles. You’ve got to be kidding. How long ago?”
He glanced at his watch. “Five minutes.”
“You’ve already reported it?”
“No. He said I can’t tell the cops.”
“Nonsense! Call the detective in charge right now. Get off the phone with me and call them, you hear me, Kevin? You can’t let this guy play his game. Take his game away from him.”
“He said that this bomb will kill my best friend, Sam. And I know he can hear me. This guy seems to know everything. For all I know he’s watching me right now!”
“Okay, calm down. Slow down.” She paused, reconsidering. “Okay, don’t call the cops. Who’s Slater talking about? Who are your friends down there?”
“I . . . That’s the problem. I really don’t have any.”
“Sure you do. Just give me three people you would consider friends and I’ll get the local authorities on them. Come on, let’s go.”
“Well, there’s the dean at the school, Dr. John Francis. The priest at my parish—Bill Strong.” He searched his mind for another, but nothing came. He had plenty of acquaintances, but really no one he’d call a true friend, much less a best friend.
“Okay. Good enough. Hold on a second.”
She put the phone down.
Kevin lifted his T-shirt and wiped the sweat from his face. 4:24 . He had until 4:45 . Come on, Samantha! He stood and paced. In life he’s your friend, but death is the end . What—
“Kevin?”
“Here.”
“Okay, I put in an anonymous call to the Long Beach police warning that Francis and Strong could be in immediate danger. Enough to get them moved from wherever they are, which is all we can do.”
“You talked to Milton?”
“He’s the lead? No, but I’m sure he’ll get the message. How sure are you that this guy will come unglued if you talk to the authorities?”
“He’s already unglued! He said I could only speak when spoken to and he’s doing this because I said something.”
“Okay. You’ll probably get a call any minute from the police, checking on this threat I’ve just reported. You have call waiting?”
“Yes.”
“Ignore the beep. If you talk to the police when they call, Slater will know. What’s the riddle?”
“There’s something else, Sam. Slater knows you. In fact, he suggested I call you. I .
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