by Margaret Kay
“That’s amazing,” Mother said. “I didn’t realize that the whales didn’t migrate south in winter.”
“Some belugas from the inlet do. Some don’t. I haven’t been able to determine why these don’t. I suspect it has to do with their sensitivity to pollution or climate change. Underwater noise pollution is huge when we are talking about the belugas. Belugas rely on sonar, so they are very sensitive to the noise from shipping, industrial extraction of oil from the drilling activities, marine construction. Even military activities cause underwater noise pollution. Whales depend on sound to communicate and this noise pollution affects their ability to find food, mates, to navigate and avoid predators, which all impacts them caring for their young.”
“You can go into work tomorrow morning,” Lambchop said.
“I think you should pack a bag and come stay with us at the motel for a few nights,” Mother said.
Annaka stared at nothing out her kitchen window. “I don’t believe Inspector Alfrejd. I know those two men were calling the shots. It wasn’t Patrick who led anything, regardless if he was keeping me at that cabin or not. They made me alter fields in my report. They had the data they wanted input. They have to be working for platform C-Three’s drilling company.” She paused and collected her thoughts. “You think I’m still in danger, don’t you?” She asked Danny, turning to face him.
“I just think it is best that you are not unprotected right now.”
“Dr. Ipsen said she wouldn’t normally have gotten access to your completed report, wouldn’t have had any reason to go back into it. If I hadn’t asked what you’d worked on that night, she might not have,” Lambchop added.
Annaka nodded. “I’ll come stay at the motel. Will you be there with me?” Her pleading eyes were fixed on Danny.
“Yes, we got a suite when we checked in. We’ll protect you there.”
She went back to the table and gathered the mugs. She rinsed them out and set them in the sink. Then she went into her bedroom and packed a backpack. “Can I get a quick shower before we go?”
“You can get one at the motel,” Mother said.
“And we’ll grab dinner from the diner beside it and bring it up to the room,” Lambchop added.
“Are you staying at the Anchor Point Lodge?” She asked reentering the main room.
The men nodded.
She grabbed a paper menu for the Anchor Point Diner from one of her kitchen drawers. “We can call the order in so it’s ready when we get there.” She smiled sheepishly. “I could go for their pot roast dinner. I’m really hungry.” She handed the menu to Danny.
“I’ll have the same,” he said, passing the menu to Lambchop without looking at it.
BT called the order in for the five meals. He was the one who went into the diner to pick it up when they arrived as the others went into the motel.
Annaka followed the men into the two-story lodge building, up the stairs and into the room. It was a two-bedroom family suite with a living room area and small kitchenette. The decorating was outdated, but it was clean. She watched Danny take silverware from the drawer near the kitchen sink.
“When did you get here?”
“Yesterday,” Mother replied.
“How did you know who I was, or that I lived here?”
The corners of Mother’s lips pulled into a grin. “I assumed your last name started with an S and that you were a doctor. I didn’t know if it was an MD or PHD. Thank God your name is Annaka and not some common name like Mary. It wasn’t that difficult for our digital unit to track you down. And you were reported missing on the twenty-sixth by your coworkers, so you were in the system.”
Annaka realized that he’d had the means to find her all along, if he’d wanted to. So much for her being an anonymous competitor in their word game.
“It was only because I did know your first name,” Mother added, seeing the disturbed look that was on her face.
“Got to love small towns,” BT said after he entered the room. He set the bag with the appetizing aromas coming from it onto the kitchen table. “So, the girl in the diner asked me if we found you.” His eyes were on Annaka. “She’d heard we were federal agents, looking for you and Dr. Keeling. I asked her why she thought we found you and she said because I ordered five meals instead of four and that the pot roast dinner is your favorite.”
“What did you tell her?” Lambchop asked.
“I told her I could neither confirm nor deny it. I’m sure the news about it all will get out sooner rather than later, but it won’t come from me,” BT said.
“Everyone in town will know everything by morning,” Annaka said.
BT unpacked the bag and passed the meals to everyone. Annaka ate quickly, not realizing how hungry she really was. Even so, she was the last to finish. She watched Danny take her empty food container, gathering all the trash up. He put her silverware into the sink with everyone else’s.
Mother pointed to one of the bedroom doors. “I know you wanted to get a shower and I’m sure you have to be exhausted. No one will disturb you. Let me just get our things out of there for you,” he said, stepping to the room.
Annaka rose and grabbed her purse and backpack from where she’d set them at her feet. She entered the room behind him. “Danny, could you stay for a minute?” Annaka asked. She set her stuff onto the bed and then crawled onto the bed and sat, legs crossed. “I don’t want to be alone yet and I want to talk with you a bit more.”
“Sure,” Mother said, stepping closer to the bed. He sat on the foot of it, facing her. “I’ll stay as long as you want.”
“Thank you.” Annaka knew she wanted him to stay in the room as she tried to sleep. She was exhausted, but she doubted sleep would come easily. “You never really answered my question, how you found me.”
“Just investigated you and Patrick Keeling from all possible angles. We reviewed the history of both of your cell phone signals and determined that Keeling had made several trips up into the wilderness where that cabin was, the last trip was earlier that day before you disappeared.”
A shy smile curved over Annaka’s lips that made Mother grin too. “So, you pretty much know everything about me now.”
Mother chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. The facts anyway. I don’t know why you focused on studying beluga whales. From what I read; you could have gotten a job just about anywhere studying any marine animal you chose.”
Annaka’s smile grew wider. “I planned to study dolphins in a tropical climate. Believe me, Alaska was never a destination I dreamed about. But once I came in contact with my first beluga, that was it. They are amazing mammals. Some studies place their intelligence level above dolphins and from what I’ve seen, I have to believe it.”
Mother liked how her face lit up whenever she talked about her work. “I wish we’d talked about more personal things in our chats over the past few years. I would have liked to have heard all about your research.”
“And I would have liked to have heard about your work as a federal agent. But you were once active duty military, weren’t you? Marines?”
“Oorah!” Mother answered. “See, you know quite a bit about me too.”
Annaka chuckled softly. “Oh, I’m pretty sure you know a lot more about me. I would like to know more about you though.”
“What do you want to know?” Mother asked.
“Your office is in the central time zone. Where is it?”
“We are headquartered outside of Chicago, but as you know, I work all over.” He pointed towards the main room where the others were. “We are part of a special multi-agency task force.”
Annaka nodded towards the main room. “Those guys are all former military too, aren’t they?”
“Yes, most of our group is. There are certain skills you only get from military training which qualified us all for this task-force we are on.”
“You know I’m originally from Kansas and that my mom still lives there. Where is your family that you are not visiting right now be
cause you are here with me?”
Mother chuckled again. “First off, I’m glad I am here. I’ll make it to see my family soon, I’m sure. And they’re in San Jose, California. I’m the oldest of eight kids, five boys and three girls. My youngest brother is a senior in high school, but the others still live with or near my parents. My sister Regina got divorced last year. She and her two kids moved back in with my folks so she could financially get back on her feet and so that my mom could help her out with her kids.”
“Your family sounds close. That’s nice.”
“If I remember correctly, it’s been a few years since you’ve been home to see your mom,” Mother said.
“Yeah, I don’t exactly get along with her husband. I love my mom though and talk to her every week. Besides, when I take a vacation, I want to go someplace warm and tropical, not to Kansas.” She laughed.
Mother smiled. He really liked Annaka. “Would your mother ever meet you someplace warm and tropical for a mother daughter vacation?”
“No, her asshole husband would never allow her to do that. That is one of the many things I don’t like about the man.”
“Your mom must be very proud of you. Maybe one day she’ll be able to spend some time with you away from her husband.”
“She says she is, proud of me. Your parents have to be very proud of you too, a Marine and now a federal agent.”
“They’ve always been very proud and supportive of me and all my siblings. I could be a trash collector and they’d still be proud of me.”
“They sound like good people,” Annaka said. “Just like you. You are a good person, Danny. I will never be able to thank you enough for finding me.” She felt herself getting emotional. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Hey,” he said, moving closer. He took her hand in his. “You don’t need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”
Annaka smiled through her tears and shook her head. “No, it wasn’t your job. This is your Christmas vacation and you’re supposed to be with your family right now, but you are here instead.”
“I’ll start my vacation after we sort this out and are sure you are safe. Trust me, none of us mind the delay and my boss had no problem sanctioning this mission.”
“Thank you, Danny, really. I appreciate that you are here.”
“Meeting you in person is so much better than a phone call,” Danny said with a smile.
“You know, I always have enjoyed our messaging and I will admit I’d thought about what it would be like to talk with or meet you. I never envisioned it would be under these circumstances though.” She emitted a nervous laugh.
Mother chuckled. “Same. Even though we’d never met, I considered you a friend for a long time. One of my teammates told me over the summer that you weren’t real and I didn’t really know you, but I knew you were a good person, an intelligent person, someone who I enjoyed playing against and conversing with.”
“But something changed for you recently. You were different, more open. What was it?”
Mother looked away. He knew the expression on his face was dark.
“I’m sorry. I won’t pry.”
He reaffixed his gaze on her. “That’s okay and you’re not prying. I guess I was. I can’t give you any specifics but the last mission we were on was rough, deeply affected me. It was the kind of thing that makes you reassess your life, your relationships. I didn’t want to be alone when we got home, but the problem was, I don’t have anyone in my life that I could be with so I wouldn’t think about it.”
“Do you really think you wouldn’t have thought about it?”
“Maybe I phrased it wrong. Having someone to be with after seeing what we did, I think lets you remember the good in the world a bit more easily.”
Annaka wondered what it was that he could have seen or experienced that shook him so badly. “You seem to have some really good friends, the people you work with,” she suggested.
“Not the same,” he replied. He squeezed her hand. “It’s kind of the same as how you don’t want to be alone right now. You’re not telling me anything about while you were held in that cabin, not talking through anything your mind was wrestling with during it or how afraid you were, but you want me here with you. You haven’t asked to call any of your other friends.”
“So, you think you are different to me than my other friends?”
“I’d like to think I am, that the friendship we have is special. It is to me.”
Annaka smiled that beautiful smile of hers that Mother was already hooked on seeing. He liked holding her hand, liked being there for her. Even though who she was had been unknown to him for so long, he still felt like he’d known her forever. Her intelligence and sense of humor had not been hidden from him, nor was the fact that she was a good person.
“It is to me to. I’d rather you be here with me right now than any other of my friends.” She squeezed his hand. “Can I ask another favor of you?”
“Of course.”
“Will you sleep in here with me tonight? Even though I know you will all be just outside the door, I really don’t want to be alone in here. Fair warning though, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sleep. I may keep you awake tossing and turning.”
Mother slid his arm around her and brought her to his chest. He held her, sensing that she needed it. He stroked over her back, a gesture to comfort her. “Of course, I will, and I don’t care if you keep me awake.” He paused and then chuckled. “That didn’t sound too good, did it?”
Annaka giggled. She glanced up into his face and gazed over his masculine, attractive features. His lips drew her attention. She realized her hands rested on his chest. He felt solid beneath her touch. Through his shirt, his arms looked well-developed, strong. She let her hands feel over his shoulders and then she ran them down his arms. She felt his muscles and couldn’t help but think of his cartoon avatar.
Mother was aware of the intimate way they held each other. Annaka’s eyes wandered over his face. She hadn’t really locked eyes with him. He felt drawn to her and based on her posture, he had to believe she felt the same. He brought a hand to her face and softly caressed over her cheekbone, over her jaw. Then he ran his hand down her neck. She angled her head up, her eyes now locked onto his.
“Yo, Mother,” Sherman’s voice called. “We’re connecting for a status call with HQ.”
Mother didn’t take his eyes from hers. “I’ll be right in,” he called. “This would probably be a good time for you to get that shower.”
She nodded.
He reluctantly pulled away. He closed the door to the living room area. Lambchop had his computer tablet set up on the kitchen table. He pulled a chair around so he could sit where he could view it, as the others had.
The monitor switched from the blue screen to Shepherd displayed. By the looks of it, he was in his penthouse office. “Good job team,” Shepherd said. “Our digital unit is digging more into Patrick Keeling as well as the oil company and its officers who own and operate drilling platform C-Three.”
“Yeah, they’re the only ones who had anything to gain by Annaka making that report,” Mother confirmed.
“We have two unlikely linked causes for Annaka’s kidnapping,” Lambchop said. “If Patrick Keeling wanted to kidnap her and hold her in that cabin, he didn’t need anyone’s help. I don’t see how he would have benefited from the entries to the report she made.”
“That’s if we believe that he had a thing for her and was a stalker,” BT said. “I personally don’t see it. There hasn’t been anything presented that says he fits the profile. The search of his house after they both disappeared, turned up no photos of Annaka, no journal of him obsessing over her. Only two of their coworkers thought something could have been going on between them.”
“Those things may be found on his phone or laptop,” Lambchop said.
“And let’s not forget that Ayla is the only one Patrick told that the two of them were supposedly going to spend time together over the holidays a
nd that was just the Friday before they disappeared. His statement feels more to me like someone laying down the seeds of an alibi,” Mother said.
“Agreed,” Sherman piped up.
“And certainly, those who would force her to make those erroneous entries into the report would know that as soon as she was free, she would alert someone to the coerced manner in which she made those entries and she’d reverse them. Forcing her to make them and then letting her live was not a smart move,” BT said.
