The Big Bad Wolf

nice guy, who said he wanted to be her friend but who had raped her half a dozen times, was going to kill her very soon. And then what? Bury her out here in the beautiful woods? Dump her body in a gorgeous lake with a heavy weight attached to it?
    Tears formed in Audrey’s eyes, and her brain buzzed as if there were a short in the circuits. She didn’t want to die. Not now, not like this. She loved her children, her husband, Georges, and even her company. It had taken her so long, so much sacrifice and hard work, to get her life right. And now this had to happen, this fluke, this incredibly bad luck.
    The Art Director turned sharply onto a narrow dirt road, then sped down it much too fast. Where was he going? Why so fast? What was at the end of the road?
    But apparently they weren’t going all the way to the end. He was braking.
    “My God, no!” Audrey screamed. “No! Please! Don’t!”
    He stopped the car but let the engine run.
    “Please,” she pleaded. “Oh, please . . . don’t do this. Please, please, please. You don’t have to kill me.”
    The Art Director merely smiled. “Give us a hug, Audrey. Then get out of the car before I change my mind. You’re free. I’m not going to hurt you. You see, I love you too much.”

Chapter 49
    THERE WAS A BREAK in White Girl. One of the women had been found—alive.
    I was rushed to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in one of the two Bell helicopters kept at Quantico for emergencies. A few senior agents had told me that they’d never been up in one of the helicopters. It didn’t sit too well with them. Now here I was becoming a regular during my orientation period. There were benefits to being on the director’s fast track.
    The sleek black Bell set down in a small field in Norristown, Pennsylvania. During the flight I found myself thinking of a recent orientation class. We’d burned fingernail clippings so that everybody would know what a DOA smelled like. I already knew, and I didn’t relish experiencing it again. I didn’t think there would be any DOAs on this trip to Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, that turned out to be wrong.
    Agents from the field office in Philadelphia were there to meet the helicopter and accompany me to where Audrey Meek had been brought for questioning. So far there’d been no announcement to the press, though her husband had been notified and was on his way to Norristown.
    “I’m not exactly sure where we are right now,” I said as we rode to a local state troopers’ barracks. “How far is this from where Mrs. Meek was abducted?”
    “We’re five miles,” said one of the agents from Philly. “It would take about ten minutes by car.”
    “Was she held captive near this area?” I asked. “Do we know yet? What exactly
do
we know?”
    “She told the state police that the abductor brought her here early this morning. She’s not sure of the directions but thinks they rode for well over an hour. Her wristwatch had been taken away from her.”
    I nodded. “Was she blindfolded during the ride? I assume that she was.”
    “No. That’s odd, isn’t it? She saw her captor several times. Also his vehicle. He didn’t seem to care one way or the other.”
    That was a genuine surprise to me. It didn’t track, and I said so.
    “Stump the stars,” said the agent. “Isn’t that what this case is about so far?”
    The state trooper barracks occupied a redbrick building tucked back from the highway. There wasn’t any activity outside, and I took that as a good sign. At least I had beaten the press there. No one had leaked the story so far.
    I hurried inside the barracks to meet Audrey Meek. I was eager to find out how she had survived against all odds, the first woman who had.

Chapter 50
    MY VERY FIRST IMPRESSION was that Audrey Meek didn’t look at all like herself, not as she did in any of her publicity. Not now, anyway, not after her terrible ordeal. Mrs. Meek was thinner, especially in the face. Her eyes were dark blue, but the sockets appeared hollowed out. She had some color on both cheeks.
    “I’m FBI agent Alex Cross. It’s good to see you safe,” I said in a quiet voice. I didn’t want to interview her right now, but it had to be done.
    Audrey Meek nodded and her eyes met mine. I had the sense that she knew how lucky she was.
    “You have some color in your cheeks. Did you get that today?” I asked her. “While you were in the woods?”
    “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. He took me outside for