Forsaken by James David Jordan Page A

staring out the window at the lake. Elise sat on the couch, alternately dozing and watching news reports about Kacey’s disappearance.
    What would have been a major domestic news story under any circumstances had taken on monumental international proportions because of the media’s hype of the war-of-religions angle. FOX and CNN covered the story nonstop. Amazingly—and thanks to the heroic lack of cooperation of the managers at both hotels—reporters hadn’t yet figured out where the FBI had moved Simon. Still, we didn’t expect our location would remain secret much longer.
    Simon had just walked over to the couch and sat down next to Elise when the doorbell rang. It was the same cop as before. When I opened the door he stuck in his head. “Michael, can I see you for a minute?”
    Harrison was sitting at a desk in the living area, working on his laptop. He nodded, then got up and went out the door.
    After about ten minutes, the bell rang again. When I opened the door, Harrison brushed past me. He carried a cardboard delivery envelope in one hand. “Kacey’s alive, but they’ve got her.” He went straight to the dining room table and sat down.
    Simon lifted his hands toward the ceiling and closed his eyes. “Thank you, God, thank you!” He moved his chair to a spot directly across the table from Harrison and leaned forward. “Who’s got her, and what can we do to get her back?”
    Elise came around the table and moved in behind Simon.
    “A group called the Storm of Islam,” Harrison said. “To our knowledge, they haven’t been anything but an obscure Arab-Muslim Internet site until now. There are hundreds just like them. We’ve got our people researching them.”
    “How do you know it’s them?” Simon said.
    Harrison nodded at the package that he’d laid on the table.
    Simon looked down at it. “What’s in it?”
    “There was evidence in the delivery envelope— proof that they’ve got Kacey. We’ve put the contents in evidence bags. It’s all in the package. I’ve got to warn you, Simon, it’s bad. I think you’re going to want to open it alone.” He made eye contact with Elise and then with me. I turned to leave.
    “It’s all right. They can stay.” Simon picked up the envelope.
    Harrison held up his hand. “I don’t think you should—”
    Simon turned the envelope upside down and shook the contents out onto the table. A piece of white notebook paper and two zip-top bags fell out. Elise leanedover Harrison’s shoulder and squinted to see what was in the bags.
    Just as I moved around the table to see, Elise screamed. Simon turned away for a moment, giving me a clear line of sight. In one of the baggies was an emerald ring.
    In the other was a human finger.

CHAPTER

TWELVE
     
    SIMON DROPPED THE BAG on the table and put his head in his hands. Elise ran to the couch and buried her head in a pillow. “What kind of animals would do this to a teenage girl?” Simon looked up at Harrison. “They will rot in hell for this.”
    “I’m sure that’s true, but before they get there, I want to make certain they rot in jail. Can you absolutely identify the ring as Kacey’s?”
    Simon nodded. “I gave it to her for her birthday. If you look inside, there’s an inscription. It says Love, Dad and has the date.”
    Harrison used a handkerchief to take the ring out of the baggie. He studied it and put it back in the bag.“The inscription is there. I’ll send the evidence to the lab. We’ll be very careful with it, I promise. We’ll get it back to you as soon as we can.” He looked at me, and I knew he was talking in particular about Kacey’s finger.
    Simon lifted his head. “No, don’t take it yet.” He picked up the bag that contained the finger. “Please, can you give me a minute?”
    Harrison reached into his pocket and removed a pair of latex gloves. “Sure. Just put these on, please. I understand it’s tough, but everything is evidence. I know you want to get her back.” He