On the Edge by Catherine Vale Page B

his hand. She received a brief, perfunctory shake before her hand was returned to her. Addison had the impression he wanted nothing more than to wipe his hand on his pant leg.
    “I see. And these men…” He nodded at the other two, clearly not interested in shaking either of their hands.
    “These men took me from the ruins outside the city. I’ve been working there for… several weeks.” Hopefully that was close enough to the truth. “As I explained, my colleague returned to the Museum with a specimen. If you could call him…”
    “Ms. James, this is highly irregular…” He glanced at the men. The silent smelly one was already backing toward the door.
    “These men took me against my will. I’m not missing, there is no reward, and I want to get back to my expedition.” She put as much authority behind each word.
    “She’s missin’ though. Someone might be offerin’ money for her.” As he spoke though, he began backing away, following in the footsteps of his partner, who was already pushing through the door into the blinding sunlight outside.
    “Even if there was a reward, we’d have nothing to do with that.” Mr. Cervantes frowned, speaking at their retreating backs. “Sir, I’d suggest you contact…”
    But the door was swinging shut on the man’s retreating form. Addison sighed, relief making her knees weak.
    “Mr. Cervantes. If you would be so kind as to call my colleague, I would be grateful. He can wire me money and I can rent a car and return to my dig.”
    “Are you sure? Is there anything else you need? Do you wish to contact the authorities?” He gestured toward the door. “Although I doubt there’s much they can do.”
    She shook her head. “No. All I want is to get back to work. Nothing more.”
    “Very well.” He motioned to the woman, who had been standing silently behind him during the exchange. “Veronica will make the call. We can help you find a Western Union office where you can have money wired to you.” The look he gave her was a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
    “This is highly unusual, Ms. James. You realize that.”
    She nodded. “I understand. And I appreciate your help.”
    “Do you have any identification? Do you still have your passport?”
    She had no idea. She’d stopped thinking about her passport weeks ago. She’d always carried her passport in the back pocket of her work pants, and for the first time since she’d been in Peru, she reached for the snap on her back pocket. Her fingers slipped into the pocket and there was the reassuring feel of the passport cover. She withdrew it, handing it to Mr. Cervantes.
    He flipped it open, looking at the photo to her face, eyes widening. The last time she’d looked in a mirror had been on the sun visor of the Jeep she and Daniel had rented. She’d lost weight, she was exhausted, and she probably looked like hell. But it was still her.
    “Let me make some notes of this meeting and I’ll return this. Please, have a seat and Veronica will make your phone call.” He indicated a chair in front of the reception desk. Silently, Veronica passed a pen and paper to Addison.
    She wrote down Daniel’s name, and cell phone number, pushing the paper back to the young woman. Daniel had been in her thoughts every day since he’d been taken out of the jungle. Griffin had told her Daniel had been taken to his Jeep, and he’d driven away. Now she held her breath, praying he’d made it back to New York, and to the Museum.
    Veronica punched what seemed like hundreds of numbers into the phone. Finally, she spoke into the receiver. Addison sat forward, barely able to breathe, waiting. After what felt like an eternity, Veronica held the phone toward Addison. She quickly took it, placing it to her ear.
    “Daniel?” Her voice was a rusty croak. “Daniel, are you there?”
    “Addison! My God!” His voice was startlingly loud and clear. “You’re okay? Where are you? That woman… she said she’s calling from the Consulate