“I have to agree with you. Let’s talk to the girls.” Remi told them what she was hoping to do, that they’d all be setting out on foot.
Zara lit up. “If we go farther down the road, we can warn my father.”
Remi and Amal exchanged glances, Remi saying, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” the girl asked.
“You saw the guns those men had?”
She nodded.
“I don’t think they’d hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way.”
“But they didn’t kill us …” She looked over at the other girls, perhaps hoping for some agreement.
Remi reached out, clasping her hand. “Only because we were supposed to be their hostages. I can’t say that about anyone who helps us. If we leave the truck behind, we can set out on foot and maybe find a different way. To the village. Or at least help.”
Zara’s eyes welled up, but she nodded, saying, “My father says the footpath could take someone all the way to Cameroon.”
Maryam added, “It crosses the road leading up to the school. There’s a sign warning to watch for hikers.”
They all turned toward Remi, waiting for her to weigh in. “If they come searching, that sign’s going to make it easy to find us. And leaving the truck there is like putting out an even bigger sign saying Here We Are.”
Nasha looked up at Remi. “What about the dirt trick? Like you did when the Kalu brothers came after us? We could pretend to go one way, then go the other?”
Remi was about to explain that the only reason that had worked was because they’d only needed a short space of time to hide in order to defend themselves—never mind that she and Sam had both been armed. This was … different.
Or was it?
“Maybe we can trick them. Gather round, girls. I have an idea.”
CHAPTER FORTY
If you have escaped the jaws of the crocodile while bathing in the river,
you will surely meet a leopard on the way.
– AFRICAN PROVERB –
Pete stood in the dark, his ear to the air vent, listening. The goats had settled, though he heard an occasional bleat. What he didn’t hear was the sound of men tromping across the gravel. Or talking. All of that had stopped after the shouting, the roar of their vehicles as they sped off.
Still, he waited, wanting to make sure. He wasn’t about to risk anyone’s safety.
Wendy moved behind him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
He reached up, grasping her fingers in his. Though the two had been dating exclusively ever since they’d started working for the Fargos, once the girls had moved into the school, they’d both agreed that any displays of affection in front of the young and impressionable students were best kept to a minimum.
“Anything?” she whispered.
“I think they’re gone.”
“What about Mrs. Fargo and the girls?” she asked.
He put his finger to his lips, trying to listen, and glanced behind Wendy, the dim light revealing twenty pairs of eyes watching their every move. The caretakers, Monifa and Yaro, sat on the blankets with them, trying to distract the girls with a halfhearted game of cards. Fear had invaded the space as they waited to hear about their missing fellow students and Nasha, who had somehow slipped past everyone when Remi left. Pete smiled at the girls, then turned his back to them, facing Wendy. “Stay calm. They’re watching you,” he said quietly. “I’m going up.”
“But Mrs. Fargo said—”
“She’s gone. And we have no idea if she was able to call Mr. Fargo before they took her and the girls. Every minute we delay calling means they’ll be that much farther away. We need to let Sam know. And the only way to do that is from up there.”