“I hope so, too,” Remi said with a calmness she didn’t feel. Watching the growing water running across the front of their shelter, what she really hoped was that the ledge they’d used to get here would still be there come morning.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Hope is a good thing and good things never die.
– AFRICAN PROVERB –
Rain pounded on the roof of the school’s office, then poured across the overfilled gutters like a waterfall, flooding the ground in front of the door. Sam looked out the window at the soldiers standing beneath the porch, refusing to come into the building even though Sam offered it.
He turned back inside where Okoro, Pete, and Lazlo sat, studying the topographical map of Gashaka Gumti and the surrounding area. Pete gave a tired sigh. “I don’t see any other direction they would’ve taken.”
“I agree,” Okoro said. “Northeasterly along that creek. Which worries me.”
“Why?” Wendy asked.
“The river.” He traced his finger from the path he and Sam had taken, up toward the mountains. “If they followed as we believe, along this stream, they’ll come out here. Their only choice is through this valley where we saw the Fulani herdsmen. That or up into the mountains.”
Pete studied the map a moment. “Couldn’t they go around?”
“They could,” Okoro said. “But they’d have to cross the river. In this weather, that wouldn’t be advisable. Flooding.”
“Remi,” Sam said, “would know that.”
Wendy leaned into Pete. “But if they were being chased, she’d take the risk.”
“She would,” Sam said. Which made the search for them even harder. Remi would do whatever it took to keep those girls safe, even if it defied logic. “Either way, she’d know we’d be sending out a search party. She’s going to head to where they can be seen.” He walked back to the window, looking out at the front of the school in the growing dark, where, beyond the gate, he could just make out the abandoned SUV that sat in the middle of the muddy road. “Has Rube gotten back to us with who that vehicle belongs to?”
“Not yet,” Pete said. “He was still waiting on information from his contacts.”
Sam called Rube’s number. “Hope I’m not disturbing you?”
“Nothing that can’t wait,” Rube said. “I figured you’d be out searching or I would’ve called earlier.”
“Weather break,” he said. “About that truck left behind?”
“Hold on.” A few seconds later, he was back on the line. “Sorry. Had to clear the office.” Sam heard him shuffling through papers. “The truck belongs to a Pili somebody-or-other. I’ve got the file here somewhere. He’s got an extensive criminal history in Taraba State.”
“What sort of history?”
“Mostly robbery. No connection to these Kalu brothers.”
“What about this Makao?”
“If it’s Makao Oni, he’s wanted out of Lagos State after the police tied his gang to a string of murders about a year ago. That, at least, gives Taraba State a place to start searching now that they believe there’s a connection to Pili. They’re gathering intel on his known associates in hopes of finding out where they might be hiding out. Hold on …” A few minutes of silence followed before he was back on. “I’ve got a couple of fires here to put out. Just know that the guards and search team are yours until they round up everyone involved. They’re committed to bringing everyone home and making sure the school is safe. I’ll get back to you if I hear anything else.”
“Thanks, Rube.”
Sam disconnected and immediately called Selma, this time on video, deciding she looked as tired as he felt. In her fifties, her short hair worn in spikes, she looked at him over her dark-rimmed glasses, which she wore on a chain around her neck.
“Anything new on your end?” he asked.
“Nothing related to the kidnappers,” she said. “I do have a bit of information on that village where you think Nasha’s uncle lives. There was an article that came out a little over a year ago, about an attack by Boko Haram, which fits the time line of when you think she was brought to Jalingo. Whether or not her uncle survived is unknown. The article isn’t too detailed, other than mentioning that after the terrorists burned down half the village, the military was brought in to roust them from
the area.”
“That’s a start. Soon as we find them, we’ll follow up.”
Wendy walked in a couple of minutes later. “Dinner’s ready.”