Thompson woke to find Manchetti wearing headphones. He quickly rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed. He had been awake most of the night, but the jet lag had taken over, causing him to not think as clearly as he needed to. His eyes had felt like the lids were closing on sandpaper, and he struggled to keep them open. When Manchetti told him to catch a few hours of sleep, he gladly took the chance.
He quickly realized it was nine in the morning. He had slept six heavenly hours, but it felt like he had slept for two days. His body was completely revived, and was ready to go.
Manchetti took off his headphones and turned in his direction. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Feeling any better?”
“Yeah, I feel great. Did you catch any sleep last night?”
“A couple hours.”
“What’s going on over there?” He gestured toward Katherine Anderson’s room.
“Absolutely nothing; I didn’t hear a thing all night. I’m beginning to think they never came back.”
“Did you check with the front desk?”
“Yeah, they haven’t seen them. The staff has changed, so they may not recognize them anyway.”
“How about we call their room and see if they answer?”
“Great idea.”
Thompson picked up the phone and dialed the number for the room next door. It rang about twenty times before he finally gave up.
Manchetti stood up and paced. “Call the front desk and see if they’ve checked out. Dear God, I hope we haven’t lost them.”
He picked up the phone again placing the receiver next to his ear. After the first ring, someone answered.
“Buongiorno.”
“Buongiorno. Can you tell me if Katherine Anderson has checked out?”
“Let me see. One moment please.”
He listened to the typing of a keyboard and talking in the background.
“No, sir. She is still registered. She isn’t scheduled to leave for two more days.”
“Grazie.”
“According to the front desk, Anderson is still in her room.” Thompson held one hand on his hip and combed the other through his hair, searching for answers.
“We need to search their room. There’s got to be some clue. Hopefully the cartel hasn’t gotten to them.” Manchetti grabbed the key and both men rushed out almost tripping over each other on the way through the door.
Thompson knocked on Katherine’s door, knowing no one would answer but wanting to be cautious. When he was certain it was safe, Manchetti slid the key in the lock and entered.
“She never came back last night; her bed is still made. Look! Her suitcase is still here!” He assembled the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle in his mind. It seemed plausible someone could’ve abducted Katherine. Why else would she leave her suitcase, yet not come back to sleep?
He opened the luggage and rifled through the contents. There were only minimal items: a couple pairs of socks, a dress, and a scarf.
Manchetti went through the dresser drawers and the closet. “Nothing.”
Feeling the wind blow out of his sails, he announced, “She’s gone. Look, there’s nothing in this suitcase and nothing in the closet. She must’ve packed her things in another bag and taken off. She’s gone.”
Manchetti barked, “Quit saying she’s gone! Where would she go?”
“How would I know? Your people were supposed to be keeping track of her. You assured me this wouldn’t happen.”
Manchetti pulled his hands through his hair. “All right, all right. Let me make some calls. Maybe they left via the train and there’s some security footage from the station.”
“I hope for my sake your people are able to find something. Otherwise, I’m in some hot fucking water. I don’t have a clue how I’m going to explain this one.”
They rushed back to their room, where he gathered up his stuff while Manchetti placed a call to get the security footage. “I don’t care what you have to do. Get those tapes now!” Manchetti slammed down the phone. “Christ almighty! When you need something now, people scramble and point fingers. Just get me what I need. Goddammit!” Manchetti swiped his arm across the desk shattering glasses onto the floor.
“What do we do now?” Thompson stood with his hands on his hips.
“We wait. There’s nothing to do until I hear back about the footage. We don’t even know which direction to head. We’ve been here all night. Who knows where they are? They could be anywhere. Jesus, they could be in Switzerland by now. Fuck!”
“If we have some time, I’m taking a shower. It’s been two days and I smell like shit.”
Manchetti shook his head. “Sure, whatever. I’ve got to call the surveillance team to come get their crap.”
Standing under the hot water, Thompson searched through the puzzle pieces in his mind. He moved them around trying to get them to fit. Was she alone or still traveling with Massimo Bertalucci? Was the cartel part of this? How the fuck did she know Bertalucci? The questions flashed through his mind one scene at a time, and yet the answers were nowhere to be found.
He jumped at the banging on the door.
“Wrap it up. We’ve got to go,” Manchetti called.
He turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, dried himself, and secured the towel around his waist. He opened the door to find Manchetti packing the surveillance equipment.
“What’s going on?”
“We have footage of what appears to be Anderson and Bertalucci getting on the same train we got off of. In fact, you ran into Bertalucci.”
“I don’t remember running into anyone.”
“According to the footage, as we were getting off the train, they were waiting to board it and you brushed up against him.”
“Jesus. How could I have missed that?”
“I don’t think you noticed. You didn’t even look back.”
“So, where were they headed?”
“Rome. Tapes from the stations in Rome show they got on the subway.”
“So, they’re definitely in Rome?”
“Yes, but it’s a large city with two airports. They could’ve left the country for all we know. I have my people checking hotels and the airlines for anything booked under either name.”
“What if they’re using a different name?”
Manchetti paused while rubbing his chin. “I don’t think Anderson would have the time or the means to obtain a new identity, but it’s possible Bertalucci has one. This could be a problem.”
“Any clue as to why they’re together?”
“None. The cameras show them holding hands and walking with their arms locked at times. It doesn’t appear she’s going against her will. Maybe they’re dating, or could be they’ve known each other a long time.”
“We know that’s not true. Up until a month ago, she was engaged to a guy she’d been dating for several years. And, as far as we’ve been able to tell, she’s never been to Europe. I don’t know where she would’ve met him previously, let alone forge a friendship.”
“I don’t know either. I do know we need to track them down and fast. Get dressed so we can get a fucking move on.”