Noah stopped again as the idea of hiring another Lubbock private investigator occurred to him. Why not? he thought. It could possibly serve the purpose of ruling out something that the NSC was worried about but was inconsequential. After all, Ava had more than proved herself by handling all the anesthesia cases she had without incident before the three recent unfortunate episodes.
Picking up his phone Noah had in mind again to google “Lubbock private investigators” to hire another one, but he hesitated. Thinking about his being under surveillance, possibly by the cyber-proficient FBI and not just some amateur putting Spyware and a Keylogger on his laptop, now he felt reluctant to use any electronic communication, even his phone. There was also the issue that if there was any validity whatsoever of his putting Roberta Hinkle in jeopardy, he didn’t want to repeat such a situation. And knowing what he did about the ability of authorities to ping phones and determine their location by triangulation from various cell towers, he removed the battery. He knew it wasn’t enough just to turn it off.
So instead of hiring another PI, a new idea occurred to him that two minutes earlier he would never had suspected. Maybe he should secretly travel to Lubbock, as it would solve a lot of problems. He didn’t know how long he could get away with staying in the on-call room, so going to Texas would temporarily solve that issue. If he was still being followed and possibly threatened, leaving town had a definite appeal. And he thought he would be far better equipped to check up on Ava’s training than any PI. All he would need to do was walk into the Brazos Medical Center and chat up fellow residents, perhaps implying he was looking for a fellowship program. Using the residents as contacts, he was sure he could get to talk to faculty, particularly relatively young faculty. In any residency program, there were always a few who joined the staff, just as Noah planned to do at BMH. Noah imagined there was a very good chance he could even find someone who trained with Ava. As for specifics, he thought he’d start out in Brownsfield and look at the 2000 high school yearbook.
With a new sense of purpose and direction, Noah repacked his backpack, leaving his white jacket and tablet in his locker. Then he headed to the hospital ATM, where he withdrew several thousand dollars. With cash in hand, he went down to the front entrance of the Stanhope Pavilion. Since he was reluctant to use his cell phone and had disabled it by removing its battery, he couldn’t take advantage of Uber or Lyft. He didn’t even want to use the taxi queue, which required waiting his turn standing outside the door. What he had in mind was to wait for a taxi to pull up to discharge a passenger, which he would commandeer by rushing out and jumping in. The taxi drivers waiting in line weren’t going to like it, nor were the doormen or the people waiting in line, but Noah didn’t care. He wanted to be sure not to be followed, and he thought the less exposure out in the open, the better. Although he hadn’t seen his tails since Monday, he didn’t want to take any chances.
37
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 9:58 A.M.
“Hey! Wake up!” Keyon shouted, giving George a slap on the shoulder. Keyon had lost the coin toss to decide who had to take the first watch. He and George were in the Ford van, parked with the engine idling in a no parking zone across the street from the Boston Memorial Hospital’s main entrance. They had arrived back to the Bedford Airport just after 8:00 that morning and had driven directly to the BMH after a quick stop at their office in the Old City Hall Building. A moment after winning the coin toss, George had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Although both had gotten a few hours of sleep on the plane, they were exhausted.
“Did you see him?” George questioned while sitting up straight. He blinked in the bright morning sunlight, trying to focus on the hospital entrance. There was a lot of activity, with cars pulling up and people coming and going.
“I’m not sure,” Keyon admitted, glancing in the rearview mirror to facilitate a U-turn. “I just got a quick glimpse. Whoever it was bolted out of the hospital entrance like they had just robbed a bank and jumped in that white taxi that just pulled away.”
“Do you think one of us should stay here in case it wasn’t him?” George asked.
“No!” Keyon said without hesitation. “It’s got to be him. Who else would leave the hospital like that?”
“Good point,” George said. “Of course, it means he’s onto us.”
“We already knew that was the case,” Keyon said. After making the U-turn, he accelerated after the taxi, which now was in the distance. He was hoping not to lose sight of it.
“Has he used his cell?” George asked, raising the back of his seat.
“He got an incoming call, but he hasn’t called out. And then I couldn’t even get a GPS ping, meaning he knows enough to take out the damn battery.”
“That’s not a good sign,” George said. “If we lose him, it is going to be hard to find him without the help of his mobile.”
“As if I didn’t know,” Keyon said.
“Don’t get caught at this traffic light,” George said. Just ahead, the light had turned yellow.
“What do you think, I was born yesterday?” Keyon said derisively. Instead of slowing, he accelerated. As they entered the intersection the light was red.
With aggressive, Boston-style driving Keyon was able to close the gap to a degree, and seeing the direction the taxi was going, they could guess it was heading for the Callahan Tunnel to East Boston.
“I don’t like this,” George said. “Do you think he’s going to Logan Airport? If he is, it’s ironic he’s fleeing town just when we get the okay to move on him.”
“I’m afraid there’s not much else in East Boston,” Keyon said.
By the time they exited from the Callahan Tunnel, Keyon had managed to get within four car lengths of the taxi in question. A few minutes later the taxi bore to the right, heading for the entrance to Logan Airport.
“Shit,” George said. “This is becoming a worst-case scenario! Now we’ve got to find out where the hell he’s going, because there’s not much we can do to him here with all the security around.”
“It’s going to be up to you,” Keyon said. He smiled inwardly. Earlier, he’d regretted losing the coin toss requiring him to take the first shift; now he was glad. George would have to do the legwork.
The taxi pulled into terminal A and headed for the passenger drop-off area. The Ford was right behind but pulled into the limo line. George quickly got out after it was definitively ascertained it was Noah who had alighted from the cab. “Let’s use the radio to keep in touch,” he said before slamming the door behind him.
“Roger,” Keyon called after him. “Good luck.”
George gave Keyon the finger over his shoulder without looking back.
38
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 7:25 P.M.