Dolby(55)
Author: Maryann Jordan
He was trying to drag her behind the building toward the trees. Not having any idea where the others were, she whirled and raced out the door, hoping to find Jonathan or one of the others. Once outside, she saw no one other than the man still dragging a struggling Tudora.
Racing forward, she screamed as loud as she could, causing the man to jerk around just as she launched herself at him. It was like landing against a brick wall. He shoved Tudora to the side and, facing Marcia, grabbed hold of her arms as she fought and kicked, managing to scratch his face.
Suddenly, more arms and legs joined the melee, and she realized Tudora was attacking him from behind. While the man was much larger than both of them, they had the element of surprise on their side, as well as the strength of women fighting for their lives.
They managed to take him to the ground, and as he struggled to stand with both women on top of him, he fell over again.
A roar sounded from the side, and she barely had time to look up before Jonathan raced around the corner of the hanger toward them. The others were right behind, weapons drawn.
Poole lifted Tudora onto her feet as Bennett pulled Marcia back, giving Jonathan room to jerk the man to his feet before knocking him back on his ass with a single punch to his jaw.
“I looked out the window when he was taking her!” she wheezed, rushing forward to wrap her hands around Jonathan. He pulled her in tight, both cursing and mumbling assurances in her ear.
Looking to the side, she watched as Poole gently removed the gag from Tudora. Hating to leave the comfort of Jonathan’s arms, she rushed forward as Tudora did the same. The two women threw their arms around each other, holding tight, sobbing as they reassured themselves that they were safe.
Turning to look at Jonathan, she said, “This is Tudora, the woman hired to look after Angela on the ship. She was trying to make things so much easier for me. She brought me clothes and toiletries and made sure I had food. She wasn’t part of the kidnapping… she was just hired. We can’t leave her—”
“It’s okay,” Jonathan assured, pulling her gently into his arms. “Let’s get to the police station where the statements can be made, and then we’ll get out of here.”
She nodded, and they made their way to the SUVs lining the airstrip. It took another ten-minute drive to get to the station, where they were led down a hall.
“You! You’re the one they took?”
She jerked at Roger’s roar and looked into one of the rooms to see him being pushed back into a chair by a policeman.
Jonathan stepped between her and the doorway, using his body to protect her, though she could still hear Roger’s blustering. They were ushered into a large room. Looking behind her, she winced as Tudora was taken through another door.
As Jonathan, his coworkers, Landon, Thomas, and a woman from the US Embassy listened, she went through her ordeal from the moment she was kidnapped from Angela’s house until Jonathan showed up, and they escaped the ship here in Majuro.
Landon was on the phone with others, and when all was finished, he turned to say, “We want Roger Mansfield to return to the United States with me to face every charge we can throw at him.” The embassy liaison nodded, and Thomas agreed.
“Now, for Tudora,” Landon said, looking at Marcia.
Pressing her lips together, she was uncertain what crimes they wanted to charge her with, but she couldn’t leave the young woman without an advocate.
“I don’t know what she was told before coming on board. I don’t even know what position her brother, Pitar, normally had. But as far as me, it seemed as though he was there to make sure his sister was escorted when she was taking care of me. From the first time Tudora saw me, there was sympathy in her eyes. I was dressed in socks and pajamas and had nothing with me. She spoke to her brother, and then brought clothes and toiletries. She always brought my food, always added something extra to the tray, and was even able to get Pitar to let me walk outside on one of the upper decks, for no one could see me one day.”
She looked around the room but could not discern the expressions on anyone’s face other than Jonathan’s. And with him, she could see gratitude, knowing he felt that toward the young woman who’d helped her.
The need to plead for Tudora was overpowering, her voice now shaking with emotion. “I have no idea what her role is, if she even has one, with the Bulgarian mob that you were after. But I can tell you that from what I’ve seen, she was given a job to bring food to another woman on the ship and, without knowing anything about me, tried to make my stay more pleasant. For that, she has my heartfelt thanks.”
Thomas nodded, seeming unsure what to say for a moment, then finally leaned forward with his forearms on the table and his hands clasped as he held her gaze. “From what we’ve deduced, her brother, Pitar, has not been in the United States for very long but immigrated and was able to get a job on the docks. He was recently offered the opportunity to learn how to become a ship's crewman if he could handle a special assignment. If he and his sister could watch over a woman who would be on the ship, not ask any questions, and follow the directions precisely, then he would be afforded the opportunity to become employed with Sposov Transportation, and his sister would be compensated. The job offer gave her much more stability and benefits than just being a house cleaner.”
Nodding, Marcia said, “I could tell they were surprised to see me dressed the way I was. But they gave extra care and comfort. I just don’t understand why Pitar was taken off the ship in Hawaii.”
“At the same time Dimitar got onto the ship, Pitar was taken off. The FBI in Hawaii, as well as Interpol, was watching. He was not kept under guard by anyone, and we were able to get to him. He said that he was being fired from the job because he didn’t follow the rules when he let you walk on the deck. It was a decision he and Tudora made, both hating to see you stuck in a dark room. He said the treatment of you was not right and not what he had agreed to when he accepted the job.”
She turned and gripped Jonathan’s arms. “I knew it. I knew they were good people!”
“I’ve interviewed Tudora, and what she says backs up what Pitar told the agents in Hawaii.”
“So what will happen with them?”
“We’re looking at offering them a chance to go into a protection program if they’re willing to testify against the Sposovs.”
“But what—”
Jonathan leaned forward and wrapped his arm around her, halting her words. “Babe, you’ve got to let this play out the best for them. They did good by you, and now the agency will do good by them.”