Chosen by Paula Bradley

up behind his eyelids. He was frustrated that his Ancient Hebrew was not as good as it was in his seminary days.
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    Mariah stopped speaking and her face glowed in triumph as her voice trembled from exhaustion. “Kevin, I’ve come to help you...No, you’re not going crazy...who I am is unimportant, where you are is what I need to know.”
    Silence. Mariah’s eyes focused somewhere between Peter and Frannie, a patient look on her face.
    “You’re not crazy, but even if you were, you might as well talk to me...I’m so sorry, hon, slow down. Where do you live? ...Wait, he threw you in...How long do you think you were in the trunk? ...How many hours? ...Hmm. Did you make any stops? ...Ok, it must’ve been a highway...yes, I understand. Try to remember sounds you heard while you...squealing brakes...About how long before the car stopped? ...Well, if it wasn’t your car... A train? ...Interesting. It adds up, the hours...it’s okay, I won’t leave you, just try to...
    What was that? ...Is there a window? ...Try to sit up...a little more...yes, extremely bright. Wait a minute, Kevin, could the bright lights be floodlights? ...I can hear the horns, too...yes, lots of voices. Some event...what game? ...You’re right, it just could be...perfect! I can just make out the top...Yes, I can see the sign. It says “Wrigley”...a night game and Chicago won? And so have we, kiddo.
    “Off to the left...Wonderful, Kevin, you’re on your way home...I love you, too...Just a little longer, we have to call the...Relax, don’t give him a reason to come up here. Just wait for the police.”
    Mariah broke the connection and released Peter and Frannie simultaneously, causing them both to lurch from the absence of pressure. She was tired but steady on her feet as she glanced from one to the other, her eyes settling on Frannie last.
    “Let’s go. We have to call the FBI in Chicago.” Without further conversation, she headed for the switchboard. They were one step behind.

Chapter 15
    Frannie reached George Cornish, the on-call agent in the Chicago office. She gave him her name and badge number, then identified Mariah by saying cryptically, “The psychic I’ve been working with has found Kevin O’Reilly of Ohio. I’m putting her on.”
    As she handed the telephone to Mariah, Frannie realized the tape recorder wasn’t in her hand. She knew she had it right before Mariah decided to include her in the Finding . Panicked, she ripped open her bag and sighed with relief when she pulled it out and saw the tape still running. She must have jammed it into her bag when they headed for the switchboard; during the Finding , she was completely unaware of its existence.
    When the final report was issued, Frannie gave Mariah the highlights.
    “Usually the grab is done locally; however, Julio Martinez decides to snatch Kevin in West Harmony, Ohio, about one hundred and eighty miles from his home, to throw the cops off the scent. The squealing brakes Kevin heard was the elevated train arriving at the Addison Street Station which just happens to be under the exit.
    “Martinez does the normal kidnapping ritual: he wants money, a helicopter, etc. While he’s negotiating, one officer Newcomb sneaks into the kitchen, finds Martinez in the living room, and kicks him in the back of the knees.”
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    Kevin’s parents were notified that their son was in Chicago, unharmed except for some rope burns and a nasty bump on the head. When he was brought home, his mother looked straight into the camera lens, pleading with the person who found her son to “Call us, please. My husband and I would like to give you the reward money and thank you in person for giving us back our precious child.”
    The next morning the front page of the Chicago Tribunal had a picture of the happy family with a headline that screamed: “WHO FOUND KEVIN O’REILLY?” The article quoted Kevin who insisted: “There was this voice in my head that helped me find out where I was at.”