Midnight in Mongolia

“No, Michael. We were up until all hours calling hospitals and the police stations. No one has seen them. And, before you ask, we tried Al’s cell but there’s no answer.”

“Do you want me to come over? I can be there in a couple of days,” Michael said.

My heart wanted to break. There was no doubt in my mind he truly loved me. What other man would offer to leave the comfort of his home and travel to the other side of the world at the whisper of a problem? “Give us another twenty-four hours. I’ll keep you posted. Will you watch your email? It might be easier for me to send texts or email than to call you.”

“I promise. Much as I hate this stuff—for you, anything. I’ll get my bags packed and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”

He didn’t say anything more, and I thought he might have disconnected, then he added, “I miss you, Doll. I love you.”

Tears slid down my face. “I miss you too.” My hand trembled as I ended the call. After a deep sigh, I wiped my face with a tissue and straightened, feeling the tingle of an inner glow from hearing his voice.

It was only ten o’clock in the morning. If Howard had been serious about searching for the boys, then I’d have to wake him so we could start. My plan was to check with the bus company first. I showered and dressed in my layered safari clothes and added a light jacket and a scarf for my head. Comfortable shoes, aspirin, and two bottles of water in my purse later, I knocked on Howard’s door.

He flung it open before I could hit the surface a third time. He stood there, fully dressed in military style trousers and jacket with a backpack strapped on his shoulders. He carried a cap in his right hand. “I wondered if you’d ever get up. Let’s go. Breakfast first?” He pulled the door shut behind him and led me toward the elevator.

“We can grab something in the hotel. We should take fruit and snack bars with us. We have no idea how long we’ll be out.”

“Already in my plan. I have country maps, a basic language dictionary, and a compass. I couldn’t find any field glasses, but I do have opera glasses. Everything’s in my rucksack.”

I thought I prepared well for the day.

“In my day, we would have been out the door at first light, but not much point when our first locale of inquiry doesn’t open until noon. We’ll have plenty of time for a nourishing meal,” Howard said.

The elevator doors slid open, and off he went, heading straight for the dining room. I parted ways with him and went for the reception desk, anxious to learn our concern was for naught.

“Sorry, Mrs. Reynolds, the gentlemen in question did not return during the night. I still have their keys.” The young woman looked genuinely unhappy to know I couldn’t find my friends.

“We’ll be in the dining room for a little while, should they come in,” I said with more hope than I felt.

“Certainly.” With downcast eyes, the girl returned to her work.

Howard managed to down a full meal while I picked at a fruit salad. “You’re not doing anyone any good by not eating, Doll. You’ll need your strength.”

“I know. Maybe I’ll have a pastry.” As I looked around for a waiter to request a menu, I caught sight of Sarangerel, the girl from the shoot, entering the room on the arm of a distinguished looking man. She wore a form-fitting, high-necked blue silk dress, spiked heels, and had her hair in an upsweep. Large gold hoops dangled from her ears and bracelets from her wrists.

“So much for local tribes working on the show,” I muttered, still staring as she crossed the room with the man. He slid out her chair for her. The girl behaved like a woman accustomed to such treatment.

“Lovely, isn’t she?” Howard said.

“She’s the one who played the local tribeswoman on the show. She taught me how to milk a yak.” I scowled in her direction. Apparently, she didn’t feel my glare.

“Ah, so she is. Quite a change in appearance. I never would have recognized her even after spending so much time with her on the set. Looking at her now, I would guess a woman of means.”

“I wonder who she’s with.”

“Her lover. A government official. Maybe her father. Though racially, they don’t appear to be quite the same, do they?”

“I would have guessed him to be more Chinese than Mongolian.” Our waiter appeared at my side. I ordered a cheese pastry and more tea.

Once we finished, Howard leaned across the table toward me and spoke in hushed tones as if everyone in the dining room might be interested in our conversation. “Our first step is to determine what happened on the bus. Why did Al and Larry not return with it? If Larry is sick, why didn’t someone notify us? Why hasn’t Al called to fill us in? We’ll need the entire roster of passengers, as well. Nationalities, ages.”

“Why do we need all that?” I whispered.

“If they really are being detained, we’ll need the information for our next step.”

“Which is?”

“Hush.” He tilted his head and looked up to his right.

I followed his cue. Our waiter approached with a tray bearing our bill and a small plate of mints. “Shall I put this on your room, sir?”

“Please.” Howard waved him away. “We also need to check in with the American Embassy and the local police station to warn them there might be a pair of missing or kidnapped American tourists.”

“What can they do?”

“Have you never read your passport? It offers the traveler the protection of the United States government and asks the host country to provide all lawful aid and protection in the event of need. So, if they are really missing and something is wrong, both governments will have to be notified.”

“I think we should wait until we know for sure what’s going on.” Another thought struck me. “Detained! Howard, could it be the police detaining them?”

“For what? What could those two do to get in trouble?”

“You never know.”

My cell vibrated in my pocket. I fumbled as I pulled it out of my pocket, anxious to see if the call was from Larry or Al. No name appeared, the number unfamiliar. A text message. Maybe Michael. I pressed the button.

“Go to flowr yurt Sukhbaatar Square. Wait instruction for ferinds.”

I passed the phone to Howard. He frowned as I wiped traces of cheesecake from my mouth. My heart pounded. My mind raced ahead of my thoughts. “We have to go. Someone has Al and Larry. It doesn’t say anything about what time.”

I clicked the reply key and started to type in a response.

“Wait,” Howard said. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to respond. Think about it for a second. Who else knows they’re missing?”

“Just about everybody in the hotel and all the local hospitals and police. Why?”

“Anyone could have sent that message.”

I deleted the start of my message. “What should we do?”

“Hmm.” He frowned at the phone. “I wish there were more of us for this mission. Too bad Michael isn’t here. He’d make a good asset.”

“Well, he isn’t.”

“One of us should remain at the hotel in case they come back. The other should go to the square to see who shows. We also need proof the sender of that message really has them.”

“I was there yesterday. I can go. But I really think we should stick together,” I said.

Howard looked across the room to where Sarangerel sat near the window with her escort. “What if you ask her to walk to the square with you? I could stay here in case they show up.”

The waiter returned. Now what?

“Mrs. Reynolds?”

“Yes?”

“I have a message for you.” He handed me a sealed hotel envelope.

Howard reached into his pocket and withdrew Mongolian coins, handing a small pile of them to the waiter. The man pocketed the money, bowed, then turned to leave.

“Hold it a minute, young man,” Howard commanded.

“Sir?” The man stopped and turned smartly.

“Who left this message?”

“I do not know, sir. The clerk told me Mrs. Reynolds is in here and asked me to deliver it.”

“Thank you.” As soon as the waiter departed, Howard slapped his hands on the table and pushed himself up. “Quick. Read it.”

I tore the envelope open. The message was exactly the same as the one on my phone plus it included, “American gentlemen alive—for now.” My mouth went dry. Whoever sent the note also left the text. I showed the note to Howard.

After a brief glimpse at the note, he said, “All right, you go talk to the girl. I’m going to see if we can catch whoever delivered this.”

I looked at Sarangerel, so beautiful and young, enjoying the attentions of her escort who, even sitting across the table from her, couldn’t keep his hands off her. Had she spent the night with him? Was that any of my business? I looked at the note and at the girl.

I wanted to call Howard back, but he already reached the hallway to the lobby. As I watched, Sarangerel pulled her hands away from the man and folded them on her lap. She focused on the empty bread dish on the table. The man’s head bobbed as he continued to speak to her. They were too far away for me to hear the words. I also recalled she hadn’t spoken English on the set. What use would it be for us to try to talk to her?

I sighed. Howard was in his nineties. His best days had been during World War II. After the war, I have no idea what he did; he only ever talked about espionage and intrigue during the war.

I picked at my food, wondering if I should bring him along with me to the square when he reappeared and slid into his seat.

“Did you talk to the girl?” he asked.

“Howard, if you recall, she doesn’t speak English.”

“Of course she does. We talked every evening after you were done working. The uneducated peasant girl business was all an act to get the job. I must say she made a great transformation. Now, I suggest you get her alone and ask her if she’d help us. As good as I am, I have never learned Mongolian, and we’re going to need a translator.”

“The messages are in English, Howard.” I suspected he was more interested in having a beautiful girl around than worrying about a translator.

“We’re in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language. You really should go speak to the girl.”

I looked at her again. She looked distinctly unhappy as she toyed with a cup of tea, while the man continued talking at her.

“Go on,” Howard urged.

“You had a relationship with her, you go.”

“We’ll both go.”

“Fine.” I began to push my chair away from the table. Before I moved an inch, a waiter was there helping me to my feet.

Howard remained seated. I glared at him and set off toward Sarangerel. If we were going to work together, the first thing we’d have to consider was something simpler to call her. I approached the table and cleared my throat. The man stopped talking and both looked up at me. I smiled at her, waiting for recognition. It didn’t take more than a second.

“Reynolds?” she said, her broad grin making her relief obvious.

“Doll Reynolds, yes. How nice to see you again.” I hoped Howard was right about her English.

“And you. You stay at hotel here?”

“I am. And you?”

“No. I lunch with Munkhjargal. I find I am not hungry.”

“Perhaps you would like to take a walk with me?” I asked before I could lose my nerve. I could be involving this young woman in danger.

“With much pleasure.” She cast a glance at her partner, said something which made him frown, and stood before a waiter could notice.

The two of us headed toward the lobby where Howard waited. He and our new partner shook hands. He helped us don lightweight jackets.

“The note said the same thing as my text message,” I told them after having explained to Sarangerel we hoped to use her as a translator for a few days and would be happy to pay for her services. We also agreed I could call her Sara.

“Please understand it was not to deceive you I spoke no English. It is my wish, as it is of my sisters, to be educated and able to work in an environment where we can meet men of means for marriage. It is no longer acceptable to grovel and be grateful for a man’s attention.”

Her cheeks turned red from the chilly air, only adding to her beauty. On me, red cheeks made me look like an old woman with too much blush. I turned my back on the large gilt-framed mirror in the lobby.

~ * ~

“Interesting concept. So, you want to marry for money, not love.” I huffed and puffed between words as we strode along toward the square.

“I believe I can find a rich man to love as better for a poor man. Why we going to square?”

“Someone is to contact us and give us information about where our friends are. You remember them: Larry and Al.”

“Nice men. Not safe in Ulaanbaatar.”

“Why ever not?” We came to the intersection with only a single policeman directing traffic. This time we were among a large group waiting to cross and managed to reach the other side without incident.

“Men of their tendencies frowned upon.”

“We read that the law protects them the same as anyone else.” Now I really had to stop talking. Between gasping for air and agitation, my heart raced at an alarming rate.

Howard loped along ahead of us, having changed his mind about waiting at the hotel.

“It is fact about law, not about customs. They are most discreet, but little signs give them away.”

“I don’t think their behavior is the reason for their disappearance. I think Larry is sick, and they’ve gone someplace for help. The message I received said we’d be contacted here at the square by the flower yurt.” I pointed to it, several yards ahead of us.

“We will wait and see.” Sara pushed a strand of hair from her face. “You did not ask. I will tell you. Munkhjargal is casting agent. He offered me film role not to my liking.”

“And you turned him down?”

“Turned him…?” She stopped and looked at me, her eyebrows raised.

“Turned him down, meaning you refused the role.”

“Ah.” She let out a short giggle. “I understand. I did not turn him down. I rejected offer to take off clothes and make unseemly pictures. He is not happy with me.”

“He should be horsewhipped,” I muttered as I looked around for a possible contact. No one dallied around the yurt.

Howard stood about thirty feet to the left and scanned the passersby while Sara and I remained on the sunny side of the small building, waiting for something to happen.

“It is nice day to feel the sun. Soon the cold will come.” She raised her face to catch the warmth of the sun.

“Where I live, this is about as cold as it gets.” I hopped, sort of, up and down, favoring my bad hip.

“Yes. I heard you say you live in South America. It is always warm?”

“Not South America. The south in America. The United States. Florida.”

“Ah, yes. Palm Beach. I know about that place where richest people live.”

“Some,” I answered.

I wished whoever planned to contact us would get it over with so we could carry on with our original plan. Howard paced, hands behind his back, his head bowed as he watched his feet. If he was trying to be inconspicuous, he was doing a poor job.

I raised my arms above my head planning to stretch left and right to ease the ache in my side. Someone shoved me from behind. I stumbled and fell into Sara’s arms. A man, or so it seemed, raced on by, not bothering to stop to apologize or see if I was all right.

“It is here,” Sara said.

“What’s here?” I straightened myself as Howard galloped across the square after the man. The fool hadn’t a hope in hell of catching him.

She plucked a paper out of the air from behind me. “Look. He put it in collar.”

Hands trembling, I opened the folded sheet. “Prepare exchange U. S. dollars five hundred thousand each man. Await instruction. Hotel.”