False Witness Read Online Free PDF

Clark replied. He felt like he had landed on the set of Mission: Impossible —maybe the phone would dissolve in a puff of smoke when the conversation ended.
    â€œI understand that you’re a bounty hunter, Mr. Shealy. One of the best.”
    Clark scoffed. “Can’t prove it by today.”
    â€œYes, you did get in a little over your head on this one. But nevertheless, we would like to hire you.”
    This is so bizarre. Clark wondered if he was still dreaming, lingering under the effects of the tranquilizer. “You can’t afford me,” he said, more out of habit than clear thinking. It was his standard opening line for negotiations.
    â€œPerhaps,” the mystery man said, pausing ominously, “it will be you who cannot afford to say no.”
    This was getting old. “Get to the point,” Clark demanded. “Because if I ever find out who you are—”
    â€œClark?”
    The new voice jarred him. Confusion gave way to fear as he processed the possibilities.
    â€œJess? Is that you?”
    â€œYes. And I’m okay, Clark,” she said, though she sounded terrified. “I love you.”
    â€œI love you too, hon.” He said the words on instinct, his mind racing to make sense of this, his skin bristling with anxiety.
    Jessica’s next words came out in a rush. “They’re Chinese, Clark. The man talking with you they call Huang Xu—” A dull thud, the sound of fist on bone, interrupted the words. Then an exaggerated clunk—perhaps the phone on a hardwood floor? Clark heard muffled shouting and loud commands in Chinese. He felt sick. Helpless.
    â€œJessica!” he yelled into the phone. “Hold on, babe. Are you okay?’’
    â€œYour wife is quite spirited,” the voice said, monotone as before but breathing harder. Clark assumed it was the man Jessica had named. Huang Xu. Clark would never forget the name. “We have ways of calming her down.”
    Anger pulsed through Clark’s body as he spit curses into the phone, threatening Xu. He suddenly felt boxed in. Pressured. Like his head might explode in rage. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. Dizzy, he braced himself. “I won’t sleep until you’re a dead man. Nobody hits my wife.”
    â€œDone?” Xu asked.
    â€œSo help me God, I’ll kill you.”
    Xu let the silence hang for a few seconds before he spoke. “If you’re finished with your empty threats, I have a deal to propose.” He waited a few beats again, proving that he was in control of the conversation. “You’re a bounty hunter, Mr. Shealy, and you have connections to numerous other bounty hunters. There’s a man who has something that’s very important to me. You bring him to me, and I’ll pay you a handsome bounty: your wife, unharmed.”
    â€œTouch her again and you die.” Clark no longer shouted. This was not a threat but a promise.
    â€œYes, yes, I get all that. Now here’s how the deal works. Under the car seat you’ll find a dossier with relevant background information about an Indian mathematician named Professor Moses Kumari. We believe he is hiding in the Las Vegas area, though we’ve been unable to locate him. We thought perhaps your vast network of bail bondsmen and bounty hunters might help.
    â€œTime, Mr. Shealy, is of the essence. The rules are simple. You have forty-eight hours to locate Professor Kumari and call us by speed-dialing 1, using the phone in your hand. If you call us before you locate Kumari, your wife will suffer the consequences. Bring Kumari in alive and your wife lives. If he dies, she dies. If you don’t find him, she dies. If you contact the authorities in any way, she dies. Are those rules all clear?”
    â€œYou’re insane,” Clark snapped, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t find somebody in forty-eight hours.”
    â€œThen take your time, Mr.