Page 101 of Sting
“If I knew where, he’d already be in custody. But I don’t think he’ll keep running much longer. He sounded strung out, jumpy, on the brink of falling apart. He was crying when he hung up.”
“I’m sure he’s scared.”
“I think so, too,” Wiley said. “Told him he should be. But what, in particular, do you think has him scared enough to bawl like a baby?”
“You don’t have to answer,” Adrian Dover said.
Jordie disregarded her. “He’s scared of being recaptured because he knows the punishment he’ll face.”
“Years in prison.”
“Yes, and that will be torture.”
“It isn’t meant to be fun, Ms. Bennett.”
“Of course not. But for Josh, the lack of privacy is his worst nightmare.”
“You’re referring to his scars,” Wiley said quietly.
She nodded and lowered her head sorrowfully. “They’re unsightly, and Josh sees them as being even worse than they are. He’s extremely self-conscious of them. Pathologically so.”
No one said anything for the next several moments, then Jordie raised her head. “I can’t bear the idea of imprisonment for my brother and his being subjected to, well, everything that it entails, but I’ll do the right thing, Agent Wiley. I’ll answer truthfully any questions you put to me.”
Adrian Dover said, “Unless she exercises her constitutional right not to.”
Wiley began, and for approximately an hour they reviewed everything Jordie had already told them about her abduction. She found it almost impossible to speak Shaw’s name without her throat seizing up.
Various aspects of the time he’d held her captive were covered repeatedly, until she said in a cracking voice, “Must we go over this again and again? There’s nothing more I can tell you.”
Then from Hickam, “All right, then tell us about your trip to Costa Rica with Billy Panella.”
The switch in topics was so abrupt it took her aback.
“That’s not a question,” Adrian Dover said.
“Excuse me. I’ll be happy to put it in the form of a question.” Hickam pushed himself away from the wall. “Ms. Bennett, did you accompany Billy Panella to Costa Rica?” He checked his iPad and cited the dates.
“Yes.”
“What was the reason for the trip?”
The lawyer laid her hand on Jordie’s arm and shook her head.
This time Jordie heeded her. “I’ve been advised by counsel not to answer.”
“Did you know that Panella had funds stashed in a bank in San Jose?”
“Not until yesterday when Agent Wiley alleged it.”
“Your brother made the deposit for him.”
“So Agent Wiley alleged.”
“You had no previous knowledge of this?”
“None.”
“You didn’t know about Billy Panella’s plans to flee the U.S.?”
