“You can’t just drop everything and leave,” Annie pointed out to Tom. “I can manage on my own.” She was trying to be brave and not take advantage of him or even his connections, except to get her a visa and a flight. But she was deeply grateful for his help.

“Let’s not be stupid,” Tom said firmly. “I was bureau chief in that part of the world for two years. You can’t do this alone. I’m coming with you. I’ll call the network. You call the airline.” He made it seem so simple, and it was certainly easier than trying to work it out alone. “We can pick up the visas on the way to the airport, and be on a noon flight to London, if they have one.” Annie was praying they did. She wanted to get to Tehran as soon as possible. She had no idea how sick Katie was.

Tom called the network and told them he needed a personal leave of absence for three or four days, and Annie booked two seats on a one o’clock flight to London. She called her office after that and then she called Ted and told him what was going on. He was upset to hear it, and hopeful that Katie wasn’t too sick, which was Annie’s hope as well. Paul’s mother called at that point. She had spoken to her sister-in-law, who said that Katie had had a high fever and severe dysentery, but she was better. And Jelveh had said they were keeping Paul with them because he should be in Iran, not the States. She said they were trying to make up for his parents’ failures, which upset Paul’s mother even more. She was crying when she told Annie that they refused to let Paul leave.

After that Annie packed a small bag that she could carry on the plane. She put in several scarves for her head. And an hour later they were on their way to the Pakistani consulate. Paul’s father had called and given Tom all the details about where to find them. He had also given Tom both of Paul’s passport numbers, and his brother’s phone numbers again, where Paul and Katie were staying. They had everything they needed. There was nothing more that Tom and Annie could do now, except get there and find out how things really were. They were both sure that Katie would never have contacted Annie if she could have handled things herself. And Annie was infinitely grateful that Tom had come to help.

It was a long, agonizing flight to London, followed by a longer one to Tehran. The two of them spoke quietly and tried to guess what was going on. They were both worried that Paul’s family might have discovered that Katie was more than just a friend, and that they were involved in a serious romance. Annie was worried too that while she was on the plane, she couldn’t get text messages from Kate, since her phone was turned off. She tried not to panic on the two flights. And there was no text message while they waited in Heathrow before boarding the flight to Tehran. Annie had sent a text that said, “We’re on our way. I love you. A.” And there still was no response.

They were fingerprinted at immigration at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran, like everyone else, and they cleared customs easily. Tom had booked two rooms at a hotel. He had assumed they might be there for several days and had organized everything for them. He had even booked a room for Katie, just in case.

He was thinking about going to the police, but he didn’t want to make things worse, and they had no legitimate claim to help Paul. His uncle had the right to keep his passport. And as soon as they cleared customs, they took a cab to the address that Paul’s father had given them. They had no idea what they’d find there, nor what the attitude of Paul’s family would be toward them, hostile or friendly. Clearly, something was wrong, since Paul couldn’t leave Tehran. And Annie was increasingly worried that there had been no further messages from Kate. She was terrified that she might be sicker than they said. What if she had something potentially fatal like meningitis? Or had already succumbed? Tears sprang to her eyes every time the thought came to her mind.

When Katie had turned her BlackBerry on again, the battery was dead. She didn’t know that Annie was on her way. And she lay in her bed, thinking about their situation, with Paul without a passport, and no ability to leave Iran.

Jelveh was still taking care of her and being motherly and kind, offering her tea, and small meals and rice, and herbs that she said would help her and give her strength, and Katie was feeling better. But she had no idea how to get Paul out of Tehran and back to the States, and neither did he. He came to her room constantly to check on her. And she told him there had been no further word from her aunt, since her own phone was now dead.

As Katie rested in her room, she heard the adhan that came right after sunset, as the muezzin called out the prayer. The adhan was a familiar sound now, since she’d arrived. She heard the last one of the day two hours later. Whenever Katie saw Paul, when he came to visit her, he looked seriously depressed. He was trapped.

*  *  *

It took Tom and Annie an hour and a half to get to the house from the airport. The traffic was terrible, and Annie looked tense as she sat in the backseat with Tom, wearing one of the scarves she’d brought with her. She had put it on in the plane before they landed, when the flight attendant gently reminded her to do so. All she could do was pray that Katie was okay and hadn’t caught anything too serious or even fatal. She hoped they hadn’t let her get dehydrated from the fever. She was worried sick about her.

The cab stopped finally in front of a large rambling house, and both of them got out. Annie wasn’t even jet-lagged, she was so wound up, and she hadn’t slept for the entire trip. Tom whispered to her as they got out of the taxi and reminded her to appear calm, patient, and strong, and not accuse them of anything, no matter how upset she was about Katie and Paul. Tom wanted to move with caution, and be as friendly and civil as possible until they knew what was going on.

Tom rang the bell, and a servant opened the door. He asked for Paul’s uncle by name in a clear voice that exuded confidence and strength. It took a few minutes, and then Jelveh came to the door to greet them, looking gentle and sympathetic.

“I’m Annie Ferguson,” Annie introduced herself. “I’m Katie’s aunt, and I’ve come for my niece,” Annie said, looking her right in the eye with a stern expression. But she met no hostility from Jelveh, who smiled at her. “She sent me a message that she’s sick,” Annie said, backing down a little. She turned to Tom then. “And this is Tom Jefferson. He’s an American journalist. I’d like to see Paul and Kate.” She wanted to see them immediately, but Jelveh appeared to be in no hurry. It had been almost two days since Annie had gotten Kate’s text. She was so jangled, all she could do was pray she was still alive. If it was meningitis, she might not be. The thought made Annie shiver.

“Of course.” Jelveh smiled at her. “She has told me all about you.” And then, she asked them to wait for a moment. She disappeared and her husband came back to the door instead. He looked at the two Americans, nodded, and invited them inside. He took them into the living room and asked if they would like something to drink. He was extremely polite and seemed hospitable, and looked just like Paul’s father, and Annie wanted to scream at them to take her to the two young people, but she remembered Tom’s warning to be civil, calm, and patient. She was on their turf, on their terms.

“Your brother said you would help me,” Annie said directly to him, wanting him to hurry, but he wouldn’t. They had declined the offer of anything to drink. “I know my niece has been sick and I’m sure you’ve been very kind to her. But I was told that you took Paul’s passport. His parents are very upset about it. I expect you to let both of them leave with me,” she said firmly, hoping to convince him without a fight.

“Paul and Katie are both here,” he said calmly. “And your niece is improving daily. She caught a very bad virus of some kind, but she’s much better now. My wife has been taking care of her, and of course we will return her to you. We only kept her passport for safekeeping so she wouldn’t lose it.” Annie didn’t comment but doubted that was true. “My nephew is a different story. This is his home, his heritage. He belongs here, not in New York. It was foolish and wrong of my brother to move away and leave Iran years ago. His son needs to be here, with our family. Paul will have a better life here. We want him to stay.” Annie and Tom’s hearts sank at the words. They could both tell that Paul’s uncle was sincere and truly believed he was doing the right thing for him. It wasn’t malicious or malevolent, only misguided, particularly since Paul had a life and parents in New York. But his uncle looked totally convinced of what he’d said. They didn’t argue with him, and all Annie wanted now was to see Kate.

“Where’s Katie?” Annie asked quietly. She wanted to see Kate immediately, but she wanted to get Paul out too.

“She’s upstairs in her room.” He looked anxious about Tom as he said it. He had the sense that Tom was an important person, possibly even a dangerous one, and he wasn’t wrong. Tom was watching the scene in minute detail and hadn’t spoken yet.

“Is she alive?” Annie asked with a look of terror. What if she had died while they were on the plane? Meningitis was her greatest fear, as it killed young people so quickly. But surely the uncle would have told her when they arrived if she was dead. Fear was clouding Annie’s mind and jangling her nerves. They had said she was better, but was it true?

“Of course she’s alive,” he reassured her instantly.

“I want to see her,” Annie said, fighting back tears of exhaustion and relief, and Tom stepped in. It was a tense scene. And Tom was wondering if there was more to the story than Katie had said in her brief text. Maybe they had figured out the romance between Paul and Kate and were upset and wanted to end it by keeping him in Iran.