“The family have wanted us to come back for years, and they think Paul should be there and not in the States. My brother-in-law is a very stubborn man. He could keep Paul there forever.” She started crying as she said it. “That’s why I didn’t want him to go. They won’t do him any harm. They love him and they think they’re doing the right thing for him. They’re trying to correct our ‘mistake’ of bringing him to the States. And I’m so sorry about Katie. I hope she’s all right. My sister-in-law is a very sweet woman, and I’m sure she got a doctor for Katie and took good care of her.”

“And now Kate is refusing to leave Tehran without Paul,” Annie explained. It was a mess, and a difficult situation to resolve. She promised to call Paul’s mother back, who said she would call the family in Tehran and try to get more information, and as soon as Annie hung up, she turned to Tom.

“How do I get to Tehran?” Annie looked at him with wide eyes. She had no idea where to start, but she knew he did.

“You need a visa, which takes a couple of weeks to get, or longer.” He looked pensive, then leaned down to kiss her. He felt sorry for her. Annie looked worried sick. “Let me see what I can do. I’ve got some friends in the State Department. Maybe one of them can help.” He spent the next three hours on the phone, calling different people, and two of them promised to see what they could arrange the next day. They had to get the visa at the Pakistani embassy, just as Kate had, but Tom had explained the situation to them. He said she was a young American girl who was sick in Tehran, and her Iranian traveling companion was without a passport and unable to leave as a result. It wasn’t a life-threatening situation, but it was extremely unpleasant for Katie and Paul, and they were stuck. He explained that her aunt needed to go over and bring her back, and Kate wasn’t able to travel alone and needed medical attention as soon as possible in the States. He didn’t know if it was true but hoped it would work as a compelling reason to get a visa immediately. He also explained that Katie’s traveling companion was her Iranian boyfriend, who held American citizenship as well, and had parents in New York, who were also citizens. So this wasn’t a romance that Katie had gotten involved with in Tehran. They had gone over for a visit to his family, and then Katie had gotten sick. And now his family was refusing to let him leave.

He knew that Katie wouldn’t have asked for Annie’s help unless she absolutely had to and had no other way out. Otherwise she would have figured it out for herself. She was a very independent girl. And they had no idea how sick she really was, or what she had, which worried him too. And there was nothing more they could do until morning. Annie lay awake all night and sent Katie a text message: “Working on it. Hang in. Be there as soon as I can. love, A.” She had tried to call Paul’s uncle, but the phone didn’t answer, which upset Annie too.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang at seven o’clock the next morning. One of Tom’s friends had called the Pakistani ambassador in Washington and told him that this was a personal favor for a major journalist, and they needed two visas for Iran. Tom hadn’t said anything to Annie yet, but he had made up his mind the day before and had asked for two visas instead of one. He wanted to go with her. He knew the area, the country, and the customs, and he knew she would have a hard time alone there. She would do better with a man traveling with her, and he wanted to help. And he had the time.

The ambassador had agreed to give them both visas at nine o’clock that morning. All they had to do was pick them up at the Pakistani consulate in New York, and she could fly out on the next plane to London. They had to follow the same path that Katie and Paul had. The Pakistani ambassador had admitted to the middleman that the last thing anyone would want to deal with was a sick American girl, stuck in Tehran, with one of the most important American journalists begging for help on her behalf. It was a plea for assistance that they couldn’t ignore, it was noninflammatory, nonpolitical, and a situation they wanted to resolve.

When Tom told her he was going with her, Annie looked embarrassed and guilty.

“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.