Meredith and I agreed to split up for the day to pursue separate leads.
We knew Pollock must be frustrated because CSIS built a sciff for us inside our safe house and he and his goons would find it difficult to track us and determine our next moves.
I had received a message from Bill Hay, my editor at The Telegram, that an envelope had been dropped off addressed to me and written upon it as was a short instruction: For Your Eyes Only.
Hay realized it was a tip and informed me when I showed up that it might also be a trap.
I was thinking the same thing but at the moment, I had few other options.
I decided to open the envelope and see what it said.
The letter was type written and short and succinct:
Your partner Meredith is in danger today. Pollock's men are aware she has uncovered a clue that can lead her directly to a piece of evidence that would incriminate Pollock and take down his entire operation. She is heading to a remote government building where Pollock's men will be able to apprehend her. Her life is in immediate danger. If you want to save your friend dial this cell number and follow my verbal instructions. Time is of the essence. Do not involve a third party as that would cause the attackers to panic and attack both of you directly.
My blood froze. How could I be sure I wasn't being led into a trap?
On the other hand I was given time-critical intel — a burner phone number , a person willing to give instructions to avoid a life-threatening situation that Meredith was literally walking into.
I had no other recourse but to phone the number and assess situation from there.
I dialled the number given and a male voice immediately answered.
"Logan, you have under an hour to go to the old federal records building on the Lakeshore and I will track you and guide you from there."
"How do I know this isn't a trap?"
"You don't―you have to trust me, but if you contact Martin Withers at CSIS you will tip off Pollock and he will flee the country and Meredith will still unfortunately be killed. Now, please hurry, time is running out."
The phone line went dead and I had no option but to run to my car and drive the two miles to the assigned destination.
As I drove I tried vainly to contact Meredith's cell but there was no response.
Perhaps she was told by her contact to shut down her cell to avoid being traced so I had to rely solely upon my informant's voice on my phone.
It was an impossible situation but I had no alternative but to continue at this point and see what happened next.
As soon as I pulled into the vacant lot adjacent to the records building my cell buzzed.
"Logan, you must go directly to the third floor, to the vacant offices and wait inside room 308 near the emergency exit staircase. I have eyes on Meredith and her pursuers and they're now just minutes away from you."
Again, the line went dead.
I entered the building and found the elevators were shut down but I took the stairs to the third floor and went to Room 308 and waited.
My cell buzzed immediately and I quickly picked up to my secret informer's tense voice.
"Meredith is about to enter the building. She's been advised as you were also told to go to the room where you're waiting. When she arrives tell her she's being followed by Pollock's men and to go with you to escape. Take the exit stairway and I'll be waiting in a black government SUV and I'll drive you to a safe location where we can talk."
The call ended abruptly and I waited tensely for Mer to arrive. When she tentatively opened the door and peeked inside, I motioned for her to be quiet and grabbed her her hand and whispered that she had fallen into a trap and for her to come with me.
We exited the room through the fire door and descended the emergency stairway to the parking lot where the black government SUV was waiting with its motor running.
We got in and the vehicle started up and immediately sped away.
I didn't look back in anger or relief and I didn't look forward either...
We were living moment to moment, dangled by Fate and poised at a precipice.
