I don’t know anything ! ”
“My dearest Nichole, how charmingly arrogant. What makes you think this has anything to do with you ?”
Chapter 9
Nathan and Harvey lifted off from Montgomery Field just after 1300 hours and flew due east to avoid entering MCAS Miramar’s airspace. With a little luck, they’d be landing at Bullfrog Basin Airfield by 1900.
“We’re at a distinct disadvantage,” Harv said. “We can’t initiate a full-blown pursuit using dozens of federal agents without spooking him into deep hiding, and we probably won’t find him without using dozens of agents. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”
“The key to finding him is in here.” Nathan lifted his hand off the collective for a split second and pointed at his flight helmet. “We just have to dig it out.”
“That could be dangerous.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You aren’t seriously considering Holly’s hypnosis idea, are you?”
“Actually, I am. If the question’s whether it’s worth the risk, then I’d have to say yes. I really hate the idea of the woman and her little girls in Montez’s possession.”
“Yeah, me too. Who else is at risk? Montez will keep torturing and killing for decades if we don’t stop him. Apparently he loves his work too much to quit.”
“Whatever he’s up to, the stakes are high. He wouldn’t involve himself in a trivial operation. I’ll bet he’s being paid a bundle.”
A telephone tone interrupted them. Harv patched it through the NavCom. He pressed the transmit trigger on his cyclic control. “Hello.”
“ Harvey? It’s Holly. ”
“Hi, Holly. Nathan and I are on our way out to Lake Powell.”
“ Just wanted to let you know that through my counterpart in Salt Lake, I’ve arranged for your transportation and lodging at Bullfrog Bay. ”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Nathan said.
“ It’s no trouble at all. A special agent from our Monticello resident office will meet you at the airstrip. Can you write his cell number down? ”
Harv noted the phone number on the aeronautical chart.
“ Give him a call about an hour and fifteen minutes before you land. That will give him plenty of time to get there. I also have some basic info from the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. They handled the initial nine-one-one call and then called the federal park service to arrange the divers who recovered Kramer’s body. It was held at the marina until transported to Kanab. From there, it went to Salt Lake’s ME. The autopsy should be complete any time now. ”
“What has local law enforcement been doing to investigate around the lake?” Nathan asked.
“ About what you’d expect. They’re looking for eyewitnesses and trying to figure out what boat the killers used. Apparently no boats were reported stolen or missing over the last week or so. Boat rentals are all checking out as legit so far. There was one odd report, though. A local claimed someone stole his houseboat on the night in question, then returned it. Since no evidence of theft could be found, the sheriff’s department didn’t pursue it. Apparently, the boat owner is known in the area as being somewhat of a troublemaker. The deputy sheriff told our local agent that this kind of thing happens all the time. It’s the equivalent of houseboat joyriding. Most of the time it’s drunk high school or college kids. ”
“The timing sounds about right.”
“ I have the owner’s contact info if you want to talk to him. I’m looking at the report. The deputy referred to him as a quote, ‘cantankerous old cuss.’”
“My kind of guy.”
“ Apparently he lives on his boat. Moves it around a lot. ”
“We definitely want to talk to him. Will our local FBI agent play along with my special way of communicating if this cantankerous old cuss isn’t nice to us?”
“ Nothing rough, okay? ”
“I promise, nothing rough. Do you think Director Lansing will
“My dearest Nichole, how charmingly arrogant. What makes you think this has anything to do with you ?”
Chapter 9
Nathan and Harvey lifted off from Montgomery Field just after 1300 hours and flew due east to avoid entering MCAS Miramar’s airspace. With a little luck, they’d be landing at Bullfrog Basin Airfield by 1900.
“We’re at a distinct disadvantage,” Harv said. “We can’t initiate a full-blown pursuit using dozens of federal agents without spooking him into deep hiding, and we probably won’t find him without using dozens of agents. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”
“The key to finding him is in here.” Nathan lifted his hand off the collective for a split second and pointed at his flight helmet. “We just have to dig it out.”
“That could be dangerous.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You aren’t seriously considering Holly’s hypnosis idea, are you?”
“Actually, I am. If the question’s whether it’s worth the risk, then I’d have to say yes. I really hate the idea of the woman and her little girls in Montez’s possession.”
“Yeah, me too. Who else is at risk? Montez will keep torturing and killing for decades if we don’t stop him. Apparently he loves his work too much to quit.”
“Whatever he’s up to, the stakes are high. He wouldn’t involve himself in a trivial operation. I’ll bet he’s being paid a bundle.”
A telephone tone interrupted them. Harv patched it through the NavCom. He pressed the transmit trigger on his cyclic control. “Hello.”
“ Harvey? It’s Holly. ”
“Hi, Holly. Nathan and I are on our way out to Lake Powell.”
“ Just wanted to let you know that through my counterpart in Salt Lake, I’ve arranged for your transportation and lodging at Bullfrog Bay. ”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Nathan said.
“ It’s no trouble at all. A special agent from our Monticello resident office will meet you at the airstrip. Can you write his cell number down? ”
Harv noted the phone number on the aeronautical chart.
“ Give him a call about an hour and fifteen minutes before you land. That will give him plenty of time to get there. I also have some basic info from the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. They handled the initial nine-one-one call and then called the federal park service to arrange the divers who recovered Kramer’s body. It was held at the marina until transported to Kanab. From there, it went to Salt Lake’s ME. The autopsy should be complete any time now. ”
“What has local law enforcement been doing to investigate around the lake?” Nathan asked.
“ About what you’d expect. They’re looking for eyewitnesses and trying to figure out what boat the killers used. Apparently no boats were reported stolen or missing over the last week or so. Boat rentals are all checking out as legit so far. There was one odd report, though. A local claimed someone stole his houseboat on the night in question, then returned it. Since no evidence of theft could be found, the sheriff’s department didn’t pursue it. Apparently, the boat owner is known in the area as being somewhat of a troublemaker. The deputy sheriff told our local agent that this kind of thing happens all the time. It’s the equivalent of houseboat joyriding. Most of the time it’s drunk high school or college kids. ”
“The timing sounds about right.”
“ I have the owner’s contact info if you want to talk to him. I’m looking at the report. The deputy referred to him as a quote, ‘cantankerous old cuss.’”
“My kind of guy.”
“ Apparently he lives on his boat. Moves it around a lot. ”
“We definitely want to talk to him. Will our local FBI agent play along with my special way of communicating if this cantankerous old cuss isn’t nice to us?”
“ Nothing rough, okay? ”
“I promise, nothing rough. Do you think Director Lansing will
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