“Got it.” She helped tie off one side of the boat to the dock before she removed the vests and stepped out. Her legs wobbled for a moment, as if still on the water.
She followed Kurt uphill across rocky terrain. They passed a few boulders and trees until they reached a set of wooden stairs. Her legs objected to the steep incline. She needed food. Her stomach grumbled at the thought. “Another reason I’m thankful I didn’t end up in law enforcement. I like food too much.” Her words came out on heavy breaths as she chugged after him.
He laughed. “What makes you think I don’t like food?”
“Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve eaten half as much as usual.”
“I admit it can be feast and famine when I’m searching for fugitives.” He peeked over his shoulder at her. “We don’t usually starve our protectees.” He refocused his gaze above. “Not too much farther.”
They reached a platform. To the right, two metal poles ran horizontally down a steep incline but disappeared into a thick patch of bushes. “It has a rail system to the dock?”
He laughed. “Not one we’ve used since I’ve been here. I think it’s one of the relics, like the one your grandparents had. It’s pretty well hidden.”
He pointed to the left. “We’re going the old-fashioned way.” Ropes suspended a wooden bridge.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She stood on tiptoe and peered over the edge. It wasn’t that big of a drop. They could probably climb down then climb back up, but the tree branches would get in the way. “A lot of those relic systems still work. It’s safe and slow, like a stair lift or really slow tram. I could wait here while you run it down.”
“I’m not sure it’s currently connected to the generator.” He held out his hand. “You have nothing to fear.”
She scoffed. “Except foreign, rogue Special Forces who’ve likely been contracted to kill me.”
His eyes searched hers for a long moment. “When I was deployed, and probably more so when I track down a fugitive, I make it a point to remember that if I give in to fear, my ability to act logically and rationally diminishes...sometimes disappears.”
She related. It’s why she stayed busy, lived in the moment, didn’t take time to stop to analyze her feelings. Her heart pounded against her chest. Had she realized the reasons why before?
Kurt must have taken her silence for agreement. He squeezed her hand. “I can find dozens of verses that tell me not to fear and not to be afraid. I also found dozens of verses that told me to fear the Lord.” He tilted his head and smiled. “But because we both know Him, we know He loves us and is for us, not against us.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if that does anything for you, but I feel peace every time I remember.”
“It’s not an excuse to be foolish,” she shot back. Her chest tightened. She wanted to take the time to really think about his words, but all she could see was the bridge waving ever so slightly in the breeze.
He laughed. “No, you’re right. In my opinion, it would be foolish to try to go the distance on foot. And, personally, if we could survive the fall into the Spokane River then this will be a piece of cake. You once said you had faith in me, too. Did you mean it?”
She groaned. “I should know by now to keep my thoughts to myself around people with good memories.” She held out her hand for him to take. “Make it fast.” The first step onto the bridge was the hardest as it had the biggest dip. Her other hand reached the knotted rope and slid because Kurt was true to his word. He raced across the bridge. His gentle tugging pulled her so fast the passage hardly had a chance to sway.
Her feet touched solid ground and he beamed. “How’s that for living in the moment?” He dropped her hand and waved her to a final set of steps.
“I told you. I’m ready to turn over a new leaf. Pray and plan.” Halfway up the last flight the cabin came into focus. It wasn’t much, but the wood paneling and the green roof did do a nice job of camouflage. She just hoped her prayers were working fast enough to give Kurt a good plan.
* * *
Kurt typed in the code to unlock the door. He stepped inside and covered his mouth. The smell of cedar and pine were stronger inside the cabin than outside. A coiled rug was rolled up and propped up against the side of the wall, so the floor had nothing on it but a thick layer of dust, some that he’d stirred up by coming inside.
Rebecca coughed behind him. “I don’t suppose anyone comes to clean up here.”
“That’s not exactly a priority in our budget.” He pointed to a cupboard. “But we do keep food and water up here at all times.”
She opened the door and held up a few packets. “Cheesy Alfredo rice...hearty potato soup.” She flipped over the package. “Add boiling water.” She spun around in a circle. “Is there a kitchen to boil water?”
“Um, I didn’t promise the food would taste any good.”
“You’ve kept witnesses here before?”
“Usually only short-term, right before and during a trial. I haven’t personally escorted any big names here, but I’ve heard that back in the seventies...well, I can’t say.”
“Instant coffee. No cream or sugar. You’re going to be hurting,” she said.
So she’d noticed how he took his coffee. He was used to drinking caffeine without fixings, but it didn’t mean he liked it. The windows were strategically placed, so he could get a full-circle view. Aside from an empty countertop, a lone futon and metal cabinets between each window, the room was empty. He unlocked a second cabinet and pulled out the satellite phone, laptop and binoculars.
The binoculars had been in a case, so he didn’t need any cleaner before he raised them to his eyes. The lake reflected the deep blue sky. A gorgeous view, but the water remained still, which meant there were no boats heading their way. “I’ll ask Delaney to bring you something, but I need to let her know there’s been a change in plan. We can’t have anyone else come in the sheriff boat.”
“Why not?”
“As soon as the mercenaries realize that they didn’t hit their mark, they’ll be looking for you. I imagine they already have eyes on your grandpa. A sheriff boat escort down the lake is going to be on their radar.” He kicked the dusty black futon and let the air particles settle before he took a seat. “It’ll take Delaney a bit to wrap up with ATF and SWAT. First, I need to get Mr. Cabell’s photo to my FBI guy. My sources have found squat on his location.”
The laptop, unlike most of the things in the cabin, was relatively up-to-date. It was a special fields-op operating system that didn’t require constant updating. A good thing, or he’d be sitting for hours before getting any work done. It whirred to life and connected to a secure satellite so he could search all the usual websites he used when hunting a fugitive. Cabell wasn’t active on any social networks from what he could tell, so getting a more updated photo didn’t look likely. The only hit they had was the photo accessible through the driver’s license database.
Rebecca blew off dust from two water bottles and crossed the room to offer him one. She looked down at the screen. “Who’s that?”
“I thought you would’ve known. It’s the owner of Vista Resorts, Mr. Cabell.”
Her eyebrows rose. “I don’t know who that is, but it’s definitely not Mr. Cabell.”
“What do you mean? Are you sure? Look closer. It’s an old photo. Not the best resolution.”
She pursed her lips and squinted. “Photos don’t change the physical shape of someone’s entire head and face.” She leaned back and held a finger in the air. “Nope, that man is not the owner of Vista Resorts. I’ve seen the guy and while I was never personally introduced, Mr. Howard pointed him out when we were discussing souvenirs my first day there. And then I spotted him the second day when I was...well, anyway I saw him, and he didn’t look happy.”
“I’ve looked on the website and everyone has looked for brochures around the corporate offices.
Detective Hall doesn’t have a single photo, either, except this license.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then he’s using a fake identity. I can prove it, but you have to promise not to laugh.”
That sounded promising. “Where is your proof?”
“On my phone.”
“Of course it is.” He crossed the room and picked up the black bag he’d put her phone inside. “This thing is essentially a Faraday cage in a bag so it blocks all electromagnetic signals so no one can track us while we use it. We’re supposed to be able to use the device within the container, but I’ve never had a need to access anything in it before. Let’s hope it works.”
He unzipped the first layer of fabric and pulled it down, revealing an opaque sheet that allowed him to see the screen and operate the phone, though the images weren’t as clear as he’d hoped they would be. She’d followed him to the counter, so he handed her the bag. “It won’t always respond to first touch, so press hard and keep at it.”
She set the unit on the counter so he could look over her shoulder. She pressed the icon for photographs and frowned. “They’re not here. None of my photographs are here. Would your IT guy have deleted them?”
“Of course not. If he had a reason to do so, I would’ve been notified.” Thumbnail images of landscape photos appeared in the other album boxes. “Are you sure they’re not hiding in the rest of your photographs?”
She shook her head and tapped over to the list of albums. “Look. The entire selfie category has been deleted.” She tapped on the deleted photos album and found the section empty. “I’m telling you I had tons of photos that are suddenly gone.” She turned to him and paled. “The guy...the security guard...” She set the bag down and paced back and forth over the wooden floor. “That night the guard tried to take me... We’ve already proved he switched the flash drive, but I never thought he’d have messed with my phone. If he was able to override the security system, my phone must’ve been like child’s play. So, maybe he knew I took a photo of his boss and deleted it.”
Any detail of her hypothesis could be wrong, but the trajectory and motivation made sense. “But it became apparent to the guard that you were going to make sure you uncovered the fraud...and his boss. You’re the only one that was witness to the information on the flash drive.”
“Yes, but only for a second. Even though I knew enough to check those properties, I can’t recreate what was on the drive. It’s possible Levi had discovered more fraud that they’ve covered up by now. They don’t know I’m clueless, though.”
“Maybe we can have some employees do a sketch of him, but that’s going to take time. Apparently he never let anyone take his picture.”
She pointed to his computer “Maybe the photo is on my cloud account? Levi’s cloud didn’t have the information we wanted, but it had enough to get a warrant. Maybe we’ll have success and find something. I did have my photos set to automatically back up there, but it only syncs with Wi-Fi. I’m not sure it would’ve saved a copy or not.”
“We won’t know until we try. Laptop it is.” He sat back down on the futon and patted the space next to him.
She sat but hesitated to take the laptop from him. “Maybe you could look away while I hunt?”
“Why? Are you worried I’ll see your password?”
“No, that’s the last thing I care about.” She groaned. “Never mind.” She typed rapidly and rows after rows of thumbnails appeared on the screen. Most of the photos featured Rebecca flashing a silly expression at the camera.
He chuckled. “Those are quite the self-portraits.”
“My niece, Mandy, likes it when I send her photos of the places I visit. I try to make her laugh.” Rebecca had her tongue out in front of the Smithsonian. The next one, she had her arms wide in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
“You had more fun in DC than I did.”
She scrolled faster through the photos. “Looks can be deceiving. It was lonely. It would’ve been fun to travel with someone.” She didn’t look at him, but her cheeks reddened. She zipped past similar photos until she reached one in front of the Vista Resorts corporate offices. In the image, she stood next to the trees and benches, her lips sticking out and her eyes crossed.
Rebecca put a hand over her image on the monitor. “That part is irrelevant.” She circled her finger around the other half of the screen. She moved her finger and turned the laptop toward Kurt so he could see the man exiting the glass doors behind her. “This was taken the second day I was there, and it was the last time I saw Mr. Cabell.”
Kurt frowned. The guy looked familiar, but he’d looked over so many mug shots the past week with Rebecca that it was possible they were all blending together in his mind. He reached over and took control of the touch pad to zoom until the guy’s face came more into focus. “He saw you take a photo. You can tell he’s unhappy with you. I wish you had used better resolution.”
She clicked her tongue. “Pardon me for not knowing you would need it.”
He ignored the sarcasm because he couldn’t rid himself of that nagging tingle in the back of his neck. “He looks so familiar.” He copied the photograph, despite Rebecca’s halfhearted objections to edit her out of the picture first, and attached it to an email to send to his buddy, Agent Jorgenson.
Not even a minute went by before the email dinged back.
Edward Mijovic. Top Ten Most Wanted list. Where’d you get this picture? Where are you?
“That’s why the man looked familiar.” He grinned. It wasn’t his imagination.
Rebecca had both hands on either side of her face. “Why are you acting like this is good news? This is awful!”
“It’s good because he’s a fugitive, which means I’m about to get a whole lot of offers to help.” Instead of the standard answer of being short on manpower, he’d have a joint task force coming his way before blinking an eye, which would not only guarantee Rebecca’s safety, it would give him a chance to truly lead a team.
“But he’s on the top ten list of wanted criminals? What’d he do?”
“Nothing as bad as you’re probably imagining. He’s dangerous, but not a serial killer. My buddy works in white-collar crime, so it’s their Most Wanted list.” He hoped that eased her mind about the type of criminal they were dealing with, though the guy had hired private military for a hit job. He had no doubt that help was on the way. “Edward Mijovic has many different aliases. His most recent involved investments in lithium mining.”
She whistled. “That is a booming industry right now.”
“Right now Nevada is the only legitimate operation in the States. Edward claimed he found a lithium mine in South Dakota, a sure moneymaker if you were one of the first investors. When the victims wanted to see the mine for themselves, Mijovic showed them an impressive location with all the right machinery. The FBI discovered he’d merely rented the equipment for a day and set it up at an abandoned mine. He didn’t even own the land himself, but he had impressive websites and forgeries. He bilked investors out of millions.”
He tapped the laptop and pointed at the man’s picture. “The way he works is like an elaborate Ponzi scheme. He always appoints a CEO to be the face of the company.”
“Like Mr. Putnam is for Vista Resorts.”
“Exactly. As long as his photo isn’t anywhere, he’s not easy to track. He’s bold enough to move from state to state, always with a new identity, and set up shop.” He avoided mentioning the open murder cases associated with each scheme. No doubt, Mijovic had contracted mercenaries to do his dirty work there, as well. “He probably used some of the millions from previous cons to open the resort.”
“Do you think Putnam knew? Grandpa said it was his idea to invest. Putnam wasn’t pressuring him, but what if he’s just an excellent con man?”
“I don’t know. If I had to guess, I imagine Putnam and all of the employees thought they were worki
ng for a reputable business, but we’ll be investigating to be sure.”
“Part of it is a good business.”
“Yes, but if history is repeating itself, Cabell’s getting investors while committing mortgage fraud on the side. He’s slipped through the FBI’s fingers countless times.”
“He’s good at it. I would’ve missed it, if not for Levi.” She blinked rapidly. “He won’t slip away this time. Not with you leading the charge.”
“Rebecca, I am determined to keep you safe—” His satellite phone rang. Maybe it was for the best. He’d been about to make an impulsive decision and ask her if she would ever consider staying in Ohio. Ironic. She loved that he planned, and he loved her spontaneous nature. He pushed the thought aside and answered.
Jorgenson was on the phone. Delaney had patched him through. He had a lot of coordinating to do. It was time to prepare for battle.
TWELVE
Rebecca used the binoculars the way Kurt had taught her to sweep the area from behind the safety of the windows. It afforded her a close-up view of an osprey spreading its magnificent wings to almost six feet as it dove until its beak touched the water and then swooped back up into the sky. The bird was likely catching fish, but she tried to block that thought out of her mind since she was still starving. Seafood sounded good. She’d even settle for sushi, not a favorite.
Kurt paced across the floor as he spoke on the satellite phone. It’d been his pattern for over an hour as he’d talked to numerous agencies. From the bits and pieces she’d overheard, FBI, SWAT and deputy marshals from Spokane were en route to meet Delaney at the sheriff boat.
Everything had changed since finding out Cabell was on the top ten list. Whereas Kurt didn’t want anyone to notice or to follow the police boat before, now he wanted it to be easy for her attacker and his mercenaries to follow. The task force had decided to draw the mercenaries to the cove, away from the population. If they expected gunfire and a fight to get these guys, then she wondered how they expected to keep her safe.
Credible Threat Page 14
