by Doug Ball
“Not today, maybe Monday. Give with the number.”
The walking pincushion done in colored ink gave him his name and number. As Tan was leaving the guy said, “I do know that area across the river real well.”
“Catch ya Monday, maybe.”
Tan climbed into his Jeep and headed downhill to the first of many river crossings which was bone dry and no challenge for the Jeep. Picking up the road on the other side he turned south. Within a quarter mile he was noticing some heavy duty duel tire tracks. “Nah, Pinal County boys and girls would have seen these also.”
He got on his handheld radio to Pinal dispatch.
They had checked.
He found nothing by the end of the day except miles of dirt roads. He met Chuck at the car rental and they went home for the weekend and a wedding. Just like most men, they were not looking forward to the ties and formality, let alone watching two people, one they knew slightly and one they didn’t know at all, go through the motions.
“It’s all about the bride, you know,” Chuck told Tan when he dropped him off at his car. “See ya tomorrow.”
Saturday
2 PM
Creekside Resort, Sedona, AZ
The babbling of Oak Creek and the colossal red rock formations of the world renowned Oak Creek Canyon coupled with the hard core spiritualism and psychic phenomenon of the place proclaimed to the rich masses, detracted nothing from the beauty of the bride as the Priest conducted the solemn ceremony of marriage.
Tan watched the looks on his wife’s face and worked hard to keep the kids quiet and out of the creek. Chuck watched the Priest moving around as he spoke the words of the covenant between one man and one woman. There wasn’t a full foot of distance between the black suited man’s heels and the creek. The drop off was at least two feet, the water under cut the bank, and it was only a matter of time. Would he finish before time ran out and fall in, or would he survive undrenched?
The baby in Tan’s arms began to fuss as the words, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health,” were read. An echo of “I do,” had a lilt of laughter in it. Jim Hilliard for the first time took his eyes off of Josie and looked to see what was going on with the baby, a look of wonder on his face. His thoughts strayed to, ‘How long before that noise becomes a part of us? We never discussed that. Does she want kids? How many? Oh, well, too late now.’
“By the power invested in me by Almighty God, and the authority granted by the State of Arizona, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss he bride.”
The two of them met in the middle and kissed like they never had before or ever would again. It was a kiss of passion, of joy, of promise, of connection, of forsaking all others, of you and I against the world, but more than all those, it was the kiss of love.
The Priest stumbled, but caught himself much to Chuck’s disappointment, and said loudly, “Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. James C. Hilliard.”
The music blared. The bride and groom faced the crowd of more than 80 friends and loved ones. The crowd stood applauding. The Priest moved quickly away from the creek bank. It was all over except the pictures, the cake, the gifts, the luncheon, the bouquet, the garter, and beginning of the new life together.
As they stood for their first formal wedding picture, Jim looked at Josie and asked, “Do you want kids?”
“Rushing things a bit, aren’t you?”
He caught her meaning. “Wasn’t thinking of that in the question. Do you want kids?”
“Well, yes I do. Lots of kids.”
He smiled, “Me, too.”
“Smile for the camera.”
Poof!
When it was all over, the bride and groom gone, the Governor’s toast over, the best man drunk, and a bride’s maid crying because she didn’t catch the bouquet, Tan looked at Chuck and said, “Does Pinal Sheriff’s Department use GPS tracking on their units, and if so do they keep a digital record of that tracking?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Find out?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“See ya, Monday.”
The Hassayampa Inn
The man in the Executive Suite grabbed his primary cell phone and hit a speed dial number. He waited for the ringing, and then the click, and then the ringing, and then the answer.
“Yes, Sir?”
“Got a question for you.”
“Yes?”
“Will the drone work or do we need a live pilot and a plane?”
“The drone is a plane without a pilot. The drone will work. The difference is 30 pounds of electronics versus 200 pounds of live pilot. It will carry in excess of 1000 pounds. It can take off from any reasonably level and smooth strip over 550 feet long with a full load. I have the drone in hand and am able to pilot it from a distance of up to 20 miles depending on the terrain. Line of sight would be even further. Any other questions, Sir?”
“No.” he hung up, smiling.
Sunday
A small church in Phoenix
Tan and Joan sat three rows from the back with the baby between them. They held hands with each other. The sermon had ended, the offering taken, and announcements given when Joan looked at Tan and smiled. “Do you remember our wedding?”
“Like it was yesterday.”
“Ten years is a long yesterday.”
“Seems like yesterday to me.” He couldn’t help but wonder where all this was going.
“How many kids you want?”
“All of them.”
“All in the whole world?”
“No, silly, all that God has for us. If He wants us to have them, He will provide for them.”
“Where’d that come from? You never brought God into the conversation before.” She looked at him now with a quizzical twinkle in her eyes.
“I heard what Pastor Walt said today and realized that I am not in charge, God is. I also came to realize He has brought me and us through a lot in the past year or so. He’s added to everything in our lives from bucks to babies. I am a part of this congregation, this state, this nation, this world, and the Governor. He, and He alone, kept me alive, us safe, and provided it all. So, I am ready to take whatever He wants me to have and to not have what He does not want in my life. How many kids you want?”
She smiled, “All of them.”
Neither of them realized that the church was emptying and they alone were still sitting until the boys came running up. “Mom, Dad, look what I made” sounded from two mouths at the same time. Mom and Dad commented appropriately as they led the boys through the parking lot to the car.
Tan looked around and just could not imagine a better life.
Monday morning
14 October
Oracle
Tan walked into the substation while Chuck parked the car. Trish was behind the counter. “Hey, Governor’s boy, how ya doing after a weekend off while us rurals have to work all weekend on occasion.” The lilt in her voice showed the joke of the words.
“Well, Sheriff’s girl, I covered about four hundred miles this weekend and never left the state. Went to a wedding for a bride I just met three weeks ago and never had even heard of the groom until the invite was extended. Swung up through Flagstaff to pick up some things from my old house which hasn’t sold yet. Went to my new home in Phoenix, back to Flag, and back home again after stopping at my former partner’s grave for some memory time with my sons, wife, and one other pretty girl. Went to church on Sunday and got a few things straightened out in my life as far as direction goes. It’s all good.”
“You’re right, it’s all good. What can I do for you today, Tan?”
Chuck came through the door.
“I want to look at your GPS tracks generated since the hijacking. I just wonder if there’s a hole in our search.”
“Oh, I see what you’re saying. Let’s take a look. Come on back to the radio room.”
The three of them went into the radio room and t
hen into a large closet, or maybe it was a very small room. On the wall was a widescreen TV. A keyboard sat on a narrow table beneath the screen. Trish sat in the only chair and beat on the key board. Up popped a map of the county centered on a map of the east central part of Arizona. Pinal County filled most of the screen. Tan noticed that even the two rut roads old and new were outlined on the map.
Trish continued on the keyboard. “You want just Sheriff’s department tracks?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Her fingers danced over the keys. “Here it is, from two hours before the hijacking to present.
The three of them took a look. There were lots of holes, there were even some roads that hadn’t been touched.
“Can you fill in with the search groups’ tracks?”
“Yes, Sir. Coming right up.” Again the fingers danced.
Still some holes. “Not many holes there. Trish, can you think of any others that would have been looking and where they went? How about flat open land, slag dumps, public property seen by millions every day, that kinda place?”
She took a stylus from the table top and drew some x’s on the screen. “That should cover what you want. Still some holes.”
“Let’s get checking these out. Can you print that out?”
She pushed a few keys, the screen blinked, and said, “Printer’s in the office beside the Sergeant’s desk. That way he gets to monitor the paper and ink usage. He has this thing about using Sheriff’s equipment for Sheriff’s business.”
Chuck led the way.
Tan called the car rental place and looked for the number of the $10 per hour guide.
#
At the Circle K in Mammoth, Tan bought a drink for the two of them while he waited for the guide to show. The Sergeant had offered an all-wheel drive SUV to the pair, but they refused on the grounds of, “If I crunch it, it’s easier for the rental company to live with than a County Sheriff’s office, and I hate paper work. Also, I want to sneak up on anybody watching and I can’t do that in one of your rides.”
The guide showed up in his own 4-wheel drive, jacked up truck. “Wanna take mine?”
“No thanks, I’d rather destroy someone else’s than buy you a new set of wheels.”
“Awe, you figured out what I had decided to do.” He laughed, “No way, man, I spent a lot of time getting this truck to be just what I want, ugly enough I don’t worry about scratches and reliable enough I can take it anywhere.”
The guide pointed to a high mountain, “See that mountain, the one with the notch, this truck and I have been in that notch. There’s tracks there to prove. Took a while, but we made it.”
Chuck’s eyes followed the pointed finger and stared. “You went up there with that?”
“Yup, all the way. Want ta ride with me and do it again. Takes about $60 in gas with this baby. You spring for the gas and we’re off.”
Tan jumped into the conversation, “Here’s a map of all the places that have been checked for the missing tractor trailer rig. I want to see all the blank spots.” Tan laid out the map on the hood of the Jeep. “By the way, what’s your name, anyhow?”
“Nope, ain’t Anyhow, just call me Tank”
“Dumb joke. Okay, Tank, climb in.”
Three hours later and two dead ends, nothing. No truck, no tracks, no explosives. Tan looked at Tank in frustration, “If you were going to hide a tractor/trailer rig in this neck of the woods, where would you dump it?”
“Mine settling pond. Squishy bottom of mostly clay, opaque water, and quite a few of them are deep. The best part of those ponds, eventually it would be completely buried and no possibility of being found except for a real fluke. You ain’t gettin’ me swimming in one of them though, some of that water is toxic, acidic, or just plain bad for my complexion.”
“How we gonna check those out?”
Chuck said, “Check for tracks on any access we can find or drain them.”
Tank said, “Can’t drain them because of the danger of the water getting somewhere it don’t belong. A diver would need a full protective suit. The tracks idea ain’t bad though. Let’s go check a couple over that way.”
Tan turned the Jeep in the direction indicated.
Arriving at an apparently locked gate, Tan looked at Tank, “What now?”
The guide jumped out of the Jeep and walked to the gate. Giving the lock a tug, he popped it open and worked the gate opened just enough to squeeze through. The ground through the gate looked like it hadn’t been disturbed in years. High winds on this side of the mountains had piled blow sand over a foot deep on the far side of the gate restricting the gate opening to just enough for the rather heavy Tank to get through. He motioned, ‘come on,’ to the pair still in the truck.
Two hours later found them standing beside their third pond where they promptly got run off instead of arrested. Their ID had saved the day. Tank held back from the badge carriers during the confrontation.
“Don’t go through many fences with Tank. Our orders are to hold him for the Sheriff if we catch him. He likes to high grade the ore while the dust is still settling.”
“High grade?”
“Yeah, he comes in and grabs any piece of ore he can carry that looks like it’s loaded with high grade product, like gold or turquoise. Then he takes it to the jewelry supply places and sells it. Nice work if you can get it. We know he does it, just ain’t caught him with his pockets full, yet.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him.”
The three walked back out to the Jeep. Leaving the property, after closing the gate behind them under the sharp eye of the security, then drove off. Ten minutes down the two rut road, Tank pulled out a small nugget. “Anybody like raw gold nuggets?”
The two officers laughed. Tan took it from his hand and tossed it out the window, “Not on our watch, mate.”
“Hey, that nugget was a half-ounce, plus or minus, worth around $500 on the open market.”
Chuck chimed in, “You mean black market, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
They all laughed as Tank marked the spot it landed in his mind.
6
Monday
Late afternoon
Hassayampa Inn
The man sat on the balcony watching the activity around Prescott. Cars moved noisily beneath his view and aircraft from Emory-Riddle and the airport rattled the glass on the table as they passed overhead. His late lunch was nearly consumed. The remains were scattered across the top of the table next to his chair. He looked again at the words on the note pad.
Madam Governor and Mayor of Phoenix,
You both will receive these same words simultaneously. Prepare to pay one half billion US dollars within the next 30 days or see Phoenix destroyed. Don’t think I don’t have the power to do just that.
Just think on how much it will take to rebuild this great city. Just think of the number of funerals you will have, many more than the war just past. Do not be drowned in your pride and reputation as a tough city.
I have no desire to destroy. I just want the money.
If I detect any efforts to find out who I am or how I will do this, I will destroy Phoenix without waiting any longer.
You would not know me if I gave you my name.
“No. This doesn’t sound intimidating at all, but the next one will.”
The cars continued on their noisy way and the planes seemed to be lower and louder.
Governor’s Office
“Josie, can you come in here for a minute?” the Governor called for the third time since she arrived. “When will I catch on that she is not here and will not be here for the entire week?”
She walked to the outer office and cleaned out the IN basket. Returning to her office, she sorted the pile of mail. More than half went into the circular file at the end of her desk. A quarter of the pile she routed to other offices. The remainder she opened and read. Nothing exciting except a note from a class of school kids inviting her to their play about the foundin
g of Phoenix. She knew of at least two foundings and wondered if there were more.
Her phone rang. “Hello, Governor’s Office, how may I assist you?”
“I’d like to speak to the Governor, please.”
“What is this call in reference to and would you give me your name, please?”
“It is in reference to a truck load of explosives and even she doesn’t need to know my name.?”
“One moment please, I’ll see if she is available.”
She waited for over 30 seconds before saying, “Governor speaking.”
“How are you today, Governor?”
“I’ve had better days, but I have also had worst. So, this is just an ordinary day. I understand you might tell me about a lost truck. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Ma’am, it is.”
“Please do not call me Ma’am. My title is Governor and that is what I prefer to be called.”
“Yes, Governor. For a healthy fee I’ll tell you where the truck is.”
“Arizona is broke, Mr., uh, Mr. what-ever-your-name-is, I have no funds to give. Where’s the truck?”
“No money, no play, Governor.”
“I have no money. Call DPS and perhaps they have a reward for information.”
“I just called them and they don’t. Why not? I’d think it would be worth it to you. That’s a lot of explosives.”
“How about if I say please, Mr. No name.”
“Won’t work. Money talks or I walks.”
“Cute and it rhymes.” She was listening to everything, his words, background noises, and in particular, his accent.
“I’ll give you a hint.” The man sounded frustrated.
“Oh, goody a guessing game. I love guessing games.”
“Ding dong bell, pussy in the well. Bye.” He hung up.
“Okay, maybe the truck’s under water somewhere. Must be in one of the lakes.” She called her Special Investigator.”
