The Missing

Inside the garage area was a John Deere Gator holding dirt and a shovel. Darby borrowed a flashlight and found dried spots ofwhat could be blood on the plastic seat.

Banville poked his head around a corridor. ‘Darby.’

The narrow corridor was made of Peg-Board walls holding lawn equipment. Banville stood at the far end. He took down a bag of lime from a shelf and placed it on the floor. Cut inside the Peg-Board wall was a square with enough room to reach inside and turn a door handle.

First they had to take care of the padlock.

The secret room held two prison cells. Both were unlocked and empty.

Banville stood inside a room of gray concrete and stainless steel. No mirror or windows, just a small vent high in the ceiling. A surplus army cot was bolted to the floor. A floor drain was in the center of the room. Darby recalled the pictures of Carol she had seen at the lab.

‘This must be where he kept her,’ Banville said.

Darby thought of the Gator with its shovel and bed full of dirt and felt the last dangling thread of hope slide away.

Chapter 64

Darby pulled Banville aside so they could talk privately.

‘Hostage Rescue might have access to a chopper,’ Darby said. ‘If they do, and if it’s equipped with infrared heat sensors, we can use it to search the woods, see if it can lock on to what’s left of Carol’s heat signature, depending on how deep she’s buried and how long ago Boyle killed her.’

‘Holloway’s already put out the call to the state police for assistance. By morning, the dogs will be here. We’re going to cover every inch of these woods.’

‘A chopper can do a sweep of these woods in about a couple of hours.’

Banville let out a long sigh.

‘I don’t like asking the feds for help any more than you do, believe me,’ Darby said. ‘But I’m thinking about Dia

Banville handed over his cell phone. ‘You can make the call to Ma

Darby stood alone on a dark trail, dialing Evan’s number, Holloway’s men busy behind her.

‘It’s Darby.’

‘I’ve been trying to reach you for over an hour,’ Evan said. ‘What’s going on? The call was dropped. I kept calling and you didn’t pick up.’

‘Did you find Carol?’

‘No, not yet. What I did find, though, was more evidence – a pair of men’s boots, size eleven, manufactured by Ryzer Gear. There’s also a navy blue carpet in the bedroom. I think it will match the fibers you found.’

‘Did you find a prison cell? Like the one we saw in the pictures?’

‘No.’

‘Carol’s not there.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘First, I want to ask you a question about Hostage Rescue. Do they have access to a chopper?’

‘A Black Hawk,’ Evan said. ‘Why?’

‘Is it equipped with infrared heat sensors?’

‘What’s going on, Darby?’

‘Find out and call me back on Banville’s cell phone. Do you need the number?’

‘I already have it. Now tell me what’s –’

Darby hung up. Holloway’s men were getting ready to search the woods for recently dug graves.

Half an hour later, Evan called back.

The Black Hawk is equipped with infrared heat sensors.’

‘I’m going to need it to do a search of some woods,’ Darby said. ‘I’m looking for a buried body. Maybe several of them.’

‘Where are you?’

‘First, you’re going to tell me why your wonderful organization took over my case.’

‘I told you, it’s classified –’

Darby hung up.

Evan immediately called back. ‘Booting you off the case wasn’t my decision.’

‘I know. You looked real upset when it happened.’

‘You’re putting me in an awkward position. I can’t tell you what –’

You’re going to tell me what happened, right now, or I’m hanging up again.’

Evan didn’t answer.

‘Good-bye, Special Agent Ma

‘What I’m about to say is completely off the record. If it ever gets back to me, I’ll deny it.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m well acquainted with how you federal guys operate.’

‘The man we took down was Earl Slavick, a former informant we had working inside a white supremacist group with suspected ties to the Oklahoma City bombing. While Slavick was feeding us information about his group, he had started his own racial cleansing agenda and abducted women from the area. I was called in to help out local authorities. By the time I figured out what was going on, Slavick had packed up and disappeared. We’ve been looking for him ever since.’

‘So you knew right away Slavick was involved in Carol Cranmore’s abduction because of the boot prints I found.’

‘Yes, I told you that.’

‘But you didn’t tell me Slavick’s DNA profile was loaded into CODIS. You didn’t tell me it was classified. That way, when a match was found, the FBI would know, and then you guys could come in and clean up your mess quietly. You didn’t want anyone to know that the man making all these women disappear was a former FBI informant. The remains we found in the woods, she was one of Slavick’s victims, wasn’t she?’

‘Congratulations,’ Evan said in a cold tone. You’ve co

‘One last question,’ Darby said. ‘How did you find out where Traveler – excuse me, Earl Slavick – was hiding?’

Evan didn’t answer.

‘Let me guess,’ Darby said. ‘It was the map I found. The URL was printed on the bottom. You tracked Slavick through his IP address, didn’t you?’

‘We’ve traded information. Now it’s your turn.’

‘We found a shed in the back of a house equipped with the same prison cells we saw in the pictures with Carol Cranmore. The house belongs to Daniel Boyle. I’m willing to bet he set up Slavick to take the fall.’

Evan didn’t answer.

‘Sounds like you guys are going to have a real PR disaster on your hands,’ Darby said. ‘I hope it doesn’t make the news. They’ll drag the story out all year, don’t you think? No, probably not. You guys will find a way to bury it. When it comes to hiding the truth, nobody does it better than the federal government.’

‘Where’s Boyle?’

‘He’s dead.’

‘You killed him?’

‘Banville did.’ She gave Evan the address. ‘Don’t forget to bring the chopper.’

Darby hung up. She closed her eyes and pressed the ice pack against her face. The skin was cold and numb.

Chapter 65

The Black Hawk made two runs over the woods and failed to find a heat signature. Either Boyle had killed Carol several days ago or her body was buried too deep.

The search for the graves would resume tomorrow morning at eight, when the New Hampshire state police showed up with cadaver-sniffing dogs. It was their case now.

Forensic technicians from the state lab had arrived shortly before midnight and divided themselves into two teams – one to process the house, and the other to work the crime scene in the woods.

Evan wasn’t allowed access to either the woods or the house. He spent most of his time on the phone, pacing near the far end of the lawn, under the oak trees. Darby spent her time going over her statement with two of Holloway’s detectives.

Banville trotted out of the woods, looking drained. ‘Holloway found Boyle’s wallet, phone and keys – lots of keys,’ he said. ‘How much youwant to bet one of those keys belongs to Slavick’s house?’

‘I doubt the feds will let us anywhere near it until we allow them access to Boyle’s house.’

‘What’s Ma

‘He’s been working the phone. I’m sure Zimmerman and his band of merry elves will be here any moment trying to weasel their way in. They’ve got to be real nervous now that they know they killed the wrong man.’

‘Boyle had one of those BlackBerry phones in his pocket,’ Banville said. ‘Holloway took a look at it. He didn’t find any email, but the phone keeps a log of all incoming and outgoing calls. Boyle called someone at nine-eighteen tonight.’