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Matt closed his eyes a moment, and blew a breath out. “Did you get her number?”

  “No. I tried to tell her if she gave me her number, I would get it to you, but she wouldn’t give it to me. Said she’d call back later.”

  “And you don’t know where she was calling from?”

  He shook his head. “No. I tried to trace it, but I think she was calling from a cell phone and I couldn’t get a lock on it fast enough. It was a short call.”

  “Okay. If, and when, she calls back, give her my cell phone number. I’m going to report this, so I may be out of the office when she calls.”

  “Okay, will do.”

  “Anything else?”

  He shook his head. “No, nothing that even remotely sounded like a good tip.”

  Matt stood up. He clapped Joe on his shoulder. “Thanks for telling me. It is nice finally to be getting some good news. I just hope the lady is right.”

  Petrovich nodded, then turned and walked out of the office. Matt walked into the next office and knocked on Petersen’s office door.

  “Got something Matt?”

  Matt walked in and sat down in front of his desk, then nodded. “Yes, I think so. Joe Petrovich just came in and told me he got a hot call. Seems this woman called and said she knew where the crew of flight 3351 was. She even gave him a description of their clothes, when they arrived, and how many were in the group.”

  Petersen leaned forward, leaning his arms on his desk. “Are you kidding?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t leave a number or say where she was.”

  “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”

  Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so. Her timing on when they arrived might be right, depending on where she is. She said they got to this house late Friday evening. She told Joe she would call back. I told him to give her my cell phone number.”

  “Is that safe?”

  “Well, if she turns out to be a crackpot, I can block her. She is the best lead we have, so I hope she calls.”

  “Any idea when?”

  Matt looked at his watch. It was now four o’clock. He was getting a knot in his stomach. Thirteen people were missing. Two of the passengers might be a serious danger to the United States. Then Fitzpatrick was missing. He still didn’t understand that one. He shook his head.

  “No. I have no idea. Joe didn’t say how long ago she had called. It was the top paper he had though.”

  “Well, whenever she calls, let me know what she says. If she’s telling the truth, then at least part of the mystery will be over.”

  “Yes, I will. If it is true, then Boyer can get the two wives off his back. They have been relentlessly calling since the plane first turned up missing. Boyer is a basket case.”

  Petersen laughed. “He has no idea who leaked the information?”

  Matt shook his head. “No, but Boyer said he was determined to find out who reported it to the media and get him fired. He wasn’t happy when the news came out with the details. Guess Mr. Dawson is upset too, so getting the leak fired isn’t going to be a problem. He promised me only five people knew the situation and they were all upper management. He said even security didn’t know what plane it was. He figures it was someone in the ground crew.”

  Suddenly, Petersen’s phone rang. He picked up the phone and answered. After listening for a few moments, he thanked the caller and hung up.

  “Petrovich said the woman just called. He gave her your name and cell number.”

  Matt held his breath. How soon would she call?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  THE HOUSE

  Walter paced the floor in the kitchen. He felt ill at ease. He didn’t want to be here and he definitely didn’t like the people in the other room. Two of them made him nervous. The two working on the computers seemed to be working hard and didn’t want to be bothered. He wished now he hadn’t been asked to baby sit them. He had catered to their wants and needs for three days. They hadn’t said much to him, but that was all right, he guessed. Still, they made him feel nervous. He wanted this over.

  Glancing at his watch, he saw it was now four thirty. Where is he? He should have been here by now. He called after he left the office. It should have only been a four-hour drive. Walter wondered if something had happened.

  Suddenly, the back door opened. Walter sucked in his breath, reaching into his pants pocket for the gun. He didn’t like leaving doors unlocked. It wasn’t like this in Washington, so how could people around here feel secure? Still, the house was in a remote area. Must be safe. He just wasn’t used to this. Maybe he was just jumpy. Then he saw the man approach the room.

  “How’s it going, Walter?” Fitzpatrick asked, as he sat his briefcase on the kitchen counter.

  Walter blew out his breath. “Just fine, Jim. I think everything’s under control.”

  Fitzpatrick narrowed his eyes. “You look a bit stressed. What’s going on?”

  “I just want this over.”

  “Is something going on?”

  “Whitcomb went on a bit of binge yesterday. Guess the company he was working on put in new security measures he hadn’t run into before. Everyone one in the room left him to his ranting until he got through. Took him a couple of hours.”

  “But, is everything set up?”

  “They haven’t told me, but I assume so. They’ve been working long enough at it.”

  Fitzpatrick nodded. “Well, guess I’d better see what is going on.”

  He turned, walked into the living room and then headed for the room where everyone was located. Walter followed. When they entered the room, the man and woman were sitting at the desk, but only the man was working on the computer. The woman was watching him; sitting close enough to have been sitting on his lap. With her looks, he wondered how the man kept his concentration. Two others were also in the room. One man was lying on the couch to the left, asleep. The young woman on the couch on the right was texting on her cell phone. The man at the desk looked up at him.

  “How’s it going Michael?”

  “It’s going just fine, Mr. Fitzpatrick.”

  “So, everything is under control?”

  Whitcomb nodded. “Yes, everything is under control.”

  “Then you have everything set up?” Fitzpatrick said, walking to the front of the desk.

  The man nodded. “Yes, we are almost finished.”

  “I thought you would have been done by now.”

  The man narrowed his eyes at him. “I ran into a slight problem with one of them yesterday, or I would have been finished. It took me a lot longer to get into the system. But, I did get in and that one is set up. I’m finishing up on the last one now, so don’t worry, it will be finished on time.”

  Fitzpatrick nodded. “Alright.” This was only the second time he had met the man. He’d had gone to England three months ago to meet him. While it had been a productive meeting, they had to meet in secret. He just hoped Michael was being honest with him.

  “How much longer do you think it will be?”

  Michael shrugged. “Oh, maybe a couple of hours. Only another hour on this one and then I will set up a few things for you on your computer.”

  “Like what?”

  “A view so you can see what is going on.”

  “Okay.” He walked back out to the kitchen and brought his briefcase back into the room. Opening it, he pulled out the laptop computer, the power cord and USB internet card, handing it to Michael.

  Michael laid the laptop to the side and then looked back down at the laptop he was working on, and began working again. Fitzpatrick looked over at Walter, who was standing by the door, and signaled with his head to go out of the room. Walter walked out and Fitzpatrick followed. Stopping for a moment, he laid his briefcase on the loveseat outside the door.

  “Is everything else going alright?” Fitzpatrick asked when they got back to the kitchen.

  Walter nodded. “Yeah, it has been.”

  “The fo
od has been coming in?”

  “Yes. It has been good too. Captain Murphy asked for a special meal for all of them tonight.”

  Fitzpatrick narrowed his eyes at him. “You didn’t tell him what was going to happen, did you?”

  Walter shook his head. “No, he was asking a lot of questions, so I made up something to tell him.”

  “What kinds of questions?”

  “He wanted to know why they were here.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I didn’t tell him anything. I just told him it would be over by Tuesday. After that, he asked if they could get a special meal. I didn’t see any reason to tell him no.” Walter didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want Fitzpatrick to know that he had told Captain Murphy part of the truth. He just hadn’t told Fitzpatrick all of the truth.

  Fitzpatrick nodded. “Alright. That is fine. You shouldn’t have told him anything.” He paused a moment. “Which reminds me. Have the meals come this evening?”

  Walter shook his head. “No, not yet. I told them to make it a later meal tonight. Should be here any time now. I ordered you a meal too. It won’t quite be like what you are used to, but the food has been pretty good.”

  Just then, they heard the sound of an incoming vehicle pulling in behind the house. Walter turned on the kitchen light, walked to the back door and opened the door, holding it open. He watched as the driver walked behind the truck and opened the door. He picked up three cardboard boxes and then brought them inside the house, setting them on the cabinet. Walter thanked him, handed him an envelope and the man left. A moment later, the truck started up and drove out.

  Walter opened the boxes, taking out the plastic insulated covered cartons of food. Each of the covers had a small piece of paper taped on top, which listed the specific meal order inside. He organized each carton on the counter. Then, he got out the silverware he had washed earlier in the day and put them on top of each box. While Fitzpatrick watched, Walter stacked up four containers and walked back into the office, placing two on the desk for the man and woman, and handing the other man and woman theirs. Walking back into the kitchen, he picked up one carton, took out the plate, then picked up a fork and handed it to Fitzpatrick.

  Next, he stacked up seven plastic containers inside one box, added silverware and then placed seven cans of Pepsi inside the box. He walked to the door on the other side of the kitchen, opened it and went down the stairs. Going to the first door, he sat the box on the floor and picked up the carton for Captain Murphy, along with the silverware and a can of Pepsi. He took out a key out of his pocket and put it in the lock, then opened the door. Captain Murphy put down the book he was reading.

  “Good evening, Captain Murphy. I’ve got the dinner you requested.” He moved the plate from lunch to the chair, opened the insulated container and took out the plate, setting it on the table. Then he placed the silverware and a Pepsi on the table. After picking up the used plate, silverware and container, he walked towards the door.

  “We’re still going to be set free tomorrow, aren’t we?” Captain Murphy asked.

  Walter turned to look at him. Tonight was supposed to be the last night, but he had an uncomfortable feeling that something else was going on. He had assumed it would go as planned, but now he wasn’t sure. He could think of nothing to tell him.

  “You promised,” Captain Murphy said, standing up.

  Walter nodded. “Everything is on schedule,” he lied. He turned and walked out the door, locking it behind him. He sucked his breath in and then blew it out. He hated telling him that, but it was all he could do. He looked down the hallway at the doors. Maybe, just maybe, the remodeling of the rooms would prevent anything happening to them. At least, he hoped so. He just wondered how he was going to tell Fitzpatrick.

  Walter finished delivering the meals and then took the box of dirty plates and silverware, and the plastic containers up the stairs again. He placed the key on the bent nail near the upper door. Opening the door, he walked through and closed the door behind him.

  “All of our visitors happy?” Fitzpatrick said. His dirty dish was sitting next to the sink.

  Walter nodded. “Yes, I think so. Haven’t heard any complaints.”

  Fitzpatrick nodded.

  “So, how did you like your meal?”

  “You were right, it was good. Local restaurant?”

  Walter put the box on the cabinet, and then grabbed the remaining container. He opened it and then took out the plate. Then he picked up a fork and took a bite of the lasagna.

  “Yes, it came well recommended. I have heard these small town restaurants are good. This just proves it.”

  Fitzpatrick laughed. “Yes, sometimes they are. But, not all of them. Some, I finally decided, you actually have to live in the area to appreciate what they were serving.”

  Walter nodded, as he stuffed another bite in his mouth. He didn’t cook much himself and definitely didn’t make lasagna. While he’d had better, this was right up there with his favorites. At least it was free.

  “Is everything really going well here?” Fitzpatrick asked, his voice barely a whisper.

  “Yes,” Walter said between bites. “They’ve been talking between themselves. I don’t understand computer talk, so I don’t know what they are talking about.” He had been standing outside the door when he heard them talking about putting in a code. He didn’t know what the code was, but they laughed between themselves. He was not getting a good feeling about it.

  “Do you think they got everything taken care of, like I wanted them to?”

  Walter shrugged. “I assume so. Like I said, I don’t know computer lingo, so I have no idea. I can barely run my laptop in my office. If I have a problem, my secretary has to come in and help me with it. So, I have no idea what they are doing. You made an agreement with them, didn’t you?”

  Fitzpatrick nodded. “Yes, I did. A detailed agreement. A contract. Maybe I should have someone check and make sure they are doing what they are supposed to.”

  “Is there anyone you can trust?”

  He thought for a moment. “No, not really.”

  “Then don’t worry about it. If they screw up, you can put the blame on them.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  “Oh, have you heard the news coverage?”

  Fitzpatrick shook his head. “No, what is going on? I had to drive a ways out of town to rent the car, so I have been driving for hours and didn’t even have the radio on.”

  Walter laughed. “Well, Harper is going nuts. He’s got the FBI out looking for you.”

  Fitzpatrick’s mouth dropped open. “He what? Why?”

  “Said he’s worried about your safety. He’s hit the media and has everyone looking for you.”

  He leaned back against the counter. “Harper went absolutely nuts this morning. He ended up giving me a threat.”

  “A threat? What kind of threat?”

  “He said I had to conform to the fact that he was the one behind everything and to give the television channel another interview telling them the same thing. He gave me an hour.”

  Walter shook his head. “What happened after that?”

  Fitzpatrick shrugged. “I didn’t wait around. I left.”

  “Well, that explains why Harper is having a fit. What are you going to tell him tomorrow?”

  “Just that I had to think it over. He will probably yell that he only gave me an hour, but he doesn’t have to know where I went. I will just sit through whatever he has to say. I am sure it will be getting dicey by that time anyway, so he may not have the chance. Still, he is in for a surprise. It will be fun to watch his reaction.”

  “I’ll be glad to get back. I would have liked to have been up there today. Must have been a lot of talk going on.”

  Fitzpatrick nodded. “I’m sure there was.”

  “And I’m sure the Council will have heard. You know, there is no way the President is going to overlook this.”

  “Yes, I know. Tha
t is what I’m waiting on.”

  “What you do tomorrow will be key. Everyone is going to be watching now.”

  “You saw the television news story?”

  Walter nodded. “Yes, on my laptop. Great story, by the way. I’m surprised Harper didn’t call you last night.”

  “I turned my phone off. I wanted him to stew on it overnight.”

  Walter laughed. “Guess he did. Listen, it won’t be much longer. Just a few more hours. After the news report last night, the whole U.S. will be watching what you do for them. They will see what you are doing, not Harper. And, the Council and the President will see too.’

  Fitzpatrick nodded. This is exactly what he wanted to happen. Yes, tomorrow will be a good day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Now what is going on? Maggie had watched as the black Lincoln parked next to the other car at the back of the house. She watched as the man got out of the car. He was wearing a suit. When he looked towards her house, she knew there was no way he could see her. But, when he looked towards her house, it gave her the chance to get a good look at him. Somehow, he looked familiar, but where had she seen him before? Then it dawned on her. The television. Walking back in the house, she turned on the television, and then sat on the couch. It was too early for the local station to have their news on, so turned on CNN. Twenty minutes later, they covered the story of the missing FEMA Assistant Director.

  Maggie leaned back against the couch as she looked at the picture on the screen. They were saying he was missing. Apparently, there had been an altercation between him and his boss, Administrator Glen Harper. No one knew what the argument was about, but Fitzpatrick had apparently left a short while later and no one has seen him since. Same story she had seen earlier today.

  She checked her watch. Five thirty. She was sure it was Fitzpatrick, but what is he doing here? How long would it take to get here from Washington, DC? Four hours, maybe. Maggie thought it out. It was plenty of time for him to get here, but if he’d had an argument with his boss like she had heard, why hadn’t he gotten here earlier? Or, was it planned for him to get here now? And, if that is the case, why would a high-placed administrator of FEMA be doing here?