Trace Evidence, page 9
She’d described half the men at any country club in the world. “How old was he?”
She thought about it. “Maybe mid-forties? Not old. But not a young punk, either.”
“What can you tell me about the gun?”
“Not much. I’m not that familiar with guns.”
“Was it a handgun or a long gun?”
“A handgun.”
He pulled his Glock from his waistband and showed it to her. “Did it look like this?”
She shook her head.
“Was it bigger or smaller?”
“Bigger. At least, it seemed bigger to me at the time.”
“Okay. Good.” He nodded and returned the gun to his belt. “Tell me again what happened, one step at a time. Use his exact words, if you can remember them.”
“He rang the bell. I answered and foolishly opened the door. There was an SUV in the driveway. A black one. Fairly new. Expensive.” Flint nodded to keep her going. “He was clean-shaven. He had the gun out when I opened the door, and he pushed the door open and came inside. I was petrified. I didn’t know what to do.”
“What was the first thing he told you?”
She closed her eyes again, almost trance-like. “He said, ‘I’m looking for Josh Hallman. Is he here?’ And I was shocked. I hadn’t seen Josh since before I left Chicago. Before Jamie was born. So I said, ‘No. Why?’”
“What did he say?”
She swallowed hard before she continued. “He said Josh had piloted a small plane that crashed. He said Josh survived the crash and ran away. He demanded to search my house.” She swallowed again. “The house was small. It didn’t take long. He went into every room and opened every door. He even looked under the beds. He went into the garage and looked in the car.”
“Was Jamie home at the time?”
“No, thank God. He was in day care.” She clasped her hands together as if she might say a prayer of thanks. “After he didn’t find Josh, that’s when he said he’d be watching me. He said he’d know if Josh contacted me.”
“Do you have any indications that he has been watching you?”
Her eyes widened as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “I don’t know. I guess I just figured he’d watched for a while to confirm that I’m not in contact with Josh. Would he still be watching? After all this time?”
She’d be easy to monitor. It could be done remotely. Her home was a fortress, but her security was electronic. Watching her without her knowledge would be a relatively simple matter.
Flint assumed she was being watched.
Which meant he’d be on the guy’s radar now, too.
“What did he ask you to do if you heard from Josh?”
She shook her head. “He said he’d know. I took that to mean that he’d be using whatever high-tech stuff people use to spy on people these days.”
“Did you have CCTV at your house?”
She shook her head again. “Not then. I had it installed the next day.”
“What was your address? I may be able to get video from nearby cameras.” He said that, but he had little hope of finding any video. Surveillance systems back then were not what they were now.
But Flint had access to sources most civilians couldn’t tap into.
She wrote the address down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He knew the neighborhood. She was right. The chances of video cameras capturing something unexpected over in that residential section of Houston were slim.
“Tell me about the driver.”
She said, “He was about the same age as the first guy, I guess. He stayed in the car. I couldn’t see him very well.”
Flint nodded again.
“You agree with me now, don’t you?” She raised her head and stared directly into Flint’s eyes. “You think Josh is alive.”
“Maybe.” Flint sighed. “He may have survived the crash. But it was six years ago. Whether he’s still alive is a totally different question.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your guy with the gun seemed to make it pretty clear that he would find Josh and deal with him. It’s too bad you didn’t report that visit to the police when it happened.”
Veronica buried her face in her hands and began to weep. It was the most normal human reaction he’d seen from her since they’d met.
“I’ll do what I can.” Flint stood up again. “But these guys sound like thugs to me. If they found him, it’s not likely they simply let him go.”
Veronica nodded. “I understand.”
Flint wondered if she really did. By not reporting the threat when it happened, she’d effectively eliminated any chance that Hallman could have been forewarned and hired protection.
The poor sap had been on his own, and his basic military training would not have equipped him to defend himself from two determined killers.
Not only that, but finding Hallman had just become even more difficult.
He wasn’t simply missing anymore. He was actively hiding.
And he was good at it.
Totally different gig.
-
Chapter Twelve
Red Maple Lake, California
Six Years Ago
Dan and Josh pulled Skip and the life raft as far from the shoreline as possible. Josh collapsed on the rocky beach, breathing hard, sucking air into his lungs. His arms and legs felt like the Gumby rubber doll he’d played with as a kid.
Dan flopped onto the rocks, shivering, teeth chattering, gasping. Dan was in good physical condition, but the crash and his head injury and the hard paddling had pushed him beyond his limits.
Josh crawled over to the raft. He put a palm on Skip’s face. Skip was chilled and shivering and his face was contorted with pain. But he was still alive.
How long could the three of them possibly remain that way? Everything they owned was soaking wet. The sun had settled behind the mountains and the wind was cold. His own teeth were chattering. His skin felt as clammy as a fish. The struggle had pushed the limits of his physical conditioning, too.
How could they survive when the temperature dropped tonight?
They had no food. No fire. Both Dan and Skip were injured.
One thing at a time.
That was the only answer that popped into his head.
One thing at a time.
Josh looked back at the Cessna. Only its tail section poked above the waterline and was barely visible from the shore. The weather continued to deteriorate. Stiff, steady wind blew in from the north. Sleet pelted his skin where he lay on the rocky beach. Skip had passed out or something. Josh feared the moment when his breathing would stop, too.
Josh was exhausted. His breath came in ragged chunks. Dan had manned up enough to paddle the distance, and somehow they had managed to reach dry land. Dan collapsed on the cold beach stones and pulled Josh down, too. They were still connected by the ropes he’d found inside the plane.
Skip was moaning, even though he wasn’t conscious. Pain and blood loss were probably to blame. Josh patted his pockets until he found his waterproof phone. He pulled it out and pressed the power button. The phone powered up, but found no cell signal. Figures.
With stiff, cold fingers Josh fumbled to untie himself from his two friends and struggled to push himself up to stand. His legs felt wobbly and weak. He turned to look back at the plane, which was upside down. The only thing visible was the bottom of the right pontoon and even that was almost totally submerged now.
Dan was conscious and breathing hard. His lips were blue from the cold. His teeth chattered. But he was alive. They all were. To stay that way, they needed help.
They had seen the resort as they approached from the air. But Josh was disoriented now. Had Red Maple Lake Resort been east or west of here? And how far away? He shook his head. He didn’t know.
He rubbed his hands over his biceps and moved his legs in place in a fruitless attempt to warm up. He closed his eyes to visualize the Cessna’s circling approach again.
The tallest of the mountains was on the lake’s north side, but the terrain was elevated all around the alpine lake basin. The way he remembered it, the rocky coastline ran up from the water and disappeared quickly into the treeline.
He frowned and thought hard. His brain seemed muddled and foggy, but as he concentrated and visualized he thought, maybe, when he was circling above the landing area, he’d seen the rooftops of Red Maple Lake Resort across the lake from the highest peak and to the east.
He opened his eyes. The sun had already dipped behind the mountains to his right, which should mean the resort was to his left. East of where they’d come ashore.
The more he thought about it, the more he believed he was right. East. He’d seen those rooftops to the east. Definitely. No question.
But how far? Could he walk there? Maybe not. His legs wobbled with tension when he tried to stand. But really, what choice did he have? If he didn’t go for help, they’d all die of exposure or dehydration. Or something worse. Bears and cougars and who knew what other carnivores prowled in these mountains. Predators that would see Skip as an easy meal.
He shook his head. Staying here and waiting for rescue was not an option.
He approached Dan, still lying on the rocks, eyes closed, shivering with cold. Josh knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. Dan’s eyes popped open but he didn’t move. Josh felt his carotid pulse, which was erratic but present. His skin was cold.
“Dan, you can hear me, right?” Josh lowered his voice. He didn’t want to alarm Skip, assuming his friend could hear anything at all.
Dan’s voice was dry and weak. “Yeah.”
“Skip is in a bad way, man. We’ve got to get him out of here and find a doctor. Can you stay with him while I go look for help?”
“Yeah.” Dan’s eyes widened and darted wildly, as if the idea of staying with Skip frightened him beyond anything they’d endured so far. Josh understood. Skip might very well die before Josh got back.
“Look, Dan, we both love Skip like a brother. We’ve got to do everything we can.” Dan’s wild-eyed terror seemed to grow with every word Josh said. “We can’t leave him alone. And you’re in no shape to go for help.”
Josh didn’t say that if they all stayed here, Skip would probably die and they might die, too. Dan shook his head rapidly. His nostrils flared. The more Josh thought about it, the more frightening his imaginings seemed to become. But Dan would have to get himself together. He couldn’t see any other way. He had to go for help. It was their best chance.
Josh patted Dan on the shoulder and pushed himself upright. He staggered a few steps and steadied his weight evenly. Cold gooseflesh covered his skin. His body began to shake. He needed to move. To warm up.
He had to go now. While he still had some daylight. He dug through and found four flashlights in the life raft. He checked them to be sure they were working and handed two to Dan. He searched for matches and found a lighter. They had nothing to burn for a fire. Dan would have to take care of that much.
“When it gets dark, turn on one of these flashlights. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll bring help. Look around in the raft for something you can use to start a fire. Maybe some blankets that didn’t get wet and some kind of dried food or something, too.” He’d been scanning the tree line for a path into the woods and he didn’t see one. The trek through the thick forest wouldn’t be easy in daylight. It might be impossible after full dark. “Stay here so I can find you again. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Dan nodded and said nothing more. Maybe he was still dazed from his head trauma. Or maybe his reaction right now was caused by pure fright. Either way, there was nothing more Josh could do to assuage Dan’s fears. He felt the same things himself.
Josh started off toward the east looking for some sign of civilization. Or even a cell phone signal.
He began a slow jog to cover ground more quickly and to warm up a bit. He stayed on the rocky shore, traveling east, until he found a reasonable break in the trees. Not a trail, but an opening.
Now he was headed southeast. The going was slower here. His feet landed awkwardly on rocky and uneven ground, even as the dense forest protected him from the sharp wind and the stinging sleet. He was forced to slow down, to dodge the undergrowth and maneuver around the big pines and aspens and other trees and bushes he couldn’t identify.
Inside the woods, it was darker. He pulled out one of the flashlights and turned it on and held the beam directed to the ground in front of him. His stomach growled with hunger a few times and he considered that a good sign. It felt normal. He hadn’t eaten anything for several hours. Of course, he was hungry. Made sense. Josh liked things that made sense.
He’d traveled maybe two miles, give or take, when he heard voices ahead. He paused to listen. Three voices, he thought. All males. Campers, maybe. Or guests at Red Maple Lake Resort, if he was lucky. He hadn’t been lucky in a long time. Maybe his luck was about to change.
“Hello!” he called out before he could see them clearly.
“Hello!” one of the men called back.
Relief washed over him like a long, hot shower. He’d found help. Maybe Dan and Skip would be okay. Maybe they all would. He judged the distance and direction of the voices and jogged closer.
-
Chapter Thirteen
Houston, Texas
Tuesday
Flint met Drake at the private airfield in Houston. Drake had the Pilatus out of the hangar and ready to go. Flint parked his car and grabbed his bag.
He hustled over to the jet and climbed aboard. As he settled into the co-pilot seat, Drake’s attention was focused on his pre-flight checklist.
After takeoff, Flint brought Drake up to speed on his visit to Beaumont, filling him in on the rest of the conversation and the research he had done to date. Drake was one of the best wingmen on the planet, and Flint wouldn’t send him into the situation uninformed.
“So I guess that’s progress. At least we know we’re not chasing a dead man to the bottom of that lake,” Drake said.
“What we know is that Hallman probably didn’t die in the crash. At this point, we don’t know what happened to him afterward. If those guys found him, he could be dead now.”
Flint had loaded his laptop with satellite imagery of Red Maple Lake and the surrounding area.
The lake was south and east of Lake Tahoe. Flight time to Reno on a commercial airliner was just under six hours with at least an hour layover. In the Pilatus, they should be able to shave off the travel time.
Drake would land at the private airfield outside of Reno where he had reserved the floatplane.
“What kind of plane did you get?”
“Same one Hallman used. Cessna T206. It was the best choice and I’m familiar with it. The weather is forecast as calm and clear. With luck, we won’t run into any crosswinds or downdrafts as we try to land on that lake, like Hallman did.”
“You researched the FAA files on the crash.” Flint glanced over to see Drake nod. “Was there a definitive cause determined?”
“The official conclusion was pilot error. It looked like he came in too fast and off course, particularly for the weather conditions. There’s only one good way to land on that lake and he missed the coordinates. The crosswind tilted the plane so that it didn’t land flat on both floats.” Drake shrugged. “After that, the bird was unstable. He couldn’t manage the plane.”
“Any estimate on how long it took for the Cessna to go down in the lake?”
“They had plenty of time to conduct a water evacuation, if that’s what you’re asking. The plane had an inflatable life raft in it. Assuming they were conscious when they landed, there would have been time to get ashore.”
Flint found his laptop and opened it. He looked at the videos that he’d seen in Veronica Beaumont’s office again. He slowed the video to take a closer look at each frame.
As they had pulled Hallman’s plane out of the water, it only had one damaged float still attached on the right side. According to the FAA report, the left float had been sheared off on landing.
The left wing was also severely damaged, probably by contact with the water. That would have made the left side of the plane sink first.
But the exit doors were on the right side of the cabin, as was the pilot seat. Josh was the pilot. He’d have had the best chance. If the two passengers were in the co-pilot seat and the back left seat, they’d have taken the brunt of the force.
The engine pulled the plane’s nose underwater and the plane flipped over, but if the passengers had their harnesses on properly, they should have survived the crash.
And then, as Drake said, they’d have had enough time to deploy the inflatable life raft before the plane sank into the lake. They should have been able to get to shore.
“Was there something wrong with the raft?”
Drake shook his head. “Hard to say, since no one ever found it. Under the conditions out there, they won’t keep looking for pieces of a life raft. Even if they were still around. We’ll never know what happened to that raft.”
“That’s not the only odd thing about the situation, though.” Flint clicked a few keys on his laptop. “The videos Veronica gave me from the body retrieval were pretty damned odd, too.”
“In what way?”
“Took a while, but I got the autopsies on the two passengers early this morning. Beaumont didn’t have them. Autopsies say cause of death was not drowning. One of the men, Skip Evans, had a serious compound fracture of his right femur, which must’ve hurt like hell. He might have died from blood loss or a host of other things related to the crash. But his cause of death was listed as morphine overdose.” Flint pulled up the two headshots he’d found for the deceased men and showed them to Drake. “The other guy, Dan Shafer, would have survived his crash injuries, the autopsy says.”
