Enigma (FBI Thriller #21)(9)
Ruth said, “Poor MAX won’t find any pearls inside.”
There was a spot of laughter.
Savich said, “Ruth, you and Ollie will pay lawyer Bowler a visit this afternoon, get a feel for him, see what you make of him. Before you leave, drop by my office and take whatever MAX has dug up on him. Maybe you’ll have some ammunition.
“Now, there’s something big I’ve saved for the end, something none of you know about yet.” He sat forward. “A teenager by the name of Kim Harbinger was heading back from a camping trip in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky less than an hour ago. She spotted three men in the parking lot, heading into the forest. She believes Manta Ray was one of them. The forest is about a two-hour drive from Pennington Gap, so the timing’s about right. We’re paying attention to her because Kim’s dad is Chief Harbinger, of the Pennington Gap Police Department. She’d seen photos of Manta Ray in his office, thought he looked like a rock star, and that’s why she remembered him. She called her dad immediately. Chief Harbinger called Richmond FBI, and Walt called Mr. Maitland to ask for more manpower. I told Mr. Maitland we’re lucky to have the perfect agent with us to track Manta Ray down in that forest, if he’s in there. As to the number of men who broke Manta Ray out, we still don’t know, but if the teenager is right, it was the two men who went into the forest with him.
“New York SAC Milo Zachery sent down one of his crew yesterday to work a case with the Criminal Division—Special Agent Jack Cabot. I know him quite well. He’s an ex–army ranger with experience in special ops, an expert in survival and surveillance techniques in the wild. He’s perfect for tracking these guys, and I’ve already hijacked him. I was thinking about which of you to partner up with him. Cam, as I recall, you spent some of your formative years hiking around in national parks with your parents. And you hiked and camped throughout college. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, I did, but—you’re picking me, Dillon?” The agents around the conference table would have had to be deaf not to hear the excitement in her voice. She nearly bounced out of her chair.
“Yes, you. Come to my office and we’ll talk. The rest of you, carry on. Text me your ideas.”
4
Executive Assistant Director Jimmy Maitland, Savich’s boss, stuck his head in Savich’s office as Cam was on her way out the door. She gave him a blazing smile. Maitland could tell she was itching to get past him, so he only said, “Welcome aboard, Agent Wittier. Good luck.”
Maitland’s eyebrow went up as he watched her nearly run through the unit. “She’s a good addition, Savich. She looks so happy and excited; if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d given her a paid vacation to Paris.”
Savich waved his boss to a chair. “Knowing Cam, she prefers this assignment to climbing the Eiffel Tower, as amazing as that sounds. I told you about the teenager who spotted Manta Ray. Cam will be partnering with Jack Cabot, flying with him to the Daniel Boone National Forest. They’ll go in after him and whoever’s with him.”
Maitland said, “Cabot’s a great choice, but that’s quite an assignment for a new agent in your unit. I suppose Agent Wittier’s already had her trial by fire, though, in the Starlet Slasher case in L.A.”
Savich nodded. “I think she has the skill set to handle it, after what she showed us in L.A.” He smiled. “She’ll realize soon enough she’s teamed up with Tarzan-with-brains, and I hope they’ll figure out how to use each other’s strengths, guard each other’s backs. Better than plunking her down at a desk here in the CAU, wondering how she fits in.”
“And knowing you, you wanted to see if you could get Jack to transfer from Milo Zachery’s kingdom in New York to the CAU, right?”
“Of course not, I don’t want Milo after my head. Well, okay, maybe. Milo does owe me one. It’s not a bad idea.”
“You think that teenager really saw Manta Ray? Saw him walking into that forest?”
“I’m sitting at about eighty percent on that, maybe higher because it would be a smart move to get Manta Ray tucked away from the manhunt going on outside. They could be planning to take their time in the forest until things cool off, even have prepositioned food and equipment waiting for them, and a planned meet at some designated pickup point later. It was really bad luck for Manta Ray and his men if they were spotted by a teenage hiker.” Savich grinned. “Now I’ve talked myself up to ninety percent.”
Maitland sat back in his chair, swung his leg. “My real reason for coming is to let you know Detective Aldo Mayer’s captain called me about the Kara Moody incident you were involved in yesterday. Ramirez said he had to promise Mayer he’d call me to calm him down. We agreed there would be no formal complaint from Metro about your, ah, interfering in a local police matter. It turned out well, after all.” Maitland shrugged. “If it had gone down differently I’d have to keep them from hanging you by your feet, but this way, no worries. Hard to bring charges against the guy who walked out of that house helping a pregnant lady in labor. That’s all over YouTube this morning, you know that? One of the neighbors posted the video before the media even arrived. Has Kara Moody had the baby yet?”
Savich grunted. “A baby boy, Alex, born late last night, healthy, six and a half pounds.”