Walk the Wire (Amos Decker #6)(114)

“His service record showed that he was a really smart guy. He’d been promoted frequently and had received a lot of commendations. He went overseas frequently to attend conferences and other meetings, and was always educating himself. Among other places, he went to Qatar and Jordan.”

Robie ruminated on this before answering. “So you mean he might have met some folks there who would be very interested in destroying the fracking industry in North Dakota?”

“Yes. And they would no doubt pay him enormous sums of money and also provide all the manpower he would need.”

“And his mother?”

“Yeah, they killed his mother. Whether he was involved in that decision or not, I don’t know. But a brilliant kid stuck in the middle of nowhere who’ll top out at maybe master sergeant after another ten years of service? He might have aimed higher. He might have aimed high enough to have committed treason against his own country in return for a fortune and a change of address. Which would also explain him going AWOL.”

“And the research you found at his mother’s house? If Daniels had told him everything, why would he need to do that?”

“If I were him and I had a grand scheme that would involve dealing with some very serious and dangerous people, I would want to verify everything. I wouldn’t accept the word of a ninety-something-year-old guy living in a nursing home. He needed to make certain, not blindly accept what might be the skewed memories of an old man.”

“So he was responsible for killing Cramer and Ames, and”—he pointed to the photo—“kidnapping Parker?”

An uncertain Decker shook his head. “That’s far from clear, Robie. As I said, Purdy knew a lot more than Cramer did. She came up here to dig for information. She knew it had something to do with the oil fields around the Air Force station, and she knew whatever it was, was in the ground and dangerous. That’s why she made that comment to Judith White about not eating the food they grew there. But that was all she knew. I think she wanted to expose this whole thing to make the U.S. government look bad in retaliation for what it had done to her mother. But why would Purdy need her? What could she possibly tell him that he didn’t already know? And we’ve been able to show no connection between them.”

“But if Cramer came up here to dig into the situation she might have run into Purdy. He couldn’t let her tell anyone what she knew. It would ruin his plan. He would have every reason to kill her.”

“And what did she swallow that he needed to get back?”

“Something that would expose the plan.”

Decker nodded but didn’t look convinced. “I guess it’s possible. But it doesn’t explain what happened to Parker and Ames.”

“So, what now?” said Robie.

“We need to find Purdy. That’s the only way to know for sure.”

“If he was behind this, won’t he be long gone by now?”

“Maybe and maybe not.”

“And if you’re wrong and he’s not behind this?”

“Then he’s probably dead.”

They left the house, and a moment later everything went dark for both of them.





ROBIE’S EYES FLUTTERED OPEN and then closed. He moved not a muscle, seeming to remain remarkably still. He was actually testing the strength of the restraints around his hands and ankles. He sniffed the air and got a lungful of noxious smells in return. Next, he listened. For anyone, anything, any type of nearby threat. Finally, he opened his eyes and shifted his gaze from one spot to the next, taking it all in.

He was in a room with no windows and no door. This puzzled Robie, but only for an instant. He angled his gaze upward and saw the ladder leading to what looked to be a trapdoor in the ceiling. He lifted his arms, until he felt the resistance. The same with his legs. He looked down, and in the dim light provided by the sole overhead bulb, he observed the chains around his limbs that were attached to a thick iron ring set in the floor. They had shackled his hands in front of him, which was the only positive development that Robie could see.

He shifted his weight to the right and saw the hulking figure of Amos Decker lying a foot from him. Decker, too, was shackled, and his chains were also inserted into the same floor ring.

Decker was also awake and staring at him. “Not good,” he said softly.

Robie gave one curt nod in agreement. They had taken both his pistols. He could feel their absence. He was sure they had taken Decker’s gun as well. “They got the jump on us.”

“Any idea where we might be?” asked Decker.

Robie once more looked around. “Underground. Air is musty with an overlay of petroleum products. No windows, ceiling trap door. I’d say maybe an old underground storage facility for an abandoned oil well.”

Decker nodded and looked around. He managed to sit up and planted his back against the wall. Robie did the same. The pair were shoulder to shoulder looking down at the thick chains that stood in the way of their freedom.

“Feel like I got hit by a truck,” said Decker. “But I can’t remember anything of what happened. And that’s saying something for me.”

“They probably deployed the same concoction I used on the woman at the Air Force facility. Incapacitation agent blended with an amnesiac component. We remember nothing that might have happened, who we might have seen, or how they got us here, although that wouldn’t be much, because the spray works pretty much instantly.”