Walk the Wire (Amos Decker #6)(70)

The front door of the house opened up and the older gent came out, crossed the yard quickly, and climbed into a rear door of the chopper. It immediately lifted off, as Robie shot pictures of all of it.

A minute later he was back on his scooter flying down the road toward town. He wanted to report in with Blue Man.

It would prove to be far more difficult than he had thought.





“BUT DOES THAT HAVE anything to do with our case?” asked Jamison as they sat in the hotel lobby late that night.

“It’s not a crime for Hugh Dawson to sell out to Stuart McClellan,” noted Decker. “But to answer your question, I don’t know if there is a connection. Yet.”

“Do you think McClellan is involved in this somehow?”

“If Irene Cramer knew something that was damaging to him, it’s possible. I just don’t know what that might be. But I think the military installation is a more promising suspect. I think that’s why she came up here.”

“There’s clearly something going on over there,” said Jamison. “From what Robie found out and our discussion with his boss.”

“We need to talk to Brad Daniels again.”

“And Robie’s boss seems to think that something is off there. I mean, why have two redundant facilities in North Dakota?”

“So the one here has an ulterior purpose.”

“The guy running away that Robert White saw?” said Decker.

“Yeah?”

“The guy was obviously trying to escape.”

“So you think there’s some sort of prison being operated over there?”

“Maybe.”

“And the ambulances?”

“It seems to be the sort of prison where people suffer injury routinely enough to require medical attention off-site.”

“But if they are operating a prison over there, where would they take the injured prisoners? I mean, if they’re trying to keep it secret, they can’t just drive them to the local hospital.”

“They have a runway. They have choppers coming and going at odd hours.”

Jamison looked at him in alarm. “You think they’re flying these guys out?”

“And maybe they don’t come back.”

“Decker, all of that sounds really illegal. I mean, you can’t hurt prisoners, fly them out, and then they disappear. They have rights.”

“Maybe they’re not ordinary prisoners, Alex.”

She gaped at him. “Meaning what?”

“It’s a military facility. Maybe they’re military prisoners of a sort.”

“But if they are military prisoners, they still have rights.”

“Maybe they’re not members of the military or even American citizens. Remember White said the guy was talking gibberish?”

“He said he thought the guy was nuts or maybe on drugs.”

“Or maybe speaking a foreign language.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Maybe they’re running another Guantanamo up here in North Dakota.”

Jamison slumped back in her seat. “Another Gitmo, here?”

“You wouldn’t want to transfer a bunch of enemy combatants or terrorists to New York City or another really populated area. And if this facility is redundant, it would be the perfect place.”

“Right. And then Vector is brought in to handle security.”

Decker nodded. “They show up here and the Air Force people get kicked out, leaving Sumter as the sole remaining flag bearer to give it a modicum of respect. I think Vector was brought in to watch over the people they’re keeping there. And maybe interrogating them to the point of their being injured.”

“But that’s not allowed anymore.”

“Says who?” replied Decker sharply.

Jamison started to reply but then seemed to think better of it. He eased forward in his chair. “It would also explain why Robie is on the scene.”

“But they told us why. It was because of what happened to Irene Cramer’s mother.”

Decker shook his head. “Robie’s boss struck me as one real heavyweight. And Robie, too. Maybe they’re upset that Cramer got killed after what happened to her mother under their watch, but feeling guilty isn’t a reason to bring those kind of assets up here. There’s something else, another reason why they’re here.”

Jamison snapped her fingers. “Robie’s boss said that some big players may already be on the scene here. And that clearly was a problem.”

“If they’re running a secret prison engaging in illegal interrogation, I think that would qualify as something people would kill to keep quiet about.” He tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair. “The only problem is that theory doesn’t square with why Cramer came here in the first place. Daniels told her something about that facility. But that was from a long time ago, long before Vector or any potential prisoners showed up there.”

“So you mean there has to be something else going on? Namely, whatever Daniels told Cramer that compelled her to move here?”

Decker nodded. “But if Cramer came up here to find out something about that facility based on what Daniels told her, and then stumbled onto what they’re doing now?”