Missing (21 page)

“
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. That 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?

Maggie thought about the flight crew and passengers. She was sure they were in the house. What she didn’t understand was why. Were they here because of something about the plane? Maggie had no idea where the plane flew in from, but the crew got here before the plane got back to New York. The report she had seen earlier said there was six passengers and seven flight crew members. She had seen the seven flight crew members, but only four other people. Two men and two women. Were they part of the passengers? Two men had gotten back on the bus, so maybe they were the other two passengers. She wondered where they took the bus to.

What Maggie didn’t understand was why they were all here. She shook her head. The whole situation was confusing because there were too many questions, and no answers. She was also getting a knot in her stomach. Something obviously wasn’t right about the situation.

She looked down at the cell phone in her hand. Her hands were shaking. Too much was going on at once. Okay, the FBI was on the case. Should she call them back and tell them she knew where the flight crew was? She hadn’t expected to get the agent’s cell phone number. Would they think she was lying and try to trace the call?

Maggie got up and went back out on the porch. She looked at the house again. There was no movement, just like the other days. Only the delivery truck that has been coming three times a day for the past three days. Then there was the man in the pickup truck that had come the last two nights. She hadn’t seen him today, at least not yet. So now, there were thirteen people in the house. What is going on?

She stood up, walked back into the house and began pacing the floor. She had to think this out. She went over in her mind again what she knew. The flight had left Friday morning from London. She had seen the flight crew late Friday evening. The plane itself didn’t come back to New York until Sunday. It had to have been somewhere else, but she hadn’t heard where. They simply left the plane somewhere else and brought flight crew with them. Then they arrived here in the tour bus. Maggie was sure there was more to the story than what she knew at this point.

Maggie shook her head. What confused her most was James Fitzpatrick. She had seen the report on the television last night about his trip to Texas, to see how the relief efforts were going. So, what was he doing here and what did he have to do with the other five people she knew were in the house?

She stopped pacing as a disturbing thought went through her mind. If the passengers were responsible for hijacking the plane, why had they brought the flight crew with them. For security? Had to be, since over half of the flight crew had seen each of the passengers. But, what were they planning on doing with them?

What was really going on in that house?

She walked back out to the porch, her cell phone still in her hand. She looked at the house. The longer she looked, the more she was getting a bad feeling. She knew she had to do something. But, what? If she called the FBI agent and explained what she had seen, would he believe her? More important, how long would it take them to get here? The flight crew had now been there for three days. Since Fitzpatrick was now here, did that mean something was going to happen soon? A chill went down her spine. Yes, she had to do something and she knew exactly what to do.

Maggie sat down on the lounge chair, took a deep breath, opened her cell phone and made the call. The phone rang twice before the agent answered.

“
Palmer.”

Maggie took a deep breath. “Special Agent Palmer. My name is Maggie Connor and I’m calling to tell you that I know where the flight crew of flight 3351 is at.”

“
How do you know they are there?”

Maggie heard edginess in his voice. Had she made the right decision?

“
Because late last Friday evening a tour bus came and I saw several people get off. Two men were wearing what looked like a uniform of dark coats and slacks, and they were carrying some sort of hat. Two other men were wearing dress shirts, dark ties and dark pants, no jackets. There were three women who were all wearing dark skirts, white blouses and black vests. The women looked to be in their mid-twenties and most of the men looked in their thirties, although one man was older. Maybe in his fifties. They all had rolling suitcases with them.”

Maggie heard the agent suck in his breath. Guess that convinced him, she thought. She had decided, at least for the moment, not to tell him she was a detective. She didn’t want to explain why she was here. And, she really didn’t want this to get back to her boss.

There was a pause on the line before he spoke again.

“
Okay, Ms. Connor. You are sure about what you saw?”

“
You can call me Maggie. And, yes, I am sure of what I saw. I used binoculars and got a good look. Also, there is a security light at the back part of the house that lit up the area, which made it easier for me to see them.”

Maggie could hear the muffled sound of talking. She wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but she was sure he believed her now. Finally, he came back on the line.

“
Okay. First of all, I need your cell number.”

Maggie gave him the number.

“
Thank you. I would like to ask you a few questions. I’m in my boss’s office and I’m putting this call on speaker so he can hear it too.”

“
That’s fine.” She was sure they were probably taping it too.

“
First of all, where are you at right now?”

“
In Riverwoods, West Virginia.”

“
Okay. How exactly you are seeing this house?”

“
This area has a lot of hills. I live in a house on a hill that is directly across a ravine from the house. The house I saw them go into used to be a bed and breakfast. At first, I thought it had changed back to one again. That is until I heard the news this morning about the flight crew.”

“
So you have a direct view of the house?”

“
Yes. When they built the house ten years ago, they had cleared a lot of trees away so the visitors could get a good view of the hills around here.”

“
Tell me the sequence of events from when they arrived.”

“
Well, it was Friday evening, about eight thirty, I saw a car arrive. A man got out of the car and used a key to go in the back door of the house. He turned on a light that is over the stairs going down into the basement, one at the back door and a security light attached to the house. About a half an hour later, a mid-sized tour bus arrived. The seven crew members got off, along with six other people. The man who had arrived earlier escorted the flight crew down to the basement. Another man followed them. Then the five others went to the back door of the house and went inside. A few minutes later, two of the men got back on the bus and it left.

“
Then, starting on Saturday morning, a panel truck began coming three times a day and taking in boxes. I figure the man was bringing in food, because he just took the boxes inside and came back out a few moments later. He just came a few minutes ago, which is an hour later than normal. Also, just before the panel truck came, a black Lincoln parked behind the house and a man got out and walked into the house. He is still there. The interesting thing about the last man is that he looks like that missing FEMA man.”

“
He what?”

“
I think his name is James Fitzpatrick. He is with FEMA. I checked on CNN to be sure it was him and now I am sure it is. Although, I have no idea why he is here.”

Maggie heard some muffled talking. The agent must have covered the speaker. Sounded like more than just two people, by the sound of it. Finally, he came back on the line.