Missing (22 page)

“
Okay. You said five people walked in the back door. Are they all men?”

“
No. Two looked like women.”

“
Any guns?”

“
I don’t know. I didn’t see any. Although, I assume there must be in order to keep the flight crew under control.”

“
Okay. I need to know exactly where this house is located.”

“
The house is located just north of the airport in Riverwoods, West Virginia. A paved road runs west of the airport. This road leads to the house. Although, I would not come in by way of the road or the airport. Whoever is in the house I am sure will hear you if you drive up the road or fly into the airport. However, a thick stand of trees goes from the main highway up to the house on the left side. That would be your best approach. There are too many hills and deep ravines around the house to come in any other way.”

“
Okay, I’ve got it. What part of the state is Riverwoods located?”

“
In the southeast side. It isn’t a very large town and hills surround the town. The house is on the east side of town, off of River road.”

“
Alright, that helps. Okay, what I would like you to do is to continue watching the house. I’m not sure how long it will take for us to get there, but, if at any time you see anything going on, anyone coming in or leaving, give me a call.”

“
Alright. I will.”

“
Thank you for letting us know.”

They said goodbye and Maggie closed her phone. It was now six o’clock and she needed to get something to eat. Not wanting to take the time to fix something and possibly miss something important, she decided to order a pizza. She placed the order, took a long look at the house, and then quickly went into the bedroom to get some money out of her purse. She got a Dr Pepper out of the refrigerator, and then went back out to the porch. Nothing had changed.

Half an hour later, her pizza arrived. She paid for it, and then took it out to the porch. Setting it on the small table, she sat down, then took out a piece and began to eat. She looked at the house. The longer she thought about it, the more confused she got. What would Fitzpatrick, a high standing man in FEMA, have anything to do with at least four of the passengers on what now appeared to be a hijacked plane? It just didn’t make sense.

She ate two more pieces of pizza, but couldn’t come up with any solutions. The longer she thought about the flight crew, the worse she felt. She knew she had been right to call the FBI and tell them where they were. Now, with everything seemingly coming together, she feared for the flight crew’s safety. They were fed tonight. The man took in the usual three boxes, but he was an hour later than normal. Why? Was it because Fitzpatrick was now here? If so, what is going to happen now?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

It was now two hours later and the FBI still hadn’t shown up. Maggie paced the length of the porch, continuing to go back and forth. Does it take them this long to mount a raid? Had the agent not believed her? She stopped pacing for a few moments and looked outside the porch. Even though it was dark out, the full moon gave an eerie look to the landscape. Nothing was going on at the house. With each passing minute, her gut feeling was telling her she had to do something.

The flight crew had been in the house for three days now. With Fitzpatrick’s mysterious arrival, she knew something was going on. Since she now knew it was the flight crew from the missing plane, she was sure they had nothing to do with whatever was now going on. But what will happen to them now? Maggie stared at the house a moment.

It was time. She couldn’t wait any longer for the FBI to show up.

Going into the bedroom, she changed clothes. She was dressed again in black jeans and a black sweatshirt. She put on her service belt, and then pulled her sweatshirt over it. Then she put a notepad and pen in her back pocket. Pausing for a moment, she finally decided to take a second gun.

Opening her suitcase, she pulled out her own personal gun, a Glock 33, checked to make sure she still had a full clip in it, and then tucked it into her jeans at the small of her back. She put her cell phone in her right jeans pocket and two spare clips in the left pocket. Looking into the full-length mirror in the corner of the room, she knew she was as ready as she could be. She walked out of the bedroom and went through the porch, going out the back door. Walking to the edge of the yard, she turned left.

With her flashlight to guide her, Maggie went to the spot where she had to begin her downward trek. She made it down in ten minutes. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was either getting better physically or the sense of urgency she felt guided her down the hill faster. Once she reached the bottom, she crossed the stream. She quickly found the rope she had left and pulled herself up over the washed out area, and then headed up the next hill.

When she got to the top, Maggie paused a few moments at the edge of the open area of trees. She was now looking directly at the back of the house. She took a few deep breaths, trying to catch her breath and to ease the case of nerves she was beginning to feel. She knew she was going to have to approach the house carefully. The security light was on at the back of the house.

There were four windows upstairs and two downstairs, but they were all dark. She hoped they felt safe and secure, and weren’t watching out the windows. Still, she didn’t want to take any chances. The south side of the house had no windows. This was the best side to hide. They wouldn’t be able to see her and she would have some maneuverability.

Looking to her right, across the open area, the trees were heavier. This will be a good place to take the flight crew to, if she could get them out. The trees were denser and darker. While it would take a few seconds longer to get there, it will allow them to make their way south and to the main highway undercover of the trees. Of course, it all depends if she can find the flight crew, and if they were actually in trouble.

Taking a deep breath, Maggie knew it was time. Dunking down, she quickly made her way across the fifty-foot distance to the side of the house. When she got there, she paused a moment and listened. She heard nothing. After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly moved to her left, approaching the front side of the house. When she got to the edge, she peeked around the corner. A light was on in the window next to where she was standing. Another light was on upstairs. The bedrooms would be upstairs, but what was in the room downstairs?

Blackout curtains were over the two single side-by-side windows. A small amount of light filtered around the edges. Maggie tried looking around the edges, but couldn’t see anything. Looking down the front side of the house, she saw no other lights on. Next, she crouched down and placed herself under the window, but couldn’t hear any talking. She moved back to the side of the house and quietly walked towards the back.

At the back of the house, she looked at the two cars. Suddenly, she thought of something she needed to do, just in case. Getting into her back pocket, she pulled out the notepad and pen. She crouched down and crept closer to the cars. The first one was the black Lincoln James Fitzpatrick arrived in a couple of hours ago. The other car was a grey Lexus. She noted the license plate numbers and descriptions of each vehicle, and then headed back to the corner of the building. If either of them left before the FBI agents got here, she would be able to tell them which vehicles to look for. She put the notepad and pen back in her back pocket.

The entrance to the basement was just six feet from the edge of the house. Maggie stood in front of the three steps going down and looked at the door at the bottom of the stairs. The flight crew had gone down to the basement. She needed to find out if they were still down here.

Taking a deep breath, she walked down the steps and stood in front of the door. The door was solid, but what was she going to find on the other side of the door? Her hand was shaking as she reached for the doorknob.

The door was unlocked.

Slowly she opened the door with her left hand, her right hand on her gun. Inside, she found a muted light, but the short twelve-foot hallway was empty. Stepping inside, she quietly pushed the door closed behind her, but not completely shutting it. If something happened, she wanted a fast way out.

Maggie slowly and quietly walked forward. When she reached the end, she peeked around the corner, her gun up. There was a long hallway, about sixty feet in length. She stared at what was ahead of her. This wasn’t like any basement she had ever seen before. The hallway was eight feet across. Three muted lights dimly lit up the hallway. On the left side of the hallway were five doors, evenly spaced down the length. Two more doors were on the right side, at the other end of the hallway. Ten feet down was the first door. If there were rooms behind the doors, then they measured about ten feet by twelve feet. In total, there were seven doors. Is this where the flight crew is?

Standing in front of the first door, she looked at the doorknob. After putting her gun back in the holster, she put her hand on the doorknob and twisted. Locked. She listened at the door, but heard nothing. Continuing to walk down the hallway, she passed two more doors and then saw an opening on her right.

A set of stairs went up to the main part of the house. Just as she was about to walk on, something shiny caught her attention. Quietly walking up the wooden steps, she took the key off the nail it was hanging on, and then went back down the stairs.

Maggie leaned against the wall, looking both ways. It was obvious a lot of thought had gone into the remodeling of this basement. They knew how many was going to be on the plane. Whoever had arranged this, knew what they were doing. Moving down the hallway to her left, she stood in front of the first door again. She looked down at the key in her hand. Did this key open the doors? If so, what is she going to find inside?

John Murphy sat on his bed. He had tried reading, but couldn’t keep his mind on the book. He was now halfway through War and Peace, and, while it was a good book, he knew reading it now was only way to keep his mind off the thoughts that kept running through his mind. They had gotten the special meal tonight just as the man had promised. He had ordered a sirloin steak cooked medium rare and a large baked potato. No dessert. He just wanted the steak. I had been a long time since he’d had a steak. His wife would not let him have one very often. It had hit the spot and he relished every bite of it.

What bothered him was what the man had told him. Yesterday, the man told him they would be set free on Tuesday morning. At the time, he hoped the man was telling him the truth. But, today, the man’s demeanor told him this was not going to end well. He wasn’t as talkative and friendly as he had been the other days. He sensed something was wrong. Had the man agreed to the special meal because it was going to be their last meal? Even though he hoped they would be let go tomorrow morning, he now doubted that was going to happen.

John went back to reading, trying to get his mind off his thoughts. Suddenly, he heard the key going in the lock. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the book still in his hand. Why was the man coming back? No one was supposed to pick up the plate and silverware until tomorrow morning. What is going on? Will he ever be able to see Julie again? With the book tightly in his hand, he stood up and was ready to meet his fate.

Maggie slipped the key in the door. She twisted the doorknob and began pulling the door open. A light was on inside the room. Then she saw movement. She pulled her gun up, and then pulled the door all the way open. The man stood in front of a twin bed. His eyes were wide, focused on the gun pointed at him.

The man stood straight. In his right hand, he held a very thick book. He was a distinguished looking man, standing about five foot ten, had dark brown hair with grey around his temples. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue chambray shirt. Maggie guessed his age at about fifty-five years. She glanced around the room. To the left was a small enclosed area. A bathroom? In front was a small table, a basin of water sitting on top, a towel and soap sitting next to the basin. Two gallon jugs of water were under the table. To her right, a small three-foot square wooden table and one chair, sat in the corner. A plate sat on top of the table, along with an empty Pepsi can. Then she saw it. Hanging on the back of the chair was the man’s jacket. She looked back at him again, dropping her gun hand down by her side.

“
What is your name?” Maggie asked in a lowered voice. The news reports never mentioned what the names of the flight crew was.

He paused a moment, then nodded. “I am Captain John Murphy.”

“
From DAC flight 3351?”

He nodded again. “Yes.”

Maggie blew her breath out, thoughts racing through her mind.

“
My name is Detective Maggie Connor. I would really like to know how you got here, but there isn’t time.” She took out her badge and showed him, then looked back at the plate sitting on the table. “When did they last feed you?”

“
Two hours ago. The plate and silverware stays here until morning.”

She let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “Good. Okay, let’s get you and your crew out of here. Come with me and be very quiet.”

A look of relief came over John’s face as he followed Maggie out of the room. They quickly went down the hall to the next room. In the next room was another man, who stood up when the door opened. John introduced him as Peter Collins, his first officer. He looked to be in his early thirties, was about five foot eight and had short, curly, light brown hair. Maggie thought he looked scared.