Missing (28 page)

The two agents looked at each other. Then Palmer looked back at her.

“
Any identifying marks on the woman?”

Maggie wondered what other information he was looking for. Then it dawned on her what he wanted. She nodded.

“
Yes. She had an earring in her eyebrow. Left one, I think.”

Palmer blew out his breath. He looked over at McWilliams.

“
Michael Whitcomb.”

McWilliams nodded. “And his hacker girlfriend.”

“
Yes. Radio the chopper to come in and pick up Fitzpatrick and his friend. Get a couple of the SWAT guys to go with them. Then call the office and get a couple of computer techs ready. They’ve got a big job ahead of them. They are going to have to notify the companies and work with them on getting this stopped.”

McWilliams nodded, and then turned toward the SWAT members who were still guarding Fitzpatrick and Walter. He said a few words to them and they nodded. Then he headed towards the second SUV.

Palmer looked at Maggie. “Okay, let’s get Fitzpatrick’s computer and you can show me what you found.”

Maggie nodded. “Oh, the other guys name is Walter Jenkins. He works somewhere in FEMA too.”

Palmer shook his head. “Great. One more person who is going to be out of a job.”

Maggie nodded. “Got that right.”

They walked to the car. Palmer got into the backseat and grabbed the briefcase. He laid it on the trunk of the car and opened it. Inside he found the laptop. Taking it out, he handed it to Maggie. She opened it, put the internet card in the USB port and then turned the computer on. A few moments later, the main screen came up. On the screen were three icons.

First, she clicked on the bottom icon. When the screen came up, she saw the code was still in there.

“
Okay, this is the file that he typed the command in and the house caught on fire. I was behind the loveseat next to the room they were in, but I didn’t see any wiring. Somebody probably embedded the wires. The other two locations were near the front door and the empty dining room. It was mostly dark, so I didn’t see anything there either. I didn’t see any phones, but Fitzpatrick said the house was hard-wired because the hackers had requested it. I doubt this fire was Fitzpatrick’s doing. Walter overheard the hacker saying he put a little ‘action’ in the codes. He gave Fitzpatrick a paper that had code on it. He told him that putting in the code would erase any evidence that they had been there. He lied. Instead, it caught the house on fire.”

“
We’ve identified the two hackers, but the other two are tentatively identified. One likes to set buildings on fire to hide a criminal act.”

“
Nice guy. Now you know who is responsible for this.”

Maggie closed that screen, going to the most important one. The screen with the six screens came up. Palmer stared at the screen.

“
That’s all the time we’ve got until the codes they put in begin?”

There was a panic in his voice. Maggie could understand how he felt. She wondered now if he was questioning himself for yelling at her for going in. If she hadn’t, they never would have known what was going on until it was too late.

“
Yes,” Maggie said. “Now, let me show you the codes. I don’t know if they are right, but hopefully your computer techs can figure it out.” She minimized the screen with the six clocks. She was sure they were going to want to watch them. She opened the file with the codes. The page opened and she stared at the screen. To her, it looked like mumbo jumbo. She was sure it meant something to a computer geek, but it meant nothing to her. Palmer looked as confused as she was.

“
What’s the deal with the list of codes?” Palmer asked.

“
Fitzpatrick apparently requested it as a means of faith between them. Fitzpatrick handed the man an envelope. I am sure it was money, but I don’t know how much. Fitzpatrick told me he paid him extra too. Oh, there is a contract too. I doubt it is in his briefcase. I am not convinced the codes are right. Besides, I doubt a professional hacker is going to hand over the codes he used. He did say he had hid the shell codes on multiple levels.” She paused a moment. “Oh, I just thought of something else. Fitzpatrick was apparently setting someone up to take the fall for this. I think it was his boss. He gave the hacker an e-mail address. I guess the e-mail address is going to show up as the originating source of the hacking. Apparently, Fitzpatrick doesn’t think much of his boss. He said his boss has been taking credit for things he has been doing, so this was his way of getting back at him. I think he wants his boss’s job.”

Palmer shook his head. “I’ve heard the tension in FEMA is high. Guess now we know why. Anyway, this hacker did almost the same thing a year and a half ago in Ohio, so he is a pro at hiding the codes he used.” He paused a moment, then looked at McWilliams, who had now came back. “Did you get ahold of the office?”

“
Yes, talked to Donovan. I filled him in on what is going on. He is getting a crew ready now. We just have to get the information to them.”

Palmer nodded. “Okay, will you take care of that? The company names are on the six screens, so you will have something to work with.” McWilliams nodded, and Palmer handed him the computer. McWilliams walked back to the SUV and got inside. Then Palmer turned back to Maggie.

“
Is he going to drive the computer back to New York?”

Palmer shook his head. “No, this is a high tech SUV. We have a computer uplink, so he can send every file that is on the computer.”

Maggie nodded. She would really like to see it, but right now, she had more to tell him.

“
Okay. There is one more thing,” Palmer said.

“
What’s that?”

“
Where’s the flight crew? They aren’t still inside, are they?”

Maggie shook her head. “No, I got them out before I went inside.”

“
Good. Where are they?”

Maggie nodded. “I’ll get them.”

Palmer shook his head. “Just tell me where they are and we’ll get them.”

“
No, sir. Because I wasn’t sure who could be trusted around here, I told them not to come out until I told them to.”

Palmer paused a moment, then nodded. “Probably a good idea. Okay, go ahead.”

As she walked towards the woods to the south, she looked at the house. Three fire trucks were now getting the fire under control. The house was still smoking, but she was sure that would end soon. At least the fire was out. Jack had been loaded into an ambulance and it was now pulling out. When she got near the end of the house, she stopped. Palmer stopped next to her. Maggie pointed to the basement door.

“
They were kept in the basement in separate rooms. Their luggage is still down there. Any chance they will be able to take their luggage with them when they leave?”

Palmer looked at her. “Is the basement door unlocked?”

“
Yes. So are the room doors. I found the key to open the doors.” She pulled the key out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“
Okay.” He signaled the SWAT team leader over to him. He gave him instructions to get the luggage and personal effects out. The man nodded, and then signaled two other men to help. Then they headed for the basement door.

Maggie and Palmer began walking again. Thirty feet later, Maggie stopped.

“
Just a minute.” Maggie walked to the edge of the southern part of the woods. She stopped near to where she knew they were. At least she hoped they were still there. They had to have seen everything that had been going on. She hoped they hadn’t panicked and took off.

“
Captain Murphy, you and your crew can come out now.”

A few moments later, one by one, all seven came out. Captain Murphy walked up to her, a questioning look on his face.

“
Who are these men?” Captain Murphy asked, nodding towards Palmer.

“
He is with the FBI. This is Special Agent Palmer. Did you call them?”

Murphy nodded. “Yes, I did. I told him what you told me to.” He handed her cell phone back to her.

Agent Palmer walked up to him, extending his hand out to him. “Captain Murphy. I am Special Agent Darren Palmer. I am glad to finally meet you. We need to talk to you and your crew to find out what happened. We will try to make it as short as possible. Then we’ll make sure you all get home to your families.”

Captain Murphy shook Agent Palmer’s hand. Then he turned to Maggie.

“
Thank you for getting us out. I don’t know what would have happened to us. I do know you saved our lives. We heard the men coming through the edge of the trees. We all got scared and went as far back as we could and hid. Then we saw the house catch fire.” He shook his head. “The man who brought our food seemed different today. I didn’t get a good feeling about it. I wonder now if they would have left us inside and let the house burn down.”

Maggie shook her head. “No, they wouldn’t have. I heard them say that you were to be let go tomorrow morning. It was someone else who caused the fire. Still, I am glad I saw you the day you got out of the tour bus. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known any of you were in there.”

He shook his head. “You know, I don’t even remember how we got here. I had started a diary, writing down things as I remembered them. I can’t remember much past the take off.

“
They must have given you something,” she said.

He nodded. “They might have. I just don’t remember. They did give us a lot to drink.”

Maggie nodded. “Something was probably in the drinks.”

John nodded. “I’m just glad it’s over. My wife isn’t in good health, and I’ve been worried about her.”

“
You’re wife is just fine,” Palmer said. “She’s been leading the barrage of calls before and after they found the plane.”

John looked confused. “They found the plane?”

Palmer nodded. “Yes. It was located in eastern Quebec Province, Canada.”

“
Canada?” John Murphy shook his head. “That’s incredible. I just don’t remember anything.”

“
Don’t worry about it,” Palmer said. “Now, if you and your crew will follow me, we’ll get you started on your way back home.”

Just then, the sound of an approaching helicopter got their attention. A moment later, it came into view. It was a large military type helicopter. It landed on the ground, a hundred feet away. Once the rotors had stopped, Palmer led the group toward the helicopter. A few moments later, the three SWAT team members brought the crews luggage and loaded them on the helicopter. Once the flight crew, and Fitzpatrick and Walter, and their two SWAT escorts, got on-board, the helicopter lifted off the ground. Maggie watched until it was out of sight.

“
What’s going to happen to them?” she asked Palmer, who was now standing beside her.

“
They are going to be airlifted back to New York. There are several agents waiting to talk to them. They might not get much out of them, based on what Capt. Murphy said. But, they will be able to tell how they were treated and what the conditions were.”

“
As far as I could tell, they were well fed. The rooms are only about ten by twelve feet and there is a small bathroom in each room. They seem to have been given everything they needed.”

“
Except their freedom.”

Maggie nodded. “Yeah.”

“
Okay, we need to talk now about this man Whitcomb, and the woman. How long ago did they leave?”

“
They left about a half an hour or so ago. They are in a black Lincoln. I’m not sure of the year, but I’ve got the plate number.” She pulled her notepad from her jeans back pocket and gave him the license plate number. “It’s probably a rental. Fitzpatrick drove the car in late this afternoon. I heard them say they were heading to Buffalo, New York. They were going to ditch the car at the airport and then take the tour bus into western Canada. It is probably the same bus I saw them bring the flight crew in on. It is a white bus, with about five darkened windows on each side. No name on it, though. Apparently, the other two are waiting on the bus.”

“
Did you get the license plate number of the bus?”

Maggie shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”

“
That’s okay, we will find the bus, and we will find the car before it gets to New York.”

“
I hope you find them. After they stay in Canada for a while, they are going to head back to Europe again. It’s all on the tape.”

“
Okay. I will get the word out on them. Somebody will find the car.”

“
I really didn’t get a real good look at any of them.”

“
That’s alright. We have pictures of all of them. They will know who to look for.”

Maggie glanced at her watch at the same time Palmer did.

Only five more hours to go.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Maggie sat across the table from the two FBI agents. It was now four o’clock in the morning and they were in a conference room in the county sheriff’s office. She had just finished giving her testimony on when she first saw the tour bus, what she had done and what she had heard. They had already listened to the tape recording, but wanted to get more detail. She figured Agent Palmer was going to yell at her again for going in before they got there, but he didn’t. She was grateful for that, because she knew she had made the right decision.