The Alberta Connection (20 page)

Ryce tapped on a few keys on his laptop,
stood, took Tanya’s hand, and started toward the conference room.
Before he could walk five steps, his laptop began to gurgle. He
spun and returned to his desk.

He had accidently pressed continue when he
wanted to press cancel. A new service record was displayed on
Ryce’s screen. It had the same photo, but a different name. Ryce
scanned the service record of Reginald Anderson. Reginald had died
in 2003.

This was something Ryce had not expected.
Ryce pressed the continue button once again. A service record for
Robert Welch replaced Reginald Anderson. Robert was also dead. Ryce
frowned. He now had two dead guys and an escaped convict with the
same photo in their service records. Could things get any more
confusing?

No more Air Force service records were found
after Robert Welch. Ryce loaded the Navy access codes, and
restarted his search of the Navy database. Using the photo for
Andrew Lyste, Ryce found Simon Caldwell, who died in 1998, and
Perry Kline, who also died in 1998. Gregory Lyste also had two
additional service records. They were James Woodward, who was
listed as having died in 1968, and Farley Westfall, who was not yet
deceased. At least his service record did not list him as dead.
Ryce was not confident the records were accurate.

Ryce wrote the nine names on his doodle pad
and walked to the conference room. Perhaps searching the names
would provide information that the photo search program could
not.

At 10:00 AM Idaho time, the Caravan was
reported near a Cracker Barrel in Bismarck. Dianne seemed to be
making much better time without Frank as a passenger. Ryce opened
his laptop, selected the program he had worked so hard on to
predict where the group was going, and sadly clicked delete. With
the FBI tracker, his efforts were no longer needed.

Ryce leaned back in his office chair. In two
days, he would be in Monroe, WA. After he met with David Bolt in
Monroe, Ryce would organize the new headquarters of the JBTF. He
needed to pick someone to run the place for a few days, but he had
several candidates to talk to Tanya about. As soon as things were
running smoothly, he and Tanya would fly to Billings and pick up
some necessities. Tanya could drive her Charger to Idaho, he would
pick up his Ram, and they would then caravan to Seattle. When Ryce
had suggested Tanya allow her Charger to be placed on a car
carrier, he thought she might actually faint.

Ryce and Tanya had little to pack for the
flight to Seattle. It would take less than fifteen minutes to clean
out the closets in the apartment. The bathroom would need less than
five minutes. They had no other possessions in the apartment.

Kenny had flown to Billings with Phil and
would be coordinating the packing and transportation of Ryce and
Tanya’s household goods. He would also oversee the packing for
every other agent in the Billings’ office. Ryce expected Kenny
would not arrive in Seattle for at least ten days.

The agents in the conference room had been
listening to the morning’s audio tracks. When Ryce read the
transcripts, he noticed that the primary conversation was about
where they were going after Billings. Ryce checked the distance
between Fargo and Billings. Billings was twice as far from Fargo as
the group had been travelling with Frank. Would they arrive in
Billings tonight or wait until tomorrow?

One of the male occupants wanted to go
directly to the border crossing point “near Seattle.”
Unfortunately, the actual location was only referred to as “B.”
Dianne reminded the two passengers they would not be paid unless
they delivered the laptops to “Grant.” Then they could go where
ever they wanted.

Ryce checked two files on his laptop. One
contained the nine names of the three men who were occupants of the
cabin. The other had the names of the four former FBI agents who
had been murdered at the cabin. None of the names on either list
included anyone with a first or last name of “Grant.”

Ryce called Matt to see if everything was a
go for the observation team. Matt laughed.

“It better be a go. I just checked my credit
card. Damien got a new sleeping bag, two new fishing poles, and two
hundred bucks in new tackle. I still haven’t gotten the bill for
the groceries. At this rate, I might find they spent five hundred
dollars on steaks.”

When Ryce reassured Matt that the expenses
would be reimbursed, Matt laughed.

“This card was issued by Homeland Security. I
simply sign an authorization to pay once a month. I had Doug check
the card limits when I was in Idaho. There is no warning on the
card until it gets a five thousand dollar single purchase. I don’t
think a few hundred bucks in fishing gear will cause any
problems.”

Russ and Damien were camped at the same
location that Ryce had slept on his last night on the mountain.
Ryce chuckled to himself. Matt was right. Russ and Damien would
blend into the landscape. Terry Maywood was five feet four inches
tall and weighed more than three hundred pounds. He was a logistics
expert. Terry Maywood would never be mistaken for someone who knew
how to use a fishing pole.

Ryce walked out to the conference room. Tanya
was chatting with one of the agents. He found a chair next to her.
Did she want to go back to Billings and help Kenny with the move?
Or did she have someone she could recommend?

Tanya thought for a minute. “Send Veronica
back with Kenny. They have been seeing each other for about four
months, and I am sure they would rather not spend two weeks apart.
Besides, I don’t want to be separated from you for more than five
minutes.”

Ryce returned to his office and composed some
emails. Veronica was scheduled to fly to Seattle with Ryce in the
morning. Ryce needed to find a flight for her to Billings. Could
John provide the Gulfstream G650? If not, Ryce would need to find a
commercial flight.

Ryce and Tanya decided that the headquarters
cafeteria was OK for today’s lunch. As they walked in, they saw
John sitting alone at one of the tables. After walking through the
serving line, Ryce and Tanya placed their trays across from John.
John looked at Ryce and grinned.

“I can take care of getting Veronica to
Billings. The Gulfstream is waiting at the Pendergast Airport. Phil
is in the ready room.”

Ryce thought for a moment and then looked at
Tanya. “Did you let Veronica know about going to Billings? I sent
her an email, but I haven’t gotten a reply.”

Tanya shook her head “no” and then opened her
cell phone. Veronica answered on the second ring. After a short
conversation, Tanya informed John that Veronica would be at the
airport at 8:00 AM the next morning.

When Ryce and Tanya returned to Suite 425, it
was after 2:00 PM. Ryce checked the tracker on the Grand Caravan.
Dianne was averaging more than 60 MPH. At 10:00 AM Idaho time, she
had been in Bismarck. Four hours later, she was near Miles City,
Montana. Ryce guessed that Dianne and her companions would be in
Billings in less than three hours.

For a brief moment, Ryce regretted closing
the Billings JBTF offices. It would be beneficial to have someone
in Billings to get an eye on Dianne. However, they had the FBI
tracking device telling them where the Caravan was located. Would
Dianne stop in Billings?

Ryce checked the mileage from Billings to the
next best place to stop. Butte was almost four hours away from
Billings. Ryce was confident his night would not be interrupted by
a call telling him the laptop thieves had continued past Billings.
He walked to the conference room, took Tanya’s hand, and walked
from Suite 425. This could be the second to last family dinner Ryce
and Tanya would attend for some time.

Chapter 27

Ryce and Tanya
walked into Suite 425 a little after 8:00 AM. His first stop was
the status board now hanging in the conference room. Ryce reread
the latest GPS tracker report twice and then turned to one of the
agents at the conference table.

“Can you re-run that tracker location? If
Dianne and her friends ate where the status report says they ate,
we won’t have to worry about them leaving Billings. The place they
stopped at for breakfast is known locally as Botulism Barneys.”

Ryce waited until the agent completed the
tracker query. Dianne was actually at Botulism Barneys. Ryce called
Tanya over.

“Hey, hon, do you remember Botulism Barney’s?
Also known as Rick’s Real Ranch Bar-B-Que? Dianne stopped there for
breakfast. Well, at least they stopped there. I didn’t know Rick’s
had a breakfast menu.”

Ryce stared at the status board for a few
more seconds, turned to Tanya, kissed her, and walked to his
office. Something decidedly strange was going on. On his worst day,
Ryce would not eat at Rick’s. What was Dianne doing at Rick’s?
Rick’s was six miles north of where they had stayed for the night,
and four miles away from I-94.

Ryce checked the contact list on his smart
phone. He had two close friends on the Billings PD. He picked one
and pressed dial.

Tanya walked into Ryce’s office while he was
talking to his friend in Billings. As soon as he flipped his cell
phone closed, he looked over at her.

“I called Dean Hawthorne on the Billings PD.
He is taking a ride to Rick’s to see if the Grand Caravan is still
there. If it is, he will check out the restaurant and see if Dianne
and her friends are still inside. I am sending him some pictures
just as soon as I get a kiss.”

Ryce was pleased with the smile that
encompassed Tanya’s face. She walked across the office and sat in
his lap.

“Honey, I love you more and more every
day.”

Ryce’s cell phone interrupted the kiss. Ryce
flipped the phone open, and pressed the speaker button.

“This is Ryce.”

“Ryce, this is Dean Hawthorne. The Dodge
Caravan is gone. Rick’s has a new owner and a breakfast menu. I
know, it is not reasonable. The Dodge departed Rick’s heading
northbound on US-87. I had a cruiser do a soft tail. The Dodge was
still going northbound when they went past the north access to
Rattlesnake Reservoir. I will do a little more digging around on
the new owners of Rick’s. Tell Tanya I still love her, even though
she married you. When she permanently dumps you, I will take her
back.”

The cell call went dead. Ryce looked over at
Tanya.

She smiled and said, “I am not planning to
dump you, but Dean does have a nice Dodge Challenger.”

Ryce called up Google Maps on the monitor.
US-87 went north for approximately eighty miles and then turned
west. Eventually, it arrived in Great Falls. Dianne was not going
to continue to average sixty mph. The road she was now travelling
was mostly posted for 55 mph, with many areas posted at 45 mph, and
some posted as slow as 35 mph. US-87 was heavily patrolled. It was
the route often used by anyone who didn’t want to use the
interstate.

Ryce called Matt. If Dianne’s destination was
Great Falls, Matt could easily set up an observation post near
Malmstrom AF Base. They had the FBI tracker, but some eyes on the
trio would be a terrific thing.

The audio bug in the Grand Caravan continued
to confirm that Dianne was meeting someone named Grant in Great
Falls. She was at least six hours from the meeting. Ryce was
confident he had all the pieces in place.

Ryce walked to the conference room to watch
the tracker reports on one of the 42-inch monitors. The display on
the monitor was almost in real time. The conversion program
displayed the results less than three seconds after the report was
received. Ryce chuckled, and remarked to Tanya that it almost
looked as if he were watching his own GPS. Tanya poked him in the
ribs.

“That is GPS, you silly rabbit.”

Ryce decided he could wait in the apartment
as well as in Suite 425, and the apartment had a marvelous bed
where he could stretch out. He took Tanya’s hand, told the agents
working in the conference room to call him if they needed him, and
they left the office.

Ryce interrupted his nap only long enough to
drive with Tanya to the chow hall for lunch. A little after 3:00
PM, he was awakened by his vibrating cell phone. He heard Tanya
grunt in disgust and then felt his cell phone being placed on his
chest.

“Answer that thing before I throw it across
the room.”

Ryce checked the caller ID. The call was from
Matt. As Ryce was answering the call, he got up and walked out of
the bedroom.

“What do you have, Matt?”

“We just picked up the Dodge Caravan east of
Clara Park. It is heading west on 10th Avenue South. I will keep
you informed.”

Ryce flipped his cell phone closed and walked
back into the master bedroom. Tanya was sitting on the bed, looking
toward the door. Naked.

Ryce smiled.

“Do you know where Clara Park is in Great
Falls?”

Tanya looked at him with a big grin. “I might
tell you if I get a kiss.”

After a long kiss, Tanya smiled at Ryce. “No,
I don’t remember where Clara Park is located.”

Ryce walked to his laptop and pulled up
Google Maps. As Montana was being displayed, he wondered why he did
not use MapQuest. He could not think of a reason, other than his
favorite tab was set to Google Maps.

He followed 10th Ave S to Clara Park. Tanya
pulled up a chair and began watching over his shoulder. She
giggled. She had suggested they go to Clara Park on their second
date. They sat in one of the parking lots making out until one of
Great Falls finest flashed his light into Ryce’s Dodge. It was Dean
Hawthorne, who transferred to Billings PD a year later.

Ryce must have remembered the evening in
Clara Park. He took Tanya’s hand and led her back to their bed. He
was interrupted halfway through the first kiss.

Ryce saw the call was from Matt, and, for a
moment, thought about pressing the ignore button. Tanya had slipped
on a bathrobe and was walking into the bathroom. Ryce pressed the
answer button and then the speaker button. Tanya poked her head
through the bathroom door.