“Was it Goodwin?” Anlon asked.
“Don’t know. CHP didn’t get a positive ID from the witnesses,” Emerson said.
“Do they know which way he headed?” Antonio asked.
“No, but his options are limited. The motel’s in a pretty remote area.”
“Where is it? The motel?” Anlon asked, opening the maps app on his cell phone.
“Near a podunk little town called Ludlow. Not much larger than a truck stop, really,” Emerson said.
Anlon typed in the town name and the app zeroed in on its location. Antonio leaned over and watched as Anlon used his fingers to zoom out on the map’s image. Ludlow sat astride Route 66, a spur off I-40, an east-west highway that led toward Flagstaff, Arizona, to the east and Barstow, California, to the west. To the northside of Ludlow was the Mojave National Preserve. To the south was Joshua Tree National Park. As Anlon zoomed out further, he discovered there were several other wilderness preserves to the west and south, and all were accessible from roads near Ludlow. That meant there were escape route options in every direction.
“Looks to me like he has lots of options,” Anlon said, holding up the app for Emerson.
“Less than it looks. The terrain in the area is mostly desert scrubland, according to CHP, and he had a ten-to-fifteen-minute head start, at most. Once the choppers are overhead, it’ll be hard for him to hide,” Emerson said.
“I know the area,” Antonio said. “We do a lot of our military testing near the Mojave. Like you said, lots of desert. But lots of mountains, also. The car won’t be so easy to spot from the air if he gets into the mountains.”
“We’ll see. Hopefully, they catch him before he has time to come up with a plan,” Emerson said.
“Do you think he’ll kill her?” Anlon asked.
“Let’s hope not,” Emerson said, holding up crossed fingers.
Chapter 14 – Clearing Fog
Albany, New York
September 28
Jennifer paced the security holding room waiting for Agent Li to reenter. As she had suspected, Li was upset to discover Jennifer’s departure from the hospital. Li had been even more angry to learn that Nickerson had helped her slip out. Li had taken the position that Jennifer skipped out before she finished questioning her. Jennifer had countered by saying she thought the questioning was over when they left the room after she identified Goodwin. Li had summarily dismissed her explanation, calling it “total B.S.” On her way out of the holding room, Li declared Jennifer a person-of-interest and said she would be held for further questioning.
Li then dressed down Nickerson in an adjoining room. They were still going at it as Jennifer paced her room. She could hear their heated exchange through the thin wall. Jennifer had never heard Nickerson raise his voice before, and it shocked her to hear him boom back at Li as she badgered him with questions. Their parry and thrust went on for several minutes but abruptly ceased. Jennifer was unsure of the reason for the sudden end of their discussion, but right after the room went silent, she heard a third voice through the wall and then the door slammed.
Jennifer expected Li to barge into her holding room at any second with eyes afire and a snarl on her face, but it was a good twenty minutes before the agent came in. When she did, her manner was subdued. She approached Jennifer and asked her to sit at the room’s small conference table. Li sat across from her and folded her hands on the table’s laminate surface. She studied Jennifer’s bruised face and said, “Your friend must mean a great deal to you.”
“She does,” Jennifer said.
“Then do yourself a favor and cooperate,” Li said.
“I have cooperated.”
“Not fully.”
“Not true,” Jennifer said. “Without my help, you wouldn’t know who robbed the bank or what kind of weapons she used. I identified Charles Goodwin for you. I’m the one who brought Eleanor McCarver’s abduction to your attention. I’ve answered every question asked of me by everyone involved in this madness.”
Li patiently listened, nodding as Jennifer ticked off each of her contributions to the investigation. When Jennifer finished speaking, Li said, “I agree. You’ve been very helpful. It’s the only reason I haven’t arrested you for obstruction of justice, interfering in a criminal investigation, and aiding and abetting a fugitive — a fugitive wanted for a laundry list of felonies. But you haven’t been completely honest. You’ve avoided answering certain questions and shaded your answers to others. And to be honest, there are incidents in your police personnel file you didn’t mention upfront that concern me.”
Jennifer crossed her arms. “What incidents? What are you talking about?”
“You seem to know a lot about the stone artifacts at the center of all these crimes,” Li said.
“Yeah, so?”
“I’m concerned you are hiding something that might implicate you in criminal activity. I’m concerned that’s the reason you won’t answer my questions.”
“What? You’re out of your mind,” Jennifer said, pushing back from the table.
In a level tone, Li said, “Your last case as a detective involved these same stones. A case in which you were suspended for destroying evidence — one of the stones, if I’m not mistaken. And then while you were serving your suspension you shot an unarmed man in Nicaragua. Again, these stones were involved. Then you showed up in Vermont, seeking to gain access to the Simpson murder investigation. You’re not on the job anymore, but Detective Hall tells me you asked to tour the crime scene, and you met with the medical examiner.”
Jennifer stood and leaned over the table. “You’ve left out some important facts, but all that’s true. I don’t deny any of it. How does any of it suggest I’m up to something criminal?”
“You found a rather large amount of gold coins back in May, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. So what? They were collected as evidence.”
“I ask myself, why won’t this detective, excuse me, former detective, tell me where this Muran comes from? She tells me she knows the perp’s name, but says she’s never met her. She tells me Muran is after some stone artifacts, but won’t tell me why. I ask her how she knows Goodwin, how she knew Simpson, she says she was doing research for a friend, this Anlon Cully. But, again, the research is about the stones. I ask how Miss McCarver is involved, I’m told she’s another friend and that her abduction is connected with the stones.
“When I push harder for answers, I get pithy brush-offs; ‘It’ll sound crazy,’ or ‘It’s a long story,’ or my personal favorite, ‘You’ll think I’m a wacko.’ So, I ask myself, why won’t she come clean? I take a step back, and I wonder. Maybe’s she’s mixed up in it? Maybe she’s after the stones herself? Maybe, just maybe, she got a taste of how much these artifacts are worth and wants another taste now that she’s off the job. Her personnel file certainly paints the picture of a cop who doesn’t always play by the rules. You know what I mean, more of an ‘ends justify the means’ kind of cop. Those kinds of cops tend to be vigilantes — and have been known to have sticky fingers,” Li said, rubbing her thumbs against her fingers to emphasize the insinuation.
Glaring at Li, Jennifer said, “You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“Then prove it. Spill the whole truth.”
Jennifer sighed and bowed her head. It was an impossible situation. If she told Li the “whole truth,” there was a significant chance she’d never be able to work in law enforcement again. If they apprehended Muran or Goodwin, there would be a trial, and Jennifer’s comments during the interview would be subject to discovery. The prosecutors would likely minimize Jennifer’s testimony, but the defense counsel would seize the opportunity to destroy her credibility. She could see his opening question already. “Come now, Miss Stevens, do you really expect the jury to believe my client is ten thousand years old and that she routinely moves her mind from one body to another?” As sensational as the crimes were, the whole country, if not the whole world, would follow every moment of the trial. If s
he recanted her statements in court, she’d look like an attention-seeking liar. If she stood by them, she’d look like a loon. Either way, her professional reputation would be ruined.
On the other hand, if Jennifer didn’t answer questions, she thought it likely Li would charge her with something that would allow the agent to detain her. Then, Li would try to wear her down into talking. Jennifer could lawyer up, but she realized it might take days to gain her release — precious days she would be unavailable to help Anlon rescue Pebbles or aid in the hunt for Muran and Goodwin.
Li tapped the table to draw Jennifer’s attention. “Miss Stevens?”
Jennifer sat back down and locked eyes with Li. “If I tell you everything you want to know, am I free to go when we’re finished talking?”
“No guarantees.”
“Look, I’m on the same team, here. Truly, I am. I just don’t think you’ll find my answers credible, and I really don’t think they matter at this point. What’s important is tracking down Muran and Goodwin before they kill anyone else, including Pebbles, uh, Miss McCarver,” Jennifer said.
“Wake up, Stevens. To track down Muran, we need to know a lot more about her than what you’ve told us. Her full name for starters. Where does she live? Where does she work? Does she have friends or associates she might turn to now that she’s on the run? Does she have a criminal record? And so on. You know the drill,” Li said.
“I’ve told you already, I don’t know any of that information,” Jennifer said. “I’d start by finding Goodwin. Not only does he seem to know Muran, he might know where Pebbles is.”
“You may be right about that. His secretary said he left on a vacation a few days ago but didn’t say where he was headed. We have PDs in Nevada, California and Arizona on the lookout for him, just in case,” Li said.
“Arizona? Why Arizona?” Jennifer asked.
“Your friend, ‘Pebbles,’ was able to make a phone call within the last hour,” Li said. “She said she was at a motel very close to where Arizona, Nevada and Cali all touch.”
“What?” Jennifer said, jumping up out of her seat. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? Is she all right?”
“We don’t know. She hung up before anyone could find out. We don’t know if she escaped, or if she was able to sneak in the call before Goodwin noticed, assuming he’s the one who abducted her. That’s not a slam dunk until he’s been found and we talk with him. Which would be easier to do if we knew more about his connection with Muran. There are two ways to get there. Start with Goodwin, get to Muran, or the other way around. You see why it’s so important to me now?”
“Yes, I do. Just wish you’d led with that. It would have saved time,” Jennifer said.
“I was hoping it wasn’t necessary. I hoped you’d be straight up with me,” Li said.
Jennifer sat back down and laid her hands on the table. “Okay, fine. What do you want to know?”
“Good decision,” Li said. She opened a leather portfolio and readied to take notes. “First question — who is Muran?”
“She was a leader, like a council member, of a country called Munuoria.”
“Was a leader?”
“The country no longer exists.”
“And where was this country located?”
“I don’t know.”
“How’s it spelled, the country name?”
“Couldn’t tell you. I’d run it by your linguistics people.”
“Okay, I’ll have someone check it out. What’s her full given name?”
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure she is using an alias, so I doubt you’ll find any trace of her under her given name. I think Anabel Simpson knew one of Muran’s aliases, but I couldn’t tell you if it was her current alias. I’d suggest having the Vermont PD go back through her papers, look through her computer. Look for a name with the initials C.A.,” Jennifer said.
“C.A.? Where’d you come up with that?” Li asked.
This was a moment Jennifer had hoped to avoid, especially given Li’s earlier dig about Jennifer not playing by the rules. It seemed so innocent at the time. The Vermont PD had already been through Anabel’s house thoroughly and they’d missed it. But how could she blame them? They wouldn’t have understood the significance even if they noticed it during their search. Hell, Jennifer hadn’t grasped the significance until she saw the screen capture of Goodwin and Muran in the Ticonderoga café. Jennifer sighed. Li wouldn’t be happy with her answer.
“There was a locket in Anabel’s bedroom mixed in with her other jewelry. It had a picture inside of Anabel holding hands with Muran. I swear I had no idea it was Muran until you showed me the café picture,” Jennifer said.
“What? Why didn’t you mention it before?”
“Because I’ve been trying to work it out in my mind. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?”
“Well, for one thing, there’s an inscription on the outside of the locket. ‘Forever One.’”
“Is that significant?”
“I don’t know. Given the inscription, I expected there to be a man’s picture inside.”
“So, she had a ‘close’ lady friend. Big deal.”
“Yeah, I know. It just was a surprise given what I knew of Anabel. But that’s not all. The picture’s puzzling, too.”
“How so?”
“Well, Anabel is young in the picture. I’d say she was in her late twenties. Muran looks like the woman in the café. Literally. Hairstyle is different, but otherwise no difference.”
“Hmmm…”
“And then there’s another inscription inside. ‘With all my love, C.A.’ There’s also a date below the inscription.”
“Date?”
“Yeah. 1862.”
“What? That can’t be right. You said the locket’s in the Simpson woman’s bedroom? I want to see it.”
“Uh, well, it was there,” said a blushing Jennifer. “I sort of borrowed it. It’s in my bag, wherever you’ve put it.”
Li slid out of her chair and headed for the door.
In flight along the Nevada-California border
Upon reaching Reno International’s general aviation terminal, Anlon, Antonio and Detective Emerson scurried through the building and out onto the terminal’s apron where Antonio’s Gulfstream was parked. As they approached the plane, Antonio’s executive assistant, Kathleen “Katie” Kierney, appeared through the plane’s door and welcomed them aboard.
While Antonio ducked into the cockpit to speak with his pilots, Katie led Anlon and Emerson into the main seating cabin. The compartment had four oversized leather seats, two facing forward, the other two facing aft. Anlon settled into a forward-facing seat and placed the steel briefcase housing the Tyls by his feet. As Emerson slid into an aft-facing seat across the aisle, Katie disappeared into the galley to prepare drinks.
Normally, a steward would have done the honors instead of Katie, but the steward had been left behind in San Francisco the day before, owing to Antonio’s original plan for a quick out-and-back trip to drop off Malinyah’s Sinethal with Pebbles. Once that plan was scotched, Antonio had sent the plane to San Francisco, a mere thirty-minute flight, to gather the steward and an overnight bag Antonio kept in his office. Katie, intensely protective of Antonio, took the steward’s place, delivering the bag in person and declaring herself ready to assist Antonio and Anlon in any way possible.
Shortly after Katie emerged from the galley with a tray of drinks, Antonio exited the cockpit and took the seat facing Anlon. Katie distributed the drinks and then went forward to let the pilots know they were ready to go.
Once airborne, Antonio and Katie disappeared into the G500’s middle compartment, an office-like cabin, for a brief conference. Antonio reappeared a short while later and said, “We should be landing at Twenty-Nine Palms Airport in about forty-five minutes. It’s as close as the pilots could arrange on short notice. It’s about seventy miles from there to Ludlow. Katie’s going to take care
of getting us a car. Should be there when we arrive.”
“Right. I’ll text CHP, see if they can send a cruiser to escort us to Ludlow,” Emerson said.
Katie emerged from the office cabin, phone in hand, texting while she talked. “You’re all set. Two SUVs from our lab in Palm Desert. Security detail included.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Katie,” Antonio said.
She nodded and took the seat opposite Emerson, continuing to tap on her phone’s screen. “Anything else?”
“Not for me,” Antonio said. “Anlon, you need anything?”
“No, I’m good for now.” Turning to Emerson, Anlon asked, “Any updates?”
Emerson shook his head. Anlon downed the whiskey in his glass and lifted the steel case from the floor. “Well, then, I think it’s time I paid a visit to Malinyah.”
As Anlon rose from his seat, Antonio suggested he use the bedroom in the plane’s aft cabin. “You’ll have more privacy.”
After Anlon had retreated to the bedroom, Emerson asked Antonio, “What did he mean, ‘visit’ Malinyah?”
Antonio exchanged looks with Katie before he responded. Katie had been present when Antonio first “visited” Malinyah, an encounter that ended up creating quite a public scene at the headquarters of Antonio’s holding company, Whave Technologies. A scene that had petrified Katie, and one Antonio never fully explained to her.
“Yeah…well,” Antonio began, “it’s difficult to explain, but I’ll try. Malinyah is the name of a woman who lived a long time ago. Her memories are stored on the Stone I brought to give Pebbles, the one Muran wants from Anlon. Even though it looks like a simple stone tile, it’s actually a very complex piece of technology. The closest analogy I can think of is an artificial intelligence computer. You can talk with Malinyah, ask her questions just like you’d do with an AI app on your phone. She can answer you and ask questions back. That sort of thing.”
“Didn’t Dr. Cully say the Stones were ancient?” Emerson asked.
Curse of the Painted Lady (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 3) Page 22