She looked over at Blum. “Do you believe me?”
“I would hope you wouldn’t have to ask that, Special Agent Pine. Of course I believe you. So the people in the chopper must have taken the two men.”
“Or else the car that hit us came back for them. But yes, they were taken.”
“Does this involve the dead mule case and the missing person, Ben Priest?”
Pine nodded as they reached Blum’s light green Prius in the parking lot.
“Only the Ben Priest that went missing wasn’t the real Ben Priest.”
They climbed into the car and Blum started it up.
“So where is the real Ben Priest?” Blum asked.
“He was one of the men with me last night. He and his brother, Ed. Ed flew in from the East Coast and called me. I picked him up at an IHOP in Flagstaff and took him to my place. He tried to kill me while he thought I was sleeping.”
Blum took this startling information in stride. “Did he indeed? How badly did you beat him up?”
“I didn’t have to. He chickened out. He’s actually not a bad guy. His family was threatened. It was them or me. So he came out here to do the deed, then got cold feet. But through him I was able to connect with the real Ben Priest. We met last night at El Tovar. Then we got in Ben Priest’s Explorer and drove off heading south. That’s when we were attacked.”
“That qualifies as a busy night.”
“We need to go to the site of the crash. I need to check some things.”
She gave Blum the directions, and about an hour later they arrived at the spot.
There was nothing there.
The burned-out carcass of the Explorer was gone. The tire marks on the shoulder had been tidied up and the debris field policed.
Blum pulled off to the side of the road and they got out.
They walked the site together.
“They did a good job cleansing the site,” said Pine. “But not good enough.”
She pointed to a felled tree.
“Somebody cut this tree down last night with a chainsaw. You can see the teeth marks on the wood. Then they used the chainsaw to tear up the spot where the Explorer hit the trunk. But if you dig in there, you’re going to find the green paint and other residue from the truck.” Next, she pointed to patches of dirt along the grass shoulder. “They had to cut those out because the grass there was burned. And I’m betting that if you brought a metal detector out here, you’d find a shitload of tiny pieces from the Explorer. And when it blew up, I’m certain there are parts of it that ended up far away, and in the woods over there.”
“Still, someone went to a lot of trouble to clean this up,” said Blum.
“I pulled both guys from the truck. When it blew Ed got hit with a piece of shrapnel in the arm. That’s why my jacket is missing. I used it to wrap his wound.” She pointed at her shirtsleeve, where there were traces of blood. “And they missed this. It’s his blood. Some got on me when I was tending his injury.”
“You said you called the police?”
Pine nodded. “And I imagine they would have gotten here at some point. But there was no way they could have gotten rid of all the evidence before then.”
“I can check on that,” said Blum. “And see what happened.” She paused as she stared around at where the attack had taken place. “You didn’t tell anyone about the imposter Ben Priest?”
Pine glanced at her. “No, I didn’t.”
“Because you felt something was out of sorts?”
“Yes.”
“Well, with choppers, body armor, and soldiers carrying assault weapons and throwing flashbangs at you I can see why.”
“This is getting weirder by the minute.”
“Oh, I always thought it was a little weird to begin with. I mean, you don’t see a dead mule with letters carved on it every day of the week.”
They had just arrived at the office and gone inside when Pine’s phone buzzed. She had charged it using Blum’s car charger. She did not look pleased at the name on the caller ID.
Blum glanced at her. “Let me guess. The chain of command is calling?”
Pine grimaced. “Yep.”
“The only question is, how high up?” said Blum.
“Looks to be pretty damn high,” said Pine grimly.
Chapter 23
Clint Dobbs was the special agent in charge at the Phoenix Field Office. He was ultimately in charge of every FBI office in the state of Arizona and had a legion of agents under his command. But right now, it seemed, all his attention was focused on one, who held down the newest and only one-agent office in the entire state.
Atlee Pine.
“Your job as a solo agent in an RA is to do everything, Pine,” said Dobbs, his tone strident as Pine sat behind her desk listening. “But to also do everything by the book. There is no margin for error.”
“Yes, sir. I’m aware of that, sir, and I’ve done that.”
“Oh, so you’ve done that in this case?” he said skeptically.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then why do I have a family in Maryland in protective custody at your request, calling up the Bureau and demanding to know where their husband and father is? And that person just happens to be the brother of the man who recently went missing in the Grand Canyon? A case that you’re investigating? Now, I have talked to your direct superiors, and they have no record of being in the loop on any of that, Pine. So, would you like to reconsider your answer that you’ve done everything by the book on this sucker?”
“The situation demanded immediate action, sir. I didn’t have time to fill everyone in. But it was going in my next report.”
“Don’t bullshit with me. I’ve got better things to do with my time than be on a phone call with the eighth and smallest RA under my command. I expected better from you, Pine. You’ve done great things at the Agency, but crap like this can ruin a good career.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m trying to give you a friendly warning here, Pine.”
“Yes, sir. I appreciate that, sir.”
“I’m not sure you do. See, whatever you do wrong comes back to reflect negatively on me. That’s the price you pay for being an SAIC.”
“Fully understand, sir.”
“No, again, I don’t think you do, or you wouldn’t have done what you did. Do you think I’m calling you for the hell of it? I’ve actually got more important things to do. But my cell phone was ringing off the hook at five a.m. It was Washington calling. The DD himself. Hell, I guess I was surprised the director didn’t call.”
“And how is the deputy director?”
“Don’t be insubordinate, Pine. I won’t stand for that.”
“Not my intention, sir.”
“Anyway, the DD called me in a lather. I’m not sure I have hearing left in my right ear. I can’t have this, Pine. I really can’t. You get that?”
“Got it, sir.”
“And now I understand that you were involved in a car accident?”
“I was in an accident, sir. But I’m okay. Just shaken up. They released me from the hospital and I’m back at work.”
“Did you smash up your Bureau-issued vehicle?”
“No, I was in another SUV, sir.”
“And what is the status of this other vehicle?”
“It’s no longer drivable. But that’s on my dime. I have insurance. Nothing for the Bureau to worry about, sir. I was off duty.”
“Pray that I don’t find out differently.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And, Pine, take some time off. From what I understand, the missing person case is going nowhere. And you know as well as anyone that people go missing from the Grand Canyon all the time. Some get found, and sometimes their bodies get found. But I don’t believe it’s good use of your time or taxpayer dollars to be on this case. So far, all we really have is a dead mule. The locals can sort that out. So, take some time off, get your head straight, file your insurance paperwork, and stay the hell out of trouble. Am I clear?”