"Oh, yeah," she said, and resumed eating.
They were scraping the plates when Holly stood up. "I'm going out to Ham's," she said. "Something's wrong."
"Doug, go with her," Harry said. "Meantime I'll make that call."
Holly and Doug walked next door with Daisy to pick up Holly's car, and shortly, they were driving north on AlA.
"I've never seen Ham's place," Doug said. "I hear it's nice."
"It sure is. My former boss left it to him." She took a left and drove over the North Bridge, then turned left onto the little dirt road that led to Ham's island.
"Don't park too close to the house," Doug said. "That bug's still in place, and I don't want them to hear car doors slamming."
Holly parked well away, then led Doug to the house, opening the door with her key. She used a flashlight instead of turning on the lights, walking softly around the place. Everything seemed to be in order, except that Ham was not there. She motioned Doug outside.
"You think he hasn't been back here tonight?" Doug asked.
"That's what I think."
"Maybe they asked him to stay for dinner, and he couldn't say no."
"I hope that's what happened," Holly said. "Come on, let's get back to your place. Maybe he's turned up."
They arrived back at the house to find Harry and Eddie sitting beside the radio.
"NSA has just downloaded today's transmissions," Harry said.
"What are they saying?"
"Pretty dull stuff-a Bible class, kind of twisted, and a discussion group about race."
The men on the recording were making wrapping-up sounds, moving away from the bug. There was a moment's silence, then, suddenly, Ham's voice came through.
They sat, transfixed, listening to his short report.
"Holy shit," Harry said. "We could have missed it. I'm going to get word to NSA that we want everything in real time from now on."
"I'm going to take him the phone," Holly said.
"No, Doug will do it," Harry replied. "I don't want you at risk."
"Fuck the risk," Holly said. "Ham needs a way to communicate, and I'm taking him the phone. Now, do you have a large-scale map of the place?"
"Yes," Harry said, spreading it out on the table.
"What about aerial photographs."
"Eddie, get the sat shots."
Eddie came back with some surprisingly detailed photographs.
"Why haven't I seen these before?" Holly asked.
"They arrived today, with the phones."
"Okay, there's a dock on the lakeshore here, about what, two or three miles from the compound."
"Looks like that. Where are we going to get a boat this time of night?"
"Ham's got an aluminum dinghy," Holly said, "and one of those little trolling motors that runs on a car battery."
"Where is it?"
Doug spoke up. "It's lying next to Ham's house," he said. "I saw it when we were out there."
"You've got a pickup, Doug," Harry said. "Go get it and bring it back here, and don't forget the motor and some oars."
"Be back shortly," Doug said, then left.
"Ham's battery will be on a trickle charger, but I want a spare, just in case," Holly said. "We'll cannibalize one of your cars."
"Okay with me," Harry replied.
Holly looked at the sat shots again. "This must be the barracks," she said. "It's the only thing that fits the description. Eddie, show me the phone."
Eddie left and came back with half a dozen tiny phones in a cardboard box. "They're Motorola V-phones," he said, "that have been modified to scramble." He showed her how the phone worked, while Holly began composing a note to Ham.
"He's going to need some extra batteries," she said.
"I've got some in the charger. They're small, but they're good for eighty minutes of talk time each, and about twenty-four hours of standby."
"Can he take a call without the phone ringing?"
"It has a vibrate mode. You can't hear it, but you can feel it if it's clipped to your belt or in your pocket."
"Show me." She wrote down the instructions for Ham.
"Do we know whether there's even cell phone service out there?" Holly asked.
"I don't know," Harry said. "We'll try it when we get out there, and if there's no service, I can have a portable cell transmitter and antenna in here by tomorrow morning that has a range of about five miles. It'll be on a van, and we can park it as close as possible."
"Good," Holly said. She looked at the sat shot. "This looks like a grass landing strip," she said.
"I agree," Harry replied. "Might come in useful before this is over."
Doug came back with the boat, and they loaded it into the pickup.
"Eddie," Harry said, "you stay here and monitor the bug in the compound. Call us on the scrambled phone if anything important happens."
"Will do," Eddie replied.
"Let's get out of here," Holly said, and got into the truck.
47
Ham had dinner at the table with John and Peck. A pecking order seemed to have been established in the compound, and he figured, from the seating arrangements, that he was pretty near the top of it.
"Peck," John said, "you think you can find a bed for Ham in one of the houses?"
"Sure," Peck replied.
Ham raised a hand. "Listen, guys, I appreciate the thought, but I'm real comfortable in the bunkhouse. I've spent a big chunk of my life in barracks, and I like it." This was an outright lie. He'd spent as few nights in barracks as possible, and he didn't care if he ever spent another one there, but he had to be on the lakeshore when his people showed up with the phone, as he had no doubt they would do.
"Whatever you say, Ham," John replied. "As long as you're comfortable. If you change your mind, let me know."
"Okay," Ham said.
Harry, Holly and Doug, in the pickup truck, worked hard with the large-scale map and a flashlight to find a way to the eastern shore of Lake Winachobee. The dock didn't seem to have a real road leading to it, and they had been picking their way along overgrown lanes for more than two hours.
"The hell with the dock," Holly said. "It's after midnight, and we can launch the dinghy from the shore. I don't mind getting your feet wet."
"Thanks," Harry said.
"Just drive west until we end up in the lake," she said.
"I'm doing the best I can, Holly."
"There," she said, pointing to an opening that appeared in the headlight beams. "That track looks like a car might have once driven down it, and it's headed in the right direction."
Harry turned down it, and a deer ran across the road, nearly striking the truck. "That's all I need," he said.
Then the track opened into a clearing, and the starlight glinted on water.
"There!" Holly nearly shouted. "Douse the headlights."
Harry switched them off and stopped the truck. They sat and waited for their eyes to become accustomed to the darkness.
"Thank God there's no moon tonight," Harry said.
"Not yet, anyway," Doug replied. "We should have checked an almanac."
"Come on," Holly said, "let's get the boat into the water."
They got out and heaved the lightweight dinghy off the truck and to the lakeshore. Holly took off her shoes and rolled up her jeans. "Hand me the motor." She accepted it from Doug and clamped it to the stern of the dinghy. "You can handle the batteries," she said. "Put them side by side." She climbed into the dinghy.
Doug placed the batteries in the bottom of the boat and fixed the alligator clips to the terminals of one. "There you go," he said. "Are you sure you don't want company?"
"I can handle it alone."
"Look across there," Harry said, pointing. "The house with all the lights must be Peck's place. The barracks has to be farther along the shore to your left. I'd stay away from it, just use it as a landmark."
Harry suddenly grabbed at his belt. "My phone's ringing." He opened it. "Yeah?" He listened for a moment, then hung up. "Eddie says they've just broken up for the evening. The main house seems to be emptying out."
"How far do you reckon it is?" Holly asked.
"Three, maybe four miles, I'd guess. I think we're south of the putative dock."