A few minutes later, Diane hung up. “Katie is still fifteen, so we can bring molestation charges against Sully, at least, if we’re willing to blow our covers. We’d have trouble getting much on Glover, though. Katie lives with her stepmother, the owner of the VW. That lady has several arrests and convictions for prostitution, which explains a lot. And she’ll have to answer for this, as well.”

  “Let’s go forward with our plans, then.” Lee proceeded to install their additional video camera, working without further comment.

  Diane respected his silence. She’d learned it was one of his Navajo traits, valuing silence and contemplation before speaking or taking action. In law enforcement, especially when out in the field, time was usually in short supply, but tonight, having to wait for Glover and Sully to go the next step, they had the opportunity to weigh every option.

  Diane went over and poured herself a cup of coffee, offered Lee one, then brought out some peanut butter and jelly and made them both a simple sandwich. He took his with a nod. Halfway through the cup, the sandwich now history, Lee looked up.

  “We can still turn this over to local vice units and have them bust Katie’s stepmother, Sully, and whoever Glover provides—if anyone—and keep ourselves out of it. Katie will end up with social services unless they can find a relative to take her in, someone safe. Andrea can take the point, and even with corrupt county deputies involved they should be able to make it stick.”

  “But nailing Glover for pandering just isn’t enough,” Diane said, reinforcing their earlier conclusions, “and we just don’t have enough evidence to put him in jail for the other crimes he’s probably committed, at least not for long. An arrest would also alert him to the fact that he’s being watched. We’d get zip, or so little that it wouldn’t be worth it.”

  Lee glanced across the room, coffee cup in hand. “If Glover has the boy, we’re in a good position to take him down and recover the child. But if it’s someone else, somebody of legal age, this line of our investigation is going to end. And Sully will be all we have.”

  “Follow that line of thought, Lee. Suppose Glover shows up with someone else. Sully has already paid out a hunk of money for human contraband. And unless Glover provides someone that makes Sully happy …”

  Diane shrugged at her own hypothesis, then continued. “Can he stand up to Glover? Sully is weak, a child molester or close to it, who hopes to make a ton of money selling kiddie porn on CDs. Glover is the kind of man who protects himself from indirect attack. He’s going to have insurance, particularly if Sully tries to implicate him for kidnapping. For all we know, there’s a hidden camera or recorder in that model home—something Glover intended to use to shut Sully up if there was any problem. From the photos we saw in Glover’s apartment, taking pictures is a favorite blackmail strategy of his.”

  Lee’s eyes lit up. “You may be on to something, Diane. Glover seems like the kind of animal that would love catching someone in their own game. It would also explain why Glover went over there last night on the motorcycle—ahead of Sully’s movie-making visit—and what he was carrying in the gym bag. He could have placed a small camera—for example, like the ones we have on our surveillance system—in the bedroom Sully was going to use. He could have had it on a timer, set to record at the time Sully had booked the girl, and bingo, instant blackmail, and protection in case Sully tried to turn him in.”

  “Glover still at home?”

  Lee glanced out. “Yeah, I think so. The little bug I left there before hasn’t gone off, so he didn’t leave by the back gate, and his Jeep’s still there. He’s in no rush. There may be enough recording media in his camera setup to cover tomorrow night, as well, so there would be no reason to pick it up after Sully left tonight.”

  “I’m not sleepy, Lee. Wanna go break into a model home?”

  “You’ve got yourself a date.”

  It took them a half hour to install the extra surveillance camera Diane had brought with her, then Lee sneaked around to Glover’s backyard and replaced the low-tech bug with the motion detector—disguised as a rock—that the DOD had loaned them.

  Later, well after midnight, Lee and Diane reached the rear of the model home property after a jog through the woods via an old fire road. The pickup, less conspicuous than the SUV, was parked behind some trees a few hundred yards away.

  The fence was only four feet high, and Diane climbed over at one of the posts, feeling her way. Lee jumped it flat-footed. “Show-off,” she whispered.

  He took her by the hand … the moon had already set in the west and it was even darker now than before, especially with no lights on in the house. “Good. The window’s still open a crack,” he said as they walked across the backyard.

  He lifted her up, holding her there by the waist as she took off the screen. Diane slid the window open, then, with a leg up from Lee, climbed inside. He jumped up, grabbed the windowsill, and pulled himself over and into the room.

  “What if there’s a motion detector in the hall?” Diane said, aiming her small but powerful flashlight around the room.

  “Then I guess we’re screwed. But I don’t recall seeing any alarm keypads and there aren’t any prowler lights outside or we would have set them off earlier. If Glover did set up a camera to record Sully’s directorial debut, then we should be able to find the hidden lens—probably in a duct or grille. If we don’t find it, then there’s no reason to venture any farther.”

  “Check the GPS monitor and verify where Glover’s Jeep is, Lee. We’ve been having trouble predicting what he’s going to do next.”

  “Yeah. That’s what makes him so dangerous.” Lee brought the small display, about the size of an iPod, out of his pocket and touched a button. A small outline of a map section appeared. “Crap, Diane. You psychic?”

  “He left home?”

  “Yeah. He hasn’t gone far yet, but he’s definitely driving north, in our general direction.”

  “How long have we got?”

  “It took us fifteen minutes to get to where we left the truck. He’s going a faster route part of the way, but farther by a few miles unless he takes a route we don’t know about. I think we’ve got fifteen until he reaches the sign at the highway, five more or less to reach here. If that’s where he’s headed, that is,” Lee added.

  She started to search the wall opposite the bed, looking behind the mirror above the child-size dresser first. “Then we really need to work fast, don’t we?”

  “Better put on the gloves. Our fingerprints might end up in Glover’s hands, and we know he has someone on the county’s force in his pocket. I’ll search everywhere above eye level,” Lee said, looking up toward a heating/cooling vent in the ceiling. Putting on the latex gloves he’d had in his pocket, Lee moved one of two chairs in the room, stood on it, and gazed up at the vent. A close examination revealed dust on the metal vent frame, and no smudges or rubbed-off areas. He brought out his own penlight and checked behind the metal louvers. “This vent is clean.”

  Moving the chair, he then ruled out the light fixture.

  “Same with the mirror.”

  They continued to search for several more minutes, without success. Diane checked the GPS monitor. “Glover’s halfway here, I think.”

  “We still have time. Did you check the bookcase?”

  “My next target,” she answered, moving in close and looking for gaps or anything transparent that might be concealing the lens of a camera.

  “Hello. Lee, I think I found it. Just under the third shelf.” She aimed the light at a small, dark circle in the wall in the gap where the long wooden bookshelf, resting on decorative wrought-iron brackets, didn’t quite touch the wall.

  “Yeah. When the lights are on, that spot would be in shadow.” He stepped over and removed the six hardcover editions of the old Nancy Drew books just above the hole. Hidden behind the volumes was a cutout piece of Sheetrock about the size of a paperback book, held back in place with masking tape where it had been removed earlier. Lee pulled off the tape along the top and sides, then pulled the piece out.

  In the opening was a small video camera with a fiber-optic cable. The lens at the end was aimed through the hole Diane had discovered. A digital readout displayed the current time, and a green light indicated the unit was receiving power, though not, apparently, capturing images at the moment if Lee read the display properly.

  The camera was fastened in place with duct tape and thumbtacks. Lee cut the tape with his pocketknife and began removing the tacks. “How much time?”

  “He’s almost at the turnoff, I estimate, but the developer’s road doesn’t show up on the GPS overlay. If he turns, the dot will move west on its own.”

  “Just a few more minutes. I don’t want to drop the camera where it’ll break and be hell getting back out.” Lee worked at a stubborn tack with the tip of his knife blade, not wanting to break off the knife point.

  “Can you pop out the CD? At least we’ll have that—and Glover won’t.”

  Lee looked at the device. “I’d thought I’d seen every type of electronic device, even back to the early radar sets. But this is a new model, apparently. Can you figure out what button to push? I can’t read the labels without pulling the unit.”

  Diane aimed the flashlight at the camera. “I’ve seen this one. It’s a new, state-of-the-art machine. The Bureau uses a slightly older version to monitor offices and the waiting areas in our own facilities. Push the button right there, but hold your hand under the panel when it swings out. Those suckers can pop out sometimes.” She adjusted the flashlight to project a fine beam and pointed at the button.

  Lee did as she requested and the small, gold DVD disc fell right into the palm of his hand. “Gotcha. How we doing on Glover?”

  “He’s gotta be at the turnoff now. We’re going to have trouble getting out unseen unless we leave pretty soon.”

  Lee grabbed the camera and yanked. It came loose easily, undamaged, with some of the duct tape still attached. “We have time to put things back like they were?”

  Diane looked at the display, then held it up so Lee could see it, too. “What do you think?”

  Lee pushed a button, zooming out on the display to show a larger area. “It looks like he’s at the turnoff, all right, maybe even past it. The coordinates don’t mean jack without knowing the reference points for the road leading into this development.”

  “Zoom in on the GPS. We can at least find out what direction it’s moving.”

  Lee did as she asked. “It’s moving west—no, more northwest. Now north. There aren’t any curves like that on the road coming here, are they?”

  “He’s passed the turnoff, Lee. Remember the big curve about a mile north? Glover’s passed us by. We’ve got time.”

  Lee sighed. “We needed a break. But maybe this will cost us, too. Wonder where he’s going? I wish we had somebody on him now. My bad.”

  “One thing at a time. Let’s restore this place so at least Sully won’t know we were here, then split.”

  Lee put the camera in a plastic bag and the DVD in another smaller one, then inserted the DVD between the pages of the notebook in his shirt pocket for further protection. Diane carried the camera in her jacket pocket.

  In four minutes they had the small piece of Sheetrock taped back in place behind the Nancy Drew books, the small pieces of debris from the floor picked up, and the chairs and furniture back where they’d been before. Lee opened the bedroom door, looked down the hall, and saw there were no alarms. He let Diane out the back door, relocked the deadbolt, returned to the bedroom, and climbed out the window. Once the window was closed the same amount as before, they reattached the screen. Diane went over to the fence and climbed across. Lee followed, smoothing out their tracks as well as he could.

  The entire process of leaving the house and brushing out the tracks took about five more minutes, but finally they were on their way back to the pickup.

  “We’re safe here, Lee. Check on Glover, if you don’t mind.”

  Lee brought out the GPS monitor and activated the display, then held it between them so they could both see.

  “Glover’s in Tijeras. That address, isn’t it about where the Trident gas station is? Sully’s business?” Diane asked.

  “Exactly. But what’s he doing there? If he’d have wanted to see Sully, he’d have gone south to Sully’s mountain home, right?”

  “We’re forgetting one thing, Lee. All we know for sure is where the Jeep is—not Glover.”

  Lee nodded. Instinctively taking a quick look around, he heard a faint rustle in the trees. His hand slipped down toward his pistol just as Diane turned on her flashlight.

  A pair of eyes gleamed from the brush, then Lee chuckled.

  “It’s a deer, Lee,” Diane whispered. “I’ve never seen one this close except at the zoo.”

  They watched as the big doe stared back at them, slowly chewing whatever she’d just taken into her mouth. Quietly they climbed into the pickup. Lee, driving, kept the lights off and let the truck roll back down the narrow track as far as possible before starting the engine. When he looked back a last time in the mirror, the doe was still watching.

  “You think Glover decided to have something done to the Jeep, or do you think maybe he finally went to pick up his truck? The damage we did to it must have been fixed by now,” Diane commented.

  “Your guess is as good as mine. Check the blip on the monitor once in a while. I’ll drive, but keep your eyes open for a sneak attack. If Glover found the bug, he could be playing games. Hell, he could be right behind us now.”

  “Except that you can see in the dark and you’d notice, right?”

  “You bet. Look, for all we know, he’s home, watching Jay or Dave on TV, and one of those guys at the station just returned his pickup and drove the Jeep back to Tijeras.”

  “What would you do if you’d just tried to kill your next-door neighbor, failed, and knew he knew it was you?” she asked.

  “I’d assume my own life was in danger, real danger. I’d be looking over my shoulder, expecting a retaliatory strike. In Glover’s case, he’s probably not getting much sleep right now. He’s either going to try again soon, or is just hoping to stay alive long enough to raise one last chunk of change before disappearing.”

  “He already knows we’re dangerous and don’t want any connection to the police ourselves,” she answered. “Your identity says you’ve got a criminal record. My guess is he probably assumes we’re doing something illegal right now.”

  “Considering the fact that this little trip isn’t going into our reports, he’s exactly right. But yes, I get your point. Obviously we’re a danger to him, and him to us. We should expect him to try to shoot, bomb, or burn us out at any time, day or night … as long as he can’t be identified as the culprit,” Lee said.

  They were less than a quarter mile from the highway when Lee noticed a squiggly mark atop a sandy mound several yards off the road. “Whoa!” He stopped the truck.

  “What? You see something?” Diane asked, looking off the side of the road. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned around on the cushion.

  “Looks like a motorcycle track. Let me take a look,” Lee said, turning off the engine and stepping out of the pickup. He walked over to the side of the road, where a grader’s blade had formed a little ridge along the edge the last time the county maintenance crew had worked on the road.

  The sand-and-gravel ridge had been reshaped in the spot where the bike had driven over it, but a few feet beyond, out of sight from the driver’s position, motorcycle tracks were fresh and clear. They continued up to the spot where the bike had fishtailed a bit in the sand, then continued up a narrow canyon as far as he could see.

  Diane came up with a flashlight and examined the area. “Good eyes. Looks like somebody erased the marks where they left the road so you wouldn’t notice their exit trail. But farther away, they didn’t see the need or have the time to wipe out the tire tracks. If we’d passed by slowly in daylight, we might have had a better chance to find them.”

  Lee nodded. “If I’d have been looking ahead instead of to the side, I’d have still missed it. These tracks have the right pattern, so this must be where we lost Glover the other night when he had the Harley. He pulled off the road, reconstructed the little ridge to hide the obvious, then continued over the sandy spot and up that little canyon.” Lee pointed.

  Diane aimed her flashlight in the direction. “We can’t take the truck in there, we’ll get stuck, high center, or get hemmed in by the vegetation. Now we walk?”

  Three minutes later, their pickup off the road and locked, Lee and Diane began to follow the motorcycle tracks uphill. The ground was rocky in places, but Lee had no trouble following the motorcycle tracks at all, despite the blackness of the night. The stars were countless in number, twinkling brightly to the east and overhead. The mountain was another enormous shadow ahead of them, west.

  Diane kept close to Lee, depending on him instead of the flashlight, which would indicate their presence. They’d decided not to use a light in case Glover had gone to the home of an ally. He stopped abruptly and she bumped into him.

  “There’s a small block building about a hundred yards up, against the hillside,” Lee whispered. “It’s well hidden by the pines, though.”

  “I can make out a squarish shape. No lights, though. Isn’t there a barrier or something in the way. Vines or something?”

  “One of those big security fences, with the strands of barbed wire, or maybe razor wire, at the top. The fence must be twenty feet high,” Lee added. “A sign on the fence says it’s a federal facility.”

  “We saw some official maps of this area, supposedly up-to-date within the last month or two. I don’t remember this site being listed, if my sense of direction is working,” Diane replied. “Let me make a call to SAC Logan.” She brought out her cell phone, and, fortunately, was able to get a signal.