Archer?
Finch cut the recorder off and told Matt, “Your days of trespassing here are over. They'll fix that fence, bulldoze the tower.”
“We have permission,” George said softly. Winter didn't hear it, he read the boy's lips.
Winter left the hut and went after Archer.
“That's it?” Winter demanded.
Archer snapped his cell phone open and, looking at his pager's display for the number, began punching it into the keypad. “Is what it, Deputy Massey?”
“The interview… it's over? Those kids are hiding something. They're lying to you.”
“I doubt it,” Archer said. “If you'll excuse me, I-”
Winter snatched Archer's phone away and closed it. The agent's expression was one of shock and outrage.
Shapiro appeared beside them. “What in heaven's name is going on?” he demanded.
Handing back Archer's cell phone, Winter spoke softly but forcefully, “The special agent in charge of this investigation just turned his back on what could very well be key evidence!”
“That's enough, Deputy,” Archer demanded, turning his eyes on the people crowding behind Shapiro. “Doesn't everyone have something to do?” he called out. The agents began moving slowly away, with the reluctance of kids forced to abandon a school-yard fistfight.
“What evidence?” Shapiro asked Winter.
“Archer-”
“Special Agent in Charge Archer,” Shapiro snapped at Winter.
“Those boys lied. They know something. They saw something. They were here all night after the explosion. Maybe they were here earlier and saw the plane land. Maybe they are afraid.”
“We put them at ease,” Archer said.
“Look, maybe they were threatened by someone.”
“Nonsense,” Archer said. “Finch, do you agree with Deputy Massey?”
“Totally absurd. They're just children who obviously didn't see anything useful.”
“So this evidence would be what, Massey?” Archer asked sarcastically.
“Whenever George tried to expand an answer or volunteer anything other than what Matt said, Matt kicked him under the table. Just after you left, when Finch said they would never be allowed back, George said, ‘We have permission.' Present tense. From whom? Their parents reported them missing so who gave them permission to stay? Finch, you were standing close enough to George that you must have heard it.”
“I didn't hear any such thing,” Finch protested.
“But you heard it?” Shapiro asked Winter.
“I read his lips. They were here when the plane exploded. Maybe they were here before that. I know they saw a lot more than they've admitted to.”
“You read lips? You see underneath tables?” Archer asked.
“You have a crystal ball, too?” Finch mocked.
“Did you see the boys kicking each other?” Archer asked Shapiro.
“No,” Shapiro said. “But if Deputy Massey says he did, I believe him.”
“You'll excuse me if I say that I hardly see Massey as impartial here. Understandably, he is in shock, if not temporarily mentally unbalanced by grief and the deadly combat he went through. So, I'll let it go… this time.”
“Perhaps,” Shapiro insisted, “this is something we could discuss privately.”
“I've got work to do,” Archer said,
Shapiro added. “If the interview with those boys was a little more superficial than it could have been, there's no good reason it can't continue-”
“I disagree,” Archer interrupted. “And let me remind you that I'm calling the shots. If Deputy Massey can't control himself, if he ever lays a hand on me again or creates a scene, I'll have him in a psychiatric facility undergoing evaluation.”
“Agent Archer,” Winter said, with a calm he didn't feel, “I'm sorry. I'm not myself. People I cared about have been murdered. My best friend is scattered across the landscape. Last night I killed four men. What you said about my state of mind is true. Even so, I taught boys that age. I have a son that age. I know how boys that age act and think when they're hiding something.”
Archer glared at Winter. “That about it?”
“Just separate the boys. Talk to them individually. Don't close the door because of your ego, or what you already believe is true. If they saw anyone-”
“Listen to me, you-” Archer hissed.
Shapiro interrupted. “Let's drop this for now, Deputy Massey.”
“Massey,” Archer said hotly. “I want those murdering bastards caught every bit as badly as you do. I don't believe those kids saw anything, because if they had, there's no reason on earth for them not to tell us.”
Winter fought to keep the desperation he felt from showing through. “Sir, just let me talk to George Williams. He's the weak link. If I'm right and he knows anything, I'm sure he'll tell me.”
“You are?”
“What do you have to lose?”
Archer frowned as he weighed the request. “I don't want it said later that I wasn't open to all possible avenues. And, seeing his background, I suppose it's possible that Deputy Massey may know ways to elicit information from children.”
Shapiro nodded solemnly.
“Intuition is a valuable tool.”
“Nobody can say that you weren't ready to explore every possible angle, sir,” Finch agreed.
“Very well, Massey. But I won't stand for any rough stuff. You got that?”
44
A female FBI agent took Matt Barnwell to the ambulance under the pretext of a hearing examination. George Williams stood out beside the command tent gazing at the airplanes. Winter walked over to him. If they were going to find the bastards who were responsible for murdering Greg and the others, he had to make a start there and then.
“You like airplanes, George?”
The boy looked up at Winter. “Sure. I guess.”
“Which is your favorite?”
George shrugged. “Fighters.”
“You hungry?”
“I guess so.”
“Let's get a sandwich and I'll show you around the planes.”
George wolfed down the sandwich as though he'd been starved for days.
“Let's go look at those planes,” Winter said when he'd finished.
“You FBI?” George asked as they walked.
“U.S. marshal.”
“Are you a whipstick marshal?”
Winter felt his heartbeat quicken. “You mean WITSEC, George?”
“Yeah, what's that mean?”
“WITSEC stands for witness security. WITSEC deputies protect men who are testifying against bad men in court. They make sure the witnesses get safely to court. Where did you hear about WITSEC?” he asked.
George stopped and seemed to be studying a King Air. “TV, maybe.”
“Must have been some explosion,” Winter said easily. “I bet it was loud and bright. George, earlier you said that you have permission to be here.”
