Forced to Kill

“I’m fine, but we need your help with a couple of things.”

“Sure, no problem.”

He briefed her on everything they had so far, including his theory that Montez knew Kramer, and that the murder may have been personally motivated.

Holly seemed encouraged and said she’d get Henning to start following up on leads. Namely, the purchase of the tools and chain-link fencing and anything else that Jeremy might turn up with the neighbors. Because Montez hadn’t expected Kramer’s body to be found, his men probably hadn’t been too concerned about where they purchased their wares.

“We need you to protect Duns from any negative fallout. He didn’t want to leave the crime scene, so he gave us his vehicle. He also doesn’t have an explanation of how he found the crime scene.”

“I’ll take care of that. He’ll be fine.”

“Thanks. We didn’t share any details, but he knows we know who murdered Kramer. I promised to tell him more when I could.”

“You’ve got enough to do. I’ll take care of that too.”

“Holly, it’s not my intent to dump all of this on you.”

“I consider this a team effort. I’m just doing my share.”

He sensed some unease in her. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Nathan, hold on a minute.”

Nathan waited on hold for a few minutes before she returned.

“Holly, what’s going on?”

“I’m closing my door, hang on.… Lansing just called. He knows you’re involved and he’s not real happy about it.”

He looked at Harv.

“I didn’t tell him,” she added.

“We know that.”

“He’s concerned about your further involvement.”

“With all due respect, we don’t report to Lansing.”

“Technically, neither do I. My boss is in Los Angeles. In fact, Lansing said it was my call. He made it clear this operation is outside the normal chain of command and that I’m to report directly to him on all matters related to Montez. He also made it clear that letting you and Harv proceed involves risk for all of us, and that my political capital is all used up.”

“So you’re on the hook if we screw this up.”

“I made a deal. It’s the price of your admission.”

“The hell it is. You’re not taking the fall for anything. Period. If Lansing wants to get in the mud with me, he’ll regret it.”

“Nathan, please.…”

He heard the stress in her voice. The last thing he wanted to do was contribute to it. “I’m sorry, Holly, I didn’t mean that. I’d never do anything to damage your relationship with him.”

“It’s okay. We’re all on edge. I just can’t stop thinking about that monster having Nichole Dalton and her daughters. It’s really tearing me up.”

“Yeah, me and Harv too.”

“Grangeland’s already in Salt Lake. I’ll have her meet you there.”

“Grangeland’s in Salt Lake?”

“Early this morning Lansing asked me to send one of my agents out there to do an assessment of Kramer’s body. Grangeland was the perfect choice. She has a master’s degree in forensic science. Plus, I had a feeling you’d end up there. She’ll get you into the ME’s facility.”

“Thanks, Holly.”

“We’re just pulling into Bullfrog’s airstrip,” Harv said. “We’ll be airborne in ten minutes. Can we call you after we land?”

“Please do. I’ll give you Grangeland’s cell number. You ready?”

Harv wrote it down.

“Have a safe flight. And don’t worry about Lansing and me. We have an… unspoken understanding.”

“He owes you a lot.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to put it quite that way.”

“Thanks again. For everything.”

“Have a safe flight, and give my regards to Grangeland.”

Chapter 14

Nathan hadn’t felt real talkative on the flight. Hearing Mary Grangeland’s voice had brightened his mood a little, but something continued to bug him. Something deep in his subconscious, more than just the sight of Kramer’s torture and murder, and more than the missing woman and her girls. The more he thought about it, the more elusive it became, like a lost thought during a conversation. It felt important, which made it even worse. Maybe he would do the hypnosis thing.

All in all, he’d thought he done a pretty good job concealing the hatred he felt toward Montez. He knew Harv sensed it. There was little-if anything-he could hide from his friend. Deep down, he needed Harv’s stability more than Harv needed his maverick nature. One thing was certain, they were ten times stronger as a team.

He broke the silence. “How long to Salt Lake?”

“About thirty minutes. We’re coming up on Provo. You’ve been kinda quiet since we left the marina.”

He didn’t respond, didn’t have to.

“We don’t have to look at it.”

“Somehow that seems… I don’t know…”

“Cowardly?”

“I wasn’t going to use that word, but yeah.”

“Truth be told, I’m a little uneasy too.”

“We’ll get through this. It’s just a body.”

They looked at each other. No, it wasn’t just a body. Far from it. More like a malevolent version of Alice’s looking glass. A portal to a dark chapter in both their lives. A chapter neither of them wanted to revisit. Maybe the Company shrink had it right after all. Maybe hatred is the strongest of all human emotions. Nathan had survived his torture by tapping into what seemed like an endless supply of it.

“You okay?” Harv asked.

“Huh?”

“You looked lost in thought.”

“Thinking about Montez.”

“Don’t obsess, okay?”

“I was starting to, thanks.”

Harv refolded his chart, putting Salt Lake City in the center of his knee board. “What are friends for?”

“I feel like there’s a time bomb in my head.”

“There is a time bomb in your head.”

“I was hoping for an argument.”

They flew in silence for a few minutes.

Harv said, “We ought to get on the horn to Salt Lake approach and request flight following from here on. It’s a beautiful day, there’re probably more than a few fixed wings around.”

“Good idea.”

South of Provo, Harv entered Salt Lake’s approach frequency into the NavCom and made contact. Harv entered the assigned squawk number into the transponder and hit the IDENT button. Salt Lake approach saw them