“Are you saying we can track Josie’s computer?” Daniel asked his friend, cutting in on her self- recriminations.
“If the GPS unit hasn’t been destroyed, yes.” Hotwire smiled then, his eyes cold with purpose. “If Josie didn’t realize it was there, I doubt the thieves have either. It’s a relatively new safety feature in mobile computer technology.”
“So, how do we track it?”
“We call the manufacturer and report it as stolen. They do a satellite search which will result in a three-point coordinate location.”
A three-point coordinate was pretty damn precise. “How long will it take?” Daniel asked.
“A few minutes.”
“How accurate?”
“Within ten feet.”
“It sounds too easy.”
“It is.” This from Josie. “The position can be as accurate as we want it to be, but there’s no guarantee the laptop won’t be moved before we can get to it.”
“And if the location isn’t at a known address, like out in the middle of the desert or something,” Hotwire added, “we still have to track it.”
Which was exactly what ended up being the case, although it couldn’t be as easy as being in the middle of the desert and easily accessible by helicopter or plane. According to its GPS, the laptop was currently in an uninhabited area of the Rocky Mountains with no known public or private roads within fifteen miles of its location.
Before they could discuss what to do with that piece of information, Claire came out of her room, dressed and ready for class. Josie brought her up to speed, and then the phone rang. Looking over her shoulder, Daniel read Oregon State Police on the caller identification.
His gut clenched for no discernable reason, and he said, “I think you’d better take that call, sweetheart.”
Josie held the ringing cordless unit in her hand, wishing she could just ignore its impatient summons.
How much should she share of what she knew? She didn’t know why her father and his school had been targeted for destruction, and bringing in the authorities might harm him more than help him. On the other hand, maybe the authorities had information that would help her and the others find her dad’s enemies before they found him.
The phone shrilled again, and she pushed the talk button before lifting it to her ear. “Josie McCall speaking.”
“Ms. McCall, this is Detective Johnson with the State Police Arson and Explosives Division. I’m investigating a fire that occurred two nights ago on property owned by Tyler McCall in the Coastal Range. I would like to ask you a few questions, if I may.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Can you verify your father, Tyler McCall’s, whereabouts on the night of July twelfth?”
Having already gone through this with Officer Devon, she was more prepared to answer that question at least. “My dad was at his paramilitary training compound.”
“Are you absolutely certain of that?”
“Yes.”
“Did he call you from there, or in some other way confirm his presence on the mountain to you? Perhaps you were there with him at some point?”
“Why are you asking me this?”
“His entire compound burned to the ground, Ms. McCall.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“I see. Do you mind telling me how you learned of the fire, Ms. McCall?”
“It’s hardly a state secret. It’s all over the news,” she said, hedging around the truth, and then added, “and one of your officers came by to tell me of my father’s death yesterday.”
“A state policeman came by your house to inform you of your father’s death?”
“Yes.” Surely that wasn’t such a surprise, unless the departments didn’t speak to each other—which, when she thought about it, wasn’t all that farfetched of an idea.
“Do you have the officer’s name?”
“Barry Devon.”
“Thank you.” He paused as if taking the time to write the name down. “Apparently the fire started with an explosion.”
“Yes.”
“Did the officer tell you that as well?”
“He did.” She wondered why the detective was asking her about what his colleague had said. Why not simply ask the other officer? “He also said the Forest Service believed it was an accidental explosion. Is that still the case?”
“Can you hold on for a moment, Ms. McCall?”
Chapter 12
“Certainly.”
She pressed the mute button on the phone and asked the others, “I’m on hold. How much do you think I should tell him?”
“If you don’t tell them you were on the mountain with your dad, you could be charged with obstruction of justice,” Claire said.
“Did you read that on the Internet, too?” Josie asked tongue-in-cheek. Her roommate had a brilliant mind filled with bits of knowledge about pretty much everything.
“Nope.” She grinned. “I grew up watching Perry Mason.”
“Her source might be suspect, but Claire’s right,” Hotwire said.
“But then I have to tell them Dad isn’t dead.”
“They’re going to figure that out soon regardless, and once they do, it won’t take them long to contact the closest emergency rooms and find record of you and your dad’s visit, even if you gave an alias.”
Hotwire was right. Not many women came into ER with a wounded man and smelling like smoke if they hadn’t been in a fire. “Do I tell him about the break-in and the laptop locator?”
“If you do, they can tell you faster than anyone else what or who might be located in that supposedly uninhabited area.”
“If they’re as open about sharing information as you’re suggesting Josie be,” Daniel added, sounding skeptical.
The detective came back on the line. “Ms. McCall?”
“I’m here,” she said after turning off the mute function.
Claire waved, getting Josie’s attention. “I have to go,” she mouthed silently.
Josie nodded, indicating with her hand that Claire and Hotwire should take off.
“Are you positive it was a state policeman who came to speak to you?” the detective asked, bringing her attention back to the phone.
She had to think a second to refocus her train of thought, and even when she did, she couldn’t figure out why he was asking her that. “He was wearing a uniform and driving a police cruiser, what else would he be?”
“I can’t answer that, Ms. McCall, but he wasn’t a state policeman. There is no officer by that name in the force, and no orders were given to inform you of a death we have yet to verify. Someone will be contacting you later for a description of the suspect.”
“Suspect?”
“Impersonating an officer of the law is illegal.”
