“More foolhardy than brave, I’m afraid.” He added, “I was in the Seventh Cavalry. Custer’s regiment.”
“You don’t look that old, or-” I nodded toward the painting.
“In
“Oh… right.”
He stood by the door, and there was a moment of almost awkward silence. This is where I usually spring something on the suspect, leaving him or her to a bad night’s sleep. But in truth, I had no more arrows in my quiver, to use an apt metaphor, and I was really unsure if Bain Madox had anything to do with Harry’s disappearance, so I said to him, “Thank you for your time and help.”
“I’ll send my men out immediately,” he replied. “Meanwhile, if the air search comes up with anything, have the state police call that security guard number, and I’ll get some people on the ground where the helicopters have lit up the area. If we’re lucky, we may find this man tonight.”
“I think some prayers might help, too.”
Madox commented, “As long as it’s above freezing, a person can survive in the woods for weeks if he’s not badly hurt.”
He opened the door, and we all went out onto the veranda. I noticed that the Enterprise rental car that had been there was gone.
I said to him, “I want to thank you for your service to our country.”
He nodded.
Kate said, “Yes, thank you.”
Madox replied, “And you’re both serving in a different way, in a different war. I thank you for that. This may be the toughest fight we’ve ever had. Stay with it. We will prevail.”
“We will,” Kate said.
“We will,” Mr. Madox agreed, and added, “I hope I live long enough to see a permanent condition Green.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
We got into our Taurus and followed the black Jeep downhill toward the gate.
We didn’t speak while we were inside the property in case there were directional listening devices, but we did turn on our cell phones and beepers, which indicated that Kate had two messages, and I had none.
The dashboard clock said it was 4:58 P.M., so Tom Walsh should still be in his office defending Western Civilization for another two minutes.
At the guardhouse, the Jeep pulled to the side, and the gate slid open. As we exited the property, I could see two guards through a window of the house, and one of them was videotaping us. I leaned toward Kate’s window and saluted with my middle finger.
McCuen Pond Road lay in shadow, and I turned on my headlights so I could spot the bears sooner. I asked Kate, “Well, what are your thoughts?”
She stayed silent awhile, then replied, “He’s charming in a spooky sort of way.”
One of the more interesting things in life is hearing a woman’s thoughts on a man you’ve both met. Men that I find ugly, she finds good-looking; men I find slimy, she finds sociable; and so forth. In this case, however, I sort of agreed with Kate.
She said, “I think he liked you.” She added, “Don’t take this wrong, but he sort of reminded me of you.”
“How’s that, darling?”
“Well, the self-confidence and the… for want of a better expression, the male macho bullshit.”
“Good expression. More important, does he know more about Harry than he’s telling us?”
“I don’t know… His whole demeanor seemed almost nonchalant.”
I replied, “The sign of a sociopath and narcissist.”
“Yes, but sometimes the sign of a person who has nothing to hide.”
“He has something to hide, even if it’s only oil-price rigging. That’s why the Justice Department is interested in him.”
“True, but-”
“And yet,” I said, “he invites us in without his lawyer present.”
“What’s your point?”
“He wants to know what we know, and he can learn that by the questions we ask him.”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
“And how about that story of the Custer Hill Club?”
She nodded. “What a story. It’s really amazing if you think about it… I mean, these young officers, staying in touch, some of them getting rich and powerful… and Bain Madox building that lodge.”
“Yeah. What’s more amazing is that he actually admitted to us that this group is or was some sort of secret society that somehow influenced events on the world stage during the Cold War. Including engaging in illegal activities.”
She thought a moment, then replied, “He wants to sound important and powerful… guys do that… but if any of that is true, then it puts a whole different light on the Custer Hill Club.” She pointed out, “He raised some suspicions he didn’t need to raise.”
“He may have thought we already knew about the history of the club.”
“Or,” Kate said, “it’s past history and he’s proud of it, like he’s proud of his Vietnam service. I don’t know… but then he said he was a little involved with the war on terrorism.”
“Right. That’s like being a little pregnant.” I said, “As I suspected, there’s more to this group than meets the eye. There’s a political element here, and in today’s world, Mr. Madox’s oil mixes well with politics.”
“It always did.”
I changed the subject back to our immediate concern. “So, did Madox have anything to do with Harry’s disappearance?”
She stayed quiet, then said, “The one thing that bothered me was his stalling… like he was waiting for Harry to… turn up.”
I nodded and said, “That would take the heat off him.” I added, “I have this bad feeling that Harry is going to turn up soon, and not on Bain Madox’s property.”
Kate nodded silently, then said, “I need to check my phone messages.” She listened to them and said to me, “Tom, twice. He says I need to call him ASAP.”
I wondered why Walsh had called her and not me, too.
She checked her beeper and said, “Tom, twice.”
“He’s a persistent little shit, isn’t he?”
“He’s not… What is your problem with authority?”
“My problem is with supervisors who bullshit me and expect loyalty in return. The essence of loyalty is reciprocity. If you’re loyal to me, I’ll be loyal to you. Bullshit me, and I’ll bullshit you. That’s the contract.”
“Thank you for sharing that. Now, I’ll call our supervisor while you give your undivided attention to the road. Drive slowly so we don’t run out of cell-phone coverage.”
I eased up on the gas and said, “Put it on speakerphone.”
She dialed, and Walsh’s voice came through her phone. “Where the hell have you been?” he asked.
Kate replied, without bullshit, “We interviewed Bain Madox at the Custer Hill Club.”
“
I cut in. “Hi, Tom. Idiot husband here.”
Silence, followed by, “Corey, you have really screwed up this time.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
He was not a happy man and almost shouted, “You totally disobeyed my orders. You’re history, mister.”
Kate seemed a little ruffled, and said, “Tom, we’ve gotten permission from Madox to conduct a search on his land at first light. Meanwhile, he promised to begin a search with his security staff immediately.”
No reply, and I thought the call was dropped or Tom was having a seizure or something. I said to Kate, “Do you want some of these Cheez-Its?”
